1975 Hang 10

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

1975 Hang 10

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/truro/dodge-dart-hang-10/1693810211

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Wasn't this car in PEI? I saw it at the Brudenell car show a couple of years ago.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Looks like it's in great shape. It's interesting that it was a drag car from new - I'm wondering if I saw it race back in the day.

FWIW, the 383 was last offered in a passenger car in 1971, and no A-bodies (Darts, for example) were built with big blocks after 1969. I helped a buddy put a 440 (tall deck) into his 1975 Dart Sport many years ago, and it was a tight fit. I recall that he didn't want to cut his inner fenders to install headers so he bought a special pair that wrapped around everything, that had to be installed before the engine was put in because everything was that tight. In fact the header company recommended that you install a new starter because you would have to pull the engine to replace it. The 383 had a lower deck and was an easier fit, so probably a better choice for a street car. I understand a lot of Mopar guys were installing stroker kits in 400s (low deck B series that followed the 383 for 1972-up) and get some pretty high displacements without the clearance issues of a 440.

That Hang 10 is quite a hot rod. I'm sure it's a blast to drive. It would be cool with the original striping, but the Duster stripes look good on it. A fun car as is.

GLHS60 · Poncho Master!

Possibly it was raced with the original small block in a Stock or Super Stock class??

Some Engine and body combos are better than others.

Thanks
Randy

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

These old small dodges didnt weigh much, a built 340 or 383 would work pretty good.

Todd, my cousin is from NB, he may have had the car in PEI or maybe the new owner did. I have not seen a Hang 10 at a show.

CdnGMfan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Don, your cousin's car sounds like a real find. A Hang Ten could have been specified on a Dart Sport 360 in '74½ & '75. Those things were fast for their time. The 360 didn't rev like the short stroke 340 but with the added cubic inches they gave performance while meeting mandates. I don't know the particulars on the '75 360 but the '74 had 4-bolt mains & lots of choice parts like windage tray & big valve "J" heads.

Back in the early 70s cars like that were often ordered stripped for drag strip duty. Manual steering & brakes, performance axle, bench seat, and often 340 with Torqueflite for consistency.

Those overstuffed 440 Darts that Hurst did for Chrysler had such clearance issues with the exhaust manifolds on the raised RB blocks that they came with manual steering & brakes, Torqueflite only. The manifolds were just a formality and really the last piece of unfinished work on those cars. They functioned like a dam. You'd be better off running without a hood & running eight Zoomie stacks (earplugs mandatory). The 440 Dart mission was not for groceries, maybe for pink slips.
My money is on the 340 with a tunnel ram.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

DonSSDD wrote:
These old small dodges didnt weigh much, a built 340 or 383 would work pretty good.

Todd, my cousin is from NB, he may have had the car in PEI or maybe the new owner did. I have not seen a Hang 10 at a show.

My buddy who stuffed the 440 in his Dart Sport had a 340 in it before. He let me drive it then and it worked really well. So he wanted to go drag racing and stuffed in the 440, but I don't think it ever worked as good as he thought it would.

Many lifetimes ago, when I was part of a Mopar club, a member had a nice stock Hang 10, with all the Hang 10 striping, etc. I think it had a 360 in it, but my memory has faded somewhat. That was the only one I ever saw in person, and I don't imagine it is the same car as your cousin's as his car probably would have been in race car mode around that time.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

CdnGMfan wrote:
The manifolds were just a formality and really the last piece of unfinished work on those cars. They functioned like a dam. You'd be better off running without a hood & running eight Zoomie stacks (earplugs mandatory). The 440 Dart mission was not for groceries, maybe for pink slips.

For years, the best street fix for big block A-bodies were to cut the fenderwells and run the headers out into the front wheelhouse (see pic below for an example). Not ideal, and the result was a butchered car with great exhaust flow. I've seen 383s with manifolds that worked well, but the 440s were that much more restricted. Original 440 A-body manifolds are a fortune now, because they were rare to start with, and most people ended up throwing them in the trash on day 2 anyhow.

That's why my buddy bought these special headers that ran under the engine, and basically fit around it like a glove. He also had to remove the power steering because they wouldn't fit otherwise. I recall they were really well made, and came chromed, and were very expensive at the time. I also recall scratching his perfectly painted inner fenders when we were putting it in (you had to put the engine in with the tranny and headers bolted up - I recall the assembly was tilted almost straight up to thread the needle into the engine compartment). Anyhow, that was many years ago. I often wonder where the car ended up.

383 with fenderwells.jpeg