Marty Moncrieff owns an extremely unusual resto mod muscle car that he describes as “a car-on-a- car-front-and back” because of its unusual body style.
The car in question is a 1962 Dodge Dart convertible built shortly after Mopar’s famous Forward Look fin car era headed into the sunset.
Jim Sutherland
Chrysler was a little late for the design party when non-fin cars dominated the early 1960s domestic automotive scene, so they amputated the fins on most of their cars in 1961 and continued the process in 1962, particularly their Dodge division where a radical new styled Dart model grabbed attention for its wild design.
Marty took a lot of interest in his ’62 Dart convertible when he spotted it at a car show 11 years ago and said “It just grabbed me” because of its unusual design. 1962 Dodge Darts made a strong impression upon people, some of it positive and some negative, but very positive in Marty’s case.
However, Marty had to wait another 9 years before he was able to purchase the Dart convertible from its former owner. The ’62 Dart had already undergone many powertrain upgrades with its former owner but since Marty is a licensed mechanic, he put his own upgrades on the car.
Fortunately, the former owner was a meticulous guy who even put a custom oil pan on the Dart because he didn’t like the look of the original oil pan after he put a rack and pinion steering system on the convertible. The net result was a car that did not need a ton of improvement in the handling department, so Marty concentrated on powertrain upgrades.
The vintage big block engine underwent a power boost when Marty built the engine and upgraded its cylinder heads to add more horses under the hood. He also added a unique EFI fuel delivery system that resembles the famous dual quad carb system found on a vintage Max Wedge engine.
The result was an engine with a vintage fuel delivery look under the hood, but with a more efficient EFI system.
Another change was an aftermarket overdrive system added to Chrysler’s famous 727 three-speed automatic transmission. The former owner attempted to use a more modern overdrive version of the 727 Torqueflite but it blew up almost immediately, so he replaced it with an older three-speed automatic.
Marty’s solution was to keep the three-speed automatic and add an aftermarket overdrive unit to drop the engine’s RPMs on the highway. Mission accomplished because the car only hits 2100 RPMs at 80 miles an hour (roughly 130 km/h) and has plenty of range for much higher speeds, according to Marty.
So much so that Marty has never pushed his muscular Dart to its maximum potential in the speed department, mostly due to common sense on his part.
Marty is a big fan of vintage Mopar muscle and added “Nothing sounds like a big block Mopar”. He describes his 1962 Dodge Dart convertible as a “nasty beast”-and he would get no argument from us here at MyStarCollectorCar.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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