Cameron Monefeldt is a hardcore drag racer and a stalwart Mopar guy; any more so and he’d have an image of Dick Landy tattooed on his chest and Walter P. Chrysler on his back.
All you Mopar guys know this is a recipe for heartache. Parts are more expensive and harder to come by, the tech and build-up information is sparse, and at the track you’re awash in a tidal wave of GM and Ford products.
Even though this story is about Cam’s ’69 Dart, it actually starts with his ’69 Plymouth Road Runner. He obtained the Road Runner from the southeast, and had it hauled back to California. Upon arrival he discovered it was severely rusted, but complete. Countless nights and weekends were spent in his two-car garage loving on his Plymouth. The final product was a beautiful, numbers-matching, 383-powered restoration.
But like I said, Cam’s a drag racer, so it wasn’t long before he began flogging the Runner at the track. Soon one of his buddies grabbed him by the lapels and shook some sense into him, pointing out that it was much too nice to be abused in such a manner.
Cam reluctantly parked his Plymouth and began a search for a proper drag vehicle. Now here’s the twisted part of the story. He just happens to be the lead service advisor for Selman Chevrolet, one of Southern California’s largest Chevy dealerships! He could have easily snagged one of the billion dirt cheap GM G-Bodies begging to be sold, grabbed a GM Performance catalog, checked all the right boxes, and voila, he’d have himself his racer. He might even have been able to use an employee discount to buy the parts!
But nooo, Cam just had to have a Mopar. Amazingly, in July of 2007 he came upon an unmolested, amazingly rust and dent-free, slant six-powered ’69 Dart. He hauled it to back to his two-car garage, where he gutted the interior and stripped it to the shell. Cam parted out all of the good stuff, but when it came to the engine, well, the slant six is useless, except perhaps as a boat anchor. Cam
and his buddy Chris Crisalli decided to send the six-shooter out with a bang.
They drained all of the fluids and cruised the neighborhood for a couple of hours…still running. Next came a series of brutal burnouts…still running. Finally, the two-man wrecking crew got bored and headed back to Cam’s garage.
In a toast to the remarkably durable engine, a beer went into the carb, with that, it finally fired its last shot.
Instead of scouring the Internet and local speed emporiums searching for the latest (and expensive) trick parts of the week, Cam, being the crafty backyard builder he is, went another route. When examining the accompanying tech sheet you’ll see “stock” used extensively. Well, the parts are stock in the sense of being stock Chrysler items, but not original to his Dart. He hooked up with local Mopar guru Jason Mayo of Mayo Performance in Pomona, California, to pick his brain and pick through his extensive inventory of used equipment.
Some examples of his low-buck strategy: The rear leaf springs are Super Stock units from a larger B-Body instead of an A-Body. They give the Dart a better stance and position the tires better in the wheelwells. The rearend is a heavy-duty 8 ¾-inch Mopar unit. A Mopar adjustable pinion snubber provides plenty of traction and no tire spin. The front suspension is later model Dart, which provides better header clearance. The shocks are stock. The transmission is a Chrysler 727 Torqueflight. You get the picture. Cam’s Dart hooks hard and goes straight without the expense of high-dollar aftermarket equipment.
The interior is very austere but very cleanly finished. It features an eight-point cage expertly welded up by Dave Watson of Circle City Hot Rod (Orange, California), vintage lightweight seats from a Dodge A100 van and Auto Meter gauges.
After a 16-month build, Cam was ready to race, but a small item was missing—an engine. Sitting next to his new racer was the Road Runner. A cherry picker and several hours later, and the void in the Dodge’s engine compartment was filled with the transplanted 383. This combination proved plenty potent, recording a best E.T. of 11.74. With a taste of nitrous, he was running in the high 10s at more than 120 mph.
His Dart’s performance was strong, but after a year, Cam was lusting for lower E.T. slips. What’s a racer to do? More motor! Which translates to more money! So, reluctantly, Cam put the aforementioned Road Runner on the block, which meant the 383 had to be yanked out of the Dart and returned to its original residence. The Runner soon found a new home in of Australia of all places.
With more jingle in his jeans, in the summer of 2010, Cam started the new engine project. Returning to Mayo Performance, he foraged through a mountain of 40 to 50 Mopar blocks before finding just the right 400-ci building block for his project. As with the chassis, Cam used Chrysler parts when possible, including a forged 440 Six Pack crank. The block, basically a factory bored version of the 383 with the new crank, ends up at a sizeable 451 ci. Cam’s horsepower estimate is around 550.
On New Year’s Day of 2011 at 5:00 a.m. and 15 degrees, Cam headed out on the maiden voyage of his new combination. He wasn’t alone in this madness. Two high school buds, Dave Watson and Jimmy White of Circle City Hot Rods (Jimmy’s the owner) and Jason Mayo all pitched in to help, and of course, his wife Lisa wouldn’t have missed the adventure. Cam makes it very clear that this whole project would be dead in the water without her encouragement and hands-on assistance.
Unfortunately, race conditions were less than ideal. In addition to the cold, California had been experiencing record rainfall. The track officials, in a nod to safety due to some potential drainage issues, cut the distance to an eighth-mile. Additionally, Cam experienced the as-to-be-expected new combo blues. Ignition and carb issues hampered performance. He was shooting for elapsed times in the 6.90s for eighth-mile. After three passes, one qualifying, two in competition, his best was a 7.18, which would have equated to an 11.20 in the quarter.
Cam was a bit disappointed with the end result. On the bright side, all of the rods and fluids were still in the block, the chassis and transmission handled the additional power, and the Dart, true to its nature, hooked hard and ran straight.
Bottom line, it is possible to build a strong, reliable race car in your garage with a normal array of tools and without having to sell a kidney. Cam’s $13,000 investment, including the $3,000 vehicle purchase price proves it.
P.S. Since there were some mechanical questions that went unresolved and the deadline for this was issue fast approaching, we’re going to do a follow-up to give you the scoop on the true potential of Cam’s Dart, so stay tuned. DR
Tech Sheet
Engine: Dodge
Year: 1977
Cubic Inches: 400
Horsepower: 550
Torque: 500
Built by: Mayo Performance
Crank: 440 Dodge
Rods: RPM
Piston: Ross
Comp: 10.5-1
Oil pan: Milodon
Oil pump: Melling
Cam: COMP Cams
Lifter: Solid
Valves: Ferrea
Valve springs: COMP cams
Rockers: Crane
Valve covers: Edelbrock
Headers: TTI
Gear drive: No
Cylinder heads: Edelbrock Performer RPM
Intake: Edelbrock 383 Victor
Carbs: Holley 950 hp
Fuel pump: Holley
Ignition system: MSD
Ignition wires: Taylor
Hoses/fittings: Earls
Trans type: Auto
Built by: Mayo
Performance
Converter: Hughes
Valve body: Pro Trans Manual
Shifter: Hurst
Driveshaft: 3 inch
Rearend housing: 8 ¾ A-Body
Axles: Strange 35 spline
Case and gears: 489 Case Strange gears
4-30
Rear suspension type: Super stock leak springs, Mopar
Rear shocks: Stock
Front suspension type: Stock
Front shocks: Stock
Steering system: Stock
Steering linkage: Stock
Wheels front/rear: Weld
Wheel size front: 3.5 x 15
Wheel size rear: 10 x 15
Tire/size front: 26x7.5x15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman
Tire/size rear: 30x12.5x15 Mickey Thompson E.T. Street
Front brakes: Wilwood
Rear brakes: 10 inch drum
Chassis: Stock
DR1105-DART PHOTOS
All you Mopar guys know this is a recipe for heartache. Parts are more expensive and harder to come by, the tech and build-up information is sparse, and at the track you’re awash in a tidal wave of GM and Ford products.
Even though this story is about Cam’s ’69 Dart, it actually starts with his ’69 Plymouth Road Runner. He obtained the Road Runner from the southeast, and had it hauled back to California. Upon arrival he discovered it was severely rusted, but complete. Countless nights and weekends were spent in his two-car garage loving on his Plymouth. The final product was a beautiful, numbers-matching, 383-powered restoration.
But like I said, Cam’s a drag racer, so it wasn’t long before he began flogging the Runner at the track. Soon one of his buddies grabbed him by the lapels and shook some sense into him, pointing out that it was much too nice to be abused in such a manner.
Cam reluctantly parked his Plymouth and began a search for a proper drag vehicle. Now here’s the twisted part of the story. He just happens to be the lead service advisor for Selman Chevrolet, one of Southern California’s largest Chevy dealerships! He could have easily snagged one of the billion dirt cheap GM G-Bodies begging to be sold, grabbed a GM Performance catalog, checked all the right boxes, and voila, he’d have himself his racer. He might even have been able to use an employee discount to buy the parts!
But nooo, Cam just had to have a Mopar. Amazingly, in July of 2007 he came upon an unmolested, amazingly rust and dent-free, slant six-powered ’69 Dart. He hauled it to back to his two-car garage, where he gutted the interior and stripped it to the shell. Cam parted out all of the good stuff, but when it came to the engine, well, the slant six is useless, except perhaps as a boat anchor. Cam
and his buddy Chris Crisalli decided to send the six-shooter out with a bang.
They drained all of the fluids and cruised the neighborhood for a couple of hours…still running. Next came a series of brutal burnouts…still running. Finally, the two-man wrecking crew got bored and headed back to Cam’s garage.
In a toast to the remarkably durable engine, a beer went into the carb, with that, it finally fired its last shot.
Instead of scouring the Internet and local speed emporiums searching for the latest (and expensive) trick parts of the week, Cam, being the crafty backyard builder he is, went another route. When examining the accompanying tech sheet you’ll see “stock” used extensively. Well, the parts are stock in the sense of being stock Chrysler items, but not original to his Dart. He hooked up with local Mopar guru Jason Mayo of Mayo Performance in Pomona, California, to pick his brain and pick through his extensive inventory of used equipment.
Some examples of his low-buck strategy: The rear leaf springs are Super Stock units from a larger B-Body instead of an A-Body. They give the Dart a better stance and position the tires better in the wheelwells. The rearend is a heavy-duty 8 ¾-inch Mopar unit. A Mopar adjustable pinion snubber provides plenty of traction and no tire spin. The front suspension is later model Dart, which provides better header clearance. The shocks are stock. The transmission is a Chrysler 727 Torqueflight. You get the picture. Cam’s Dart hooks hard and goes straight without the expense of high-dollar aftermarket equipment.
The interior is very austere but very cleanly finished. It features an eight-point cage expertly welded up by Dave Watson of Circle City Hot Rod (Orange, California), vintage lightweight seats from a Dodge A100 van and Auto Meter gauges.
After a 16-month build, Cam was ready to race, but a small item was missing—an engine. Sitting next to his new racer was the Road Runner. A cherry picker and several hours later, and the void in the Dodge’s engine compartment was filled with the transplanted 383. This combination proved plenty potent, recording a best E.T. of 11.74. With a taste of nitrous, he was running in the high 10s at more than 120 mph.
His Dart’s performance was strong, but after a year, Cam was lusting for lower E.T. slips. What’s a racer to do? More motor! Which translates to more money! So, reluctantly, Cam put the aforementioned Road Runner on the block, which meant the 383 had to be yanked out of the Dart and returned to its original residence. The Runner soon found a new home in of Australia of all places.
With more jingle in his jeans, in the summer of 2010, Cam started the new engine project. Returning to Mayo Performance, he foraged through a mountain of 40 to 50 Mopar blocks before finding just the right 400-ci building block for his project. As with the chassis, Cam used Chrysler parts when possible, including a forged 440 Six Pack crank. The block, basically a factory bored version of the 383 with the new crank, ends up at a sizeable 451 ci. Cam’s horsepower estimate is around 550.
On New Year’s Day of 2011 at 5:00 a.m. and 15 degrees, Cam headed out on the maiden voyage of his new combination. He wasn’t alone in this madness. Two high school buds, Dave Watson and Jimmy White of Circle City Hot Rods (Jimmy’s the owner) and Jason Mayo all pitched in to help, and of course, his wife Lisa wouldn’t have missed the adventure. Cam makes it very clear that this whole project would be dead in the water without her encouragement and hands-on assistance.
Unfortunately, race conditions were less than ideal. In addition to the cold, California had been experiencing record rainfall. The track officials, in a nod to safety due to some potential drainage issues, cut the distance to an eighth-mile. Additionally, Cam experienced the as-to-be-expected new combo blues. Ignition and carb issues hampered performance. He was shooting for elapsed times in the 6.90s for eighth-mile. After three passes, one qualifying, two in competition, his best was a 7.18, which would have equated to an 11.20 in the quarter.
Cam was a bit disappointed with the end result. On the bright side, all of the rods and fluids were still in the block, the chassis and transmission handled the additional power, and the Dart, true to its nature, hooked hard and ran straight.
Bottom line, it is possible to build a strong, reliable race car in your garage with a normal array of tools and without having to sell a kidney. Cam’s $13,000 investment, including the $3,000 vehicle purchase price proves it.
P.S. Since there were some mechanical questions that went unresolved and the deadline for this was issue fast approaching, we’re going to do a follow-up to give you the scoop on the true potential of Cam’s Dart, so stay tuned. DR
Tech Sheet
Engine: Dodge
Year: 1977
Cubic Inches: 400
Horsepower: 550
Torque: 500
Built by: Mayo Performance
Crank: 440 Dodge
Rods: RPM
Piston: Ross
Comp: 10.5-1
Oil pan: Milodon
Oil pump: Melling
Cam: COMP Cams
Lifter: Solid
Valves: Ferrea
Valve springs: COMP cams
Rockers: Crane
Valve covers: Edelbrock
Headers: TTI
Gear drive: No
Cylinder heads: Edelbrock Performer RPM
Intake: Edelbrock 383 Victor
Carbs: Holley 950 hp
Fuel pump: Holley
Ignition system: MSD
Ignition wires: Taylor
Hoses/fittings: Earls
Trans type: Auto
Built by: Mayo
Performance
Converter: Hughes
Valve body: Pro Trans Manual
Shifter: Hurst
Driveshaft: 3 inch
Rearend housing: 8 ¾ A-Body
Axles: Strange 35 spline
Case and gears: 489 Case Strange gears
4-30
Rear suspension type: Super stock leak springs, Mopar
Rear shocks: Stock
Front suspension type: Stock
Front shocks: Stock
Steering system: Stock
Steering linkage: Stock
Wheels front/rear: Weld
Wheel size front: 3.5 x 15
Wheel size rear: 10 x 15
Tire/size front: 26x7.5x15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman
Tire/size rear: 30x12.5x15 Mickey Thompson E.T. Street
Front brakes: Wilwood
Rear brakes: 10 inch drum
Chassis: Stock
DR1105-DART PHOTOS
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| DR-1105-LEAD |
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| DR-1105-DART-01 Cam, his wife Lisa and the Dart, two of the most important parts of his life. Cam, we hope you have the order right! |
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| DR-1105-DART-02 Fittingly, a Chevy pickup being a “slave” to the Mopar, hauling it to the races. |
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| DR-1105-DART-03 The guys who braved the elements and insanely early hour to assist Cam (Right to Left): Jason Mayo, Jimmy White (Cam’s next, lurking in the back) and Dave Watson. |
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| DR-1105-DART-04 Here’s Cam strapped inside the Dart’s ultra-clean, caged interior. You can catch a glimpse of the rare (read: big bucks on eBay) stock “rim blow”steering wheel. |
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| DR-1105-DART-05 All of the Dart’s underpinnings worked just great, it charged out of the gate and ran straight as a string. |
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| DR-1105-DART-06 Jason Mayo and Cam check the timing on the brand-new engine. |
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