Ron Grable (Gary Underwood) 67 Trans Am dart

[marv13]

Hello builders, i am looking for engine pictures of Ron Grable's Historic Trans Am 67 Dart, specifically the engine, it has a 304 four barrel sticker on it and a red one just above and I cannot make out what it says.  Anyone who has any pictures of this car, they would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Thank you! 

[afx]

More photos here: http://www.historictransam.com/Drivers/GaryUnderwood67Dodge18.html

[marv13]

16 hours ago, afx said:

More photos here: http://www.historictransam.com/Drivers/GaryUnderwood67Dodge18.html

Thank you but i have already seen the photos on the historic trans am site, in this picture i cant really make out the semi-circular decal on the top of the air cleaner, the bottom says 304 four barrel but what does the red sticker say on the top, does it say stroker?

[DustyMojave]

Keep in mind that the way that "restored" race cars are now might very well be quite different from how they were "in the day". I've made a living for many years restoring race cars and was there when this race car was new. I was an SCCA Tech Inspector then. I could not possibly tell you what sticker was on top of the air cleaner then. I've looked at WAY too many thousands of race cars over the decades. i'm building a model of this car too. But I'm not going to worry about getting these stickers right. But vintage racing is overflowing full of what I refer to as "creative memory" (my own term).

When this car was raced in SCCA A/Sedan and Trans Am, and some circle track too, the SCCA rules required the car to be equipped with an original 273 V8 engine. But the engine could be stroked to 305ci max. It's my understanding that the car was raced at the time with a 273 stroked to 304ci. Mopar certainly did not sell air cleaner stickers in those days that said "stroker" OR that said "304". It MIGHT have been painted on by maybe a sign painter. It MIGHT say something else on the back. Neither is a factory sticker

 

That air cleaner housing on the engine in the photo above is real pretty and should flow pretty well. But that housing is most CERTAINLY NOT original. It's way too pretty and way too nicely formed. A racer operating out of his hip pocket in those days such as Ron was, did not have the resources available to him to have such a piece fabricated in late 1967. And while there were dual snorkel air cleaner housings in the day and racers made their own dual snorkel air cleaner housings with large ducting from the grille, those snorkels are just awful damned nice. For accuracy, the formed radiator hoses are probably  not right either.

[marv13]

9 hours ago, DustyMojave said:

Keep in mind that the way that "restored" race cars are now might very well be quite different from how they were "in the day". I've made a living for many years restoring race cars and was there when this race car was new. I was an SCCA Tech Inspector then. I could not possibly tell you what sticker was on top of the air cleaner then. I've looked at WAY too many thousands of race cars over the decades. i'm building a model of this car too. But I'm not going to worry about getting these stickers right. But vintage racing is overflowing full of what I refer to as "creative memory" (my own term).

When this car was raced in SCCA A/Sedan and Trans Am, and some circle track too, the SCCA rules required the car to be equipped with an original 273 V8 engine. But the engine could be stroked to 305ci max. It's my understanding that the car was raced at the time with a 273 stroked to 304ci. Mopar certainly did not sell air cleaner stickers in those days that said "stroker" OR that said "304". It MIGHT have been painted on by maybe a sign painter. It MIGHT say something else on the back. Neither is a factory sticker

 

That air cleaner housing on the engine in the photo above is real pretty and should flow pretty well. But that housing is most CERTAINLY NOT original. It's way too pretty and way too nicely formed. A racer operating out of his hip pocket in those days such as Ron was, did not have the resources available to him to have such a piece fabricated in late 1967. And while there were dual snorkel air cleaner housings in the day and racers made their own dual snorkel air cleaner housings with large ducting from the grille, those snorkels are just awful damned nice. For accuracy, the formed radiator hoses are probably  not right either.

Thank you for the tips, im going to do my best to be accurate! 

[DustyMojave]

I don't know if you ran across the thread for mine, but I'm building a model of Ron's '67 Dart too.

About the very best road race I ever watched was in the summer of 1967 at Willow Springs Raceway. I was a Tech Inspector . The race was not a Trans Am, but it was an SCCA National race. Dick Guldstrand was very fast in his metallic blue '67 Z-28 Camaro. And yet the race was very close with Ron Grable in his orange 1966 Dart. They passed each other back and forth all race long. Since at Willow you can see pretty much the entire race course from the pit area, I watched it all. On the last lap, Ron had gotten ahead a few car lengths. But a summer thunder storm was starting up and the east end of the track, which is Turn 8 and 9, was getting a little wet. The previous lap it was dry. Turn 8 is a fast sweeping turn that ends with Turn 9 which is a sudden sharper radius with no straight in between. So Ron came around 8 and at Turn 9, as he went to accelerate down the front straight, he spun out and went into the dirt infield. He never lifted off the throttle and did a 360 making a huge cloud of dust that was blowing across Turn 9 and the beginning of the straight. This cloud enveloped Dick Guldstrand's car as he came around . Ron jumped back out onto the track right beside Dick's car. They very nearly hit. But Dick had the forward inertia and pulled Ron going up the straight and won the race by less than a car length. On the cool off lap, The cars were beside each other for a while, obviously the drivers were talking. Most everyone in the pits expected a fight when they got out of their cars. As they climbed out, Dick pointed  at Ron and yelled over, "YOU!!!!"  And then they hugged and slapped each other on the back hooting and saying "That was the best race ever!" to each other.

[DustyMojave]

Oh... For clarification,

I didn't mean that air cleaner housing was not an original stock Mopar Dodge Dart 273 air cleaner. Part of it might be, but not all. I meant that the snorkels are way too nice to have been used on the race car when it was actively being raced in Trans Am. The "sticker" on the air cleaner top may also be a modern sticker or a pair of them. All the graphics on the air cleaner top air are almost certainly all "modern" stuff.

[marv13]

18 hours ago, DustyMojave said:

Oh... For clarification,

I didn't mean that air cleaner housing was not an original stock Mopar Dodge Dart 273 air cleaner. Part of it might be, but not all. I meant that the snorkels are way too nice to have been used on the race car when it was actively being raced in Trans Am. The "sticker" on the air cleaner top may also be a modern sticker or a pair of them. All the graphics on the air cleaner top air are almost certainly all "modern" stuff.

i agree they are products of the restoration but i was just curious as to what  the red sticker said, i have a 70 F&F charger i want to finish and the dart will be next, what is the color code of that yellow? 

['70 Grande]

That Willow Springs Raceway story is fantastic!

[DustyMojave]

The bright yellow color on that Dart was NOT 1967 Mopar color. I don't know where it came from. The only yellow in the 1967 Mopar charts is a pastel. My buddy had a 64 Barracuda in that same pastel yellow shown in the '67 charts. WAY different from Grable's Dart. I think his Dart was originally white.

[DustyMojave]

Did you ever figure out that sticker?

I want to point out that that intake manifold used in that picture is also not accurate for 1967-68 SCCA rules. What is in the car as restored is a cross ram manifold with a single 4bbl top plate. It should have a standard single 4bbl stock manifold. For '67 and '68 Chevy homologated a 2x4bbl cross ram manifold for the Z28. So to keep the playing field level, maybe it's fair to allow such a manifold on the Dodge. But that's not what the rules said at the time.

[swede70]

Perhaps in keeping with the theme of adding a mix of O.E.M. decals under hood that weren't period SCCA correct, looking at the contemporary image quickly, I thought maybe I was seeing a 'Magnum' air cleaner image if that helps.  

Mike K.

[Eagle36]

I have been lurking here for quite awhile and just joined as I have two pictures of the Grable Dart engine compartment to share.  They are taken from opposite sides of the compartment  I took them at Road America this summer.  I cannot get them to upload, so shoot me a PM and I will send them to you.