" THE " ugly duckling of the early sixties. 1962 Dodge Dart

[gtx6970]

Found this last week and have been wracking my brains on what to do with it. Found it while looking for something else actually. And my mind went to work on what to do with it. 

 

I Painted it AT LEAST 12-13 years ago . Best I remember it was a Dupli color rattle can. My mistake was no primer first. Straight lacquer  paint on bare plastic.

Needless to say, It crazed the plastic. Enough I was disappointed and put it away. 

 

So made the decision to see if I couldn't salvage it. Had nothing to lose ,,, so I sprayed some rattle car urethane clear in several light coats . Hoping it wouldn't make it worst. 

Turns out it layed down pretty decent ( good enough for my case anyway) And has a reasonable shine to it. ( knocks on wood ) 

 

So , taped up the interior to add the white accents( brush painted) , then put Tamiya satin clear over it 

 

Plan is just some details and in the case it goes.

The kits engine is long gone. So,,,I'll make it a curbside and lightly glue the hood down and move on. 

 

Im aware the seat pattern as well as even some of the exterior trim is all wrong for the actual car. 

I think I can live with it 

Edited October 15 by gtx6970

[gtx6970]

The original car sold on Bring a Trailer earlier this year 

1962 Dodge Dart Ram Charger 413 Two-Door Sedan for sale on BaT Auctions - sold for $42,000 on April 22, 2025 (Lot #188,557) | Bring a Trailer

[Brutalform]

1. Nice save on the paint job. 
2. I don’t think the 62 is ugly at all. 
 

Very unique looking car to be honest. I have three of these. One white, one yellow, and one red. I like what you are doing with yours, Bill. Sometimes it’s just rewarding to build it how it came, even if the interior is a bit off. All the hacking and putty, sanding etc, gets to be a pain sometimes. Can’t wait to see it finished. 

[TECHMAN]

The AMT 49 Mercury kit, has a really nice old MAX-WEDGE as the optional engine, would be a great addition to the restoration of this kit.  Hollar if you need one Bill....

DJ

[gtx6970]

6 hours ago, TECHMAN said:

The AMT 49 Mercury kit, has a really nice old MAX-WEDGE as the optional engine, would be a great addition to the restoration of this kit.  Hollar if you need one Bill....

DJ

Thanks for the offer.

I'm sure I could come up with an engine/trans for it.

Just not sure I want to 

I'm waiting on a new sheet of BMF to arrive. Before mush else happens 

But I'll mess with it this weekend to see how I can get a stance closer to the 1 /1 car had 

Edited October 16 by gtx6970

[Old Buckaroo]

This is a cool car, Ive always wanted a 1/1 of the 62-64 Dart.

Ive been looking at the  62 Plymouth Fury kits with that duckbill bumper on ebay wondering what they could become on the bench. 

 

DJ - Thanks for the info on sourcing the Max-Wedge !

[gtx6970]

9 minutes ago, Old Buckaroo said:

This is a cool car, Ive always wanted a 1/1 of the 62-64 Dart.

Ive been looking at the  62 Plymouth Fury kits with that duckbill bumper on ebay wondering what they could become on the bench. 

Oh go ahead , You should jump in the deep end.

 

The early Mopar B bodies have a strong following . I personally like the 63 , over either a 1962 and/or a 64 Dodge

I have a couple Johan 63 Dodges on the shelf. Just need to get them down and decide on a path forward 

 

Personal preference, if I could , would be a 1964 Fury /Belvedere for a garage mate

Red with red bench seat interior. Hemi with a push button auto please if Im dreaming

Edited October 16 by gtx6970

[Stanward VonDiederichs]

On 10/15/2025 at 3:07 PM, gtx6970 said:

Found this last week and have been wracking my brains on what to do with it. Found it while looking for something else actually. And my mind went to work on what to do with it. 

 

I Painted it AT LEAST 12-13 years ago . Best I remember it was a Dupli color rattle can. My mistake was no primer first. Straight lacquer  paint on bare plastic.

Needless to say, It crazed the plastic. Enough I was disappointed and put it away. 

 

So made the decision to see if I couldn't salvage it. Had nothing to lose ,,, so I sprayed some rattle car urethane clear in several light coats . Hoping it wouldn't make it worst. 

Turns out it layed down pretty decent ( good enough for my case anyway) And has a reasonable shine to it. ( knocks on wood ) 

 

So , taped up the interior to add the white accents( brush painted) , then put Tamiya satin clear over it 

 

Plan is just some details and in the case it goes.

The kits engine is long gone. So,,,I'll make it a curbside and lightly glue the hood down and move on. 

 

Im aware the seat pattern as well as even some of the exterior trim is all wrong for the actual car. 

I think I can live with it 

Talk about bringing back old memories I remember this car! I personally knew Don Blair I'm from the Pasadena area Don sponsored so many winners it's unbelievable that with his brother built some of the fastest cars for example the drag Master dart dragster was sponsored with Blair's. The other hot car from the area was Horsepower engineering up in Altadena Doug Robinson Doug owned the KRLA Horsepower engineering dragster his brother drove the super stock Plymouth from Milne Brothers. Milne Brothers also had a car running  also Wedgie Dodge station wagon, Dino Don Nicholson service Chevrolet was from the area the Little old lady from Pasadena drove a a wedgie Dodge. I also use the horsepower engineering insignia for my identification photo Pasadena history.

[Stanward VonDiederichs]

On 10/15/2025 at 3:15 PM, gtx6970 said:

The original car sold on Bring a Trailer earlier this year 

1962 Dodge Dart Ram Charger 413 Two-Door Sedan for sale on BaT Auctions - sold for $42,000 on April 22, 2025 (Lot #188,557) | Bring a Trailer

This photo was taken at irwindale raceway when it was a long the side of the 210 freeway now is it the Miller brewery. Photos of irwindale in its day and now it's no longer. 😭😢👎 Land rapers have taken it over.