63 Dart Wagon Limo_One-Off_"Nun Runner"

[69NovaYenko]

Talk about odd One Off`s how about this one. Now to have a 1963 Dodge Dart would be rare enough; it was a one-year body style. But this particular '63 Dart 330 wagon was so special, it took four men to own it.

Newton Hall spoke on behalf of the quartet (including Joe Welk, Tim Ryan, and Tim Binder) telling the story of this one-of-a-kind eight-door Dart. As Hall tells it, the car was built for Pope John XXIII's visit to Chicago. On its second use, the custom window on the door just behind the driver cracked in the shape of the Rosary. Since His Holiness died shortly after this car was built, he would have no further use of this car and so it was commandeered to haul nuns around Kentucky for a number of years.

The 1963 Dodge Dart 330 Owned by Newton Hall, Joe Welk, Tim Ryan, and Tim Binder One would think that such a rare car should be in a museum, but that's not for this "Nunrunner." Instead of four rows of bench seats, the first three rows have been removed and replaced with bucket seats, reducing the vehicle's passenger capacity from 12 habited ladies of the Lord to the four owners and their significant others with, perhaps, room for one more. The Dart's original engine has been replaced by an 8.0L V10 from a 1996 Dodge Ram Truck mated to a Viper 6-speed manual transmission. Keeping the power to the ground at the rear is the Dart's solid axle and leaf springs but a modern Corvette suspension and brakes are put into service in the front.

As scary as the beast may be to look at, the team from Wicked Rides Inc. reports that it's actually a trouble-free driver thanks to the modern V10 engine yanked from a Dodge Ram and T56 six-speed manual transmission from a Viper it was blessed with when converted into The Nunrunner – reliable enough, in fact, to have taken part in the last Hot Rod Power Tour with nary a breakdown.

It was on e-bay aution back in September 2011.

Edited April 12, 2014 by 69NovaYenko

[slusher]

Very cool but it has some major rust...

[Gaear Grimsrud]

Talk about odd One Off`s how about this one. Now to have a 1963 Dodge Dart would be rare enough; it was a one-year body style. But this particular '63 Dart 330 wagon was so special, it took four men to own it.

Cool Car-But that is a 1962

[69NovaYenko]

Thanks for typo correction Gaear Grimsrud.

[Modelmartin]

Ugh! I hope people don't make a habit of this type of car.

[disabled modeler]

I think its cool...even without the Corvette stuff...long roofs are cool

[Guest]

The premis is cool, but if you are going to the trouble of a modern drivetrain, why not a restoration of the balance?

Edited April 12, 2014 by midnightprowler

[1930fordpickup]

I wonder why no pictures of the drivers side? Interesting car, the mix and match of parts is confusing.

[2000-cvpi]

I guess that it's neat in concept, but the execution of that concept is not to my liking.

[Joe Handley]

Wow, I'm always all for a good hot rod, but that is odd and rare enough that is should be restored, not gas monkeyed.

[ChrisBcritter]

The premise is cool, but if you are going to the trouble of a modern drivetrain, why not a restoration of the balance?

Agreed - there's a big difference between "patina" and "advanced decay". I imagine they had to brace the hell (sorry Sister) out of that unibody to be able to open those doors without it collapsing.

[Mark]

Needs a surfboard that's as long as the roof!

[80mirada]

I doubt it was all that rare, looks like the airport cars that Chrysler offered to airports and hotels

[62rebel]

yeah; I'd think a Pope would necessitate at least a full-size Chrysler if not an Imperial.

[Harry P.]

Another butt-ugly "custom."

No thanks.

[Lunajammer]

It's a good yarn, but I get the feeling there's a lot of story missing here.

[Tom Geiger]

Hmmmm.... looks a bit familiar! Back in the last century when I started this, some know it all told me it was impossible because no company would have done a stretch on a unibody. I didn't know a lot then, and got discouraged so that was part of what made it sit for a long, long time. Then once the Internet became useful as a research tool, I found photos of 1:1s of similar cars. So it's back on the bench. And this Nunrunner shows that it was done on unibodies successfully!

And as for the Nunrunner, I agree that once they've gone this far with the mechanicals, it should have the body finished to match! I would have left the bench seats too. Note the heavy rust on the bottoms of the two center doors. Those would have been the ones fabricated by the body builder so they probably did no rust proofing inside those doors. Shame Shame! And I agree that this was probably just another airport limo and it looks like it sat out in a field for at least a decade.

[Rob Hall]

Agreed - there's a big difference between "patina" and "advanced decay". I imagine they had to brace the hell (sorry Sister) out of that unibody to be able to open those doors without it collapsing.

Yeah, and the interior just looks crude and cobbled together..that Dodge truck steering wheel is grubby and out of place.

[Craig Irwin]

Re-do the body, paint it and a trip to the upholstery shop and it would be really cool!

[Tom Geiger]

Re-do the body, paint it and a trip to the upholstery shop and it would be really cool!

Even Gas Monkey would do a better job than that!

[Joe Handley]

Even Gas Monkey would do a better job than that!

Not by much, they would have stuck a matching set of rims and non airbag wheel on it then stuck their logo all over it.

[69NovaYenko]

Even Gas Monkey would do a better job than that!

LO...you od have point..even Gas Monkey would have fixed the body rust and gave it a coat of paint.

[slusher]

Re-do the body, paint it and a trip to the upholstery shop and it would be really cool!

I wonder if it could be restored. There is a lot of rust showing and more not showing. You would have to love it to restore it. I don't think you could get your money back...