Click here if you are unable to view this gallery on a mobile device.
John and Horace Dodge formed the Dodge Brothers Co. in 1900 headquartered in Detroit. This was the time when the car business was just getting started and Detroit was the place to be. Initially, the Dodge Brothers made engine and chassis parts for Ford Motor Co. and Olds Motor Vehicle Co. Henry Ford bought many parts for his original Model A (1903-1904) from the Dodge Brothers that included the complete chassis with the result that Ford only had to add the body and wheels to complete the vehicle.
The Dodge Brothers Motor Company, their next venture, was established in 1913, and the brothers brought out their own car in 1914, the four-cylinder Dodge Model 30/35 touring car. It was marketed as a slightly upscale version of Ford’s famous Model T and, decades before competitors, introduced revolutionary features like an all-steel body and 12-volt electrical system. Naturally, the brothers were very proud of the vehicle, and John Dodge was quoted as saying, “Someday, people who own a Ford are going to want an automobile.”
Dodge was the favored vehicle of Gen. “Blackjack” Pershing as he purchased between 150 and 250 Dodge Brothers vehicles for use in the Pancho Villa expedition to Mexico. About 12,800 Dodge vehicles were later used in World War I. Dodge Brothers consistently ranked as the No. 2 seller of vehicles up to 1920. In that year both brothers died, John from pneumonia and Horace from cirrhosis. The widows sold the company, and it eventually became part of the new Chrysler Corp. in 1928.
One of the best-selling Dodge cars was the compact Dodge Dart built from 1963 through 1975. It was designed as a relatively inexpensive car configured as sedans, wagons and convertibles. Early models were powered by two different slant-6 engines, and later five different V8 engines were made available, including a 440-cubic-inch V8. Lafayette resident Don Miller bought this issue’s 1967 Dodge Dart GT convertible in 2008.
“I went to ‘Hot August Nights’ in Reno and went to the auction with my son,” Miller said. ” I thought when you go to an auction, you just go to the auction and if you like something, you raise your hand. No! You’ve got to get checked in, make sure your credit is right, they contact your bank, there is a whole protocol you have to go through. They checked all the boxes, and we we’re in.
“This Dart GT ragtop came on the block and I thought it was pretty cool. It had a 360-c.i. V8 motor, and it seemed to be calling my name. I raised my hand, not knowing exactly how auctions worked, and the next thing I knew, after a few bids here and there, the gavel dropped. It was then apparent I was the winning bidder. I purchased this car for $20,000.”
But it’s a completely different car today from when Miller bought it in 2008.
“About nine years later, I took it from one extreme to another extreme. This car was featured in 2017 at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) in Las Vegas,” he said.
At that time the Dart had a 512-c.i. engine rated at 615 horsepower. In August 2018, Miller again took this Dart to Hot August Nights in Reno, where Chrysler’s Mopar (Performance) Division talked to him and asked if he would like to have a Hellcat Hemi engine in his Dart.
“They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” said Miller.
This customized car was designed by Eric Brockmeyer and built by Dominator Street Rods in Tracy.
“It took eight or nine months to figure out how to integrate that new modern Hemi, which at the time was the most powerful engine built in America,” Miller said.
Other aftermarket manufacturers like Magnuson Supercharges and Holley Performance Products sought participation in this literally one-of-a-kind street rod to further increase the power of this 3,000-pound, compact Dodge Dart to 1,100 horsepower.
“I’m getting all this stuff for free, but the labor was not. I’ve paid for over 4,000 hours of labor. I could have bought three Ferraris,” he said.
Miller has had some fun with the car and relayed an experience he had after a car show.
“I was coming back from Danville one night. It was just about getting dark. An older gentleman pulls right up next to me in this brand-new Lamborghini. I’m in the left lane and he’s giving me the eye. I told myself ‘I’m going to make this man cry.’ I downshifted, and he downshifted, and we hit it. I just left him in the dust. He followed me all the way home, pulled in the driveway. He had tears in his eyes and said, ‘I just spent $458,000 on this Lamborghini. What the hell is under that hood?’ I told him ‘Don’t feel bad because I think I have more than that in this car.’ ”
Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at MOBopoly@yahoo.com. To view more photos of this and other issues’ vehicles, search for “David Krumboltz” at mercurynews.com.