Mean, Clean 1968 Dodge Dart Hemi Is Mopar Muscle to Watch at Mecum’s Big Indy Auction
A perfectly executed old-meets-new muscle car mashup could earn this Hemi-powered '68 Dodge Dart a Super Stock–style payoff.
We’re sure the total number of muscle cars sold at Mecum Auctions events throughout the U.S. is probably an unfathomable amount (and that’s the actual vehicles, not the all-critical financials).
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A meticulously restored and modernized 1968 Dodge Dart Hemi, featuring a Whipple-supercharged 7.0-liter Gen 3 Hemi with 961 horsepower, will be a highlight at Mecum's Indy auction. This Pro Street build, blending classic and modern elements, could fetch up to $250,000.
This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article
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For curiosity’s sake, and to pare the control set down a little, let’s look at Dana Mecum’s Original Spring Classic. Now in its 38th year, Mecum/Indy 2025 has been the platform for tens of thousands of those sales (minimum), which include some of the most revered factory-built hot rods of the 1960s to 1970s muscle car era.
In the Mopar sector, 426-Hemi V-8-powered Dodge Chargers and Challengers, and Plymouth Road Runners and ’Cudas are the most coveted cars, with varying levels of value established by their condition and configuration, as well as how competitive the bidding is.
On Saturday, May 17, Lot S306 is the Hemi-powered Dodge that could make big waves at this year’s bid. Why? Because although it’s not one of the aforementioned models—especially Challenger, its A-body sibling—and due to its limited production of 80 cars, a 1968 Dodge Dart Super Stock with a Hemi under the hood is indeed a holy grail.
In fact, in our November 1979 issue, Gray Baskerville suggests that it could be considered “the high-water mark of the muscle car era” due to its small size, mighty drivetrain, trick suspension, and otherwise spartan makeup. Today, that car is called the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170.
This Hemi Dart isn’t that specific car. It’s a meticulously restored and modernized facsimile built by Mike Roth and MR2 Performance in Indianapolis, an eight-year build highlighted by a Bischoff Engine Service, Whipple-supercharged, 7.0-liter Gen 3 Hemi, instead of the OG V-8 engine. The new-jack Hemi is controlled using a Holley EFI engine management system.
Behind the 961-horsepower beast is an aluminum-drum A727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission equipped with a reverse-pattern manual valve body and an ATI 4500 torque converter.
The drivetrain is completed with a combination of Strange Engineering’s steel driveshaft and a Moser Engineering 3.00 Pro Gear 9-inch differential with 35-spline axles.
Although the Dart gives one an initial drag-car impression, make no mistake about it—this is a Pro Street ride through and through, based on both blatant and subtle exterior and interior appearance and treatments.
For example, the car’s stance is achieved through an adjustable four-link rear suspension featuring Santhuff shocks. QA1 shocks and Borgeson power-steering components bolster the front. Wilwood disc brakes are at each corner, as are American Racing wheels and Hoosier tires.
Additionally, in the spirit of a Super Stock Hemi Dart, the body was acid-dipped (for lightening) before a super-sano, two-tone House of Kolor Tarnished Copper Penny and Galaxy Gray paint layout (highlighted by airbrushed silver-leaf emblems that replace the stock badges) was applied. The paint job is enhanced through slick inclusions like tucked bumpers, smoked LED headlights and glass, hood-trim inserts, and a colored grille.
In the cockpit, the Dart is dressed in black Allante leather upholstery with green and silver accents and features a perfectly fit roll cage, new carpet, a custom-machined, billet-aluminum dash, and a tilt steering wheel. It also has a Vintage Air HVAC system, a B&M shifter, a modern sound system, push-button start, and AutoMeter gauges.
This immaculate 1968 Dodge Dart has been featured in Mopar Action and Mopar Collectors Guide magazines and was displayed at the Detroit Auto Show, Cavalcade of Customs, and World of Wheels events.
This example is forecast to possibly be a quarter-million-dollar car come auction day, and we’re wondering if bidding will be fierce enough to push the price even higher. When they’re sold, surviving real-deal ’68 Hemi Dart Super Stockers typically trade for $300,000 or so. It will be interesting to see if a restomodded example can be just as valuable.
I'm definitely a long time car guy. My love of "all-thingsautomotive" dates back to the early 1960s, shortly after I said the word, "car" for the first time. I feel fortunate that I was able to grow up in the Muscle Car era of the late '60s and early '70s. I immersed myself in reading magazines, and learned everything I could about high-performance from that period, and knew that one day I would work in the performance industry in some way, shape or form. Since graduating from the University of Pittsburgh (with a Bachelors degree in Communications) in 1985, my professional career has included work in network radio and television, Internet/online media, Ford Service, BMW Service, Internet/online automotive data, and my current job; Senior Technical Editor of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords magazine. The constant in my long career has been "cars;" specifically, 1986-to-present, V-8-powered, Ford Mustangs. I have learned a lot about late-model Mustangs (and I'm still learning), and the position I now hold allows me to share the knowledge I've gained with like-minded Mustang enthusiasts all over the world. Owning, building, modifying and writing about late-model Mustangs has become a true passion for me. A great stop, on a very wild life ride.
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