Mr. Norm 1968 440 Dodge Dart GSS

One of the hottest muscle cars built in 1968 didn't exactly roll off the manufacturer's floor. It may have first taken a slight detour to Hurst, courtesy of Grand-Spaulding Dodge of Chicago, Illinois. That car was the "Mr. Norm" 1968 440 Dodge Dart GSS.

As I have mentioned before in a prior article for another of his awesome street beasts, Norm Kraus’s ("Mr. Norm"), Grand-Spaulding Dodge of Chicago was THE place to buy a Dodge when owner Norm Kraus cut a deal with Chrysler to build a run of 1967 Darts equipped with the 383 big-block V8, beating Plymouth Division to the punch as they had planned to use that mill exclusively in their Barracuda. When those Darts proved to be a sales success, Norm Kraus requested a special run of 50 Dodge Darts in 1968 with the 440-ci 375-horsepower Magnum V8 . Since the Dart was already set up for the big block, installing the 440 was a cinch , and a run of 50 cars were created, also qualifing them for NHRA Super Stock in the process.

Chrysler pulled 50 cars from their assembly line and sent them to Hurst-Campbell for conversion as they had done prior with the Hemi Darts. Each had an “M” code in the VIN,  were equipped with the 440 V8 and an A727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission, and then shipped to Grand Spaulding. When the issue of badging arose, Mr. Norm came up with a unique two-part solution. He substituted the “T” in the Dodge’s “GTS” designation with another “S”, creating the "GSS" model (for Grand Spaulding Special). Since the “383” badges were no longer accurate, (and there was no version of a “440” marker that would fit in their place), the 383 was left on all the cars. It might have been a bit misleading, but not in the legal sense, since the 440 GSS Dart was advertised as such. But the fun unfolded out on the street when more than one poor victim was left in the tire smoke of what he assumed to be a 383 V8 equipped car. Haha...love it!

The 50 GSS 440 Darts sold by Mr. Norm in 1968 were the only 1968 440 Darts made that year and should never be confused with the 1969 M-code versions that were eventually built by the factory. The Hurst-built 1968 GSS 440 Darts were individually converted by hand and are among the lowest-production Mopars ever. Not too mention raw...and powerful. Nice!

Today, the 1968 Mr. Norm Dodge Dart GSS is extremely rare, as only 12 of the original 50 cars are known to exist.

(How'd you like to be one of the lucky to have one of the dozen out there...although, I'm almost 100% certain I know what your answer is already) By the way, the Revell Model company created a 1/24th scale plastic model kit of this iconic Dodge...so the rest of us can at least have one in our own homes to stare at. Something to obsess over...until that Lottery win comes around.