Joe Mannix '68 Dart GTS

[mrmike]

4 years ago, I built a '68 Dart GTS as the car actor Mike Connors drove in his hit TV series, Mannix. Even after I finished it, I felt as though the model was not as complete as it should be. A couple of months ago, I started talking with a writer who's favorite TV detective was Mannix and this got me into doing some research on the Dart used in the series from 1968 through early 1970. Now that I have much more information, I can rebuild this model to more closely resemble the car used in the show.

Here is what I am starting with.

This is what I can going to replicate.

This is what I have been able to find to bring this project to life. A new hood since I will most likely destroy the original by trying to fix it. A rear spoiler since I built the model without one. A telephone since Joe's Dart had one.

The paint will be stripped and the car repainted in a shade of dark green that's closer to the original. Everything else will be refreshed or updated.

Mannix will return...

Edited November 20, 2010 by mrmike

[mikeD1]

love the color!!!

[george 53]

Mike, there's an article on this car in a recent Hemmings Muscle Car. It tells the story of how the guy found it, an what he did to restore it. If i find the issue date, I'll PM it to ya! ;)

[mrmike]

Dave, again thank you very much for the hood! I attempted to remove the pieces that I added to the hood for the scoops a little while ago and really messed up the original hood just as I thought I would.

Michael, the wheels on the 1:1 are Cragar SS mags. When the car was first introduced on the series, it wore Radir wheels which couldn't hold up to the pounding the car saw during filming. They where replace with Cragar mags during the rest of the car's run.

George, thanks but I do have the link to that article and one other article that I found during my research. The owner in the Hemmings article has since sold the car and it was returned to California.

MikeD1, the color I used originally is more an olive shade than the color used on the 1:1 on the show. The restored Dart (there where two) is painted a dark green metallic versus the solid dark green that George Barris may have had in his shop at the time.

[Foxer]

Cool build idea.

[mrmike]

Thanks Mike!

My Mannix Dart has been partially disassembled and the body is in the purple pond.

I have been trying to find the correct color for the '68 383 CI engine and have not been able to find any consistant information. When I built this kit 4 years ago, I painted the motor red per the instructions and now I'm not sure if those were right. I do need to reroute the plugs wires below the exhaust manifolds.

Mannix will return...

[charlie8575]

Mannix....who, along with Kojak, proved to any little boy of eastern Mediterranean descent (I'm half Armenian,) that we could be cool, too.

I remember watching Mannix more than a little when I was young and it's still one of my favorite shows.

I'll enjoy this, Mike.

Charlie Larkin

[1972coronet]

Mr. Mike !

How's it goin' , bradah ? I hope that you're well .

Looks like a cool project ! I like the scale , 1970-issue Ca plate ( the "A" = 1970 issue ) .

I know what you mean about the -correct- colour for the '68 383 HP ; something tells me it's -- in this application , the 300 hp "A" Body application -- Chrysler Turquoise , just like its big brother 440 HP of the same year ; the "383 MAGNUM" pie tin has a red background , iirc ...

But , then again , it IS a custom ( albeit , a mild custom ), so who's to say that the motor wasn't repainted ?

Granted , there's a slim chance of that , as most closed-hood customs had completely stock motors .

Do It To It !

[1972coronet]

Here's what's >supposed< to be THEE Mannix '68 Dart GTS convert :

There's mention of it being a 340-powered car ( sounds about right , as the 340 was new at the time ) , and not a 383 Mag .

IF that's the case , then the motor IS Chrysler Engine Red ( 1969 was Blue ; 1970 - 1971 was Orange ; and 1972 - 1973 were Blue again ).

No matter , really . I know that whatever you do with your replica , it WILL be gorgeous !

[jjsipes]

I have one of these in the works as well. I loved the tv show and have started to purchase it on dvd. There was an episode where the bad guy fixed the brakes on the dart and mannix popped the hood to check the brakes and the inner fenders were red, must have been a red dart barris started with. I do not recall the engine color though.

Jason S

[mrmike]

Thanks Charlie, John, and Jason! It is highly unlikely that the motor was repainted while the Dart was at Barris' shop. The Dart joined the series 3-4 episodes into the 2nd season. Given that the lead time between Chrysler delivering the car to Barris' shop, work being done, and delivering the car to the studio, the motor would have remained untouched. The Darts delivered to Barris were red 340 GTS convertibles and it was believed to have been painted with whatever dark green paint was in the shop at the time. I am toying with the idea of repainting the motor with Mopar Hemi Orange enamel paint to be more accurate. Even though the Mannix Dart was powered by a 340, the kit I used came with a 383, so the big block remains between the frame rails.

[mrmike]

I have repainted the motor Chrysler Engine Turquoise and have started reassembly with the distributor.

The trans got a new coat of Aluminium Metalizer.

Mannix will return.....

[dwc43]

Before you wire the plugs, here's a hint. I noticed in an earlier pic the wires are between the cover and ex. manifolds. Impossible, on the real thing at least. They run under the manifolds and the plugs are under them as well. Makes it a real pain to change them on the real thing.

[mrmike]

Thanks for the reminder DW! That was one of the things that I was going to address on the rebuild of the motor. When I first built this kit 4 years ago, I didn't know about the routing of the plugs wires and IIRC, it did bother me a bit when I did add the plug wires back then and it didn't seem quite right. I realized a short while ago, if I had mounted the distributor on the back of the manifold and changed the decal on the air cleaner to a 340 pie plate, nobody probably wouldn't have noticed that it was originally a 383.

[dwc43]

Some would catch that too, because of the ex. manifold design. I'm sure it's because most of the people that run the wires like in that first pic just don't know. So, if I can, I throw out a hint that will help it look more realistic. I know I have learned some great stuff on here myself, so try to share. Being a big Mopar guy, The big block dist angle and plug wires over the manifold instead of under it always sticks out to me for some reason.

[mrmike]

As a member of several forums, I have learned a lot that has helped me make my builds look more realistic. I was a Ford fan for the longest time while being a closet Mopar man. That all changed when I bought a Dodge Dakota over 10 years ago and for me, it's Mopar or no car!

After sitting in the purple pond for 5 days and 45 minutes of scrubbing in hot soapy water, the Dart body is ready for bodywork once it's dry. I'll be adding the rear spoiler to the trunk lid, molding it in with putty and scribing trunk lid lines.

I have added the exhaust manifolds, valve covers, and rerouted the plug wires under the exhaust manifolds. I am having second thoughts about the distributor location and I'm going to have to change that.

Mannix will return.....

[Danno]

Ah, yes, ... Mannix. Great show. Great build idea.

[dwc43]

As a member of several forums, I have learned a lot that has helped me make my builds look more realistic. I was a Ford fan for the longest time while being a closet Mopar man. That all changed when I bought a Dodge Dakota over 10 years ago and for me, it's Mopar or no car!

After sitting in the purple pond for 5 days and 45 minutes of scrubbing in hot soapy water, the Dart body is ready for bodywork once it's dry. I'll be adding the rear spoiler to the trunk lid, molding it in with putty and scribing trunk lid lines.

I have added the exhaust manifolds, valve covers, and rerouted the plug wires under the exhaust manifolds. I am having second thoughts about the distributor location and I'm going to have to change that.

Mannix will return.....

Looking good so far. See if you can get the dist in that little crook to the right of the rad hose connection. When you look at it, you can will see the spot I am talking about for sure. Can't wait to see it finished.

[mrmike]

Yes, Mannix was a great show!

DW, I got the distributor moved to it's proper position. The motor is now complete and back in the chassis.

The rear spoiler is mounted and puttying has begun. This may take a while!

Work has begun on the hood. I glued styrene strips into the recesses in the hood bulges. These will be sanded down and puttied.

Mannix will return.....

[dwc43]

Looking good.

[mrmike]

Thanks DW!

I got the coves of the hood bulges filled in and shaped.

The next part has brought me to a standstill. How should I proceed with making the scoops? Out of the several ways I could think of, the most logical one to me, would be to cut into the bulge just where it starts to narrow.

Then slice under the tip of the bulge and remove the tip thus creating a hole into the engine compartment just as it is on the 1:1 Mannix Dart GTS.

I would then add a piece of styrene extending from the bulge to 1 to 2 mm beyond the original edge of the bulge. This could create the triangular opening on the scoop.

Opinions anyone?

Mannix will return.....

[mrmike]

I guess nobody had any opinions on the hood modifications that I need to make on my Mannix Dart GTS. Well, after much thought, I decided to go ahead and tackle the scoops. I removed the forward edge of the bulge with a chisel point hobby knife and sanded the area smooth with a sanding stick. I cut a piece of flat styrene 4 mm x 6 mm, trimmed it and carefully bent it in the middle and glued it to the hood.

It doesn't look like much right now, but with some sanding and a skim coat of putty, and lots more sanding, it'll start taking shape!

Mannix will return.....

[mikelo]

I just found this thread. It looks like you have been making a lot of improvements so far! I wish I had a bigger pic of the original car as my memory is a little faded. Like the wheels for instance. If you asked me, I would just say they were the ol' Cragar 5 spokes. I like the wheels you have and they appear to have the correct era look to them. Good job on the hood as well. I think you went the way I would have gone to do it. Keep us posted. This looks to be an interesting build.

Mike

[mrmike]

Mike, long time, no hear! I had wondered what became of you! Please don't be a stranger!

Originally, the Mannix Dart GTS convertible was fitted with Radir wheels as George Barris was using these wheels on a lot of his cars. The Radir's didn't hold up to the pounding the car took during filming and they where quickly replaced with Cragar SS mags which proved to be much more durable. Thanks for the comment on the hood. The hood was one of the things that was holding me back along with the rear spoiler. This happens to be the most bodywork I have done since my Burn Notice '73 Charger.

Here's a pic of the Mannix Dart GTS Convertible. This is as big a pic as I can get right now. You can clearly see the Cragar SS mags.

Edited November 1, 2010 by mrmike

[rustybill1960]

Great looking project!

Nice subject too!

I really like what you have done so far

1Thank You for sharing

Later

Russ