SP Rides: A Dart through the Heart
BY JERRETTE KAMAKA
OWNER – Brian Infante
YEAR – 1968
MAKE – Dodge
MODEL – Dart GTS
ENGINE – 340 ci, cam, headers, Edelbrock carb, Edelbrock manifold
DRIVETRAIN – 727 automatic transmission, 8 ¾” rear end, 3.55 sure grip
SUSPENSION – Front torsion bars, rear leaf springs, KYB shocks
WHEELS – Stock 205/70/14 front tires, 215/70/14 rear tires
STEREO – Kenwood
One of the ways car guys are made is when they receive their first car, which sometimes happens during high school. In Brian Infante’s case, his father, Alfred, gave him the family’s 1971 Dodge Dart while Infante was attending Hawaii Baptist Academy in the ’80s. That generous act not only added to the ever-growing size of the car community, but it also increased the small group of Mopar maniacs on the island.
“My dad wasn’t a car enthusiast or hot rod guy, but he did learn how to maintain the cars we had,” recalleds Infante. “And he wasn’t a Dodge person either because we had a Chevy Nova first, but he wanted a bigger car to get the family around. That’s when he bought the Dart.”
The need for speed is common among high school car enthusiasts, and money buys speed. But a teenager’s budget is often limited to buying gas. That’s where fellow Mopar owners come in to play, as those willing to share parts with one another are able to keep up with Chevy and FoMoCo fanatics.
“You know that car was the family grocery getter,” said Infante, laughing. “It was a two door with a 318 small block and after driving it for a while, a friend offered to give me a used cam. So, being limited on funds, I bought a used four-barrel manifold and found a used carburetor. Then, I swapped out the rear-end.”
That car made passes in the low 18s at Hawaii Raceway Park and had enough influence on Infante that he would go on to own six more Dodge Darts, including this numbers-matching 1968 Dodge Dart GTS.
“In 2008, I was selling three ’68 Darts that were just sitting at my parents’ house and the guy who was interested in buying the cars drove up in this car, looking for his next project,” said Infante, who works as a sales associate for Pacific Jobbers Warehouse. “So the deal was that he had to take all three cars, but later he said that he didn’t have room for that many cars.”
Although Infante’s deal fell through, he couldn’t stop thinking about this ’68 GTS and two months later he was its new owner. Stoked about scoring this rare ride, he called a fellow car enthusiast and longtime friend to ask if she’d like to go for a cruise.
“I vaguely remember that day,” remembered Cari Ishimaru, who owns a ’69 Camaro. “I know I was the first person Brian called and the first person to ride in that car. I’m not into Mopars, but Darts are nice and I was impressed that it was numbers matching and that this one’s in good condition.”
Although one drove a Dodge and the other drove a Chevy, both of them found a lot in common. Finally on 12/12/12, they promised to cruise together for life and officially became Mr. and Mrs. Infante. One of the things the Infantes plan on doing together is restoring Cari’s Camaro to the same condition it was in when her father, Alan, gave it to her.
