1970 Dodge Dart: Mr. Norm's fan gets the one that got away
Charlie's lungs were about to burst but he eagerly gulped again, pedaling faster. The trek from his family home in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood to the corner of West Grand and North Spaulding wasn't easy, yet it was one the preteen made often.
He turned the handlebars of his Schwinn Stingray to round the last corner, then skidded to a stop. There lay his destination: Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge. This mecca of Mopar was well-known throughout the Chicago area during the 1960s.
Most remember the dealership for one thing: churning out some of the baddest performance-oriented Dodges to ever roll through our Windy City.
Wide-eyed Charlie visited often to see what was new. "I got the biggest kick from watching the mechanics and checking out the cars in the showroom," Charlie Miehle of Streamwood now recalls.
Young Charlie wouldn't just leave the showroom with memories, but an occasional memento, too. See, sold vehicles drove away proudly with a Grand Spaulding dealer sticker on the trunk lid. Charlie, being too young to drive, wanted to feel included in an elite bunch of drivers.
"I'd swipe a few stickers and slap them on my bike's banana seat," Charlie says. "I always felt it made it go faster."
Miehle's love of speed intensified as he got older and he would hang out with his older, leadfoot brothers. Their weekly ritual was cruising in a '69 Plymouth Road Runner to Skip's Fiesta Drive-in in Maywood.
"They'd let me ride in the back seat and never a night went by that we weren't racing," Charlie says.
His Mopar madness continued when his brother purchased a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger. "I took my driver's license test in the car and wanted it bad."
Luckily for Charlie, his brother eventually was willing to sell it - back to the dealer to trade up to something else. "It was going to be my first car. He sold it out from underneath me," Charlie laments now.
Charlie was eventually able to let the bitterness go, mostly because he's now distracted with a Dart Swinger of his own.
"It's exactly like my brother's - only his was green," Charlie says. The Dodge devotee found the B5 Blue beauty about a decade ago and wasted no time in getting the Dart show-worthy.
The overhaul was on target, as the final product is nothing short of spectacular. New wheels were installed along with a full interior and electrical system restoration. Underhood is something a bit unusual: a small engine.
Whereas most owners opt to drop in a big, new V-8 engine, Charlie wanted to retain the factory unit. It's a 225-cubic-inch six-cylinder. It was fully rebuilt and "runs like brand new," all while getting close to 20 miles to the gallon.
No doubt about it, Charlie has been a lifelong Mopar enthusiast. He's owned nearly 20 Chrysler and Dodge vehicles. From Demons to Dusters, Coronets to Challengers, he's driven and loved them all. But yet, the Dart remains his favorite.
"I never got my hands on my brother's and it was what I always wanted."
Naturally, the finishing touch to declare his Dart complete was slapping a Grand Spaulding Dodge sticker on the trunk. You know, it makes it go faster.
• Share your car's story with Matt at auto@dailyherald.com.