Chick Brignolo was a very well known guy in my part of the world. The longtime operator of a chassis shop in southeastern Massachusetts, Brignolo did a lot of really nice work on everything from roll cages in street/strip cars to scratch building nitro funny cars for guys like Al Segrini. When he passed away there were lots of guys in the area where his “stuff” would go. The prized possession in the whole group? A 1968 Hurst Hemi Dart that Chick Brignolo bought brand spanking new and owned until the day that he died. Seriously. As many of these cars that exist as original, very few of them stayed in the same hands for the entirety of their lives. Nope, they were raced, wrecked, blown up, sold, or left for dead like every other old race car in the world. Brignolo knew better.
On June 22, 1968 Brignolo purchased the car from the famed “Mr Norm’s” dealership in Illinois and presumably hauled it home to Massachusetts. The car was raced over the years with different paint and was at first named “The Play Thing”. Chick raced the car for decades at tracks like New England Dragway and eventually restored it and showed it at events where rare iron was present.
If you are looking to buy a legit 1968 Hurst Hemi Dart, a car with proved provenance and proven one owner history you better be ready to pony up some cash and you better be ready to bid against others who have the same thirst to own this awesome piece of history.
1968 Hemi Dart for sale: this real car was owned by the same guy all its life
Wow, memories. This is THE car that got me hooked on Mopars, and 68 Darts in particular. When I was about 13, I used to hang at my neighborhood speed shop Andy’s East Coast Speed in Cranston RI. I went with Andy one evening to ‘go work on a friend’s old race car’.
When we got there, the Dart was sitting in the back of Chick’s shop next to his bad ass pro street 41 Willys which had a blown all aluminum Hemi backed by a clutchflite. I recognized the Willys from a show at the old Taunton dog track.
Once we were done running the braided lines and new regulator, Chick told me to jump in the car to fire it up. After some instructions on what to do, and what not to touch, the Hemi roared to life through open headers!
To say I was Hooked would be a gross understatement.
This may be the only original owner L023 car out there.
Chick’s car show/Barbecues were legendary. I’m glad I got to see him rip gears in it at a charity race held at the air strip at the Quonset point See Bee base.
Why are you talking about a car that was auctioned off in 2015?
ITeched that car atQuonset point r.i in the 90s.