Justin Hills's 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix custom

With close to two decades' experience, Justin Hills has already proven he can create impressive custom machines, as evidenced by the 1948 'ART DCO' Buick Sedanette that graced the cover of JUST CARS issue #213. However, this more recent vehicle, dubbed "Atom", is a step above. It's not just Aussie custom car fans that think so, either - this car has won awards at America's two premier hot rod and custom car shows against some heavyweight opposition.

 

The 13 month build that eventually became Atom had its roots in Justin's desire to make a mark at the Grand National Roadster Show and Sacramento Autorama in the US. An association with another of Australia's premier custom car builders, Mario Colalillo, helped facilitate that desire.

 

Mario's 'WILD CAD' Cadillac should be familiar to most enthusiasts (and made an impression in the US, too), but his son, Andy, had a US Dodge Dart hardtop coupe that was slated to be a future Colalillo project. When Justin saw some serious potential in it, the father and son team graciously decided to pass the Dodge on to Justin so he could work his magic on it.

 

 

While we may see Atom as a Dodge Phoenix, to the Americans, it's a Dodge Dart. Neither of us are wrong, as the '60 Dodge was available here only as the Phoenix, while in the USA, the Phoenix was just one trim level on the Dart - Dodge's "compact" entry level model.

 

New for 1960, the Dart was available in three trim and spec levels, ascending from 'Seneca', through 'Pioneer' to the top-level 'Phoenix'. In its debut year, the Dart Phoenix could be had as a 4-door sedan, hardtop sedan, hardtop coupe or convertible, with a 225ci Slant 6 engine as standard, upgradable to a 318ci poly head V8.

 

The top-priced American Dart Phoenix, a V8-powered convertible, sat just below the Matador in Dodge's pricing structure, while above the Matador, the Polara was Dodge's premium offering for 1960.

 

Here in Australia, only the 4-door sedan was offered initially, assembled locally at Chrysler Australia's Mile End and Tonsley Park plants in SA. Priced above the Royal as the premier offering in Chrysler's local lineup, the Phoenix slowly decreased in importance following the arrival of the Valiant, but was still being offered locally as late as 1973.

 

 

It must be said first up that the Grand National Roadster Show and Sacramento Autorama rarely see customs based on cars from the 1960s, even moreso when said car is from the Chrysler family. So, with that in mind, Justin's finished vehicle had to be eye-catching as well as exceptional.

 

With a vision in his head to create a car that was evocative of the concept cars from the Big Three American manufacturers in the 1950s and 60s, Justin and his team got to work at the start of 2012, barely a year out from the car's planned debut at the Grand National Roadster Show in January, 2013. Justin had to work the build around some of the customer cars at Hills & Co., too, further tightening the timeframe.

 

The 60s-era concept car brief meant no crazy modification of the overall lines or shape of the body was necessary, but the roof did need a major chop. Of course, on a car of this size, any metalwork is a big job, and even the four inch chop in this instance meant some serious time and metal massaging was required.

 

With the roof chopped and a smaller, but period-authentic Dodge rear window installed, the bootlid came in for some major attention, too. The inset centre section, cut from a 1960 Thunderbird, was a good idea, as it effectively breaks up the mass of the de-baged and de-trimmed bootlid. Chrome ribbing adds to the impact of this part of the Dodge, and is repeated inside to effectively separate the rear bench seat.

 

Moving forward, the rear wheelarch openings were untouched, but the sills reshaped and extended at the leading edge of the rear wheel opening to create an old-school 'hook'. That chrome side trim is factory type and position, but the small crests have been removed for a smoother overall look.

 

The doors were shaved (something you either miss or just take for granted at first glance) and the quarter windows deleted, while the a-pillar was fattened up to match the rest of the window opening's thick chrome trim.

 

 

The front end can often make or break a custom, and this one was no exception. The factory Dodge grille is large and cumbersome, with curved sections, multiple levels and both horizontal and vertical openings, so it had to go. A sleeker, more subtle grille and bumper was called for, and Justin found it, surprisingly, in a Cadillac.

 

A '59 Cadillac unit was trialled, but rejected as its origins were too "obvious" according to Justin. A more suitable piece was found in a 1960 Caddy bumper, but this still required a lot of cutting and modifying.

 

Placement and positioning of the finished article reflects the dual headlight front end, while the added-in corner pieces between the headlight and bumper (made up from four separate sections of Dodge front guard sheetmetal) help bridge the gap between the two. The finishing touch at the front is a pair of arched chrome trim pieces that have echoes of the original 1960 Dodge grille, but were actually lifted from the door trims of a 1958 Oldsmobile.

 

 

While the exterior was finished in striking Aston Martin vintage satin silver and chrome, the interior trim is accented with green, which not only complements the silver, but evokes the right time period, too. It's very "Mad Men" said one JUST CARS staffer, and we can see where she's coming from. In fact, we can visualise Don Draper and Roger Sterling watching this machine rotate on a turntable at the New York Auto Show, martini in hand and, of course, smoking!

 

The colour is bang on for the kind of look and era that Justin was aiming for. Very much 'right' for the car, the shade of green is from that post-pastel, pre-psychedelic period in the early 1960s when bold and bright colours were 'in' without being 'way out', if you know what we mean.

 

For feedback on the best application of the interior upholstery, Justin called on close friend Brian Kirkpatrick. The 60s vibe meant that pleating was a given, but how to lay it out, and which bits to finish in silver and which in green, saw the pair spend many hours trying out different layouts and designs.

 

A friend supplied the authentic 60s-era factory Dodge green carpets, while the satin finish silver material found online is believed to be high altitude weather balloon fabric. Whether this is true or not, there's no denying the colour and sheen is a near-perfect match for the exterior.

 

The punchline to all this is that the green fabric for the upholstery actually came from Spotlight! After lots and lots of searching and even more head scratching, the local haberdashery came through with fabric of the right colour, texture and overall look. In fact, it's hard to imagine any other shade of green, or indeed any other colour, suiting the car better.

 

The boot was trimmed in the same fashion, with the stock 318 V8 Dodge engine continuing the green theme. The block and valve covers in the fully detailed engine bay were treated to green paint, along with the custom air cleaner cover, which is ribbed to pick up on the theme from the back end.

 

Frantic Finish
With a deadline looming to get Atom finished ahead of shipping to the US, long hours and late nights became the norm for Justin. The car was still having finishing touches added in the final few hours before shipping. This continued, with things like the steering wheel and other parts added, when the car was being set up for display at the Grand National Roadster Show.


The Payoff
Ahead of its debut, Justin was nervous about how Atom would be received. The Dodge was a bit of a left-field choice, and something of a gamble at an event where Fords and Chevys tend to dominate the trophy allocation.

He needn't have worried, as Atom scored the 'Top Radical Hardtop' trophy at the GNRS, but the real payoff came at the Sacramento Autorama a fortnight later, where Justin scored the H.A. Bagdasarian award for 'World's Most Beautiful Custom'.

One of four major 'B' awards at Sacramento (the others named in honour of Sam Barris, Joe Bailon and Dick Bertolucci), the Bagdasarian trophy is a major win for Justin, and the quality of work he's turned out.

Doubly rewarding for Justin was the fact that Andy Colalillo, the man who kickstarted the whole project, was with him when the massive 8-foot high trophy was presented.

Now a member of the Autorama Hall of Fame, Justin spoke to us after recently attending the 2014 Sacramento event, where he was a guest at the Hall of Fame dinner and got a chance to see this year's Autorama entrants and trophy winners up close.


Project Next
With Atom having done its job, Justin has a new project and a new goal in mind. He will return to the US, but plans to debut his next project at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California. We'll keep the make and model under our hats for now, but from what Justin's told us, this car is set to be as ground-breaking as the Dodge was. This time, he's made sure there's a less frantic timeframe, too, with completion scheduled for mid-2015. To help make this happen, Justin is reluctantly putting Atom on the market.

The appeal of Atom is obvious, but for smart custom car enthusiasts, there's investment potential in this vehicle, too. Cars from the dawn of hot rodding in the US have been pulling big dollars at auctions, including $700K for an historic '32 roadster in 2012, so there's long term potential in this car, for both its ground-breaking impact at major US custom events, and its status as the first international trophy winner from Justin Hills.

Located in the US (at time of posting), the car carries an asking price of $165,000. Full ad details are here.

 

Engine: Dodge 318ci poly head V8
Inlet manifold: Factory
Induction: Factory 4bbl carburettor
Camshaft: Factory
Heads: Factory
Exhaust: Custom Hills & Co.
Modifications: Custom valve covers , custom air cleaner

Transmission: Factory 3-spd Torqueflite with dash-mounted push-button control
Diff: Factory

Brakes: Factory drum

Suspension:
Front: Airbags, with custom strut towers (for airbags), stock upper and low A-arms, deleted torsion bar
Rear: Airbags, live axle and reduced, de-arched leaf springs

Wheels: Factory Dodge 14-inch
Hubcaps: 1960 Ford Starliner

Interior Features:
Factory split front bench seat (retrimmed in custom fabric and pattern) with factory door handles, window winders, arm rests
Modified factory bench rear seat (retrimmed in custom fabric and pattern)
Custom trimmed door cards
Factory Dodge carpets
Factory Dodge dash, custom painted
Factory Dodge steering wheel, repainted with metalflake rim.

Exterior Features:
4-inch roof chop, reprofiling and non-stock rear windscreen
Debadged bootlid with 1960 Ford Thunderbird custom insert, trimmed in chrome
Modified 1960 Dodge rear bumper
Shaved door handles
Modified A-pillars
Modified sills
Debadged bonnet and front guards
Custom grille and grille surrounds
Modified 1960 Cadillac front bumper

Thanks: The team at Hills & Co. Customs, Brian Kilpatrick, David Kilpatrick (for awesome engine and interior), Andy Colalillo, Shelley O'Brien, and last, but not least, my family.