“The Green Bastard” is lettered on the front license plate of the hard-working 1971 Dodge Dart Swinger owned and raced by Todd Fredrickson hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia. There is something about those rough letters on the plate that give it an awesome appearance and tells you there must be a story behind it.

Photos courtesy Paul Rioux

“My wife, Angela bought the car without me knowing,” Fredrickson says. “She told me there was a Dart for sale and I went and looked at it. There are usually two things I don’t like about any car: the color or the price. Here, I didn’t like the color. When I got home, she told me that she had already purchased it for me.”

The front suspension on the Dart is updated to a tubular K-frame, tubular upper control arms, and Calvert 90/10 front shocks. The back-half chassis was installed by A&A Performance Chassis and longtime crewman and friend, Rob Reid, performed the new tinwork. They used Chris Alston Chassisworks double adjustable shocks and Bear’s Performance 4-link, frame rails, anti-roll bar, and wheelie bars. A friend, Grant Klohn, gave Todd a baseline setup for the clutch and shocks.

“We started off with a basic inboard leaf spring rear suspension and a 28×10-inch tire,” Fredrickson continues. “That lasted about three passes. We then updated to a ladder bar suspension with 29×10.5-inch tire setup using my original race engine and manual transmission. We then made the jump to a Dana 60 rear and a 4-link suspension. I have always wanted a Lenco transmission too, so now the entire drivetrain is essentially awesome.”

Todd has raced a couple of versions of the Mopar Performance 392 cubic-inch small-block engine combination. His current setup is an R3 Mopar race block with a K-1 Technologies 3.79-inch stroke crank, Scat Enterprises I-beam rods, and Diamond Racing flat top pistons. This assembly is put together with Total Seal rings and Clevite bearings. Mopar W-2 heads contain T&D Machine Products shaft rockers, COMP Cams valve springs, and Manton pushrods.

The high-winding small-block made 650 horsepower and was still climbing at the 7,300 rpm mark on the dyno. The engine was assembled by IMM Engines in Indio, California and the headers were built between Fredrickson’s fabrication skills and a friend’s welding assistance.

That high-rpm horsepower is mated to a Lenco Racing ST1200 transmission with 3.02, 2.04, 1.38, 1.0 gear ratios. The clutch is a single 10-inch unit with an adjustable pressure plate that was re-worked by Cale Aronson of Black Magic clutches and housed by a Holley/Quick Time bellhousing.

When I put the current 392 engine in the car, it had zero traction. Finally, it was either burn the car and leave it at the track or fix it. Seriously, it would either hook very good or run like a dose of the clap. It was time for some updates. – Todd Fredrickson

The Bastard rolls on Weld Wheels Draglite 15×3.5-inch fronts and 15×14-inch rear wheels with 14×32/15 Mickey Thompson Tires drag slicks. An MP master cylinder all around controls Aerospace Components brakes. The interior plays host to a Painless wiring control panel, Autometer gauges, Kirkey seat,and Lenco supplied shifter rods.

“When I got to work on it, we started to mock it up with the automatic transmission; it wouldn’t fit. When you have a stick-car like this, your vocabulary expands with a lot of swear words.” Fredrickson laughs. “Aside from swearing, the “Green Bastard” title really became permanent when my favorite television show, Trailer Park Boys, used the reference in some episodes. That is when the name became a permanent thing.”

Todd has to thank a number of people for the 15-year journey with the Dart; “First and foremost my wife, Angela, Rob Reid, Dave Deck, Dale Parker, Todd Jury, Howard Hilborn, Keith Armstrong, Grant Klohn, Paul de Bree, Dave Heans, Pierre Amado, Dan Roeters , Butch Wright, Sandy MacInnes, and Bob Barnett.”