Topic: Does anybody here drive a Dodge Dart?

[vames]

I have a red 72 Swinger with a 318 that I love and unfortunately don't get to drive much. It's parked in a garage I rent behind a guy's house in Jersey City and I live in Manhattan. When I want it, I ride the 400F across town, through the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson, through the neighborhood on the other side, then leave the cycle in the garage and take the car. Takes about 30-45 minutes and costs $8 to get back into the city through the tunnel. Kind of a pain in the ass, but I don't really like to park it on the street near my place in the East Village for more than a day or two at a time -- there are too many potential parking tickets and hazards and drunken jackasses. My Swinger emblem was swiped from the car just last week.

I can luckily park the 400f in my own backyard under a cover, so the car stays in the garage mostly. I don't need a car but I love this car so much and it's in such beautiful running and cosmetic condition. It has never been driven in a Northeast winter so there is zero rust. Practicality schmacticality. I don't want to get rid of it and I love it when I do use it.



I had a orange 72 Swinger in college in California and I gave it away to a friend when I first moved to New York from California. I missed it so much that I got a sturdy 72 4-door slant six from Long Island that I painted green and drove for years (that one actually did live on the streets of Manhattan). I drove the 4-Door to Los Angeles, and used it there for about a year – fast lane, 75-80 mph freeway driving every day and it was solid as a rock. When I got the deal of the century on a a Mercedes, I sold the Dart to a wanna-be rock star. The Mercedes was really great car and a convertible, but learned that if I was going to have a vintage car, I need it to be an American car. So sold the Mercedes, bought the red Dart and rebuilt the front end, and drove it back to New York when I moved back.

Here’s the green 4-door on its own and with the the Mercedes, and my then CB750F all together:




And finally, here’s a picture I snapped in Mexico last year of a Dart that some hack cut into a truck. (OK...I say "hack" but it really is quite remarkable that someone took the time to do it. It appears to be a Dart chassis and the concave back window seems to give it away.)

[cb650]

I have a 72 swinger.  Swinger didnt mean much in 72 though.  Bought it in 85.  Also have a 68.  Dont drive either. The 72 needs body work while the 68 is a cali car and good. My Dad used to have several while I was growing up. Even drag raced a 68 for awhile.

[bucky katt]

i;ve actually been wanting one the past couple of years. i know where i can get a 440 out of a motorhome for cheap. that 440 built in a dart would be a ball to drive.

[vames]

I think a 440 is bolt-in with the 318 K-Frame so it wouldn't be a very complicated swap.

For its size, I don't think the 318 ever got any respect or much of an aftermarket, mostly because I don't think it deserved it. It's not all that powerful although it is really smooth -- I think 1972 was right around the time that they started using hydraulic valve lifters. It does its purpose though, but certainly not a performance engine.

[Damfino]

No, but in highschool I got my sisters hand-me-down 1973 Plymouth Duster with the anemic inline six and simulated snake-skin roof. Where's the barfy smileys when you need them?  
Looked alot like this one from eBay, but was an uglier beige color. The only MOPAR I've ever owned besides my wife's Jeeps. (I consider myself a GM man  )
I like yours though, looks like it's in great shape!

[bucky katt]

i'd actually want one in a nice, nondescript color, 4 door too. i'm all about sleepers.

[mrblasty]

I had a 63 Plymouth Valiant that rallied 40 years in Alaska before giving up the ghost.  And a 72 Swinger green with green interior.  Both slant 6 nad a lot of fun to drive.

[tramp]

had a 70 dart with the 225
what a dependable little car
had to junk it when the body started to fold in the middle
had to open only one door at a time to stop it from bending too much

[shacolaid]

My dad had a 2 door lime green Plymouth Scamp. 1972 I think? Slant 6. Looking back the car was not so cool, probably still isn't. But we did drive it everywhere.

[jsaab2748]

Anyone have a 340 Demon/Duster? Purple was my fav. We had a lime green '70 whenI was a kid. Only had a 225 tho Mom used it on a mail route. It was a pooch (slowwwwww). It was one of the first ones, had to wait for the dealer to get it. I think those were Chrysler's answer to the Ford Maverick. Nice Dart btw...

[mark]

Mom had a gold '70 Duster.... some kid in Oklahoma still driving it, last I heard. She almost got a Maverick instead, but preferred the Plymouth with a stick to the Ford-O-Matic.

My Dart was a '66 GT with a later 318... traded for a '68 Formula S Barracuda with the stock 383.... should have kept the cuda.

Presently dallying on long term project '66 Barracuda - have the original 4-speed and a pile of smallblock parts.

one of these years......

[kslrr]

I received my parants '64 Dart Wagon w/225-6 as a hand-me-down in the mid '70's.  I installed rear air shocks, cranked up the frount torsion bars, installed Accel Electronic ignition, Holly Water Injection, mud/snow tires on 14" mag rims and gun racks in the back.  My friends and I used this to go to the dessert to hunt rabbits, go to Big Bear Mountain to ski, etc.  It was a fun, tuff car.

[tramp]

love the mopars

[Don R]

My brother and I are doing the 750 thing again. He still has his bought new K4. He is also re-doing a 70 dart swinger. It is purple and has a 340- 4  speed. We are building a 360 magnum engine in my garage. Ported heads, cam headers etc. We already tied the front and rear sub-frames together it rides way more solid now.

[vames]

Bringing back my Dart thread to ask a question. I now live in the NJ suburbs and have a garage to store the old car. I plan on getting it back in shape to use it around town during the spring and Summer. With what I assume is about 250K miles on the 318 motor and the transmission, it starts, runs and pulls great. However, I think the valve stem seals are toast because it seems to puff some white/blue smoke right when I pull away from a stop light (not while I'm driving and not while its cold).

I don't have the time to try and fix it myself so I'm going to bring it somewhere. I've heard all kind of talk about using air pressure or rope fed into the cylinder to keep the valve from falling while you take off the spring and fit the new spring. Is this real? Has anybody ever done it? or more importantly, would I be able to find a shop that could do it?

Or should I try to find a remanufactured engine entirely? If that was the case, would it be really expensive to step up to a 360? If so, where does one look for that type of thing?

And oh yeah -- any good suggestions for a mechanic in Northern NJ/Southern NY that will work on this old stuff?

[72 yellow]

Just ran across this thread.  Slant 6 brings back memories.  1968-71 I worked at Chrysler Trenton Engine plant.  Most of my time was spent machining 6 cylinder heads.  A durable little engine.  Worked every machining station from raw castings to finished part ready for assembly. 

[vames]

Yeah slant six is great. I sometimes think about converting this 318 dart to a slant six. With super six intake and the quasi-headers that are made for them, I've heard they're just as fast as V8s.

But then I'm talking about swaping the K-member and the  and a whole bunch of other stuff.

I'm either going to fix the existing 318 or replace it, but I want to get an idea of whether swaping out valve seals is a $$$$ proposition or just a $$ proposition.

[dave500]

with 250 on the clock id pull the heads to replace the seals and have a look at the valves anyway,a de coke/ re lap would freshen it up as the bottom end sounds in good condition.

[DH]

 Remove spark plug, turn engine over till both valves are closed for  the cylinder your working on. Find a compression gauge that has multiple snap on type adaptors, remove the schrader from the correct size adaptor, and screw it into the plug hole. Snap an air hose onto the installed adaptor. The pressurized cylinder should hold the valves closed tightly enough to allow valve spring removal, again, with BOTH valves CLOSED. Compress the spring with the appropriate tool,
and use a small magnet to ease removal of retainers. Crack off
old hard, dry seals and vacuum out any leftovers with a shop vac.
Oil the new seals and put em on. Re assemble the springs and retainers. May help some, won't cure bad guides of course.

[Duanob]

My mom had 2 1972 Plymouth Dusters both slant 6s, a 1966 barracuda 273 V8, and a 1962 Dodge Lancer. 2 were wrecked and 2 just wore out. We were pretty much a MOPAR family until my mom bought a brand new 1978 Dodge Aspen. What a piece of junk. 25000 miles and the tranny broke, the brakes were falling apart, and ( my bro-in-law swears by this) a St Bernard ran into the car and dented the door panel. The car wasn't safe to drive. I think that was the last Chrysler product my family ever bought.

[vames]

with 250 on the clock id pull the heads to replace the seals and have a look at the valves anyway,a de coke/ re lap would freshen it up as the bottom end sounds in good condition.

You've got me thinking -- maybe I'm being too surgical about wanting to fix just the guides. Why not have the whole head cleaned up? Now to find a shop that isn't going to balk at an old car like this....

[Stev-o]

No, but in highschool I got my sisters hand-me-down 1973 Plymouth Duster...
 The only MOPAR I've ever owned besides my wife's Jeeps.

Wha? Since when are Jeeps Mopar?? Dam Fino...

[mrbreeze]

I just replied to a newbee from Texas (angry texan) that had a pic of the ass end of a Dodge Dart on his first post! Look him up.

[mrbreeze]

No, but in highschool I got my sisters hand-me-down 1973 Plymouth Duster...
 The only MOPAR I've ever owned besides my wife's Jeeps.

Wha? Since when are Jeeps Mopar?? Dam Fino...

They have been in cahoots for awhile now. Chrysler is also in cahoots with Mercedes or at least they were for awhile.

[mark]

No, but in highschool I got my sisters hand-me-down 1973 Plymouth Duster...
 The only MOPAR I've ever owned besides my wife's Jeeps.

Wha? Since when are Jeeps Mopar?? Dam Fino...

I wanna say '86 but could be off by a year or two.