I appreciate clones of rarer cars; as far as I’m concerned as long as there’s no misrepresentation of the car I see almost all of the fun with some of the pain removed. The seller of this 1967 Dodge Dart listed for sale here on eBay is very clear that this is a clone of a Dart GT, and it looks like a really nice car with no rust. The car is in Curtice, Ohio, and bidding is still below $9,000 although the auction doesn’t have much time left.
The Dart was redesigned for 1967 with much cleaner, sharper lines. Dodge was certainly trying to appeal to a younger customer base with their “Dodge Operation Rebellion” campaign, and the ’67 GT was the top Dart model (until the GTS big-block variant came out later in the model year, and one could argue that was still a GT). We don’t know what this Dart actually left the factory with, but now it has a 340-cubic-inch V-8 said to make an astounding 500 horsepower!
The overall appearance of the car is clean, but I’d like to see more pictures and closeups. The wear pattern on the front bumper chrome below the headlights looks like a car that spent plenty of time outside, and I wonder what some of the other trim looks like. To be honest, the idea of 500 horsepower and original drum brakes (and I’m not a drum brake hater) scares me a little bit too.
We are told that both the engine and transmission have been rebuilt; those alone could account for most of the cost of what the car is going for at the moment, and I think this car could make a nice driver with a few tweaks. What do you think about clones? Do you agree with my point of view? Let us know in the comments.
Clones are cool! As long as there is full disclosure of what the vehicle was out of the factory, what’s been done converted to create the clone- all good to me!
Who goes through the trouble of doubling the 340’s hp and then leaves it looking like that, not even a fresh coat of engine paint or newer bolts, I’m finding it a little hard to believe.
Horsepower and mileage claims should be treated the same way. They are gimmicks used by the seller to get unsuspecting buyers to shell out more money that they otherwise would have.
Steve R
I don’t have a problem with clone cars either as long as that is disclosed.
The problem, though, is that somewhere on down the line, a seller is going to “forget” to mention that this car is a clone. And some unsuspecting buyer will spring for it thinking he has the real thing. And so then when he sells it, he will represent it as a true Dart GT also. And from that point on, it will always be a “true Dart GT”.
This is not as big a deal on this car as it is on others. But I see it happen all the time. There is a man in our area who has a 1966 “SS 427” Chevelle. The problem with that is that Chevrolet didn’t make an SS 427 Chevelle in ’66. And even worse than that, I have looked at his car closely and it isn’t even really an SS!!! He’s owned this car for years. So I’m not sure if he knows better and just misrepresents his car or he doesn’t know any better himself. I guess the good part is that he isn’t trying to sell it. He just tells onlookers about his car at car shows he participates in.
But someday, that Chevelle WILL be for sale and I guarantee you then it will be a “real SS 427”.
No problem with clones either. The only problem I have with this car is the fender well headers. (which require cutting sheet metal in an area which helps chassis/body stability) Which is usually required for large primary tube headers as torsion bars get in the way. It would be fun to run! (I had a ’68 340 Dart for a short time before it was stolen and then was driving a ’68 Dart 170 six with a three on the tree. (college time)
I have seen clones that were way better than the original ! Just don’t lie about it. I had a fantastic 72 MonteCarlo 454 SS. Didn’t know for years that it wasn’t offered in 72. But what a car !
@Charles Sawka
You wrote: “I have seen clones that were way better than the original ! Just don’t lie about it. I had a fantastic 72 MonteCarlo 454 SS. Didn’t know for years that it wasn’t offered in 72. But what a car !”
Exactly right. The SS 454 Monte Carlo was only available in 1970 and ’71. But sales were slow both years which led to their demise, 3823 units in ’70 and a mere 1919 in ’71. I always felt like anyone who wanted a car like that as an SS 454 probably would have bought a Chevelle.
500 HP 340??? Lol need a bunch of nitrous to get that much hp out of a 340… There is nothing special on that motor besides a dual plane manifold and headers. My friend has a true 69 GT 340 w Indy heads, a nasty solid roller cam, single plane manifold, headers, MSD ignition etc and it makes around 400 hp.
That said 8-9k is a great deal for a clone you can have fun with!
Back in 1975 a friend of mine bought a ’70 Monte Carlo SS. Dark Green, Green Interior! We’re from Connecticut, great memories. My father had a ’64 Buick Wildcat convertible, 425-340hp…..Walked away easily from me on Rt 15, Wilbur-Cross Pky, Wallingford Summer 1976!!
Let’s all get our terminology straight. The GT was a trim level available as a hardtop model. My first car was a ‘67 Dart GT with a 273 V-8 and an auto trans, bought new by my Grandmother from Dana Brothers Dodge in Tempe Arizona. This car is a clone of a GTS model, with the air grabber hood, etc.
Cool car,even as a “clone”,personally I’d rather hide it as a standard dart,and surprise the daylights out of some brats in their foreign fart can muffler mobiles…lol!
I have a friend of mine that had a 1967 dodge dart factory 273cid. His dad was at a junk yard and he found a complete small block 340cid from the oil pan to the air cleaner for $500.00
Such a great body style, a mini Roadrunner, I like.
There are no 340s in 67 Darts , So listing it as a clone is fine , although I’m not a fan of clones at all