The Dodge Dart began as a full-size car for 1960-1961, a mid-size car for 1962, and was then a compact car from 1963-1976. Our 1975 model here comes on the tail end of the run, and is in unrestored condition with a documented 32k miles. You can find it for sale here on eBay with a current bid of $4,600, and just over a day left at the time of writing. It’s located in Shawsville, Virginia.
The Swinger was the hardtop 2-door version of the Dart, and it had an attractive pillarless look when the windows were down. Most of the Darts from the mid-70s I have seen are shades of tan and brown, so I really like seeing this green, which I think is called Frosty Green Metallic.
The seller says it has had one repaint about 25 years ago, but the jambs weren’t painted so you can see how it compares to the factory applied paint. The paint looks to be in great condition from the photos, but the seller mentions that there are a couple scratches on the driver door and quarter panel. We are also told that there is a small amount of rust starting in the trunk and around the rear window, so hopefully the next owner can stop the process before it becomes a problem. I wish the seller had included a close-up photo of that, because on a vinyl roof there can be a lot more hidden issues.
The drivetrain is one of the most common combinations from Mopar – the 225 cubic inch slant-six paired to a 3-speed automatic transmission. The car has been sitting since 2014, but the seller says it “starts, runs, drives, and stops.” The engine bay looks complete without any DIY hackjobs, but the combination of factory A/C and early emissions controls really fills up the space with hoses and tubes. Fortunately, the seller has plenty of registration documents and maintenance records to prove there have only been 31,984 miles logged on it, so it should be a relatively healthy engine still. There is even the original build sheet, found under the rear seat!
The interior of this Dart continues the green theme, and it looks fantastic from a design standpoint. The door panels look just about new, as does the rear seat. The dash looks good in the pictures but the seller says it has a couple flaws, without elaborating on that. The only real item to address is the front seat cover – the driver’s side backrest is coming apart at the seams, and the passenger side has some wear that probably can’t be fixed unless it’s recovered. This Dart came with a few options like the A/C previously mentioned, remote mirrors, and tinted glass. We are told the radio, wipers, and heater core need to be fixed, but otherwise this appears to be a very solid car.
Sweet little granny car, priced well so far. Hopefully it doesn’t go too steep price wise.
This car is fantastic – might be heresy, but I’d be tempted to pull the engine and put an aluminum block fuel injected crate V8 in it, with juuuust enough emissions gear to pass NH state inspection.
The thought of looking after that malaise era emissions hardware makes me queasy….
Great cars but the crude emissions systems take a huge toll on power and gas mileage. An uncle of mine had one of these and was forever complaining about gas mileage. Today if you’re in an area that doesn’t test for emissions on cars this old it should be possible to rectify the problem.
Odd thing on these especially given how long they were in production is that the AC was never integrated into the dashboard, the factory unit looks like an aftermarket add-on. As miserable as the AMC Hornet dashboard was, even they managed to include integral AC vents.
I was going to say that looks like it was slapped on there. These were very basic transportation It would get a lot of attention now but just keep in mind not particularly fun to drive
My father had a 73 Scamp which is basically the same car.
It had the 225 and automatic with a/c as well.
Wasn’t the fastest car on the road and tge gad mileage was okay but not it stellar. Of course if you turned the air on the power dropped like a rock and at idle it would struggle.
Power steering but no power brakes and in Chestnut Brown metallic with a vinyl roof. Four wheel drum brakes!
I miss it!
Here in Michigan, these cars and the Duster rusted badly, and they always rusted on the top of the fender wells. Everytime you went through a mud puddle, your windshield got filthy. His washers didn’t work, so we each had a Windex bottle that we sprayed on the windshield when needed. Hey, we both worked at McDonald’s and made 2.35 an hour, plus we got a lot of funny looks.
‘The Swinger was the hardtop 2-door version of the Dart, and it had an attractive pillarless look when the windows were down. ‘
Hardtops were designed to resemble convertibles with their tops up to combine the look of a convertible but the protection and most of the structural integrity of a standard sedan.
This is what a genuine “low mileage” vehicle looks like.
And yes, that crude attempt at emissions control destroyed the gas mileage and performance of cars whose engines had been economical and maybe even a bit “perky”. Popular Mechanics Reader’s Reports listed common complaints: drivability, gas mileage, etc.
Count on stalling once or twice when cold as well.
Lots of complaints of all manufacturer’s offerings of the carbs cutting out on hard right hand turns [CR noted it, especially].
Even my Dad said he would never buy a ’74 from any manufacturer [low point. Hopefully ’76 was better] because of the stalling, crappy mileage and poor drivability.
I had a ’65 Dodge Coronet, ’71 Plymouth Duster, ’74 Plymouth Duster, and ’77 Plymouth Volare wagon. All had the indestructible 225 slant six. The Coronet, ’74 Duster, and ’77 Volare were automatics, I paid $13.00 extra to get the 3 speed stick on the floor instead of the column on the ’71 Duster. The ’74 Duster and the Volare had A/C and the vents were in the dashboard. I live in Chicago, neither Duster had any rust problems. The Volare rusted on top of the front fenders because of a design flaw. I’d love to have this car, but my would kill me.
Here in New Hampshire, there is no requirement for emissions (except the catalytic converter) for cars prior to 1995. And, once a car hits its 10th birthday, you no longer need to get it smogged to get a sticker. I’ve never had any of my Saabs smogged…..and the youngest one just passed her 20th birthday. So, this Swinger won’t need half of the rubbish under the hood to pass a state inspection……….
Sorry, but here is the NH RSA (State law for you out of towners)
266:59-b Emission Control Equipment. –
I. (a) Every motor vehicle driven on the ways of this state which is subject to inspection under this chapter shall be equipped with all of the emission control equipment which was part of that motor vehicle as originally equipped, and such equipment shall be properly connected to prevent excessive emissions. Motor vehicle inspections conducted in accordance with this chapter shall include a visual check for the presence and proper connection of the following equipment on vehicles so equipped:
(1) Catalytic converter.
(2) Gas cap.
(3) Evaporative purge canister.
(4) Positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve and properly configured hoses.
(5) Properly connected air injection pump/pulse air systems.
The only thing an old car (20 years old or older) gets you is, you don’t have to do the emissions test. All other inspection rules still apply. Ask me how I know!!
Smogged makes it sound like NH does tailpipe emissions testing. How long ago was that?
I’m familiar with the OBD emissions test and visual inspection.
Wow, everyone complaining about “all the emission stuff” on a 46 year old car ? Has anyone looked at any car under the hood for emission stuff in the last 25 years ? You cant even see the engines anymore . Power ? these weren’t built for power , you got in, started it and went to your destination. That’s what they were built for ; reliability , not performance ,like any 6 cyl Nova or Maverick, just your basic transportation . Did they ride like a Caddy and have the power of a Vette ? No, if you wanted luxury or performance you wouldn’t be looking to buy a 6cyl compact car. And as for rust, anyone living in a rust belt area back then will tell you EVERY car rusted badly. The foreign cars were worse in that respect. You were lucky to get 10 years out of a car back then , the rust just killed them. My first demo derby car was a 9 year old Country Squire that I paid $50 bucks for. It was a faded rusty heap. Can you imagine putting a car that new in a derby today ?
Well said!
When they changed the suspension from the original design of the of the torsion bars which went front to back, to the later style front suspension like this car has, it made the front wheels farther apart than the rears. There’s quite a bit of difference and to me it ruined the look of the car. It didn’t affect the full size cars but it made the A-body cars look just wrong to me. Am I the only one who has noticed that?
These go from front to back like the early ones ; the Volare/Aspen had the left to right bars.
Don, apparently you are correct, and my comment was incorrect. The A body cars started having that awkward look about the time that Chrysler came up with the new style front suspension and I was under the impression that they started using it in all of the cars. Now I’m wondering what changed.
SOLD for $5,400.