The compact Dodge Dart was popular in the 1960s, but mostly with older folks before 1969. That’s when they introduced the Dart Swinger, a 2-door hardtop that added some physical pizzaz for younger buyers. Especially when equipped with a 340 cubic inch V8. This one looks like a performer, but it has the venerable 225 cubic inch Slant-Six lurking under the hood. The automobile looks practically new, and the seller has invested $10,000 in new parts on this previously a one-owner auto. This adds up to another great T.J. tip!
Dodge redesigned the Dart in 1967 (as did Plymouth’s Valiant which rode on the same platform). This configuration would last through 1976 when the Dart/Valiant was replaced by the troubled Aspen/Volare. The latter cars were littered with recalls for one reason or another, while predecessors like this ’73 Dart Swinger kept chugging along and staying out of trouble.
The seller bought this dark green metallic Swinger in 2022 from its original owner. Most of the paint is original, has been wet-sanded, and detailed to enhance its appearance. The white vinyl top presents well as does the two-tone green interior which is also original at just 45,000 miles. The Slant-Six won’t win any traffic light drag races but will take you longer between stops at the gas pump. A TorqueFlite automatic is also in play.
An extensive parts list is indicated, and most were installed by the seller. So much of the asking price of this nice Mopar is to recover the additional investment over the past two years. The car has cold factory air conditioning (Dodge was still installing these under the dash rather than integrating the ductwork into the dashboard). This sweet-looking Dodge recently won an award at a Mopar show in the “survivor class.” The car Dart be found in Lindenhurst, New York, and is available here on craigslist for $18.225. The seller will provide a transfer to anywhere in Long Island and is only selling because a new car is on the way.
I have owned a couple of Darts, a 65 Convertible and a 69 2-door. The 65 was a V-8, auto and a really fun car. The 69 was the cheapest you could buy a slant 6 ,3 speed,radio delete and it wouldn’t have a heater, if the little old lady that bought it could have deleted it. I liked both cars for different reasons , even passing the 69 down to my 16 year old son. I think I could learn to love this Barn Finds car even with the slant 6. But I just can’t wrap my head around the buy in. Mine were way cheaper! Good luck to the new owner.
I had same year and engine set up, was yellow no vinyl top, bought for 300 1984 drove the heck out of it for 2 years sold for 500, those where the days.
Reminds me of the Valiant Brougham. Same basis car with 4 doors formal vinyl roof and plush interior. Sort of a forerunner of the Fifth Avenue recently FOUND in another BARN! 😉 I’ll take the Fifth! 😅 🤣 😂
My parents owned a ’76 Valiant Brougham, burgundy with a white top. They had bought if from a car rental and put a ton of miles on it. What I remember most is I had a ’75 Valiant at the same time, and my folks’ car was quicker than mine by quite a bit.
The Dart that was comparable to the Valiant Brougham was the Dart SE. This car is the mid level Swinger, and the low end model was called Swinger Special.
Nice, but overpriced for what it is. If it was a few years earlier, with a more streamlined front end it might get close, or if it was a 73 Dart Sport with 360, but not in this configuration.
Steve R
These were just basic, A-B cars back in the day and were everywhere, most rotted away by the late 1980s. I know the remaining cars, especially low mileage originals, are getting big money because there’s so few left, but I still don’t get why. There’s nothing special about most of them. A slant six with A/C will be a dog, it’s a boring car. To each his own, I suppose.
I had an all green 2 door Valiant Brougham. Prettiest car I ever had, but the absolute worst performing. It was a 75 and had the smog equipment basically just slapped on it. It would sputter like crazy every time it was started.
This Dart, being a 73 should be a great little car. You can’t beat a 225 when it isn’t smothered.
Dad had a 75 Dart. I pulled out in front of a bus once, dang choked out slant six sputtered and wouldn’t move. Was hit in the rear. Only chargeable accident I’ve had. Underpowered basic transportation, yet we hauled a pop up camper or a 15 ft speedboat all over the country. Today people need 300hp and 4×4 truck to tow.
Lovely car. I’ve always loved the 1973 Dodge Dart. Given its condition, I’d be willing to pay between $10k and $15k for the car.
Wrong stripe for year. Don’t care for this one and yes, overpriced. (to each his own.)
Looks like a ’72 bumper/taillight combo to me. I could be wrong, but in ’73, the taillights were mounted above the bumper to comply with the new 5mph crash mandate.
Never saw this stripe on any ’70s Dart Swinger.
My grandparents bought a new 1975 emerald green Dodge Dart. It was nothing but trouble but the metallic green paint and shiny green vinyl interior was really something – in both a good and bad way.
In ‘73 my grandmother bought a Dart, and her sister bought a Plymouth Scamp, which was the 2 door version of the sister-car Valiant. Same medium blue color, Dart with black vinyl top and interior, Scamp with white. The cars were identical except for the nose and tail, and the Scamp kept the same, 2 taillight bumper as the 70 Dart, where the Darts updated to 4 lights in ‘71.
I remember burning my kiester on those black vinyl seats in summer. But for a compact car, we could fit my parents, grandparents, and 3 little kids in that thing to chug off to church!
I owned one exactly like this for many years. It was virtually bulletproof. When I could finally afford a new car in 1989, I gave it to a Cuban immigrant who needed a car to go to work. He cried, because he thought he would never own a car. He still has the car to this very day.
I owned a 73 Dart (former Army car) w/slant 6. It was a tank. One of the Admirals I served wrote a paper about how to survive working at the Pentagon and driving in DC. He wrote, “buy a Dodge Dart and point it in the direction you want to go…” I drove that car for several years, my little brother drove it for years until he sold it. The guy he sold it to finally blew up the engine because he wouldn’t change the oil. I loved that old Dart
One of my biggest car buying mistakes was the ’73 Swinger I bought used in ’75. It had the 318 V-8 with only 30,000 miles on it. Same color green with a black vinyl roof which was the best way to hide the rust underneath until it “bubbled” under that vinyl. Think the previous owner got rid of it due to a problem I had from the get-go. The blasted thing wouldn’t start most of the time unless ya popped the hood, took off the breather and shoved a matchbook cover in the carbs throttle plate. Other than that and getting a whopping 13 mpg around town, it was a pretty decent car to drive and a comfortable ride. I only kept it until ’78 when my father-in-law offered to buy my wife a new Toyota and it was “an offer I couldn’t refuse!”
What a beautiful car! I like the green on green plus the white roof to keep you JUST a little cooler on hot, sunny days.
You can’t go wrong w/ the slant 6, so I hear.
I love everything about this car except the price. The market should determine what it is really worth.