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Affordable Survivor? 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger

Though Dodge Darts once made up a large portion of unwanted old cars, over the past few years both interest and values have been increasing. Though a nice Slant Six Dart can be easily found under $10,000, they don’t come along every day. This Dart is very nice,  and although $7,500 is a fairly high price tag on this vehicle, these cars are currently appreciating and it is likely the seller will get their asking price, especially since it is almost all original. Regardless, this car is in very nice condition and even though it has clocked 107,000 miles, that shows it has had a life of little driving. At 45 years old, thats 2,377 miles per year on average. This Dart Swinger can be found here on eBay in Tenessee with a $7,500 asking price. 

The interior is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen on an unrestored A-body, especially one with somewhat average mileage on it. Even the carpet is still intact, albeit a little discolored. The seller states that this car has always been garaged, and has all of its original components. I suspect that being kept in a garage contributed to the good condition of the interior, especially with the dash still flat and straight. The dash pads in these cars are often wavy and distorted from years of sun exposure, so the dash pad’s condition certainly backs up the seller’s garage claim.

One of the most affordable MoPars to get into these days is a Slant Six A-body, and that is exactly what this car is. Although it isn’t a V8, it is certainly a good engine and supplies adequate power for a car of this size. Parts are readily available, though the seller says that it runs well and the car needs nothing but the gas gauge and an exhaust leak repaired. With the Slant Six in place, this could be an affordable and cool daily driver for someone looking to get into older vehicles, or someone who likes old Chrysler products.

Not only does this car have all of its original sheet metal, it also wears its original paint. To find a Chrysler product of this vintage with both its original metal and paint is remarkable in itself, and likely why this car is priced slightly above average at $7,500. Though cars like this could once be had for $1,000 or less from old folks and salvage yards, those days are long gone and A-bodies are appreciating. This could be a good long-term investment if left as is, or a cool daily driver for those of us who prefer instant gratification! What would you do?

Comments

  1. Avatar John T

    If I am reading the listing on EBay correctly, it appears that there is no option to submit a bid or otherwise make an offer unless possibly the seller is accepting telephone bids. It looks like Buy-It-Now … Take it for $7500 firm or leave it? Hopefully the seller (Tony) can provide some clarification on negotiating this very attractive vintage Dart that in my opinion should be kept original.

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  2. Avatar Peter

    A bargain, I reckon. They’ll never be cheaper, especially in this condition. A beautiful, usable classic car.

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  3. Avatar Oingo

    I am guessing it was just bought from the little old lady down the road for less than 1K.

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    • Avatar CATHOUSE

      I doubt it as the seller is in TN and the title is from CT.

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    • Avatar Ralph Robichaud

      Your point is ???

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  4. Avatar Rustytech Member

    Although I love the slant 6 for its dependability, and I’m a big fan of originality, in this case I’d have to opt for a 340ci swap. I have always wanted a 340 Dart, and this ones gorgeous. I’d also detail the engine compartment while the engine was out. Otherwise I like it just the way it is.

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    • Avatar S Ryan

      Small block and steep gears (4.88) make for one Hell of a Fast car. Trust me.

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    • Avatar ColeB

      small block a-bodies kick serious ass. as much as I’d love to, I won’t be changing out the /6 in my e-body though … they have become rarer than an original Hemi (though never worth more than the base model they are)

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  5. Avatar lawrence

    What he ^^^ said….nice car though !

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  6. Avatar grant

    Not sure I believe the all original claim. 107k and no bolster wear?

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  7. Avatar Gunner

    It is not easy to find a 45 year old car that appears to be orginial inside and out. Someone has obviously taken very good care of it. It shows. 72 is not the favorite year, but still very nice. If you can find anything with 2 Doors from this era made in Detroit, in this condition for under 10K, you are doing pretty good. Even with the 6, I think it to be priced well, flipper or not.

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  8. Avatar Neal

    Dart

    Grew up with a ’73 Swinger in Philly. It was my parents’ first new car, bought with pride when I was turning three and my brother was on the way or just arrived. Red with white interior and white vinyl top. I helped my dad swap snow tires with the bumper ratchet jack. Learned to wrench doing brakes, starter, oil changes, who knows what else. Pulled our pop up trailer until we got a new Scout in ’78. My mom was so proud to keep that car shiny and clean; unfortunately she used Comet cleanser on the vinyl top which helped lead it to its demise. Dad used it as his commuter until they traded it in for a red Sentra hatchback with a five speed in ’83. Seemed like it was an OLD car by then. (By contrast, my ten year old Odyssey doesn’t seem nearly so old now. Maybe that’s just because I AM!).
    It was a reliable runner but later developed the damp-weather blues, meaning that I remember it stalling out sometimes when wet and Dad needing to shift into Neutral to give extra gas at stoplights. Maybe it just needed a good tuneup, but otherwise I remember it running strong. And then there must have been a windshield seal or heater hose leak which left puddles on the passenger side floor. I remember cold, frozen ponds up there in its final winter. I can still remember the smell of the trunk area with the cargo mat and spare, which wasn’t damp or funky; it just had that old car smell you don’t find anymore except at old car shows.
    I still have a soft spot for them, although I think I prefer the older models if I were to get one someday.

    Another Dart story: my parents had an older (’65?) Dart before the red one. Mom learned how to take off the air cleaner to air-out and fix a flooded carb. She could speed it up by using an old cloth diaper to soak up gas in the chamber. She got a kick out of helping another stranded motorist fix theirs with a similar problem in the Sears parking lot with her “Magic Diaper!”

    With this one for sale, I wonder if any changes have been made to the front suspension to account for the extra weight of the V8? From what I have read here and elsewhere, that is an important and perhaps complicated detail to attend to with the torsion bar suspension.

    If the picture loads, this is a photo of me and my younger brother shoveling out in the blizzard of ’78 or possibly just an earlier winter storm in front of our row house.

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    • Avatar John T

      Picture didn’t load, Please try again.
      Can you believe that this coming February (less than 6 months away in 2018) will mark the 40th Anniversary of The Blizzard of ’78? We are ALL getting old!

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    • Avatar whippeteer

      As it has a slant 6, I doubt any changes have been made to the front suspension.

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      • Avatar ColeB

        nice thing about a slanty a-body is that you can buy the Schumaker v8 conversion mounts and not swap out the k-frame. I can’t do that to my e-body, have to swap the k-frame.

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      • Avatar Neal

        Indeed. Sorry. My comment came from a previous listing of a car that had a swap. I forgot to edit that part out.

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    • Avatar Dallas

      My first wife and I had one with the 318 AND the damp/wet weather issue. Frustrated me to no end until I finally traded it on a clapped out 64 Impala. Eventually found the problem to be a carboned up intake that would not let the car breathe when there was the least amount of moisture in the air. My only Mopar experience.

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  9. Avatar Troy S.

    I here what you’re saying, had a 68 chevelle back in 85-86 and it seemed like a relic from a bygone era despite the fact it was not even 20 years old.Darts, dusters, torinos, whatever, that styling was long gone.

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  10. Avatar Tenspeed

    I would put Hyper-Pack intake and exhaust with a nice cam and some head work on the slant six. I knew people that were getting 300 horsepower out of these engines back in the 70’s because they wanted to show they could. They would shame a small V-8.

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  11. Avatar EJB

    In HS a buddy of mine had a Swinger straight 6 in bright yellow with black interior. I always thought it was a sharp car.

    Being a person who was in HS in the late 80s I swear I can hear the glam hard rock of that ere (Poison, Cinderella, Motley Crue, etc) when I see one of these. That was our chosen cruising music of the day.

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  12. Avatar Chris

    Had a 72 with the 318 as my first car. Many good memories in that one.

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  13. Avatar barney wilkins

    i had a 73 Dart back inn the day. My gas gauge went out and I had to replace the entire printed circuit board that went with the gauges. If that is still the case, where would one find that part?

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    • Avatar Rabbit

      Kenmore Speedometer in Buffalo. Ask for Lenny.

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    • Avatar DweezilAZ

      Could have been the float and sender in the gas tank. A future repair on my 63 Valiant. Available at various parts houses, including Rock Auto & Classic Industries.

      Water leaks in the front come from windshield wiper gaskets, also available.

      Still amazes me seeing repro parts becoming available for these cars. Pre Internet, junk yard parts had dried up, it seemed.

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  14. Avatar Rabbit

    The Bullet-proof Slant 6 & a Torqueflite? Hell, I’d just make a summer driver out of it & just go til the wheels fell off (like that’d ever happen…).

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  15. Avatar newfieldscarnut

    This Dart is fossilized . The original owners date of birth is 1911 . He wrote down the mileage every time he got fuel , and it has seen snow . Note he installed snow tires in November of the first year . An undercarriage picture would be a nice thing to include in this posting . I am amazed at the condition of this Dart . Well kept is an understatement !

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  16. Avatar Schmendro

    To lose the granny look I would put on Mopar rallye wheels with BFG T/A’s and
    swap out the grille for the 71 split style

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  17. Avatar Matt

    Wow this was my Great Uncles old car. He bought it new. Does anyone know what happened to it? Lived its entire life in a garage in Connecticut. And I should have bought it from him when I had the chance.

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