Hoping to attract a younger audience to its Dart compacts, Dodge added a 2-door hardtop to the lineup in 1969. It was available in two trim levels, Custom and Swinger, though they didn’t seem to differ much unless you opted for the Swinger 340 muscle edition. This ’69 Dart is a three-owner car, including the seller. It looks to be original from head to toe and the odometer reads astonishingly low. Described as a barn find, this Dodge is in Hope, British Columbia. The asking price here on craigslist is $32,500, which if in Canadian currency, equals about USD 24,375.
The Dart nameplate was applied to a Dodge compact in 1963 and stayed around through 1976. The cars were redesigned in 1967, and that period forward had their best sales, as did the Plymouth counterpart, the Valiant. While Dodge’s small car had a hardtop as of 1969, Plymouth didn’t get a corresponding product until 1971 which they named the Scamp. The hardtops got lost a bit in the shuffle come 1970/71 when the Duster/Demon fastbacks entered the picture. The Custom and Swinger were offered with the 170/225 cubic inch Slant-Sixes or 273 V8 in ’69.
As the story goes, the seller bought this Dodge off of its second owner who had it since 1970 when it was just a year old. Everything appears to be as original as original can be and we wonder if the odometer reading of 7,777 miles is actual, 107,777, or just a placeholder. The original buyer went for the small block V8 which would be upgraded to the 318 in 1970. Shifting is done by way of a TorqueFlite automatic transmission.
The body looks quite solid with “minimal rust” and the blue paint could be from the factory. The interior is okay, though the front bench seat is wearing a blanket so we can’t tell its condition. No mention is made of the car’s running condition, but the seller had to remove hardware for one of the front brakes to get it into his shop. So at least brake work will be needed to make this a runner. If it has been dormant, then old gas and tires would also be a consideration.
Cool car but it’s still a Dart. It’s not a performance car. $15k seems more realistic
Dart GTS is a performance car and did very very well. Well tuned 340’s smoked many a big block in the Day.
I think you are correct that this is a 273 V8 car. The Dart Swinger in 1969 most definitely was available with the 318. I had one. In 1969 for some reason the 273 was painted the soon to be standard Corporate Blue, the 318 was still painted Chrysler Industrial Red. Mine was indeed red. For some reason the 340s were painted just about any engine color that Chrysler used in 1969.
I also noticed this one has the Sport Steering Wheel, kind of odd on a Dart Custom. I think it also has the 13 inch wheels and tires.
All in all, this is an interesting little car with much potential. It looks solid. I fear someone will clone it into a GTS or a Swinger 340. That would be a shame.
This Dart is not a performance car, not Darts in general. I should have use the word model.instead of car. For me, performance models are the most desirable collectables a s should command the premium prices. Just because a car is old, doesn’t make it a highly desirable collectable.
THIS Dart is not a performance car, not Darts in general. I should have use the word model.instead of car. For me, performance models are the most desirable collectables and should command the premium prices. Just because a car is old, doesn’t make it a highly desired collectable.
Hope is where it’s at…..nice car but even $15,000 is a stretch….
Why do people think they’re piece of crap is worth money? That were worth anything. You’d have it running and driving condition to try to sell it. Since you don’t want to do that 5,000 tops and even that’s a stretch
We owned an exact copy of this car for many years. Bought it new and loved to drive it. However, we agree that $5,000 tops is probably more realistic.
I wouldn’t pay $15k for it either. I was just trying to be nice as my New Years resolution
Honestly this is a $7000 car maximum.. has very little going for it and if you re-did it..max price would be $25K so you would lose a great deal of cash.. Now it would be an excellent candidate to make an 8th of a mile car out of…
It’s not a good look when you are snapping pictures for the ad before you even unload it from the flat bed tow truck. On top of that, why not ask top dollar, or beyond. Half the asking price might be more realistic, if it runs and stops, the front seat looks good once the cover is removed and the rust mentioned in the ad is almost nonexistent.
Steve R
When are folks who shoot pictures of cars they want to sell,going to realize that none of are interested in see your ratty, cheap seat cover?
Uncover the darn thing!
I think this body style started in ’67. My brother had a ’67 GT hardtop w/ a 273 and auto., bucket seats console and floor shifter. Maybe the swinger package was new for ’69 but I think that just added some trim or other doodads. Even the old body style (’63-’66) had a hardtop.
Yep, there was a hardtop with the new A body in 1967.
And yes, the Swinger package debuted in 1969. A cousin traded his bought new 1968 Dart 2 Dr hardtop, slant 6, for a 340 1969 Swinger when it came out. That was one quick car.
$24k????? $15k??? Bahahaha…
The Good: The V8, body condition is fair, and if it runs, it can be upgraded for short money. The Bad: The seats, column shift and the price. The Ugly: The price! If it runs, $10k-15k American is closer to realistic, $5k-$10k for a non-runner. At $25k, American, I’ll pass, thank you. The good news is that with some machine work, some pistons and a stoker crank, that LA block 273 can become a 318, a 340, or a 360 relatively easily!
24k? Good luck!
You can’t bore out a 273 to make a 318, 340 or a 360. You could do a 30 thousandths overcome, not sure if anybody make a stroker kit for the 273. No matter, you still can’t turn a 273 into a 318, 340 or 360.
Nice to see one in such nice, original condition, most of these rotted away. I like that it’s an 8 cyl engine, even though it’s the smallest one you could get. That is all that’s good about it, though, and if that’s enough for you at that price, God bless you. Getting it running and driving probably won’t take much, but it’ll be a boring car that doesn’t even have power steering. I’d like to see it kept original, but someone will probably turn it into yet another ridiculous hotrod.
Sorry but only worth around $12K. I personally own a 71DEMON 340 with 14,400 original miles and there’s not a single rust spot on it. I’ve owned it since 1985. This car is probably 77,000 miles and is not very desirable. Good luck on the asking price. Maybe someone in a Galaxy far, far away is looking for one?
I had a ‘70 Dart as my drivers ed car at my high school. We would whip through the orange cone obstacle course while the kids with the Olds 88’s were knocking them over.
Russ keeps getting this “hardtop starting in ’69” thing wrong. I won’t explain again. Maybe he doesn’t read the comments or doesn’t believe me. Either way, that is not correct.
Nice car, would love to have it, but that’s way too much money. It’s solidly in GTS or Swinger 340 territory at that price.
A good GTS or 340 Swinger is more than $24k…which is crazy to think
The 273 became the 318 in 1970? My family bought a new 1968 Plymouth Fury III, it had a 318 in it.
The 318 was available in the swinger in ,69 I owned one I agree with you the 318 was available since 68 230 HP 2bbl carb with a four barrel and dual exhaust added mine screamed
Went to school with a guy that had a ’69 Dart GTS. It was dark green with black interior, bucket seats with floor shift automatic with console. Under the hood it had a 383 Magnum, it was a bad-ass fun car to drive. The last time I saw it after he sold it, it was sitting in Moyers junk yard in Crestline, Ohio. It had the imprint of a telephone pole on the passenger side that went clear to the driveshaft tunnel.
Every fool thinks they are gonna be the next rich rawlins without putting a scintilla of effort into what they are selling. Remarkable
This is SO neat but really depressing that anyone thinks a 318 base model is worth what a 340 Swinger is.
The orange 340 4spd 69 Swinger that sat looking for a buyer at $2100 in my hometown in 1989 must really be worth some change now….. I think I’ll go fire it up and listen to it…
This looks like a movie car that you park on the street with other cars of it’s time period if shooting a movie that’s supposed to take place in the 1970’s. There are many ppl who have cars like this for that purpose who rent the car to the movie production company for background scenes. This car is worth about 5 grand nothing special about it but you use it to make money. Does it even run ?
I bought a new 1972 dodge dart with an 318 auto that got 14 mpg and the dealer said that was good mileage. I had trucks that got almost double that mpg. Sold the dart a year later and never bought another mopar!
Jim Muise