Someone we all know is having a “big” birthday, a round numbers kind of year, this year. That’s the US itself, celebrating its 250th birthday. You could be part of the excitement by grabbing up this very American 1976 Dodge Dart “Spirit of ‘76” special edition. What better car to drive in a July 4th parade? You’ve got the chance if you respond to the ad here on facebook. The price of entry is $15,000, though the fact that the car has been advertised for 47 weeks might say that that’s a bit too much. So make your play and get to Buffalo, NY to start the semiquincentennial in style. (Yes, I had to look that up.) That party, by the way, is officially known by the more mouth-friendly term, “America 250,” for marketing purposes.
The Dodge Dart Sport was a nifty fastback variant of the economy-minded Chrysler A-body. This model was preceded by the Demon, which had its name squelched due to religious objections. The Dart Sport existed from 1973-76, with engines available from 225-CID (the “Slant Six”) on up. This particular car is a bit of a high school boy’s dream machine, with its colorful under-hood wiring and aftermarket valve covers and intake air filter set-up. This was likely done in the 1980s, but you can reverse the course with a good afternoon spent with the right accessories catalogue.
What’s fun about this model, aside from the “Spirit of ‘76” theme, is what makes it go, a four-speed with a 360. But the real kicks are in the graphics emblazoned on the body flanks and paid off by the stylized red-white-and-blue seat fabric. One unfortunate apparent add is the silly rear spoiler, but that’s probably the fault of the same adolescent who worked his anti-magic under the hood. Ditto the hood scoops, though for cosmetic purposes, those can stay.
The body of this particular unit looks to be solid, not easy for having passed its life in salty-winters Buffalo, but it would still be wise to take a magnet with you for inspection purposes, and run it over a number of surfaces. My 1975 Dart Sport, I discovered a year after I bought it when bubbles started coming out everywhere, rusted even on the tops of the front fenders. If the sheetmetal checks out, and you don’t mind spending some money to do a bit of tidying up, then this could be a great ticket to celebrating Uncle Sam this summer.
USA, USA,,still the best, even though, every now and then it’s kind of hard to tell. Some here may not be old enough to remember the 200th, and all the crazy hoopla that went with it. From cars to candy bars, it was a big deal, even as USA sentiment was at its all time lowest. The cars like this, and every US car maker got in on the action, was a half baked attempt to boost American moral. Did it help? Meh, a little, I think it helped the car makers more than anything. Will it be the same for 250? Nah, we’re much more global now than in 1976, and Americans come from all over today, so probably not.
This car, hoopla included, should remain like this, as a reminder to future generations, we were so proud of America, it was emblazoned on our cars. We sat our tushes on R,W,&B. These were fun, cheap, durable cars, and still is. Great find. You can bet my Jeep will adorn Old Glory this 4th, my neighbors Hyundai Sonata,,,we’ll see, I suppose.
I think it did help. Gen X, it inspired me as a young kid. Brother had a Spirit of 76 Lionel train. Saw it everywhere. We didn’t live through Vietnam, weren’t yet jaded with reality. I mean we got 9/11 and war though. Still the greatest country in my proud opinion. We’ll get through the division and economic warfare soon enough, God willing, and everyone else still tries to be here.