Under the direction of Virgil Exner, Chrysler Corporation’s design department produced some of the most striking, unique, and iconic automobiles of the 1950s with his “Forward Look” designs. Exner’s last Mopar designs were the 1962 models, and this 1962 Dodge Dart 440 station wagon, available here on Craigslist in Gladstone, Oregon, with an asking price of $28,500, was one of his final designs. Special thanks to Barn Finder Curvette for finding this one for us!
Dodge was having something of an identity crisis in the early 1960s. Dodge’s dealership network lost access to Plymouth’s line of cars in 1960, leaving the nameplate scrambling to fulfill its dealers’ desire to offer Dodge models at lower Plymouth price points. This resulted in the creation of the Dart, a full-size, entry-level Dodge model for 1960. The Dart shared the 118-inch wheelbase of the Plymouth platform (except for the station wagons), making it slightly smaller than the other full-size Dodges of the time. The Dart proved to be exceptionally popular among Mopar customers, doing so well that it began eating into Plymouth’s sales figures in the low-price sector.
1962 proved to be a pivotal year for the Dart. Having been provided faulty information about a drastic downsizing of GM models for 1962, Dodge panicked and asked Virgil Exner and his design team to follow suit and downsize the entire model lineup. The three Dart submodels, Seneca, Pioneer, and Phoenix, were scrapped in favor of the Dart, Dart 330, and Dart 440. The 1962 Dart was built on the new Plymouth “B-body” platform, the same chassis that would later be used on the Charger, Superbird, and Road Runner, among other iconic Mopar models. 1962 would be the only year the Dart shared this platform, as it would evolve again into the compact model it became known as throughout the late ’60s and early ’70s. This means this particular Dart wagon is a one-year-only body style.
This car, being a Dart 440, is the highest trim level Dart and the second-highest trim level Dodge for the ’62 model year, behind only the Polara. This meant that it got backup lights and some model-specific trim. This car is in exceptionally good condition given the 93,000 or so miles shown on the odometer. The seller provides little to no history on the car’s ownership, but the car does have the correct 318 ci V8 engine (optional for Darts in ’62; the standard engine was the 225 slant-six), three-speed push-button automatic transmission, and three-row seating, including the rear-facing rear seat. Curiously, the heater and radio have been deleted, but factory delete plates were not used. The powder blue paint shines beautifully, and the navy blue interior is in excellent condition. The styling is a bit of an acquired taste, but for $28,500, would you buy this turn-key grocery getter?
Nice, but pricey. Hopefully the dealer will negotiate.
Steve R
Sorry, not seeing a $28,500 Dart. Now if it had a 383 or a 440, then I might consider it worth it especially for a wagon.
no 440 engine in 1962
You are correct but in this case the 440 is the designation for the trim level
This is an odd duck for sure. Top of the line Dart with no radio or heater. I have seen Cadillacs without radios from the factory but not heaters. I didn’t know heaters were not standard in ’62. But it does have vents in the dash for defrosters? Nice looking car that very few survived. These were major rusters in the snow belt. Same dealer that has the ’62 Falcon wagon with the faux
di-noc wood paneling.
Exner didnt do the 62’s..that’s an old story long since debunked.My copy of Hemming classic cars spells out the 62’s.William Newburg is who pushed for these fugly’s.He instructed the design studio to make small cars based on a false rumour he heard that GM was switching to small cars.The time crunch was hard and the design studio came up with these.Exner had been away sick during this but when he returned he disapproved the design.It went ahead anyways..was a complete disaster..But as Exner was head of the studio..he took the fall.
………and to think the styling was the end result of Newberg hearing an errant rumor at a cocktail party in `59 that actually concerned the smaller Chevy Nova that arrived in `62—not their entire line-up.
Very, very cool car… I love the ’62 Darts, Savoys and Furys of the Ramcharger era. One hardly ever sees the wagons, especially this nice.
This one is a bit pricey as it sits, but if it had a 413 Max Wedge set up, um, yeah, I’d definitely go for that!
It’s definitely an acquired taste stylewise but $28,500? Even at $20,000 it would be a stretch. Keep in mind it’s a ’62 and has around 93,000 miles on the engine. Has the engine ever been rebuilt? I’d do a compression test and see where it stands. It might be a good daily driver for the next five years or so but pulling the engine and having it rebuilt (so numbers remain matching) might set you back another $3,000.
Besides being overpriced IMHO, how could that LA motor in the picture be the “proper 318 engine”? Wouldn’t that car have the poly 318? Not a Mopar expert but have some knowledge about these engines. Maybe I am wrong here, if so, I stand corrected. It is a nice car though, but just don’t see that price tag.
It’s not good or bad, just different.
“A face only a mother could love.”
real neat wagon.
100% a later model LA 318, not original to the car. Also noted some hodge podge heater and radio deletes as mentioned already. Maybe a 10-15k car for the right person.
I have a friend of mine that loves 1962 Dodges for some reason and they are the most polarizing ugly duckling cars I’ve ever seen in my life
You couldn’t friggin pay me to buy one
🤮
Yes, it does appear to have a 318, but NOT the “correct” 318 of which the seller brags. A 1962 318 would have been a poly, and that’s an LA engine. Even the original LA engine, the 273, wouldn’t make an appearance for another two model years, the 318 LA was another three years off, and a corporate blue 318 didn’t happen until 1969.
Interesting car but not at 28k . Maybe 18K
Styling you either love or hate.
Affordable Classics is the dealer so it has to be priced right, no? No history mentioned but I would be curious to know if this has been a Pacific Northwest car all its life. You would look long and hard to find a similar one in this condition in the Mid Atlantic region where I reside.
I grew up in Western Washington and am still to this day surprised at how little vehicles in that area rust. I now live in the Midwest and even brand new trucks here have rust starting in the wheel wells.