Back in the late sixties, the seller of this 1968 Dart says he didn’t realize it was anything that would be considered unusual to visit his Dodge dealer and special order this sedan with a manual transmission, as his primary goals were seeking the maximum number of doors for convenience along with a 4-speed for added driving pleasure. Fast-forward to more than a half-century later, the owner surmises that few or perhaps none built in this configuration remain, and I have to agree that this combo is probably a pretty rare one today. We want to thank Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the excellent tip here!
Even though manuals were much more common during this period, it must have been a great conversation starter for a passenger to step inside and see those three pedals plus that Hurst shifter protruding through the floorboard. Having a bench seat up front sort of adds to the cool factor here, as it gives the interior an all-business feel, free from anything that would be considered sporty. The interior could stand some fresh upholstery and a new dash pad, but it still looks fairly decent overall and the seller held onto the factory AM radio, should the next caretaker wish to put it back in for originality’s sake.
Although this one’s been stored for the past 33 years, the Dart eventually ended up spending nearly a decade up in northern Ohio before its hibernation, where the salt took a toll on the exterior during the winter months. Both of the front fenders have already been replaced, incorporating a 1969 panel on the driver’s side which is identical. However, a ‘67 model replacement was used on the other side, so that’s why no side-marker light is present here. There’s some rust still present in the rockers and quarters, so if the future owner wants something beyond a driver, additional body repairs will be needed.
After soldiering through 191k miles, the original 273 threw the timing chain back in 1987, resulting in extensive damage inside the engine. A rebuilt motor of the same displacement was installed, and then the car was driven an additional 30k miles before being placed into storage in 1991. The crank will still turn, but with this many years of downtime, a thorough going-through may be in the future before it’s ready to run reliably again. If you’re digging that 4-speed and ready-to-talk business, this 1968 Dodge Dart is located in New York, New York, and can be spotted here on Craigslist, with the asking price set at $7,500. Is this a reasonable cost considering the rarity of the manual?
It’s an cool car, but there isn’t much interest. This is the third time it’s been featured on this site since July of 2023. Who knows how long prior to that it’s been for sale. The market hasn’t been willing to pay the asking price, the seller should look at that as a message but hasn’t.
Steve R
For the third time. What is up with the “thumbs up” button? Have you put a time limit on it? Or is it a glitch on your site? It works, then it doesn’t. Sort of like an old Chevy!
Yup, third time on here. Thumbs up button is as reliable as an old Ford.
There is something about buying cars that are above the Mason-Dixon line makes it hard to invest too much into them.
Grandpap likes to shift gears!
I thought I’d seen this car before………
Deja Vu all over again.
Cool and rare old four door but the original engine is gone, it’s rusty, well used all over, and systems have to be gone through to make it road worthy again. There’s no telling where that will lead, eh!
Very cool!!! Not as cool as the 68 Charger with a slant six three on the tree- but this has four doors and a four speed!
With that much rust on the rear quarter panels and the front panels already been replaced, the partial frames will probably need some work.
I thought I had seen this car last year as well, for about the same price, being from Minnesota I remember what the underneath of this thing looks like with that much rust showing on the quarter panels. The cost to restore this is way beyond what it will ever be worth, but just dropping in a 318 that’s running up to the four-speed and driving it. It’s probably worth a couple grand at most.
That’s my 0.02 worth.
Listing has been removed.
Pops had no intention of wild “Ronnie Sox” power shifts, we pretty much discussed this on the other times it’s appeared, but to repeat, I believe the 833 4 speed shown here, 4th was an O/D, that, and only that, was the reason it was chosen over the column 3 speed.
Go ahead and jeer at my comments, but if this was an automatic, it would have been sold by now.
If it has an over-drive A-833, it’s not original to the car. Those were only available after the 1974(?) model year, when an engineer figured out how to swap the 3rd and 4th ratios by flipping the shift lever, engaging 4th when selecting 3rd and vise-versa.
I imagine this swap in a lighter weight car, with a small V-8 would be quite effective, in a long commute situation, especially if the car had A/C.
Lovely car. I’ve never seen a Dodge Dart with a 4-spd. manual gearbox.
Car Nut, I’m sure you meant a four door Dart, with a four speed. The best way to check is, are there torque plates welded to the frame. at the rear springs front.
I’m sure you could get a 4 door Dodge Dart, maybe even a Plymouth Valiant with a 4-spd. manual gearbox. I’ve never seen one.
Lots of 1964’s got them behind the 6cyl……
If you look at the engine picture shown it looks like it only has one exhaust manifold ?
Good catch, Bobdog. What’s up with that?
Now that you are nic-picking, I see a blue valve cover on the driver side, all 273 that I know of were red. A 2BBL air cleaner on a 4-speed?
Both manifolds are in place. Exhaust manifolds on V-8 equipped A-bodies are quite differently shaped when comparing passenger’s side to driver’s side. Because there is more room on the passengers side the exhaust manifold is very conventional in shape in that it serves each exhaust port with individual branches that directly join together and then meet the exhaust head pipe in a straight and fairly unrestricted route all while tucked fairly close to the side of the engine.
On the drivers side there is much less room to accommodate the exhaust system. The steering shaft, the master cylinder and brake lines and the K-member all interfere with the exhaust route and manifold shape. The exhaust ports on the small block A engines exit nearly horizontally. The driver’s side exhaust manifold must first change the route of the exhaust downward. Chrysler engineers “solved” this problem by designing a convoluted manifold that humps up and then immediately twists back towards the block where it flattens to curve under the steering shaft and joins the head pipe after twisting again to avoid the K-member. All that twisting and flattening makes for poor exhaust flow and make it quite different looking than the passenger side.
Here’s a link to a photo of a set of A-body, A-engine manifolds from a 1967 Dart. The driver’s side manifold is at the top.
https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/attachments/20170204_154844-1-jpg.1715014975/
Paolo: Good info, I never new that.
Craigslist post “Has been deleted by the author.”
I find it hard to believe that ordering a manual on a 4- door Dart would get you a Hurst shifter! But I don’t know…
Mopar’s started the Hurst as standard on the 4sp in 1964….then went to their own then back….
Damn! The craigslist ad didn’t stay on very long. I was going to have a look at the ad, but then it had been removed.
They do exist! My cousin bought a 74 dart custom sedan with a slant 6 and 4 on the floor. Paperwork that came with the car said it was special ordered for the original lady owner. She wanted to replace her 1930’s car don’t remember what make with a 4dr floorshift sedan and that was what was available in 1974 I guess.
Just not for everyone…yes kinda rare on the early 4 doors…..saw more in the 70’s but that was the 4sp over drives in the 4 door cars….
You could order nearly any combination in those good old days from even the major manufacturers. I ordered a ’79 Dodge van with slant six and 4-speed O/D. It was good to drive, but arrived with so many defects I wound up selling it about a year later. The biggest problem was that it would reliably misfire in the rain. The dealer either couldn’t or wouldn’t solve the problem and would not refer the issue to the company.
Where in the world are the battery cables?
Right along side of the passenger exhaust manifold.
I wonder if any 4 door darts or valiants were built with the 4 speed & 340 motor from ’68-72 by mistake, or if you knew someone or were an exec.
I don’t know. I’ve never seen a 1967- Dodge Dart 4 door or a Plymouth Valiant with a 4 spd. manual gearbox.