This 1971 Dodge Dart is a clean and tidy vehicle that still wears its original paint. There is only one very small spot of rust for the next owner to attend to, but it is what lies under the hood that makes this a pretty powerful piece of machinery. After spending what would have been a pretty significant amount of money on this car’s drivetrain, the owner has decided to part with his little slice of Mopar muscle. If you would like to own a car that is capable of generating some serious respect, then you will find the Dart located in Martin, Michigan, and listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has reached a mere $3,550 on the Dart, and I’m not at all surprised that the reserve hasn’t been met.
The owner states that the Butterscotch paint that the Dart wears is original, while the same is said to be true of the vinyl top. If this is true, then both the paint and top seem to be in nice condition. The panels also look straight, with no significant dings or dents. The owner makes no mention of any rust issues with the Dart, and after looking through the photos, this spot just behind the rear wheel arch on the passenger side is the only spot that I’ve been able to…er, spot. The rest of the panels appear to be clean and solid, and there are no signs of any obvious bubbling under the vinyl. The trim and chrome all look to be in good condition, while there are no signs of any problems with the glass.
Now we get to the area of the Dart that could potentially command plenty of respect but has caused me a certain amount of confusion. It isn’t clear just what originally occupied the engine bay of this vehicle, but what we get now is a 383ci V8. Backing this is a 727 TorqueFlite transmission, while the rear end is an 8¾” Posi with 3.23 gears. The engine has been fully built, with all work performed by Kauffells, in Detroit, Michigan. I’ll be honest here, because this is a company that I’m not familiar with, and I haven’t had a lot of luck with an internet search. Maybe one of our readers can point me in the right direction on that one. Anyway, the engine features an MSD ignition and nitrous in its armory, which means that it should really get up and moving when the right foot is buried. Now, there is some bad news here, because the engine doesn’t currently run. Apparently, the MSD box failed last Summer, and this hasn’t been replaced. That surprises me a bit because given the fact that the engine is supposed to be one of the Dart’s strongest selling points, having it running would have been a priority in my books. The transmission is also said to work properly, but the fluid does go dark. I would probably want to investigate that as well.
The Dart’s interior is said to be original, and it appears to be in generally quite reasonable condition. The front seat has some splitting on the driver’s side, and I suspect that a new cover will be on the agenda. The dash and pad look like they are in good condition, while the same would appear to be true of the carpet. The rest of the interior trim is impossible to see, but the owner doesn’t identify any issues. Given what is hiding under the hood, I expected to see a reasonable cluster of gauges inside the Dart. There’s nothing obviously visible, but the car does score a tachometer mounted outside the car, on top of the cowl. One interior addition is what I believe to be a TCI shifter mounted on the floor. The original shifter is still on the column, but it obviously doesn’t do much anymore. I’d be inclined to remove that purely for appearance.
If this 1971 Dart was in running order, I suspect that the bidding would be a lot stronger than what it has been to this point. There’s no doubt that this is a car with plenty of potential, but it is also a car that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Personally, I think that given the relative cost of a replacement MSD box, the owner is doing himself a real disservice and making his job a lot harder by not investing in one of those to get the Dart up and running again. What do you think?
Wonderful, take a perfectly good car and turn it into a poor handling, usually non running Frankenstein. Put the 225 or 318 back in it and drive on Sundays, this is pure idiocy. Though, just wondering, if you are dumb enough to do this, why not be dumb enough to do a 440? It is not as if it would cost any more.
Speaking of dumb….well on second thought, nevermind.
Why not do it ? Chrysler did it with earlier Darts , so its not like its an untested idea
Dodge did build Darts with a 383, even crazier the 440 in about 660 Darts for ’69, but the race only 426 Hemis Darts of ’68 ruled their class in super stock along with the hemi powered ‘cuda for years.
It’s not dumb at all really, pick your cars wisely…if you don’t like it don’t buy it.
The engine has been fully built, with all work performed by Kauffells, in Detroit, Michigan.
Maybe try spelling it correctly, Koffel’s Place, might get better results.
Just bypass the MSD box to get the car running. Really? That’s just laziness.
Love the color and factory wheels. Really this era Dart / Scamp featured a beautifully clean , and lean design. Overlooked IMO because of all the attention Chargers, Challengers, Cudas etc, etc. Get
First on the to do list:
Lose the warped, ill fitting fiberglass hood
I don’t particularly care for the conversion to floor TCI type shifters, ESPECIALLY when the original one isn’t removed. To join the “Mo-Pawr” needed club, I would prefer a 340! Personally, unless I intended to drag race, I’d lose the hood, the exterior tach, and shorten those ridiculously long tailpipe extensions. GLWTA :-)
Thats not Butterscotch , its Y8 Gold iridescent which was a common color for Mopars at that time . Butterscotch is a rare color and is not metalflake .Still a nice looking car though !
interested in buying please email me harleybob1064@hotmail.com
I am always suspicious when a seller claims that a vehicle only needs a simple, inexpensive fix to get the car running well. Why doesn’t the seller do the ‘simple and inexpensive’ work and give a potential buyer some confidence in making a purchase? I think you and I know the reason !!
My 72 Plymouth Scamp was the identical color combination. No big block though. Just some mild horsepower upgrades to the original 318. New England winters took its toll on the body (plus a few bender fenders). I was young and it was my first car.
A friend of mine bought a Demon like this body style off a used car lot. 340—4 speed . We tuned it up and my friend decided he didn,t need it. He took it back and asked them and told them all he done to it and asked if them if they would take it back. They said sure but couldn,t pay him for the parts or labor and he agreed–it was black on black and that 340 sure did sing. A very sweet sounding motor.. I like this car, Only thing I,d do is put a point distributor in it and drive it. I,ll bet it would be pretty wicked. Don,t care much about the color,but you could fool alot of people.
It’s a nice looking car. The prettiest Dodge Darts built thou were the 1969 models with there level to floor trunk lid, the full front and rear bumpers with no valence panels, The Dark Green color exterior with the matching green interior and 225 slant six automatic with A/C now that’s a CAR!!!!!
I bought it on ebay– Incredible stories from the seller.
Incredible clean car. cant wait to get it running.
Had 3 offers for in –on the way home.
Engine work done by Koffel’s in Detroit https://www.b1heads.com/#