One of the better-selling compact cars of the 1960s and 1970s was the Dodge Dart. Along with its sibling, the Plymouth Valiant, the automobiles brought a lot of buyers into Chrysler showrooms. The Swinger was added to the Dart lineup in 1969 to make the car sportier to appeal to younger buyers. This 1975 Dart Swinger looks to be in fair or better condition but will need some cosmetic attention if you want something more than a driver-quality vehicle. Located in Kent, Washington, this Dodge is available here on craigslist for $4,900.
The Dart was reinvented as a compact car in 1963 (replacing the Dodge Lancer nameplate) and got a redesign in 1967. That rework would carry the car through to its retirement in 1976. These weren’t spectacular automobiles, but were quite capable especially when equipped with Chrysler’s unique 225 cubic inch Slant-Six engine. That’s what resides under the hood of the seller’s car, partnered with the company’s venerable 3-speed automatic transmission, the TorqueFlite. We’re told the vehicle runs great, but after 100,000 miles will it need any attention shortly?
Dodge sold 45,000 copies of the Dart Swinger in 1975, the car’s next-to-last-year. The 2-door hardtop was attractive, and this one may be wearing its original Copperhead paint. It’s contrasted with a tan vinyl top and matching interior. The paint is faded in some places, and it appears the rust bug has been chewing on the bottoms of the rear quarter panels. The interior is rather tired, and the door panels, front seat upholstery, and the headliner wouldn’t mind getting redone.
This Mopar appears to be 100% stock, wearing Rallye wheels with a decent tread life remaining. The car is being offered by a dealer with no indications of its history over the past five decades. If you’re looking for a “vintage” project car that you could work on while you drive it on the weekends, could this Dodge be for you? Hopefully, it won’t turn into a Swinger 340 clone.
Seems cheap, the seller even starts off the ad by telling you, “A lot of car for the money here”. If that was the case, why has it been listed for 9 days. At minimum it needs paint, significant rust repair and interior work. If it runs good half the asking price would make sense.
The market is softening, there are a lot of better cars coming out if the woodwork with similar asking prices. Unless this is someone’s dream car it’s better to keep looking. Now is the time for potential buyers to be picky, a slowing market heading into winter rewards those that are patient and persistent.
Steve R
Having owned a 75 Valiant Brougham back in the late 70s, I’d want to look this over real good. The smog-reducing equipment they slapped on the 225 for 75 made these things run miserably. They also were very prone to rust.
That said, you can’t beat the looks of these or the Valiants from the late 60s and early 70s. Really sharp cars
I had a ’75 Valiant too, and that thing couldn’t get out of its own way. They must have improved it by ;76 however, because my folks had a ’76 Brougham that ran much better.
Down to 95 horsepower that year, but it crept up to 100 and 110 afterwards. The latter if you opted for the “super six” two barrel.
True about the smog junk, but it’s very easy and inexpensive to set one of these to earlier specs. I don’t see this as a big deal at all unless one wanted to keep it 100% stock, but I can’t imagine why that would be important here. It’s not a great survivor. I love these cars, have 2 of them (earlier models), so as much as I would love for this ’75 to be a $5k car, I can’t see how it is. But if it is, then I have a ton of money in my garage, but unfortunately, I don’t.
My first car was a four door ’74 Valiant with a 225 slant-six under the hood paired with the 3-speed automatic. Was no powerhouse but extremely reliable & easy to work on. A great starter car IMHO.
Agree 100%… but then ALL the basic cars were easy to work on and reliable back then.
My first 2 cars were slant 6’s… a 2 yr old creampuff 63 Valiant conv… pushbutton and a 1 yr old 67 Baracuda notch back…. 3 on the tree. Fabulous engines… just keep fluids in them…
As I remember, 1975 was a lousy year for most all domestic automobiles. That first-year unleaded gas thing must have been a contributing factor. We had a ’75 Valiant as a loaner from our family-friendly dealership for a couple of days and what a POS from a drivability standpoint! It featured something called the fuel pacer system that flashed a little light on the dash and nearly stalled the car (if memory serves me) if you pressed the gas a bit too hard. I got smoked by a kid on a moped from a standing start to about 30mph. Had to tell him this wasn’t my car.
I have always thought these were a good looking compact car. Not Hornet hatchback good but a close second or third. You could live with the standard engine but a super six would be more enjoyable.
Had one of these that was a ‘74 Bright blue with White Top. Had the 318 in mine, wasn’t fast but decent with about 20 mpg if I remember correctly. The only change I made was ad the factory mopar wheels as shown and just drive it. This might be a deal but I will stick to my 2 Mustangs as they have always been my favorite.