Dodge was not the only U.S. automaker that offered special versions to commemorate the country’s 200th birthday. For example, who remembers the 1974 Chevy Nova “Spirit of America” edition? In 1976, Dodge had the Dart Sport “Spirit of ‘76” that came with unique patriotic interior and exterior trim. The seller’s Dart Spirit needs cosmetic and mechanical work and comes with a 4-speed manual. Located in Lynnwood, Washington, this rare Mopar is available here on craigslist for $6,500. Kudos to “Curvette” for another interesting tip!
The Dodge Dart was in its last year in 1976 as the platform that dated to 1967 was retired in favor of the new Aspen. So finding a last year model that was also a Spirit of ’76 is probably rare as the seller seems to think only about 900 of them were produced. When you drove home with one you got a red, white, and blue striped interior and ’76 stripes and decals against white paint. However, the seller’s car seems to have none of that stuff remaining, so is it more like an ordinary Dart Sport now?
You had your choice between a 225 cubic-inch “Slant-Six” or a 318 V8. The seller’s vehicle has the former with a 4-speed manual (plus overdrive), which may have been swapped from a 3-speed. We’re told a new clutch is needed, so we assume the Dodge won’t move on its own. Since the odometer has rolled over, the car’s collective mileage is north of 100,000.
The seats and upholstery are not period or even manufacturer correct. And it may be dirty and in need of a thorough cleaning. The rear quarters have some rust and the presence of ample grey primer on the front clip suggests some prior damage has been repaired. We’re told the car comes with some spare, including a lot of the pieces you’d need to jettison the Slant-Six for a V8. The seller is moving, so this Spirit of ’76 has to go.
Someone was reproducing that striped interior material a few years back.
1976 was a miserable year for the poor slant six. Ran awful, stalled, poor performance. Not its fault of course, but still, it was what it was. A 318 was a better choice. If it was a 3sp, I would have kept that. It got a 3.23 rear end. The four speed OD wasn’t as much fun as you would think. Higher rear end ratio, and the shift linkage was awkward at best. A regular 4sp would have been wonderful but Chrysler was battling the CAFE standards, so it is understandable. If I ran the company then, ,I would have delayed the Volare/Aspen a year or two and got the bugs out of them before presenting to the public. The Duster/Darts could have gotten a new dash to spiff them up, stuff like that. They really were better than what replaced them. One last lament, why oh why, do people put those stupid, low class shift knobs on a perfectly fine shifter?
Because some of us like to bang gears, (like me in my 1971 Dodge Demon) and the stupid, low class Hurst T handle is perfect for this, especially when mated to my stupid, low class hurst shifter.
Hmm? – My ex-wife (we were much better friends divorced than we were married) bought a new ’76 Dodge Dart Sport with the slant six with the hp upgrade and a 4 on the floor manual, and the handling package suspension, pb and AC, but no ps, an odd combo – with the front bench seat and the full undercoating package.
It had the long bent flat chrome shifter with a pistol grip knob. I took it out for a stiff test drive on an old 2 lane highway and was quite surprised. That die-hard slant six connected to the 4 speed manual tranny was very responsive. The Darts always were lightweight cars even without the aluminum package. Hers was all steel. When I punched it from a dead start, the front end set up proudly and chirped the back tires before taking off — like a “dart”. Power shifting it through the gears sent that Dart screaming down the highway very impressively. I took it into the curves and it stuck to the pavement just as impressively.
She loved the car’s looks and I did too, and I was very impressed with its performance – especially for the low price she paid for it. — I was thinking of buying one the next year, but they discontinued them and I was not impressed with the Aspen as a replacement for the Dart. The Dart was well-designed to hold six people comfortably, and the trunk on the ’76 Dart was impressively large too, which the Aspen wasn’t.
She had that Dart for over ten years with only the scheduled maintenance on it, and I taught her to change the oil and filter religiously every 2 to 3 thousand miles and to use full synthetic motor oil – Amsoil at that time, which had its effect on the engine’s maintenance-free longevity. She drove the car as it was meant to be driven – much like I did on my test drive – and got every penny’s-worth out of the car in the time she had it and got an excellent trade-in value for it, because it was rust-free and still in good condition – the interior looked new because she was very particular about keeping it that way. She bought a more luxurious car in its place and came to regret giving it up. At the time, I wasn’t in a position to buy it from her, but I soon wished I had found a way to buy it and keep it – it was that good of a car. — So, your experience with a ’76 Dart sounds weird, but I guess they all weren’t impressive as hers.
This particular Dart for sale has been poorly modified from what it was and not kept in good condition, so I don’t see the seller getting what he/she is asking for it.
Lots of rust, it may be rare, but does that translate to desirable? Not a lot of value for the asking price.
Steve R
If I recall, the spirit of 76 dart had some aluminum parts on it – hood, maybe bumper? Perhaps someone can provide more detail there…
That was the Dart Lite , sister to the Plymouth Feather Duster . aluminum hood , trunk, front and rear aluminum bumper reinforcements along with an aluminum manual transmission , with the sole purpose of better gas mileage .Most of the ones I’ve seen were absolute base models
Sounds like a great start on a drag car!
I remember the Spirit of America Nova but not this model of the Dart, I’ve never seen one except online. This looks like it needs more than I’d be willing to give.
That was the Dart Lite , sister to the Plymouth Feather Duster . aluminum hood , trunk, front and rear aluminum bumper reinforcements along with an aluminum manual transmission , with the sole purpose of better gas mileage .Most of the ones I’ve seen were absolute base models
This thing is so far removed from being a Spirit of ’76 car that only a crazy person would buy it because of that.
Here is what one if supposed to look like: https://www.dodgegarage.com/news/article/showcase/2019/07/spirit-of-76.html
Also: my ex-wife’s ’76 Dart had the 3-point Dodge steering wheel with the Dodge emblem in the center. This one appears to have a Plymouth or some other car’s steering wheel, and it appears the buckets seats came out of the same donor car, and with the other poorly thought-out modifications, (the large dash-blocking strap-on tach is one of them), it actually appears to be a car taken from being up on blocks at a junk yard, which then went through a shade-tree when-you-can-around-to-it rebuild that had no clear idea where it was going. And this is what you get when that happens. And so it may be good as a donor car itself, and you can’t get the asking price for that.
Bought a used 76 Duster in 1978 with the same drivetrain. It had the O/D 4 speed with a bench seat. It wasn’t a speed demon but it had no trouble keeping up with traffic on the interstate. It averaged 29mpg on the highway at 65. Never had any serious problems with it. Wish I still had it. I’d be tempted if this was closer to Texas.