Having been parked in storage since 1986, this rarely seen 1969 Dodge Dart Western Sport Special appears to be in great shape other than the obvious dent in the driver’s door in the photo above. The seller has this special edition Dart listed here on eBay in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and they have a $13,500 buy-it-now price listed or you can make an offer.
There’s quite a bit of conflicting information on the Western Sport Special edition Dodge Dart on the ol’ internet, as is often the case. One thing that most websites agree on is that this model was available in California on both Dodge Darts and Dodge Challengers. One thing that isn’t agreed on, even among Moper-heavy sites and forums, are the years that they were made but I’m sure one of you will know.
Some sites say that this special edition was made in only 1967 and 1968 and some others say only 1969 and 1970, but most say 1969 only. One of you will have heard of this model as I have not. It was reportedly a California-only model and 1,500 of them were made and offered by Dodge dealers in the Golden State. One site says that they came in brown, white, blue, and green and another one says green only. In case you were wondering how and why the writers at Barn Finds and other sites sometimes make mistakes. None of us are walking encyclopedias, we rely on a few outside sources for info as most folks do.
In any case, this car is reportedly original other than a repair on the driver’s side quarter panel back in 1970 and it had a new quarter panel installed by a Dodge dealer, I think, although it’s hard to tell because the seller doesn’t go overboard on punctuation as you’ll see when you read the listing. The front bench seat clearly needs help as does the dash – I’ll take the seats, you do the dash! The back seat looks good although it also has a tear in it and the trunk looks great. They that the underside is as clean as the top is.
They say that it has been “a California car it’s been its entire life in California then for some reason was taking out a service in 1986 and was inside a garage until a family member inherited it here in New Mexico and then it sit outside which cook the tops of the seats.” New Mexico has roving gangs of mice so I’d be worried about that more than anything. The 225 slant-six engine looks great and it runs great now with some recent work. Have any of you heard of this model?
I myself not being a big mopar fan knows for sure they were made in 1969 because aunt who lived in the golden state had a green one like this one, she gave it to my brother who was 13years older than I when he was 16 who then tore the transmission out of it then traded it for a Honda CB350, should have gave it to me
“Roving gangs of mice”. I love it Scotty!
Had one in Houston like this only red in 1983.
The stated 1969 “WESTERN SPORT PKG” could not have been available on a Challenger in that year since the Challenger was a 1970-1974 model.
I have owned a 69 Western Sport Special since I bought it in 79 with 63k on it. I also have the original owners manual and it was built and sold in California with the 318 and 904 71/4 combo.
I have seen a few around Portland Oregon before but not many do I personally think it was sold in the western coastal region.
mine also has the fast ratio 16 to 1 manual steering, manual brakes, and 340 suspension without a front sway bar factory. The first part of the Vin is LL23F9E.
They basically were the west coast version of the Swinger and also got the spoked wood wheel and vynil top, at least mine did.
With the 340 suspension and the fast ratio steering 318 combo it drives and handles better than the regular Darts I have driven since.
I don’t think they are super rare or a limited run but they aren’t really common either. I did some upgrades over the years to make it handle even better by adding factory front and rear sway bars out of newer versions and poly bushings. It also had the wider 14×5.5 wheels on it too which helps.
The grill color and dash plates tells me it’s a Swinger (basic model, but should have a “Swinger” decal under the DART on the fenders) with a few options (steering wheel, ac and possible carpeting instead of rubber flooring). Not just a dent on the left finder, but also on the deck lid. Someone did a nice job cleaning it up for sale, but you can’t hide vinyl top gone, which means more prep to paint (not cheap now – days) or to replace. Crack dash, steering wheel and seats. An OK car to get around town, but not at their price. If running well and floor pans good, $5,000, top.
I remember, around 75′, Dodge made a “California Special”. The back seat folded down and you could slide your surf board in.
I believe you’re thinking about the Dodge Dart Sport “Hang 10”. The Hang 10 was available on the Dart Sport body…not the Swinger. Only available in white….if I remember right.
I know there was a California Special. Maybe it was a Camario. My Bad!!!!
This one is definitely a 69. Of the 3 years of this body, the 69 was the only one with the rectangular side markers. Also, I don’t believe the Swinger designation was used this early. Seems like the Swinger was only in the 70s.
Swinger does seem more like a ’70s thing, but no, 1969 was first year for the Swinger designation, as in the Swinger 340.
I stand corrected. For some reason I was thinking they waited until the new body style. I dated a girl that had a 75 Swinger, but it was just a 225 and automatic. I had a 68 Dart with a 318 and it was quite peppy. I bet the 340 was really fun.
Correct – I have a 75 yr old buddy that has a 1969 340 Swinger that all his boys got the chance to drive to school their senior year. The motor got freshened up a time or two….
Dave no!!!!! The swinger started in 69′ as also the 340 swinger. 70′ also had them. I have one.
Nice car but wishful thinking for that kind of money.
Worth 5-7k at most. It has a really nice body though.
With that motor this is a forever car. I sold my father’s to a staff member. I saw her a few years later. She had traded it for something more modern and regretted it. My neighbour had a slant six that had no maintenance for years. I removed the valve cover and saw rockers wiggling in a jellow like mold. I very quickly replaced the cover and backed away. It still ran for years. Great cars.
When I was a kid we stored our tent trailer in a private garage that had 4 floors of INCREDIBLE cars! Someone was collecting a lot of 50s-70s Mopars. Anywho parked next to our trailer was a Dodge Dart Western Sport Special… I just loved the car. There were a lot of finned Mopars too… BTW this was in San Francisco in the early eighties.
Obvious dent in deck lid as well.
I just picked up a 69 sport special here in l.a. original black ca. Plates and slant 6. I’m willing to bet that it’s worth a lot more than what I’m seeing so far as the price of well restored darts are reaching 6 figures. Before you all start dragging me it is simple supply and demand on a limited edition model that will garner more money to the RIGHT buyer
In 1973, when I was 16 years old, I inherited my grandfathers metallic tan 1969 Dodge Dart Western Sport Special with the 225 slant six engine. It had only 9900 miles on the odometer when I got it. I had the car through high school and college. The engine would idle so smoothly at stop lights passengers would ask me if the engine had died. Going to and from college I used to run it at 100mph for many miles. I sold it in 1984. It was a great car. The trunk was so big I could carry 4 sets of 200cm skiis and boots and pole and all our clothes for ski weekend trips to the Sierras. The car was purchased in San Francisco.