The Mighty Dart started out not so mighty. I was living in the Ocean Beach area of San Diego. In the apartment complex next to me was a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger with four flat tires and several years worth of bird droppings on it. I noticed it but with my 1964 Chrysler 300 keeping me busy and a new baby keeping me up at nights I didn't think about it. I found out from a neighbor that the Dart might be for sale. I was kind of the neighborhood mechanic and everyone was trying to sell me a car. Of course, since it was a MoPar I was interested enough to look into it. All I really got from the guy was that a friend had worked on the motor, replacing a gasket and he left town before he got it running.
The Dart was a barebones 225 Slant 6 car. It had AC, automatic transmission and a cool owner installed surfboard rack (not). We're talking 9 inch manual drum brakes all the way around. Oh yeah, the owner ripped out all the underhood AC stuff to boot. The body looked like it was used to herd shopping carts. However the price was right, $400. I said sold, I'll be back on payday. The fateful day arrives and the guy backs out saying it's actually his girlfriend's car and she doesn't want to sell it. Ok, I use the cash on the 300. Several months go by and the guy sees me and wants to know if I'm still interested in the Dart. By this time the money sucking 300 has got me thinking about a different go-to-work car; 10 mpg will do that especially if work is 30 miles away. Besides the wife's car was a Mazda 626 and I wasn't too thrilled about driving it every day. I tell him sure and this time the deal goes down. I put a fresh battery in it, air up the tires, add gas and HOOK UP the throttle linkage. VROOM, off I go about 100 feet to my garage and the guy's jaw hits the floor. I guess the reason the car wouldn't start was that the throttle wasn't hooked up and he couldn't set the choke. I did have to replace the master cylinder, tires and tune it up before I could drive it to work. Oh yeah, I did scrub all the bird leavings off of it first, cleaned up pretty nice. Under all that crud was a dark green factory paint job.
As I told you, the Dart was as humble a car that ever rolled off the production lines. No frills. No thrills. It did have an AM/FM radio, a Kraco I think, and utter reliability. I later found out it had in excess of 220,000 miles when I bought it. As I worked on this and that on the Dart the former owner's boyfriend used to come over and reminisce about the car. I found out he used to take it to Mexico and drive thru the surf and sand with it. I guess that explained the axle noise and the asphalt look goo that came out of the original 7 1/4 inch rear axle. Well, the axle needed replacement so I scoured the area boneyards for the best 8 1/4 axle I could find. The 8 1/4 was an improvement in terms of strength and parts availability over the 7 1/4. Plus I knew one day I'd put a V8 in it and the original 7 1/4 would never withstand that. I found the axle of my dreams, perfect brakes, excellent bearings, well maintained. I snapped it up like a shark at a feeding frenzy. I slipped that puppy into the Dart and hooked it up. One thing I was aware of is that the 1972 and earlier Darts have an oddball 5 on 4 inch bolt pattern for the rims, so I knew I'd need new rims. No sweat, I took the front tires and rims off the 300 and put them on the Dart. I take a test drive. Hey the speedometer is way off. Big Dummy me, in the desire to get an axle in excellent shape I totally neglected to look at the axle ratio. The original ratio was 3.23:1, not to bad, and my excellent find has a 2.45:1 ratio. Great, if I want to do 150 mph that's the ratio to have. However, behind a 225 cubic inch Slant 6, wearing P245/60R14 tires, acceleration was a thing of patience. VW microbuses would honk at me for holding them up. Gas mileage was pretty decent though, about 22-25 mpg depending on how heavy my foot was. Well, I took to referring to the Dart as "The Mighty Dart" in a sarcastic reference to its slug-like performance. This began my hunt for the parts to swap in a V8.
The first thing I did was upgrade the front suspension. I had the more conventional 5 on 4.5 in bolt pattern in the back and the oddball 5 on 4 in pattern in the front. Plus 10 inch drums in the back and 9 inch drums in the front, not too good for braking balance. So I went to the pick and pull and sweated for hours removing the front discs and control arms off a 1974 Dart only to be horrified at the price, more than they wanted for a complete engine. I told them to stuff it and left without the stuff. I ended up going to a local MoPar only yard and got all that stuff plus the brake lines, proportioning valve, master cylinder and a drive shaft for $50 less. They even tossed in a hold-down spring for the jack, free! I decided that now would be a good time to rebuild and upgrade the suspension. I added polygraphite bushings all around, even on the rear, new front and rear swaybars, and KYB Gas-A-just shocks. Boy, can this thing handle and stop. I acquired a V8 front crossmember as well.
About this time I got out of the service and moved to Tucson. The wife and kids remained in San Diego while I got a job and a place for us. The wife still had to finish up her hitch in the Navy and we wanted the oldest to finish out the school year, too. I had a job as a parts clerk and one day a kid comes in looking for a used battery so he could drive his car to the junkyard. Of course I ask what kind of car. It's a Cordoba but he's not sure of the engine size just that it's a V8. So I grill him, what year? a 78 he says, is the distributor in the front or back, I ask. In the front he claims, oh yeah, a big block so I'm thinking a spare engine for my 300. As it turned out he wants $100 for it. It also turns out to be a 79 with a 360 2bbl in it. The Mighty Dart finds an engine. I look at it, it runs without any scary noises but the frame is bent bad. I scrounged every penny I had, literally! I took ten dollars worth of change to the bank so the guy wouldn't think I was desperate to get it and jack up the price. My dad drive me there and follows me back. The trans is slipping like a stooge on a banana peel. I get three blocks when the temperature gauge skyrockets. Yes it's low on water and trans fluid. I get her home. Needless to say, my folks, whom I was staying with, were anxious that I get the junker out from in front of their house. So the mad thrash begins.
It took me three days to swap in the V8. I did have to get a radiator, exhaust system, rebuild the carb, new bearings, oil pump, gasket set, clean and detail the engine first. I also had to replace the driveshaft because the 360 snapped the front yoke weld when I romped on it one day. I also had to get the car back out to the wife as her car was MIA. Let me tell you I was a little concerned about driving 400 miles with an engine I barely knew under the hood. It all turned out OK. Now with the 360 in front of the 2.45 axle I have it was a lot better in the acceleration department. Once I get to 70 or so it comes up on the cam, a 340 Magnum grind, and really flys. However I rarely get to do that so I am looking for a 3.55 gear and Suregrip.
I love this car, my wife loves this car, my kids even think it's pretty cool. Once I get the gears I want I still need to get heavier torsion bars, new front fenders, lots of bodywork and then a new paint job. I'm thinking Panther Pink (FM3). Redo the interior, rewire the car, maybe even go to the newer style doors without the vent windows (before I paint it). Now I'm thinking I should drop in a 440, ever since I sold the 300 I've got the Big Block itch. Will I ever get rid of it? I don't think so but that's what I said about the 300. Who knows if someone wants to trade me a Hemi anything for it I might! That pretty much sums it up. MoPar to you.