I was rather attracted to a 1971 Sebring Plus sitting in a dealership near the Corn Palace. It was a beautiful blue...and the 1971 had that great grille. But my dad said, "You'd better look at Fords," and I knew I would need his signature for a loan. Of course, Dad gave me no indication he would cosign with me.
Selling advertising took me into many car dealerships. I had a good rapport with several dealers and they all had a "special deal" for me. One warm spring day, the Ford dealer in Platte (Kredit Ford) pointed out to the used car lot and said, "Why don't you take that convertible for a drive?"
I looked out at this dirty green Dodge Dart GTS convertible. It had a white top and a white GTS stripe around the trunk. "I'm not much for convertibles," I told him. "They leak and you know it's too cold up here."
"I'll make you a special deal," he countered.
"I'll think about it. Now about your advertising for this weeks' shopper...."
A few weeks later after looking at more new cars with $4000 stickers (hey, that was real money back then), I had kind of given up on the whole idea. I walked into Kredit Ford again. The dealership was run by two brothers and this time I was up against Ken. He insisted I take the Dart for drive. He started discounting before I could answer...I think he went from $2500 to $1900 just like that. Later, when I became a car salesman myself, I learned this was a very bad practice. "Don't talk money till you're ready to close a deal," the veteran salesmen would say. Of course, I also learned that convertibles in the Dakota's made car dealers nervous. If they are still on the lot in mid-June, it's time to get serious.
I complained to the dealer when I saw the hood bulge 383 four barrel labels, "I'd rather have a small eight--something easy on gas." I drove the Dart out of the lot, through Main Street and a little way out of town. It sure rode rough, but was kinda nice and firm on the corners. The bucket seats were comfortable and it felt good to rest my hand on the automatic floor shifter. Time for the performance test...I kicked it down at about 25 mph and the rear wheels broke loose! I couldn't believe it...this thing practically flew. By the time I returned to the lot I was starting to reconsider my "Ford" only criteria. But still, this was a convertible...not a Dakota car.
A few more weeks went by and I returned to the dealer with my then brother-in-law. I told him about the car so we stopped in and took it for another test drive. It was a nice warm day, so this time I put the top down. My brother-in-law was estatic. "You should buy it," was his advice. I was amazed at how much attention the car got...especially from girls. When the dealer offered to trade me $700 in advertising for the down payment, I was sold. That was like another 20% discount for me, making the purchase price well under $2000 dollars. The dealer delivered the car to me with my employer as co-signer.
After I had driven the car for 3 weeks, the dealer called me and told me I would have to return the car because my employer's credit was not good. I sent the papers to Dad. I didn't pester him, but he signed them and sent them back. It must have been difficult for him...after all this wasn't a Ford and the $1200 I financed seemed like a fortune.
So the Dart was and is mine. It had about 17,000 miles when I bought it and it had been a factory rep car, then was sold to a farmer/rancher near Chamberlain for his two kids. They traded for a Ford pickup. Later I learned from the dealer in Chamberlain that the rancher's son blew a piston out of it after driving several miles on interstate 90 "wide open." They simply replaced the one blown piston under warranty. The car now has about 115,000 miles on it and still runs reasonably well, although the compression is surely down. It always used some oil...about a quart to 600 miles.
I learned a lot about this car over time. I discovered several performance features like the Prestolite dual point distributor, oil pan windage tray and the high performance Torqueflite transmission (it was always a little rough shifting). I removed the E-70 RWL Goodyear polyglas tires and replaced them with G-70 Generals. Even those were easy to light up. I raced anyone who wanted to and was never beaten in a 2 out of 3 through the quarter. While the 330 hp 383 was hot, I think the Torqueflite was the important factor. While the other drivers were struggling with their four speeds, the Torqueflite never missed. And for my part I never over revved. when the power curve started to wane, I let "auto" shift. I saw many 383s blow because they would keep revving until they blew. I got a real kick out of the unsuspecting Chevy guys with 327s and later 350s. They always assumed I had a 340, and never knew what hit them.
The car was well built and fun to drive. The original convertible top fit very tightly and I never had any leakage problems. The heater was inadequate in winter, though, and when the temps got much below 0, you'd better plug her in.
These days I drive it once or twice a year. I take it out to the local airport and fill the tank half full of 100 octane av gas and half regular. It seems to like this brew. I guess there aren't very many of these, Dart GTS convertibles equipped with a 383 four barrel. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who knows the production numbers in 1969. I think mine is an early one, because it has the low back buckets and it was driven by a factory rep.