Written by Andrew Closkey

In 1985 my mother bought a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger that was an EW1 white 2-door hardtop. The car had about 100k miles on it and she had purchased it from the 2nd owner. The car was originally sold in Chilliwack (where my mom bought it) where it was delivered to its original owner in January of 1971. It was a nicely optioned car with a blue bench seat, rear defogger, light package, ultra rare Rim-Blow horn, 8 3/4 rear end, power disc brakes, power steering, and 318 2bbl. I was 14 and in no time at all I fell in love with this car. I worked on it over the years, keeping it up and repairing it after the several accidents she put it through, all the time telling her that I wanted to buy the car when she was ready to sell it. In September of 1988, she called me at my dad's and told me that I could buy the car for $500. She had bought a Datsun pickup from a car dealer. It took some convincing, but my dad co-signed a loan for $2000 and I went to get my car. By now the car was in pretty rough shape having been through two major accidents, one minor one, and a host of parking lot dings, and it had a bent, but driveable, front frame. Over that school year, I detailed the car the best I could, did the necessary motor work (timing chain, bearings, oil pump, etc.), and put a set of 360 heads on it. I made an effort to keep the car's appearance as stock as possible so I kept the interior original, kept the stock hubcaps on it, and put on dual exhaust with factory 340-car tips. I also put in a set of 3.23's with a posi. By that summer, I also had the car painted and was taking it to outdoor car shows all over the lower mainland. That was a good year for that car; I drove it 28,000 miles, graduated in it, and earned the reputation as the fastest car in school. The car looked and drove great!

In the fall of 1989, disaster struck. I had loaned the car out to a friend and he returned it on the back of a tow-truck. He had gone into a ditch at 50 MPH and hit a culvert. The only thing salvageable from the firewall forward was the hood and the frame rails. I was devastated! I had no money and on a part time job and now, no car. I bought an Austin Mini for $80 and that became my transportation. The Dart was stored in a friend's chicken barn under a tarp for about 8 months before I even looked at it. Then I started a year and a half of nickel and diming the car back together. Then, I was able to drive the car again and it was a great feeling. After my 3rd year of university I took a year off and worked. I had a good job where my boss let me store the Swinger at the shop and work on it at night. I had decided to switch the interior over to black with buckets and console shift. I found a donor car that had a very mint and very original interior. Oddly, that car was a six-cyllinder unit. I did the big switch and it turned out great! That headliner was a pain though! I also discovered drag racing at that time and started to change the car. I wanted to be original, so the 318 was kept and treated to a .030 bore, Crower cam, Weiand intake, and Holley 650 carb. The 360 heads were ported and headers were installed. the 904 was given a full manual valve body and a 4000 stall. The 3.23's were pulled and 4.56's were put in. With slicks and the headers open , it ran 13.00's and ran a best of 12.74 @ 103.5. People were amazed that a 318 could move a 3300 lb car that quickly. The car was a daily driver for me that summer. I raced it every weekend and even drove it the 2000 mile trek so I could compete at Ashcroft and SIR. Even with the 4.56's, the car still got 17 MPG and it was fun to drive!

In October of that year I grenaded the 318 during a burnout on the slicks in the water at about 6800 RPM. It took the block, crank, 3 pistons and a couple of rods. The car has sat since then although I started building a 360 shortly after the 318 went south. I am still working to finish it. I also finished my schooling and became a teacher at a high school. The car should be ready in a month or two and I can't wait to drive it again!

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