Written by Eric Lanzendorfer

My story starts out when I was delivering newspapers on my daily route on a dreary, overcast day. At one house there was a peculiar-looking car for sale which I saw every day but didn't think much about. I was only 15 and an obsession with old cars hadn't set in yet. I knew the people who owned the car because they went to my church. They were an older couple in their early sixties. The idea of owning any car was the most important thing to me at the time. I noted the price of $500 in the window and hurried home after I had finished my route to tell my Dad when he got home from work. So, we both went over to see the Dart up close for the first time. My Dad fell instantly in love with it and said that if I didn't buy it, he would. It had faded original paint--a dull beigeish color--and a dark green vinyl top. The vinyl top had peeled away some near both sides of the base of the rear window so that a little rust showed through. The interior was a dark green, too. There was an automatic on the column and a foldback bench seat with an armrest. Everything inside was original. The only flaws were a small tear in the driver's seat, a faded package tray, a small crack in the dash on the far side, and minor scrapes at the bottom of the doors. There was a few small rust spots at the bottom corner of the quarter panels closest to the door. The grille was intact but the paint on it had faded, too. Under the hood sat the mighty 225-cubic-inch slant six. My Dad began to tell me how reliable they are. The manifold was cracked and there were nuts from squirrels who had made a nest there.

So my Dad took me down to the bank within a half hour to get the money for it and it was mine. I found out that the reason the woman was selling it was because her husband had just died and she didn't want two cars. She said she really hated to sell it. We took it home and did it run loud and hard! I bought it the second day it was for sale, but it must have sat for a couple of months after the owner's husband had died. I didn't care. I showed all my friends my new toy and they all loved it. It had to sit the first night because it was raining. The next day though, I must have washed and waxed that car about a million times, not to mention over the last months of summer vacation. I got to park the Dart in our garage because my Dad loved it too. A couple days later on my paper route, the lady that sold it to me gave me the original paperwork including the original owner's manual. I found out a lot about my Dart. It had 94,000 original miles which were from annual trips to Florida and to church and back. No one had sat in the back seat more than ten times, and the sellers were the original owners.

My 1972 Dodge Dart has the following:

I am now almost 16 and I have got the manifold replaced and new brake lines put in. I will need new brakes soon too. I plan to be at the 1998 Spring Carlisle Show, so look for my Dart over the weekend. It will probably have a new black vinyl top and a new paint job. It might even be for sale, too. I am looking for a 1970-72 Plymouth Duster or Dodge Demon, preferably with a manual transmission. E-mail me if you have one for sale for less than $3000 and are on the east coast near Maryland.
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