Written by Fred Polkinghorne

I purchased my 1973 Dart from a older woman who had owned it since it was new. It was a faded metallic green with a vinyl top--not that this is a bad color combination, but for a 16 year old high school student it was pretty ugly. Two days after we got the car, my brother ("lead foot Steve") decided he would use it to go to town. Approximately one hour later, he called and said that it had unexpectedly broken down. When we arrived, the poor dart had blown its engine. My brother said, "I wasn't going too fast--only about 75 mph!" Well, everyone knows that a car that has not been driven over 35 MPH in at least 20 years cannot handle speed real quickly. The car was towed home, and after it sat in the same spot for 6 months, my father decided to junk it.

But before he could take action, the car drew my interest. After hearing stories and seeing Darts fixed up, I decided that it had to be mine. After one month, I found a engine in a junk yard for a 1978 Aspen. I worked hard and long for five weeks prepping the new engine. It took several weeks to paint, hone cylinders, polish a crank and purchase a new cam. Finally, the engine was ready to be put in the Dart. We tried and tried to get it to start, but we had overlooked one thing: greasing the cylinders. After three weeks with no success we sent the car to a cousin; he determined the problem, and after greasing cylinders and setting the distributor, the Dart was starting and ready to go. Before I knew it, we were sanding, puttying, and priming the car. It is now bright red with no vinyl top. It looks great and runs just as well. I am now in the process of restoring the green interior to dark gray. Even beginning with a dented Dart with a blown engine, I am very proud to own one of the best cars of all time: THE DODGE DART!

Total restoration cost was as follows:

By the way, if anyone knows where I can find the chrome clips for the chrome under the rear window, please e-mail me.
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