On the final test drive in the Dart, for some reason when my father would accelerate the peppy little 318 hard, the passenger hood mounted turn indicator would come on and slowly fade. [Editor's note: This was a "fuel pacer" feature that Chrysler installed in 1975 (and 1976?) Darts that lit the fender-mounted turn signal when engine vacuum dropped, typically when the throttle was opened wide, to encourage drivers to drive conservatively.] Upon my dad's return from his test drive, the seller asked, "Did you tromp on it?"
Concerned about seeming abusive, my father replied, "No, I went easy on it."
Then the seller asked him, "Did you by any chance see the passenger turn indicator come on then fade out?"
My dad answered that he had seen it and asked what caused it.
The seller told him that the passenger turn signal comes on when you tromp on it. Being caught like that, my dad immediately told the man that he was going to buy the car, which he had planned to do anyway. That story is still told among the family to this day every time we go shopping for a new car.
Moving day arrived quickly, and our family of four piled into the Dart to set out for Mesa, Arizona. I can still remember everything about that car, the standard hubcaps, green paint with the white vinyl top. My dad bought a black seat cover to cover the green back seat so that my sister or me would not stain it with anything, and he removed the rear window cranks because every time the back windows were rolled down they would get stuck. I still remember that distinct "clunk" when you put it in reverse, the way the 318 sounded, and the little light on the steering column the lit where you put the key.
After spending only six months in Mesa, Arizona being transferred again we set out to Killeen, Texas. The mileage was accumulating rapidly because during the years in Texas we made countless trips back home to Colorado and the Dart performed flawlessly every time. One time I remember when my parents went to the mall in Killeen a day before we were coming back to Colorado for a visit. The Dart had a minor underhood fire; luckily someone saw it and called the fire department before it got out of hand. But the downside was that the fire fighters shattered the driver's rear window to get in the car and open the hood from the inside hood release. So we ended up driving back to Colorado with a piece of plywood in the place of the window until a new window could be located. After what seemed to be the longest six and half years ever and after we had moved back to Colorado. By now, it was 1991, and the Dart was really showing its age.
It was a sad day for me when my parents sold the car to my teenage cousin who did not take care of the car. When I suggested to my father that we should keep the Dart and fix it up, he countered by reminding me that I already had a 1966 Chevy Impala to fix up, so I did not put too much of fight, which I regret now. I was only 10 at the time and did not know very much about cars. Fate has a strange way of circling back on a person. Because as fate would have it, the Chevy ended up getting sold abruptly in 1995 against my wishes, which would prove later to be the best thing that could have happened to me.
After the Impala was gone, I was completely out of the car world for two and half years, until 1997, when I came across the first Mopar that I would solely own, a 1970 Plymouth Satellite. Well, as with most Mopars, owning this one started a craze. Following the Satellite were a 1973 Challenger, a 1969 Cuda, and a 1969 GTX all of which my dad and I bought in 1998. It turned out that the guy who bought the Chevy from us had traded it for the very GTX I ended up with.
The story did not end there because although the Cuda reminded me of what made A-bodies so unique and so lovable, I never forgot the first Mopar I ever rode in, the Dart. So when a 1975 Dodge Dart Swinger went up for sale in June 2003 just one block from my parents' house, I could not resist it. This one was a six cylinder and is an ugly brown with a mustard colored interior, with disk brakes and power steering. It cost me one hundred dollars and did not run until I got it home and put gas in it and then it fired right up. So this begins the saga of the Dart called Tammy that will be restored to resemble the first Dart so that the memory of my family's original Mopar will live on. I do plan to leave this car a six cylinder, only because I have other cars that are big block and small block V8s -- what does a little variety hurt? I believe Tammy (the Dart) should be finished by the fall of 2005 in between my college studies. I hope to drive it to my graduation when I finish my master's degree. If anyone has any comments, please e-mail me (please include a subject so I'll know that it is not junk mail).