Written by Steve Knickerbocker
Humble beginnings
The Mighty Dart started out not so mighty. I was living in the Ocean
Beach area of San Diego. In the apartment complex next to me was a 1972
Dodge Dart Swinger with four flat tires and several years worth of
bird droppings on it. I noticed it but with my 1964 Chrysler 300
keeping me busy and a new baby keeping me up at nights I didn't think
about it. I found out from a neighbor that the Dart might be for
sale. I was kinda the neighborhood mechanic and everyone was trying
to sell me a car. Of course, since it was a MoPar I was interested
enough to look into it. All I really got from the guy was that a
friend had worked on the motor, replacing a gasket and he left town
before he got it running.
The Dart was a barebones 225 Slant 6 car.
It had AC, automatic transmission and a cool owner installed surfboard
rack (not). We're talking 9 inch manual drum brakes all the way
around. Oh yeah, the owner ripped out all the underhood AC stuff to boot.
The body looked like it was used to herd shopping carts. However the
price was right, $400. I said sold, I'll be back on payday. The
fateful day arrives and the guy backs out saying it's actually his
girlfriend's car and she doesn't want to sell it. Ok, I use the cash
on the 300. Several months go by and the guy sees me and wants to
know if I'm still interested in the Dart. By this time the money
sucking 300 has got me thinking about a different go-to-work car; 10
mpg will do that especially if work is 30 miles away. Besides the
wife's car was a Mazda 626 and I wasn't too thrilled about driving it
every day. I tell him sure and this time the deal goes down. I put a
fresh battery in it, air up the tires, add gas and HOOK UP the
throttle linkage. VROOM, off I go about 100 feet to my garage and the
guy's jaw hits the floor. I guess the reason the car wouldn't start
was that the throttle wasn't hooked up and he couldn't set the choke.
I did have to replace the master cylinder,
tires and tune it up before I could drive it to work. Oh yeah, I did
scrub all the bird leavings off of it first, cleaned up pretty nice.
Under all that crud was a dark green factory paint job.
How The Mighty Dart Gets Its Name
As I told you, the Dart was as humble a car that ever rolled off the
production lines. No frills. No thrills. It did have an AM/FM
radio, a Kraco I think, and utter reliablity. I later found out it
had in excess of 220,000 miles when I bought it. As I worked on this
and that on the Dart the former owner's boyfriend used to come over
and reminisce about the car. I found out he used to take it to Mexico
and drive thru the surf and sand with it. I guess that explained the
axle noise and the asphalt look goo that came out of the original 7
1/4 inch rear axle. Well, the axle needed replacement so I scoured
the area boneyards for the best 8 1/4 axle I could find. The 8 1/4
was an improvement in terms of strength and parts availability over
the 7 1/4. Plus I knew one day I'd put a V8 in it and the original 7
1/4 would never withstand that. I found the axle of my dreams,
perfect brakes, excellent bearings, well maintained. I snapped it up
like a shark at a feeding frenzy. I slipped that puppy into the Dart
and hooked it up. One thing I was aware of is that the 1972 and earlier
Darts have an oddball 5 on 4 inch bolt pattern for the rims, so I knew
I'd need new rims. No sweat, I took the front tires and rims off the
300 and put them on the Dart. I take a test drive. Hey the speedo is
way off. Big Dummy me, in the desire to get an axle in excellent
shape I totally neglected to look at the axle ratio. The original
ratio was 3.23:1, not to bad, and my excellent find has a 2.45:1
ratio. Great, if I want to do 150 mph that's the ratio to have.
However, behind a 225 cubic inch Slant 6, wearing P245/60R14 tires,
acceleration was a thing of patience. VW microbuses would honk at me
for holding them up. Gas mileage was pretty decent though, about
22-25 mpg depending on how heavy my foot was. Well, I took to
referring to the Dart as "The Mighty Dart" in a sarcastic reference to
its slug-like performance. This began my hunt for the parts to swap
in a V8.
The Mighty Dart Earns Its Name (well, almost)
The first thing I did was upgrade the front suspension. I had the
more conventional 5 on 4.5 in bolt pattern in the back and the oddball
5 on 4 in pattern in the front. Plus 10 inch drums in the back and 9 inch
drums in the front, not too good for braking balance. So I went to the
pick and pull and sweated for hours removing the front discs and
control arms off a 1974 Dart only to be horrified at the price, more
than they wanted for a complete engine. I told them to stuff it and
left without the stuff. I ended up going to a local MoPar only yard
and got all that stuff plus the brake lines, proportioning valve,
master cylinder and a drive shaft for $50 less. They even tossed in a
holddown spring for the jack, free! I decided that now would be a good
time to rebuild and upgrade the suspension. I added polygraphite
bushings all around, even on the rear, new front and rear swaybars,
and KYB Gas-A-just shocks. Boy, can this thing handle and stop. I
acquired a V8 front crossmember as well.
About this time I got out
of the service and moved to Tucson. The wife and kids remained in San
Diego while I got a job and a place for us. The wife still had to
finish up her hitch in the Navy and we wanted the oldest to finish out
the school year, too. I had a job as a parts clerk and one day a kid
comes in looking for a used battery so he could drive his car to the
junkyard. Of course I ask what kind of car. It's a Cordoba but he's
not sure of the engine size just that it's a V8. So I grill him, what
year? a 78 he says, is the distributor in the front or back, I ask.
In the front he claims, oh yeah, a big block so I'm thinking a spare
engine for my 300. As it turned out he wants $100 for it. It also
turns out to be a 79 with a 360 2bbl in it. The Mighty Dart finds an
engine. I look at it, it runs without any scary noises but the frame
is bent bad. I scrounged every penny I had, literally! I took ten
dollars worth of change to the bank so the guy wouldn't think I was
desperate to get it and jack up the price. My dad drive me there and
follows me back. The trans is slipping like a stooge on a banana
peel. I get three blocks when the temp gauge skyrockets. Yes it's
low on water and trans fluid. I get her home. Needless to say, my
folks, whom I was staying with, were anxious that I get the junker out
from in front of their house. So the mad thrash begins.
It took me
three days to swap in the V8. I did have to get a radiator, exhaust
system, rebuild the carb, new bearings, oil pump, gasket set, clean
and detail the engine first. I also had to replace the driveshaft
because the 360 snapped the front yoke weld when I romped on it one
day. I also had to get the car back out to the wife as her car was
MIA. Let me tell you I was a liitle concerned about driving 400 miles
with an engine I barely knew under the hood. It all turned out OK.
Now with the 360 in front of the 2.45 axle I have it was alot better
in the acceleration department. Once I get to 70 or so it comes up on
the cam, a 340 Magnum grind, and really flys. However I rarely get to
do that so I am looking for a 3.55 gear and Suregrip. I also have the
stuff I need, except time, for a 4bbl conversion.
The future of The Mighty Dart
I love this car, my wife loves this car, my kids even think it's
pretty cool. Once I get the gears I want I still need to get heavier
torsion bars, new front fenders, lots of bodywork and then a new paint
job. I'm thinking Panther Pink (FM3). Redo the interior, rewire the
car, maybe even go to the newer style doors without the vent windows
(before I paint it). Now I'm thinking I should drop in a 440, ever
since I sold the 300 I've got the Big Block itch. Will I ever get rid
of it? I don't think so but that's what I said about the 300. Who
knows if someone wants to trade me a Hemi anything for it I might!
That pretty much sums it up. MoPar to you.
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