2013 Dodge Dart

[HBarlow]

When fuel prices shot up in 1973 I owned a home in CT about 30 miles out in the country from the Submarine Base and commuted when we were in port with a gas hog C-2500 Chevy pickup. I went out and bought a clean, low mileage '65 Plymouth (whatever the equivalent to the Dodge Dart was called). It had a small slant six and a three speed w/OEM floor shift IIRC. It got great gas mileage and was tough as a brick. I liked that car.

 

[RustyJC]

... (whatever the equivalent to the Dodge Dart was called).

Plymouth Valiant??



Rusty

 

[HBarlow]

Yep, Valiant. That's what it was. It was a basic little two door sedan with dog dish hubcaps, manual crank windows, etc. but a great little car for commuting.

 

[JLEONARD]

Plymouth Valiant??



Rusty

Yes I had one of those too and it was rusty. :-laf

 

[NIsaacs]

Plymouth Valiant??



Rusty

Yes I had one of those too and it was rusty. :-laf

Thats funny



When I was a kid, we had an old '49 Chrysler New Yorker with a flat head straight eight, lotsa power and suck the gas. The old Greyhound type rear engine buses used that same engine with a sliding cradle. To work on it or replace it, you just undid some stuff and slid the sucker out the back.



Nick

 

[rscurtis]

Those late '60's "A" bodied cars were some of the best Chrysler ever made, IMO. My old Dart still drove great with 101K miles on it. All the front end parts were original, and it was only on its second set of tires. The four speed still shifted like new, and the original U-joints were still tight.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Thats funny



When I was a kid, we had an old '49 Chrysler New Yorker with a flat head straight eight, lotsa power and suck the gas. The old Greyhound type rear engine buses used that same engine with a sliding cradle. To work on it or replace it, you just undid some stuff and slid the sucker out the back.



Nick

Nick,



Could that have been the same engine that was in the old White Mustang truck tractors with a straight 8 running the highways in the late 50s?



Bill

 

[Bill Stockard]

My sister's first car when she began teaching school was '69 Plymouth Duster with a 318 and a slush box and could that little car run!!! She ran the wheels off that virtually trouble free car except the voltage regulator would fail about once a year and "boil" the battery dry. If I knew then what I know now about the external voltage regulator, I would have moved it for her.



Bill

 

['strokeThis_'07]

The interior of the new Dart looks pretty dang good. The exterior isn't exactly my style, but I'll hold out my final verdict until I see one in person. VERY happy to see a manual available.



That said, comparing the new Dart to the old ones is completely useless. No, they aren't going to offer one with a V8. No, they won't revive one in a RWD platform. It simply is NOT going to happen. The market for two 2-door cars simply does not exist. The Challenger already takes that spot.



Welcome to the 21st century old guys:-laf The days of having multiple models in a 2-door body are LONG gone.

 

[NIsaacs]

Nick,



Could that have been the same engine that was in the old White Mustang truck tractors with a straight 8 running the highways in the late 50s?



Bill

Now that I can't say, I am not familiar with those trucks. I do know White used a lot of their own engines, also Hercules. If it was in the late 50's it might have been the Buick overhead valve straight eight. The buses went to them for a while before the move to Detroit Diesel power (GM Diesel back then).



When I was a kid a friend of mine had an old junky Buick Roadmaster convertible we used to hunt rabbits at night in, it had the straight eight. When you got it stuck in the snow, nothing short of a tractor would pull that heavy sucker out:-laf



Nick

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Why not come out with a retro Dart with the HEMI. Ive had every true hotrod that chrysler ever made and would like to see an updated Hemi dart with enough wheel clearance to put some 14X32s under the rear. Instant HOTROD. I bought a factory 1969 440 Dart that was supposed to be a SS/EA car but we couldnt get enough tire under it. Oh for the good old days of fast cars and cheap gas!!!! Moe

I agree. Dodge missed with the Charger. They hit the mark w/ the Challenger. You think they should have learned.

 

[rscurtis]

Funny story, the '69 I had was a special order car. The salesman told me I was crazy to order the 4-speed as no one wanted standard transmissions any more and that I would not be able to sell it. He never figured I would keep it almost 40 years- and by that time, the 4-speed was a strong selling point. Too bad I didn't buy the 340, but I was just coming away from a 427 Ford Galaxie and wanted something a little easier on fuel (and maintenance).

 

[HBarlow]

I agree. Dodge missed with the Charger. They hit the mark w/ the Challenger. You think they should have learned.

I don't see how you can say Dodge missed the mark with the Charger. It's a pretty strong running and very comfortable sedan off the showroom floor and probably 1000 or more are in service as state police patrol cars around the country. I talked with a Montana and an Arkansas state trooper driving them several years ago when they became available. Both those troopers were pretty impressed with them.

 

[HBarlow]

Funny story, the '69 I had was a special order car. The salesman told me I was crazy to order the 4-speed as no one wanted standard transmissions any more and that I would not be able to sell it. He never figured I would keep it almost 40 years- and by that time, the 4-speed was a strong selling point. Too bad I didn't buy the 340, but I was just coming away from a 427 Ford Galaxie and wanted something a little easier on fuel (and maintenance).

A lot of younger TDR members probably have no idea what those cars were. I remember them very well, also the fast cars of the '50s and even the '40s. I'm pretty old.

 

['strokeThis_'07]

I agree. Dodge missed with the Charger. They hit the mark w/ the Challenger. You think they should have learned.

Dodge did NOT miss with the Charger. They can't keep those things on the lots it seems. You can't drive more than two blocks without seeing one. Not to mention they have displaced the Crown Vic as the cop car of choice.



They look great, they are comfortable, and have a decent amount of power. The new Charger is a good car.

 

[NIsaacs]

but I was just coming away from a 427 Ford Galaxie

The best of the best!!



In 1969 I ordered a new 1970 Ford F100 2/w drive pickup and still have the original order sheet. When my oldest son turned 40 (born in 1970 same year as the pickup) I gave it to him. It's had the 427 side oiler for the last 25 years.



Back in the day, the old timers told me that the Ford flathead V/8 won more races than any production engine... ... just what I was told..... I am not old enough to know:-laf



Nick

 

[Bater]

I chuckled when I saw mention of this new Dart. When I was a very young man I owned a well seasoned version of its predecessor, for about a week. Torsion bar ripped out of its mount (upstate NY rust), and some gentle words from dad got the used car dealer to take back that supposedly fully inspected vehicle.



Went from the little Dart to an ex school bus Suburban with a 454. That was a monster engine, I think the carb was the size of the Dart. Some 30 plus years later I can still hear the sound it made when you put your foot in it. It was not a fuel sipper though; I had to make weekly runs across The Peace Bridge from Buffalo into Canada to buy gas. (Eventually sold the Suburban to a guy who wanted the engine for a race car. )

 

[rscurtis]

The best of the best!!



In 1969 I ordered a new 1970 Ford F100 2/w drive pickup and still have the original order sheet. When my oldest son turned 40 (born in 1970 same year as the pickup) I gave it to him. It's had the 427 side oiler for the last 25 years.



Back in the day, the old timers told me that the Ford flathead V/8 won more races than any production engine... ... just what I was told..... I am not old enough to know:-laf



Nick

Ford's of that era were not recognized as performance cars. Most people didn't know what it was, but I had a few pick up on the sound of the solid lifters and realize this wasn't the average Ford. Too bad I didn't have the ability (or the foresight) to keep it, it would be a big $ car today. It was a 7-Litre convertible with the optional NASCAR engine, which was a $1000 option over the 428 at the time. The whole car sold for less than $5000 when new.

 

[crispyboy]

I would need to see the car in person but I don't think it looks that bad. I like the look of the dual exhaust. I'll pass on the speedometer flower..... I would have no trouble driving a car that got 40 mpg and had a little giddy up. I'm often sorry I sold my VW TDI but it was getting long in the tooth.

My mom used to have a 71' 2 door "Swinger" model. It ran for a long time until someone wrecked into her. Then we bought a 76' Dodge Dart 4 door model from my uncle in Cleveland. Never buy a car from Northern Ohio - every bolt would seem to break off from rust. The factory carb was awful - we replaced it with a Holley and never looked back.