Red Jersey Muscle Cars

Muscle Cars - Dodge Dart

dodge dart grilles The Dart and its sister model, the Plymouth Valiant, were significantly redesigned for the 1967 model year. In addition to new styling, the cars received revised steering systems, wider front track (and wider spaced rails) and redesigned K-members capable of accepting physically larger engines. The Dart would keep this basic form, with a facelift consisting of revised front and rear end styling and interior trim, until the end of A-body production in 1976 (U.S./Canada/Mexico) and 1981 (South America). Over the course of U.S. production, the Dart/Valiant line would go from two distinct models based on the same platform, to parallel badge-engineered models.

1967 Dart featured a rear window with compound inverse curves. This created a unique appearance at the rear of the greenhouse, but tended to collect snow and created thick C-pillars that looked formal but created blindspots for drivers. Curved side glass was used for the first time on a Chrysler compact. Up front, there was a new dual-plane front end contour: the center section of the billet grills, bumper and leading edge of the hood were recessed from the front plane of the car. The single headlamps were placed forward of the recessed center section, defining the front plane. Park/turn lamps were set into the grille, in the corners formed by the transition area between the recessed and forward sections.

dodge dart tail lights This same front end treatment, with minor cosmetic changes to the grille and the park/turn lamps relocated to the front bumper, was also used by Chrysler Australia for their 1967 VE-model Valiant. With the new design, changes were made to the Dart line-up, beginning with the elimination of its station wagons and the base model's "170" designation. The only body styles were the 2 and 4-door sedans, the hardtop, and the convertible. The base 170 model was now badged simply as Dart. The 270 and GT versions carried on unchanged for the most part. In late 1967, the GTS model debuted but was built in limited quantities due to its lateness in the model year.

The 2-door sedan was dropped at the end of 1968 and replaced with the Swinger 2-door hardtop for 1969. Also added was the Swinger 340. The 170 cu in (2.8 L) Slant-6 engine remained standard equipment, though its power rating rose from 101 bhp (75 kW) to 115 bhp (86 kW) for 1967, owing to the installation of the 225 engine's larger carburetor and the revised camshaft the bigger engine had received in 1965. For North American domestic-market vehicles, the base 170 engine was replaced for 1970 with a stronger new 198 cu in (3.2 L) version of the slant-6. This new base engine was also less costly to make, for unlike the previous 170 engine, the 198 used the same block as the 225.

dodge dart wheels The smaller displacement was achieved with a new crankshaft (3.64" stroke vs. the 4.125" stroke of the 225 crank) and connecting rods (7.006" long vs. the 6.670" rods in the 225). Nevertheless, the 225 remained a very popular and inexpensive upgrade option. The 2bbl 273 cu in (4.5 L) small-block V8 was replaced on the option list in 1968 by a 318 cu in (5.2 L) 2bbl engine. The 318 was rated at 230 bhp (170 kW) versus the 2-barrel carbureted 273's 180 bhp (130 kW). at the same time the 4-barrel carbureted 273 235 bhp (175 kW) was replaced on the options list by the 275 bhp (205 kW) 4-barrel carbureted 340 cu in (5.6 L) available only in the hottest Dart, the performance-oriented GTS model.

The Dart GTS came standard with the 340 cu in (5.6 L) V8. A 300 horsepower (220 kW) 383 cu in (6.3 L) big-block was optional. The light weight and high power ratio of the 340-equipped cars, together with the excellent handling for which the Dart had become renowned, made them a favorite of drag racers. The big-block Darts were difficult to steer and stop, due to the very heavy engines and unavailability of power brakes or steering - the large engine left no room for a brake booster or power steering equipment. So the functional use of the relatively rare big block equipped cars was effectively limited to straight-line drag races.