Im seriously considering a dodge dart. Any years I should look for or stay away from? Early 60s to 70s. Not the 2000s Dart!
Any preference to slant 6 or v8? Not trying to find a project but just something has god bones
Scotty hates dodge but maybe those years were better haha
@mmdojr81
My Dad bought a brand new '75 Valiant (same as Dart), it was his first brand new car. Biggest piece of junk I ever seen, the glovebox would fill with water when it rained, it had no pep from the slant six and you had to be careful pulling into traffic, rear quarter panel had rust bleeding through in less than three years. My advice, watch out for mid 70's to early 80's, mid 70's was the gas crunch and pollution laws were kicking in, so rather than redesign the engines they dropped compression and started bolting on all kind of things. The 60's until about '72 or '73, Chrysler cars were pretty good and tough.
@mmdojr81
A 1960s or very early 1970s Valiant or Dart would be the one to get, before the heavy emission controls hit. At the time Chrysler drivetrains were bulletproof. Pay attention to rust, in particular the torsion bar anchors underneath. If those rot away the car is scrap.
Great slant 6 and 318 v8...if u can find one that is not rusted away.
I had great success with 71 Valiant, which is same platform it had a slant six. Would start fine even in the coldest weather.
I'd vote for, ideally, a 68-70 with the 318 or 340, I had one back then. Quick, reasonably reliable and comfortable.
Step one would be to do a disc brake conversion - brakes from back then suck by modern standards. Kits are readily available.
I have a slant six as a daily driver that's been in continuous use since 1968! Only rebuilt 10,000 miles ago so I imagine the engine to have at least 500,000 miles on it. All 318 blocks are made with nickle which makes them very durable. You can't go wrong with either but, just remember when you change your block you will need to change the bellhousing on your trans.
Had a '64 Valiant in high school. It was pretty basic but reliable car.
