I had a 1973 Dart. Absolutely loved it. Just fill them with gas and keep a glove box full of ballist resistors and they would go forever. Good video Steve
The Dart with the beak. I have a '73 Swinger with the beak . Chrysler never made much of an attempt to hide the budget nature of these cars, but they looked less cheap than the Maverick - which I think Ford made that way to not compete too much with Mustang.
The first thing I did when I bought a Mopar, buy a extra ballast resistor,& bolt it to the fire wall! If the car would start, and stall immediately, Pop the hood, and move the wires to the new resistor!
@@randymack2222 I wouldn't trust the new one wasn't going to get worn, from heat cycles, like the other one. I would keep it in the glove box just in case.
In high school, I would charge $1 for fixing 8 track tapes. If the tape was just "eaten", I'd pull out about 5 feet of tape, grab one side and give it a good jerk, and it wound itself back inside. Mangled sections were cut out and literally, very carefully Scotch taped back together. Thanks Steve for the memories.
I wonder if that 8 track player was actually quadraphonic? Anyone else notice the 2 channel/4channel switch? The thing is that a real quadraphonic 8 track player doesn't use a switch like that, but rather a sensing lever which gets pushed in by regular stereo 8 track cartridges. Quadraphonic cartridges had a notch molded into them, so that the afore mentioned lever wouldn't get pushed in, causing the player to play two programs of four channel audio, versus stereo operation, which is four programs of two channel audio. Two times four is always eight, and the square root of 69 is 8-something...
I got my Dart Sport in the mid 1990s as a teenager and I have lovingly cared for (and upgraded) it ever since. I thought I knew everything about my car…but I NEVER noticed that the headlight surrounds were common with the ‘67 Dart! Very cool.
When I was in high school these cars were extremely popular. Chrysler sold a ton of the 'A' body cars. My first car was a 1971 Plymouth Scamp that was a basic as you could get.. It was a metalic blue with a white vinyl top and a 2 tone blue vinyl interior. The car was so basic that the windshield washer did not have an electric pump. Instead there was a 'foot pump' located just above the dimmer switch that you would press to manually pump fluid up to clean the windshield. My next car was a 1978 Plymouth Volare' Brougham with a 318 'Lean Burn' engine. By the late 70's Chyslser was being plagued by poor build quality. They were doing things as cheaply as possible to save money and it was showing in their quality.
Basic: my first road worthy car was a 63 Savoy wagon, a former US Forest Service car in gov't green and rear seat delete, leaning tower of power and push button Torqueflite. Cost: $75 including the b-body ''67 hemi scoop that today would be worth more than the car. I miss "basic".
Mine was a drab green 74 Duster. Loved that car. My "friends" dubbed it "The Green Loogie". Ran like an absolute dream but I couldn't get rid of that valve train noise to save my life. It sounded like someone shaking a box of glass bottles.
Thanks for the great memories with this one!! My Mom bought a 74 dodge dart sport new I was 9 years old It cost a total of $4300 after options and tax Dad had a pioneer am/fm 8 track put in with Jensen 6x9’s I learned to drive on that car We had it until 85 when the slant 6 lost the oil pump and by the time the idiot light came on the motor was toast. I was so glad Dad was the one driving when it happened! It was red with a white Starsky and Hutch type stripe on it. You have to be old enough and know these cars to know what I’m talking about.
When I was a kid in the '70's, my aunt's high school graduation present was a beautiful Dodge Hang 10. It was all white and had red and blue pinstripes down the sides of the body. I remember the interior having red carpet and the rear seat folded down like this car with access to the trunk from the interior. Many years later I saw the car in the local junkyard (which covered the side of a mountain and has long been cleaned out). It was the only Hang 10 around and I've never seen another one. Also, the girl who lived across the street from my grandparents had a gold Demon. I loved that car. Interesting how on the back of the '73 annual report that the Demon name has been left out.
It made me smile to see that little beauty sitting there this morning. It's too bad about the rust though. I'm actually looking for one myself. It's funny how at one time you couldn't toss a frisbee without hitting a Dart, Duster, or Demon, on that platform. Nowadays they're not seen so often. The ones I've seen were either full restos with a ridiculous asking price or like that one, rusted out to the point of no return.
Hello Mexican Spec, you really need to start an "Adopt-A-Dart" program. Mexican market vehicles DON'T RUST and they would be super desirable in the Rust Belt here in the states! Thanks again for writing, Steve Magnante
Had a 74 with a 318 auto. My wife and I would sleep on the fold down seat at NASCAR races. Only problem I had with it was a misterious failure to start ocasionally. Would put in the spare ballast resister, no start. Swap ignition module from other car , it would start. Swap it back, start! After about 4-5 times over the next year ,I realized it was rust on the screws for the module. Drilled new holes and put a star washer betweenthe module and the body. Never happened again
Thanks Steve! I would’ve never guessed that was the same hood as the Barracuda. I think our family and friends went through about every Scamp, Dart, Duster etc model with the slant-6 and people loved them. If it weren’t for the rust belt living up to its name, I think loads of those cars would still be around with the 6’s still churning.
I knew about Darts using the old Barracuda hood after seeing an almost new Dart Sport with a Barracuda Formula S hood in the paint shop at the Chrysler dealership where my Dad worked(it also had American Daisy mags and a Go-Wing. SWEET)but I didn't know about the recycled headlight surrounds. So much wierdness about old Mopars, I love them so much
Hi Steve, funny thing just happened, I opened on old copy of Hot Rod magazine that was sitting on a pile on my work bench and there is an article called ‘doin’ the junkyard crawl’ ( August 1999) . You’re still going strong mate!
Hello Craig Jones, you found the "genesis" of all things Junkyard Crawl in that magazine article! Truth be told, the title "Doin' The Junkyard Crawl" was actually coined by my brilliant and funny Editor Ro McGonegal. Google his name for a lengthy review of his writings since waaay back in 1969 when he was "the automotive journalist" featured in a 1969 Plymouth 440 Six Pack magazine ad where he and Ronnie Sox both tested a new Six Pack Road Runner and their 1/4 mile times were posted in the magazine ad. WOW! Anyhoo, after I retired from HOT ROD (on Tuesday, January 20, 2004) I did a bunch of freelance writing for CAR CRAFT magazine where I revived the Junkyard Crawl concept for TEN YEARS in a long series of 1 and 2 page junkyard relic reviews that were the template for the modern Junkyard Crawl TH-cam video concept! Thanks for the memory! and THANKS for watching and r=writing. -Steve Magnante
Now it would be easy to get another 50 hp from the slant six , but it needed help in the mid 70s. I'd heard that Chrysler could only budget minor tooling changes for the slant six. They did the "peanut" head, the cast crank and two barrel carb,. But the motor needed a new head that would tolerate high compression, but neither Ford nor GM updated it's inline six during that era. A pushrod Chevy six with LS heads would be nice. Eventually AMC did the Jeep 4.0 but EFI was becoming a commodity by then and not much could save the beloved slant six.
No VIN, can't win, but I got it figured out, no doubt: L for Dart, L for low price class, 29 for two-door special hard top, C for 225 CID Slant Six with one barrel, aka "Leaning Tower of Power", 5 for 1975 model year, B for Hamtramck, MI assembly or G for Fenton (St. Louis, MO) assembly (among other possibilities) and the rest is the production sequence. If it's a Hamtramck made vehicle this was the "Dodge Main" or "Factory Zero" and operated from 1911 to 1980. The Fenton plant closed in 2009 and was razed shortly thereafter. The Slant Six was a bulletproof engine that sounded like an IBM Selectric typewriter at full speed, but they ran, ran, ran, ran ran, ran, ran, ran, ran and ran some more. No tag, can't brag, but we might have LL29 for Dart low price class two door special hardtop, possible E24 for 225 CID Slant Six aka "LTP", X9 for black interior trim, R11 for Musicmaster AM radio, D34 for Torqueflite automatic transmission, U for USA spec vehicle, FE5 for Bright Red exterior paint, among other codes. Yes, about 70% of Chrysler products would have a converter in 1975, and all GM that year, except for some exceptions. Yes, the K car "saved" Chrysler, but the Omni/Horizon was the stopgap car that kept them afloat for a time until the K car could be introduced. Well yes, Chrysler's cars were outdated, but the biggest problem was that Chrysler produced cars on the "push" (speculation) method by producing vehicles (often with options that no one wanted) and then shoving them out into inventory to sell. This bloated the inventory and forced Chrysler to have too much on their books at any given time. When Mr. Iacocca came on board the first thing he did was to can that practice.
Thanks for the trip back Steve. My wife's Dad bought her a '75 Dart Sport for college. It was brown metallic with gold stripes and rally wheels. Slant six too. Really nice looking and reliable.
My parents bought a 1975 Dodge Dart Sport in light blue with 3 black stripes, which ran down the side around the rear side window then across the top to the other side. It had a dark blue vinyl interior. I didn't realize that the Sport on it meant anything. I used to think it was a gimmick the dealer put on it. It was the V6 and was always in the shop for days at a time. I was too young to ask why. But our 1970 2 door, tuxedo black with gold vinyl interior, Chrysler Newport 383 was a much better car. They both, however, rusted terribly in Wisconsin. My folks wish that they still had the Newport but it became to costly to keep fixing the rust spots. Thanks for video!
My brother won a brand new 1975 Plymouth Gold Duster in a sweepstakes contest, had the same 1/2 vinyl roof, slant six, nice wheels etc. Was a really nice car but within a year he fell asleep behind the wheel and totaled it out (he got banged up pretty badly too). After that he went to full sized Buicks.
Thanks for the show and it is very interesting to see the A-body in its later years ,74 to 76, and growing up I wasn't a huge fan of them...my first car was a 73 Swinger... but as I've gotten older they aren't too bad. Especially the Dart Sport Special editions like the Hang 10
I still remember the Dolts arriving on the Dodge lots for the 73 year as they were already as rusty as 3 year old Darts just from the boat ride over from the Mitsu plant . This car and the Plymouth Ruster got me booted from many used car lots in the mid and late 70s when i pointed out the half ass rust repairs on the rear and front fenders along with the patched front aprons when i went with friends who were eager to buy .Twice i was on a CTA bus home from school that hit 1 of these that poked its nose too far into the intersection waiting to turn and the front end was torn off where the unibody rusts at the firewall .
This one brings back memories. I traded a 68 Satellite Sport for a 75 Dart Sport while I was stationed on Cape Cod. The Mass. rust on the rear of the Satellite was so bad I had no choice but to abandon the project. I gave up trying to get a A or B body on the road while I was there. Love the history Steve. Keep the content coming
Back in 1974 I bought a 1971 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus from my local Dodge dealer. One thing I noticed was it had the exact same dash as the 1974 Dodge Charger SE that was sitting on the showroom floor so yes Chrysler was cutting as many corners as it could back then and extending the life of tooling wherever they could.
Really nothing new to them. The 1957-61 DeSoto used the same dash as a Dodge. The 1958 DeSoto and Chrysler base models used the same chassis and fenders (and headlight doors with chrome eyebrows) as a Dodge. The 1962 Dodge 880, a full size car brought back to placate dealers, was a 1962 Chrysler body with the 1961 Dodge nose and dash, and unique taillights that bolted into the Chrysler opening. And so on
2.5mph in 1973 only, 1974 5mph front and REAR. GM had 100% catalytic converters in 1975, but Chrysler didn't get them 'till 1976, and the lean burn... Oh boy... Adam covered that... Rare Classic Cars And Automotive History
It's fascinating to me how so many people have wonderful memories of these old mopars. They were kind of the red headed stepchild at the time but still if you wanted to be different they were perfect. I personally think they were perfect, even though they weren't. Your service to the car community does not go unnoticed. Thanks Steve.
Ooh! My first 'muscle' Mopar was a 1975 Dart Sport 360! Loved the '75-only rear tail treatment with the pot metal appliqué between the tail lights.. still do, actually. Classy! 😎
Must be a good neighborhood, someone left the keys in the trunk. HAHA 😆!!! I briefly owned a '73 same color, until some old dude ran a 🛑 and t-boned me. Today, I'm the old dude!
I build model cars and a couple months back I was goofing around and put the hood off a 69 barracuda on my 76 sport. It fit perfect. I thought, "know way that could be" lol. Learn something new every day.
Man I had a 73 Dodge swinger in 1983! Mine was tan with black vinyl top, engine was a 318ci. Man it was pretty quick for the times! I used to love that car! The only issues I had was that sometimes it didn’t want to start! I used to hit the solenoid with a screw driver to get it going some times!😂 the body was in perfect condition and so was the interior though! I was young and naïve didn’t know much about how to get it fixed the right way! One day it left me stranded and I couldn’t get it started! That I got pissed off and left the car on the side of the road abandoned! That it actually got towed away by the city! But I believe they couldn’t do anything with the car since I had the title. Maybe just parted out! Boy if I knew then what I know now! I would have kept it and gotten it fixed. Great video Steve!👌😎👍
Im actually fond of the 225 cube Slant and theres a lot can be done to them performance wise with the 904 either as is or manualised, I have a soft spot too for the A body variants regardless of the badge and would cheerfully own one.
Hello tony66au, yes I always go with the manual valve body kit from B&M or A&A. Gotta lose that pesky kick-down / throttle pressure linkage!!! Thanks for writing, Steve Magnante
Nothing wrong with a Slant Six. They sounded like an IBM Selectric typewriter at full speed, but they were bulletproof and a wonder of mechanical simplicity.
I remember seeing a Hang 10 Duster in the junk yard years ago. White exterior with red white and blue interior, shag carpet and sun roof. 318. It should have been saved but in the early 90s most Dusters weren't taken seriously 😐.
My parents bought a new 1975 Plymouth Duster with the “gold” package. Alligator type vinyl roof, 225 slant six with auto trans. They didn’t keep it very long.
Had a `73 Dart Sport with 360, 4sp, 4.10 gear & the snorkel scoop (which I always thought looked more at home on Challenger) The narrow rear end also allowed me to run Pro Trac N-50 15`s...the poor man`s McCreary or Mickey Thompson Sportsman at the time without tubbing.
Hello golfwangsap, glad you asked (for a book). I did write a few over the past decade, How To Build Altered Wheelbase Funny Cars, Rusted Muscle (a Junkyard Crawl type book!), 1001 Muscle car Facts, 1001 Mustang Facts and 1001 Corvette Facts. They are all from CarTech Books but "out of print" right now. That said, you can easily find them all on Amazon / eBay. You might like the Rusted Muscle book as its essentially a full color review of cars in junkyards all over the U.S. and is done pretty much like these Junkyard Crawl videos - but with still images - natch. THANKS for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
In 1972 I traded in my 67 GTX conv 440 Super Commando, in on my 1972 Demon. The insurance companies were eating us alive for muscle cars. Miss the GTX, but I still have my Demon !!! 50 years now. 👍
Hi Ron Bryant, I have to admit it is in the "slow lane". I simply don't have enough time to do it...at least not right now. But I did buy re-pop floor pans and am absolutely planning to get to it. Thanks for writing, Steve Magnante
I knew a couple of guys that had them in high school and military in the 80s. Both were daily drivers and Midwest cars. Both had rear quarter rot, but were loved and cherished by their owners, none the less. I remember one guy was running an extra low compression 360 out of a state trooper car - he was replacing it with a crate engine, heads came off, five of the eight pistons had holes or about ready to …. Anyway, although I’m not really a Mopar fan, one of these with a 340 wouldn’t get kicked out of my garage.
The Dart Sport was the end result of the temper tantrum the Dodge Division had over the success of the Plymouth Duster. They didn't have anything comparable. The Demon was supposed to be the answer but of course that didn't last long so the Dart was revamped with Duster sheet metal. I've had my '72 Duster 340 since 1984. They'll probably bury me in that car.
Great story, and I like everything about this car (when in good condition, of course) except for the automatic transmission. Give me the four-speed OD anytime. Recycling parts, for instance, makes finding spare parts much easier. This Dart is the right size, has the sturdy slant 6, can be made to carry a lot of stuff, and is relatively simple. I'd love to have this car now.
I had a rusty old Ford Pinto, and the left leaf spring broke through the floor when I was going 65 mph on the highway. That trip was some scary, white knuckle driving to get back home for sure!
My mailman drove one of these. He once upon a time had a Business in my town where he sold DeSoto cars and Allis Chalmers farm equipment. Congress is still designing cars. These new models will be defying the laws of physics.
My sister had a one year old '76 Dart Swinger. It was this color red with white vinyl top and interior, Rallye wheels and the Super 6. Not a lot of power but it looked like a baby Charger, which was cool. She had it for about a year, then ended up trading it straight up to another high school kid for his '76 Firebird Formula.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the detuned but still fun 340 V8 that could be had in 1973 Dart Sports nor the 360 V8 that was an option in the 74's after the 340 bowed out.
Instead of developing the R body on the older B body , I think the F body should have been made larger and the A body given another update. A Plymouth version might have been more sized like a BMW E-30 with an improved slant six. The Aspen and Volare weren't too bad overall but I think it was mostly the Fox body Ford that hurt the F body. Chrysler needed a decent big car during the K era. I think the Dart/Valiant deserved to be improved, nothing in their sales history justified it's demise.. A tidied up and lightened A body could have be fun with a V8 as an alternative to Mustang and nobody predicted that the R body would flop, but the downsized GM B bodies were pretty good in that era.
I had a 75 Dart Sport with the 318 that I fixed up and it was so fast for just having a 318...I also had a 74 Dart Sport wiith the 198 slant six that I cut up to fix the 75. The last engine I had in the Dart was a built 360 and boy did it run good! When I found my 75 it had the rust in the trunk and the previous owner had mounted the rear spring shackles to large pieces of wood bolted to what was left of the trunk floor LOL!!! So yes I have seen the springs go through the trunk floor before too!!!
Hey Steve, I wish you could make a trip over the pond and do a junkyard crawl over here in England. It would be difficult to find anywhere near as good as the auto wreckers you have there but now and again a few places still turn up some interesting wrecks. Thoroughly enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
I remember dad had a Cricket. It stayed in the shop more than he drove it. We took it back to the dealership in Charlotte one Sunday when they were closed and left it there. That's when he got his first Pinto and put over 250k miles on it.
Rolled my 73 dart sport with 9 people in it in Stevens point wi we all got out pushed it over and fired it up got out of the ditch and rocked back to town great one speaker stereo too
The Demon carried thru to 1973. I bought one for $500 after it was sandwiched in the middle of a 3-car crash. Yanked the 340 4-bbl engine, 727 tranny, 8.75 posi, electronic ignition, etc out and basically dropped it into my 1967 Valiant. Goodbye oil burning 2-bbl 273. I’m sure it was a 1973 Demon because it had the large 5mph front bumper and an externally balanced cast crank that went tunk instead of ting when you tap on it (dumb new cost saving idea for ‘73 340’s which limits interchange) And it had Demon logos on both sides and the rear
Steve isn’t that the second Dodge Dodge Dart Sport in FE5 Red you’ve found in your travels?! Great channel and always great to see a Mopar featured! Being a ‘72 Duster owner, seeing a fallen A-Body was a fitting send-off for that ‘75 Dart Sport.😮
My dad bought one of these to flip at a bargain. It had rod knocking; he had a spare slant six in his garage. It had a three speed, all of which were floor shifted by that model year (1974). I tooled around in it for a while before he sold it. Within the year I bought a 1974 Dart Swinger. I preferred the Swinger. The big quarter panels on the Sport acted like big, tinny drums, which made the Swinger seem pretty solid by comparison.
The Feather Duster was the Plymouth version of the Dart Light, and I think they also had an aluminum intake manifold. Possibly other special parts to cut weight. I had a Swinger with the light package that also had the Mileage Minder (I think that's what it was called), the drivers side turn indicator was connected to a vacuum switch and it would light up if you pushed too hard on the gas pedal.
I had a 1973 Plymouth duster with the slant 6, 3 on the floor . That car taught me how to fix cars, was a bed hint hint. Yes it had the fold down rear seat and had fantastic gas mileage. I turned 16 in 74 one year after the Arab oil embargo. So I watched gas prices go from around 25 cents a gallon to 75 cents a gallon. You know when money had value
Having lived in the 70s as a Chrysler crazed teenager I really enjoy your videos. It would be interesting to know what the mileage is on these 70 cars. Today 200k isn't all that rare, back then a car or truck was on borrowed time at 70 or even 60 k.
I did the musical engines routine trying to get 100 miles out of a slant 6 before they developed a rod knock. Finally managed it with a 170 from a 67 Valiant. Zero to 60 in a couple days. I remember combining the bone yards for a non-six cyl K member so i could throw a 318 in it, shortly before stumbling upon an already v8 71 Demon for $250.00! She was her own new can of worms, naturally.
I had a 1973 Dart. Absolutely loved it. Just fill them with gas and keep a glove box full of ballist resistors and they would go forever. Good video Steve
The Dart with the beak. I have a '73 Swinger with the beak . Chrysler never made much of an attempt to hide the budget nature of these cars, but they looked less cheap than the Maverick - which I think Ford made that way to not compete too much with Mustang.
That reminds me I need a ballist resistor for my '74 Dart.
The first thing I did when I bought a Mopar, buy a extra ballast resistor,& bolt it to the fire wall! If the car would start, and stall immediately, Pop the hood, and move the wires to the new resistor!
@@randymack2222 I wouldn't trust the new one wasn't going to get worn, from heat cycles, like the other one. I would keep it in the glove box just in case.
Yep had the 74 dart sport with the glove box filled with ballast resistors!
In high school, I would charge $1 for fixing 8 track tapes. If the tape was just "eaten", I'd pull out about 5 feet of tape, grab one side and give it a good jerk, and it wound itself back inside. Mangled sections were cut out and literally, very carefully Scotch taped back together. Thanks Steve for the memories.
8 tracks were new at 5 dollars each, I can also remember them acting up after just one night of playing
I wonder if that 8 track player was actually quadraphonic? Anyone else notice the 2 channel/4channel switch?
The thing is that a real quadraphonic 8 track player doesn't use a switch like that, but rather a sensing lever which gets pushed in by regular stereo 8 track cartridges. Quadraphonic cartridges had a notch molded into them, so that the afore mentioned lever wouldn't get pushed in, causing the player to play two programs of four channel audio, versus stereo operation, which is four programs of two channel audio. Two times four is always eight, and the square root of 69 is 8-something...
@@DanEBoyd I did, we had a quadraphonic 8 track in our 67 ss chevelle, those were great times
still use one in my 68 vw karmann ghia
@@DanEBoyd the Who's Quadraphenia was the only one I know that actually worked, but needed the right player / stereo for the lp
I got my Dart Sport in the mid 1990s as a teenager and I have lovingly cared for (and upgraded) it ever since. I thought I knew everything about my car…but I NEVER noticed that the headlight surrounds were common with the ‘67 Dart! Very cool.
I just visited Bernardston Auto Wrecking and bought the trunk lid from the Dart Sport. 😎😎. It will be my spare to hold the Direct Connection spoiler.
When I was in high school these cars were extremely popular. Chrysler sold a ton of the 'A' body cars. My first car was a 1971 Plymouth Scamp that was a basic as you could get.. It was a metalic blue with a white vinyl top and a 2 tone blue vinyl interior. The car was so basic that the windshield washer did not have an electric pump. Instead there was a 'foot pump' located just above the dimmer switch that you would press to manually pump fluid up to clean the windshield. My next car was a 1978 Plymouth Volare' Brougham with a 318 'Lean Burn' engine. By the late 70's Chyslser was being plagued by poor build quality. They were doing things as cheaply as possible to save money and it was showing in their quality.
Basic: my first road worthy car was a 63 Savoy wagon, a former US Forest Service car in gov't green and rear seat delete, leaning tower of power and push button Torqueflite. Cost: $75 including the b-body ''67 hemi scoop that today would be worth more than the car. I miss "basic".
I had a friend that converted the "pump washer" to a "vodka delivery system". Hose by the driver. Pump pump a full shot!
Man mine was a 73 swinger 318ci. Nice 👍
HAD ONE! A ‘73 model, 318/auto Bench seat , Copper metal flake/ white vinyl top. Great car. 👍🇨🇦😂
Mine was a drab green 74 Duster.
Loved that car. My "friends" dubbed it "The Green Loogie". Ran like an absolute dream but I couldn't get rid of that valve train noise to save my life. It sounded like someone shaking a box of glass bottles.
Thanks for the great memories with this one!! My Mom bought a 74 dodge dart sport new
I was 9 years old It cost a total of $4300
after options and tax Dad had a pioneer
am/fm 8 track put in with Jensen 6x9’s
I learned to drive on that car We had it until 85 when the slant 6 lost the oil pump and by the time the idiot light came on the motor was toast. I was so glad Dad was the one driving when it happened! It was red with a white Starsky and Hutch type stripe on it. You have to be old enough and know these cars to know what I’m talking about.
When I was a kid in the '70's, my aunt's high school graduation present was a beautiful Dodge Hang 10. It was all white and had red and blue pinstripes down the sides of the body. I remember the interior having red carpet and the rear seat folded down like this car with access to the trunk from the interior. Many years later I saw the car in the local junkyard (which covered the side of a mountain and has long been cleaned out). It was the only Hang 10 around and I've never seen another one. Also, the girl who lived across the street from my grandparents had a gold Demon. I loved that car. Interesting how on the back of the '73 annual report that the Demon name has been left out.
It made me smile to see that little beauty sitting there this morning. It's too bad about the rust though. I'm actually looking for one myself. It's funny how at one time you couldn't toss a frisbee without hitting a Dart, Duster, or Demon, on that platform.
Nowadays they're not seen so often.
The ones I've seen were either full restos with a ridiculous asking price or like that one, rusted out to the point of no return.
The frame broke (rusted through) on our Gold Duster in the early 1980’s. It was only 7 or 8 years old.
If you can't find one, contact me. Mexico has a lot of clean examples still, all with the 225 slant 6.
Hello Mexican Spec, you really need to start an "Adopt-A-Dart" program. Mexican market vehicles DON'T RUST and they would be super desirable in the Rust Belt here in the states! Thanks again for writing, Steve Magnante
@@SteveMagnante I am working on that right now, Steve.
@@mexicanspec I just might do that
I had a 1972 Duster in high school with a 225 great car .
Had a 74 with a 318 auto. My wife and I would sleep on the fold down seat at NASCAR races. Only problem I had with it was a misterious failure to start ocasionally. Would put in the spare ballast resister, no start. Swap ignition module from other car , it would start. Swap it back, start! After about 4-5 times over the next year ,I realized it was rust on the screws for the module. Drilled new holes and put a star washer betweenthe module and the body. Never happened again
Thanks Steve! I would’ve never guessed that was the same hood as the Barracuda. I think our family and friends went through about every Scamp, Dart, Duster etc model with the slant-6 and people loved them. If it weren’t for the rust belt living up to its name, I think loads of those cars would still be around with the 6’s still churning.
Ill bet the Slant 6's will still run..
I knew about Darts using the old Barracuda hood after seeing an almost new Dart Sport with a Barracuda Formula S hood in the paint shop at the Chrysler dealership where my Dad worked(it also had American Daisy mags and a Go-Wing. SWEET)but I didn't know about the recycled headlight surrounds. So much wierdness about old Mopars, I love them so much
early 60s brake pedals were still in use when the all new dodge pick up came out for 93 model year and lasted till the re style under benz ownership
Nothing like a six banger to kick around in.
Hi Steve, funny thing just happened, I opened on old copy of Hot Rod magazine that was sitting on a pile on my work bench and there is an article called ‘doin’ the junkyard crawl’ ( August 1999) . You’re still going strong mate!
Hello Craig Jones, you found the "genesis" of all things Junkyard Crawl in that magazine article! Truth be told, the title "Doin' The Junkyard Crawl" was actually coined by my brilliant and funny Editor Ro McGonegal. Google his name for a lengthy review of his writings since waaay back in 1969 when he was "the automotive journalist" featured in a 1969 Plymouth 440 Six Pack magazine ad where he and Ronnie Sox both tested a new Six Pack Road Runner and their 1/4 mile times were posted in the magazine ad. WOW! Anyhoo, after I retired from HOT ROD (on Tuesday, January 20, 2004) I did a bunch of freelance writing for CAR CRAFT magazine where I revived the Junkyard Crawl concept for TEN YEARS in a long series of 1 and 2 page junkyard relic reviews that were the template for the modern Junkyard Crawl TH-cam video concept! Thanks for the memory! and THANKS for watching and r=writing. -Steve Magnante
The Slant Six was as you said the foundation of Chrysler. Great engine.
Now it would be easy to get another 50 hp from the slant six , but it needed help in the mid 70s. I'd heard that Chrysler could only budget minor tooling changes for the slant six. They did the "peanut" head, the cast crank and two barrel carb,. But the motor needed a new head that would tolerate high compression, but neither Ford nor GM updated it's inline six during that era. A pushrod Chevy six with LS heads would be nice. Eventually AMC did the Jeep 4.0 but EFI was becoming a commodity by then and not much could save the beloved slant six.
Well that explains why they had so much trouble, their foundation was built with a lean
@@CR7659 the Slant Six is ranked in the top 10 engines of all time. The attachment to v8s killed the big 3.
@@johnwalsh7256 I need one of those memes where a person has an arrow drawn arcing over their head labeled "the joke" and the person is labeled "you"
No VIN, can't win, but I got it figured out, no doubt: L for Dart, L for low price class, 29 for two-door special hard top, C for 225 CID Slant Six with one barrel, aka "Leaning Tower of Power", 5 for 1975 model year, B for Hamtramck, MI assembly or G for Fenton (St. Louis, MO) assembly (among other possibilities) and the rest is the production sequence. If it's a Hamtramck made vehicle this was the "Dodge Main" or "Factory Zero" and operated from 1911 to 1980. The Fenton plant closed in 2009 and was razed shortly thereafter.
The Slant Six was a bulletproof engine that sounded like an IBM Selectric typewriter at full speed, but they ran, ran, ran, ran ran, ran, ran, ran, ran and ran some more.
No tag, can't brag, but we might have LL29 for Dart low price class two door special hardtop, possible E24 for 225 CID Slant Six aka "LTP", X9 for black interior trim, R11 for Musicmaster AM radio, D34 for Torqueflite automatic transmission, U for USA spec vehicle, FE5 for Bright Red exterior paint, among other codes. Yes, about 70% of Chrysler products would have a converter in 1975, and all GM that year, except for some exceptions.
Yes, the K car "saved" Chrysler, but the Omni/Horizon was the stopgap car that kept them afloat for a time until the K car could be introduced. Well yes, Chrysler's cars were outdated, but the biggest problem was that Chrysler produced cars on the "push" (speculation) method by producing vehicles (often with options that no one wanted) and then shoving them out into inventory to sell. This bloated the inventory and forced Chrysler to have too much on their books at any given time. When Mr. Iacocca came on board the first thing he did was to can that practice.
The fold down seat was referred to as the “space duster” you could put 8 foot 2x4’s in the trunk and close the lid
Thanks for the trip back Steve. My wife's Dad bought her a '75 Dart Sport for college. It was brown metallic with gold stripes and rally wheels. Slant six too. Really nice looking and reliable.
Sounds great!
My parents bought a 1975 Dodge Dart Sport in light blue with 3 black stripes, which ran down the side around the rear side window then across the top to the other side. It had a dark blue vinyl interior. I didn't realize that the Sport on it meant anything. I used to think it was a gimmick the dealer put on it. It was the V6 and was always in the shop for days at a time. I was too young to ask why. But our 1970 2 door, tuxedo black with gold vinyl interior, Chrysler Newport 383 was a much better car. They both, however, rusted terribly in Wisconsin. My folks wish that they still had the Newport but it became to costly to keep fixing the rust spots. Thanks for video!
Thank you Steve! The Chrysler A-body is my favorite car.
My brother won a brand new 1975 Plymouth Gold Duster in a sweepstakes contest, had the same 1/2 vinyl roof, slant six, nice wheels etc. Was a really nice car but within a year he fell asleep behind the wheel and totaled it out (he got banged up pretty badly too). After that he went to full sized Buicks.
I bought a new 1975 Duster with a 318 and 3 speed manual on the floor. Really fun car and 21 mpg.
I never realized that 3 speeds were on the floor? Thought all 3 speeds were on the tree?
My girlfriend's brother had a yard full of broken rusted darts, dusters and he loved them.
Thanks for the show and it is very interesting to see the A-body in its later years ,74 to 76, and growing up I wasn't a huge fan of them...my first car was a 73 Swinger... but as I've gotten older they aren't too bad. Especially the Dart Sport Special editions like the Hang 10
I'm a big fan of mid 70's gimmicks like that folding back seat, and the hatchback Nova. With optional tent of course for a groovy good time!
Nice 8 track stereo mounted under the dash. Noticed its a slide in and out to prevent theft, 70s cool 😎
I still remember the Dolts arriving on the Dodge lots for the 73 year as they were already as rusty as 3 year old Darts just from the boat ride over from the Mitsu plant . This car and the Plymouth Ruster got me booted from many used car lots in the mid and late 70s when i pointed out the half ass rust repairs on the rear and front fenders along with the patched front aprons when i went with friends who were eager to buy .Twice i was on a CTA bus home from school that hit 1 of these that poked its nose too far into the intersection waiting to turn and the front end was torn off where the unibody rusts at the firewall .
The Ruster lol
Learn something new every day when I watch this channel and I owned many many Chrysler products when I was young 🌱.
This one brings back memories. I traded a 68 Satellite Sport for a 75 Dart Sport while I was stationed on Cape Cod. The Mass. rust on the rear of the Satellite was so bad I had no choice but to abandon the project. I gave up trying to get a A or B body on the road while I was there. Love the history Steve. Keep the content coming
Back in 1974 I bought a 1971 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus from my local Dodge dealer. One thing I noticed was it had the exact same dash as the 1974 Dodge Charger SE that was sitting on the showroom floor so yes Chrysler was cutting as many corners as it could back then and extending the life of tooling wherever they could.
Really nothing new to them. The 1957-61 DeSoto used the same dash as a Dodge. The 1958 DeSoto and Chrysler base models used the same chassis and fenders (and headlight doors with chrome eyebrows) as a Dodge. The 1962 Dodge 880, a full size car brought back to placate dealers, was a 1962 Chrysler body with the 1961 Dodge nose and dash, and unique taillights that bolted into the Chrysler opening. And so on
I know leaving a comment helps pump the algorithm and show more of Steve's videos to more people, so here's a comment! Wish ya well Steve!
All the old guys giving up the ghost
Crossed the river Jordan to sing with the angels. 😇
. . . And if you haven't, make sure to check out corvairwild's channel. . . equal love of the Golden age of automobiling. : - )
@@kpslinger6030 Thx bro!
@5:01 I was expecting to hear KC's 'That's The Way (I Like It)' spool up.
Good stuff as always, Steve - keep 'em coming.
2.5mph in 1973 only, 1974 5mph front and REAR. GM had 100% catalytic converters in 1975, but Chrysler didn't get them 'till 1976, and the lean burn... Oh boy... Adam covered that... Rare Classic Cars And Automotive History
It's fascinating to me how so many people have wonderful memories of these old mopars. They were kind of the red headed stepchild at the time but still if you wanted to be different they were perfect. I personally think they were perfect, even though they weren't. Your service to the car community does not go unnoticed. Thanks Steve.
I had 76 Dart Sport. That gold/tan with a white C stripe.
White high back buckets and slant 6.
Great car
Ooh! My first 'muscle' Mopar was a 1975 Dart Sport 360! Loved the '75-only rear tail treatment with the pot metal appliqué between the tail lights.. still do, actually. Classy! 😎
Those 360s are actually pretty quick
The 1976's model wasn't the same?
Incredible Steve! Never knew about the Barracuda hood and 67 dart bezels, definitely kind of weird.
Must be a good neighborhood, someone left the keys in the trunk. HAHA 😆!!! I briefly owned a '73 same color, until some old dude ran a 🛑 and t-boned me. Today, I'm the old dude!
Another great episode, Steve, I learn so much from these. Please keep them coming!
Very good video love those A body’s also keep up the good work you keep me learning .thank you
Glad you like them!
I build model cars and a couple months back I was goofing around and put the hood off a 69 barracuda on my 76 sport. It fit perfect. I thought, "know way that could be" lol. Learn something new every day.
Man I had a 73 Dodge swinger in 1983! Mine was tan with black vinyl top, engine was a 318ci. Man it was pretty quick for the times! I used to love that car! The only issues I had was that sometimes it didn’t want to start! I used to hit the solenoid with a screw driver to get it going some times!😂 the body was in perfect condition and so was the interior though! I was young and naïve didn’t know much about how to get it fixed the right way! One day it left me stranded and I couldn’t get it started! That I got pissed off and left the car on the side of the road abandoned! That it actually got towed away by the city! But I believe they couldn’t do anything with the car since I had the title. Maybe just parted out! Boy if I knew then what I know now! I would have kept it and gotten it fixed. Great video Steve!👌😎👍
You’re an awesome car encyclopedia Steve! Keep up the great work and we’ll keep watching and learning!
Im actually fond of the 225 cube Slant and theres a lot can be done to them performance wise with the 904 either as is or manualised, I have a soft spot too for the A body variants regardless of the badge and would cheerfully own one.
Hello tony66au, yes I always go with the manual valve body kit from B&M or A&A. Gotta lose that pesky kick-down / throttle pressure linkage!!! Thanks for writing, Steve Magnante
Nothing wrong with a Slant Six. They sounded like an IBM Selectric typewriter at full speed, but they were bulletproof and a wonder of mechanical simplicity.
@@googleusergp 💕 love the selectric comparison. How true it is!
@@kenttalsma7906 Indeed it is. LOL.
Get in touch with Doug Dutra if you really want to know how to make them run, he's the Slant 6 Guru Extraordinaire.
I remember seeing a Hang 10 Duster in the junk yard years ago. White exterior with red white and blue interior, shag carpet and sun roof. 318. It should have been saved but in the early 90s most Dusters weren't taken seriously 😐.
I’ve got my eye on that 67 or 66 Charger in the background! 😮
Although I’d love to have a Dart with slant 6 and 3 on the tree again
My parents bought a new 1975 Plymouth Duster with the “gold” package. Alligator type vinyl roof, 225 slant six with auto trans. They didn’t keep it very long.
Man.....really learned alot from this video.
Man that body style hooked me when I was in my early teens loved it. That was my favorite car to draw
Steve! No mention of the "Covertriple"? The rarest Dodge Dart! Even when the Plymouth version is on the mag you spotlighted? For shame!
The fuel filler pipe from a folding seat car goes into any Duster/Sport and gives a lot more trunk space
That's something I didn't know
Had a `73 Dart Sport with 360, 4sp, 4.10 gear & the snorkel scoop (which I always thought looked more at home on Challenger) The narrow rear end also allowed me to run Pro Trac N-50 15`s...the poor man`s McCreary or Mickey Thompson Sportsman at the time without tubbing.
I had an AR 8 track player back in the 70s... It was a $75 discount store item. Haven't thought of one of those since the 70s!
I like watching the captions on these videos. When Steve said "the K cars", the captions said "decay cars".
A friend of mine had a 74 tan Duster 225 slant six,he traded it for a 81 K car,he always said he wished he had it back...
Our neighbours had a K car, it sounded like a slow drum solo when they started it cold.
Please write a book. Your ability to articulate is second-to-none.
Hello golfwangsap, glad you asked (for a book). I did write a few over the past decade, How To Build Altered Wheelbase Funny Cars, Rusted Muscle (a Junkyard Crawl type book!), 1001 Muscle car Facts, 1001 Mustang Facts and 1001 Corvette Facts. They are all from CarTech Books but "out of print" right now. That said, you can easily find them all on Amazon / eBay. You might like the Rusted Muscle book as its essentially a full color review of cars in junkyards all over the U.S. and is done pretty much like these Junkyard Crawl videos - but with still images - natch. THANKS for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
@@SteveMagnante honored by your response. purchasing immediately :D
How about that black '66 Charger in the background Steve?
Hang in there Steve, we’re praying for you!
Love the 8 track player 🙂
Had 2 75 dusters then a 71 all 225 cars fun rides
In 1972 I traded in my 67 GTX conv 440 Super Commando, in on my 1972 Demon. The insurance companies were eating us alive for muscle cars. Miss the GTX, but I still have my Demon !!! 50 years now. 👍
I love watching your commentary on different vehicles but I was wondering what's going on with your project your car that you bought???
Hi Ron Bryant, I have to admit it is in the "slow lane". I simply don't have enough time to do it...at least not right now. But I did buy re-pop floor pans and am absolutely planning to get to it. Thanks for writing, Steve Magnante
I knew a couple of guys that had them in high school and military in the 80s. Both were daily drivers and Midwest cars. Both had rear quarter rot, but were loved and cherished by their owners, none the less. I remember one guy was running an extra low compression 360 out of a state trooper car - he was replacing it with a crate engine, heads came off, five of the eight pistons had holes or about ready to …. Anyway, although I’m not really a Mopar fan, one of these with a 340 wouldn’t get kicked out of my garage.
The Dart Sport was the end result of the temper tantrum the Dodge Division had over the success of the Plymouth Duster. They didn't have anything comparable. The Demon was supposed to be the answer but of course that didn't last long so the Dart was revamped with Duster sheet metal.
I've had my '72 Duster 340 since 1984. They'll probably bury me in that car.
Great story, and I like everything about this car (when in good condition, of course) except for the automatic transmission. Give me the four-speed OD anytime. Recycling parts, for instance, makes finding spare parts much easier. This Dart is the right size, has the sturdy slant 6, can be made to carry a lot of stuff, and is relatively simple. I'd love to have this car now.
I had a rusty old Ford Pinto, and the left leaf spring broke through the floor when I was going 65 mph on the highway.
That trip was some scary, white knuckle driving to get back home for sure!
My mailman drove one of these. He once upon a time had a Business in my town where he sold DeSoto cars and Allis Chalmers farm equipment. Congress is still designing cars. These new models will be defying the laws of physics.
My sister had a one year old '76 Dart Swinger. It was this color red with white vinyl top and interior, Rallye wheels and the Super 6. Not a lot of power but it looked like a baby Charger, which was cool. She had it for about a year, then ended up trading it straight up to another high school kid for his '76 Firebird Formula.
How much for the 8 track ? I got some grand Funk Railroad & Canned Heat tapes I haven't played in 40 years
Or maybe some Foghat! Slooow Ride.....take it easy.....Thanks for watching and writing, Steve Magnante
The blind owl.
Could be the owner had a couple of well used Greatful Dead tapes.
The volume on your videos is declining I watch faithfully everyday at breakfast
I had a 73 Dart with a 318, what a great car. I wish I still had it today, they are worth quite a bit now.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the detuned but still fun 340 V8 that could be had in 1973 Dart Sports nor the 360 V8 that was an option in the 74's after the 340 bowed out.
Steve, Was there ever a bigger fall from grace than the disastrous transition from Valiant and Dart to Volare and Aspen?
It got worse…
Speak for yourself I have a 67 and 69 dart but would love a nice Volare wagon fall into my lap lol
@@LowDollarDude The Volare and Aspen wagons should have been some of the best and most practical American wagons ever. Should have been...........🤨
@@rightlanehog3151 I had a 80 Aspen brand new . Absolutely no quality control at Chrysler at that time
Instead of developing the R body on the older B body , I think the F body should have been made larger and the A body given another update. A Plymouth version might have been more sized like a BMW E-30 with an improved slant six. The Aspen and Volare weren't too bad overall but I think it was mostly the Fox body Ford that hurt the F body. Chrysler needed a decent big car during the K era. I think the Dart/Valiant deserved to be improved, nothing in their sales history justified it's demise.. A tidied up and lightened A body could have be fun with a V8 as an alternative to Mustang and nobody predicted that the R body would flop, but the downsized GM B bodies were pretty good in that era.
I had a 72 Plymouth Duster with a slant 6. I loved that car.
Wow learn something from you ,,, every time. you just amaze me with your knowledge..
So nice of you
The slant six was one of the best engines ever made.
Is that a ‘66 or ‘67 Charger in the background?
Do you ever worry that a critter will jump out of the trunk or hood?
Thanks. Steve. 🙏🏻😎
I had a 75 Dart Sport with the 318 that I fixed up and it was so fast for just having a 318...I also had a 74 Dart Sport wiith the 198 slant six that I cut up to fix the 75. The last engine I had in the Dart was a built 360 and boy did it run good! When I found my 75 it had the rust in the trunk and the previous owner had mounted the rear spring shackles to large pieces of wood bolted to what was left of the trunk floor LOL!!! So yes I have seen the springs go through the trunk floor before too!!!
Hey Steve, I wish you could make a trip over the pond and do a junkyard crawl over here in England. It would be difficult to find anywhere near as good as the auto wreckers you have there but now and again a few places still turn up some interesting wrecks. Thoroughly enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!
I remember dad had a Cricket. It stayed in the shop more than he drove it. We took it back to the dealership in Charlotte one Sunday when they were closed and left it there. That's when he got his first Pinto and put over 250k miles on it.
Rolled my 73 dart sport with 9 people in it in Stevens point wi we all got out pushed it over and fired it up got out of the ditch and rocked back to town great one speaker stereo too
The Demon carried thru to 1973. I bought one for $500 after it was sandwiched in the middle of a 3-car crash. Yanked the 340 4-bbl engine, 727 tranny, 8.75 posi, electronic ignition, etc out and basically dropped it into my 1967 Valiant. Goodbye oil burning 2-bbl 273.
I’m sure it was a 1973 Demon because it had the large 5mph front bumper and an externally balanced cast crank that went tunk instead of ting when you tap on it (dumb new cost saving idea for ‘73 340’s which limits interchange)
And it had Demon logos on both sides and the rear
Steve isn’t that the second Dodge Dodge Dart Sport in FE5 Red you’ve found in your travels?! Great channel and always great to see a Mopar featured! Being a ‘72 Duster owner, seeing a fallen A-Body was a fitting send-off for that ‘75 Dart Sport.😮
My dad bought one of these to flip at a bargain. It had rod knocking; he had a spare slant six in his garage. It had a three speed, all of which were floor shifted by that model year (1974). I tooled around in it for a while before he sold it. Within the year I bought a 1974 Dart Swinger. I preferred the Swinger. The big quarter panels on the Sport acted like big, tinny drums, which made the Swinger seem pretty solid by comparison.
The Feather Duster was the Plymouth version of the Dart Light, and I think they also had an aluminum intake manifold. Possibly other special parts to cut weight. I had a Swinger with the light package that also had the Mileage Minder (I think that's what it was called), the drivers side turn indicator was connected to a vacuum switch and it would light up if you pushed too hard on the gas pedal.
I had a 1973 Plymouth duster with the slant 6, 3 on the floor . That car taught me how to fix cars, was a bed hint hint. Yes it had the fold down rear seat and had fantastic gas mileage. I turned 16 in 74 one year after the Arab oil embargo. So I watched gas prices go from around 25 cents a gallon to 75 cents a gallon. You know when money had value
There was the Feather Duster lightweight as well.
Having lived in the 70s as a Chrysler crazed teenager I really enjoy your videos. It would be interesting to know what the mileage is on these 70 cars. Today 200k isn't all that rare, back then a car or truck was on borrowed time at 70 or even 60 k.
My first car was a 72 Dodge Dart 225 slant 6 3 speed on the column I end up putting in a floor shifter when the column shift messed up
In 1979 regular leaded gasoline tripled in price. I was there. Keep on crawling!
I love the 70s Plymouth Scamp
Aspen, where the beer flows like wine.
It wasn’t a taxpayer loan…. Just a guarantee of the bank loans.
I think there is something a little more interesting parked on the passenger side of that ol' Dart!
Enjoyed!!!! 👍👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed
I did the musical engines routine trying to get 100 miles out of a slant 6 before they developed a rod knock.
Finally managed it with a 170 from a 67 Valiant.
Zero to 60 in a couple days.
I remember combining the bone yards for a non-six cyl K member so i could throw a 318 in it, shortly before stumbling upon an already v8 71 Demon for $250.00!
She was her own new can of worms, naturally.
Steve, that "rubber panel" between the bumper and body is called a Sight Shield.
Good info Steve MOPAR boy from down under 🇦🇺