Junkyard Find: 1975 Dodge Dart
Will there ever be a time in which no Chrysler A-bodies show up in North America’s cheap self-serve wrecking yards? Sure, Darts and Valiants were as common 20 years ago as are dead Tauruses now, so the former torrent of old Chrysler compacts has become a trickle, but I still find at least a couple of them every time I visit The Crusher’s waiting room. In the last couple of years, this series has included this ’75 Duster, this ’64 Valiant wagon, this ’68 Valiant Signet, this ’66 Dart, this ’73 Valiant, and this ’61 Valiant, and today we’ll be admiring the car that was to 1983 what the ’94 Corolla is to 2013: a cheap, dependable sedan that nobody noticed.
This one does have an unusual option that you almost never see on Slant Six Chrysler A-bodies: air conditioning!
Most Dodge shoppers who could afford air conditioning in 1975 went ahead and got a Coronet, or at least sprang for the 318 V8 in a Dart. Perhaps this was an ex-rental car, or a New Mexico purchase.
Even in the dry Southwest, however, Detroit cars of this era managed to rust around the rear window and beneath the vinyl top.
These were just good simple cars, full of corner-cutting build-quality glitches and crappy components but easy to keep running. If I found myself transported back to 1975 and I needed to buy a cheap new car for daily-driving use, I’d probably get a Dart (though mine would be a coupe, and it would have a V8, manual transmission, and no fancy vinyl-top option). A close second choice would be the Civic.
Even with a missing hood and headlight, plus 5 MPH crash bumpers, this car has a good face.
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In Canada there is a book published annually called 'Lemonaid' providing recommendations for used and new car purchases. For years their number one recommendation was a Dart, preferably the 68 to 72 but also including the 73 - 75 models. The also recommended the 225 slant six rather than the V-8. These cars were cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, a decent size (could sit 6 with the standard front bench), had good sightlines and with only basic maintenance (and some rustproofing) would outlive any other cars of that era.
One of the worst vehicles made - by this time in its development, these cars were built like drunks made them - my family bought a new 1975 Dart and it had only one good thing about it - it was roomy. It was a dog, fuel thirsty, rode rough, seats were the most uncomfortable I can remember - seats slanted backwards far too much. This car was so awful it was one of those where Chrysler had to invent the rebate to move it. Based on the two years this dog stayed with the family, it should have been crushed in the first 30 days.