And now the description:
This car reminded me of my granddad's last car—that's why I bought
it. It put a smile on my face whenever I drove it.
It was also a good bit scarcer than the 2-door hardtop
versions, probably because over the years most of the sedans either got
used up and driven into the ground (a family car for a succession of six
different families, then a taxi cab, then nothing left of it) or else
cut up to make yet another 2-door car. Not that there's anything wrong
with the 2-doors, but a well-preserved sedan is a seldom-seen car. Me,
I've always preferred the 4-doors; much easier to carry around friends
and stuff without everyone having to get out of the front seat to let
people (or get stuff) out of the back. So why did I sell it? Because I
have too many cars and not enough space. Mad Car Disease.
When I sold it, it had 56k original miles. Still had all the
original esoterica in the glovebox including the owner's manual,
warranty booklet, first-ever inspection report, "Your Chrysler Man In
Detroit" customer service brochure, and briefly-mandated brake
performance disclosure. No rust. No dents. A 225 Slant-6 engine and A904
Torqueflite automatic transmission, one of my very favourite
powertrains. Power steering, power disc brakes upgraded to '76 cop-spec,
factory air conditioning, lights everywhere, the 3-speed wipers, the
dual chrome mirrors, the vinyl top...a very well-equipped Dart, just as I like them.
Over my ownership (custody?), I put a great deal of work into the
car. It was built in Windsor, Ontario, and originally sold in Kentucky,
and still had an interesting Kentucky insurance sticker in the back
window. I fixed the stuff that goes wrong with cars that sit too long
and don't get driven enough:
Engine:
- Pulled the cylinder head and cleaned out the water passages, put in
new valve stem seals, de-carboned the combustion chambers, etc. The
cylinders look beautiful; they've still got cross-hatch.
- Doug Dutra blueprinted oil pump
- new exhaust manifold (real Chrysler, not Chinese copycat). New
exhaust system front to back, upgraded from undersized "cost engineered"
factory spec.
- New Mopar heavy duty (truck) vibration damper
Electrical system:
- New engine compartment wiring harness (repairing previous-owner
hacks)
- New (not "remanufactured") distributor, recurved for optimal
advance.
- Upgraded FBO electronic ignition control unit
- New (not "remanufactured") alternator
- Upgraded high-current/low-resistance heavy-duty ammeter
- Exide spiral-cell premium battery, heavy-gauge new battery
cables
Fuel system:
- New (not "remanufactured") Carter carburetor and AC fuel
pump.
- Powder-coated aluminum intake manifold (factory '76 special
item)
Cooling, Heating, & A/C systems:
- New heavy-duty radiator core and heater core, belts, hoses, and
thermostat, running Evans waterless coolant (zero corrosion). New water
pump.
- Upgrade inertia-ring type A/C compressor clutch installed
Undercar:
- Rebuilt the entire brake system, upgraded the front disc brake
calipers to the 1976 (2.75" bore) items with cop-spec pads, cop-spec
rear wheel cylinders (13/16" bore), new booster, new master cylinder,
premium brake fluid, etc.
- O'Reilly ("Engineering", not "Auto Parts") heim-joint strut rods,
new ball joints, bushings, idler arm, and Edelbrock IAS shocks all
around
- new 5-leaf HD rear springs—no droopy
tail on this Dart!
- Premium Vredestein Quatrac-2 tires with 12k miles on them (I'm going
to miss these tires; I liked them a lot)
Body & Interior:
- New premium correct trunk mat and trunk lid seal
- Front seat resprung and refoamed, NOS correct vinyl material used
with original fabric in excellent condition.
- Original radio had a stealth (invisible) conversion to stereo FM/AM +
line-in for MP3 player or iPhone etc.; new kick panels with built-in
speakers—no hack/cut type of speaker
installation.
Here is a movie of a cold startup on a
40°F morning:
