B"H
Just last week I became the happy owner of a '72 Dart Swinger, my dream car!
I found it on the Internet about one month ago. It was being sold by a car collector in New Jersey, who had too many cars and needed to sell some of them. Before I got this Swinger, I saw a '71 Swinger from a guy at work who had owned the car since new. The '71 had 95,000 original miles and still ran well, so said the owner. He wanted $100 for the car. A bargain, I thought. What could it need? A paint job, a set of wheel covers, etc. He told me the "A" frame was rusted and was told by his local mechanic to junk the car. We took the car to a mechanic near our office, who specialized in old cars. He put the car on the lift and said the "A" frame was actually in good shape, but the rest of the front end was shot. The front wheels actually tilted outward! The car had a lot of rust, and everthing leaked. The mechanic "begged" me not to buy the car, told me it was a "coffin on wheels." So, I turned the car down. The owner sold it to a junk man for $40. Meanwhile, I found out the front-end parts (ball joints, shocks, tie rods, etc. could be bought for next to nothing from J.C. Whitney. Boy, was I upset!!! I could have fixed the car up mechanically, given it a cheap paint job until I was ready to seriously restore the car.
Well, I felt sorry for myself until I saw the ad for the '72 Swinger. The ad said the car was in good running condition, and the owner told me it had a couple of scrapes and some minor rust under the vinyl roof. (Apparently, Chrysler didn't paint the tops of the cars with vinyl roofs!). They were asking $2,200 for the car. I figured well, it's not that far away so I made arrangements to look at the car. It took forever to make an appointment with them; when I was available they weren't! Finally we agreed on Election Day. When I saw the car, I was shocked. It didn't shine, it GLOWED! I've almost never seen such a shine on a used car of any age! The wife told me it was owned since new by an elderly woman who lived on their block. She sold it to them two years ago. It had 70,000 miles on it. The scrapes/dents were so minor, you barely noticed them. The carpets had the original "sheen" that usually wears out in about a year or so after the car starts to get used. Also, this car didn't even have a hint of rust anywhere, inside or out!! I asked the seller's wife if the paint was new; she said, no, it was the ORIGINAL paint. They waxed it 9 times a year!! The engine (a 225 slant 6 with Torqueflite) ran like a watch. The tires were brand new. Under the hood quite a few components had been replaced, like the water pump and the carburetor float. They changed the oil every 1,000 miles! And it had factory A/C, power steering, deluxe trim package, tinted glass, and the light package. It was factory Dark Gold metallic with a light tan roof and gold vinyl interior. The chrome shone as brightly as it did the day she left the showroom. Inside, she was just as clean as outside--not a crack or rip anywhere in the interior!
From the minute I saw her, I wanted her. I offered $2,000 which they turned down. Heck, I've seen cars like this advertised for a lot more money, so I offered them the full asking price. The seller's wife began having second thoughts about selling the Swinger. I called her up and BEGGED her to sell it to me. My wife even asked her to sell it to me! I was really happy when they finally did agree!
It's absolutely GORGEOUS and 100% stock. I intend to keep it that way. Although I wanted to put in an FM/cassette sound system, I decided to keep the original radio. I have a boombox with cassette and CD, and I plug it in to the cigarette ligher. I don't want to touch this car!
She drives like a dream, the steering is amazingly quick and responsive, and she's got power to spare. The only negative is those 4-wheel drum brakes. I keep her in a heated garage at home and drive her to work every day. I have a spot in the garage at work so I HOPE she never sees any rust.
When I first got her, my kids were so embarrassed! They wanted me to buy a new Taurus or Expedition or some other modern transportation module. I told them, "Fine, don't take any rides to school, etc."
Last evening it was really WARM here in New York. I was driving the kids home from swimming at the local "Y," when they rolled down all the hardtop windows and said to me, "Let's go for a drive!" I said, "No way, it's almost bedtime -- some other time." Boy, were they disappointed! I think they've finally gotten to enjoy this car almost as much as I enjoy it!