Dodge Dart: the Plymouth Valiant knockoff

Chrysler historian Curtis Redgap has frequently commented that Dodge never saw a Plymouth they didn't like - or get. The Dart is a car that never should have existed, given the Chrysler Corporation structure and hierarchy, but exist it did, and it was a sales success for nearly its entire run.

In the 1950s, every major American automaker understood that they would need a small car, partly to compete with European models. In addition to bringing in cars from their own offseas operations, which invariably flopped, all three created new vehicles. GM brought out the Corvair, a flawed vehicle whose development problems were described by John DeLorean in On a clear day you can see General Motors. While the Corvair was, after a minor redesign, not quite as unsafe as its reputation, it couldn’t have been very profitable, either. Ford brought out the Falcon, a big car that was simply reduced in size and capability, reportedly meant to be built cheaply and to be thrown out after a short time; the first year saw well over 400,000 units sold, but they rusted out quickly, and the brand died within ten years, leaving in its wake the incredibly successful Mustang.

Chrysler introduced a new car directly between the Corvair and Falcon in conventionality, and far ahead of either in reliability: the Valiant. At first it was to be a brand of its own, but the company quickly realized that had its 200,000 sales been included with Plymouth’s, then Plymouth could have been the third-place brand in sales as usual; so it was rebranded.

See Mr. Norm’s 1968 Hemi Dart, brought back for 2007

The Valiant’s innovations were not as extensive as they had been intended to be; instead of a high-revving four-cylinder, it got a high-revving straight-six, and it didn't keep the originally envisioned mid-engine design. It did however get an alternator, a major advance, and had a smaller, lighter, and better-designed Torqueflite automatic with the company's first Park position. The exterior was flashy and different, with Virgil Exner determined to make it unique. The Valiant was the only 1950s small-car design to make it into the 1970s, and Chrysler consistently gained over 30% of compact car sales in the mid to late 1960s.

The sales success of the Valiant immediately brought Dodge to top management, demanding their own version. Dodge at the time was positioned between Chrysler and Plymouth, and they were priced accordingly; the same basic body would be sold by all three with different levels of pricing, comfort, and flash, albeit with the same engines.

The first Dodge version of the Valiant was a short-lived car called the Lancer. We don't have a separate page for the Lancer, but Allpar.com did a comparison of the 1961 Dodge Lancer and the Neon. The Lancer retained much of the Valiant’s styling, but had fancier trim and a more upscale interior; base engine was the 170 cubic inch slant six, with the 225 optional. In terms of labels, the Lancer received the full Dodge treatment, and its sales neared 75,000 units - quite good in these days for a simple sheet-metal-and-trim job, but disappointing in those days.

At the time the Lancer was being made, there was another Dodge Dart, a relatively compact model for Dodge but still a B-body, with a full 118 inch wheelbase. It was 700 pounds heavier and nearly two feet longer than the Lancer. Sales were astonishingly good for 1960, with over 300,000 Darts sold; but in 1961, just 167,678 were sold, and in 1962, the numbers were about half of 1960, with 148,356 sold, still nearly double sales of the Lancer but not what management was hoping for. Dodge managers, looking at the Lancer’s sales - under 65,000 in 1962 - solved two quandaries at once, dropping the Lancer’s name, and bringing in a new Dodge Dart.

Specifications		1961 Lancer	1961 Dart	1972 Dart
Wheelbase		106.5	118	110.0
Overall:	Length	188.8	209.4	196.2
	Width	72.3	78.7	69.6
	Height	53.3	54.8	54.0
Ground Clearance (loaded)		5.4	5.1
Seat Height:	Front	11.2	11.4
	Rear	13.7	13.3
Headroom:	Front	37.9	37.8	38.7
	Rear	37.4	38.0	37.3
Legroom:	Front	42.8	45.1	41.5
	Rear	39.8	42.1	35.9
Hiproom:	Front	56.8	63.8
	Rear	56.9	62.9
Shoulder Room:	Front	54.0	60.4	55.4
	Rear	54.1	59.8	55.5
Trunk Capacity		24.9 cu. ft.	31.6 cu. ft.

The 1963 Dodge Dart was moved to the Valiant’s chassis, but with unique, clean, and rather understated styling and a longer wheelbase (111 inches instead of 106 inches), to get closer in size to the old “small” Dodge Dart; the Lancer was probably too small for the Dodge image, which at the time was similar to where Buick, Mercury, and Chrysler are today. Thus, Valiant would ride on a stretched wheelbase when sold as a Dodge, which helped to justify their premium pricing; buyers got an extra 4.5 inches of length, some extra features, nicer trim, and unique Dodge styling. Sales immediately shot up, compared to the Lancer. [1963-1966 Dodge Dart details at allpar]

V8 power, from a 273 cubic inch lightweight-casting A-engine, arrived in 1964, making the Dart’s name more appropriate. Unlike an actual dart, though, the Dodge Dart could handle turns well.

1966 Dimensions	Polara	Coronet	Dart
Wheelbase	121	117	111
Length (except wagons)	213.3	203	196
Width	80.0	75.3	70.8
Tread (max)	62.0	59.5	55.9
Wagon length (2-3 seat)	217/218.4	208/209	190
Front seatback to tailgate	96	92”	84
Rear opening max height	29.5	30.4”	26
Width between wheel-wells	44.9	45.3”	43.5
Max cargo volume (wagon)	97 cu ft	88 cu. ft.	68 cu ft

In 1966, the Dart had V8 power from a 273 cubic inch engine as well as the 170 or 225 cubic inch slant-six. Three models were available, the Dart (170), 270, and GT, each with different options. The grille had a clear Coronet influence, while the tail was unique among the Dodges. The 270 was the most popular series, followed by the base model, wagon, and, trailing, the GT; only about 10,000 GT V8 models were made (along with fewer than 9,000 GT sixes). Outside of the GT, the sixes easily outsold the V8s, but the V8 was unquestionably popular. Nearly 113,000 Darts were sold in 1966 (not far from the Valiant’s sales). [1963-1966 Dodge Dart details at allpar]

In 1968, “Mr. Norm” custom-built a number of Darts for racing purposes, installing a full 426 Hemi into the small car - somehow. In 2007, “Mr. Norm” started custom-building another run of these Hemi-powered 1968 Darts.

The Swinger model, an upscale version of the Dart (mostly sold in two-door form), was sold starting in 1969 as the cheapest two-door model (replacing the two-door sedan of 1968), and was also sold by Plymouth in two-door form as the Scamp. The hot version was the Swinger 340, a Swinger with, not surprisingly, a 340 cubic inch V8, which made the Swinger into a fairly hefty muscle machine. The other two-door hartops were Custom, GT, and GTS; GT and GTS were gone when the 1970 models were introduced.

1968 specs	1968 318 V8 (Dart)	1970 340 (Swinger)
Gross Horsepower	230 hp at 4400 rpm	275 @ 5,000
Torque, lbs.-ft.	340 at 2400 rpm	340 @ 3,200
Compression ratio	9.2 to 1	8.8:1
Bore, inches	3.91	4.04
Stroke, inches	3.31	3.31
Displacement, cu. in.	318	340
Carburetor type	2-bbl.	Carter AVS-49335
Air cleaner type	Silenced	same
Exhaust	Single	Dual
Fuel	Regular	Premium

1970 Swinger 340 specs: 111 inch wheelbase, 196 inch length; 69.7 inch width; 53 inch height.

1970 Dodge Dart Swinger	Front	Rear
Headroom	37.3	36.8
Legroom	41.7	31.8
Shoulder room	55.4	55.4
Hip room	57.2	57.2

For 1971, Dodge introduced the Demon, essentially a Plymouth Duster, and the Demon 340 replaced the Swinger 340; the Custom hardtop became the Swinger, and the old Swinger became the Swinger Special. All were sold with much less success than the Duster; and when Plymouth returned the favor by bringing out the Scamp, a clone of the Swinger, it sold moderately well, but not nearly as well as the Duster itself.

Canadians got a Scamp Special in 1971; Americans had to wait until 1976.

Road Test magazine tested the 340 Demon (similar to the 340 Duster) in April 1971. They got from 0 to 60 in a quick 7.8 seconds - with an automatic transmission and bias-ply tires - and ran through the quarter mile in 14.6 seconds at 96 mph, with a top speed of 127 mph.

Gas mileage was at 14 city, 17 highway, not far from the standard 318 and reasonably close to the slant six. Cornering, finish, luggage, performance, steering were rated excellent; details, instruments, quietness, ride, visibility, overall were rated very good. The base price was $3400 including tach, stereo cassette, and automatic.

1971 Demon specs: Wheelbase 108, length 192.5, width 71.6, ground clearance 5.3, weight 3,353 lb, 16 cubic feet of trunk space.

We have a large page of information and specifications on the 1972 Dart, Demon, and Swinger. We also have a large page of information and specifications on the 1975 Dodge Dart and Swinger.

For 1973, the Dart had a 111 inch wheelbase and torsion-bar suspension (Dart Sport was 108 inches); new features for 1973 included standard electronic ignition and an optional sliding metal sunroof on two-door models. The Dart 340 Sport, formerly the Demon, kept its 340 four-barrel V8; it was still quite a hot car, with a whoping 240 net horsepower and fairly light weight. The Dart Sport had an optional utility package providing six and one half feet of carpeted cargo area with the security panel and rear seat folded down; or a capacious (especially compared with the standard Dart) trunk with everything in the normal position. Both front and rear seats folded down (except the driver's seat). An electric heated defroster was available for the rear window. The 198 slant six was still available (except in California), along with the 225 slant six; the 318 was optional except on Dart 340 Sport, for obvious reasons. The Swinger was essentially a two-door Dart with styling similar to the four-door. Standard equipment included a vinyl front seat (except Sport, Swinger Special, and Dart Custom, which got cloth and vinyl), simulated woodgrain, two-speed wipers, front armrests, deep pile carpet (except Dart and Swinger Special), dual horns on Custom and Swinger, and a heater/defroster. The base transmission was a three-speed manual, with an optional Torqueflite; the Dart 340 Sport could also have a four speed manual.

1973 ENGINE	198	225	318	340
Bore x stroke	3.40 x 3.64	3.41 x 4.13	3.91 x 3.31	4.04 x 3.31
Carb	1-barrel	1-barrel	2-barrel	4-barrel
Compression ratio	8.4:1	8.4:1	8.6:1	8.5:1
Horsepower @ rpm	95 @ 4,400	105 @ 4,000	150 @ 4,000	240 @ 4,800

The Dart would remain essentially a higher-trim, extended-wheelbase Valiant with different styling until 1968, when the redesign left both vehicles looking nearly identical, save for their front and rear clips; even then Dart would keep its extended wheelbase. Not until 1974 would the Valiant finally be put onto the Dart wheelbase. Like the Valiant, the Dart was replaced in 1976 by a differently named but essentially similar vehicle, the Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen.

Thanks to Bill Watson for his corrections.

1960-1962 Dodge Dart at allpar | 1963-1966 Dodge Dart details at allpar