Jay Leno reminded me: my brand new 1971 BMW 2002 was a blast to drive. However, so was my first car.
My parents didn’t drive so when I got my license I convinced them we needed a “family car” and suggested a factory-ordered 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 340, yellow with black interior, black vinyl roof and black bumblebee stripe. It was hardly a random choice: I’d been devouring car magazines since I was eight and even though I loved what few imports existed in the sixties I wanted a Detroit muscle car. My friend’s ‘65 GTO convertible seemed too large and unwieldy and the Dodge employed unibody construction, unlike the body-on-frame GM and Ford factory hot rods. Everything I read pointed to the Dart. But what really enticed me about the Mopar was the brand-new, thin-wall, high-performance small block 340 V8 introduced the year before to combat the small block Chevy. At the time I could quote all the specs of this engine, from its compression ratio to the windage tray in its oil pan (to the great amusement of my chortling uncles who would ask me to perform my routine as if I were reciting the latest Dylan lyrics).
The 340, descendants of which exist to this day, didn’t come in two-barrel, low compression form – it was strictly a high-performance offering. The optional 383 “upgrade” might well have been faster on the drag strip (as were the fifty or so 440 and half dozen Hemi Darts built) but that was hardly the point. The decidedly low-tech big block was a station-wagon-and-pickup-truck boat anchor whose weight obliterated the balanced handling of the A-Body Dart and Barracuda and, given my fanaticism about the original SCCA Trans Am racing series, this mattered... a lot!
Which brings me to this Hemmings find. Author Matt Litwin correctly notes the Dart’s Trans Am success with Bob Tullius and Tony A-to-Z before Chrysler handed racing duties over to the new Challenger and ‘Cuda for the 1970 season but that raises the question: what does the 383 have to do with road racing? The answer: nothing whatsoever! Granted, the blue car in Hemmings has a numbers-matching engine and a stick so its rarity explains the asking price but it irks me that I never see a 340 ANYTHING at Mecum Kissimmee/Orlando that I attend regularly or even on Graveyard Carz (c’mon Mark!). And I wonder how many Darts and Barracudas have been big block-swapped and painted resale red over the years for a quick buck.
Needless to say, that GTS taught me all about power oversteer (drifting, before there was a name for it) on my favorite twisty road along the banks of the Charles River in Newton, Massachusetts and prepared me for my next automotive adventure, that ‘71 2002. Still, after a ‘76 VW Sirocco, a ‘70 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and another 2002 I flew from Boston to Atlanta to buy the twelve year-old, copper-color ‘69 Swinger 340 below, “rust-free” having already achieved mantra status in my lexicon. Apparently I hadn’t gotten that little Mopar out of my system and I still haven’t, not really.
Somewhat regrettably, it’s been VWs and BMWs since then. Now, in 2022, a 1968 GTS – with the WRONG motor – sells for the price of a new, base-model BMW M3! Given the choice I’d be a fool not to choose the new M car today.
And yet… check out that Tobacco Road Gold beauty in the top right photo.
The 2002 Jay took for a spin resembled my ‘71 the day it left Foreign Engine Company in Everett, Massachusetts as a brand-new “restomod” with substantial upgrades to its engine and suspension, including twin 45 DCOE Weber carburetors, a tubular header into an Abarth exhaust, Koni shocks and big sway bars, plus a MOMO Prototipo steering wheel. Had I held onto that iconic Bimmer to this day I wouldn’t have regretted it one bit. However, it’s that gold Swinger 340, purchased new and lovingly restored/enhanced by the family of the original owner, that really gets my juices flowing. Read the Hemmings article for all the juicy details.
Here's an audio clip of my yellow 340's exhaust note recorded in 1971 just before I traded the car for my first 2002. I placed my Akai reel-to-reel portable tape recorder in the trunk and duct-taped a stereo microphone above each exhaust tip. Then I bungie-corded the trunk shut and went for a blast up Route 128 in Newton and Weston.
Good speakers cranked to eleven recommended. Enjoy!
For the sake of accuracy:
"Although Dodge went on to produce a 426 Hemi version of the Dart, that car was for track use only, leaving the 1969 Dodge Dart GTS M-Code 440 as the hottest street-legal variant of this compact car. Only 640 examples of the M-Code 440 were ever produced." https://tinyurl.com/38pkdutn
Incidentally, 80 Hemi Darts were built – a lot more than I remembered. The option was dropped for 1969 model year.