Dodge Dart for sale UK-US
The Dodge Dart had an available 340-cid/300-hp V-8 and sporty styling, and was a lot of muscle car for the money.
1968 Dodge Dart GTS
GTS mean GT Sport. It was the name of a sexy new-for-’68 “sawed-off shotgun” that was a whole bunch more than a sporty compact car. “Not to take the edge off the Road Runner, the GTS might be a more sensible package”, said Hot Rod magazine’s Steve Kelly in the publication’s April 1968 issue. “The base price is higher, but you get things like carpet on the floor, fat tires, bucket seats and a few other niceties that can make Saturday night roaming more comfortable.
The engine’s smaller, but that could prove an advantage for drag racing classes.” Two hefty V-8s were available. A 340-cid small-block engine was standard. It was derived from the 273-318-cid Chrysler family of engines and had a 4.04 x 3.31-inch bore and stroke, a 10.5:1 compression ratio and a single four-barrel carburetor. The 340 engine cranked out 275 hp at 5000 rpm and 340 lbs.-ft. of torque at 3200 rpm.
A 383-cid big-block engine with a four-barrel carburetor and 300 hp was optional. The 383 added 89 lbs. to the car if you got a four-speed gearbox and 136 lbs. if you got an automatic transmission. A standard 3.23:1 rear axle was supplied, but 3.55:1 and 3.91:1 ratio axles were also available as optional equipment.
Other technical enhancements included a low-restriction dual exhaust system with chrome tips, a heavy-duty Rallye suspension, 14 x 5.5-inch wheels and E70-14 Red Streak tires.Although a column-shifted three-speed manual transmission was standard, most Dart GTS models had either a four-speed manual gearbox with a Hurst floor shifter or a competition-type TorqueFlite automatic transmission.
Also identifying the GTS were hood power bulges with air vents, body side racing stripes, special GTS emblems and simulated mag wheel covers. A bumblebee stripe to decorate the car’s rear end was a no-cost option. Vinyl front bucket seats were standard in the $2,611 hardtop and optional in the $3,383 convertible. In 1968, the production of the GTS models was lumped into the total of 24,100 Dart GTS series V-8s produced.
The 1968 Dodge Dart GTS hardtop with the 340-cid/270-hp power train tested out with a 0-to-60 time of 6 seconds. It did the quarter-mile in a “Scat Pack” time of 15.2 seconds. Hot Rod magazine published even better numbers for its 340-cid TorqueFlite-equipped Dart GTS, which ran down the quarter-mile in 14.38 seconds at 97 mph.
Extract from the “Standard Guide To American Muscle Cars 1952-2005“
1968 Dodge Dart GTS pictures
1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 340
Not every Mopar muscle machine that came down the pike was a fire-breathing, Hemi-powered, big-engine-in-small-body bomber that fit in better at the drag strip than at the strip small. There were also some compact Dodges and Plymouths fitted with hi-po small-block V-8s that provided enough sizzle for the masses without going overboard on the “high-end” high-performance hardware. The 1969 Dodge Swinger 340 was one example of such a car.
This model qualified as a member of the hot Dodge “Scat Pack” and proudly wore its bumblebee stripes, even though it was really more of a swinger than a stinger. Designed to give muscle car fans more bang for the buck by emphasizing performance over luxury, the Swinger fit right into the “budget muscle car” trend that produced cars like the Plymouth Roadrunner and Pontiac GTO Judge. It was like a small-scale counterpart to such models.
As muscle cars went, the Swinger 340 was a bargain and collector’s today can still a pretty good deal on one of these cars.
“Play your cards right and three bills can put you in a whole lot of car this year,” said an advertisement showing a red Swinger two-door hardtop with a black vinyl roof. “Dart Swinger 340. Newest member of the Dodge Scat Pack. You get 340 cubes of high-winding, four-barrel V-8. A four-speed Hurst shifter on the floor to keep things moving. All the other credentials are in order.”
Standard equipment for 1969 included the 340-cid 275-hp V-8 engine, four-speed full-synchro manual transmission with Hurst shifter, a three-spoke steering wheel with a padded hub, a heavy-duty Rallye suspension, “Swinger” bumblebee stripes, D70 x 14 wide-tread tires, dual exhausts, a performance hood with die-cast louvers and fat 14-inch wheels. Seven colors were available for the car and four colours for vinyl roofs.
A total of 20,000 were built. Even today, muscle car collectors can find bargains in the Swinger 340 market, since these cars don’t look as flashy as a GTS, although they are equally fast.
