1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 225 4 Speed Tour and Driving Impressions
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- čas přidán 19. 03. 2024
- An updated Driving tour of my 1969 Dodge Dart with a 225 Slant 6 Bored 0.060" over.
Originally a 3 on the tree car, I installed an a833 transmission with floor shifter, upgraded factory style brakes, axle and sway bar. Built about ~25 years ago to mimic a factory 1969 Dodge Dart "340 Swinger" it has complete true dual exhaust, and used to be raced extensively in the slant 6 racing series from 2004-2010. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Around 1982, my friends older brother bought a southern /6 base Dart, rubber Matt car. It was white with a blue interior and a PAINTED BLUE roof! He swapped in a 340 4 speed, kept the flat hood. I've loved sleepers ever since.
Hello from Wisconsin
Thanks. Lots of folks have grown up with these cheap and economical cars over the years. I have always kept an eye out for the painted roof models, when I see one at a car show, I spy the fender tag out of curiosity. Many times the factory would run them through as light green/dark green, light blue/dark blue, and light copper/dark copper as this one. Also body color with a white painted roof seems to have been a common one as well.👍👍
I love how he's squeezed some extra hp out of that slant 6.Pulls and sounds great.Not putting a 340 in it makes this car very unique as its still fun to drive I'm sure.
@@hyperpack
If it was a station wagon with the slant six & manual trans, I would want to buy it...
@@davidhollenshead4892 Well, In the US there were no A body station wagons built in 1969. Maybe you need something like this: czcams.com/video/iQohQYHVT_k/video.htmlsi=LEdvFZ_5NDdi0SPh
They are awesome engines. My friend had a 68 coronet with a 225. He used to drive it with the valve cover off. I had a 67 A100 . Bought it with a blown 170 slant 6. Had a hole in the block
Dennis Weaver needed this setup in Duel
good call.
No doubt. GREAT movie.
bigger radiator would have helped, lol
He needed a 340. That truck would have never seen him again
@@migmadmarine He would have caught up at the next gas station. The one thing a 340 Dart can't pass.
I'm a Ford guy. I'm 75. I have been all my life.
Buttttt, my work vehicle in the 1980s was the Dodge van slant 6 with a four speed. 4-speed was the same one that they put in a charger in the 1970s. Needless to say this setup was bulletproof. That 225 never failed me and was a pulling machine, torquey little devil. That's an engine that they should bring back today in an updated fuel injection electronic ignition workhorse.
SLANT 6's are indestructible. We had a 70 Dart Swinger coupe. Manual steering and brakes. My sister drove it back and forth to Penn State for years from my hometown. Which is about 2 or 3 hour drive. The body rotted away but that Slant 6 kept running. Great engine.
The later ones were crap I had a brand new one in a truck had one under warranty go back for new valve train work
Latter ones what year?@@user-jk5xc8ye8t
This seems like a really nice driver. I'd be proud to own this car. Long live the Slant 6!
Legendary bulletproof motor no doubt.Love what he's done with it here instead of swapping it out with a small block.Pulls great!
Loved this video, the exhaust note sounds amazing. Back in 1964 I got my dad, who was tired of the gas mileage on his '56 Pontiac Star Chief, to buy a Dodge Dart 270 with the 225 slanty AND the factory 4-speed. We also got the heavy duty brakes and larger section tires and wheels. I loved it when I got to drive it and when I inherited it I set up the suspension like a Trans Am sedan of the day. I installed radials on it but kept the stock carburetor since I had to do a lot of highway miles and it regularly got 29mpg. on the freeway with the 4speed. Slant sixes rule!
*Gotta have that Vintage "Period-Correct FM-Converter" for...Genuine Authentification.*
Sparkomatic?
@@rtod4 ..."SPARKOMATIC"
Didn’t everyone have one ?😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Audiovox on Long Island
@@donaldsmith7047 *Yes. They Did. hahaaha LOL*
She just sings a beautiful song. I love the leaning Tower Of Power.!
Thanks, I am glad you appreciate it. with thoughtful parts selection, proper exhaust and head work these poor performers can be made quite fun with proper intake, carburation or fuel injection. I love to argue with the guys that tell me "I would buy that and pull the slant 6".😀
Love your car & what I consider the correct mods.
What gear do you run & what about a rev limiter? @@hyperpack
@@user-np9jd3pi5g Thanks, Everyone has their own things that they like to do. Currently I have a 3.23, but When I raced I had a 4.10 gear for track duty. No rev limiter. It's not going to do much past 5800 anyway - Just use common sense and lift before 6. With this intake and cam it does not rev fast anyway.
Sounds awesome. You need an Australian built 6 cylinder hemi like we got in ours Chryslers.
great little engines. had them here in australia in my father's 1966 valiant..
Beautiful car the ole trusty leaning tower of power
My dad had a 81 LeBaron with the slant 6
very cool. I had a 69 Dart Swinger back in the late 70's. Slant 6 three on the tree and 13 inch wheels. I paid a whopping $80 for it because it needed an alternator. Fixed that and drove it for a year or two. Good times.
Thank you so much for letting me ride in a REAL CAR! IM SMILING SO HARD! in fact I feel like I’m driving! Every shift. I’m gonna need one of these!
Thank you, I am glad you appreciate it!
These type vehicles should still be in production. Inexpensive and durable.
Sweet car! That 4 speed really wakes it up.
Thanks, I am glad you appreciate it
Nice looking ride. Always good to see a Dart that hasn't had a big block put in it
I had 3 69 Darts in the 80s.
Bought the first in 1977 with 110k miles Cherry body, needed an engine. Replaced it with junkyard 225 from a 76 Dart and ran it for another 137k miles. Best car I ever owned. Someone ran a stop sign on me and that ended that one. That was Ezzie. 69 Dart Swinger 225. 1986
Then there was my 69 Dart Swinger 225 with a 273 automatic. Ran that for years until the right torsion bar broke.
Then there was the 69 plain jane Swinger with a 273.
The engine overheated so I converted it to a 440 from a 74 Dodge Monico police car. That car was ridiculous, but fun!
Anyway, I like your setup. Keep on motoring and enjoy.
Thanks, glad you appreciate it. It seems that you have quite a storied history with this MoPar platform.
Nice work on that car, looks like hit runs and handles awesome. I love the sound of the exhaust with the headers. 👍👍
Wow crazy color combo 😮 nice car
I love the 3 on the tree, I removed the factory 3 speed on the floor of my Chrysler Valiant VG Pacer, for the column change, hands hardly ever need to leave the wheel 🤗 but anyways I have had a 225 6 in all 7 of my Valiants including the VG Hemi Pacer, my brother wanted the Hemi.
What a beautiful old Dart you have there! Glad to see someone that enjoys and respects these Slant 6 Chrysler products. The /6 is quietly one of the most reliable, hard working, blue collar engines ever produced.
Nice car. Love the Leaning Tower of Power! I too am a 6 cylinder guy.
Years ago I worked at the Chrysler Tank Arsenal in Warren Michigan & bought a '76 Dart Sport in early '77 at the Chrysler exec marshalling center (Lynch road). It was maroon with a maroon brocade cloth interior, slant 6 with a 4-speed with only 6K miles, was loaded & had a factory sunroof. Just a super fun car to drive & was quite fuel efficient. I had it for a couple of years then sold it to my brother.
Sounds incredibly nice. I love the sound those old inline 6!!
Thank you I am glad you appreciate it
Memories! I had a blue 225 and a friend had an orange W black stripe 340.
Bought a "68 4DR with R & H from an old lady who drove it to work everyday for 20 years. Her round trip was about 80 miles a day! She said the odometer went around twice!! I think I paid $400 for it. No problems until I gave it to my cousin so his wife could drive to work. They let his lazy brother drive it around and he never check the oil. Blew the motor!! Boy was I mad. Sweet car.
Simplicity at its finest
I love this car! Nothing more fun than a light car with four on the floor!
Thank you I am glad you appreciate it!
Found a complete rebuilt front end gives the most pleasure in driving no matter what car. Complete.
What’s the fun of a lumpy engine with a car running all over the road.
Looks like a good job.
Always loved the darts ,my brother had the same car but with a 340 and a light tan vinyl roof ,same color and same color interior 👍🏻
My mom had a Dodge Dart Swinger, a Dodge van with a slant 6. A Plymouth Volare (wagon), with the Slant 6, and a Plymouth Gold Duster with a slant 6. She really likes old Dodges from that era. I love the distinct sound of a classic Dodge Starter. I can always recognize one starting when I hear the starter sound. These are the cars my mother had in the 80's and 90's when i was a kid. They were all from probably the early 70's.. They were all very dependable too. Sometimes cold natured though, and that Volare wagon would go way over 100. That was the only one I got to drive. I love the slant 6 engine. I was not aware they came in different size engines. I thought they were all 225.
My mom insisted on a 76 Volare with the slant six. It would always stall when it was hot, overheat because of lean burn ignition. It was given to me. POS. I used to drive from Phoenix to San Diego overnight during the summer so it wouldn't overheat and didn't need the ac. An underpowered turd.
@@John-pz6nm So did you write this comment poorly to contradict my comment? My Mom also told me if you don't have anything nice to say don't say nothing at all. How about yours? lol
@@MattC78 😂 I got your pantys in a knot Ms. Hostility. The motor is a turd. I made my point clearly. Did I hurt your feelings and that's why you're telling me not to have a First Amendment Right and not comment to save your "feelings"?
@@John-pz6nm .... Learn how to spell dude.
@@NonNone-qm4zi Okay Miss English Teacher
What needs correction?
Very impressed. Never heard a slant sound or perform like this one.
Wow, spectacular camera setup, and a wonderful car as well! Unfortunately I am a broke college student so I am delegated to motorcycles at the moment, but one day...
Ah, the leaning tower of power. Bullet proof engines. They'll run forever.😊😊😊
Amazing. I could not imagine that sounding so good. It appears to have a lot of useable power too. Very impressive.
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it.
In 67 driving my mom's 273/ auto coupe Barracuda on Woodward ran against a 225 Dart and he stayed even until we caught up with traffic- I was truly impressed!
Oh man, hell of a nice job on that. I can't even remember when I saw a carb last. That is so cool. I had the 4 barrel on a hot rod Buick Wildcat back in my day. Beautiful
Can't beat the slant 6; 225 . I had two cars and a full size van with it. Loved them 😊
Had a 1967 slant 6. Driving from Boise to San Diego, started missing around San Bernardo. Made to San Diego and checked the plugs one fouled. Pulled the valve cover, push rod had popped of the rocker arm. Put it back on adjusted the the valve lash and drove back to Boise. Ran great!
Lots of great stories like that about these engines.
Had the exact set up in a 64 Dodge Dart. Mine had the original Hyper pac set up. 600AFB, Racer Brown solid lifter cam, with the Hyper headers, four speed and 4.11 rear gears. Loved that car what a blast to drive and it gave those small block Chevy guys fits.
I would love to see some pictures of your '64 with the over the counter parts department bits installed. Thanks for sharing!
Had a 69 dart with slant 6.. most reliable car I have ever had..it rotted out before it ever broke down
Beautiful car. I had a 68 valiant two door signet in the 80’s with the 225. Had some mild work with a 2bbl. Was a great car. This brought back some great memories.
Funny enough I saw you drive by a bronco sport which is my current ride (which I also love)
That two tone paint was common back then. I had a 1970 Oldsmobile that was dark green with a black roof. That Dart is sweet. I envy you.
Mopars....the car everyone "used" to own. Your's is nearly a unicorn with that painted top. I've never seen one in person. My '69 is quite the opposite...a Custom sedan with a 273 V8, automatic,PS, A/C, radio, etc. You are right, they handle good even stock.
Thank you, I am glad you appreciate it.
The A body Platform does handle adequate in stock form, especially when upgraded to modern tire sizes. They are even a bit more fun when you upsize to 17"x8'" wheels with 245-45 17's or larger tires and use a front sway bar with skookum 1" or larger diameter torsion bars and proper rear spring rate, with good edelbrock or Hotchkiss/Fox Shocks.
This car runs 225 70 14's with 340 v8 torsion bars, ( I will probably upsize to 1.03" or larger bars for a bit more spring rate some day) Factory front sway bar, stock type shocks, and air shocks out in the rear for a bit of extra spring rate.
@@hyperpack😂ku⁷9O ⁶8j. Nn deř9
I remember seeing your car at Carlisle over 20 years ago! So glad you kept it and it still looks great!😮
My 64 Valient was a Hurst slant six four speed 4 barrel car. The front wheels would almost leave the ground! Nice car there young man!
You've done a fine job on your Swinger, as good as anything I've ever seen. And it obviously handles well. I was a teenager in the 1960s and had a couple performers (highly modified '65 GTO and stock 1970 Duster 340 I bought new), but your Swinger is the coolest and probably best balanced performance machine.
Thank you, I am glad you appreciate it!
Love that car. Right up my alley. Like the wheels matching roof. Wish I had it
Great car. That's equivalent to probably the VF Valiant in Australia.
2 door models are absolute collectors' items and worth a fortune.
I had a 69 Dart with the 225 and an automatic. Car got 25-28mpg all day long and never failed me.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
What a beautiful car! So smooth. Great work. Thank you for showing it.
Probably the most reliable motor produced in America. I had a 64 Dart and 76 Volare with the 225 slant 6. Great engines, easy to work on and pretty much indestructible
had a few /6's. Scamp, 2 Darts and an '85 D100 pu. Hard to kill 'em. a freind had a slant 6 duster w/ 3 speed manual floor shift.
Looks great and sounds even better. Great job 👍
Camaros of 67 and 69 offered a complimentary color package on them as well. That's a awesome car.
Great car! I loved the Slant Six many moons ago. Looks like Dodge will be returning to the straight six soon! Thanks for posting!
Thank you I am glad you appreciate it!
Loved your video. My first car was a 1964 Dodge dart, three speed on the column, 225 slant six. Had an AM radio ( I added a FM converter). I loved that car. Easy to tune up and work on.
Thank you. I also have one of those 1964's with a 3 on the tree. I cut the tree down and put a T5 in there instead. Much better for driving and all around fun.
That dart is so cool, love what mods u have done, the sound at idle sounds great. I'd drve the wheels off it, im 67 been a Mopar guy all my life. I still have my 1966 dodge coronet I've had 51 years now has a 440, runs 12.50 in the 1/4 mile with full exhaust and slicks
Thanks for sharing your experiences, I am glad you appreciate this car.
Cool vid we had a 76 Dart 2 Two door that bronze color w black vinyl top and bronze vinyl interior. I was a kid so don’t remember the engine size but it had a 6 cylinder and auto.
By 1976 the only slant 6 engine size made was 225, I believe the 170 existed from 1960-69 and the 198 from 1970-1974.
I own a 71DEMON 340 4-speed and your car is pretty cool! It almost sounds like my 340 idling. Very unique car. My buddy had a 69 Dart Swinger 340. He bought his new as I did a 340 Demon back then. Yeah, we're a couple of old Mopar guys. The difference is I never grew up. Can't tell you how many A-body Mopars I've had since 1971.
I had 2 69 340's, great cars. I like your setup with the 4 speed. What a fun daily driver. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you I am glad you appreciate it!
Fantastic. Very enjoyable watching this.
That's awesome! Love the 6.
These mod/upgrades are done really good and factory look. Like them alot.
Dam that runs nice. We had a 72 Duster slant 6, we also had a 69 Belvedere slant 6. My Dad loved those 2 cars. 👍
Good to see you and your car. I remember seeing you at events back in 08 and 09. I live in Tennessee now.
Interesting project. Looks like a fun build.
Owned a 70 Duster with a 340 four speed back in the late 70's until a tree took her out. Always remember how the car would flex powering into a corner. These cars were fast because they were so light.
Sound like you powered the car into the tree there AJ....DUH
The only video on CZcams with "Dart Swinger" and "Heel & Toe Downshift" in the content. Nice job, looks fun to drive!
Keen eye. Thanks!
The slant 6 version of the dartor valiant was the economy model. It was never meant to be a hot rod.
Just like a 318 V8, yet there are 400 HP builds of that engine. It can be a fun car, so why not?
It is the four speed that makes all the difference in the world! tHanks for the video!
SWeet stroll down memory lane. In 1975 I forked over $970 for my 1969 Dart. I was in my 2nd year of college. The car had power nothing, a dying radiator and a paint job seriously in need of tlc, but it was that vivid sky blue metallic with chrome-peeling moon wheels.
This two door hardtop came with a 225 and three on the tree. I replaced the front bench with two salvaged Alfa Romeo buckets that had broken backrests. The fix was easy, two bolts. They came upholstered in the same shade of black vinyl I had put in the Dart when I had new rear seat upholstery and black carpet to replace the original mat-style flooring. had a new interior made, so no more backaches from the horrendously non-ergo originals. The first real transformation came when I chucked the OEM shocks, added front and rear stabilizer bars, Gabriel front performance shocks and rear air shocks to raise the saggy tail. Front torsion bars were adjusted for lower front ride height.
The shifter came off the steering column, replaced with an all-synchro three speed with a console on the center hump. The car would go around curves as if on rails. I replaced the original engine with a milled head, marine-cammed 225 with twin hemi mufflers inhaling from a dual outlet Clifford header. I tried Corvair turbo mufflers but the resonance turned the whole car into a drum. I estimated the power at between 170 and 190 hp, and it ran and sounded much like a small V8. I could have gotten more power out of it, but I stubbornly stuck to the stock intake manifold and 1 bbl carb because this was the late '70's; the height of the first OPEC oil crisis. Driven carefully I could get 24-27 MPG on the highway and broke 30 on several occasions. The car eventually got a new DuPont Imron airplane paint job in Dodge Bright Blue Iridescent (B5), with silver pin striping and a low-key chrome vinyl side molding to protect the body in parking lots. Front and rear bumpers were straightened and re-chromed.
I completed the project with a custom license frame that read: Dartrek II: the Wrath of Iacocca. I wrote articles for Dutra's Dodge regional magazine, then met him at a rally in the San Francisco Bay area and received a 1st prize in the resto-mod category. Alas, body rot began to claim the old girl and I let her go for a 1984 Turbo Daytona. I wish I hadn't. I still dream I own it.
Ohhhhh!!!!! A straight 6 with a split manifold dual exhaust is The Most Sweetest Sound There is !!!!! For Those of you who never hear one You Missed An Exhaust Sound That is like No Other !!!!!!!
Nice vid! Brings back memories frm my youth. Out family had one this color with black interior and black vinyl top. The Slant 6 would idle so smooth that my friends would ask it it was still running at stop lights. It had a defect in the vin that indicated it was a V8 and would cost an extra $3 to licence.
I LOVE what you have done here. Great job on the 4 speed and keeping the body and interior stock.
Thank you, Glad you appreciate it
this is better than a small v8, the A body cas was engineered around a slant six so it is a better balanced car, with improvements on the engine and the add of sway bars, this combination a serious contender.
Beautiful car! Great job doing something different with a car.
Backin the early 70s I had a Great Aunt who drove a Dodge Swinger. She was in her late 60s at the time, and everyone in town called her “ the little ole lady from Pasadena”! Everywhere she went in that thing, she went fast! Lol!
That is a nifty little hotrod my friend. Love the fm converter underdash.😊
I once had a '69 Plymouth Valiant with a slant six auto. It just drove snd drove. I really like how your car sounds and looks. Great job!
Oh, oh looks like there is a problem with the motor mounts the way the motor is leaning like that, ( just joking) A friend used to work at a gas station back in the 1970's and 80's and when a customer drove in with Dodge or Plymouth slant six they would tell them their motor fell over as a joke and it could have broken motor mounts. My brother had 2 1960's Plymouth Valiants, 2 Dodge darts and a 1958 Dodge pick up with a slant six swapped in, Those motors ran like a watch. My other brother had a 1972 Duster with a 340 and I had a 1972 Plymouth Satellite 4 door with a 318
Introduced myself to this sweet Chrysler product on your website many moons ago. I have really loved it ever since. I really dig your sense of taste and style both aesthetically and mechanically! I wouldn’t change a thing! You have created a fun driver that could surprise, with its bite, those who would look down upon a non-V8 version. I like that you have kept her going and still have the thrill from it. Kudos! BTW you have a new subscriber! Cheers!
Those slant sixes were pretty much bullet proof, Great video.
Thanks, I am glad you appreciate it.
I had a 75 valiant with a 225 slant 6. 4 on the floor with hurst shift kit. Did a performance rebuild on the head and added a racing clutch. The diff was the weak point but would still do a respectable hole pull for a 4 door boat and the overdrive gave it a huge top end
Love it! Never seen that color combo before, looks great.
We put hockey pucks under lower control arm to frame when torsion bar mounts rotted out, guy walk was surprised when we hit a pot hole, like Bobby Orr took a slap shot! Yipes! Super Cool Set-up on your car, love the 225 slant six, indestructable! Thanks!!
I had a 2 door 67 Valiant in 1975 that was a Cincinnati meter maid car. 225 with 3 on the tree. No options except heater. What a great car. Broke shfter cups a lot from banging gears.
Beautiful car! Great review!
Thank you, I am glad you appreciate it.
Nice! Growing up my mother drove Dart. Auto trans, sky blue. I was very young at the time. I only remember it when she gunned the car to get over the plow ridge of packed snow at the end of the driveway. The front went over but left the back wheels in the air. lol My dad a task for him when he got home from work that day lol Memory from your dash shot. Nice car, don`t drive in the winter :)
We had a 69 dart swinger growing up. Both front fenders had rust holes up front on top. Squeaked,rattled,shook,smoked. Rusty. Big chunks missing. Smelled like diaper flavored merit lights. Big red rectangle light on the dash. Saggy doors. But our trunk still opened with a key. So pretty fancy.
Nice video and very interesting car. We had a 71 Dart for a while and although it was a pretty plane car there are so many little things, I just loved about it.
Very nice. Looks like a blast. Congrats for hanging onto it all these years!
Very cool!👌😎👍I had a 73 Dodge swinger with the 318 with a shift kit and posi traction! That was way back in 1983!! I miss that car now! If I knew then what I know now! I would’ve kept it!
what a great car!
Sweet ride! Good stuff!
Nice ride and pretty snappy with that cam!
Beautiful !
Simplicity !
Slant 6 is one of the most
Long lasting engine that was
Ever made. Great job on the work.
Ever consider a pistol grip shift ?
They were in some of the RT models.
Nice build👍
That slanty dart is definitely not running like a normal slant six. It’s got a definitely more hyper personality than the standard 225 and I see that you’re running it basically from about 2200 to about 4500 RPM, which is about 1000 RPM higher than a stock configured 225 six. Definitely a spunky motor in that beast. It looks like it’s about perfectly geared for country road running in the 25 to 50 mile per hour range. It looks and sounds like a very nice package. I am very envious.
The cam lope sounds great !
Super nice car. Good luck with it.
Thanks I have had good luck with it since 1998 or so!
Awesome Dart , love the sound of that 225 .
Thanks, I am glad you appreciate it.