For 1962, Dodge shrank its big cars and sold most of them under the Dart name. The 1962 Dodge Dart rode a 116-inch wheelbase, and buyers could order anything from a slant six to a drag-strip V8. It was the start of a nameplate Dodge used on and off until 2016.
Along the way, the Dart turned into a compact, a muscle car and finally a front-drive sedan with Italian bones. Not every version was fast. However, the best ones shared a light, eager feel that made ordinary driving more fun.
These are our picks for seven Darts that define fun, from the early B-body cars to the 2013 revival. The verdicts are our opinion. Still, the years, engines and prices come from Dodge’s own records, period brochures and auto histories.
1. 1962 Dodge Dart 330
The 1962 lineup came in steps: the plain Dart, the Dart 330, the Dart 440 and the Polara 500 on top. The 330 sat in the middle, so it gave buyers a little more trim without the 440’s price. Every one of them shared the same 116-inch wheelbase on Chrysler’s unibody B platform.
For most buyers, though, standard power was the 225-cubic-inch slant six with 145 hp. From there, buyers could step up to 318, 361 or 413 V8s. Midway through the year, Dodge also added a 413 Ramcharger rated at 415 hp, aimed squarely at drag racing. In other words, the same family of cars could be a mild commuter or a serious street machine, depending on the order form.
Our take: the 330 is the honest middle child of the 1962 Dodge Dart family. It is the kind of car a family bought new, which makes clean survivors fun to find today. If you want one, check the unibody floors and rails closely before you think about the engine.
2. 1962 Dodge Dart 440
The 440 was the upmarket Dart for 1962. It added backup lights and extra exterior moldings to the 330’s equipment. Dodge offered it in a wide spread of bodies: a four-door sedan, two- and four-door hardtops, a convertible and a four-door wagon.
Dodge also sold the car hard. A 1962 brochure featured a 440 hardtop with the 361 V8 and quoted drag racer Don Garlits calling it “quite a bomb.” In Hooniverse’s look at that brochure, the car ran a 15.4-second quarter mile and reached 60 mph in 8.1 seconds.
However, the 440 did not stay a Dart for long. From 1963, Dodge split it off from the new, smaller Dart range and moved it to a 119-inch wheelbase. In our view, that makes the 1962 car a one-year oddity worth hunting. A 440 hardtop with a V8 is the version we would want.
3. 1964 Dodge Dart Convertible
The Dart became a true compact for 1963, with a Virgil Exner restyle. It shared its basics with the Plymouth Valiant, but it rode a 111-inch wheelbase. That gave it five more inches than the Valiant’s 106, and Curbside Classic notes that all of it went right behind the rear door.
Then, for 1964, Dodge changed the grille and some trim. More importantly, it added the new 273-cubic-inch LA V8 with 180 hp as an option. Suddenly, a small, open Dodge could have V8 power. Meanwhile, the GT sat above the regular cars as the sporty choice, and Dodge sold the GT only as a hardtop or a convertible.
Our take: a convertible is the purest way to enjoy an early compact Dart. The slant six suits a relaxed cruise, while the 273 adds real punch. Either way, check the top mechanism and the floors before you buy.
4. 1965 Dodge Dart 270
The 270 was the dressy Dart that sat one step below the sporty GT. When the compact Dart arrived in 1963, its standard engine was the 170-cubic-inch slant six with 101 gross hp. Buyers could also order the 225 slant six with 145 hp.
For 1965, Dodge gave the range more muscle. The two-barrel 273 V8 stayed on the list, and a new four-barrel 273 joined it with 235 hp. That same year, Dodge also introduced the Dart Charger, a yellow GT hardtop.
In our view, a 1965 Dart 270 with the four-barrel 273 is one of the best-kept secrets of the early compact years. It looks like a plain car, yet it moves with real purpose. Because it lacks the GT badge, it also tends to draw less attention, which can work in a buyer’s favor. If you shop for one, ask for paperwork that proves the engine is original.
5. 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger
Dodge introduced the Swinger as a new performance model for 1969, and the two-door hardtop replaced the two-door sedan. Its sales line was simple: “6,000 rpm for less than $3,000.” The Swinger 340 used the small-block 340 V8 rated at 275 bhp, according to Silodrome.
A heavy-duty Rallye suspension and dual chrome-tipped exhausts came with the package. The car also weighed 3,087 pounds, which was less than a comparable Mustang or Camaro. For buyers who wanted more, a 300 bhp 383 big-block was on the options list.
Our take: the Swinger 340 is the Dart that made speed affordable. It is light, simple and easy to keep running. That combination is why we think it remains one of the easiest muscle cars to enjoy on a budget. We dug into it further in how the 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 340 surprised everyone.
6. 1971 Dodge Demon
Dodge launched the Demon for 1971, one year after the Plymouth Duster arrived. It used the Duster body with a Dart front end and its own tail lights. The base car was cheap, too: Hagerty puts its list price at $2,343, the lowest in the Dart family by about $100.
Standard power came from a 198-cubic-inch slant six. At the top sat the Demon 340, with a 275 hp small-block and a base price of $2,721, according to Dodge’s own history of the car. In a Car Craft test, a stock four-speed Demon 340 ran the quarter mile in 14.41 seconds at 98.69 mph.
Dodge sold roughly 80,000 Demons in 1971, and about 10,000 were 340 cars. Later, the name gave way to Dart Sport. Our take: the Demon 340 is the best value-for-speed Dart of them all, in our view. For more context, read why the 1971 Dodge Demon arrived at a difficult moment.
7. 2013 Dodge Dart
The Dart name came back for 2013, and the new car debuted at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Underneath, it used a Fiat architecture adapted from the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Chrysler built it at its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.
In its launch release, Dodge listed three four-cylinder engines: a 2.0-liter Tigershark, a 1.4-liter MultiAir turbo and a 2.4-liter Tigershark MultiAir. It also had full-width LED “racetrack” tail lamps. Also, Dodge said 68 percent of the body was high-strength steel. The top GT trim used the 2.4, rated at 184 hp.
Even so, the revival did not last. Production ended on September 2, 2016, after the car missed sales targets. In our view, though, a 1.4 turbo Dart is a fun, cheap used compact today. If you buy one, get a full service history first.
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