Dodge Dart engines ranged from a 101-hp six to a 375-hp big-block V8 between 1963 and 1976. Over those 14 model years, ten different engines went into the compact Dart. Some stayed in the lineup for more than a decade, while others lasted a single season.
Eight of them were regular production choices. However, the other two were special builds, a big-block conversion and a race-only Hemi that Dodge sold with no warranty at all. Here is each one, with its years, its ratings and a detail from the records.
1. 1963–1969 Dodge Dart 170 slant six
Every 1963 Dart used a slant six, canted 30 degrees to the right for a low hood line. At first, the 170-cubic-inch version was the base engine, rated at a modest 101 bhp that first year. It also powered the entry-level Dart 170 sedans and wagon.
The model also sold well from the start. Hagerty’s 1963 Dart profile counts 51,300 Dart 170s in year one, and 106,943 Darts overall made it the fastest-selling Dodge for 1963. Later, the Muscle Car Club Dart engine chart lists the 170 at 115 hp from 1967 to 1969, its final year.
2. 1963–1976 Dodge Dart 225 slant six
The bigger slant six outlasted every other Dart engine. According to the Muscle Car Club chart, the 225 appeared in every model year from 1963 through 1976. It held a 145-hp rating through 1971, while in 1967 it was even an option on the Dart GT, as Mac’s Motor City Garage notes.
After 1971, the numbers dropped because the ratings switched from SAE gross to SAE net. As a result, the chart shows 110 hp for 1972 and 105 hp for 1973 and 1974. Then it fell to 90 hp in 1975, before ending at 100 hp and 170 lb-ft in 1976.
3. 1970–1974 Dodge Dart 198 slant six
For 1970, a 198-cubic-inch slant six took the 170’s place as the smallest Dart engine. The Over-Drive Magazine 1970 Dart fact sheet rates it at 125 hp at 4,400 rpm, with 180 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm.
Later, by 1974, it was down to 95 hp. Hagerty’s 1974 Dart listings show the 198 in both the Sport coupe and the Swinger hardtop that year. After that, the Muscle Car Club chart drops it from the lineup.
4. 1964–1969 Dodge Dart 273 V8
The 273 was the first of Chrysler’s LA-series V8s, and LA simply stood for “lightweight A.” Initially, it went into the 1964 Dart, Valiant and Barracuda. In base form, it made 180 hp at 4,200 rpm and 260 lb-ft with a Carter two-barrel.
A high-performance version followed for 1965. According to Mac’s Motor City Garage’s history of the 273, it used a Carter AFB four-barrel and 10.5:1 compression for 235 hp at 5,200 rpm. Dodge also made it optional in the Dart GT. Solid lifters came first, and hydraulic lifters arrived for 1968, a year before the 273 was retired.
5. 1968–1976 Dodge Dart 318 V8
The 318 joined the Dart for 1968 at 230 hp, according to the Over-Drive 1968 Dart fact sheet. Over-Drive’s 1970 sheet keeps the same rating and adds 320 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm.
It also stayed to the end. In 1974, Hagerty lists a 150-hp 318 two-barrel in the Sport, the Special Edition and the Swinger. The Muscle Car Club chart shows 140 hp for 1975 and 145 hp for the final 1976 Dart.
6. 1968–1973 Dodge Dart 340 V8
The 340 arrived as the standard engine of the 1968 Dart GTS. Hagerty calls its 275-hp rating conservative. For 1969 it also powered the new Swinger 340, which came with a Hurst four-speed and Rallye suspension.
For 1970, Over-Drive notes, the 340 was the only performance engine in the Dart line. The Demon 340 then replaced the Swinger 340 for 1971. Finally, the 1973 Dart 340 Sport carried it at 240 net hp as the hottest Dart of the year, according to Hagerty’s Dart buyer’s guide.
7. 1974–1976 Dodge Dart 360 V8
For 1974 the 340 gave way to a bigger small-block. Hagerty’s 1974 listing shows the Dart 360 Sport with a 245-hp four-barrel, labeled “Hi-Perf.” Hagerty’s buyer’s guide also counts the 360 Sport as a step up in displacement.
The rating kept falling after that. The Muscle Car Club chart lists the 360 at 230 hp and 300 lb-ft for 1975. Then, by 1976, the Dart’s final year in this run, it was rated at 220 hp.
8. 1967–1969 Dodge Dart 383 V8
The 383 B-series V8 arrived late in the 1967 model year with the new Dart GTS, conservatively rated at 280 hp. In fact, it filled the engine bay so completely that power steering and air conditioning were not available.
Only 457 were built for 1967, split between 229 four-speeds and 228 automatics, according to Mac’s Motor City Garage. For 1968, the Over-Drive fact sheet lists it at 300 hp as the GTS option. However, the 383 and the 440 both left the Dart lineup for 1970.
9. 1968–1969 Dodge Dart GTS 440 V8
The 375-hp 440 was never a regular Dart option. Instead, Hagerty says the folks at Hurst sandwiched it under the hood. For 1969, Street Muscle reports that Dodge sent the design to Hurst Performance because it could handle the volume needed to homologate. The cars came with a 727 TorqueFlite and no power steering.
Buyers could choose only the color, the wheel trims and an optional 3.91 rear axle. Sports Car Market dates the 640 M-code 1969 cars from December 1, 1968, to May 18, 1969. Later, Mecum sold one of them in Houston in April 2017 for $81,400.
10. 1968 Dodge Dart 426 Hemi (LO23 Super Stock)
The 426 Race Hemi went into only 80 Darts. Dodge built them as Super Stock drag cars in 1968, and Chrysler’s Race Group handed their development to engineer Robert L. Tarozzi. The cars sold “as is” without any warranty, and the factory never meant them for the street.
According to Dodge’s history of the LO23 Hemi Darts, each engine ran 12.5:1 compression and two Holley 770-cfm four-barrels on an aluminum cross-ram intake. In addition, fiberglass fenders, a scooped fiberglass hood and stripped doors brought the race-ready weight to 3,020 pounds. All 80 cars came out of the Hamtramck Assembly Plant in Michigan.
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