I found this car parked between the '69 Olds Cutlass convertible and the '56 Morris (all three cars are owned by the same person), and right across the street from the '54 Ford and '47 Plymouth. Yes, it's that kind of block.


Two doors, vinyl top, original black plates- great to see this car still going strong. While it most likely has a Slant Six, it was possible to buy this car new with a 383 or 440 big-block and experience the joys of zero header clearance.

See, the Lancer was Dodge's innovative compact car for '61, based on the new Valiant and priced at just $2,007 for the base 170 model. It's from Detroit's Golden Age, with relatively happy unions, high pay, and no threat from them damn Toyopets, so it will help convince the all-important hardhat vote that Obama is on their side when they hear that good ol' Slant Six go by. But, see, Obama would look too stolid driving the base 170, so that's why this car is the slightly pricier 770 coupe, which had enough chrome to look stylishly youthful without implying a sense of elitism. The Rat Fink sticker just adds to the efffect. Oh, just wait and see, folks!

Meanwhile, John McCain is going to be put on the defensive if he's seen cruising around in a new SUV or limo after the bombshell of the Obama Lancer is dropped, so we'll see him behind the wheel of a Falcon or Chevy II within a matter of hours. Yes, we're looking at an early-60s Detroit compact war for Campaign '08! You heard it here first!

It's had a restrained rat-rod-ization, which I think always looks pretty good on a station wagon. Of course, the '64 Dart also looks pretty good dressed in unadorned beaterhood.


Painting stripes on the roof is a nice touch. I haven't heard this wagon run, so I can't vouch for the presence of the lumpy-cammed V8 the paint job deserves. The standard powerplant in '64 was the 170-cube Slant Six.


This car is an official Radiator Hoes vehicle! The Hoes have a strong Alameda presence, so count on seeing some more of their rides soon.

Still, it's a convertible and the top still looks intact, so it will stay on the road. Perhaps some ambitious owner will get the bodywork done at some point... or use it as a parts car for a nicer Dart convertible.


The "GT" badging means this was the top trim level for the Dart in '69; the GT came standard with a Slant Six, though the dual exhausts on this example suggest the presence of a V8 under the hood.


The '69 Dart GT with optional 273-inch V8 listed for $2,976 new. That was 39 bucks more than the 302-equipped '69 Mustang convertible and $330 more than the '69 Corvair convertible. Yes, you could still buy a Corvair in 1969, though hardly anyone did so; actually, the 327-equipped $2,941 Camaro convertible is a better comparison.

The Swinger was the name Chrysler put on the 2-door Dart with the Custom mid-level trim package. The Special Edition series was the priciest Dart, though the real hot ticket was the $254 "Hang Ten" package, which got you surfer-esque graphics and tape stripes.


The standard engine on the '75 Dart was the 96-horsepower Slant Six 225, though you could get the Dart 360 Sport with a V8 boasting 200 horses.


This Swinger is in decent condition, with all four hubcaps still present and accounted for and no visible rust. The vinyl top is bad (of course), but other than that it's weathered 33 years quite well.

The Dart is one of the few vintage Detroit cars in which I prefer the six-cylinder engine to the V8, but then the Slant Six makes even the 318 seem flaky. Of course, a 340/4-speed Dart might convince me to give up the Leaning Tower of Power.
This Dart gets driven every day, and there's no telling how many times its 5-digit odometer has been turned over.
Check out those Buick hubcaps, which actually look pretty good on a Dodge. This car parks in front of a house in which a high-school girlfriend lived back in the day, and I have vivid memories of cutting the engine in my straight-pipe-equipped '58 Beetle about a block away and coasting up to this house in total silence, so I could drop my girlfriend off without tipping off her parents about how late we'd been out. Then, of course, I'd have to push the VW down the street a few doors before firing the 1835cc back up and driving away in as mellow a fashion as a 17-year-old with no mufflers could manage. This is the kind of flashback I get all the time, living in the town in which I grew up.
But enough of my old-time Alameda gibberish- it's poll time! We've had a bunch of A-bodies in this series, and it's time we found out which one is the crowd favorite. Sorry, haven't got a Demon on the list, but I'm keeping my eyes open for one.

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The GT was the top trim level for the Dart in 1969, selling for more than the base Coronet 440.


This one is in pretty good shape- not a show car, but a driver in fairly original condition. Too bad it's not a 4-speed car, though it might have a Slant Six. Buyers who opted for the Dart GTS got the 275-horse 340.


The single exhaust suggests that this is indeed a Slant Six car, which would make it fairly rare- most Dart GTs had the V8.


The blacked-out grille was a GT feature, and it looks sharp indeed. All right, that's today's Mopar A-Body; remind me if I go too long without another one!

The boats used a hull design with a specialized foam that eventually became a standard for the industry as the foam helped prevent the boat from becoming completely submurged in the event of an accident. While there's no Charger Daytona to gawk at, the boats are attractive in their own way (we particularly like the little green Dart). Enjoy! [ALLPAR]

The coolest thing about the '71 Valiant is that it's the car Spielberg used in The Greatest Valiant Movie of All Time. The only problem with the '71 was that Chrysler had axed the pushbutton shifter by that time.


Sure, the Valiant was a low-priced car, but it still had style.


Generally, if you're willing to apply the Bondo, you're willing to sand it. Primer helps, too. Looks like this car's owner ran out of bodywork ambition early in the project.


You still get a hint of fins in this design, just enough to remind us of the crazy machinery Chrysler was building in the late 50s. Check out the mid-80s CSM parking permits. Vintage!

Sometimes it seems that the 1964-66 Mopar A-bodies get overlooked, being overshadowed by the wonderfully nutjob toilet-seat-on-the-trunklid styling of the early 60s Darts and Valiants and the angular look of the ones that followed. Still, they weren't exactly wallflowers.


The 270 was the mid-priced Dart for '64, placed between the cheapskate 170 and the upscale GT.


Standard engine was the 170-cube Slant Six, and you really couldn't go wrong with that engine choice; generally the engine was the last thing to die on these cars. Of course, some opted for the 225 six or the damn-near-as-reliable 273 V8; yes, you could get one with a 4-speed!


Those headlights look a bit owlish, but it's a distinctive look.


Not quite as many Darts were hooned into freeway abutments as their Chevy II counterparts; couple that with the immortal Slant Six and it's no shock that plenty of these cars still roam the streets (well, in rust-free areas, anyway). The old yellow-on-black plates tell us this car has spent its entire life in California.

Old station wagons with great big engines just seem so right, of course, especially when you see one dishing out a 12-second run down at the dragstrip. And what could be more right than a '57 Ford Ranch Wagon? Why, this '57 Ford Ranch Wagon, which comes complete with a 498-cube stroker 460 and some nice engine goodies? The nice thing about this project is that you really wouldn't have to change the exterior if you didn't feel like it, since it already looks good and mean... and you wouldn't have time nor money to fix up the body, anyway, because you'd be so busy (and broke) trying to beef up the drivetrain, suspension, and brakes enough to handle all the torque of that monster hunk of blue-painted iron you'd be dropping in. But don't look at the process, look at the goal- that's what keeps you toiling in Project Car Hell!

That Ford looks sweet, all right, but it's just too damn heavy! If you want to reach the goal of a 12-second station wagon without breaking your heart and bank, you might be better off getting something with just as much character, but 1,000 fewer pound. Say, this 1965 Dodge Dart wagon, for example. It comes with a Slant Six, which starts all kinds of mental gears turning; imagine bolting a big ol' turbocharger and some Megasquirtage on that Leaning Tower of Power! Then there's always the tried-and-true route of grabbing a 360 and building it up using tried-and-true off-the-shelf power upgrades. Don't be scared off by what's certain to be a completely screwed electrical system and who knows what else; those things are to be expected when a Mopar sits for ten years and shouldn't deter you from your quest for Wagon Glory. The choice is yours, and the Dart is the same price as the Ford: $2500!

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