1975 Dodge Dart Swinger - Jalopnik Comments

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

stephdumas — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:31:55 EDT

I just dust-off the thread a bit, I saw these bunches of old Dodge Dart/Swinger commercials on Youtube
a 1969 Swinger 340

a 1967 ad

and 2 1971 Swinger ads with the Sheriff Joe Higgens

stephdumas

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

MOPAR-MAN — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:16:55 EDT

@slantsick:

Oh. Was the a "flower" that dotted the "i" in "Swinger"? I always thought it stood for a butthole... hmm.

MOPAR-MAN

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

MOPAR-MAN — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:55:40 EDT

@frank_rizzo:

Yeah, and a different body style... 68-69

MOPAR-MAN

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

MOPAR-MAN — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:49:59 EDT

Not a good year for this car. I just passed on a '72 last week because it was full of bondo. It was a 318 a/c car with Rallye wheels. Too bad.

MOPAR-MAN

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Galaxie500 — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:46:45 EDT

25 years, but at the rate there going. You guys dissing these cars never owned them as your first or second car and never worked on them either. Having paid for them myself and repaired them there was a sense of satisfaction in being able to diagnose and fix it.

Galaxie500

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Galaxie500 — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:43:37 EDT

A bodies were everywhere and cheap in the 80's when most were destroyed. Had a 71 Duster with 230 hp 318, manual steering and brakes which was a fun car. Had a 73 Swinger in the light blue above with blue interioer, again 318 only down to 150 hp and you could tell the difference. Finally had a 76 purple swinger with corporate Duster/Challenger bucket seats, it drove like my freind's 73 Imperial. Big, slow and heavy at the end but still better than the next 250 years of Chrysler crap that followed. Check out the Australian, South African and Brazilian versions built until 1981.

Galaxie500

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

DucatiChuck — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:47:20 EDT

my grandmother had a dodge dart swinger, in that color, with that interior. she bought it new and traded in her opel station wagon for it.

DucatiChuck

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

stephdumas — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:23:02 EDT

Highway 61 released a 1:18 diecast of a 1969 Dart Swinger, according to old
[www.toywonders.com]
and here a article about a 1970 Swinger, there was more muscled with the 340 engine then [www.moparmusclemagazine.com]

stephdumas

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Gradall — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:55:09 EDT

Is there any factory floor boards left in these things? I thought they all leaked from the factory.

Gradall

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

bzrchero GT — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:24:03 EDT

@DoggieDaddy: Bland then, retro-ironic-chic today. Funny how our perspective on the past is skewed like that, huh?

Ironic hipsters of the future will proudly proclaim their trendy, anticonsumerism identities behind the wheels of hubcap-missing banged-up 2007 Corollas. (But the truly special will have opted for the Echo.)

bzrchero GT

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Muttonchops — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:31:33 EDT

I spent the majority of my senior year of high school riding around in one of these with my best friend. It was painted fire engine beige. At one point another friend of his defaced the hood with a sharpie drawn cartoon face. Deciding to go with it he asked all his friends to add something to the mobile mural. By the time the tie rods broke it was almost completely covered in signatures, poems and cartoons. In fact he would often park it only to come back later and find MORE additons from complete strangers.

Ahh good times.

Muttonchops

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

NovaloadMissesPolar — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:13:03 EDT

Those things used to be everywhere with every known modification. The jellybean of its day.

NovaloadMissesPolar

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Elhigh — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:51:29 EDT

"Swingtown" prop whore for sure!

Elhigh

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

NotACoolGuy — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:50:59 EDT

An ex-girlfriend of mine loves these things, and I have no idea why. She also loves Dodge Aries's.

NotACoolGuy

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

texan01 — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:40:48 EDT

A friend of mine had a '74 Swinger he beat the snot out of, course it had the Slant Six that he managed to destroy, the wonderful 7 1/4" rear end that had enough slop in it make unholy noises when you did manage to get the leaf springs wound up or put it in reverse, and the wonderful manual drum brakes. He thought it was great to put a 3" exhaust with a glasspack on the ol' Six and from there after it sounded like an angry lawnmower from two blocks away.

Couldn't handle worth a darn ether with no swaybars.

but it was clean and straight and no rust 80,000 mile car when he sold it for an even worse '85 Mustang 5.0

texan01

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

TPSreports — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:28:35 EDT

Shit cars then.

Shit cars now.

TPSreports

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

OldeEnglishD misses Polar — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:27:07 EDT

@DannyBN: I would prefer a somewhat, um, how do you say.....smaller, less visually offensive tramp...

OldeEnglishD misses Polar

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

petersterncan — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:26:36 EDT

I like Swingers too... the cars and the people who don't drive them.

petersterncan

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

zweirad — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:22:01 EDT

The Dart Swinger, sexier than your granny's Dart four door.

zweirad

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

west-coaster — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:02:30 EDT

During my driver's ed. class, circa 1977, our stuffy middle-age teacher Mr. Geno was mocking all the wild car names that appealed to youthful buyers like "Javelin" and "Charger" and "Mustang."

Then the class clown piped up, "Yeah, and look what appeals to you old guys. The Dodge Dart 'Swinger'."

Everyone cracked up, even the teacher. I always think of that when I see one of these.

west-coaster

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Slantsick goes hybrid: Burns Oil and Rubber — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:55:57 EDT

I've been a Dartophiliac my entire life, and I always will be (my parents owned a half-dozen, I've owned 2 so far)- but any Favorite A-body Poll will always be dominated by the first-gen Valiant.

And while the juxtaposition of the concepts "Dodge Dart" and "swinger" is always good for a laugh, the '73-'76 Darts (and Valiants for that matter) are like running into the hot girl that sat in front of you in English Lit ten years later and finding her in curlers with spreading hips and receding teeth, saddled with an abusive husband and 3 troglodyte kids.. That goofy beaked nose and the XL-sized bumpers just corrupt the memories of it's former fieldhockey-skirt legshow glory.

They even ruined the badge itself by doing away with the best part- the oh-so-Mod flower/star/whatever over the "I":

Slantsick goes hybrid: Burns Oil and Rubber

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

GTBruiser — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:51:56 EDT

@Bumblebee: Thanks! That is one bad a** lookin' Dart.
Dart Swinger as a name sounds 100 times better than Pontiac "Gee 8". Pontiac's most capable car in years and they call it GeeAte GeeExPee.

GTBruiser

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Vipper Of Vipp — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:37:33 EDT

Lovely cars, crisply styled and well proportioned. Gorgeous in the rear especially, with the concave glass, semi-skirted wheel wells and the angled tail treatment.

That said, mechanically and rust-wise the '74 Swinger I had in the mid-eighties was probably the worst car I ever owned. And I've had two Vegas and a Monza.

Vipper Of Vipp

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Bumblebee — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:28:03 EDT

Check out this Swinger:

[cgi.ebay.com]

Matte black decals on gloss black paint is the new black.

Bumblebee

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Bee1 — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:21:43 EDT

The "Swinger"...

"It's Groooooovy Baby!"

Bee1

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

HBAlameda — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:11:17 EDT

In a universe where Ford could sell a "Maverick Grabber," a car called "Swinger" made perfect sense.

HBAlameda

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

frank_rizzo — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:08:00 EDT

All it takes is a little love to make them ROCK....

frank_rizzo

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

okvol — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:06:17 EDT

I had a 72 Scamp, the Plymouth version. I loved the reverse curve rear window.

okvol

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

YankBoffin — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:04:10 EDT

My buddy had a '74 swinger w/ 318 auto. It was loads of fun.

Fresh air ducts FTW! really wish cars still had these.

YankBoffin

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

deckard97 — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:00:42 EDT

@monsterajr: the running/dieseling was due to it being out of tune. The timing a little off makes it do that. EASY fix.

deckard97

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

monsterajr — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:54:30 EDT

My cousins from UK rented one of these beauties back in the day and all I remember about the car was that the car would keep running/dieseling even after you took the key out of the ignition until it finally shook itself off. Also, my parents' scumbag Real Estate agent had one too. She kept trying to sell my parents crappy fixer uppers because my dad was "handy" when all they wanted was an already fixed house.

monsterajr

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Maymar - now with 37% less anonymity — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:51:55 EDT

Those hubcaps, that grille, in that colour. Calling it Swinger is like someone's dad trying to convince us all he's still cool

Maymar - now with 37% less anonymity

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

TurboBrick — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:50:42 EDT

I had a light gold yellow '74 Swinger, slant six w/ auto. Those things will last forever as long as you can protect the body from rain - I couldn't. The windows never seal properly, and the rear window sits in a gutter that just loves to collect water.

TurboBrick

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Captain Wrong — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:46:22 EDT

Am I the only one who always thinks this car looks more like a late 60s than mid 70s?

Captain Wrong

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Paul Y. -- Now With More Sodium! — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:32:46 EDT

A few weeks ago, I was in a mall near Rochester, and throughout the mall, there were local circle track and drag cars on display (I never did figure out why), but among the standouts was a really nice Dart Swinger. It was pretty complete, not stripped out. A very nice car, and I wish I had my camera at the time.

Paul Y. -- Now With More Sodium!

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

mytdawg — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:30:02 EDT

@abgwin: You forgot the hippest chillinest ride of the 70's...

mytdawg

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

brandegee — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:28:23 EDT

This car is living proof that humanity will never fully eradicate genital herpes.

brandegee

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

cgarison — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:23:18 EDT

My aunt had a 2 door Swinger. Not sure why a Swinger considering it was owned between Lincoln Marks somethings.

cgarison

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

DannyBN — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:21:55 EDT

@OldeEnglishD: How about a tramp* on a Scamp's trunk?

*I am not implying anything about the young lady's virtue. I'm sure she's really a good girl.

DannyBN

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

mytdawg — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:21:30 EDT

@abgwin: Don't be dissin' the Monte Bondo now...

Crap, now I gotta go throw up.

mytdawg

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

abgwin — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:19:36 EDT

and just what sex-mobile was it competing against in 1975? was the Maverick more manly? the Vega more sultry?

folks, this is when the Cordoba and Monte Carlo were the rides of choice for "playahs"

ugh, nauseous that i even typed "playah".. must go throw up now

abgwin

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Miscellanea — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:13:51 EDT

This definitely bring its keys to the party!

Miscellanea

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

OldeEnglishD misses Polar — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:03:43 EDT

Needs a Tramp Stamp on the trunk....

OldeEnglishD misses Polar

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

reefer — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:58:24 EDT

Dig the Swinger title. Doesn't look too bad for a malaise era car either.

reefer

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

Mazda Plainview — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:58:12 EDT

@mytdawg: bravo sir!

Mazda Plainview

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

mytdawg — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:55:31 EDT

"The Swinger" from 1966. The last time the term was actually cool. How's that for obscure?

mytdawg

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

SLR_BlowerMania — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:52:25 EDT

Yes it does appear the Auto designers back then did drop too much acid and eat too many shrooms....Their visions and creativity were severly altered.

SLR_BlowerMania

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

screamingbluemessiah — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:45:39 EDT

I dated a girl in college that had a Dodge Dart Swinger... it was brown to hide the rust. We had many great times in the back seat of the Swinger.

I have nothing but love for the malaise of the Dart.

screamingbluemessiah

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

danio3834 — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:44:54 EDT

I wonder how many Swingers actually bought Swingers?

danio3834

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

deckard97 — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:39:22 EDT

OMG I learned to drive on that car!! my dad had burgundy one!! Oh she was a sleeper... good on gas too. A tire burning witch she was, well on one side anyhow. Cold ac. Good on long trips. They are all dead now. RIP.

deckard97

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

HoubaHouba! — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:30:44 EDT

@Mike the Dog: You can see the column automatic transmission selector next to the steering wheel in the pic through the rear window.

My '75 Swinger was a 318 auto car, bland but moderately fun. Lots of seats for a non-huge car, good sized trunk, handled OK with the wheels & tires off my 'cuda.

However, calling it a Swinger was optimistic at best. I got *no* tail in that car, perhaps better luck if it had been PM Yellow?

HoubaHouba!