Need help assessing this 1965 Dodge Dart 270 4-dr sedan

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Flyingbuff

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Hi All!

I'm new to this forum and have to confess that I don't know much about classic cars in general. However, my wife and I would like to "dip our toes" in this world and have been looking at old 60's-era cars.
A neighbor of ours is selling his 1965 Dodge Dart 270 and I am struggling to assess its condition and value. It's my hope that there are enough experts here that have a few minutes to give their unvarnished opinions on this car.
I have looked at the online Classic Car Value Guide and can't find a 4-door sedan with a VIN beginning with "L355". What's more, I'm concerned that the VIN plate is missing the rivets normally found on vehicles. The owner has a clear title with this VIN number but I couldn't find the VIN anywhere on the frame (or elsewhere) to corroborate.
Also, I drove the car (after driving my zippy 2006 Toyota Rav4) and it took some time to get up to 50mph and lurched a little bit when changing gears (it's an automatic).
If you have a moment, please take a look at the photos and give your honest assessment and what you think it's worth.
Thank you for your time!
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It looks pretty clean. It is a 273-2 V8 with power steering and factory A/C. Now, there's nothing wrong with a 4 door but, it is a 4 door and the value isn't there. I would say $2000 would be reasonable.
 
It looks pretty clean. It is a 273-2 V8 with power steering and factory A/C. Now, there's nothing wrong with a 4 door but, it is a 4 door and the value isn't there. I would say $2000 would be reasonable.
Thanks Toolmanmike! Do you see any issues with the VIN plate?
 
Thanks Toolmanmike! Do you see any issues with the VIN plate?

That looks normal. Those “rivet” holes are actually locating holes for the VIN plate. The plate was welded to the pillar from the back side of the plate
 
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After a while you get a feeling for what these cars are worth. It is worth more than $1000 but I don't think it's worth $5000. Somewhere in the middle is a good place to start. If you are selling, $3000 would be good and settle for less. If buying, start at $2000 and you can always come up a little if it's in your budget. I bought my 66 for around $4000 but it was a HP 273 4 speed and a 2 door GT. Not in as good of shape as this one but it had a lot going for it for the price.
 
1 - looks like a square back alt. not a problem (may be a good thing), just not original.
2 - the motor is blue. also not a problem but, is it the original motor? been rebuilt? is it a 318 or ?
3 - are you willing to find out it needs some work and how much do you want to do/learn? are you going to take it to a shop for everything? gets expensive. if you can afford it, that's awesome, but if the A/C doesn't work, that can get pricey. if the trans needs a rebuild, more $$. you're going to find things that need work
not trying to dissuade you, just be ready to spend more than you initially think and expect some frustration with the learning curve.
read through @DentalDart's thread and enjoy the ups and downs of jumping in with both feet Dartin for Divorce

i'm not trying to sound too down on the deal, i hope you decide to buy it and have fun with it

good luck

edit: personally i'd go $2500
 
I agree with @kursplat, what is your end goal? Do you want a car to tinker with but not have to do much on or do you want a project....

I thought I bought the one I wouldn't have to do much on but could just tinker on.... It has turned into a fun family project that has cost time and money. If you don't want any larger projects you should find the nicest one you can afford and have someone who knows about the cars check it out for you.

I will also say, if I could go back I wouldn't have changed a thing with my decision. My family and I absolutely love this car.

Good luck with your decision; these old cars are a blast and FABO is a great community and resource... Just don't ask dumb questions... I'm the only one allowed to do that :lol:
 
VIN is correct install and I agree with sales price between 2,000 and 3,000 for the condition it appears to be in.
 
This is a legal registered car. Any discrepancies in the VIN have been resolved and it is now "legal". This is a nice beginner car, enjoy it. As you become more of a "connoisseur", you can adjust your priorities.
 
And since nobody else mentioned this, you need to inspect every square inch you can see especially underneath for rust-rust-rust. It is your enemy and can turn what looks like a pretty decent car into a pile of junk if you get caught unaware.
 
Looks like a very clean more door Dart. Open the trunk and pull the spare tire out of it so you can check for rust in the bottom of the spare tire well. That is a common place for rust on A body cars, and more early A's like this Dart have some rust in the floor pans than the ones that don't. Good luck with the purchase, and let us know how it goes.

:thumbsup:
 
Looks clean. As long as it is relatively rust free it is a good car to start your experience with an old A-body. It looks straight and most importantly it looks like the interior is already nice. Interiors are expensive! The price on these older A-bodies are low, which is a benefit when buying, a liability when selling. I think it is great collectors haven’t keyed on this body. Still it makes it so you can drive and enjoy these cars without a lot of cash. You can buy them for the price of a single part on a more desirable mopar. And when you do sell, the yearly cost of operation is super low. I owned several of these early A bodies and as long as you are willing to get in there and work on them they are still low cost cars. I never had one I couldn’t sell for more than I bought it for and the average cost to maintain was thousands less than an equivalent newer car. 4-doors need love too and this looks like a good one. Does it speak to you? These old cars choose you. Offer 1.5k and see what they say. I once picked up a 67 Dart GT for $750 that the guy originally listed for 6k.
 
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1 - looks like a square back alt. not a problem (may be a good thing), just not original.
2 - the motor is blue. also not a problem but, is it the original motor? been rebuilt? is it a 318 or ?
3 - are you willing to find out it needs some work and how much do you want to do/learn? are you going to take it to a shop for everything? gets expensive. if you can afford it, that's awesome, but if the A/C doesn't work, that can get pricey. if the trans needs a rebuild, more $$. you're going to find things that need work
not trying to dissuade you, just be ready to spend more than you initially think and expect some frustration with the learning curve.
read through @DentalDart's thread and enjoy the ups and downs of jumping in with both feet Dartin for Divorce

i'm not trying to sound too down on the deal, i hope you decide to buy it and have fun with it

good luck

edit: personally i'd go $2500

Kursplat, That's terrific advise! Thanks. I do know that the 3 whitewalls have what appears to be dry rot (cracks) and I would have to get a new set of four. I have a good local mechanic and he's agreed to take a look and let me know what it'll need. For now, I just want it to be road-worthy and safe. The brake lights and the radio aren't working, though the owner said they were both working recently.

I believe the owner said the engine was rebuilt - is there a good way to tell what it is? The blower that comes out of the top of the dash is working, but the A/C doesn't seem to be working. Being in Colorado, that's not much of a problem.

Any idea how much a trans rebuild is? I'm pretty handy and have a great set of tools, along with garage space - then there's Youtube!

I'm really glad I found this forum! Thanks again!
 
And since nobody else mentioned this, you need to inspect every square inch you can see especially underneath for rust-rust-rust. It is your enemy and can turn what looks like a pretty decent car into a pile of junk if you get caught unaware.
The undercarriage seems to be solid, but I will remove the spare as JDMopar suggested and looksee!
 
Kursplat, That's terrific advise! Thanks. I do know that the 3 whitewalls have what appears to be dry rot (cracks) and I would have to get a new set of four. I have a good local mechanic and he's agreed to take a look and let me know what it'll need. For now, I just want it to be road-worthy and safe. The brake lights and the radio aren't working, though the owner said they were both working recently.

I believe the owner said the engine was rebuilt - is there a good way to tell what it is? The blower that comes out of the top of the dash is working, but the A/C doesn't seem to be working. Being in Colorado, that's not much of a problem.

Any idea how much a trans rebuild is? I'm pretty handy and have a great set of tools, along with garage space - then there's Youtube!

I'm really glad I found this forum! Thanks again!

Chances are, tires are the first thing.
 
Looks like a pretty clean car. Still, look for rust. The VIN looks correct too, as is the way it's attached. No rivets that year. The L is for Dart, the 3 is the 270 body style, and 5 stands for 1965. Looks like they added a coolant overflow bottle, and for some reason they drilled a big hole in the passenger side inner fender, but, other than that, it looks pretty stock. You can find the year and size of the engine by looking at the letter and number code stamped into the vertical surface of the front driver's side of the block just below the head gasket seam. The letter is the year.....A is 1965, B is 1966, etc, up to 1973 when the switch to a number representing the last digit of the year. The next 3 numbers are the engine displacement. If these stampings are too hard to read, you can also see the engine size cast into the driver's side of the block above the starter. The date code when it was cast will be on the passenger side of the block toward the top. Depending on year, there might also be a VIN stamped into a machined pad down by the oil pan seam on the passenger side. '68 and earlier 273's and 318's won't have this stamping. Oh, and one possible reason the radio doesn't work is that the antenna mast is broken off. Could be speaker or cable too, so, not a for sure diagnosis!
 
Oh, you won't find the VIN stamped anywhere on the car. It will only be on the title (hopefully!), the broadcast (build) sheet, and the Certicard, if it's there in it's holder. The fender tag on the driver's side inner fender has the shipping order number on it. that should match the number stamped into the radiator core support.....many times it's under the antifreeze sticker. If you're lucky, you can sometimes find a copy of the build sheet in the springs of the rear seat back. Other places they have been found is under the springs of the rear seat bottom or front seat bottom. Also, I have found them under the carpet, behind the glove box, and behind door and quarter panel trim.
 
Looks like a pretty clean car. Still, look for rust. The VIN looks correct too, as is the way it's attached. No rivets that year. The L is for Dart, the 3 is the 270 body style, and 5 stands for 1965. Looks like they added a coolant overflow bottle, and for some reason they drilled a big hole in the passenger side inner fender, but, other than that, it looks pretty stock. You can find the year and size of the engine by looking at the letter and number code stamped into the vertical surface of the front driver's side of the block just below the head gasket seam. The letter is the year.....A is 1965, B is 1966, etc, up to 1973 when the switch to a number representing the last digit of the year. The next 3 numbers are the engine displacement. If these stampings are too hard to read, you can also see the engine size cast into the driver's side of the block above the starter. The date code when it was cast will be on the passenger side of the block toward the top. Depending on year, there might also be a VIN stamped into a machined pad down by the oil pan seam on the passenger side. '68 and earlier 273's and 318's won't have this stamping. Oh, and one possible reason the radio doesn't work is that the antenna mast is broken off. Could be speaker or cable too, so, not a for sure diagnosis!

Thanks a million! I'll try to find out what kind of engine is in it. According to the Classic Automobile Appraisal and Resource Guide it could be between $1950 to $3750 depending on the engine. 1965 DODGE DART

I think a starting offer of $2k would be appropriate.
 
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