What’s it worth? Odd 69 Swinger

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C

Canucklehead

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Smithers, BC
I picked this car up about 3 years ago thinking it would be a fun project, but since then I have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Not the end of the world, I’m still mobile but my energy level is low. I have a 69 Swinger that is as weird as it gets, 318 4-speed, 8.75 with 3.23 open, factory R4 red from new. I’ve never seen a factory 318 4-speed but I’m sure there are a few, but the R4 on a non 340 car is odd. No vinyl top, no stripe obviously, just a lot of bright red (I mean when new, it was painted blue at some point). Complete car with a 360 now, I literally just fired it up for the first time in 20+ years. Has the fender tag and 1 full and a second 3/4 build sheet. Rust wise it’s got some, fenders would need a pile of work or replacement, lower quarter rust, but the rockers, inner fenders and doors are good. Alberta, Canada car so no title. Fender tag was painted over so the picture is from the back. I have more picture on my phone but I’m on my ipad now.

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Nice car though, I believe the LL didn't get the swinger badges like the LM swingers and had the flat hoods like your's does. I have seen a few with 4 speeds but not in red like you said. I was looking for a decent 69 to replace one I had earlier but they were pretty well rusted out or over priced for me. I was able to work with a great guy and get a 68 GT. It's great but it's not a 69 and this one is an auto on the floor. Miss the four speed too. Let me ask what kind of price do you have in mind for it and any idea what needs to be done to get it across the U.S. boarder ? Thank you for your time sir and sending prayers for recovery
 
First --- sorry to hear you have MS --- follow doctors orders - my sister had MS and lived a long productive life.

Looking at the fender tag - car does look like a low option car - and a little more rare in 318 / 4 speed form.
I had a 1969 R4 Dart Swinger 340 --- it is a great color and will make that car look stunning if done right.
It was named Bright Red for 1969 and also known as Charger Red on the B body platform. Done correctly it looks like tomato red - orange / red depending on the lighting.

In terms of WIW - tough to say but to the right person - $12 + K US dollars as it sits ....maybe $15K.
Good luck with whatever you decide ...
 
Don't look to bad to me. Sorry about the MS. Diseases Don't discriminate. They like them young and old.
 
Interesting to see the A48 Dress Up Group and an M33 Body Side Moldings plus the G33 Chrome Remote Mirror with the M21 Drip Rail Moldings, but by the end of production they were starting to put more bling on the Darts. Yours is a base Dart which would have the DART nameplate on the fenders but since it has been painted it is hard to tell if it had the SWINGER decal under them, probably not. I just picked up a 69 R4 Swinger 340 4-speed that had a lot of different options on it too, yours is a pretty cool car!

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Oh I don't know. It needs some work for sure but I would start around $10,000. You can always come down if you need to. It's a process of elimination for me. It's worth more than 5 but not worth 15. Catch my drift?
 
It had the original rad in the trunk so I put it back in, new hoses and fitting for the bypass hose, filled the rad and coolant poured out of the lower tank as fast as I poured it in. Plus they had pulled the oil pressure unit out which made a big mess in my shop when it fired up! I really appreciate the thoughts on the value, thanks everybody.
 
Interesting that the engine has a pre-69 water pump and 340 intake but 70-up valve covers...
 
HemiSSDart said:
Interesting that the engine has a pre-69 water pump and 340 intake but 70-up valve covers...
Click to expand...

The engine is a mid 70s 360 and they used the 69 water pump, and it has a 69 340 intake.

I think it’s a pretty great project car. If it was still red I would just do some mechanical and drive it. Now that I’ve heard it run I might get the brakes working, drop the tank and clean it, and drive it anyways. I don’t have it in me to do a resto though.
 
I thought LL23 was a base hardtop, LM23 was a Swinger, and LH23 was a Swinger 340...?
 
OK, here is my honest opinion. I am good with major bodywork, paint, engine building, etc. So here are my thoughts.
There were no interior pictures, so I can't comment on that. I do see a lot of rust. How are the floors, trunk, trunk extensions, etc. With the amount of rust I see on the outside, I bet they need to be replaced. When I see an engine like that, I assume it is either trash, or it will take a LOT of work. It would have been better if you had put duct tape over the intake ports. But then you say it has a good 360 in it and that it runs??? Does that mean the trashed engine in the picture is not in the car??? As pictured, I would place a value of $3500-5000 on it. If the picture with the trashed engine is not accurate, and there is a running engine in it, I would say $5,000-7500. But then why post the picture of the engine bay with the bad engine in it? It needs a TON of work. I am sorry. I don't want to bust your chops, but that is what I see. It may have been a 318 4 speed red car at one time, but it is a LONG way from that now
 
Don’t worry about busting my chops, I came here to get some opinions of what it’s worth. I’ll answer your questions as well as I can. When you say “lots of rust”, if you are in the west I would say yes, if you are in New York or Kansas I would say absolutely not. In my opinion it would need new fenders and lower quarters and extensions. The floors are good except somebody decided it was a parts car at some point and cut a 6” square out of the passenger front floor. Rockers look good, inner fenders are mint, trunk floor is nice. The interior is complete needing covers, the door panels look good, I’ll take some pictures of the interior tomorrow.

The intake was open when I bought it 3 years ago and I thought the engine was locked but it’s not. I had it running briefly this afternoon and it seemed to run nice but the jury is still out on that. I never made a judgement on the condition of the engine, just that it seems to run good. The numbers radiator bottom tank leaks so I’m going to run a hose from the thermostat to the water pump to bypass the rad.

While I accept your critiques about the car, you seem to expect a project car to be something that runs and drives and has no rust repair necessary. Pretty difficult to find that these days anywhere that’s not California or Arizona, but getting hard to find even down there recently.

I’m not sure what the car is worth which is why I asked.
 
@Canucklehead back in 1987/1988 I picked up a 1969 Dart GT that was a trade in at the Chrysler dealership I worked at. 318, 4 speed, console, front KH disc brakes and sway bar, 8 3/4 with 3.23 gears.

It was an F3/F5 green, don’t recall exactly and a green interior with GT badges and trim down the sides of the car along the top of the fenders, doors and quarters.

I thought it was a very odd combo, everything but the 340. I’ll rummage through some old photos and see if I can find and pics of the car.

Cliff Ramsdell
 
My opinion on worth is $3500-$5500 now that I know it is running. Interior pictures would be nice, interesting to see how much is left original. I still buy 67-69 Darts quite often and recently sold a 69 Western Sport Special in that shape for $3500 in Illinois. Hard to find someone who will drop more than $5k for a Dart project today...
 
Some shots of the interior. The carpet has been pulled out at some point but the rest of the interior seems to be there. Seats need covers but look all original.

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I think it's worth as much as a column auto R4/black 318 Dart in same condition, plus open market cost of 8 3/4 open rear end, plus cost open market value of complete core 4-speed conversion.

I'm canceling out the labor dollars to install the 4 speed conversion and buildsheet/fendertag value with the package discount of buying car, 4-speed, and 8 3/4 together.

So I'm thinking add $800 for rear and $1750 for 100% complete trans conversion (no new or rebuilt parts)
 
Something else odd about this car. The fender tag was stamped on the back side and has recessed digits instead of raised. I’ve never seen that….
 
Moparbrad said:
Something else odd about this car. The fender tag was stamped on the back side and has recessed digits instead of raised. I’ve never seen that….
Click to expand...

I said that it is a picture of the back of the tag but reversed on the computer. The front has a pretty good layer of paint and is tough to read.
 
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