1969 Dart GT 318 4-Speed Convertible

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kriseggy

kriseggy

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I just purchased a 69 GT Vert from a gentleman in western Canada and when I ran the VIN numbers on your website, to my surprise, it said 1 of 31 made. I went to a few more VIN decoder websites and got the same results.

When I got the car it was a 318 727 auto with what I believe to be a 7 1/4 rear diff but further investigation showed a D21 on my fender tag. I contacted the seller and he has the complete 4-speed set up he “removed” from the car and is giving it to me YA!

Being that it is a 318 4-speed 1969 Dart GT Convertible with extremely low production numbers, is there extra value in the car now or just a little more collectable?

I know back in 1969 that this car was probably slated to be a GTS or a special 4-speed order and the plant just used up there remaining 318 engines? Who knows but your feedback on this would be greatly appreciated. Also is there anyway to know how many of these 1-31 Dart GT’s are still registered in North America?



Thanks again!!
 
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it has a power bulge hood but have the original flat GT hood! The old timer that owned it liked the 340 more than the orig
 
No, it was not slated to be a GTS.

Cool car though.

Is it an ordered car per the fender tag?
 
The passenger side headlight door has the correct GT/GTS paint finish, but the grille and the driver side headlight door have the Swinger paint finish.
 
Rare car and it would be cool to have the 4-speed put back in, does it have the manual trans pedals still in it? Should have the floor hump too, only 4-speed cars got them. Like said above, grille and one headlight bezel has been changed and has a 69 Swinger 340 hood. If it were mine I would leave it alone and enjoy it the way it is unless you really like a 4-speed...
 
I agree with HemiSS, leave it alone, correct the mismatch on the grill and enjoy.

I believe he GT in 69 Could have a /6, 273 or 318.

Beautiful car, excellent color combo.
 
IIRC the GT package was basically trim and bucket seats.
 
It’s worth more that a 273 or 318 auto convertible

But not a ton.

A club member has a 69 GT conv 273 4 spd with A/C and console. Very original, original sheet metal SoCal car.
 
Welcome! What’s the history in the car? Is it a car built for the Canadian market or was it imported into Canada over time? Looks to be in good shape too.

From the details others have pointed out, the previous owner(s) have made some changes to it using parts/upgrades from other model Darts. As someone else said, it wasn’t slated to be a GTS and they just ran out of 340 or 383 engines and dropped in a 318 instead. I hope you didn’t pay a higher price for it based on that story! Post up the first few digits/numbers of the VIN. A real GTS will start with “LS”. The 5th character of the VIN will be the engine code and it should be the letter F which confirms it’s a 318. If it was a GTS that letter would either be a P or an H for a 340 or 383 4bbl engine. No way that car would have a GTS vin with a 318.

As for it being rare, yup it likely is only 1 of 31. However, rare doesn’t often mean high $. Demand dives the selling price and not many folks are after a 318 4 spd Dart compared to a 340 or 383 4 spd Dart.
 
kriseggy said:
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it has a power bulge hood but have the original flat GT hood! The old timer that owned it liked the 340 more than the orig
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H22A4 said:
Welcome! What’s the history in the car? Is it a car built for the Canadian market or was it imported into Canada over time? Looks to be in good shape too.

From the details others have pointed out, the previous owner(s) have made some changes to it using parts/upgrades from other model Darts. As someone else said, it wasn’t slated to be a GTS and they just ran out of 340 or 383 engines and dropped in a 318 instead. I hope you didn’t pay a higher price for it based on that story! Post up the first few digits/numbers of the VIN. A real GTS will start with “LS”. The 5th character of the VIN will be the engine code and it should be the letter F which confirms it’s a 318. If it was a GTS that letter would either be a P or an H for a 340 or 383 4bbl engine. No way that car would have a GTS vin with a 318.

As for it being rare, yup it likely is only 1 of 31. However, rare doesn’t often mean high $. Demand dives the selling price and not many folks are after a 318 4 spd Dart compared to a 340 or 383 4 spd Dart.
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Thanks to all of you for the info! And yes I have the complete 4-speed setup ( pedals, bell housing etc) and it has the 4-speed hump. I didn’t notice that light bezel switcharoo I’ll definitely taking care of that issue. I have the flat GT hood as well, the old guy I bought it from liked the Power bulge So do I LOL
 
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There were a few 318 4-speed A bodies. Friend of mine bought a 318 4-speed 68 Barracuda coupe back in the late 80s. Then he took the 4-speed out and put in an automatic.

Price was only $800. Parking lot dings, but never wrecked and no rust. I would have bought it, but I already had a 67 Barracuda coupe, figured I didn't need two Barracuda coupes.
 
65 Cuda 340 said:
There were a few 318 4-speed A bodies. Friend of mine bought a 318 4-speed 68 Barracuda coupe back in the late 80s. Then he took the 4-speed out and put in an automatic.

Price was only $800. Parking lot dings, but never wrecked and no rust. I would have bought it, but I already had a 67 Barracuda coupe, figured I didn't need two Barracuda coupes.
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yup! my brothers 68 fastback was a factory 318 with 4 speed 8 3/4 bench seat
 
Looks to be F8 dark green black interior and top. I have a similar car a 69 Dart GTS convertible F8, black interior, white top and stripe. One of 58 so yours is actually rarer! Mine is a 4-speed console car just like yours, hope you got the console with it as that is a hard piece to find and expensive along with the shifter handle. Your is in MUCH better shape than mine, and I have had it since 1995. Yours has a scheduled production date of my wife's 10th birthday...LOL

My 69 GTS convertible.jpg
 
Ya, no console plate, and they are a ***** to find and the repops are way over priced!
I live in Vancouver and am currently driving 1/2 way across Canada to grab all my 4-speed gear and lots of other parts on the way, maybe I’ll find a plate...wish me luck LOL
 
A buddy of mine has a 273 4 speed 69 Dart GT convertible. His 4 speed convertible is rarer than my 1 of 60 made 68 340 4 speed Barracuda Formula S convertible. Any 4 speed convertible is very rare. And yes, the 4 speed does add to it's value simply because everyone wants a 4 speed. Unfortunantly, most 68-69 A body convertibles were painted green from the factory. Being green kind of hurts their value a little. I hate green. You're very lucky yours is blue.

vans dart4.jpg
sinclair.jpg
 
It was slated to be a Hemi Dart, actually. It's worth millions.

Seriously....it's a very nice car...enjoy it for what it is. Not what you wish it could have been.

And being 1 of 31 means absolutely nothing. It's the same car, regardless of whether they made 1 or 30,000.

Everyone wants to be special. No one is special.
 
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