Correct Air Cleaner for '68 Dodge Dart GTS 340?

[17 Paseo Verde]

Greetings! New to this forum, and new owner of a Dart that came with a factory 340. I've been into classic cars for many years, but this is my first Chrysler vehicle. I have a question about the correct air cleaner for the engine.

I received the car from the estate of a friend who passed away, so while I have a lot of paperwork with the car, and spare parts, it appears to have the incorrect air cleaner. When I got it in late November, there was one of those K&N open element air cleaners on the carb (a newer Edelbrock, but I have the original Carter AVS in the box). Also, what I thought was a factory air cleaner in the trunk, as well as a "340 Four Barrel" pie plate. Being a stock kind of guy, I swapped on the alternate air cleaner, but then someone who saw a picture of it said it was not the one that would have come with the car, but something from a 1972 Mopar. It's not as tall as what I've seen looking around a bit, and his has a snorkel with a vacuum-operated valve thing.

Easy enough to find used and reproduction "correct" air cleaners online, but someone with knowledge of these cars told me that the Dart might have had its own distinctive air cleaner in '68, one not like those used on other V8 Dodges and Plymouths. I can't see any logical reason for this to be true - hoping someone on here might have the definitive answer for me.

Thank you in advance!

 

[A56]

Greetings! New to this forum, and new owner of a Dart that came with a factory 340. I've been into classic cars for many years, but this is my first Chrysler vehicle. I have a question about the correct air cleaner for the engine.

I received the car from the estate of a friend who passed away, so while I have a lot of paperwork with the car, and spare parts, it appears to have the incorrect air cleaner. When I got it in late November, there was one of those K&N open element air cleaners on the carb (a newer Edelbrock, but I have the original Carter AVS in the box). Also, what I thought was a factory air cleaner in the trunk, as well as a "340 Four Barrel" pie plate. Being a stock kind of guy, I swapped on the alternate air cleaner, but then someone who saw a picture of it said it was not the one that would have come with the car, but something from a 1972 Mopar. It's not as tall as what I've seen looking around a bit, and his has a snorkel with a vacuum-operated valve thing.

Easy enough to find used and reproduction "correct" air cleaners online, but someone with knowledge of these cars told me that the Dart might have had its own distinctive air cleaner in '68, one not like those used on other V8 Dodges and Plymouths. I can't see any logical reason for this to be true - hoping someone on here might have the definitive answer for me.

Thank you in advance!

Maybe if you posted a picture of what you have and believe to be original with the pie tin.

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1968-69 MOPAR 340 UNSILENCED AIR CLEANER DART GTS 'CUDA SWINGER 340​

 

[17 Paseo Verde]

I will do that, but I know for sure the one I have is the wrong one, just by looking at pics online of restored 1968 and 1969 Darts.

I'm mainly trying to figure out if I can obtain ANY air cleaner that comes up in searches as the right one, or if there truly is one that's specifically for the Dart that I need to seek out.

 

[17 Paseo Verde]

This is what I keep finding online. The image is from one of a '68 Dart that the Volo Auto Museum was selling at one point.

 

[1MeanA]

Nick's Garage - Air Cleaner Identification

You can buy repro air cleaners but not the engine id plates.

 

[17 Paseo Verde]

Nick's Garage - Air Cleaner Identification

You can buy repro air cleaners but not the engine id plates.

Great link...thank you.

 

[ch1ll]

You need to post a picture of what you got. You'd be surprised at the value of some of them even if they are not the correct one.

 

[harrisonm]

Nick's Garage - Air Cleaner Identification

You can buy repro air cleaners but not the engine id plates.

By "engine id plates", do you mean the pie tins? I have bought several of those. They are still available.

 

[S'cuder]

By "engine id plates", do you mean the pie tins? I have bought several of those. They are still available.

Those as shown in this thread have been sold out for a couple of years now. I had one on backorder with Jegs for more than a year. They would send updates encouraging me to not cancel the order. "Don't lose your place in line!" Jegs cancelled the order a few days ago.
Some of less popular might still be available. Mancini shows 318 Four Barrel and Hemi Four Barrel available, but none from the 1967 to '74 era.

 

[1WildRT]

A 340 uses the common unsilenced air cleaner... Pictured in posts 2 & 4 above.... I suspect your friend might have been thinking of the big block dart air cleaner.... Those are a little less common....

383 Air Cleaner, stolen from Nick's site..

And in spite of what some may be saying the pie tins are currently out of production & kinda spendy...

 

[RustyRatRod]

It's that danged expensive one everybody wants an arm, a leg and one of your nuts for. Even rusty crusty ones. Good luck in your search.

 

[1MeanA]

The 70/71 air cleaner is the expensive one. The 68/69 340 air cleaner is less than half the price and is reproduced. I ran into a guy last year who had a 70 air cleaner on his 69 cuda and wouldn’t trade me for my 68/69 air cleaner plus cash.

 

[autoxcuda]

Maybe if you posted a picture of what you have and believe to be original with the pie tin.

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1968-69 MOPAR 340 UNSILENCED AIR CLEANER DART GTS 'CUDA SWINGER 340​

View attachment 1716500131

This is the right one. The air cleaner is available as a very nice reproduction already in black crinkle paint.

Like was said, the aluminum printed plate that lays over the top is very hard to find new currently. There’s rumblings of a reproduction coming who knows.

 

[1WildRT]

This is the right one. The air cleaner is available as a very nice reproduction already in black crinkle paint.

Like was said, the aluminum printed plate that lays over the top is very hard to find new currently. There’s rumblings of a reproduction coming who knows.

There's been "rumblings" for at least seven years now... I don't know why it hasn't been made, easy stamping die to make...

 

[autoxcuda]

There's been "rumblings" for at least seven years now... I don't know why it hasn't been made, easy stamping die to make...

Yea. Very odd. Printed on aluminum. Doesn’t seem like a very unique manufacturing process.

 

[RustyRatRod]

The 70/71 air cleaner is the expensive one. The 68/69 340 air cleaner is less than half the price and is reproduced. I ran into a guy last year who had a 70 air cleaner on his 69 cuda and wouldn’t trade me for my 68/69 air cleaner plus cash.

Yeah that's right. The one with the oval holes in the body.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Yea. Very odd. Printed on aluminum. Doesn’t seem like a very unique manufacturing process.

Yeah if it was Chevy, we'd have choices from multiple vendors. With cheap prices.

 

[1MeanA]

Yea. Very odd. Printed on aluminum. Doesn’t seem like a very unique manufacturing process.

Thats what i thought. I think there is an issue with Mopar licensing not that i understand all that.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Thats what i thought. I think there is an issue with Mopar licensing not that i understand all that.

I can tell you this. I remember back in the early 90s. A few friends and I got together and founded the original Middle Georgia Mopar Club. We needed to have a newsletter, tee shirts, stickers and whatnot. We had an artistic member draw up a nice logo with the state of Georgia and a Mopar pentastar right in the middle. It looked real nice. Another member suggested we contact Chrysler corporate for permission to use the Pentastar, which we did and they FLATLY refused. We did it anyway. Printed lots of shirts, stickers, had key chains made and it was even printed on our newsletter. Although that club is now defunct, some of that merchandise is still floating around.

 

[harrisonm]

Wow. Thanks for telling me that. They were so plentiful not too long back. I threw a decent 69 340 one away several years ago. At the time, they were plentiful, and nobody wanted a used one when new ones were so plentiful and reasonably priced. I guess most of us are using pretty aftermarket ones. This is what I use after I spent about 35 hours doing a 4 color powder coating job on it myself.

 

[harrisonm]

I can tell you this. I remember back in the early 90s. A few friends and I got together and founded the original Middle Georgia Mopar Club. We needed to have a newsletter, tee shirts, stickers and whatnot. We had an artistic member draw up a nice logo with the state of Georgia and a Mopar pentastar right in the middle. It looked real nice. Another member suggested we contact Chrysler corporate for permission to use the Pentastar, which we did and they FLATLY refused. We did it anyway. Printed lots of shirts, stickers, had key chains made and it was even printed on our newsletter. Although that club is now defunct, some of that merchandise is still floating around.

It's frequently easier to get forgiveness than permission.
I used to do that all the time when I was working on Command and Control when I was a Major in the Air Force. I used to make decisions and take care of problems in the middle of the night and just tell the Colonels about it in the morning. There were times when they disagreed with how I fixed the problem, but they never complained. They actually liked it when I didn't call them at 3:00 AM when I was supposed to be getting paid to make decisions on my own. Some of the controllers called the bosses up 2 or 3 times a night. I almost never did. I have LOTS of good stories on times when I took care of things on my own without calling them. One time, I told an Army colonel that in case he hadn't noticed, the airplanes said USAF on them and not US Army. Then I told him to leave the command post or I would call the Security Police and have him forcibly removed. When my Colonel came in early in the morning, I told him about it. He laughed out loud and patted me on the back and told me not to worry. I never heard another word about it. There were, of course, times when I had to call them. For instance, an emergency 3 engine take off required permission from a Colonel or a General.

 

[340six]

Yea. Very odd. Printed on aluminum. Doesn’t seem like a very unique manufacturing process.

I have offered the nice one that was NOS to a few guys that wanted a sample if they needed it to scan to reproduce. Few scratches on it, i bought it in late 70s at dealer. It's the one on my garage clock. And I have this one as well. Not sure if it was a reproduction. But it's mint. Everyone says start-up cost to much. And would take to long to recoup to even be Even Steven.

 

[340six]

This one might be a real one or reproduction but is mint.
Look at what I paid back then.