A little more history/information:
Still with me? Strap in. This is where the fun begins! Here’s the deal: This very nice 1973 Dart 4-door is slated to be my next Mopar project. Out of nowhere, this little gold and white 1973 sweetheart fell into my lap, sourced from Hemmings out of San Francisco about 2 years ago with amazing options and originality. Got excellent response and photos from the seller. Bought the car sight unseen, paid for it and waited the next few days for its arrival.
Not surprisingly, the 50 year old car that showed up on the truck 3 days later was not what I expected. Surprisingly, however, it was vastly BETTER than what I had sincerely expected. Stunned is a good word. Astonished is probably more accurate. Sure, it was visually stunning but the real fun started when I sat down and went through the stack of manuals, documents, brochures and other papers the former owner hadn’t mentioned. Like the build sheet. Yeah, the build sheet.
Turns out after 3 days of translation using the best Mopar build sheet code resource I could find, here is what just rolled into the driveway:
According to the build sheet, the car was custom ordered by someone very skilled in ordering. For it to be used especially as a showroom pony highlighting 1973’s Mopar A body value, versatility AND the towing capability featured across all Chrysler product lines (this one representing the A Body) that year. Build sheet shows expensive add ons like special paint color, specified handling and factory, dealer only, paint prep. The complete, circa 1973, never used Curt Class 1 towing kit (the extremely rare factory A34/A35 towing package) on the car isn’t listed on the build sheet. That was a dealer installed option only. Ever seen one before?
(Some interesting information later found regarding the A-body towing “package” during more research: The towing package(s) could not be ordered from the factory unless specific options were on the car from the factory (no manuals and no /6’s for starters; minimum must be 318, PDB, PS, 727 auto, more). This may have an impact/influence on how/why/WTF options were selected on this car’s build sheet. When a car so ordered from the factory, for a customer, got to the dealership, it was up to them to decide if the package would be applied because the dealership would be held responsible for the install and it’s consequences. For obvious example, if the dealer installed towing package failed, allowing your now solo but overloaded trash trailer to gently impact a bus full of nuns head on at a 120MPH+ closing speed, it isn’t Dodge’s fault, it’s the dealership’s problem. Quick legal Q&A: Can we guess why it is rare? BTW, this only applied to A-body cars.)
The car is amazing. There is no rust. There is gold paint on the floor pan under the driver foot well (see pic) for an example. The white vinyl top is dirty but perfect.
The one “bad day” it had, happened when it was still assigned as a loaner/demo car (with pictures, sigh). Someone had it as a test drive and took a high accidental hit during the drive. The driver abandoned the car (dealer got it back) and the dealer stuck it away in a garage back corner and forgot about it. In or around 2020, the dealership closed and the person I bought it from purchased it at the closure auction in it’s still crunched condition.
He took it home and over a couple months replaced the damaged sheetmetal and used the car as a daily driver until I bought it. The hood and right front fender are not too bad looking but the paint that is now flaking off is a mismatch to the original color. On the bright side, the car unquestionably is in the incredible condition it is in today based on the decision to tuck it away in climate controlled storage and forget about it for about 50 years. And, to answer the most obvious question: No, there is no apparent damage to the car mechanics beyond the obvious sheet metal mash.
The interior is not as perfect as it could be, but that could be easily fixed in a dedicated weekend. The dash is partially apart from the previous owner almost putting in a speedo cable. All the dash/radio/A/C stuff is there right down to mounting screws. New glove box, etc. Perfect dash pad. Look at the pictures.
The interior and the trunk are packed with boxes of new parts for the refurbishment when it’s number is called in the project line. My project philosophy has been to know what will be needed on a project and add to that “need” pile as bits are found or afforded. The idea being that if I suddenly find myself with limited funds but expansive time, I already have a cache of new parts available to keep the project alive and moving forward.
The car starts well, runs good, rides and drives. The exhaust was trashed so I had it replaced with a larger diameter 2-into-1 (2.5, up from 1.6 dia.) pipe with a turbo muffler for a very nice low rumble. Has a newer battery and some under hood bits. The motor/drivetrain runs excellent with no smoke, noise or leaks. The carb meters perfectly. Trans shifts perfectly. The Road wheels and the Goodyear Silvertown Red Stripe tires are from an E-Body showcar and have about 200 miles on them. According to the build sheet, the car originally came with Road wheels but an original set of 14 inch steelies and hubcaps are included.
Also in those many boxes of new parts previously mentioned are a bunch to bump up the eye candy level of the under hood area. Again, look at the pictures. The under hood doesn’t need any of these additions but…my…my…name is Mark and I suffer from mission creep (“Hi, Mark”—gathered group session). If you are going to change the belts (included) why not replace the alternator (included) and add cool brackets (included) and since you are that far along, might as well replace the plugs, cap and wires (included) and since they are off, change out the valve covers with new chrome ones and gaskets (included)? Good time to paint detail the A/C condenser, radiator and install new hoses (paint and hoses included). Please make it stop. Why? Because we all know that that fiber timing gear that haunts original 318s will fail sooner or later. There is a top quality Comp Cams steel double row timing set (and all the gaskets, etc.)? Yeah, got one, included. Since the entire front of the motor is essentially off at that point, seems a good time to replace that sure to fail timing set, right?
And there is so much more to this car! If it is so good, why is it for sale? Fair question. The bottom line is simple: I have one too many projects for the year ahead. I thought I’d offer it for sale as an alternative to leaving it in the barn for another year. According to recent research (1/26), the price asked, considering how these increasingly rare A-Body 4 doors are bombing the market, is very low for the quality of the car offered. Not many 4-doors around and even fewer in this condition. This may seem weird but I’m not so much about the money as giving an enthusiast a great project car at a reasonable price. Didn’t buy it as an investment. I bought it on a whim at a good price and so can you: $8900
Or not. Don’t misunderstand, this will be a lot of fun for me to do and a very rewarding resto that I will enjoy doing and owning for years to come if it doesn’t find a buyer. The “new buyer”, however will get an incredible 70’s vintage, nearly daily driver capable, 2026 family head turning, kids going out for ice cream Dodge A-body hauler project at a great price. $8900 Firm.
Thanks for reading this far!
