Newbie, lots of questions

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waldo786

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Hello all,

Well, I've decided to sell my 85 Buick Grand National and am looking into the high possibility of getting a 70 or 71 Dodge Dart. I've seen two in classifieds near me and they are both swingers. What makes the car a "swinger"? One has the slant 6 and the other has the 318. Are the slant six's good engines and what kind of power could I expect from it. What kind of power could I expect from the 318. I'm assuming there are more mods for the 318. Also, out of curiousity, what kind of gas mileage do they both get? What would be a better engine? The six has a 3 speed trans. The 318 has an auto trans, would that have been a 727 or something else? Did these come standard with front disc brakes? What kind of price can I expect to pay for a good driver? Any other info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
Actually also curious about how much these cars weigh, and how well they handle. Thanks!
 
Welcome to FABO :headbang:

The Swinger was a trim level option. You could get it on anything with /6 to 340 motors. A 70 Dart weighs in around 3200-3400 lbs stock, depending on options (maybe lighter for a /6). My 75 sport V8 curbed at 3320lb before it went on a diet.

As far as I know, all 318 cars came with 904s behind them, with 727s being reserved for 340 cars (guys, am I wrong on this?). This isn't a bad thing, as 904s can reasonably be built to take 400+ hp, take less power form the car, and are light than the 727.

Brakes came drum standard, with optional front discs. In 73 they moved to front disc standard, and a larger bolt pattern (5x4.5 instead of the older 5x4).

Darts can handle very well, and upgrade parts are easy to come by (larger sway bars, boxed lower control arms, oversized torsion bars).

Slant 6 power? Not sure...but I know there are some quick ones out there.
 
Thanks for all the good info! Keep it coming :) Is there much of an aftermarket for the /6? I've been a GM guy for a long time, but I'm looking for something that's cool but not too pricey. Some of the GM cars I was looking at are more money than I necessarily want to pay, especially for the condition. My great Aunt actually used to have a Dodge Dart, but sold it before I got old enough to do anything about it :( It was just sitting in her garage waiting to be worked on...
 
A nice clean 1970/71 Dart Swinger 2dr 6cyld/318 with no rust, dents, bondo, previous hidden accident damage, nice interior, sound drivetrain, good tires, glass, electrical, paint, etc., can expect to bring in the vicinity of as low as $4,000, to as high or higher than $8,000, depending upon mileage, originality, options, how well it has been cared for, etc.. If it is a highly optioned, low mileage, garage kept, one owner example, then the skys the limit. This is just my personal opinion. Mike
 
Moving over from a GN a dart with a /6 is going to feel awfully anemic by comparison but it will sure as hell run a lot longer. The good news is that you can drop a whole buch of great engines in there or have a lot of fun with the /6.

Welcome to the dark side! -LY
 
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