Lookit this '70 Dart, built new with a 170 Slant-6 engine. Wait, what? The 170 was discontinued after '69 and the 198 was the new base engine, wasn't it? Well, yeah, in North America, but this car wasn't sold new in North America. Take a look at the VIN, LL41A08170624. "A" isn't listed in the US/Canada parts catalogue for an engine code; the base engine is "B" for 198. And what's that "8" build plant code? That's not on the list, either.
This looks to be maybe one of the Swiss-built cars, and that's what the actual auction site (with a bunch more pics) says, but I'm not so sure about that. Could be one of the last cars built at Chrysler Rotterdam (which I think I recall is what the 8 means as the build-plant character in the VIN), and the manufacturer plate shows Chrysler Corp as the builder, not AMAG (the company who built the A-bodies in Switzerland until 1972).
The more you look, the more you see: bucket seats without head restraints, upholstered a whole lot more nicely than even a high-trim US '70 Dart ever got. 3-point seatbelts rather than separate lap + shoulder items. Rear reflectors down within the European height limits. Marchal pre-halogen replaceable-bulb headlamps (with selective-yellow bulbs installed, which tracks with the auction site's description of the car as having lived most of its life in France) with built-in parking lights, rather than the US amber ones built into the turn signals. A red engine amidst a bunch of probably-original engine bay details (red paint on PCV valve and flakes of it still remaining on the grommet, black paint on master cylinder cap, paint mark on back half of alternator housing…). Headlight flasher button on the end of the turn signal stalk. Different-than-US data plates over on the driver side inner fender. Dealer sticker next to the deck lid.
Car appears to have power steer and power steer and power disc brakes. Looks to have the carburetor anti-ice system used on US/Canada '69s and optional in Canada from '60 or '61 through '68. If not for the air cleaner, we might be looking at the export-only '67-'75 2-barrel setup, which used that heat tube setup for the integral automatic choke.
A rear fog lamp has been added, probably to comply with regs where it was being driven – looks like a licence plate from Belgium. No amber rear turn signals; some European countries allowed low-volume cars to keep the US-spec red ones, and the rear side marker lights are US-spec red rather than Europe-spec amber for the same reason.
Headline on the ad claims it's near Grosse Point, Michigan, but the auction site has it in Europe. The Swiss-built A-bodies were put together with a whole lot more welds and care than the North American-built ones; here's the relevant Slant-6 News article from September '88. Way cool, eh!
This looks to be maybe one of the Swiss-built cars, and that's what the actual auction site (with a bunch more pics) says, but I'm not so sure about that. Could be one of the last cars built at Chrysler Rotterdam (which I think I recall is what the 8 means as the build-plant character in the VIN), and the manufacturer plate shows Chrysler Corp as the builder, not AMAG (the company who built the A-bodies in Switzerland until 1972).
The more you look, the more you see: bucket seats without head restraints, upholstered a whole lot more nicely than even a high-trim US '70 Dart ever got. 3-point seatbelts rather than separate lap + shoulder items. Rear reflectors down within the European height limits. Marchal pre-halogen replaceable-bulb headlamps (with selective-yellow bulbs installed, which tracks with the auction site's description of the car as having lived most of its life in France) with built-in parking lights, rather than the US amber ones built into the turn signals. A red engine amidst a bunch of probably-original engine bay details (red paint on PCV valve and flakes of it still remaining on the grommet, black paint on master cylinder cap, paint mark on back half of alternator housing…). Headlight flasher button on the end of the turn signal stalk. Different-than-US data plates over on the driver side inner fender. Dealer sticker next to the deck lid.
Car appears to have power steer and power steer and power disc brakes. Looks to have the carburetor anti-ice system used on US/Canada '69s and optional in Canada from '60 or '61 through '68. If not for the air cleaner, we might be looking at the export-only '67-'75 2-barrel setup, which used that heat tube setup for the integral automatic choke.
A rear fog lamp has been added, probably to comply with regs where it was being driven – looks like a licence plate from Belgium. No amber rear turn signals; some European countries allowed low-volume cars to keep the US-spec red ones, and the rear side marker lights are US-spec red rather than Europe-spec amber for the same reason.
Headline on the ad claims it's near Grosse Point, Michigan, but the auction site has it in Europe. The Swiss-built A-bodies were put together with a whole lot more welds and care than the North American-built ones; here's the relevant Slant-6 News article from September '88. Way cool, eh!
Last edited:
