Fender Tag question

But, I think an original 318 car in 73 is pretty special in the fact that most Darts by 73-75 we’re probably slant six cars.

No, in fact there were probably just as many 318's as slants in 73+. Certainly not rare but a 318 car usually had disc brakes and sometimes sway bar so that is a plus.
I think that since the big blocks went away, more people were ordering the 318. It probably was not a huge step up in price.