Dart Charger

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37fleetwood

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I've had a project in mind for many years. of course it will be for fun and not specifically correct by any means. my plan is to build a pre 1966 Dodge Charger. I plan on starting with an early Barracuda with a Dart front clip. I have a 273 Dart Charger engine complete with chrome air cleaner and finned valve covers. I plan on removing any indication that it was ever a Barracuda and putting Charger stuff on it. I have this stuff to lend a semblance of authenticity to the project:
dartcharger.jpg

I just thought I'd see if anyone here has ever seen this stuff before and might be able to confirm what little information I have. the Hubcaps fit 13" Bell Auto (Cragar) SS wheels there's also 2 insignia for the front fenders and one for the dash. I have always been under the impression that they would have been used in either 1965 or 1966 and in a similar manner as the Formula S on the Barracuda. anyway let me know what you think and if you know anything about this stuff. also if you have any documentation, that would be great!
Scott8)
 
There was a great article on these cars a decade or so ago, I do not remember the details. This one lived here for years, it is gone now. It was in nearly perfect shape when I was a teenager.

dart_charger.jpg


dart_charger_273 -2.jpg


dart_charger_273.jpg


dart_charger_gt.jpg
 
37fleetwood said:
I've had a project in mind for many years. of course it will be for fun and not specifically correct by any means. my plan is to build a pre 1966 Dodge Charger. I plan on starting with an early Barracuda with a Dart front clip. I have a 273 Dart Charger engine complete with chrome air cleaner and finned valve covers. I plan on removing any indication that it was ever a Barracuda and putting Charger stuff on it. I have this stuff to lend a semblance of authenticity to the project:
dartcharger.jpg

I just thought I'd see if anyone here has ever seen this stuff before and might be able to confirm what little information I have. the Hubcaps fit 13" Bell Auto (Cragar) SS wheels there's also 2 insignia for the front fenders and one for the dash. I have always been under the impression that they would have been used in either 1965 or 1966 and in a similar manner as the Formula S on the Barracuda. anyway let me know what you think and if you know anything about this stuff. also if you have any documentation, that would be great!
Scott8)
Click to expand...

The Dart/Charger was a 65 Dart GT model that had those 13 inch Cragar's (pretty rare) and had the fender insignia you have. From what I've read, they seemed to be mostly sold in the CA area and might have been some sort of dealer thing. I don't think they were sold in big numbers. The motor was a standard 273/235 horse motor with the wrinkle finish valve covers and chrome air cleaner with the Charger 273 decal. There's a member in Sweden who has one and will probably chime in when he sees this thread. By the way, Doug Dutra over at slantsix.org has an early Barracuda with a 64 Dart front clip on it (it's called Dacuda).
 
thanks for the tip, just went over and looked at Dacuda and it's exactly what I was thinking of. I think I'm going to go ahead with the project if someone doesn't talk me out of the Dart Charger stuff.
 
37fleetwood said:
thanks for the tip, just went over and looked at Dacuda and it's exactly what I was thinking of. I think I'm going to go ahead with the project if someone doesn't talk me out of the Dart Charger stuff.
Click to expand...

That stuff you got there could be worth quite a bit to person needing it. Good luck on your DartCuda project - pics would be nice.
 
I have a Dart Charger but I did'nt have the caps for the cragars so I casted the emblems of the fenders to fit the 14inch Cragers. My question are the 13 inch Cragers the same center as the 14". Here is a picture of one cap that I had run on my Cragers

Crager cap.jpg
 
ok, here's the deal as far as i know, but you might want to verify it. the cap is the same on all small bolt pattern wheels whether 13 or 14 or if you can find them 15 inch. if you convert to large bolt pattern like I did the cap size changes to a larger one and these won't fit.
 
OK, now I'm confused! I mentioned that I wasn't too interested in having a Dart Charger in the other Dart Charger thread and had a few of the guys here ask if I would sell the parts I have, and I was thinking about it but the offers were not what I expected. so now I'm thinking maybe I need to figure this out better.

Here's my thinking.
1. a Dart Charger sold for almost $30,000.00 kinda unrealistic huh? it was one of the 180 factory cars. there is or was one for sale on Craig's list for $20,000.00 so still pretty steep! they made 300 "kits" to be used on 1965 Dart GT's. the stuff I had came off one of the 180 but now I guess would be usable for making one of the 300 dealer ad-on kit cars.

2 how much is one of the 300 worth? I have all but the car and 3 wheels to make one of these cars (and the car is the easy part). just to make it simple, lets say one of the 300 is worth half, say $10,000.00

3. I can buy a clean 1965 Dart GT 273 4bbl for under $5,000.00 probably around $3,000.00 and put my stuff on it and voilà, Dart Charger!

4. now for the math. my parts plus lets say $3500.00 for a decent Dart GT, (actually there is a really nice looking '65 v-8 4spd GT Convertible on ebay right now for $6,500.00 which would make the end value higher for the initial investment. so $6,500.00 plus my stuff... for an end value of???) I can buy new Cragar wheels for around $650.00 for a set, some time invested etc. I have several 273 4bbl engines and a few 4 speeds no problems there. so even if we estimate a total cost of $5,000.00 for the car and adding whatever I need to. if I could then figure on getting $10,000.00 for the car, doesn't that make the parts I have worth more than a couple hundred dollars?

5.Ok, lets reverse engineer this a bit. $10,000.00 value minus $5,000.00 for the car and everything else leaves $5,000.00. I'm not figuring on getting $5,000.00 for these parts but what about half? $2,500.00 what about half of that even? $1,250.00? if you have a car that needs these parts you may find one or two pieces on ebay or a swap, but I have all the parts needed to make any '65 Dart GT into one of the 300 dealer cars.

Ok, am I thinking of this wrong? if one of these cars isn't worth any more than a regular GT who cares about getting the right parts anyway? if these parts are only worth a couple hundred dollars I'll go ahead with my plan of making a Barracuda into an A body fast back Charger. I have 2 1966 Barracudas and a complete Dart front clip. I have the chrome air cleaner, the engine with the cute little glue on fins, the 4spd and correct shifter, everything. it's just about assembling it, or I'll start looking for a '65 GT of my own to start with.

please let me know what you think, I'd really like to know.8)
 
they are worth whatever someone is willing to pay. so if you can find someone who needs them and offers what you want i would sell them. if not, use them. i think your project would still be cool with or without the emblems.
 
37fleetwood said:
OK, now I'm confused! I mentioned that I wasn't too interested in having a Dart Charger in the other Dart Charger thread and had a few of the guys here ask if I would sell the parts I have, and I was thinking about it but the offers were not what I expected. so now I'm thinking maybe I need to figure this out better.

Here's my thinking.
1. a Dart Charger sold for almost $30,000.00 kinda unrealistic huh? it was one of the 180 factory cars. there is or was one for sale on Craig's list for $20,000.00 so still pretty steep! they made 300 "kits" to be used on 1965 Dart GT's. the stuff I had came off one of the 180 but now I guess would be usable for making one of the 300 dealer ad-on kit cars.

2 how much is one of the 300 worth? I have all but the car and 3 wheels to make one of these cars (and the car is the easy part). just to make it simple, lets say one of the 300 is worth half, say $10,000.00

3. I can buy a clean 1965 Dart GT 273 4bbl for under $5,000.00 probably around $3,000.00 and put my stuff on it and voilà, Dart Charger!

4. now for the math. my parts plus lets say $3500.00 for a decent Dart GT, (actually there is a really nice looking '65 v-8 4spd GT Convertible on ebay right now for $6,500.00 which would make the end value higher for the initial investment. so $6,500.00 plus my stuff... for an end value of???) I can buy new Cragar wheels for around $650.00 for a set, some time invested etc. I have several 273 4bbl engines and a few 4 speeds no problems there. so even if we estimate a total cost of $5,000.00 for the car and adding whatever I need to. if I could then figure on getting $10,000.00 for the car, doesn't that make the parts I have worth more than a couple hundred dollars?

5.Ok, lets reverse engineer this a bit. $10,000.00 value minus $5,000.00 for the car and everything else leaves $5,000.00. I'm not figuring on getting $5,000.00 for these parts but what about half? $2,500.00 what about half of that even? $1,250.00? if you have a car that needs these parts you may find one or two pieces on ebay or a swap, but I have all the parts needed to make any '65 Dart GT into one of the 300 dealer cars.

Ok, am I thinking of this wrong? if one of these cars isn't worth any more than a regular GT who cares about getting the right parts anyway? if these parts are only worth a couple hundred dollars I'll go ahead with my plan of making a Barracuda into an A body fast back Charger. I have 2 1966 Barracudas and a complete Dart front clip. I have the chrome air cleaner, the engine with the cute little glue on fins, the 4spd and correct shifter, everything. it's just about assembling it, or I'll start looking for a '65 GT of my own to start with.

please let me know what you think, I'd really like to know.8)
Click to expand...

If I read this right you want to build a clone then sell it as the real thing?
 
since they were a dealer add on for any Gt would it be a clone? and since I wouldn't be falsifying anything I don't think it would be exactly dishonest and I would even disclose this information which I don't figure would hurt the value anyway considering the way the kits were sold, and no I have no plan on building one of these I'm just trying to establish a value. if I was thinking of having the fender tag falsified to make it one of the 180 factory made cars, then I think it would be really a fraud, and possibly illegal. and finally, how many of these 300 dealer add-on cars do you think are actually original dealer added cars? my bet is less than half the ones in existance.
 
The Dart Charger was not Dealer Add on.


37fleetwood said:
since they were a dealer add on for any Gt would it be a clone? and since I wouldn't be falsifying anything I don't think it would be exactly dishonest and I would even disclose this information which I don't figure would hurt the value anyway considering the way the kits were sold, and no I have no plan on building one of these I'm just trying to establish a value. if I was thinking of having the fender tag falsified to make it one of the 180 factory made cars, then I think it would be really a fraud, and possibly illegal. and finally, how many of these 300 dealer add-on cars do you think are actually original dealer added cars? my bet is less than half the ones in existance.
Click to expand...
 
cavemanmoron said:
The Dart Charger was not Dealer Add on.
Click to expand...

I believe 37 Fleetwood is correct that the package was offered as a dealer option package. Ulf, 65DartCharger is probably the most knowledgeable on the subject.

Interestingly, the package (273 HiPo, lt. yellow (special order 999) with black vinyl top and white/gold interior and 13" Cragars) could be purchased WITHOUT the Dart Charger emblems. I owned one purchased from Chuck Hutton Dodge in Columbus, GA. The 13" Cragars were unique in that the rims were chromed steel and the spokes were polished aluminum.

Galen Grovier (sp?) has no interest in these cars because there was no fender tag code for them so there is no way to verify a genuine Dart Charger.
 
cavemanmoron said:
The Dart Charger was not Dealer Add on.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, were they available from just one dealer, a bunch of dealers in a particular locality (So California for example) or from any dealer? Would be interesting to know. Any idea on how they could be authenticated as original Dart Chargers? For example on the 65 fender tag on the middle line (the ABC line), Formula S Barracudas had the number 3 under the C Code. I'm not aware Dart Chargers had a special code, but ya never know. I've got in my factory 65 Dart/Dodge literature a couple of pieces that either shows a glimpse of the Cragers or mentioned them ("Mags") as an option but not in connection with a Dart Charger, just the GT. All I've ever heard about were hardtops, all painted code 881 yellow. Were any convertible Chart Chargers offered? Inquiring minds want to know!
 
as I understand it 180 cars were built, and 300 "kits" were sent to dealers to put on cars. the rim I have is the polished aluminum center type. maybe I'm going about this the wrong way, maybe I should be trying to buy the other 3 wheels and have the whole thing. then I could dishonestly pass it off as original and get rich as has been accused:angry7:, or just keep it for myself.
 
I believe all the factory Dart Chargers were light yellow (special order paint 999 on tag and build sheet (which I have)) with black vinyl top and white and gold interior. The dealers could apply the kit to any HiPo273 car they wished.
Again, 65DartCharger has researched these cars much more than anyone else I know, so he may have additional info.

Problem to me is that unless you are building a period correct show car the 13" wheels are useless...tried buying 13" tires lately?... and they look odd on any car today.
 
I have a 270 hard top and has the HI PO 273 and it has the Dart Charger emblems on the two front fenders and one on the right side of the dash. The car was repainted some time ago to a bright orange but the org color of the car was white. The car was brought new from a Ontario,Ca. dealer from what i found in the car. This how I got the emblems for my 14" cragers I had a bunch of the complete set casted. I also have a 65 Dart GT hi po 273 4 speed but it was missing the embelms on the front fenders but had one on the dash and had a paint code 999. The car was pale yellow with a black vindly top but it had the 14" cragers on it that is why I had the set of emblems casted up I will post some pictures of both cars later.
 
37fleetwood said:
since they were a dealer add on for any Gt would it be a clone? and since I wouldn't be falsifying anything I don't think it would be exactly dishonest and I would even disclose this information which I don't figure would hurt the value anyway considering the way the kits were sold, and no I have no plan on building one of these I'm just trying to establish a value. if I was thinking of having the fender tag falsified to make it one of the 180 factory made cars, then I think it would be really a fraud, and possibly illegal. and finally, how many of these 300 dealer add-on cars do you think are actually original dealer added cars? my bet is less than half the ones in existance.
Click to expand...

I'm not the honest police and I'm not accusing you, just trying to understand what you said. As long as its doisclosed there's nothing wrong with selling it with those options.
 
In 1964 Dodge launched the "DartCharger" to promote the Charger name for 1966 production as well as get closer to Ford Mustang. The earliest cars that I know of are produced in beginning of September.

The DartCharger came in two body styles; 2 dr hardtop or convertible.

All the cars were light yellow with two options for the interior; black interior or white/gold interior. The convertible top was always black. Hardtop cars could have painted light yellow roof or two options, black or white vinyl roof.

All the 180 factory cars has 991 or 999 as paintcode on the fendertag. All cars had badges on each fender as well as on the dash. The center dome on the Cragars were cut out and put a DartCharger emblem on! Some of the DartChargers were sold without the emblems. What I know of is two cars! A DartCharger car can be tracked on a fendertag. According to the dealers that I have spoken with about 30% of the DartChargers was convertibles and the rest hardtops.

All the factory cars had following equipment;

273x4 Charger engine
904 HD transmission or 4 speed Hurst shifted manual transmission
suregrip - (option)
Cragar S/S 13x6 wheels
front & rear bumperguards
Radio w/antenna'
Woodgrained steering wheel
Standard mirror (after Nov 20, -64 all cars had outside adjustable mirror)
Night/Day mirror
Spare tire on standadr rim 13x4,5
Power steering
Power brakes
Power top (convertible)
Interior light kit
Air condition - (option)

The DartChargers were produced to March 1965 when Dodge launched the Dart Go/go package for sale after April 1, 1965. This time the yellow paint was introduces as "spring special"

The deal from Dodge to the dealers about the DartChargers was to buy at least 5 cars. Always arrived om Friday and super sale the same weekend. After March Dodge offered dealerkits that the dealers could put on any cars that they had in stock. That's how it came up blue and red DartChargers kitcars. The most odd dealercar is a Dart 270 2 dr hardtop in San Diego!! The dealerkits was produced in 300 units. The dealer kit was only for 273 HP cars.

The Dart go/go package could even be put on a Dart w/slant 6!

Up to now this is all info there is about these cars!
 
what I have represents 2 cars (I suppose it is possible they were off the same car but that's a long shot). the wheel and one of the caps came to me through a 1968 Barracuda coupe, the rest of it came off a Dart Charger found in a Los Angeles area Pick Your Part junk yard. sadly some guys had the three wheels at the front to buy the tires and left the caps by the car. only three were found. the rest of the stuff came off the car. sadly we didn't know about the specifics or we could have got the fender tag and verified whether it was one of the 180 factory cars, or one of the 300 dealer cars.
 
sleestak said:
do you own a station wagon?
Click to expand...
are you asking me? no, I wish I did.
here's an idea, I would trade this stuff for a decent project car. what I'm looking for is a 1960-61-62 Lancer/Valiant 2 dr or wagon.
let me know.
 
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