13th Dec 2006, 10:15
"...but you'll have the last laugh when their cars are in the junk pile and yours is still running."
Well, right now it has no exhaust system and a dead battery.
Next stop: "junk pile"
13th Dec 2006, 11:26
Put a new battery and exhaust on it. I drove a 71 Swinger in college. The slant six was extremely reliable even at 150,000 miles. I bought a 75 Duster with a crank sunroof next and many other Chryslers since. Its Mopar or no car!
13th Dec 2006, 11:32
That would really be a waste and a shame to junk a car just because it needed a muffler and a battery.
11th Sep 2007, 02:24
I'm thinkin about buying this hemi orange 74 dodge dart swinger for 1500 bucks. It seems like a good deal. Any thoughts?
12th Sep 2007, 21:06
It depends on what you intend for it. A '74 Dart Swinger is a neat little car, and will be a good daily driver, but you have to realize that a 33-year old car is bound to need some work. Still, for $1,500 it would be a good deal if only the usual repairs (new starter, alternator, water pump, timing chain, brakes, fluid changes) are needed.
If you're looking at it as an investment, I suppose there could be some potential someday, but will probably never command "real" money.
Probably the biggest potential issue with these Darts is the way the torsion bars are made, and they can be extremely difficult to replace if they start losing tension and the front end is sagging. This can give you alignment problems and badly uneven tire wear.
Actually, I know a guy who bought a Dart Swinger for $1,500 on e-bay, and then paid another $1,500 to have it shipped to him across country. That thing was junk. I love Mopars, and I wouldn't have given over $300 for it, let alone $3,000. Just be careful buying a 30+ year old car and be prepared for some repairs.
15th Nov 2007, 16:55
The slant six fired right up when the carb was primed. It ran for a few seconds, but had to be shut off because of a fuel leak which has since been repaired. The brakes still are out, but the engine runs. So far that is all I have found wrong. I am sure that there are bound to be many problems that have yet to be discoverd.
3rd May 2008, 13:58
I have 2 Darts for daily drivers, both 74's, a Swinger and a Custom. Both cars are most likely well over 200,000 miles and still run great. Both are slant six's and the one even has a sure grip differential in it believe it or not, and after a tune up and hitting the gas hard doing 20 mph, it kicked the car sideways; impressive for a workhorse.
I just did a test on the Swinger and I am getting over 20 mpg on it, and have less than 2000$ in the car with almost every part replaced for reliability.
They are great cars; keep the body up and it won't rot. My wife even wants to keep both of them because she likes them so much.
You can have you big block classic and new cars; I'll take my Darts with a phillips screwdriver and 3/8 wrench.
23rd Nov 2009, 09:56
Well seeing as SO many people commented, I'll post a reply. It's been a few years since I put that review up, and not much has changed. It still runs great when primed, and has gas in the tank. The carb is bad, so it eats gas, but overall it's still a mean little car, and will burn rubber if coaxed, and in fact to prove what I'm saying, I made a little video of it and posted it to YouTube. More information on the car is in the description. Enjoy.
I look forward to your comments and questions. Feel free to post them in the comments section of the video.
28th Nov 2006, 22:54
The reason the car sounds so loud is the lack of a muffler and exhaust system.
I just tried to start it a few weeks ago and it acted as if the battery was dead, which I think was, or the starter had seized, not sure.