Posted at the CC Cohort by KiwiBryce
(first posted 8/19/2013) The year 1960 was a fairly significant one for the automotive industry. It marked, among many things, the final year of the doomed Edsel, the beginning of the end for tail fins, and most significantly, was the year the Big Three introduced their compact cars to the marketplace. Whether it was due to the still-recovering economy, growing families needing a second car, or an increasing number of female drivers–or most likely, to the combination of all three–the Corvair, Falcon, and Valiant certainly were the right cars at the right time. But what about Dodge? Surely, Chrysler’s mid-priced division would not be left behind in changing times: Enter the 1960 Dodge Dart.
Economic factors certainly were a factor in the conception of the Dodge Dart; even so, Chrysler’s restructuring of its dealer network was probably the main reason Dodge needed a lower-price model. Historically, Dodge dealers had also sold Plymouths, but under the new plan, Chrysler Corporation created newly separate Chrysler-Plymouth dealerships and standalone Dodge dealerships. The Dart would be Dodge’s compensation for the Plymouths that would no longer be sold in their showrooms.
Riding on Plymouth’s 118-inch wheelbase, these “smaller” Dodges were approximately seven inches shorter in length than the standard-size Polara and Matador. Station wagons rode on the same 122-inch wheelbase as the Polara wagons.
Like most cars of the era, the 1960 Dart was highly configurable. Available in four body styles (two-door hardtop, two-door sedan, four-door sedan and four-door wagon), three trim levels (Seneca, Pioneer, and Phoenix), and three engines (a 225 CID Slant Six and 318 and 361 CID V8s), the Dart was an instant hit, becoming Dodge’s best selling line of cars for 1960.
The 1960 Dart is among my favorite Dodges of all time. It has great styling, proportions and trim, without looking as overwrought as the more expensive Polara. The trapezoidal grille and front bumper comprise my favorite styling feature. Sadly, things would change for 1961, when styling took a turn for the worse.
Another thing I’ve always liked about these 1960 Darts is the trim level names: Seneca, Pioneer and Phoenix are great car names. Our featured car is a 1960 Seneca wagon, photographed and posted to the Cohort by KiwiBryce in his native New Zealand. Now, Chrysler did not sell the Dodge Dart line in Australia or New Zealand, which likely makes this one an export model with right-hand drive.
Chrysler of Australia did, however, sell the Dodge Phoenix, an Australian-assembled version of the American Dart available only as a four-door sedan. Our feature Seneca does not appear to wear any “Dart” badging, so it’s very possible that it was sold simply as a “Dodge Seneca”.
I have also found these very interesting, and among the more restrained Mopars of 1960. About that fin – the little odd fin on these cars just looks bad on the wagon, as it is partly invisible yet completely out of step with all other lines on the car. I love a good fin, but this one is the fin that can’t really decide if it should be there or not. You can see in the illustration of the blue wagon that the artist is trying to minimize the fin, making it smaller than in real life.
I wonder if anyone has ever shaved those fins off one of these? That wagon would look so cool with just the tube-shaped fender tops. This had to be an afterthought. “Well, there’s gotta be a fin here somewhere…”
always thought a 59 and 60 cadillac would look great with a shaved fin. if you hold your hand in a certain way over a pic of those cars you will see what I mean.
Now that you mention it, the fin on the wagon in the illustration is only about half the height it is in real life. Hadn’t noticed that.
That car looks terrific in black. Sensibly sized. I’m guessing the Dart wagons did not come in the hardtop version? The front of the 1960 Dodge’s are quite attractive, just amazing that anybody would actually approve the appalling 1961 front end being grafted on.
The little tail fins don’t work well on the wagons, but were ok on the other bodies. 1961 would have been so much better for Dodge if they’d just taken the fins off and left the car otherwise alone.
The attached 1961 photo was on Jalopnik and was of a car that had been for sale on e-bay. My personal candidate for WORST FRONT END EVER.
Are you kidding? This is one of the best evah!
I saw much more worst frond end. The 1961 Plymouth front end was worse and Dodge recycled it for the 1962 Dodge Custom 880.
I agree about the 1961 models. It would had look better by taking the fins off and without these “elephant ears fins”.
And here a picture of an 1970 or 1971 Aussie Dodge Phoenix fuselage. http://www.flickr.com/photos/glenhsparky/5066201245/
The 1960 Dodge Dart was also sold as the DeSoto Diplomat for the export markets http://www.philseed.com/desoto1960.html We could wonder what if Chrysler had decided to sold the DeSoto Diplomat instead of the Dodge Dart in Canada and the United States?
The picture is the ’61 Plymouth. Your Aussie 1962 Custom 880 may have had this front end. If so, you were fortunate.
Amazingly, the U.S. ’62 Custom 880 recycled the ’61 Dodge front clip and grafted it on to a 1962 Chrysler. Unbelievable that that front end would see the light of day over two years of production.
Ever notice how the new Lexus cars have a ’61 Plymouth like front end?
I never shared nor really understood the universal hatred of the 61 Dodge. Really, what’s so bad about it?
Lumpy, frumpy, sort of looks like factory accident damage.
Concave front ends are rare, and hard to pull off. A few early ’60’s Fords had them, and they weren’t much better.
I think the front end is too tall to support the chromed surfaces, the by-product of too much 1957 car trying to pass off as a more modern 1961.
With some little change like a flatter front end, it would had looked more or less like the front end of the 1960 Chevrolet.
They took off the fins which gave the shape its ‘tautness’. What was left had large-radius curves which looked very ‘fat’ and dated by 1961. Meanwhile GM had straight-line sculpturing and was moving to flatter surfaces.
I like it but I’m different too.
+1 I’m different,I like Edsels,Mk 4 Zodiacs and 70 Coronet/Superbees
Looks a lot like the front of my Dad’s Mk3 Ford Zephyr.
Even more the Zodiac.
I always thought these 1960 Dodges were such unworthy successors to the ’59’s, but they have grown on me. And how I disliked all those new names, I so loved the Coronet and Custom Royal and Lancer monikers. These Darts seemed so truncated compared to the larger Polaras, and that skinny little fin looked so superfluous, especially on the wagons, perched there outside that long window, so out of place. Far better to have eliminated the fin altogether. The larger Polaras may have been overwrought, but they were fabulous space-age designs, they looked so loooong, and the fin worked much better atop those jet-tube taillights. The two-door hardtop Polara was especially stunning for its time, Richard Carpenter has one in his collection, all black, a beautiful car. Now there’s automotive “presence.”
The grandparents of our neighbors across the street when I was a teenager had a 1960 Dart Phoenix, it was always parked out front directly opposite our driveway. One night, I managed to back my dad’s ’64 Dart into the side of this car, no damage other than a dent, but I was mortified in my first year of driving. Little Dart met Big Brother Dart, so to speak.
I’m with you Don; when they were new I thought the 60 Dodge, especially the front, looked a little dowdy compared to the rakish 59 but the wagon above looks pretty good today. It may well be that I associate the 60 too closely with someone I knew who had one back in the day. She was the proverbial “old maid” in our little town and her 60 Dart was a barebones, sickly beige two door sedan with blackwalls and dog dish caps – I think the only options were Torqueflite and radio, most likely all she could afford.
Now the 64 Dart your dad had (my aunt had one too) was a sharp car! You probably clipped that door in a manner that made no impression on its bumper. I was not so lucky when my Dad’s 64 Fairlane Sports Coupe’s rear bumper met up with a pole on an icy winter day. Though it was a relatively small dent that attracted little attention, as a new driver I felt the same as you.
Dodge was caught off-guard by the popularity of these models, and as such dealers were desperate for more stock.
One dealer wrote in to the corporation with the line: “can’t fish without bait. Send more cars”.
If these cars could be thought of as restrained, this didn’t extend to the interiors.
These look so much bigger than the successor A-body cars, say a 1963-1965, and the 1967-1976 series for sure.
There is no way this was a ‘compact’ car
Correct, the 1960-61 Darts were entry ‘standard size’ cars, restyled Plymouth Furys.
’62 Darts were really mid sized, and then the 1963-76 was A body compact.
This isn’t an A-body; Dodge got that in ’61 as the Lancer, and the Dart name was moved from this series to the compact in ’63, as part of the fallout from the ’62 downsizing of the full-size Dodge and Plymouth.
My high school (KCHS) had, as driver’s training cars, (all 1960’s) a Chevrolet Bel-Air; a Ford Fairlane 500; a Plymouth Belvidere and a Dodge Dart Phoenix. I remember riding in the Dart was like a step-up in price class. The interior components were of significantly higher quality than the other cars. Perhaps because of this, it seemed to driver better as well. Inside and out, the other cars looked cheap, but the Dart; did not.
I meant Pioneer not Phoenix. The point was that for a comparable price these were much nicer cars.
Awesome I had hoped Mopar week would answer my question as to what these were called in the States, I had a sedan and with CC cause and effect I shot a sedan yesterday identical to the beater I owned pic will appear on the cohort complete with NZ badging my car was badged Dodge Pioneer it was beyond my then repair capabilities as the entire front suspension had failed inspection and just where the hell in 1978 do you obtain parts I gave up and sold it to a mate who transplanted the power train into a 56.
127,000 miles an ex farmers car it had spent its entire life 40 miles from pavement the V8 ran great the bodywork was passable the trans worked ok and it went like a big bullet but the steering was understandably vague. Thanks Brendan
I heard then the reason why Dodge referred as Phoenix and Pionner in Australia and New Zealand was another group owned the rights to the Dart name.
I think Daimler owned the Dart name, or possibly BMC, but I’m not sure!
Actually, it was Goggomobile!
The rear of this Dart wagon reminds me of the ’57 Oldsmobile. If you took off the fins they would be pretty close. I see that Plymouth wasn’t the only Chrysler brand fond of using static sounding names. Seneca sounds like something you need to get a bowel movement going.
Wow, that’s a fantastic find Bryce! Quick rego check shows that it was first registered here on 1st April 1960. It changed hands in 1974 and again in 1981 – and it was off the road from 1981 until just last month – so it’s spent more time off the road than on! It’s fitted with the 318, and is described on the rego docs as a Dodge Special Seneca. A fine looking wagon!
Nice looker but black wagons look rather funereal.On the other hand my niece a Morticia look a like Goth would love this.
NZ new then the sedan I had was too apart from the daft wheels I liked it and the cant be too many here.
Agreed on the silly wheels but otherwise, this is one sharp wagon!
The fins on the wagon are quite bizarre..
Dad bought our 1960 Pioneer Wagon new and used it for his weekly Egg Route in Norwood Ohio. We loved to ride in the reversed back seat on our weekly Sunday ride! It is a blast to see the pictures of these gigantic 50 year old beasts. He traded it in for a new 1964 Dodge A100 Van and it worked a bit better for the Route but not for our Sunday rides! Here is dad on his Route in 1963.
thats a beautiffull car , i try to finish my mine car , presently ill try to buy right and left fender and i cant find it 🙁 im desapointed anybody know where can i buy it ?
let me know please
Try Hemmings Motor News. Look under “Chrysler Parts” or “Dodge Parts” . You can also do an online search for Mopar salvage yards. Good luck !
What state do you live in ?
In the mid sixties when we lived in Vallejo California & my father worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, he brought a ’60 Dodge Pioneer sea foam green 4 door sedan with a 318 V-8 & a push button automatic home. My mother HATED it.
It’s great to see that other people liked these things. Someday I’d like to have one for myself.
Here’s a quick re-do of this wagon.
and another
Nice! Thanks for that welcome improvement.
And greetings to you. In a classic case of the etheric cellphone effect, I was just thinking about you some 15 minutes ago. It’s nice to see you still drop by sometimes. Got anything else new you want to share, in a post?
I’ve always thought that both the 1960 and 1961 Dart were two of the best looking and all around best of all the MoPars ever built.