‘A counterpart to the Barracuda’ is Car And Driver’s assessment of the Dodge Dart. Not an outlandish conclusion, since both models shared plenty of components. However, in this case, Car And Driver’s components of interest were in the Barracuda’s Commando 273in. V-8 package. Thus equipped, in GT guise the Dart was transformed from a ‘boulevardier into a rugged middleweight.’
In general, the GT was a nice compromise ‘for the family man who wants a little extra excitement for his automotive dollar.’ Both the 235HP 273in. engine and ToqueFlite get credit for turning the Dart into an ‘interesting’ performer, and its ‘visually under-stated’ styling gets some praise.
The Pentastar’s late ’50s quality woes are addressed, and ‘in a complete departure from those grim days when all Chrysler cars seemed to be moulded… out of white metal, the Dart GT has a basic feeling of strength. The body panels fit properly and there were very few rattles… even though it had been trashed around for over a month.’ On this end, a bit of history is mentioned on Chrysler’s then-recent 50,000-mile warranty and its effect on recouping sales (It would not be the last time the company resorted to such a scheme to regain the public’s favor).
On the GT, the 235HP V-8 got its boost thanks to a hotter cam and a four-barrel carburetor. The engine was ‘robust and eager,’ and used the same exhaust found on the Formula S Barracuda, a favorite of the testers. There were further performance options, like a heavy-duty suspension package, without which the car had a ‘wobbly’ feel. Another area of critique was ‘of all the available power steering setups, Chrysler’s is the least appealing…’ being ‘so vague one wonders if the shaft has broken…’ Still, the Dart is summed up as a ‘bright, contemporary vehicle.’
Dodge was doing rather well in ’64, but the Dart GT was just a middle step in their ambitions. In ’66, their own sporty/personal car would be launched; the Charger.
Further reading:
I always really liked these Dart GT hardtops. The Valiant’s lines were a little cleaner, but the Dart’s roof was really nicely done. The larger wheels on the GT may be the biggest visual bonus of the package.
Lynn Townsend’s time at Chrysler may be unique in how it began with such soaring highs and ended in such crashing lows. The curve is usually much flatter.
While not exactly great, Lynn Townsend wasn’t the worst auto industry CEO. Guys like Roger Smith and Robert Eaton seem to have done far more damage during their respective tenures. Hell, I’d even put the Gene Cafiero/John Ricardo co-CEO gambit above them.
To that end, it’s worth noting that the A-body really didn’t ape any Falcon or Nova (unlike other Chrysler model lines). Moreover, it was originally an Exner design that was significantly redone only twice (1967 and 1970) and lasted all the way through 1976. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
The Dart design was basically a scaled down 64 Chrysler
A family resemblence, to be sure, but it would have come off better if Chrysler had spent the minimal amount and used quad headlights compared to the Barracuda’s duals, something they actually did when they got the real ponycar Challenger.
Dodge was trying to pull off a Barracuda with even less distinction than the Plymouth from a Valiant, and it definitely didn’t work. Of course, the Barracuda, even when it got all-new, distinct sheetmetal ’67-’69, didn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire, either.
I always found it fascinating that, for several years, the suave television PI Joe Mannix drove a mildly customized 1968 Dart convertible, complete with in-car telephone.
The 63 Dart has a pretty direct copy of the Turbine Car’s dramatic sculpted dual light face, so I doubt it was a cost decision. It was more likely a cost decision that the Valiant’s plebian flat face didn’t keep the previous quad lights..
My first COAL, I bought a ’65 Dart GT in 1976 for $300. Mine was AA-1 Gold Poly with a white interior, 225 slant six, TorqueFlite and floor-mounted shifter.
The Dart GT was a minor hit, selling quite well. It hit a sweet spot in the market, a sporty compact hardtop coupe that was also very practical, and avoided some of the iffy aspects of the GM Y-body compacts.
When I posted those Sunset Strip photos, one of the surprises was just how many of these there were. It was a precursor to the Mustang.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-snapshots-and-photography/vintage-photos-a-drive-down-sunset-strip-in-1966-part-1-google-streetview-preview/
To me, the exhaust note on these 235hp cars was absolute music to my ears. The only cars better were the street hemis.
” No man need hang his head in shame … “ driving a car with one of those 3 speed TF automatics.
That’s an interesting quote coming from 1965. That anti-automatic syndrome is alive and well today even as most high powered sport and performance cars (i.e., RS6, 911s) either no longer offer manuals, or don’t build many.
8.2 seconds to 60 in 1965 was flat out fast. Not ’62 Polara 413 fast, but fast enough for normal people.
Back in the early ’60s we saw 4-speed Corvettes and other stick shift racers (409s) bend the shifter or damage their shifter forks and/or transmission internals in their efforts to win drag races.
But it seemed those big Dodges and later 340 Demons with 3-speed TFs just kept going. Now I’m sure these TorqueFlites eventually failed, but not in front of any of us. The hot Mopars often succumbed to police confiscation or more violent episodes, like being wrapped around a fire hydrant and putting the driver in the hospital for 3 weeks.
Even Ricky Bobby eventually learned that not winning is not necessarily being last.
“…The Pentastar’s late ’50s quality woes are addressed, and ‘in a complete departure from those grim days when all Chrysler cars seemed to be moulded… out of white metal, the Dart GT has a basic feeling of strength…”
I felt that it went with the size of the car. A-bodies always seemed to be stiffer and more shake-free than the B-bodies. My C-body 1972 Dodge Polara was solid-feeling too but it was a police package car. My friend’s 1972 Monaco felt more flexible and shaky, and it was NOT a convertible!
A Dodge Dart similar to this one won the over 2 liter class of the first SCCA Trans Am race. They gave up some displacement to the Mustangs, but the inherent superiority of the Valiant chassis over the Falcon chassis made the difference until Ford pumped factory development money into making their pig’s ear handle in racing trim.
The Dart won another race in 1966, and the first race of 1967.
Chrysler would have won the 1966 Trans-Am manufacturer championship (there was no official driver championship) if its factory sponsored cars had been a single brand instead of being divided between Dart and Barracuda. Most of the serious independent racers raced Mustang notchbacks with as much GT350R stuff as the SCCA would allow; Shelby built a batch of such cars that are known as the Group II Mustangs.
A few of comments about the 273.
Note the mechanical lifters when virtually every other mainstream American engine had hydraulics. I never understood why. This was probably one reason for the “fair” rating on engine noise. Adjusting valves (hot, no less) was a chore, and really no fun in my ’66 A-100 van, as it required removing the seats and taking apart the “doghouse”.
180 gross hp rating for the regular gas 2bbl single exhaust version translates well to the 140 net hp on my van’s data plate.
Oil filter was also a messy cartridge instead of spin-on. At least the dealer had a spin on adapter kit by the 1970’s.
Excellent trans that came with the van was the A727 Loadflite with dash mounted “console” shifter.
My Dart GT was a 1966 w/the solid-lifter 273, Carter AFB & aftermarket Mallory dual-point & coil. The solid lifters gave it a 7K redline. Mine was a three-on-the tree stick and the 13″ wheels were kind of tiny, odd bolt circle as well if i remember. Later after rebuilding then wrecking it ‘transformed’ into a 1965 Barracuda but that’s something else…