1964 Dodge Dart 270 Convertible
Gina, CarCrazyCutie writes:
Hello 1962 to 1965 Mopar Clubhouse Group!
Here’s me and my little '64...
The story... Dad found the Dart in 1979, sitting in a metal hut, in a cornfield in Iowa. The license plate read 1969, and the odometer registered just under 6,000 miles -- I’m assuming it was 106,000. The owner had purchased it in early 1971 after seeing it behind someone’s garage, put in the hut and forgot about it. We purchased it for $250
We were told the last driver was "some college kid"...I guess that explained the oddities with the interior. The back windows were not broken as originally thought. Rather, they had been rolled down, small speakers installed in the panel, and then the window cranks were cut in two (apparently for clearance of the speaker grilles). The crank handles were now too small to create leverage and move the windows. The original radio had been replaced by what can only be described as the worlds biggest AM/FM/8-Track player available.
Two little things under the dash that cut my leg while getting into car turned out to be two bottle openers that had been mounted to the dash to allow for fast opening of bottles while driving...infact, there was still an unopened bottle of beer inside the passenger air vent door. The owner said the springs were broken, but it turned out that the 3-14 inch wheels and 1-13 inch wheel had more to do with why the car sat funny. Dad rebuilt the original 225 slant 6 engine and automatic transmission and I drove it for the better part of two years in high school.
The car went back into storage when I moved away, and sat unattended for another 8 years...when I realized that the car was still around, I decided to fix the car and give it back to my dad as a Christmas present. We found the place where the Dart was stored had become quite rundown and the car was buried under lawn chairs and Christmas ornaments, and was also home to a family of cats. We cleared it off, pumped up the tires, put in a battery, primed the carburetor, and drove it away...what a machine!
With help from siblings and some very good guys, the car received new black paint, white top, teal seat covers, tonneau cover, dash/door/trim paint, carpet, radio, rally wheels, tires, and all trim was removed cleaned and put back. The process was started the day after Thanksgiving, and the car was ready on December 23, 1991 -- Just in time to present to dad for Christmas.
He was quite surprised to say the least :-)
The entire family has enjoyed the car since then,
and recently Dad gave the car back to me...it’s like being 15 all over again. :-)
Great story and very sharp Dart, Gina!
The Dart has certainly assumed full family member status!
The Mopar obviously has a home where it IS appreciated!
Enjoy!
Gary H.
July 8, 2001
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