340ci V8/Factory 340 Car/Rare Factory Sunroof/A833 Manual/AAR Style Stripes

The malaise era was upon us by 1973 and even though the Mopar camp was effected by the smog laws coming down from the government and EPA big brothers it didn't stop them from stuffing a high performance engine into a lightweight body.  Thus was born the Dodge Dart Sport, thanks Christian groups for killing off one of my beloved automobile logos, and this particular car for consignment was born with and still retains a 340ci V8.  Ready to rock and roll with 4 on the floor, having a rare factory sunroof and presents mostly original with the exception of the addition of some Mopar Performance parts in the form the air cleaner, valve covers, and chromed out Cragar wheels.  Read on and join myself and Sherman on our Wayback machine trip to 1973.

Exterior
Areas of body fill, and bondo, as well as some undulation in the panels, can be seen with a close look down the panels of this car.  A shade of purple, a few tones off from Plum Crazy, respray in good condition covers the exterior of the car.  Corresponding areas of matte black cover the twin scooped hood scoop and the rear spoiler are noted.  Leading the way is the NTSB crash mandated veed out header panel and eggcrate grille with outboard flanking headlights.  Just below is the redesigned larger than life bumper, now in body matching purple that has thankfully been stripped of its oversized black rubber bumperettes.  Two AAR style stripes are running the length of the beltline in gloss white, are large and squared off in the front quarter panels and doors, but slowly grow taller and thinner just past the door and end with a white AAR Dart on the tail of rear quarters.  Shiny roof drip rail moldings, and wide sill moldings are highlighting areas that are not purple.  Also, in chrome is a driver's sport rear view mirror that is controlled by a joystick in the door panel.  At the back of the car we see aforementioned wing atop the decklid, a good body matching rear bumper, and a quad of new for '73 squared off tail lights adorning the edges of the rear filler panel.  15-inch chrome Cragar wheels adorn the 4 corners and are wrapped in staggered width blackwall rubber.  

Interior
As we open the doors to slip inside we shake hands with plenty of vertical tuck and roll insert panels among smooth black vinyl framing for the outside of the door panels.  A shiny door actuator is attached to a black armrest, along with a window crank and chromed mirror joystick and some applique adds a touch of class.  Sleek high back buckets again with the mixture of tuck and roll and smooth black vinyl looking just fine sitting next to the carpeted center hump and just within the drivers reach is the long chrome armed shifter.  The metal inward V shaped dash is painted black with more wood applique fields housing the temp sliders, the factory AM radio, and a cluster of gauges and idiot lights in front of the driver.  The instrument cluster is pure factory and very clean and simple.  Speaking of in front of the driver, we note a Mopar Tuff Wheel mounted atop the fixed position column.   Just below are a trio of aftermarket gauges, a Rockville aftermarket AM/FM radio and a digital tachometer with shift light.  For the back bench, more tuck and roll black vinyl stretches across and these interior charts are floating in a sea of clean black carpeting.  Above is a sagged and soiled white headliner which frames the crank back factory sunroof. 

Drivetrain
A lift of the purple scooped hood reveals a purple engine bay with a correct but not discernable as number matching, (see engine stamping photo), 340ci V8 with a 4 barrel carburetor on top and dressed with black wrinkle finish and ribbed valve covers and air cleaner assembly.  This is connected to a correct and possibly numbers matching, with a questionable stamping so for the sake of honesty we'll refer to the transmission as correct, A833 4-speed manual transmission.  Putting the power to the wide rear tires is a 8 1/4" rear axle.

Undercarriage
Some surface rust, but fortunately no invasive rust is seen on the underside of the rocker panels, flooring, or unibody structure.  The underside of door jambs have areas of minimal surface rust but are otherwise unremarkable.  Keeping the ride in check is an independent torsion bar front suspension with power disc brakes and in the back are leaf springs and power drums.  Dual exhaust is on for the exhale and gently worms its way backwards ending with a pair of Flowmaster single chamber mufflers just in front of the rear axle.

Drive-Ability
A quick starter, smooth runner and great accelerator.  The interior is as comfy as it is muscular.  A few nuances crept up during my time behind the wheel with the horn not tooting, the turn signals not flashing and the speedometer not ticking off my speed.  Otherwise nice handling and quick stopping bias free braking was at hand for this test drive.

Born in May of 1973 in Hamtramck, MI, this muscle equipped 340 version of the Dart Sport with some bodywork and a respray is here for the individual who wants one of these iconic muscle cars but is willing to work on it a bit after obtaining it.  A good car, that runs well, and starts right up, shifts smoothly, as well as shows some power, is here at Classic Auto Mall, waiting for your ogle.  Now Sherman, what's say we make a stopover in Watkins Glen on July 28th and check out Summer Jam.

LM29H3B476694

L-Dart
M-Medium Price Class
29-2 Door Sports Hardtop
H-340ci V8 4bbl
3-1973
B-Hamtramck, MI Assy Plant
476694-Sequential Unit Number