1962 | Dodge Dart Station Wagon

There's no other like it in Europe, this silver metallic 1962 Dodge Dart Station Wagon, in the 330 model variant with 440cui engine, has it all. Driving fun guaranteed, whether simply cruising or on the ¼ mile race.

This body only looks like this in this model year, as the B-body did not even exist in the previous model year. And in the following year of construction, there was a new body again. It is the first and only model year in which the Dodge Dart is a B-Body (Intermediate). Mopar dramatically reduced the weight and size of the new B-body. This lightness is clearly noticeable when driving. From 1966 the B-Body bodies became heavier again, not drastically but noticeably.

Mopar Big Block power

Instead of a 318cui, which this car had ex works, it now has a very potent 440cui engine (7.2 liter V8 big block), which definitely has more power than a normal 440cui HP engine, which is also registered in the vehicle documents. The previous owner had already driven ¼ mile with it.

In the States, the Dart first clocked a 12.9-second ¼ mile with a short 4.10:1 rear axle ratio. Here in Germany, 10 years later, at the Fun Race in Hildesheim, it still clocked a 13.4sec with a long axle (3.23) and road tires. Also at our annual Mopar Nationals, it often showed its best side on the race track.

The pushbutton automatic transmission is the A727 version and easily transfers the power of the big block to the large 8 ¾ rear axle with built-in limited slip differential. In addition, a very expensive valve body has been installed in the transmission, which has very crisp gear changes. Also installed is a “part trottle” kick-down, which was only fitted ex works on 6-cylinder vehicles. This means it shifts gears crisply, quickly and swiftly. It is therefore pleasant to cruise with and when you step on the gas, it really gets down to business.The bare start behavior is a dream, the engine runs smoothly straight away.

Thanks to the high-torque engine, the rear axle ratio of 3.23:1 is still high-torque and therefore very well chosen. Thanks to the engine's low revs, you can cruise at a relaxed 120 km/h without getting too loud.

The last car will always be a Station

This Dodge Dart is a very reliable vehicle. The two previous German owners have invested a lot of money in refinements and improvements and have ensured that the usability has increased significantly.The last previous owner had a lot of optimizations made to the front axle and suspension in our Moparshop. As a result, the Dodge is really pleasant to drive and sits well on the road in line with its performance. An original power steering system has also been installed.

Furthermore, optimizations were made and installed in many areas. These include, for example, different upper wishbones, carburetor, Mopar aluminum M1 intake manifold, fan manifold, camshaft, electronic ignition, double-pipe exhaust system with “Magnaflow” mufflers and an open K&N air filter. Our mechanical and electrical inspection can be sent to you on request.

Further improvements made:

• Suspension bushes and rubbers were replaced with more durable, firmer polyurethane bushes
• Modern versions with uniball joints were even fitted to the upper front wishbones. This also allowed us to set more caster, which results in a significantly more stabilized straight-line stability.
• Very thick “Hotchkis” stabilizers from the Moparshop were installed at the front and rear
• New red Koni shock absorbers have been fitted at the front
• Leaf spring bushes have also been replaced with wear-free polyurethane ones

The car was viewed, inspected and then brought back to the USA by our Moparshop boss Oliver Zinn. It comes from sunny California. The body is accordingly rust-free and in good condition. The windshield frame is also in top condition. In addition, the rear side window seals have already been replaced by the Moparshop. The original ones shrink over the years and are then torn on almost all vehicles.

The car has been given an extensive and complete cavity protection treatment with special grease by the Moparshop.

The trunk floor is also in very good condition. With the rear seat bench folded down, the normal 1.40 meter trunk area offers a full 2.20 meters, which is also completely carpeted. The Dodge Dart has an overall length of 5.30 meters.

Exterior and interior features

On this 4-door model, the outer handles on the rear doors were removed during the construction process, presumably for visual reasons. The vehicles up to 1965 have the nice feature that the windshield height of the front and rear windows, as well as the roof, are the same as on a two-door model. On later 4-door models, they made this look a little higher. The visual similarity mentioned at the beginning is perhaps also the reason why the exterior handles were omitted. At a quick glance, this makes our Dodge look like a two-door. All trim strips and emblems are present and also in top condition.

A roof rack was mounted on the roof at some point. The rack had a total of four feet, which were bolted to the roof hood. Accordingly, there are now small, round, silver stickers at the screw connection points that seal the holes to prevent water from entering. These have been applied so neatly, tidily and cleanly that it has been driving like this for over 20 years, so you can leave it as it is. The mounted Centerline rims have also been on it for that long. These have not been built for many years. But they are really classic for the 80s and 90s. This interplay with the silver paintwork, the chrome and stainless steel harmonizes visually very well from our point of view.

The corresponding tires are of course much wider than original. There are 215/70 R15 tires at the front and 255/60 R15 tires at the rear. Like the rims, these are registered in the vehicle documents. The brakes are extra-large 11” drum brakes, which were only available in the Heavy Duty Brakes package.

The interior, finished in metallic silver and metallic blue, also makes an excellent impression. Door panels, seat covers and headlining are in very good condition. Much of it has already been restored. There are no signs of ageing, hardened areas or cracks to be seen. The front seat bench scores points here with an additional fold-down armrest in the middle and the rear seat bench with the aforementioned fold-down function.

The well-preserved dashboard consists of sheet metal painted in a strong blue metallic tone. The integrated loudspeaker grille is almost intact, apart from two small cracks. A glove compartment, radio and ashtray with cigarette lighter are also naturally present.

The gears are shifted using the factory-installed automatic touch buttons to the left of the display panel. This gearshift technology, typical of the years of manufacture, was only available until 1965, after which it was no longer produced.

The original fuel gauge works, the original temperature gauge does not. Instead, Autometer has retrofitted a total of four additional gauges in the expensive Pro Competition series. Three of them are 2 5/8” fuel pressure, water temperature and oil pressure. And the large 3 3/8” gauge is a rev counter.

The heating works and the fan motor runs, and the heat can be controlled upwards or downwards. The car had no air conditioning ex works, but you can open the rear window electronically and have a great supply of fresh air in summer. This function can be easily raised and lowered from the driver's seat using a control button on the dashboard. The windshield wipers also work.

During test drives, it was much better on the road than original vehicles thanks to the many technical improvements. It is also german TÜV and H-approved. It still has just under 2 years MOT. So all you have to do is register it and enjoy the coming season.

Are you interested in this car? Of course you can come and have a look at the car by appointment. The car is in our Moparshop showroom in 59399 Olfen.

You can find this and many other vehicles for sale on our homepage www.moparshop.com

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