1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340

The 1970 model year was the fourth one for the fourth generation of Dodge's compact Dart. For that year it got a light styling refresh, mostly to bring the front and rear styling closer to the then-current brand look.

The two basic trim levels were the budget Swinger, named to appeal to younger, hepper buyers, and the Custom which came with more standard equipment, like dual horns and deep-pile carpets. The Custom could also be ordered as a GT to get a floor shifter and bucket seats.

The budget performance option, though, was the Swinger 340.

While more pedestrian Darts could be had with 198- or 225-cube Slant Sixes or the redoubtable 318 cubic inch LA small block V-8, the Swinger 340, as the name implied, came only with Mopar's giant-killer 340 c.i.d. small block, ridiculously underrated at 275 SAE gross horsepower. Standard transmission was a three-speed manual with a floor shifter, or an optional four-speed manual or the rugged TorqueFlite automatic. Also stock on the Swinger 340 were an unsilenced high-flow air cleaner, a Rallye suspension with heavy-duty torsion bars and springs and a factory sway bar, as well as power front disc brakes.

 The SubLime paint, blacked-out hood, and hood pins were all extra cost options on this car. When Car and Driver tested a '69 Dart GTS with the 340, a four-speed, and the 3.91:1 rear end, it dashed to sixty in six seconds flat and polished off the quarter in 14.4 at 99 miles per hour.

This one was photographed with a Nikon D200 and an 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 VR zoom lens in June of 2014.