1975 Dodge Dart Sport

[ModelcarJR]

I pulled this kit from my closet from the shelf marked "Why did I buy this kit". Its an MPC kit and the cheater slicks in it were very nice so I have used them already on a drag car. Otherwise it has few parts, metal axles,  and a somewhat detailed interior bucket. The body was pretty clean so I thought it would be a good candidate for the Tamiya Dark Yellow that I am using up to get rid of it. I'm sure its a favorite color of the military modelers, but doesn't quite fit an automobile, although it does resemble some of the new colors I've seen on 2021 cars and trucks. Anyway, I'm just going to build the standard grocery-getter out of this one.  So far I've just painted and rubbed out the body. Thanks for looking! ?

 

[mrmike]

Looking good Jr!  I thought about getting that kit, but everytime I pick it up and look at it, I put it back on the shelf and walk away.  Looking forward to your version. 

[Vietnam Vet67]

Had a 1974 Dodge Dart Sport back in the day.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Vietnam Vet67

[1972coronet]

One of my personal favourites --- that Tamiya Dark Yellow is perfect for it , too . 

Watch the wheelbase side-to-side , as it's off (has been since the 1973 annuals , when the torsion bars were removed from the tooling) . 

Looking forward to watching this gem come-together !

[doorsovdoon]

Looking good. You can see the Malaise era creeping in on these Darts ever more closer on what still kind of looks like a 60's muscle car.

[Oldcarfan27]

8 hours ago, ModelcarJR said:

I thought it would be a good candidate for the Tamiya Dark Yellow that I am using up to get rid of it. I'm sure its a favorite color of the military modelers, but doesn't quite fit an automobile...

That color does fit this vehicle, looks EXACTLY like the color they used back then!

Could use some "Gold Duster" decals for a finishing touch.

[Spottedlaurel]

I like the concept and the start you've made on it. Looks like just the sort of car and colour that would be seen in the background of any 1970s US detective show.

[David G.]

That's a great color for grandma's grocery getter. I'm very interested in seeing how the rest of this one comes together.

David G.

[Tom Geiger]

Color looks great. If you wish to have more detail under it, you could  swap in the AMT 71 Duster chassis and engine bay. 

[Can-Con]

Looks just like '75 Dodge code L-4 "parchment"

[slusher]

John, I bought one sometime ago with a coupon at HL because I remember them so well from the 70’s. Color looks good.

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, everyone for the comments! Seems to be a lot of interest in this one. I like the 71 Duster idea but the one I had I built! 

I was disappointed with the engine pieces in the kit. A lot of the parts for the non-racing engine were chromed and it looked at first glance to be a 440. Most of the parts were chrome, which I could remove but I thought that it was still a 440.  So I went looking at other kits and most are either a 426 or a 440 too until I ran across this 1980 Plymouth Volare. Now how did that MPC kit get into my collection? Well, I know the story on that one. It was part of a much larger purchase of 50 kits that I got for a very reasonable price. Most are good kits but some are not. 

This kit on the side panel purports to have a small block V-6 engine. Great! I can just use this kit with the small block, auto transmission, and also use the suspension that has a single exhaust attached.  

Wait a minute - I need to see a picture of a Mopar V-6. Did they even produce such an engine in 1980? So I went looking for a photo of one and couldn't find one. I then looked for the history of the V-6 engine and found that other than foreign car manufacturers, like Lancia, that  the earliest V-6s were developed by GM in 1958 and Buick in 1962. The earliest reference to a production V-6 for passenger cars seemed to be about 1985/1986.  I know I had a V-6 1985 Camaro that was also fuel injection. I had to have the injectors replaced. 

So I am not sure what this is in the 1980 Plymouth Volare. I am going to build it as a standard 1 carb engine and call it an eight cylinder 318. I subsequently noticed that the non-descript block and transmission are smaller than the 426 included in the kit. So yeah - that's it!  A small block for a grocery-getter! Oh, and I also have a set of steel wheels and dog dish hupcaps from the 68 Dodge Charger. 

 

[DoctorLarry]

My brother bought a brand new Duster in 73 or 74. It was this same baby food yellow with a green bench seat interior (Don't know what he was thinking). 340 four barrel. It had rally wheels and white letter tires and actually was a rather fun car to drive. Then he made the mistake of trying to put headers on it. Typical Chrysler snake pit around the steering, etc. What a nightmare. Sounded good when he finally got it done, though.

[1972coronet]

The 1980 Volare has a 'generic' Chrysler small V8  ( LA series engine ) , which is based upon the same engine in the 1975 Dart Sport (and its predecessors) .

It's woefully undersized , appearing like a V6 ; and the Dart's version is back with a manual trans... but has an automatic console .

The Volare and its small black / 727 combo are the best bet for that OOB look . Use the air cleaner from the Volare , too (and the brake booster / master cylinder , as the Dart is missing any braking system) .

The chassis / suspension in the Volare is unique to that platform ( well , the M-Body and J-Body as well ) with its transverse-mount torsion bars .

[Tom Geiger]

I agree that the Volare V8 isn’t an ideal engine. The transmission was made to fit under the kit’s interior bucket. A normal size trans won’t fit as I learned when I put a slant six in the Volare.   There was no Mopar V6 in that era.

Along with the chassis I recommended earlier, one of the best small blocks is in that Duster kit.  I know you are trying to work with what you have on hand, but there’s a real case to buy another Duster kit!  

[Mopeyguy]

V6 didn't come along until 1987, and was pretty much an underpowered dog, haaa. That lump of plastic you have  is their febble attempt at a small block mopar, the biggest being a 360. Back in 1983 someone had posted for sale a 440 six-pak swapped black Dart Sport for sale at $3,900 and I wanted that car pretty bad, but I had no $$$ then. Inspired me to build my own 75-440Duster in 1987. Was a pretty potent street sleeper.

[DoctorLarry]

I bet putting headers on that car would be a study in maintaining dignity and composure...

[1972coronet]

Many , many , many years ago --at least 30 years ago-- there was a Camel Spider Beige 1973 Dart Sport in the local pick-a-part ; it was conspicuous by its appearance -- no one paid attention to what by all outward appearances was likely another 225 or 318 powered grandma car...

...its V.I.N. bespoke of its actual origins : LM29H3B ! It was a sleeper Dart Sport 340 ! No stripes (delete option) ; had deluxe wheel covers ; turn-down exhaust ; bench seat with column shift 727 , rubber mats . I grabbed its air cleaner assembly (rare piece as that pick-a-part used to remove the air cleaners 99% of the time) and its rubber mats (perfect condition , black) . 

Certainly , a 1975-1976 Dart Sport could be had the same way , but with a 360 . 

[Dann Tier]

Love the kolor!!!

[slusher]

Are you going with the Volare engine John?

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, All!  Yes, I am going with the Volare engine. There are two engines in the Duster kit; a 426 and a generic engine the same as in the Volare. The only difference is the Volare is an auto transmission and it doesn't have a bunch of chrome parts that I would have to remove the chrome from like in the Dart. But its basically the same generic engine. I found a 318 on a engine stand and it looked just like this except for the transmission and fuel pump. The color is Tamiya Coral Blue.

I also drilled a hole in the molded-in driveshaft and inserted a piece of brass rod to support the engine since there are no motor mounts in this kit. That way I don't have to glue down the front of the oil pan. 

Finally, I had the interior painted brown (root beer) but it seemed to clash with the dark yellow. So I repainted it Krylon Italian Olive. Looks like its a better color blend although you probably can't see it in these pictures. So now that all the painting is done I can start foil and the rest of the construction process.  Thanks for looking! ?

[kelson]

Thats a real nice color combo!it just screams Mainstreamer!

[ModelcarJR]

Thanks, Curtis! I appreciate your comment! 

Finished the interior. Painted the dash and console with Testors leather for wood added some foil and chrome pen and its done. I took some liberties with the chrome foil on the dash. I may add a little more dullcote to the seats and floor. Thought I had enough but maybe not. I'll just sprits some more on. Thanks for looking! ?

 

[charlie8575]

My grandmother had a 1974 Duster in a soft yellow with a white vinyl top, and the interior, I believe was called dark gold. Your exterior color is pretty close to the interior of Gram's car, and the exterior was a bit brighter.

Charlie Larkin

Edited April 8, 2021 by charlie8575

[charlie8575]

I believe the color in question is Yellow Blaze. The interior, as I remember, was pretty close to Golden Fawn.

Charlie Larkin