Mopar Memories

Note: Today’s post is by frequent commenter and regular RG reader, Patrick King. Enjoy. -TK
My parents didn’t drive so when I got my license and convinced them we needed a “family car” I suggested a 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 340, yellow with black interior, black vinyl roof and black bumblebee stripe. It was hardly a random choice: I’d been devouring the buff books since I was eight and loved what few imports existed but, being sixteen, I wanted a muscle car and my friend’s ‘65 GTO convertible seemed too large and unwieldy. Also, the Dodge was unibody, unlike the large, body-on-frame GM and Ford hot rods. Everything I read pointed to the Dart. But what really enticed me about the Mopar was the brand-new thin-wall, high-performance small block 340 introduced the year before to combat the small block Chevy. At the time I could quote all the specs of this engine, from its compression ratio to the windage tray in its oil pan (to the great amusement of my chortling uncles who would ask me to perform my routine as if I were reciting the latest Dylan lyrics).

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