1969 Dodge Dart GTS 383: Hot Dart from the ’60s
The 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 383 had standard bucket seats. Click to enlarge.
(It’s fair to mention at this point that a limited number—at least 50 for homolgation—440 wedge and 426 Hemi Darts were built for Chrysler in 1968. These were bare bones strippers without even a back seat, but capable of running 10s in the quarter mile when properly set up. In 1969 some 600 Darts were built with the 440, basically the same as the 383 GTS except for the engine).
In 1969, Dodge introduced a low-budget performance model, the Dart Swinger 340, listing for less than $2,900, compared to $3,226 for a base model GTS 340. The 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 383, however, had found another 30 horsepower for a total of 330 and, for a mere $35.40 over the 340 motor, was one of the biggest bargains on the option list.
It had its cost, however. Although one magazine reported that a Dart GTS with a Torqueflite 383 ran a 14.3-second quarter-mile out of the box (compared to a test in another magazine of a four-speed 340 turning a 14.4 second quarter), the biggest liability of the 383 had to be in turning. The 383 was a significantly heavier lump than the 340 (remember the difference in torsion bar sizes), and as a result was less to go around corners. That didn’t matter much, perhaps, on a genuine sanctioned drag strip with adequate run out, but Darts weren’t know, even with the optional disc/drum brakes, for excellence in braking.
Which engine was under the hood of the 1969 Dodge Dart GTS was identified by a badge on top of the hood.
The 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 383 now stands as one high-water mark of straight-line performance. With a new pony car, the Challenger, to hustle in 1970, Dodge dropped the Dart GT and Dart GTS. The performance image of the Dart would fade faster than a winter sunset as insurance costs, smog tuning and fuel crises brought an end to the age of the muscle car and the beginning of the influx of the Japanese car to the American market. It seems the “S” in GTS should stand not for “Sport” but “Sayonara.”
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