The Arrival of...Dartzilla

Dartzilla...that's the nickname my sons have given to our 1962 Dodge Dart 330 sedan. What a car. It has to be one of Dodge's most strange designs. It's the car that is "so ugly, it's cool." The culture of the 1960s is seen in every line of the car. The 1950s cars were massive, over-engineered luxurious machines. The autos of the 60s were smaller, lighter and far less refined - especially in the MOPAR realm. With drag racing increasing in popularity, Dodge, Chrysler and Plymouth had streamlined many of their models to be lightweight, high horsepower machines that could fend off any Ford or Chevy at the drag strip. The Dodge Dart was equipped with the iconic slant six motor, all the way up to the 440 big block. Dartzilla has a modest 318 "Poly." Not to be confused with the 318 LA motors of the late 60s and beyond, the Polysphere motor or "semi-hemi" refers to a polyspheric head design. Truth be told, for most serious car nuts, the Poly motors are barely a step above a boat anchor. They lack the power of a true hemi, they are heavy motors and most guys swap them out for a 440 when given the chance. Not me, though. I like the "weirdness" of the Poly motor...it fits the weirdness of the Dart's front end.

Dartzilla is equipped with a pushbutton automatic transmission, too, which just makes it that much more unique. When I purchased the Dart, it had been painted, much of the rust mitigated, and the 318 Poly and pushbutton transmission had been rebuilt. The car had just over 55,000 original miles. The original owner had thrown a rod in the motor and hit a tree in succession to one another and let the car sit next to a garage for several years. The gentleman I bought it from purchased it looking like this:

He did quite a bit of work to make it look awesome. I immediately fell in love with the two tone paint scheme and still enjoy looking at it every time I'm near it! The Dart needed exhaust, a carb and a few other finishing touches to get her running. It didn't take much and after a few weekends, she was purring like a Kitten. We even entered the Dart in our annual local "Car d'Alene" cruise. We had a blast...

The Dart ran flawlessly during the Car d'Alene Cruise, and that summer I drove her almost every day. On Monday nights, we'd head to Paul Bunyan for milkshakes and I cruised the Dart in a local event hosted by its previous owner called, "Cops, Rodders, Kids and More" at the Post Falls Police Department where I serve as chaplain.