How Chrysler invented the sporty compact car with Dart, Demon and Duster 340 ten years ago

Pontiac 1964 GTOBased on the compact “storm”, it has been proven that young people will buy high-power small cars, and Chrysler must keep this in mind when carving the new engine compartment of the A body. Originally used in the size of the six-cylinder engine and the LA series small cylinder V-8, now the A body has enough space to accommodate the large cylinder. Plymouth has packed a 383 cubic inch (6.3 liter) large V-8 in the Barracuda S. In the second half of 1967, Dodge also adopted the bulky Dart GTS.

Understatement that Dart GTS was damaged. When squeezing 383 into Dart’s engine compartment, vortex exhaust is required, which reduces the engine’s output from 325 horsepower and 425 lb-ft torque in larger cars to 280 hp / 400 lb-ft. There is no room for air conditioning or power steering pumps. When steering at a slower speed than heavy steering, a large amount of arm rotation is required, so that the driver may hardly notice the understeer caused by the heavy engine. But Dart GTS is fast and can turn a quarter of a mile at 14s. Dodge built fewer than 500 aircraft, but that’s okay-the company’s work is not bad.

Chrysler introduced the 318 cid (5.2 liter) V-8 in 1967 and a new high-performance version that could replace 340 cubic inches (5.6 liters) in 1968. This is not just a boring 318: it is designed as an engine with high-speed performance, with a forged steel crankshaft, reinforced bearing caps, double-row timing chain, wind resistance disc, high-flow cylinder head with large valve, high-rise Double plane intake manifold, shot peening piston, connecting rod and push rod, and strong camshaft. There are four barrels of carburetor on top, rated at 5,000 rpm and 275 hp at 340 lb-ft. The horsepower figures are generally considered a lie: The real total output (without accessories) is rumored to be close to 325, and the rated power is 275 horsepower, designed to keep it competitive in the NHRA resistance race grading system.

The 340 engine became the standard powerplant for the Dodge Dart GTS in 1968, featuring a stiffer Rallye suspension, wider tires, and a 10-inch drum brake borrowed from ACC Medium Crown. The three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission is standard, and there is a four-speed manual transmission on the option table. The powerful hood, the red GTS letters and the “GT Sport” bumblebee stripes on the back tell the world that this is not your dart for the librarian.

The 340-liter Dodge Dart GTS has both a coupe and a convertible. According to the standards of the time, it was very fast, it could accelerate to 60 mph in 6 seconds, and it could turn a quarter of a mile at 14s. On the gear. These numbers are not far from those of 383, which is still an option.

Are you talking about sports compact cars? Yes, because more importantly, the Dodge Dart GTS is not just a linear machine. Thanks to the lightness of the engine and car, it is very flexible. Because insurance rates are related to engine displacement, the price of the Dodge Dart GTS 340 is affordable, keeping it in sync with large, muscular cars, and suffocating them in the exhaust from corners. The Dart Dart GTS with 340 engine is indeed the first true sports compact car.

A new entry-level Dart coupe called Swinger was launched in 1969, because would you still target young people in 1969? Like the top Dodge Dart GTS sports compact car, the Dart Swinger can also be sold as a Swinger 340. Although it cannot be used as a convertible, its base price of $2,836 makes it $400 cheaper than the Dart GTS. Dodge sold about 20,000 Swinger 340, which is three times the Dart GTS (discontinued after 69 years).

Chrysler remodeled its model in 1970 Plymouth Barracuda with Introducing the Twins Dodge Challenger. These cars were transferred to a new platform called E-body to better interact with Mustang, Camaro and Firebird. Replacing barracuda with sporty heroism is New type semi-rear seat dust collector. Of course Duster 340 versionIt has the same sporty compact car as the Dodge Swinger 340. In addition, it is $250 cheaper, 70 pounds lighter, and has a more modern style. Plymouth sold nearly 25,000 Duster 340 units in 1970, and Swinger 340 sales fell to nearly 14,000.

Dodge got its own version of Duster in 1971, calling it Demon. The Devil replaced Swinger as the guardian of the Magic 340, and the sales of the 71 compact sports cars were more matched between the various departments: Dodge sold nearly 11,000 Devil 340, while Plymouth transferred 12,866 Dist 340. (At the same time, Plymouth received its own Swinger version, called Scamp, although the 340 engine cannot do this.

Dodge and Plymouths 1971 340 compact sports cars are more competitive with each other, but more importantly, they are better than competitors. In our sister publication “January 71”, Automotive trendsDodge Demon 340 collides with 350-liter (5.7-liter) Chevrolet Nova SS, AMC Hornet SC 360 and Comet GT (Mercury’s version) Ford Mavericks. mt Complain about the demon’s turning numbness, but its handling is the best. The speed is very fast-it reaches 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and it reaches 14.49 quarter mile at 98.25 mph. The 285-horsepower “Bumblebee” followed closely at 6.7 and 15.0 seconds, but the 270-horse Nova performed poorly-reaching 0-60 in 8.5 seconds and a quarter at 15.92, faster than the Comet GT Much more is a 302 cid (5.0 liter) engine equipped with a 2-cylinder carburetor, with an output of only 220 hp. Chrysler’s 340 cars will never surpass Chevy, but they are always irritating.

1972 was the year when everything began to disintegrate. The industry switched from total rated power to net power, while the new advertising power of 340 was 240, equivalent to the old 275 net value. Unfortunately, the 240 hp rating is now close to reality. Increasingly strict emission standards prompted Chrysler to reduce the compression ratio of 340 to 8.5:1, which has been reduced from 10.5:1 in 1971 to 10.25:1. Camshafts are milder, intake valves are smaller, and forged crankshafts were replaced with cast crankshafts mid-year.

Automotive trends That year did not test the Demon or Duster 340, but in an October 1971 article “The Last Roundup”, it found that the 1972 Plymouth’ Cuda 340 was a quarter mile slower than the 1970’s Cuda 340 It took two seconds to pass the test.

Although the engine softened and the market turned to muscle cars, until 1973, sales of the 340-powered A-body sports compact car remained strong. (That year, Dodge also succumbed to the church’s popular protest bid and changed the demon’s name to Dart Sport.)

The OPEC oil embargo began in October 1973, when Chrysler replaced the 340 V-8 with a more emissions-friendly 360 (5.9 liters). The 360 ​​was first introduced in 1971 and was designed as a low-cost engine with good low-end torque. It aims to bridge the gap between 318 and bulk 383 in Dodge and Plymouth’s full-size cars (Polara, Monaco, Fury) and pickup trucks.

Because of its role in the A-body, Chrysler did its best to make the engine a successor to the 340. Engineers added a 340 hot camshaft, cylinder head, intake manifold and four barrel carburetor to bring it to 245 hp, which is an increase of 70 hp compared to the two-barrel version used in full-size cars, compared to the original 5 hp has increased by 5 hp. 340. In most cases, it works like this: a magazine contrasts the 1974 Dodge Dart Sport 360 with the 350-liter (5.7-liter) ’74 Chevy Nova SS. The testers set the quarter-mile time to 14.68 seconds, which was a remarkable number in 1974. More importantly, it is almost half a second faster than Chevrolet.

But the oil embargo has stalled sales of large engines. Chrysler provided a 360-horsepower 360 engine in 1975 and a 220-horsepower engine in the last year of Duster and Dart Sport in 1976. They are said to be sporty alternatives, the Dodge Aspen R/T and Plymouth Wallard Runner, which will also provide a 360 engine from 1976, but only a weak power of 170 hp and a mandatory automatic transmission .

360 has its own muscle car resurgence device and returned to the market in the form of Magnum 5.9 in the early 1990s to provide power for the muscle-bound version. Dodge Dakota R/T, Durango R/T, Jeep Grand Cherokee, And the neon ACR and SRT-4 It will set new standards for the small sports car market.

However, at present, Chrysler and most of the US automotive business are not sports compact business. However, don’t forget that it helped invent it.

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