D/Dart of 1966 Super Stock option

[Paul Ceasrine]

The 'LA' engine 283/180HP was to be the plain-jane V-8 for the
A-body's.
Chrysler had to make a lighter engine for the #2700 lb. cars, and the early 318's were much too heavy.
3.61 x 3.31 bore/stroke = 273c.i. is much in line with the
general small blocks of the day, but it did limit Mopar on optional
performance applications.
The 273 4-barrel 235HP Commando which came in 1965, was in direct response from 1964 A-body car purchasers who were
dissappointed in the 273/180HP performance.
In the 235HP range, it was competitive with the 283/230HP Chevy and 289/225HP Ford, in stock format.
Biggest draw-back, 4-bolt pattern cylinder head mounting, and the
small bore 3.61 limited up-grades to the cylinder head valve train.
It was simply what it was, a good low-to-mid range torque car.
paul

[Todd Boyer]

Originally Posted by treessavoy

Paul,

I bought a '67 Barracuda Coupe with the 273/235 and 4 speed in pieces from a guy in Texas....all original but the engine was apart and it had a trunk full of speed parts. Unfortunately the Army decided to send me to Germany and I had to sell it. Wish I hadn't.

Didn't one of the defunct Mopar magazines buy a '67 Valiant with the 273/235 and 4 sp and ripped it all apart as a project car or was it a Dart?

JimR

Mopar Action had Steve Magnante working for them in 1997 when he built his '67 Hemi Dart street machine. The Dart was an original 273/235 and I can't remember if it was a stick or an automatic. The Hemi had a Torqueflite and there were minimal modifications (hacking) done to the car. It was a reddish-orange two-door sedan with black vinyl top in case that's the car someone remembers.

I don't remember the defunct magazine's buildup but I'd like to find out more if anyone has any info. Maybe Steve worked for the soon-to-be-defunct mag when the build started and it was completed in MA???

[ddartdude]

Originally Posted by SSDiv6

Jim, one of the special pieces you need is the intake. The D-Dart intake manifold is a single plane identical to the Chrysler 318 marine intake manifold.

Actually, the intake is P/N 2536771 which came on the W/CAP engines. Both of the D/Darts that I've owned had this intake on them. The holes for the throttle plates are the size of the Carter AFB's. They were not modifies for the Holley. So, the adapter plate has the large holes for the Holley, but the intake doesn't. It make no sense to me as to why they did this.

The hardest parts to find are the carb and air cleaner. The Holley carb is -- List 3778. It was a special carb just for the D/Dart. It's not even listed on the Holley website. The air cleaner is also special built. It's impossible to find either of these parts. The carb to intake adapter was manufactured in house. You can see the band saw marks on the edge of the adapter. Pretty crude.