Found! 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger With 904 Automatic Transmission Intact

Nikki Dart—a classic car and vintage big-rig enthusiast, automotive mechanic, and truck driver—locates her dream car.

© Nikki Dart
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During some late-night perusing of the online classifieds, Nikki Dart abruptly stopped scrolling when she came across a 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger with the original slant-six and 904 automatic transmission intact. By the next afternoon, she was handing over a deposit to hold the vehicle (which still boasts the OG paint and sheetmetal) until the next day when she could get it evaluated. While the evaluation went off without a hitch, the journey home was a little rocky, as the Swinger stalled a handful of times on the 45-minute drive to Montreal, Canada.

© Nikki Dart

This, however, did not deter Nikki, a longtime gearhead who has had an affinity for vehicles since she was little. “It started when my father bought his 1974 Corvette when I was around eight,” she says. “I was immediately drawn to older, louder cars and have been ever since.”

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But to say Nikki, a member of two local car clubs, is an aficionado would be an understatement. After high school, she worked at an oil change establishment, turned her soft spot for classic big-rigs into a career after obtaining her commercial driver’s license, and even earned a degree in automobile mechanics and certifications to work as an apprentice. “I took the course because my biggest passion in life is cars, so I knew I had to learn everything I could about them,” she explains. “At the time, my father’s 1974 Corvette was sitting in the garage in need of repairs. I wanted to be able to bring it back to life with him. So, as I was taking the course, I practiced on the Corvette with my father and fixed it up as I learned each chapter at school. It was an incredible bonding time I will always cherish.”

With the Dodge Dart Swinger (named Daisy) safely at home next to her daily-driver—a 1993 Mercedes 190E—Nikki set to work tuning the motor and replacing leaky gaskets to get it running a little smoother, followed by a frontend job that included replacing all the suspension and steering components and adding sway bars. “She appeared to still have most of her original parts,so I decided to change it all while I had the engine out for the gasket refresh,” Nikki says.

Fun fact: Nikki is in possession of all documentation for the Dodge Dart Swinger, including the original bill of sale and a copy of the check used by the original owner to put a down payment on the vehicle in 1970. “She was originally bought in California in 1970 by an older woman by the name of Florence,” she says. “She kept the paperwork from all the repairs done while she owned the car. She drove it until she was about 94 years old and put around 90,000 miles on it. Now, Daisy’s sitting at around 117,000 miles.”

While Nikki does most of the work herself (as long as it isn’t bodywork), she always has a good friend or her father close by in the event she needs an extra set of hands. Her dog, Chevelle (better known as Shelly Belly), is always on hand to hang while Nikki is wrenching, as well. For now, Nikki wants to enjoy her precious Dodge Dart Swinger as-is, but she’s considering a future brake upgrade and intends to conquer the carburetor one day. “It can be troublesome at times, but that seems to be quite the adventure all in itself,” she says. “I would love to be able to travel across the United States with her one day.”

Follow Nikki on Instagram: @nikki_dart.