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69, 70 4 door dart with factory 340

16K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  68RT 
#1 ·
A friend told me you could in 1969 and 1970 order your 4 door dart with the 340. He said his uncle had one.
I never heard of this but alot of Novas had 350's.
Now that I think about it why couldn't you?
Has anyone ever seen one?
 
#5 ·
The Hamtramck page says the 340 is only available in the 1970 Dart Swinger 340. N/A on other models. For 1969 is says it is on on GT Sport and Swinger 340.

I would appear a 318 is the largest engine offered in a 4 door. But Chrysler did make some cars they said they would not. Such a car could exist (a 340 powered 4 door) but I would be skeptical unless it had the proper VIN and data tags present.
 
#10 ·
On allpar it has been documented there was at least 4 4 door coronets that were made with hemis. What I remember of the article it was a regilar ordering code but not well known.
So if you could order your 4 door coronet with a hemi why not a dart with a 340?
 
#7 ·
Lots of strange things out there in all the automotive world, Mopars are no exception. 6 pack rods in stock 440s, performance cams in 2bbl engines, higher compression pistons all over the place. Best one I have mentioned before was the 340 TA block (4bolt mains) in a station wagon (stock, never worked on to the best of my knowledge). Curtis Redgap, in his multi-article stories from several years back, noted a car painted a non-Mopar (Tbird) color. Given all the components bolted together very easy back then (LA/B-RB families), drop the part in, or add it to the line to install, and away you go, much simpler back then.
 
#9 ·
I agree, but it was there. The guy owned a junkyard, liked racing Mopars, pulled the engine for his 69 Barracuda and couldn't believe what he had. He knew the owner of the station wagon and the wagon had never been touched (it got rear ended, I think), just one of those freak things and I believe it was completely legitimate (albeit rare). Many a conversation about that block and that car, and at the time (1980-1981 timeframe), didn't even know Mopar made a 4 bolt main block (so the rare conversation was part of it at the time, later figured out the TA thing).
 
#11 ·
And look at all the rare 'cuda combinations, one of one, one of six, one of seven, oddities are out there. How about a rare combination, like rear window defogger and radio delete and two speed windshield wiper in a 68 Charger 383 4bbl. Or what about the half dozen or so slant six early Chargers? Oddballs exist.
 
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#12 ·
The thing is unless you find one of these 340 4 door cars, there is probably no way to prove one exists. I don't think Chrysler ever admitted they built 4 door Hemi cars, but yet they exist. Same thing here - you'll probably have to find one to prove it exists.
 
#14 ·
OTOH: by 1975; the only way to get a 440 Magnum in the B body was to order a 4 door police package; apparently, no 2 door coupes came through with anything above the 400-4V.

I would think it was possible to special order a 340 in at least the 1968-70 Dodge Dart 4 door sedan since it and the two door hardtop had the same wheelbase hence all of the undercarriage bits being identical.
 
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#13 ·
There's no doubt about the 4 dr Hemi's, as they are documented.
Rare option combinations are one thing, but 4 bolt 340 blocks in a production car, let alone a station wagon.....

Thanks
Randy
 
#17 ·
Rare option combinations are one thing, but 4 bolt 340 blocks in a production car, let alone a station wagon.....

Thanks
Randy
Well, I saw it, and it was in a station wagon. I really doubt it was ordered that way, I just know it was the real thing, just didn't know it was a T/A or AAR 340 at the time.
 
#18 ·
O..K., I won't say you didn't see a 4 bolt main 340 in a station wagon, but I have to wonder, as even AAR's and T/A 340's didn't have 4 bolt mains. Other than 426 Hemi engines and Gen III with cross bolted mains, I can't think of any Chrysler engines with 4 bolt mains. Am I forgetting some??

Thanks
Randy
 
#20 ·
Who knows, but everything had Mopar stampings on it, it was not aftermarket or anything like that. Was it a T/A or AAR? I don't know, but it was a factory thing because at the time we didn't know of ANY 4 bolt main small blocks in existence. I don't know, but I do know it probably wasn't ordered that way BECAUSE IT SHOULDN'T EXIST, right?
 
#24 ·
#26 ·
Sometimes there were police, taxi, government, option books at dealerships with order codes that could be used for unusual combinations. IIRC somebody told me there were 318s with 4-bolt mains on some irrigation pumps. That was about 1971 and the man that told me is long gone.

Just to add; there were never any 4 bolt main engines ever made by Chrysler for production use. NO truck, industrial, boat, or AAR/TA motors ever had them. It would have required thick webs to be cast into the blocks. And different bearing caps. And special machinery. ---NO WAY --- However, at least one aftermarket manufacturer [Milodon] made 4 bolt bearing caps. They had small angular outer bolts that sometimes broke through the block webs.

As far as a 340 in a 4-door car, definately possible. Starting with a taxi package type car [hd springs, 8 3/4", hd tranny, cooling, etc.] the 340 would bolt right in. Lots of strange things happen in factories on second shift.

This brings up a question: if a car is built in Nov. 1970, can it be VIN numbered as a 1970 car if it meets 1970 emissions regs?
 
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