Is this the RAREST DART on the Planet? Dart SSA

[@supersonicnomad8437]

There is absolutely no question that SSA Dart should be restored. Especially being in part its one of the last 2 or 3 in existence and for how unknown this car is. It's a very valuable piece of Mopar history.

[@martinsmith125]

The owner is”thinking” about restoring which means the reality is it will continue to deteriorate beyond salvage. Saved is a relative term 😢

[@GoldenGun-Florida]

Thanks for adding ORIGINAL CONTENT, rather that re-run old videos as new the way "some" channels do. I wish you much success.

[@DaKattila]

"owner is thinking about restoring it" we all have heard that story before XD

[@plymouthduster225]

Very interesting Dodge Dart, I have never heard of one of these Darts myself. I have always had a soft spot for Dodge Darts, my Uncle Jim owned and raced the 1969 Dodge Swinger Car Craft giveaway car for many years. He bought it off the person that won it, and raced it for many years. He sold it around 1995 I believe

[@gojoe2833]

If these are so valuable, what are they doing rotting away in the field??

[@zacariasblanco9738]

Finding the SSA emblems will be a mission

[@mattskustomkreations]

Rare doesn’t always equal desirable. But in this case the rarity and novelty definitely deserves restoration.

[@TheInsaneShecklador]

Never heard of the SSA before. Thanks for showing us.

[@Wooley689]

Wish some of these were affordable enough to get and restore. Too often anymore people want so much for cars in this condition that because the price is so high, the cars are sadly left to rot.

[@michaelgeorge5436]

He only wants to restore it because it's rare? If it wasn't rare, would he let it rot into the ground? What a shame.

[@thomasfoltz4932]

I bet you come back in five years 98% of all the cars out in that field will still be rotting away. Kind a of crazy knowing that you can sell some of them to get the cash to restore a few and the one's sold are going to be restored by the new owners.

[@yavin99]

Those Darts have really awesome colors to because the one next to the SSA looks like a Petty blue car and in front of that looks like a rally green car.

[@cougariog8817]

Cool find, glad your feeling better!

[@lhaley9873]

He saved them so far, now it's time to save them completely and sell them.

[@1223jamez]

Amen!

[@martinsmith125]

Sadly this is likely the end of the line for all of them. I will never understand this type of hoarding that humans do??

[@jelmore61]

@@martinsmith125you will never understand why someone saves and collects something they like .

[@therealmotorcyclemichael]

@@martinsmith125 So you think he should have let them get crushed?

[@martinsmith125]

@@therealmotorcyclemichael the end result isn’t much different either way that’s all.

[@leescales5216]

Like a previous poster, my first car was a 1967 Dodge Dart GT with the slant 6. A buddy of mine, who had LOTS more money went through a series of Mopars, including several Darts, even a few with 383's and 440s. I've been tempted to build a Dart resto-mod, maybe next year when I retire and my new garage is finished!

[@WesternSportSpecial]

As stated elsewhere, there were regional packages for these cars of '69 and '70. Most were low-level trim package cars under the A48 tag code. Not familiar with an SSA, but in the Southwest, there were WSS (Western Sport Special) '69 models. Most were /6 with unique sidetrim, fender trim, vinyl roof, and interior packages with sport sterring wheels, etc. Roughly 1500 made and they carried the WSS moniker to the Dodge Challenger for '70 only.

[@crebbsjd]

Cool video!!! I say fix them all. Never let any old Mopar ever not be fixed. It is our duty to restore each and every one of these cars, we can.

[@boristheamerican2938]

That dealer would be Mr Norms Grand Spaulding Dodge. Visited there a few times in the heyday.

[@AutoArchaeology]

This was not a Norms car

[@ronnierich6508]

Where's this yard located and are any of these cars for sale.

[@gaspumprob]

I can’t wait to see this !!!!! Currently looking for something like this to transplant my Dodge 360 motorhome engine into!!!

[@timsullivan826]

I would love to walk around that place thanks for doing it for me.

[@jamiel3504]

Very rare indeed!! My folks owned a 2 door dark green 340swinger for many years, in fact we went on many vacations as a kid growing up in it, id love to own the old car as an adult, it would be a sweet dime.

[@daviddennison4201]

Best video I've seen in awhile thanks!

[@AutoArchaeology]

Glad you liked it!

[@mikeschumacher9715]

I can't even find pictures of one of these. Somebody save this thing.

[@JoeFilardi]

hi good ep i don t think he restore that dart ssa yet but i do like the darts. i never know they made that series of darts you should go back and see if it is still sitting with the other darts still ok.

[@royvazquez1244]

is it possible that the S/S A badge referred to the Super Stock racing class they had in drag racing back in the early seventies?, maybe tha A was for automatic, just a guess on my part

[@AutoArchaeology]

No, it means 'Super Swinger Automatic '

[@davidmaggard9403]

Yes for sure needs saved never heard of one .no telling what it would cost to restore but then you have to go through all the matching numbers this and that very interesting thanks for posting this great job

[@gaspumprob]

Absolutely incredible!!!! Keep the videos coming please.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Thank you! Will do!

[@raynus1160]

Never heard of a Dart SSA specifically, but a friend of mine has a very rare '71 Dart Swinger Special 340 which was one of ~85 dealership special order builds in Canada and sold exclusively through an Edmonton dealership. It looks very much like this machine - dual hood scoops, 340, but with a 4-speed.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Yup, those are pretty cool!

[@johnlazlo1908]

I painted 2 Candian Special for a guy in Connecticut. First one was a 72 yellow 3 speed 340 only one in the US . The 2 one was a orange 71 4 speed. Quit doing Autobody 2 years ago so I dont know how the 71 is doing..

[@julios1968]

Unfortunate to have them parked in a field.Hopefully they will be stored properly.

[@richardcline1337]

At 0:15 I caught a glimpse of a bronze colored '69 Plymouth. I used to own one just that color. Great car but then I got a chance to get one of the first '70 Challengers and it got traded.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Oh just wait.

[@kimber1958]

Very nice find i'd love to see it restored

[@AutoArchaeology]

You and me both!

[@frankrizzo3922]

❤ love these A-Bodies.. so happens ive got a 340 and an entire drive train for an Abody just sitting in my garage - just nothing to put all that in... 😢

[@danlaur7973]

And they sit & rot in the field

[@markkimball1569]

Nice to see these. They can be saved I’m sure with 💰💰 but they should be brought back !

[@thejackofalltravels8267]

I had a dart just like that SSA with a slant 6 it chirped the tires every time it shifted into 2nd

[@it1988a]

I bought an old 74 Dart with no radio, vinyl floor with rust holes in the floor. Drove it 50k miles b4 I lost reverse gear.

[@rucerius4968]

I have a fondness for the Dodge Dart, my first car was a 1967 Dart GT. I wish I had the money to save any one of those Darts.

[@bobpoland6042]

I had a 1969 Dart GTS with a 383 magnum and 4sp. Blue on white. I paid $250 for it in 1978 !

[@ninjapumkin]

In Western Canada there were special Dart packages made at a dealer with a 340. Are they rare? Yes as not many were produced. Are they valued high? Only what someone is willing to pay for them. More of a special interest car

[@stephenyoutubin4476]

Great stuff, hopefully you can get the rest of that yard. Super interesting.

[@paulcraven4652]

Note the car in the yard blue Dart looks like a 1970 but the dart in the ad paper looks like a 1972 different grill and tail lights .not saying they did not make it but what year there were a small amount of 340 darts in 1972 that only were ordered in Canada only.

[@AutoArchaeology]

This is a 70, we think the SSA was 3 years

[@danielsweeney6742]

I had a 71 Swinger Special. The car had over 300k. It would run forever so long as you kept up on oil.

[@denniss5512]

Luv the KSHE95 sticker. You see them everywhere, even overseas.

[@richardthompson6366]

Put it out here "for now", more like forever.

[@Jjf-ep3mf]

So. Is the front yellow 69 for sale ? Auto or 4 speed looking for a. Manual

[@knoester7714]

Thank you for sharing the darts with us

[@AutoArchaeology]

You bet

[@morelanmn]

The rarest dart is the 1966 Dodge Dart that won the first Trans-AM races in the over two liter class. With a 273 4 speed this car beat many huge and more powerful cars. Even beating the factory backed ford Mustang and others . Bob Tullius drove this car and serviced by him. But the car was almost stock. You read that correct the car was almost stock. New shocks, bushings, and a roll cage was about it. The car was later sold to the public and no one knows it's location.

[@CAROLDDISCOVER-2025]

Another great find!

[@roywhitman7109]

All of your videos really have some interesting finds! If any of the folks are interested in selling any of their vehicles before they return to Mother Earth, PLEASE leave some sort of contact info! We could save a lot of these vehicles while putting some cash in these folks pockets! Thanks!

[@marauder600]

I never heard of it either. And I’ve seen a lot of 340 Darts!

[@yeseniasantacruz7125]

What do I have to do to get my hands on one?

[@WizardOfWhoopee]

Dibs on that trailer hitch! I'm now driving a 71 barn find Valiant.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Nice!

[@HITEKSTRANGER]

I remember as a teenager trying to convince my mom to buy a brand new 1970 340 Swinger at a Chrysler dealership in 1971. They had about 15 out front and all of them were under $3000 brand new.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Yup, that would have been fun!

[@BrianJacobsen-lc3fe]

Should have talked mom into a copo where you pick all the goodies for it. Ever here the Jay Leno story at the Ford Dealership.? He was 16- 17 Dads ordering ,67 2 door Galaxy. On the U tube. Great gear head story.

[@makofett7404]

If you get a chance to go back or on future yards it would be great if you could copy vins and data plates on any GTS and add to the GTS registry we would appreciate it. Helps add to know car totals great video

[@AutoArchaeology]

My friend Seth has all that info, but the owner does not want it out there right now.

[@NDoghouse]

That’s outstanding. I’d say yes on restoration on it. Cool car. Be the only one at Barrett Jackson.

[@rgpark69]

I am in southeastern Pennsylvania. The day the smoke came in I started having sinus issues. A week later it was pneumonia. All the special Darts should be saved. Even if they are not restored.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Oh no! Similar here for sure!

[@edwardsimmons7805]

Where are those Dodge Swingers? What state?

[@nsidor1234]

I grew up in northwest Indiana and I think I remember TV commercials with the gangster from the newspaper ad on local stations. My friends and I would peddle our Stingrays down to Henry Mize Dodge in East Chicago Indiana every fall to see the latest new Mopar muscle... Back in the late '70s & early '80s these cars were cheap & plentiful. Rusty but not too far gone to be restored. Shoulda' woulda' coulda'...

[@Xfire1347]

Is he selling? Im interested in the big block dart.

[@henryknedel5683]

The one ad there' said 72 SSA? Well were they made 3 years then?

[@AutoArchaeology]

That's what we think

[@henryknedel5683]

@@AutoArchaeology I was born Dodge. Father Salesman 66-71 he Bought Dealership Brainerd Dodge 3 miles from Donnybrook Racway which now is Brainerd International Raceway.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Oh very cool!

[@Damone7653]

Rare car... well done video.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Thank you

[@Joemarkhodges]

Grand Spalding Dodge was his dealership. They took it from dodge and made it what it is.. Kinda like Shelby did with Ford and Dodge

[@garryhatchett775]

First ssa I’ve seen.

[@robertgembala8532]

When I was a teenager working for a landscaper in the early 80s, the owner’s wife had a 340 swinger man that car was fast back then for what it was love driving that car, n

[@AutoArchaeology]

They are great cars.

[@craigcricket7932]

I have a '69 Dart Swinger for sale. 6cyl car with a 1970 -340 motor. Above Average original paint car. $16,500. Clear title.

[@michaelstrangefranke7002]

I had a 69 GTS 340 4 speed that was my second car I ever owned but my first car and my pride and joy was a 68 GTS 383 4-speed that's the one I wish I would have never sold

[@robertmcwhinney4596]

Damn dude you should restore that bad boy!🤠

[@sasz2107]

OK. The ads you showed do not mention it has to be a 340 equipped car to be a Dodge Dart S/SA. It mentions the 225 cu in slant 6 engine in the ad for a 1972 Swinger. By the way, "free automatic transmission" was not uncommon at all on Dodge Darts, if you purchased other options with the car. e.g. white wall tires, a vinyl top, an AM radio, power steering. It's just that this dealer or group of dealers offered the pin striping and called it a Super Swinger Automatic or S/SA. 340 engines were typically not offered in the Swinger hardtop after 1970. Once the fastback Demon / Dart Sport body came out in 1971 (1 year after the Duster, which came out in 1970), the 340s were put into that body style, and no longer into the Swinger hardtop body style. So if the S/SA was offered in 1971 and 1972, which it appears it was in these ads, they would not have been 340 cars. The blue car in the field you showed, which by the way is B5 blue (a very nice medium blue color), that car is a 1970 Swinger, which means it could have been a 340 equipped car. Maybe in 69 and 70 the S/SA had a 340, but the ad from 1972 you showed did not indicate that - it said you could have an S/SA with a 225.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Yes, as said we only have a small bit of information on the car. We know they started at least in 1970, thus the car we were looking at, and went until 72-ish time frame.

[@MikeyGG34]

A classic case of hoarding, if I've ever seen one. No way they can restore half of them, before they rot. Even if they had a shop to restore any of them, they could probably only do maybe 4 a year.

[@Abigail-b4u7u]

What did SSA stand for since it is not a GSS ?

[@robertmcwhinney4596]

Super swinger automatic! You should pay more attention!🙆‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[@sportsterray66]

Those ads for the SSA Darts didn't mention anything about being available on the Swinger 340, so that car could very well be a pretty rare car? 🤔

[@AutoArchaeology]

After 70 there was no 340 on Swingers in the US. So it was a 70 only thing.

[@sportsterray66]

@@AutoArchaeology I know that '70 was the last 340 Dart in the US. The cars in the ads weren't Swinger 340's, just standard Dart Swingers, so that's why I said if the SSA option was available on the Swinger 340's, then it must be pretty rare?

[@AutoArchaeology]

Yes, extremely

[@brandonbell5357]

Nah

[@LoganJohnson-qe4cx]

Still have it ? $

[@davesnothereman7250]

Thank God its sitting in a field rotting away. I'm sure the owner is "gonna fix it someday". Such a waste.

[@AutoArchaeology]

They are though, you'll see in a future video.

[@rayhope7957]

Anyone remember the special-ordered Cudas for the St Louis Blues hockey team, 50 or less I think.?

[@AutoArchaeology]

Yup, a friend has one

[@tskraj3190]

I've been to a very similar lot with a very similar car. Are you in Central Eastern Illinois?

[@AutoArchaeology]

No, this is a few states away.

[@robertbach9469]

My first car was a 1972 Hemi orange s/sa dart

[@AutoArchaeology]

Really?! Any pictures?!

[@andresvazquez6413]

Other models of cars or just darts

[@kennethsouthard6042]

These regional marketing promotions were quite common for all manufacturers back then. The most famous was probably the California Special Mustangs. They still go on today most commonly with Texas branded trucks. However, at the end of the day since it was just a tape stripe and an emblem, how special is it in comparison to any other Dart of the same era with a 340? At least the California special did have body items and tail lights that set it off from other Mustangs. It would also not surprise me if they ran a similar promotion in other regions and just called it something different. For example, I think California Special Mustangs also existed in Texas under another name. I'm guessing these specials were designed to move metal in large quantities and packaged to sell. Having one with a 340 would probably go against that formula, so would be interesting how this one came to be, but I don't think it makes it that rare from a collectible perspective.

[@AutoArchaeology]

I think being one of the only ones remaining, if the only one makes it rare. Desirable, that is up for debate.

[@wileecoyote5749]

In that current condition that can easily sell for $67,585

[@CHunt-cz1ek]

Where are the engines?

[@AutoArchaeology]

They are stored in a nearby building

[@lonniem9728]

Please sell them to someone to restore dont let em rot🙏

[@ricardofierro7041]

I was all excited about the SSA , until I noticed that it was offered with the slant 6 only.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Earlier ones had 340s

[@TimGrimes-q2q]

every part there has value, I would restore any car there

[@Jaybird66sweptline]

A Mr. Norm's car? Grand Spaulding Dodge?

[@AutoArchaeology]

This is not a Norms car

[@brandonbell5357]

Yea he would drive it like that lmfao

[@nativestacker4185]

I would do more research before deciding the Restored Value of this car , however dodge darts are coming into the high dollar field of Mopars and the value will continue to rise on these models .

[@ZakRobo]

I spoke to a man here in CT in my area that had a dodge dart that came from Canada and I believe was a 72 with a 340 six pack that had much more power than the American made ones, and punching it onto the on ramp popped the tires off the ground in second gear and spun into 4th. He said he bought it for a few grand in the early 80s and during the test drive in he was able to pop the tires up and instead of the 3k asking price he paid $2500. He wasn’t beat by a single car besides a 455 judge (unknown year). He raced on route 8 and thomaston avenue back in the day, and said the person he sold it to passed away and totaled the car. He was never able to find any others, and thinks the few that existed are all gone. Are you able to corroborate any of that?

[@b19jrm]

probably A MR NORM GSS special. GRAND-SPAULDING DODGE Chicago

[@craigcontofalsky4387]

Total BS story!

[@geraldbalthis5828]

Looking for dodge dart for sale

[@2xXhunterXx]

Its cool and all that they are rare, but the way they look in a few years, they will be a rotten pile of metal.

[@arneminderman3770]

Lave what you doeing!

[@AutoArchaeology]

Thank you!

[@darrenbrisson4336]

Has to be a mr norm car the demon they sold had the same designation gss

[@THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS]

GSS was a 440 Dart

[@AutoArchaeology]

And 71/72 Demons done by norm

[@THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS]

@@AutoArchaeology Oh, I see! I was wondering about that cuz of the new Challenger Demon Norm's edition I saw recently! I actually had a 72 Demon 318 but it wa s aPOS for $200 in 1990, haha.. I got that vid from tv about Norm's GSS Dart and 340 Demon and more bro!

[@timmcdonaldjr2712]

I'll never understand why people horde these old classics just to let them rot. They need to be restored and on the road. So sad.

[@therealmotorcyclemichael]

Did you even watch the video? These cars literally would have been crushed along with the hundreds of thousands of other ones that were crushed if this person had not parked them in the field.

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Interesting

[@franksieber7659]

All those cars are nice and need to be in some dry. They've sat exposed for about as long as they can.

[@OsbornTramain]

The answer to the title's question, "no". Rare denoted on a vehicle would be in relation to how many were produced, not how many have survived.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Only a handful made at most, rarer than a Hemi Dart

[@Tumbleweed_Tx]

these cars will all go to the crusher when this guy dies.

[@AutoArchaeology]

Nah

[@Joemarkhodges]

Look up Mr Norm.. Chicago Dodge dealer. Look up Scat Pack.. You'll know more about this Dart

[@AutoArchaeology]

I knew Mr. Norm my entire life. This was NOT a Mr. Norm done car.

[@GMCTIM]

Wouldn't surprise me sitting in a field ALL to He'll ! What's wrong with ppl ??

[@ericeckels1179]

They are all keeoers to restore!