The following information on the 71 Swinger "Specials" with factory equipped 340 drivetrains was researched and compiled by Dan Rasmussen of Edmonton, Alberta. Dan owns two of these special order Swingers. He has researched these cars quite extensively and deserves credit. The photos are a courtesy of Don Uhl.
The 340 was not avaiable in the American nor the Canadian Dart Swinger in 1971. In 1971, the fastback Demon 340 had replaced the hardtop 1970 Swinger 340 in the Dodge lineup. Therefore fans of performance A-body hardtops, which were very popular here in Canada, were left empty handed.
A Dodge dealership in Regina, Saskatchewan called Crestview and another in Edmonton, Alberta called Crosstown convinced Chrysler to make a special run of 340 Swingers in 1971 due to their success with the 1970 model. (There was likely some other reason why these dealerships were able to get a special order of these cars but that may never be revealed).
All 1971 340 Swingers were ordered and built as the Swinger Special which had the VIN prefix LL23H1R (L=Dart, L=Low, 23=2 Door Hardtop, H=340, 1=71, R=Windsor, Ontario Plant), unlike the 1970 Swinger 340 which had the VIN prefix LM23H0R (M=Medium, 0=70). The "Special" in Swinger Special does not imply a special run. The Swinger Special was the bottom of the line Dart in 1971. The production figures for the Swinger Specials for the U.S. and Canada are as follows:
198ci (LL23C1R) 2,757 U.S.
225ci (LL23C1R) 7,706 U.S.
318ci (LL23G1R) 836 U.S.
340ci (LL23H1R) 75 Canada
198ci + 225ci + 318ci 1,557 Canada & Export
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Total Specials: 12,931 units
There appears to have been a total of 75 340 Swinger Specials built. 25 were sold through Crestview and have a scheduled build date of 513 (May 13). The other 50 were sold through Crosstown and have a scheduled build date of 507 (May 7). All sequence numbers and order numbers are sequential. Therefore it is possible to tell a VIN if an order number is given and vice-versa.
All the fender tags and buildsheets indicate L2X9 interiors however the Crestview cars were all upgraded to H2XW interiors. They have H2XW written in red marker on all their buildsheets even though the fender tag and sheet show L2X9. Crestview cars also received "Special Trim" as all have this typed on the bottom of their buildsheets. This included rallye wheels, hood scoops, chrome exhaust tips, and hood/wheel mouldings. The Crosstown cars came down as "Plane Jane" with rubber floor mats and no armrests in the back like the Swinger Special should have. Some of the Crosstown cars have the words "Hood Scoops" stamped on their fender tags and only these cars got the scoops. All 75 cars had the bumble bee stripe even though none were coded for it. The dealer may have applied them. None of these cars had vinyl roofs, hood pins or bumper guards. The Crestview cars that have been located came in a variety of colors: GA4, FC7, GW3, GY9, FY1, FJ6, GB2, GY3 and TX9. The Crosstown cars were only available in FC7, EV2 and FJ6.
All cars came with an 8 3/4 rear and a few were Sure-Grip. All front leaf spring mounts were boxed similar to the 1970 Swinger 340 and unlike any other 1971 Swinger. The 727 automatic transmission (D34) was most common, the 4 speed (D21) was next, and a few were made with the 3 speed (D13). These 3 speed cars came with a 4 speed shifter ball. So far, there have been 17 confirmed and documented cars out of the 75 with another 2 awaiting validation. Out of the 17, not all of them still exist today. Some have been destroyed with only the fendertag remaining while others are unrestorable due to the hard life these cars saw.
The 71 340 Swinger Special pictured below is the one that started all the search for these cars in 1991. The owner was Merv Ritter who also owns a Dodge Dealership in Saskatchewan. The car has been sold since and now belongs to Wayne Gabrielle of Virden, Manitoba.
The 1971 Dart Swinger 340 is quite similar to the 1970 model (pictured in the background). The most noticeable differences are: the blacked-out '71 front grille and quad '71 tail lights. The '71 rallye wheels had dark argent centers. Some of the emblems are located in different places. The "Swinger" emblem is located on the front fenders, instead of the rear quarters like the 1970 Swingers, and has a "Special" emblem under it. The "DART" emblem remains on the rear quarters like in 1970.
The 1971 Swinger 340 had the same 340 as the '71 Demon 340. In '71 the 340 engine had a different intake manifold with a Carter Thermo Quad carburetor instead of the AVS and the right hand exhaust manifold was different. The 340 engines in these Swinger Specials were painted blue since the run is a late '71 production run (May). It has not yet been confirmed but the Crosstown cars seem to have gotten the heads with the 2.02 intake valves.
This car is one of the Crestview cars and got its interior upgraded to H2XW. Note that the '71 Swinger 340s had the plain Dart dashboard, unlike the '70 Swinger 340s and '71 Demon 340s who had rallye instrument clusters.
Here are some photos (below) taken of three of the few remaining survivors. Photos are a courtesy of Dan Rasmussen.
Back to Franco's 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger 340 Web Page