After the 1970s, new emissions regulations and the ever-increasing cost of insurance created some serious changes in the muscle car industry. The big blocks of the previous decade, such as the 1969 Ford Mach I Mustang and the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS, were coming to an end because insurance companies were charging inflated prices for their policies when there was a big engine of block under the hood.
On the other side of the coin, automakers were having a hard time meeting new emissions regulations without detuning engines to the point of being useless for anything other than small-block V8s. That’s where the compact 1972 Dodge Dart Demon 340 comes in. A small, lightweight car like this might have a smaller engine, but it still offers a quick ride to the remaining crowd that wants power over everything else. Let’s delve a little deeper into this awesome car and relearn some of the forgotten things that made it such an important choice for muscle car enthusiasts then and now.
10 The Demon 340 was a performance upgrade
Front and side view of a 1972 Dodge Demon
The Dodge Dart began downsizing in 1970 to create a more economical and emission-reducing family car that would meet all new emissions requirements without completely eliminating the model line. Regardless of all the new regulations, rising fuel costs and inflated insurance costs, a large group of buyers still wanted power and torque. The Dodge Demon was the solution to this problem, giving high-performance consumers the option to upgrade the engine to the 240-horsepower 340 V8. It was the top performance upgrade offered for the Dart line, creating the Demon 340, one of the official members of the iconic Dodge Scat Pack.
9 The limited edition makes it a valuable collectible
Side view of a 1972 Dodge Demon
Of the 40,000 Dodge Darts built in 1972, only 10,200 Demon 340s were ordered. That doesn’t make the high-performance Dodge one of the rarest, but it does make it part of the line of valuable classic cars that can still be find in the market The good thing is, too, that since it’s not one of those old-school muscle cars with a big block powering it, it’ll be overlooked by many collectors. What this means for Mopar fans looking for a compact muscle car that can go green-lit with the best of them is that the vehicle can be found for under $30,000, which is a reasonable price for a muscle car that won’t eat them all. gas drop in the tank after a few miles of heavy cruising.
8 The Dodge Demon was the sibling of the Plymouth Duster
Front and side view of a 1972 Plymouth Duster
In 1972, one of the best compact cars to buy was the Plymouth Duster 340. The 5.6-liter small-block V8 could push 245 horsepower while staying within the new emissions limits that government officials established. The car was based on the same platform as the Valiant, but was designed with a sloping rear end that resembled the old-school look of the Ford Mach I or the Plymouth Barracuda. The Dodge Dart Demon 340 was as close to a sibling as the Duster 340 could be without actually being Plymouth’s muscle car. The main difference between the two was that the Dart was a member of an elite group of Dodge-only vehicles, for which the Duster didn’t qualify simply because it was a Plymouth, not a Dodge.
7 The ’72 Demon 340 has a style all its own
Side and front view of a 1972 Dodge Demon
Creating the Dart Demon using a platform already in use for the model year made sense to all the designers and budget managers at Dodge and Plymouth. With this in mind, you would think that all cars would look the same, but if a manufacturer wanted to improve sales figures, they had to ensure that each model had its own unique style and design. The bolder the design, the more likely it is to catch the eye of a shopper walking into a dealership with cash in hand. The 1971 and 1972 Dodge Demon made this presentation to all buyers because not only did it have decals that immediately stood out, but the curved rear side windows created an aerodynamically semi-elliptical look that reminded a person of the old bubble Barracudas that they had been so popular in the 60s.
6 Engine options to make it economical or muscular
Side view of an engine in a 1972 Dodge Demon
The 1972 Dodge Demon 340 was a car built for power and torque without having any fuel economy designs built in to help reduce the amount of fuel needed to drive it. Fortunately, Dodge engineers had seen trends begin to shift from power to economy, so they created a way for Mopar fans to have an aggressive-looking Dart either way. This was achieved by offering several different engine options from the 340. The next step down from the 340 V8 was the 318 V8, all the way to the ever reliable 198 six-cylinder. The smaller the engine the buyer opted for, the more economical the car would be, but the less power it would have, so the trade-off was entirely dependent on the person paying the cash when ordering the car new from the factory. .
5 The interior of the Dodge Demon was based on the Duster rather than the Dart line
Driver’s side view of the interior of a 1972 Dodge Demon
Since the Dodge Dart and Plymouth Duster were such close siblings, one would expect some of the designs to be similar on both cars. This can easily be seen by examining the basic outline of the exterior styling, although the specific parts and pieces used were somewhat unique in their own way. The interior, however, of the Dodge Dart Demon was unlike any of the Dart lines because it was designed to mimic the interior of the 1972 Plymouth Duster. The instrument cluster was an exact replica, featuring a speedometer that rose at 120, with a tachometer that could go out at 6000 rpm. The seats and single steering wheel were also the same on both vehicles, so if a driver didn’t know which car he got into, he wouldn’t know by looking around.
4 Attention graphics on the ’72 Dodge Demon 340
Rear and side view of a 1972 Dodge Demon
Body stripes weren’t all that unusual to see on the side of a muscle car or even on the side of an average daily driver. When a car owner wanted their rig to stand out from the rest, one of the first things they could do was put racing stripes on the hood and trunk, or replace the small side stripes with something bigger that stood out. The great thing about the 1972 Dodge Demon 340 is that the designers already thought about this concept. They built the Demon with side stripes that started small in the front and got bigger towards the back. In addition, they placed a sticker of a demon and a pitchfork on the front fenders. Some may say it was a bad move and led to the car’s demise after two short years of production, but they definitely made the Dodge Demon 340 stand out from the crowd.
Partial rear and side view of a 1972 Dodge Demon
Dodge wasn’t the only automaker to change the way it designed cars to accommodate the changing trend toward smaller, more economical vehicles. Some of the main rivals of the Dodge Dart Demon 340 were the Chevy Nova SS which accelerated from 0 to 60 in 7.1 seconds. The AMC Hornet could hit 60 in 8 seconds, and the Mercury Comet could sprint to 60 in 8.6 seconds. The 1972 Dodge Demon 340 was able to go from 0 to 60 in 6.7 seconds, proving that it was superior to all of its close rivals in the compact car industry. To be clear, quarter-mile times for the Demon were 14.9 seconds, the Comet was 19.4 seconds, the Hornet was 16.8 seconds, and the nearest rival, the Nova SS, he was able to get times like 15.5 seconds.
2 Religious groups ended the Dodge Demon’s life
Front and side view of a 1972 Dodge Demon
Although the point Dodge was trying to make to the public was for them to come to a rally (demonstration), religious and non-religious people across the country saw the devil and gallows stickers on the car and immediately. I thought the worst. Buyers were under the impression that Dodge wasn’t just promoting a car to them, Dodge was also promoting the concept of antichrist worship. As Dodge media officials claimed throughout 1971 and 1972, the car was not named with such dark intentions. However, as religious groups continued to condemn the idea of a name, the company withdrew the vehicle. Dodge executives changed the name to the Dodge Dart Sport to appease the crowds and hopefully boost sales.
1 The infamous and rare Dodge Dart Demon GSS
Front and side view of a 1972 Dodge Demon GSS
For true muscle car fans with a need for speed, there is a shop in Chicago known as Mr. Norms It’s a speed shop next door to Grand Spaulding Dodge, a Mopar dealership that wants to outsell and outsell all the local competition. Mr. Norm is the shop that built the famous and rare 1971/1972 Dodge Demon GSS. The updated car started as the basic Dart Demon 340, but had some performance parts added by professional builders. The engine received a supercharger and a modified fuel pump and regulator. A fan was added to the hood to ensure that the proper air-fuel ratio was maintained at each stage of acceleration by offering more air through the intake pipes. The car also came with larger pulleys, a competition oil pump, heavy duty valve springs, limited slip differential and finished it off by tuning the engine to perform at its best.
