A-bodies are an often overlooked segment of the Mopar muscle car family. When they were introduced, Darts were not initially designed to appeal to consumers looking for high performance, and they were most often equipped with six cylinder mills or, at best, the 318 small-block V8. However, astute performance enthusiasts will note that the Dart’s relatively small size and bare-bones presentation gave the car an inherent advantage over bigger, more lavishly equipped coupes like the Charger, Chevelle, and Torino, and that advantage is substantially less weight to lug around.

It wasn’t until near the end of the muscle car era that Dodge remembered how the whole thing got started in the first place – small car, big engine – and started putting more serious iron between the fender wells of the Dart, but by then things were quickly drawing to a close.

Because of its lack of notoriety in popular culture, the Dart has managed to fly under the radar of collectors for the most part, allowing this very capable and cool little two door to remain affordable even now.

Geoff Gates, the owner of the sinister looking Dart in the video above, describes Oakland as “the Detroit of the West” and his Dart looks the part among the grittiness of the city. Unlike most notable builds as of late, Geoff didn’t pour crazy amounts of money into this A-body to make 1,000 horsepower or run eight-second quarter miles. Instead he created a killer looking, sounding, and running daily driver that didn’t cost a fortune to get there. These days that’s an accomplishment in and of itself.