Highlights
- Attractive Dart drives beautifully
- Comprehensive history folder
- Just 1,521 miles since engine rebuild
The Appeal
There are three main reasons that you don’t often see Daimler Darts offered for sale. The first is that despite being built for five years from 1959 to 1964 only 2,654 were built so they were rare even in period. Secondly, in a marketplace filled with MGs, Healeys, Triumphs and Sunbeams they are easily overlooked. And thirdly, those who are lucky enough to own one know that they are cracking cars and hence they don’t want to sell!
Here is an opportunity to join the exclusive group of Dart owners, and discover for yourself one of the best kept secrets of the sports car world!
History and Paperwork
- First Registered in June 1961
- Only 3 owner's since 1986
- V5c in Owner’s name
- Owned since 2014
- Original Buff logbook on file which lists early owners
- Complete list of all maintenance work from 1988 to 2013
- Repainted from Blue/White to Red in 1983
- Engine rebuilt in 2017 at 53,000 miles, just 1,521 since
- Last MoT in June 2020 @54,231 miles, 483 miles since
- Lots of MoT Certificates from 1988 @ 22,000 miles to 2013 @ 51,853
- Plenty of invoices on file
- Invoice for engine rebuild parts from 2017
- Waxoyled regularly
- Soft top with cover plus Tonneau zipped cover
The Interior
- Tan leather interior
- Clean dark red carpets
- Moto Lita steering wheel
The interior of the Dart is trimmed in an attractive combination of tan leather with dark red carpets. The leather is in reasonably good condition; mostly tidy and well preserved, but with the odd scuff. The driver’s seat shows the most wear particularly the edge of the backrest nearest the door that has been caught by a few zips and belts in the past. Other than that both seat are just lightly worn with no major wear. The dark red carpets feature matching tan leather edging and look to be relatively new with only a few areas of light wear. The leather door cars are smart and unmarked with the correct handles and winders, and useful storage pockets. Tilting the front seats forward reveals an unmarked rear bench in matching tan leather.
Moving to the dash area, again trimmed in tan leather, we find a standard set of 6 gauges and switches. The centre gauges for fuel, water oil and amps are set in a panel along with various toggle switches. Ahead of the driver are the larger rev counter (with a red line at 6,000rpm) and speedometer. All appear to function correctly and the whole dash area is clean and tidy.
The wood rimmed Moto Lita steering wheel is a later replacement with aluminium spokes. The Daimler horn button could do with replacement as it is missing the lower portion, but the rim itself is solid and has no cracks.
The boot is clean with no evidence of damp on the black carpet and the jack and tools are stowed in an old bag. Generally the interior is perfectly useable as it is; the seats are comfortable and nothing is missing, but there are areas that could be improved if desired.
The Exterior
- Smart red paint
- Good chrome
- Well fitting hood with cover, plus zipped Tonneau cover
According to the Buff logbook it appears the dart was originally blue and white, but it was repainted in red in 1983. The paint is in good overall condition with a few areas that could be improved. Looking closely there are a few paint chips that have been touched up and one notable area on the passenger side front wing and door where the finish is flat. This might respond well to a session of vigorous polishing! Other than that the paint is good, and has a nice shine with no cracks in the fibreglass. The chrome parts are presentable, with minor pitting present on the front and rear bumpers.
The chrome spoke wire wheels are in excellent condition, complete with knock-off spinners. The fronts have Vredestein tyres with only minor wear. At the rear we have a mix; one Maxxis which is part worn, and an older Camac that has some cracking to the sidewall.
We erected and stowed the hood during our photo session and it fits well with the poppers in the correct positions. Once up the fit was good, and it stows well beneath the black cover. The Dart has the added bonus of a full Tonneau cover with centre zip. We put this on to check and it fits well and is perfectly useable, although there are a couple of poppers missing.
The Mechanics
- Rebuilt engine
- Waxoyled chassis
- Drives nicely
- Rack and pinion steering fitted
Looking through the large stack of invoices that accompany the Dart we can piece together what work has been carried out in recent years. There is a large wad of old MoTs stretching back to 1988 that verifies the mileage from 22,000 to the 54,714 showing now. Amusingly there is also a meticulous list of all work performed between May 1987 and August 2012. There is an invoice from 2017 for parts required for a complete engine rebuild, and at that time we know the mileage at that time was 53,293, so that’s just 1,521 miles ago. According to the DVLA the Dart passed an MoT test in June 2020 and it has been driven just 473 miles since.
Looking beneath the Dart reveals a solid chassis that has been regularly waxoyled with only a little surface oxidisation, and a stainless steel dual exhaust system. We drove the Dart on our visit and are happy to report it drives very nicely, feeling solid and without rattles or vagueness. The V8 burbles nicely, and a prod of the accelerator results in a gentlemanly shove in the back as it should, accompanied by a rising exhaust note.
The steering and brakes work well and we thought the Dart was rewarding and surprisingly amusing to drive.
The steering and brakes work well and we thought the Dart was rewarding and surprisingly amusing to drive.
Summary
Looking under the bonnet reveals the pretty little 2.5 litre Hemi V8 that is the beating heart of the Daimler Dart. One of the finest sports car engines ever made it is amazingly underrated and could propel the Dart to 60mph in just 9 seconds, and then up to 120mph! No wonder the Police used them to catch the “ton-up” motorcycle boys in the 60s!
It is thought that there are fewer than 1,000 Darts still in existence and for good reason these are rarely offered for sale. This is a rare opportunity to find out why.
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