1965 Dodge Dart 270 Wagon
I just inherited my father's 1965 Dodge Dart 270 Wagon. Assuming the engine is still original it is a 273 2bbl. I've got a sweat roof top carrier rack, power rear hatch window, and AM radio! This car was originally my Grandmother's, purchased new in 1965. I've got a folder about 1.5" thick of repair/service documents to go through. There is minor surface rust in every spot where the paint is chipped, but so far I have only found one spot where a panel has rust all the way through (lower drive side fender.) The picture above is the "clean" side. The driver side fender has collision damage and a small rust hole, so I will probably just replace the fender. The rear hatch also has some sort of collision damage which is impacting the rear window. I imagine that's a much harder replacement to find, so I will probably be getting some estimates from a local body shop. The front chrome trim seems a bit smashed up (possibly low speed collision?). Is this easy to find aftermarket or will I need to try and get mine straightened/repaired?
Some maintenance was done to get it running about 3 years ago when my uncle drove it from Idaho to Oregon. After that my dad trailered it to Connecticut and it sat in his moldy spider and rodent infested garage since then because even though he really wanted to restore it he spent way too much time working to get around to it.
Hopefully some fresh fluids and a carburetor adjustment for the high altitude of Colorado Springs will get the old gal up and running. The plan is for this car to be my daily driver. That means some work will have to happen quickly. The initial push is going to be gutting and refinishing the interior. The seat covers, headliner, and carpet are pretty thrashed. There is mouse poop.
I'm pretty confident that I can get the carpet and seats out. I was surprised to see that stockinteriors.com has molded carpet and headliners for seemingly reasonable prices. Seat covers on the other hand seem pretty outrageously priced. I can do the door panels and dash later, but I don't want to feel like I'm sitting in a giant pile of garbage.
This is my first real restoration project, so any advice is welcome. I'm particularly looking for recommendations on interior prep after tearing everything out. Some sort of rust inhibitor? Do you guys rattle can/spray paint the interiors, use an actual decent paint gun you've bought, or pay a paint shop to spray everything? Also any thoughts on interior style are welcome. The original colors are the creme (probably "Ivory") exterior you see with what appears to be the "Medium Gold" interior. I am leaning towards going with originally available colors, but doing the light blue exterior and either a black interior or a slight deviation to non-factory creme colored interior.
Thanks for any advice. I'll post some more pictures later this week.
I just inherited my father's 1965 Dodge Dart 270 Wagon. Assuming the engine is still original it is a 273 2bbl. I've got a sweat roof top carrier rack, power rear hatch window, and AM radio! This car was originally my Grandmother's, purchased new in 1965. I've got a folder about 1.5" thick of repair/service documents to go through. There is minor surface rust in every spot where the paint is chipped, but so far I have only found one spot where a panel has rust all the way through (lower drive side fender.) The picture above is the "clean" side. The driver side fender has collision damage and a small rust hole, so I will probably just replace the fender. The rear hatch also has some sort of collision damage which is impacting the rear window. I imagine that's a much harder replacement to find, so I will probably be getting some estimates from a local body shop. The front chrome trim seems a bit smashed up (possibly low speed collision?). Is this easy to find aftermarket or will I need to try and get mine straightened/repaired?
Some maintenance was done to get it running about 3 years ago when my uncle drove it from Idaho to Oregon. After that my dad trailered it to Connecticut and it sat in his moldy spider and rodent infested garage since then because even though he really wanted to restore it he spent way too much time working to get around to it.
Hopefully some fresh fluids and a carburetor adjustment for the high altitude of Colorado Springs will get the old gal up and running. The plan is for this car to be my daily driver. That means some work will have to happen quickly. The initial push is going to be gutting and refinishing the interior. The seat covers, headliner, and carpet are pretty thrashed. There is mouse poop.
I'm pretty confident that I can get the carpet and seats out. I was surprised to see that stockinteriors.com has molded carpet and headliners for seemingly reasonable prices. Seat covers on the other hand seem pretty outrageously priced. I can do the door panels and dash later, but I don't want to feel like I'm sitting in a giant pile of garbage.
This is my first real restoration project, so any advice is welcome. I'm particularly looking for recommendations on interior prep after tearing everything out. Some sort of rust inhibitor? Do you guys rattle can/spray paint the interiors, use an actual decent paint gun you've bought, or pay a paint shop to spray everything? Also any thoughts on interior style are welcome. The original colors are the creme (probably "Ivory") exterior you see with what appears to be the "Medium Gold" interior. I am leaning towards going with originally available colors, but doing the light blue exterior and either a black interior or a slight deviation to non-factory creme colored interior.
Thanks for any advice. I'll post some more pictures later this week.
