Another 69 Dart 340 swinger build

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Joeg340

Joeg340

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2013
Messages
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Location
Hanford Ca.
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Hello All,
I finally decided to start a build thread. I have been member here for a few years and have bought a few items from other on this site. I have mainly used the site to see what others are doing to their cars and learn what to do. This is my first resto but I've been around mopars all my life.

I bought this car in in February, 2011 with the plan to get it running and fix it up as I went but as I started tearing into it I got deeper into it and it hasn't been on the road yet. The paint and body work was done when I purchased it but the engine compartment wasn't painted and it drove me crazy, so I pulled the motor, trans and front suspension to paint the engine bay. When I had the motor out I pulled the intake off and found a flat cam lobe, so I pulled it apart and my brother and I rebuilt it along with the trans. I will post pics on occasion but the car is almost done so they will come pretty fast....... Enjoy and all comments and suggestion are appreciated
 
It's not done yet but getting close. Working on the interior currently along with some electrical issues. I hope to have it on the rode in a few weeks.
Joe
 
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Here are a couple pictures of the interior. The car was originally T5 copper metallic with saddle tan interior, but I've changed it to black. Tell me what you think.
Joe
 
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So, here's the story of how I got this car. I was on the hunt for a 68-70 340 dart and found one on a local Craigslist. I called and the gentleman said he was on the other line and would call me back in ten minutes. He calls back and says that he just sold it. It was what is was looking for so I was pretty disappointed I missed out. I decide to call him back to see if he had any info on the buyer as he said the guy was going to resell the car and he was out of Texas but would be in California for a week or so. Apparently he did this a couple times a year. I call the guy and he says that he would be interested in selling but that he was heading to the Bay Area to purchase a truck, visit family and would return to my area later in the week. We set up a meeting time over the phone to meet the next Monday so I could look over the car and talk about a possible purchase. I get a call on Sunday night and he says the truck he purchased was having trans issues and he would not make it on Monday because he had to get it repaired. Meanwhile I talked to my brother about the car and he said he saw a 69 dart on a trailer outside him shop a few days before that was pretty nice. He was going to check it out later but the car was gone when he returned. It turns out that the truck was repaired at the trans shop next to my brother's shop earlier that week and it was my car that he saw a couple days earlier. The buyer tells he he is broken down in Fairfield which is close to where my brother lives. I call my brother to see if he can go check the car out since it is probably close to where he is. He says that the same dart he saw a few days ago was back sitting next to his shop. I finally put two and two together and figure out that it's the same car I was looking to purchase. I live about 3 hours away from my brother! The buyer had a rear seal replaced on the truck trans and it started leaking and he took it back to where he got it repaired so they could fix it. So, needless to say, my brother and dad looked the car over and said it was the real deal. After I looked it over, the buyer and I came to an agreement and the rest is history. Here are a few pictures of what it looked like the day I purchased it.
Joe
 
As I said when I started my build thread, the car is just about done. How it looked the the day I brought it home
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My original plan was to "clean it up" and drive while doing some repairs and cosmetic upgrades. This is after I cleaned the engine. I wasn't happy with it so out it came
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I pulled the engine out to clean it up and paint it and just couldn't live with the way the engine bay looked either, so I stripped it down to bare metal and had a friend paint it. Here is how it looks now.
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Beautiful job cleaning up that engine bay and refreshing the motor. My 69 is getting a little closer. Hope to have it finally on the road by end of summer.
 
1969VADart said:
Beautiful job cleaning up that engine bay and refreshing the motor. My 69 is getting a little closer. Hope to have it finally on the road by end of summer.
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Thanks for the compliment. I try to do something every week to keep it going.
Joe
 
So, I have been buttoning up the last few things in the interior over the last few days and just about got everything done. Spent the day getting it insured and registered and it should be ready for the road in a couple days. I so excited to get it rolling down the road,
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I am posting photos of the progress as I completed assemblies, so look for some more pictures to come. Last few things I want get done on it are: new bumpers, new door panels and arm rests, and a sure grip unit with 3:55s. As you can see in the background, I have a 68 Dart that will be going in the garage next!!
 
Here are few pics of the completed engine bay. Today I cleaned up around the thermostat housing and repainted as it was leaking a bit. I also got the heater hoses installed. I will replace the battery with a period correct unit as money becomes available. Let me know what you think
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Very nice Dart. What you planning to do exhaust wise? Need any original 69 340 Swinger tips still in pretty good shape?
Tom
 
ScampMike said:
did you paint it? it looks amazingly close to mine --
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When I bought it in 2011 the exterior was painted but the engine bay looked like they just throw a blanket over the motor and sprayed away. So I pulled the motor, stripped the engine bay to bare metal and had a friend paint it. BTW, the car was originally T5 cooper metallic and a white tail stripe with saddle tan interior. Last but not least, very nice car!!
 
VOETOM said:
Very nice Dart. What you planning to do exhaust wise? Need any original 69 340 Swinger tips still in pretty good shape?
Tom
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Thanks for the offer. Although I like the look of the exhaust tips, I'm keeping it stock and it didn't come with tips. I'm starting on a 68 318/904 Dart that I will hot rod and may want a set for it at a later date.
 
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