Project Frog Princess

[Powerslave]

Nice looking Dart Idaho, wish mine was that straight.

 

[scottylack]

Things dont rust up in Northern Idaho...

 

[Idaho]

goldfish65 I "Like" the seats and everything too.

Thanks. I wasn't totally sure it was the right thing to do but they are looking good to me and they are very comfy.

scottylack Things dont rust up in Northern Idaho...

This car sat in central Washington for many years. It's basically desert there. We get rain and snow all winter here so I think it was better off there.

Powerslave Nice looking Dart Idaho, wish mine was that straight.

Thanks. I spent a full day on it today and am impressed with how unmolested the car is. I pulled the powertrain. Not one stuck fastener - hard to believe. Even the UCA bolts were easy.

I had a twinge of sadness pulling the Charger 225 since it runs well and could have kept going. To make myself feel better I PMed Brian at IMM about getting some RHS heads for the 5.9

Here's a few pics for the sake of nostalgia.

 

[Idaho]

Here's the beefed up LCAs. One is waiting for flap wheel cleanup.
Now its time to mount the K member, and assemble things enough to test fit wheels before I order a set. I have some Dodge minivan and toyota wheels with 5 x 4.5 bolt pattern.

 

[Idaho]

I've been working toward getting wheels ordered. This has been a rather frustrating thing for me to say the least. I want the car as low as practical with the stock suspension. There's a narrow window with wheel backspacing to achieve this. I'm planning custom wheels so its got to be right. Even with non custom wheels, once tires are mounted, they likely cannot be returned.

So I installed the front suspension without torsion bars for testing purposes. I've got a frame dolly on the front raised and lowered by an engine hoist.

The best info I had was from autoxcuda in this thread starting at post #83.

Show That Lowered A-body!

I did not find that any fender mod would be required on a Dart however.

I happened to have a 245/45/18 wheel and tire for test purposes. It is about 26.5" tall. The wheel has 6" backspace. I reduced this to about 5.7" with spacers. This turns out to be ideal I think as it allowed me to find the outer limits of space

It is 8.5 or 9" (edit: 8") wide and a narrower one would have been better. The section width of the tire is 9.5".

I may seem to be pic crazy here but I believe others can benefit from documenting this process so here goes.

1) The look - love it or hate it.
2) A huge jump from stock.
3) Surprise - that's as low as we go and as far as we turn when on the factory bump stops.
4) Lots of room with an 18 for the ball joint at max droop. Word is that 17 is touch and go.
5) Good tie rod end clearance (about 1/2").
6) Clears the frame up front by about 1/4" at max droop and turn. Its the same at the rear frame. No room for a bigger tire or more backspace.
7) Clears the LCA strut by about 1/8" at max droop and turn. No higher backspace possible. Sway bar is further away.
8 ) Inside view on bump stop. There's about 1 5/8" to the inner fender up top. Note the ball joint angle. Not sure how long it would live like that.
9) Front of fender clears.

I plan to order an 18 x 7 wheel with about 5.5" backspace. Maybe a 225/45 tire. Smaller bumpstops can be used to go lower but with the effect on ball joint angle, my thought is drop spindles might be in order if a ride below what bumpstops allow is desired.

 

[Idaho]

I'm half way through mini tubbing. Decided on a set of rear tires. Too good a deal to pass up. Goodyear F1 Supercar 285/40/18. Delivered today for $120.00 a piece with shipping.

The 325/50/15 shown for comparison is about the max that can be stuffed into the tubbed space. These are a step down and I wondered if they would fill the space the way I want. Seeing them in place is the only way to know. I'm satisfied with the look. At that price ill feel OK using them to paint the pavement.

Wheels are on order. Custom backspace. May be a month.

Back to minitub work.

 

[AussiePlymouths]

Keep up the good work and thanks for the pics

 

[Idaho]

Thanks Gary. Working out the front wheel issue to my satisfaction took some effort. I'm hoping it pays off, and that the pics can help others.
Send us some sunshine from down under

 

[fishmens67]

I see your enjoying the nice weather.lol your making good progress on the car,it's looking good. great work

 

[Idaho]

Thanks. I'm thankful to have a shop to get out of the cold. Just wish I had more time for the project. I put it on a rotisserie to make the mini tub job a little easier on the back. I'm about 80% there. There's so many mini tub pics on here I think I'll just post pics of the finished product.
Cool to see quite a few members from Idaho.

 

[Idaho]

Finally got the wheels and tires. I'd be embarrassed if I knew and could say how many hours I obsessed over choosing.

While waiting I've been mini tubbin. Almost done. Having the car on the rotisserie really helps. I also built a mock up axle which slides and locks. Its the only way I felt I could nail down the diff width with precision. It's way overbuilt but just used what I had available.

I'm showing them from the rear, then with the axle on the frame bump stops and then down 3.5" at ride height. i'd like to be a touch lower but I don't see that happening.

It's odd to say it and seems kinda superficial, but the truth is the car is being built around the wheels and tires. They are what will define the final look and character. Just doing the mock up on the rear is mentally a huge step in the car's transformation. Next to see how they look up front.

Gotta get the K put back together.

 

[68GTconvert]

Nice. I like it.

 

[jrlegacy23]

Looks great. What are the final dimensions of the rear wheels you chose? How wide was your "mock up rear"?

 

[Idaho]

Looks great. What are the final dimensions of the rear wheels you chose? How wide was your "mock up rear"?

The rears are 18 x 10 with 4" backspace.
I've settled on 49 5/8" planned for the disc to disc diff width. This provides 1 1/4" space between the frame rails and tires and about an inch where the upper well curves in toward the tire (with the mocked axle on frame bumpstops).

This is the exact measurement that my drawings that were made using a plumb bob and just fiddling with tires in the wheelwells had suggested. I wanted to be sure before sending out axles to be cut.

The 8.8 I'll be using has a 2" pinion offset to the passenger side. Since these cars come with a similar offset (something like 1 3/4") I'll likely take the same off each side. The 8.8 is 59.5" disc to disc, so that will mean 4 15/16" off each side. The minimum cutoff according to Dutchman Axles is 3.5" so I should be fine.

68GTconvert Nice. I like it.

Thanks. Nice 69.

 

[johnparts]

Looking good, wish I would have made a rear end jig like that. We almost ended up with the same wheels. Those were my 2nd choice.

 

[Idaho]

Looking good, wish I would have made a rear end jig like that. We almost ended up with the same wheels. Those were my 2nd choice.

The jig bought me peace of mind. I'll be sending axles out for shortening soon.

Found out the trac loc 8.8 diff I bought last year was an open diff. Contacted the wrecker and they sent me a new Yukon trac loc carrier. Could not believe it.

Another goof up happened with my wheels. Turns out one was built with a 4.75" bolt center. I contacted the seller, and he got me a replacement in less than a week. Impressive considering these are custom built.

Here's the k-member and arms after re-inforcements, tow hook install, and por-15. First time using por-15. Sure like how it goes on. And the warning about getting it on your hands - well I got a hole in one glove...

 

[dano]

What back space did you end up with for the front? How do they fit?

 

[prrc]

Looking good Idaho. Thats the only way to build a car. Set up everything around your wheel choice.

 

[Idaho]

What back space did you end up with for the front? How do they fit?

The fronts are 18 x 7 with 5.125 backspace. That's the max I could get. I have to finish the por 15 on the front suspension parts and put it together to check the fit.

prrc Looking good Idaho. Thats the only way to build a car. Set up everything around your wheel choice.

Thanks. I felt kinda weird, putting so much emphasis on the tire & wheel choice but it just seems to be a fundamental element that has to be sorted out first.

 

[Muad'Dib15]

I wish I had done that. I mean, the car turned out amazing the way it is now, but I wish I had been able to set up the look before I started putting everything together. I just wanted it on the road asap. If I had to do it again, I'd get some drop spindles for the front and put some heavier springs on front as well as a full matched set of shocks.

 

[Idaho]

I wish I had done that. I mean, the car turned out amazing the way it is now, but I wish I had been able to set up the look before I started putting everything together. I just wanted it on the road asap. If I had to do it again, I'd get some drop spindles for the front and put some heavier springs on front as well as a full matched set of shocks.

I think your car looks great. Not many like it.

I've thought about drop spindles as well but don't like the cost. Even heavier bars are spendy at $200 a piece but I suspect I'll break down and put out the dough for them. I'm going to try it out with bars from a 340 car first.

 

[Abodybomber]

Coming together,really nice Idaho. Nice fab work.

 

[Idaho]

Thanks. I'm stealing ideas from all over this site
I'm an amateur with the welder but I enjoy it.

 

[Muad'Dib15]

I think your car looks great. Not many like it.

I've thought about drop spindles as well but don't like the cost. Even heavier bars are spendy at $200 a piece but I suspect I'll break down and put out the dough for them. I'm going to try it out with bars from a 340 car first.

Thanks. Really? I've gotten many compliments on the wheel/tire choice and almost no hate. I've even managed to convert my dad from a 15 or die guy to someone who thinks that 17s or 18s are now the way to go for just about any car.

I have been looking for 340/360 Torsion bars on the for sale section here over the past week, but they are usually snatched up within hours of being posted. The bars on summit are like 300 and I really don't want to spend that amount of money. But I might have to... :banghead:

 

[Idaho]

Thanks. Really? I've gotten many compliments on the wheel/tire choice and almost no hate...

Sorry about that, what I was trying to say is there's not many cars like yours around :sad7:
I like cars that stand out from the pack.

$300 for a pair? I'll have to check Summit. I was looking at PST bars, which are $400 even with the member discount.