65 Dart GT Revisited

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I guess I can only upload 10 photos per post, so here are a few more. I took the car down to bare metal with aircraft stripper. YOu can see some residue on the car. I air DA'd the car down to clean the residue, and placed the bondo today. Not too many dents, but being over 50 years old, under the paint, there is bound to be a few dings and dents. Should have things filled and blocked in a week or so. Thanks again for watching along. The paint color will be daffodil yellow with a black vinyl top. Same as my 66. Best. Old Dart 66View attachment 1715153796 View attachment 1715153796

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Great work Jerry!
 
looking great! that is a lot of work and is going to be one very nice car when done! love the 65's and great to see anther one being cared for. Mine is also a factory slant with air...well it was a slant lol.
 
looking great! that is a lot of work and is going to be one very nice car when done! love the 65's and great to see anther one being cared for. Mine is also a factory slant with air...well it was a slant lol.

Hey 65Dd, Yes, it was a /6, but will be a 273 HiPo with 4bbl, 904, SG 3.23. Lots of work, but the hard, dirty work is coming to an end....the rust patches and the rubber undercoat stripping. Now the paint and assembly. Much cleaner and more fun....but its all part of it. Had a 65 Dart Charger back in 1971/72, and I have always wanted another, so a labor of loving this car. Thanks greatly for the comments. Appreciated. Old Dart 66.
 
I guess I can only upload 10 photos per post, so here are a few more. I took the car down to bare metal with aircraft stripper. YOu can see some residue on the car. I air DA'd the car down to clean the residue, and placed the bondo today. Not too many dents, but being over 50 years old, under the paint, there is bound to be a few dings and dents. Should have things filled and blocked in a week or so. Thanks again for watching along. The paint color will be daffodil yellow with a black vinyl top. Same as my 66. Best. Old Dart 66View attachment 1715153796 View attachment 1715153796

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Just another update on the 65 Dart
 
Thought I would update the slow progress on the 65 Dart Revisited. As you know, I am cloning the 65 Dart Charger, and with that, the cars "Gotta Have The Notch" I would like to thank 65 Dartman for his input on how to make the notch using a scrap 65 Dart front valance. It is actually quite easy if you have a welder. So here are some photos. What you do is cut the bumper bracket opening out of the front valance, and you will find that the narrow end of the opening is the end that you want. However, it will be too wide, and it will have to be cut down. While cutting the opening out of the valance, leave enough metal in order to have enough to work with. While shortening the bumper bracket opening to the 6-1/8" opening measurement on the lower part of the resonator notch, leave the radius on either end, and set it up to cut it in the middle....then overlap the two pieces to where you have the 6-1/8" measurement on the lower end of the notch. When you are set up on the correct width, scribe one piece or the other for your final cut, then butt the two pieces together, and weld away. After you have your notch patch complete, set it up on your lower rear valance, scribe your cut with an awl, cut out the portion required, and weld in the notch. The beginning of the notch is at 6-1/4" from the inside bottom lip of the rear of the driver side fender where it meets the rear valance. The height of the finished notch is roughly 1-5/8", but leave plenty of material at the bottom since you can cut the remaining material away after the notch is installed. I got the measurements from a true to life 65 Dart Charger where his valance ended, at the bottom without a reinforcement bend, whereas, my 65 Dart had a reinforcement bend at the bottom of the valance. Do not know if this is standard or not, but, as I commented, leave plenty of material all the way around to fit and cut after you remove the part of the rear valance on your car to fit the notch. Thanks. I hopes this helps someone as it took me some time to find the dimensions. Not too many 65 Dodge Dart Chargers around. Photos are listed separately as I lost them in this post, and do not know where they went. Just another note....cut the material in the middle because if you cut it at the corner, you will lose the radius on the part. That is what I did the first time, and I had to do it over again. If anyone has any questions, PM me at Old Dart 66
 
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Here are a few photos of the 65 Dart Notch process fabricated from a 65 Dart front Valance. Thanks

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A few more photos to finish the sequence. A bit rough on the filler, but right now, the entire car is still a bit rough. Have to make it worse before it gets better. We are limited to ten photos per post...apparently. Thank you again to 65 Dartman for the tip on where to start. Thanks. Old Dart 66

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Just received my dash bezels back from GCartrim. Glenn did a great job. Here are some photos

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How's everything going Jerry? Any progress? Love your build!
Hello Ulf, To be honest, no progress recently. This Spring has brought over 12 inches of rain to NW Iowa, which means mow, mow, and then mow some more. Along with that, we garden about a half acre. Beyond that, I have been busy getting the parts off of the Valiant. Hope to be in paint, and clear, on the Dart Charger clone by mid-July with it being on the road by October 1st. Schedules and the best made plans are meant to be broken....I guess. Thanks for the inquiry. Jerry
 
Members, Thought I would update the 65 Dart with no real progress as I have purchased a 65 Valiant Signet to part out. I needed some parts out of it for my 65 Dart Build. Anyway, I got my 65 Dart bumpers back from Sx. City Plating, and I thought I would share a few photos. Doug Boddy and his crew at Sx. City plating, in South Sx. City, Nebraska did a great job. Thought I would give them a shout for a job well done. Currently, they are on the bed, but will look better on the car. Good they are in the spare bedroom. Old Dart 66

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Members, Thought I would update the 65 Dart with no real progress as I have purchased a 65 Valiant Signet to part out. I needed some parts out of it for my 65 Dart Build. Anyway, I got my 65 Dart bumpers back from Sx. City Plating, and I thought I would share a few photos. Doug Boddy and his crew at Sx. City plating, in South Sx. City, Nebraska did a great job. Thought I would give them a shout for a job well done. Currently, they are on the bed, but will look better on the car. Good they are in the spare bedroom. Old Dart 66

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Glad to see you got them. All of a sudden they will be on your car!
 
Glad to see you got them. All of a sudden they will be on your car!
Thanks for the encouragement Ulf. So much else to get done, but I guess that most retired people run into that. My plan is, still, paint by the middle of July, with final assembly by the middle of September or October. Test drive, hopefully, yet this year before another winter season. Thanks. Old Dart 66
 
Wow! Thanks for telling me about your “Restorations” site. I learned a huge amount just scrolling through the pictures. My coupe is in much worse shape than your car. I had to replace most of the floor pans using pieces from a donor 65 2-door post (lots of weld seams, but it’s not going to be a show car.) The pans are pretty much in and now I need to start on the trunk, then go to the rear quarters. I’m just the opposite experience-wise from you. Lots of mechanical experience, with a little body work. I did work in a VW-rebuilder shop for a couple of years, but I did mechanical repairs, not body work. I did get to see how a lot of stuff was done, though. My biggest body project was a 68 VW many years ago that I put a rear clip on, cut through the middle of the rear window. I got it up to the final blocking stage and had another guy finish and paint it. I’ve done some painting, but mostly on motorcycles, and mostly when we were still shooting acrylic lacquer for things like candy apple colors and metal flake. Been a long time, though. My biggest challenge is going to be the quarters. I could piece them in like you have, but have been toying with the idea of pulling the whole quarter off in one piece, cutting it above the lead line on the rear pillar and along the seam at the rocker panel, then drilling out all the spot welds. It’s a lot more work, but I would only have exposed body work at the lead line and along wherever I cut it along the edge of the door jamb. Curious what you think. My rust over the wheel arch stops at the trim line. I’m just worried about getting it flat where I weld it in if I just cut in a quarter patch. The rear pan and part of the driver’s side sub-frame were patched in from some other donor car in the past, and not very well, so I’m planning to replace that with parts from the donor car too. A big goal is to paint the car myself. I’m going to do it in pieces (after practicing on some junk parts) and see how it goes. I may use the convertible as a guinea pig. I’d like to hear what you recommend on quarter-panel repair.
 
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