1966 Dart GT-it begins

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You can see how the “T” is slightly off line on the driver side.

Other pics to show factory undercoat after tank removal and inner upper quarters.
 
Forgot them….

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Seems new tank is just $150 so will do that based on the amount of scale I got out and the cost of the tank treatments out there. And I don’t want to rebuild the carb again.

Bumper is not mis-shaped but will need work later. Almost as if over torqued and cracked chrome.

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Weird the random nature of the factory undercoating.

Hope you do not mind all the photos, it just seems I have a very original solid car. I think you can see a spot red paint on the underside where an owner saw where undercoat had flaked off and wanted to protect the bare metal. I am seeing these signs of it being well monitored and cared for.

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What is the “adhesive” used in the inner trunk and hood? Was it merely acting as a dampner for sound/vibration or was it to bond the two panels? A few are seperated….
 
Your car is QQ1 which is dark red

PP1 is bright red.

The bottom of the cars were not fully painted like the outside. You will see that when you remove the gas tank it will be mainly primer with some overspray from painting the body of the car. The overspray was more on the outer edges of the underside, and very little inboard of the frame rails where the gas tank is.

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That color would also apply to the interior metal surfaces ie. lowe dash and glove box cover? If so, this has been rattle canned a brighter red at some point.

Am I correct that the fender tag ( and I cleaned up seeing what I thought were “0” are “Q”) that the roof is all QQ1 and the fore section not white?

thanks!! Want to get this right.
 
Seems new tank is just $150 Bumper is not mis-shaped but will need work later. Almost as if over torqued and cracked chrome.
Mike, Nice find! Looks to be very solid car. Good call on new tank. As for the bumpers "appear to have been over torqued", I believe there should be odd looking larger type washers between the bumper and mounting brackets that sort of give a bit of spring cushion when the nuts are tightened to prevent distortion on the visible side. Often times people will not bother to acquire new ones, or clean up and paint the old ones, in their excitement to install their new bumpers. Tip: when I install a new bumper (especially the rear) I scuff the inside, clean off residues with a pre-cleaner or lacquer thinner, tape off where the bolt holes are from the outside and undercoat or use a bed liner paint to protect it. The inside that you don't see is typically where all the road debris from the wheels hits and the rust begins. Good luck with your car, nice!
 
Nice dual exhaust.
I bet the bumper got pushed on and didn't get hard enough to spring back. Bumpers are pretty springy. Once the chrome is cracked You get what you see. I pulled mine off during the winter and sent them away to be refinished. It's a big piece of brite work that really makes a difference.

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New fuel tank, needed seals and mat coming. What to coat the exterior of tank with to maintain a new galvanized look? Read mixed reviews about the Eastwood Tank Tone…Thanks in advance.
 
While waiting for the new fuel system parts I am doing so prep and prevention. Picture is not the end just a part in the process. There were a couple flaws in the factory undercoat and probably rock chips that cracked it. So to seal up I am removing it taking metal down bare.

Thought is to use a rattle can like Eastwood Epoxy primer then spay can undercoat to feather/blend to the OEM undercoat. Does this sound right?

Of other product , method suggestions.
 
@mike240 What is the 5th digit of the VIN? I would say this car was built in LA because of the black color of the bottom of the car.

That is not understating under the gas tank. See how it has a sheen to it. The round spots are where the drips were from the dip coating.

This clear for the gas tank should have hardener in it if you want it to last and protect. Not just rattle can stuff.
 
@mike240 What is the 5th digit of the VIN? I would say this car was built in LA because of the black color of the bottom of the car.

That is not understating under the gas tank. See how it has a sheen to it. The round spots are where the drips were from the dip coating.

This clear for the gas tank should have hardener in it if you want it to last and protect. Not just rattle can stuff.

yes as soon as I dropped the tank I noticed a shiny sealer where there was no undercoat. What exactly is it? Was there a unique coating CA cars? Yep LA plant car.

Here is the VIN…

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Yes LA cars were sprayed that blackish color underneath. It is not black, but close. No other plant did that color. The other plants painted the underside a gray color.

Your car looks like it has factory undercoating. It was done after the tank was installed so no undercoating under the tank.
Sorry 7th digit is the plant.
 
Weird the random nature of the factory undercoating.

Hope you do not mind all the photos, it just seems I have a very original solid car. I think you can see a spot red paint on the underside where an owner saw where undercoat had flaked off and wanted to protect the bare metal. I am seeing these signs of it being well monitored and cared for.

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Clean trunk floor extensions. Those are a bit tricky and expensive to replace if you can't do it yourself.
 
Clean trunk floor extensions. Those are a bit tricky and expensive to replace if you can't do it yourself.

I thought so too. But there is some flaking of the undercoat, so I plan to scrape back to solid adhereing stuff, treat that metal and re-undercoat to protect.

The reality is this car will likely never see a wet road or rain again. But on the other hand as I inspect inch by inch and do what PM is needed, I have no need to tear it totally down, rotisserie it and paint the bottom like a show car. Not a pro, but it is much a solid survivor type car but had a repaint and engine rebuild.
 
Using an oscillating tool with a scraper blade to remove panel sealer where there are curl ups or cracks and chasing to good seal and attachment. Then getting rid of surface rust that lies underneath.

What to use to replace that sealer? Factory wasn’t scrimping on that stuff!

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Resto Rick sells a great product. I’ve used it, looks right! Need several coats, let dry between.

don’t use bedliner paint on your classic car!

Restorations by Rick Kreuziger - Product and Component Restoration Detailed Information

Thank you for that and it sppears his undercoat will make it more OEM.
What I am referring to is stuff that appears to be smoothed out with trowel on the panel seams in the trunk. Surely its out there since they still do that on newer cars. Is it in a tube like chalk?

update: I guess Eastwood has brushable and tube types. Should do more research before asking questions. Thanks all who have and will help with this project.
 
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As I wait for the fuel tank to arrive, can some provide pictures of a 273 1966 Dart with power steering. I want to add this and probably front disc just for drivability without harming originality incase it needs to be returned to original.

i saw a couple conversion kits that say are rebuilt Original but only included one hose. Doesn't it have a pressure side and a return?

Would also like to see how the hoses are run and if the factory spot welded in a retaining tab for them.
Thanks
 
The pressure hose is threaded on both ends. The return hose is just a hose with clamps.

no mounting tab for the hoses.

the thing is the column shaft is shorter and the coupler has different size splines.
 
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