1967 Dodge Dart 270

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Got a lot of work done this weekend. Got the new gas tank in, the rest of the exhaust in, and the rest of the electrical hooked up. Pulled the seats to facilitate making the muffler hangers work properly and found a pleasant surprise. It was nestled up against the mouse apartment complex that I had to clean out. Surprised it was as intact as it was. Will get more pics of the interior stuff soon. Maybe this afternoon. Still need to run the tank to pump fuel line. Then a decent run video.
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More work done today. Got the front to rear fuel line installed, fluids replaced, hood put back on, and grabbed a few pictures. Did some playing with the paint as well. It is going to get repainted eventually but I figure I can clean it up in the meantime. The interior is my next project I think. Get the carpets out and get a good look at the floors. figure out exactly what I need to repair the floor pans and parts of the frame that are rotted out. I also have the first start/move video uploading now. Wanted to do a test drive but it is all snow and ice on our road and I still have garage (crap) wheels and tires on it.
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A short video for first start now that it is all back together. I definitely didn't expect it to sound like this. Can't wait to get it out on a test drive. Please stick around till the end credits. A small thing to express my appreciation for all that helped me get this far.
 
Got the 4bbl conversion coming as well as frame and floor pan repairs. Want to clean up the paint as much as I can. I am just excited it runs and sounds amazing. I cannot wait for spring now so I can get it on the road.
 
Had the Dart out this past weekend doing some tuning on the carb. Used a vacuum gauge to check the idle mixture. It still bogs is you go from idle to wide open too quickly but not as bad as it did when I first put it on the run stand. I have checked the transfer slots visually and the ported vacuum to be sure they are not open too far. I am not too worried about it as I ordered the rebuild kit for the Carter 4bbl that's going on it. That's coming from Mike's Carburetor and should be here next Wednesday. Also got some work done cleaning up the rear seats. the top of the seat back is very sun damaged, dried out, and cracking but the rest is cleaning up pretty well. I intend to get the reupholstered or at least get the stuff to do it myself. Overall, the process is going well. Probably going to get the carpet out this weekend so I can identify the spots in the floor that need patching. Also do a crawl about underneath so I can get a good idea of the frame patching that needs done as well. I know the torsion bar crossmember needs replaced and want to do at least the floors and crossmember at the same time. If I had planned better, I would have done those while the engine was out of the car but hey, it's my first rodeo. It sounds pretty good though. Well, I think it does.

 
Lol. I'm not quite THAT dedicated. That's where my truck was sitting. Waiting till March (annual bonus at work) to get a new set of wheels and tires. Hopefully they will be here by May so I can be ready for the road, when the road is ready for me. =)
 
Started on the 4 barrel conversion this weekend. Carb is rebuilt with a kit from Mike's Carburetors. Transfer slots are set and the idle mixture screws are out to 2 turns. I also got the adapter to allow me to properly hook up the throttle and kickdown linkages. It was nice out today so I took the chance to shoot a walk around video that goes over the car and the things I am looking at tackling in the future. I still need some pieces off the 2 barrel intake to get the new intake ready to go in and I plan to get that tackled this coming weekend.
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67 is by far the best A Body.

The GT trim package was clean and doesn't detract from the body lines like the 68 or 69 GT trim does.

It was the start of the entire 67 to 76 dart / duster line.

Far more attractive then Barracudas or Valients
Damn right!
 
Carb swap is in the works. Got a quick question. When I got the 2 barrel intake off, there was a good bit of oil in between the gasket and the surfaces of both the intake and the heads. Is this normal? I noted that there were 4 bolts that were completely coated in oil and I assume they run into an oil passage at the bottom and oil was running up the bolts and getting into the gasket. After speaking with one of my friends with several years in an engine shop, I have a plan to seal the bolts and coolant passages and have new gaskets for when the 4 barrel goes on (tomorrow). On a side note, the cam looks great!
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Getting there. I need a plug for the brake booster port (no nipple), some new vacuum line for the vacuum advance, an adapter for the temp sensor, and a replacement bolt for the thermostat housing (snapped off the head with unrestrained gorilla grip). I also need to wire in the electric choke. Not totally happy with the geometry on the kickdown linkage either. I had to flip it around so it did not interfere with the throttle linkage travel. considering heating and bending it so I can attach it on the side it is supposed to be attached on. Length is right and the kickdown travel is adjusted correctly. Oh yeah! and I need an air cleaner. O'Reilly's is going to love me this week.
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Got all my parts picked up and installed. Tomorrow, when it's 60 degrees and not dumping buckets, I'll pull it out, fire it up and try my hand at carb tuning. I have a metering rod performance spring set so I can change them out if I need to. Still not entirely sure what to look for though aside from flat spots. we'll see how it goes. Plan to use vacuum to tune the idle mixture screws. With the oil all over both sides of the manifold gasket, I am hoping that was the reason for the lowish vacuum. We shall see. Next up? Rip out the interior and get a good look at what needs patching in the floors. Then save some more pennies for a torsion bar crossmember. Would like to do the crossmember, frame rail patches, and floor patches at the same time.
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Got into the interior and got the carpets out so we could get a good look at the floor pans and see what repairs needed to be made. They were in better shape than I expected them to be. Now to find someone who actually has the sections I need in stock.
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Got into the interior and got the carpets out so we could get a good look at the floor pans and see what repairs needed to be made. They were in better shape than I expected them to be. Now to find someone who actually has the sections I need in stock.
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How’s your trunk look? That’s what I’m dealing with right now.
 
Looks Good. Small holes in the extensions but no rot in the trunk floor itself. Give me a bit to grab some stills from the walk around video I did.
 
Pay special attention to this recessed area here. It’s part of the “lower rear seat pan” the trunk attaches to and is only available as the whole $500 pan.

Once I took a wire wheel to mine I found it was Swiss cheese. It’s almost like Ma Mopar designed it to hold water on purpose!

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I will definitely keep that in mind once I start prepping for repairs.
 
Well....got the carb swap done. Think I did a **** job of sealing things though. Have 2 vacuum leaks that I found around a plugged port in the manifold and the plugged brake booster port. those will be easily fixed but I also think I have some leakage at the manifold gasket on the passenger side. It took 3 full turns on the idle mixture screws to get her to start up and idle. she dies as soon as you crack the throttle. Plan to investigate and address the issues this weekend. Also ordering the wheels and tires tomorrow. Want to take measurements in the wheel wells to see what I can fit in there first though. Found a pretty good worksheet for taking the measurements and a decent website that covers wheel and tire dimensions. Once the wheels and tires are here, I will replace the shocks while I have the wheels off. Excited that she is close to getting on the road. Has been almost a year since I brought her home.
:steering:
 
Pay special attention to this recessed area here. It’s part of the “lower rear seat pan” the trunk attaches to and is only available as the whole $500 pan.

Once I took a wire wheel to mine I found it was Swiss cheese. It’s almost like Ma Mopar designed it to hold water on purpose!

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Also, took a good look at that spot. It is a bit thin on the ends but not rotted through anywhere yet. That may change when I get to taking the paint and rust off.
 
Measurements taken. I could fit 245/60/14s on the back but think I am going to go with 235s to be safe. Going with 205/70/14s on the front. Unfortunately, fraud protection means I can't order them until tomorrow after I call the credit union....grrrrr.
 
Busy day today. Got new shocks put on front and back, then mounted proper wheels and tires. Once that was done, pulled the intake back off, stripped the paint from the gasket surfaces, then slapped it back on. Have a bit of tinkering to do with the kickdown linkage as it currently binds on the nut that holds the throttle cable. That will be tomorrow though. Also going to try and start it again, reset the timing, check vacuum, and try to get the carb dialed in. If all goes well, I'll take her for a short test drive on the back roads as I won't be able to register it till Tuesday. Also want to lower the front end a bit. It sits higher than the back. I am not sure is that is worn leaf springs or just how the ride height is set. We'll see. Leaf springs are on my to do list so I may wait until I have those on before messing with the front end ride height.
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It was nice out today so I left work early to tinker with the car. Checked to see if my vacuum leaks were fixed and they seem to be. Carb cleaner sprayed around the previously identified leaks caused no increase in RPM. Though I am still only getting 19" of vacuum, it is better than the 18 I was getting with the 2 barrel. The carb (Carter Competition Series 9635SA) likes 3 1/2 turns on the idle mixture screws to start and idle smoothly. From what I have been reading, this is a bit much. Should be between 1 and 2 turns. It also stumbles and dies on mild to medium acceleration but when I mash it to the floor from idle, it roars like no tomorrow (I love it). Thinking I need to check the float levels for a better accelerator pump shot and tune using the rods and jets to get it to smooth out. I am still new at this carb thing but am researching and learning a lot!
 
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