new member from south carolina (69 dart swinger 340)

hey guys glad i found this site. I'm not a new dart owner really but am just getting back into it. 28 year old from louisiana (living in south carolina now though). my dad grew up racing a 69 dart swinger which my uncle still has to this day in his garage, 4 speed, 340, original paint. he will not give up that car i've tried so many times to buy it back so i had to settle on another dart.

I found my '69 Dart back in 1999 when i was still in high school for $500. it had grass and weeds grown over it and it was full of trash. dad and I rescued it from the field. it didnt have a motor at the time but we knew the guy had the numbers matching 340 and 727 transmission in a dodge pickup drag truck. the guy wouldnt sale it to me. we took the dart anyways, picked up a '78 dodge diplomat police car with 318 (360 heads) and rebuilt it and 727 and i drag raced the car and drove the 318 dart on the street for a couple years. sometime between 1999 and 2001. too big of a cam and no stall converter so it was slowwww off the line, but still ran some 14's and was a blast to drive.

a few months after we got the car running the guy called and told us, come get the 340 and transmission now for $1,000 before he changes his mind. luckily i had been saving for a truck so i had the cash to deal. dad and i went over there, test drove the drag truck in the street, then proceeded to pull the motor right there in the driveway. that 340 (bored 30 over i think) and 727 has been sitting in my dad's shop since. also the dart has been sitting outside at my dads place in louisiana for all this time.

i moved to SC in 2002, got married, thought i had a baby (long story short.... she cheated on me, baby not mine, getting divorced now) which leads to where we are now. complete chaos! getting back to my roots, going to get this car from louisiana and start drag racing here in SC. got lots of parts sitting at my dads shop that he and i both got over the years and never did anything with. i'm pretty sure we have 2 or 3 727 tranmissions, maybe 1 904, that 318/727 thats in it now, the original 340/727, various other blocks, 2 or 3 sets of x-heads, a few different carbs 750 and 850's, i believe it has 4.30 gears now in the 8 3/4 rear end. i think we have a complete set of drag tires and wheels as well (maybe 9"?).

the interior is completely gutted except for the dash, i dont have headlinder or seats or door panels or anything like that. but all the glass is there, bumpers, grill (is ok), taillights, cheap headers. i will get some pics up ASAP. planning to go get the car sometime in the spring. (1500 mile roundtrip, should be fun)
although i do have a title for this car i dont really see driving it on the street, i dont know how to behave and it will result in some tickets and possibly impoundment. hahahha, so the plan for now is to just race it. I will post some pics ASAP