Race Inc. 73 Swinger
I hope it's OK to keep a log of my car's progress here. If it's not, let me know.
The title of the post is in reference to one of my favorite BMX bike companies ever. I always thought their logo and color scheme would look good on a hot rod. One day, I hope to have the logo done on my car as badges. Here's a pic of the logo...
I've owned my 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger for about 8 years. The majority of that time it spent disassembled in our 2 car garage. See below.
I bought the car in running and driving condition. The car is a 318/auto car. It's also a California car w/ only 84,000 original miles. Not one spec of rust on it (lucky, I know). My original intention was a 440 build. I spent several years gathering parts. As luck would have it, I aquired a 77 long block for $50. However, about the same time I sold my business and took a job in a different city. In the transition we didn't have a place to keep my Dart. Fortunatley a friend's father said I could keep it in his shop 250 miles away. I sold the 440 long block and asked my friend's father to put the car back together (stock), so I could bring it home when we found a house in our new city of residence.
As luck would have it, about the same time I'm searching ebay and find a NOS Mopar 360ci/380hp crate. A friend in my 20s had the same motor in his Sport Satelite. It was pretty nice. A couple bids later and the motor was on the way to TX from CA. Thus, the real build began about a year ago.
Current setup:
1973 Dodge Dart Swinger
Mopar Crate 360ci/380hp Motor
SMI 750cfm Holley VS/EC
GM 700R4 Transmission from Phoenix Transmission
Redesigned Chromoly Trans Crossmember
TTI Headers (suckers hang low)
TTI 2 1/2 Exhaust (w/ mods to make it fit better, Thanks Rich!)
Strange Engineering S60 Rearend w/ 3.55 gears
Competition Engineering Slide-A-Links
Helwig Sway Bars Front & Rear
Stock Small V8 T-Bars
Mopar Bolt In Subframe Connectors (bolted and welded)
Rebuilt Front Suspension
Hotchkis Leaf Springs (lowers the rear in the weeds)
Full MSD Ignition
Rear Mount Moroso Battery
Soon To Be Installed:
Torque Boxes
Chromoly Braces From Firewall to Inner Fender Shock Mounts
Plate Steel Between Interior and Trunk
17" Wheels & Tires (Possibly Cragar Series 397 or 399 rims w/ Bridgestone Potenza S-04 tires)
Cut a Hole In The Hood For Air Cleaner Clearance (possible Boss 429 scoop)
Reupholster Front Seat or Possible Sebring Covertable Leather Seats.
7/23: Got my car back from the exhaust shop (see pic)
7/30: First test drive. Dead Battery and Broken Coil Terminal Fixed. Back running again.
8/12: I drove the car for about 35 miles. It wants to sit at 70 mph on the highway and just cruise. It never ran hot, stumbled, or leaked. No problems at all.
8/13: Another 30 miles under the belt. Another 35 miles and time for me to drain the rearend break in lube.
More pics to come.
I hope it's OK to keep a log of my car's progress here. If it's not, let me know.
The title of the post is in reference to one of my favorite BMX bike companies ever. I always thought their logo and color scheme would look good on a hot rod. One day, I hope to have the logo done on my car as badges. Here's a pic of the logo...
I've owned my 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger for about 8 years. The majority of that time it spent disassembled in our 2 car garage. See below.
I bought the car in running and driving condition. The car is a 318/auto car. It's also a California car w/ only 84,000 original miles. Not one spec of rust on it (lucky, I know). My original intention was a 440 build. I spent several years gathering parts. As luck would have it, I aquired a 77 long block for $50. However, about the same time I sold my business and took a job in a different city. In the transition we didn't have a place to keep my Dart. Fortunatley a friend's father said I could keep it in his shop 250 miles away. I sold the 440 long block and asked my friend's father to put the car back together (stock), so I could bring it home when we found a house in our new city of residence.
As luck would have it, about the same time I'm searching ebay and find a NOS Mopar 360ci/380hp crate. A friend in my 20s had the same motor in his Sport Satelite. It was pretty nice. A couple bids later and the motor was on the way to TX from CA. Thus, the real build began about a year ago.
Current setup:
1973 Dodge Dart Swinger
Mopar Crate 360ci/380hp Motor
SMI 750cfm Holley VS/EC
GM 700R4 Transmission from Phoenix Transmission
Redesigned Chromoly Trans Crossmember
TTI Headers (suckers hang low)
TTI 2 1/2 Exhaust (w/ mods to make it fit better, Thanks Rich!)
Strange Engineering S60 Rearend w/ 3.55 gears
Competition Engineering Slide-A-Links
Helwig Sway Bars Front & Rear
Stock Small V8 T-Bars
Mopar Bolt In Subframe Connectors (bolted and welded)
Rebuilt Front Suspension
Hotchkis Leaf Springs (lowers the rear in the weeds)
Full MSD Ignition
Rear Mount Moroso Battery
Soon To Be Installed:
Torque Boxes
Chromoly Braces From Firewall to Inner Fender Shock Mounts
Plate Steel Between Interior and Trunk
17" Wheels & Tires (Possibly Cragar Series 397 or 399 rims w/ Bridgestone Potenza S-04 tires)
Cut a Hole In The Hood For Air Cleaner Clearance (possible Boss 429 scoop)
Reupholster Front Seat or Possible Sebring Covertable Leather Seats.
7/23: Got my car back from the exhaust shop (see pic)
7/30: First test drive. Dead Battery and Broken Coil Terminal Fixed. Back running again.
8/12: I drove the car for about 35 miles. It wants to sit at 70 mph on the highway and just cruise. It never ran hot, stumbled, or leaked. No problems at all.
8/13: Another 30 miles under the belt. Another 35 miles and time for me to drain the rearend break in lube.
More pics to come.