1969 Dart Street/Strip (Re)Build

Quite an honor considering the competition there.
Who says A bodies get no love?

There were some nice B and E body cars there too. That's why I thought it was such a surprise. There was a '71 Dart there which belongs to a friend and his car is really much nicer than mine, but mine was still picked surprisingly. I suppose for that category, it's not about how nice it is or how original or extreme, it's really just about what that particular judge liked and he apparently really liked what I did. To me that's the best award to be awarded. Anything that's people's choice or favorite.

Clint, just finished reading the whole thread!!!! Nothing but respect and admiration, I went through teething problems and my Dart is pretty much stock. But you stuck with it and what a car 10s out of the box!!!!!!! Great job!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Paul. I wasn't sure it was going to come out the way I wanted, but I think I got it close enough for now. A weekend cruiser that looks nice and will go 10's down the track. I may as well have started with a bare car really. Only thing I saved was the paint and interior, neither of which are show quality, but nice enough that I don't need to replace either at this point. Stick with it on yours. Chip away little bits at a time and you'll get there!


I sold some parts recently and have a little change now for some more parts. I have 3 things that I want to change.

The first being the radiator. I have the old style in now with a Taurus fan that doesn't really fit the radiator correctly. What I'm planning on getting is a good Aluminum radiator that will help cool better and look better as well. Working on some cooling issues, but it's not really the radiator or fan as much as it is that I'm not running a thermostat and the flow is just too fast through the system at the moment. It's not overheating, but I think it could cool better. I know a guy with access to a water jet so I'm going to have some special restrictors made to aid with the flow.

The second being a new front bumper. Mine is dented smack center of it, which bent it out of shape slightly, with some rusting coming through in spots. This is just a cosmetic upgrade.

The third is a new windshield. This one looks original and is severely scratched up and rock chipped. Removing the windshield will also get me access to a couple areas on the dash that I want to touch up with some paint that are inaccessible with the windshield in. Again a cosmetic upgrade.

In my mind, I think that the radiator should be the first thing to get changed but dang are the good ones expensive.