Gamedog Dave's 1970 "BIG SWINGER" Build Thread

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Gamedog

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Hey Guys!

So I've been kicking around the idea of putting together a build thread for my car and figured I might as well do it. The aim of the build will be a "streetable pro-touring strip" car that I can drive daily, "swing" around the corners and rip down the strip whenever I feel the urge. Hence the "Big Swinger" name... Well, that and I like how the name leaves it open for interpretation.

The car is a 1970 Dart Swinger that started life as a 225/904/7-1/4" car with factory power brakes, power steering and A/C. I'm the third owner and received the car with a binder full of old receipts and records from the prior owners. Pretty sweet. I bought it off a Marine in Twentynine Palms, CA who was deploying soon and didn't want to pay to store it. The car came with a freshly honed 360 bored .30 over, stock crank, stock SpeedPro Pistons, complete valvetrain, rebuilt heads, pretty much everything needed to get it running like a stock rebuild. Also came with the matching 904 transmission, driveshaft and a freshly rebuilt A-Body 8-3/4" rear with a 2.76 non-posi 742 third member. Got it all for a smokin' deal.

Here it is the first day I bought it and got it towed home:

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The "extras" that came with it:

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It was driveable, but the brakes were pretty sketchy and I didn't want to chance the 120 mile drive back home.

As soon as I got it back in San Diego, I did a quick check on all suspension components, changed the oil and adjusted the brakes.

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Drove it around for a few months this way while sourcing new go fast parts for the motor. I ended up building the motor myself, always wanted to. I built the top end of the 360 I put together for my first Dart, so I figured I'd go for the gold with this build and do it all.

So as I said, drove it for a few months, then this happened:

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Then this happened:

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After a quick cleaning:

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At this point, I considered painting the engine bay black, but ended up keeping the "patina" look.

Here's the stage the engine was in when the slanty gave out on me:

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Not quite ready to be dropped in...

At this point, I'd already built the bottom end. I ditched the "stock" rebuild parts and went with a 4.00" Scat Crank, Scat H-Beam Rods, Speed-Pro Hypereutectic Pistons, installed the Isky 485/280 Mega Cam and supporting valvetrain, and installed the heads.

I'm building this car with the intention of it being more of a fun daily driver than a "race car". Having that mindset, I decided to stick with the stock heads and got them ported/polished along with a 3 angle valve job at Arce's Angines in El Cajon, CA (good outfit). If (when) I decide to, I can always get a set of IMM Engine's RHS X Heads or even a set of aluminum heads and just swap over the valvetrain.

While continuing to piece the motor together, I swapped out the old rear with the new 8-3/4. I swapped out the 742 peg-leg third member for a 489 Suregrip with stupid high 4.30 gears (came with the 3rd Member). I'll be switching out the gears to something a bit more streetable in the coming month or so...

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Size matters.

Also got the 904 transmission that came with the motor rebuilt by Mike's Transmission in Menifee:

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Pretty ain't it? Too bad it'll be under the car and no one will ever see it.

He did a complete rebuild, shift kit, red alto clutches, kevlar bands, the whole 9. All for $525. Stand up guy who does a kick *** job at an honest price. If anyone wants his number, PM me. Would recommend him to everyone. I ended up going with a Hughes 2500 27-25HD converter.

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I kicked around the idea of keeping the block orange or changing it up...

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Changed it up. "But dude, it's not a FORD!" I know. I like it though and that's what matters.

Here's a picture of my balding brother grinding away at the K-Member to accommodate the Milodon pan:

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Because sparks are cool.

After buttoning up the last few bits of the motor, I dropped in the Doug's Headers and slid the motor in:

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It was definitely Miller Time when this milestone was reached.

Random Darth Mopar shot:

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While finishing up the motor, I kept staring at the ugly as sin brake booster that stuck out like a turd in a punch bowl. Ended up getting rid of it and converted to manual.

At this point, the motor was starting to come together nicely, and the more I looked at it, the more I didn't want the "patina" look anymore. I didn't want to pull the motor and repaint the bay, so I sucked it up and carried on. I did however end up changing the pulleys because A: They were ugly and B: The Milodon HV Water Pump was making the water pump pulley rub against the crank pulley.

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The pulleys, along with about $2,000 worth of other random "hard to find" Mopar parts were all sourced from Bob Mazzolini Racing in Riverside, CA. Bob has those rare parts that no one seems to have, and sells them at honest prices. Great guy, always answers and is very accommodating. Last of a dying breed for sure.

Also got the bench seat reupholstered:

Before:
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After:
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Much better.

While the bench was out, I took the opportunity and installed a new carpet:

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Found a total of 3 build sheets. Pretty sweet.

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Part 2 of 1st post:

I Installed the 4-Row Champion Radiator, belts, hoses and switched to the Saginaw power steering setup simply for the fact that these pumps are easier to find should I ever have an issue.

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Got her fired up a couple weeks ago and man oh man let me tell you, there is nothing like the feeling of hearing the motor you built with your own bare hands fire up for the first time! Man tears were shed. Not really, but pretty close. Broke in the cam using Lucas Break-In Oil and found out I had a decent leak in one of the welds on the Milodon oil pan (WTF).

Got the driveshaft shortened and balanced, dialed in the timing, and took her out for a spin last week for the first time since being sidelined in early January. Felt dam good. Throttle response was great, tranny shifted solid and pissed off a lot of people (so dam loud).

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Miller Time again.

I went to Jesse's Muffler in Lemon Grove and got the exhaust installed a couple of days ago. Went with Spintech Sportsman 3000's, 2.5" piping and an X Pipe. Pleased with the results:

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Quick and dirty sound clip:

http://vid285.photobucket.com/albums/ll76/DTG37S/20170322_161207_zps5gwd2a3o.mp4

Seems I have a bit of a carb tuning issue. I ended up rebuilding a 650 Holley DP that I had on the shelf, and feel like it is the culprit. The motor runs great at idle and when under load, but when I keep the throttle at a certain position, it starts to make a bit of a "popping" sound out of the exhaust. Maybe too much fuel? Not sure. I'll be digging into the carb this afternoon to see what I can work out.


All in all, so far it's been a hell of an experience. Roller coaster of emotions. I had some situations were stuff would fall right into place, and some where I felt should fall into place and turned out to be the biggest pains in the *** (shifter cable routing anyone?). The experience I've gained from this has been the biggest plus to it all. To say "I built that motor" is a huge feeling of accomplishment. I'm nowhere near being done, with my next area I will focus on will be my suspension. I have a Hotchkis TVS Kit on the way and will be installing within the next week or so depending on how my schedule works out.

I plan on driving it up to Vegas for Mopars at the Strip and aim to have the suspension and new gears done before then. I have less than a month so I have to stay busy.

Thanks for any of you who have read this far. I'll continue to update, but will promise to be less wordy in future posts. This was more of a "recap" of what I've done so far. Feel free to ask questions if there are any, I know I skipped a lot. I have a ton more pictures that I decided against posting, but can post if there are any that might pertain to any questions or comments received.

Oh - and the "BGSWNGR" License Plate is in the process of being made as I type :)

Cheers and beers!

Gamedog Dave
 
Gamedog you got it goin' on!!!! That is what I would like to do with my 69 Dart.
Awesome build!
 
Gamedog....you are a great PR guy. When I saw "Big Swinger" ....I had to look.

nice score on the well preserved "Swinger"
 
With the exhaust on, I was able to identify how noisy the rockers were.

Ended up picking up some 15 mil chromoly spacers from Bob Mazzolini Racing and threw them on in all conditions where I had some play between the Comp Cams rockers and the spacers provided in the kit.

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Tightened them back down to about 1-1/2 threads showing beneath the rockers and they're nice and quiet now.
 
Well boys, I ended up switching out the Holley 650 DP for a Holley 750 Vacuum Secondaries. I just could not get the double pumper tuned correctly and decided to swap over to the 750. After doing so, I noticed an immediate improvement. Not only in my throttle response and driveability, but in sound and smell as well (not running as rich).

As I was driving it on the highway this past Sunday, smoke started billowing out from underneath the car. I pulled off and noticed that my oil pan was leaking at the timing cover/oil pan seal area. BAD. I noticed oil was literally shooting out of the little holes where the gasket is to be held onto the pan. I'm running the 1 piece rubber gasket, which do not have the "nipples" that go through those holes. Pretty shitty.

That being said, I'll be removing the motor this week to drop the pan and will be sending it to Milodon for them to replace (factory weld failed during break-in). Milodon said they'd replace no questions asked (pretty awesome).

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I'll be going with the 4-piece Fel-Pro Gasket setup as I've been told they came from the factory like this for a reason.

I was planning on swapping out the third member and installing my TVS system, but those tasks have been put on hold until I get this motor back in.
 
Update...

Installed the new Milodon pan, HV oil pump and dropped the motor/trans back in. Used the 4-piece oil pan gasket deal. I upped the efficiency a bit by installing a 1/8" bead of "The Right Stuff" directly onto the pan and onto the block surface, which sandwiched the cork/rubber gaskets. Not a single drop of oil after it started right back up.

Took it to the a local dyno shop to get it tuned to run as good as possible. Timing was adjusted, jets were swapped, and distributor springs/bushings were tinkered with to get the best throttle response and overall performance.

Very pleased with how the car is running now, however I do have a decent exhaust leak at cylinders 3 & 5. Will be addressing it this afternoon (utilizing more of "The Right Stuff") and will take it back to the dyno shop to ensure all A/F ratios are still inline.

Hotchkis TVS Suspension is next!
 
Cool deal! Getting ready to swap the motor and tranny in my 70 Dart. Let me know if you want a spare 904 as I'm going with a 727. I'm out in Lakeside.
 
Cool deal! Getting ready to swap the motor and tranny in my 70 Dart. Let me know if you want a spare 904 as I'm going with a 727. I'm out in Lakeside.

Good luck! Cool to see another SD member on here. There's very few of us it seems.

I'm all set for now with my 904. Maybe throw an ad up on here or Craigslist to see if you have anyone interested.
 
Good luck! Cool to see another SD member on here. There's very few of us it seems.

I'm all set for now with my 904. Maybe throw an ad up on here or Craigslist to see if you have anyone interested.

Thanks Man! Might try the craigslist thing or just may take it and the 318 to the scrap yard.

Once everything is swapped I'll put up some ac and disk brakes stuff for sale on here.
 
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