68 Dart Project.

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my favorite "go to" thread when a fresh hit of Mopar hot roddin' is needed.
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Thanks! Yes there's nothing better than a daily helping of mopar! You used the term hot rodding and rightly so. Hot Rodding is Art, Restoration is Paint by Numbers. When I had welded on those new AMD quarters and then took a zip cutter to them, that had to be my artistic fork in the road moment. Lol
 
The Dart reached a milestone today, it came down off the rotisserie.

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Suspension parts painted and ready to start going on
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K frame ready to go back into place.
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Dana parts will be showing up this week and can go together.
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Fenders and doors need to be trimmed out still. Soon. Should be back on wheels by March.

wow, I just love watching this thread and build. Heck I would follow a thread on how you built that K-member alone. That thing looks better than all the tube k-members I have seen online.
Keep up the good work! Both on the dart and on entertaining all of us!
 
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Thanks! Yes there's nothing better than a daily helping of mopar! You used the term hot rodding and rightly so. Hot Rodding is Art, Restoration is Paint by Numbers. When I had welded on those new AMD quarters and then took a zip cutter to them, that had to be my artistic fork in the road moment. Lol

I hear ya'....I get forked all the time. Best part of hot roddin!

:)
 
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A cold week but there's still some action going on with the Dart.

Trimmed out the fenders a couple days ago
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Today the doors got trimmed out. Interior will be black.
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These temperatures are ridiculous! This was this morning.
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caveat to my thumbs up: That temperature just ain't right...I know it's something you just either adapt to endure or deal with, but I'm glad I don't deal with that...
 
caveat to my thumbs up: That temperature just ain't right...I know it's something you just either adapt to endure or deal with, but I'm glad I don't deal with that...
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Doors and fenders are on to stay.
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Black goes with the B5 Blue Pearl nicely.
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Time to start hanging the suspension!
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Time for an update on the Dart. Check it out.

It was time to get at the Dana. Spent a little time and made a bolt-on bracket for the work bench. Running 3.54 gears on a spool with 35 spline axles.
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I made a set of dummy bearings for the initial set up and that was the best thing a guy could have done, besides polishing up the pinion at the front bearing area.
This is the 1st Dana I've been into so it was slow going. I also re-used the 3.54's that came with the dana. Ended up moving the pinion deeper and on the 4th time I was able to get a good tooth pattern even though it was tough to see the pattern. I read that with used gears it's tougher to see the pattern for some reason.
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Dana ready to go under the Dart. Perches and pinion angle will be finished much much later. This Dana was narrowed and built 100% at home. Parts came from Doctor Diff, very economical, the rear brakes cost as much as the Dana.
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Fortunately a buddy stopped by for a visit, perfect timing, made getting the Dana in place easy.
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Split mono leafs, Cal tracs, Sliders and QA1 Dble Adjustable shocks will work well under the rear. Will get it centered, u-bolts on, etc.
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Also got a start putting the front suspension under. All parts are finished in Endura paint. 2 days to dry up good but extremely durable.
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Wilwood brakes going on up front too. Should be a decent braking system.
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Will be back at it tomorrow, should have some tires under the Dart soon now. Another big benchmark coming up and the next pictures will be on wheels.
 
More progress on the Dart today, some pics:

A shot from underneath looking back. Front suspension and K frame is done.
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Pedals went in today along with some brackets, etc.
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Rear master switch mounted, made into a push / pull type and rod will come out between the deck lid / tail light section.
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Getting the battery box and fuel cell into place. Realize just now that I've got to get the deck lid hinges and rods installed first... out these come again...
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Fuel line exits out and toward the pump that will be located ahead of the tub.
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Fuel line is run to the front. It enters into the frame, through the frame connectors and exits up at the torsion bar crossmember. Grommets, pump, still need to be installed.
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Rims are 15 X 12's with a 5.5 back space. In this picture they are spaced out an inch, which gets the tires out to about where I want them. So a 15 X 12 , 4.5 BS is what it will end up being. These Hoosiers are 29 X 12's with 12" tread and a 13.8" bulge.
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Once the car comes off the stands the rear should drop about 2.5" putting the rear tire spacing right where it needs to be.

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Been making headway on the Dart.

Fuel cell, Battery box, Master Shut off switch all connected. Built a small panel that holds a voltmeter, on / off gauge switch and located the fuel pump relay as well. Easy to replace or trouble shoot.
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Fuel pump installed and plumbed. Also installed a fuel shut off valve in the line along with a fuel filter. Capped off the Dana with chrome.
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Brake lines fabricated. Line lock installed, stock MC, although that will likely get swapped out.
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Mounted a panel on the firewall for electrical components. Will still run the stock wire harness, this is just for the additional upgrade items.
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And got a start on the dash. Spent a long time figuring out whether I was going to fit gauges into the centre or not. Ended up that the gauges will go under at the ash tray area. Top pad is bad, although the lower pads are perfect mint, and that's a good thing. Will be looking into a cap for the top.
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Dash stunk like mouse piss when coming apart. Spray 9 took care of that. Will be making some delete covers for the radio and heater control.
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This past week or so I've been working on the Dart dash. Update pics below..

Dash is coming apart. The top pad has a brutal crack in it, although it is nice and solid and something to work with. The lower pads are in mint shape so that's a bonus. Trying to determine where to mount the gauges, was thinking of building an angled gauge holder, ended up though, gauges are going below at the ash tray area..
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Dash is apart and getting ready for paint.
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Base coat on.
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Clear coat on. I had a little bit of Glasurit Clear in the bottom of a can which was enough to give the dash a few good coats. The back side got it too.
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Dash components. Decided to go straight black. I did have it trimmed out with chrome paint but it just didn't cut it. So it was either send the pieces away or this. (When I did my 64 I had all the pieces re-chromed, looked nice but was also a small fortune)
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A quick shot of the back side. Yeah, the inside is also base / clearcoat...
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Dash in place. Also finished the top in low gloss before it got bolted in.
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Dash in place, ready to start the electrical. Padding will go on last.
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The aluminum plate that holds the MSD, relays, solenoid, etc, up and out of site.
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Next up, check all circuits and switches, build a gauge bracket and a few other odds and ends. Getting close to starting to wind down on the Dart and putting away until fall. It's almost time to getting the 64 home and ready for the upcoming season!
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The other car.. Have installed a Triple adjustable outlaw ladder bar set up with Strange Dble Adj. coil overs after the last race day. (This picture is still on leaf springs).
So for 2019, gone are the split mono's, cal tracs and dble adjustable shocks and starting fresh on ladders.
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132.18 MPH / 10.12 ET
 
This past week or so I've been working on the Dart dash. Update pics below..

Dash is coming apart. The top pad has a brutal crack in it, although it is nice and solid and something to work with. The lower pads are in mint shape so that's a bonus. Trying to determine where to mount the gauges, was thinking of building an angled gauge holder, ended up though, gauges are going below at the ash tray area..
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Dash is apart and getting ready for paint.
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Base coat on.
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Clear coat on. I had a little bit of Glasurit Clear in the bottom of a can which was enough to give the dash a few good coats. The back side got it too.
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Dash components. Decided to go straight black. I did have it trimmed out with chrome paint but it just didn't cut it. So it was either send the pieces away or this. (When I did my 64 I had all the pieces re-chromed, looked nice but was also a small fortune)
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A quick shot of the back side. Yeah, the inside is also base / clearcoat...
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Dash in place. Also finished the top in low gloss before it got bolted in.
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Dash in place, ready to start the electrical. Padding will go on last.
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The aluminum plate that holds the MSD, relays, solenoid, etc, up and out of site.
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Next up, check all circuits and switches, build a gauge bracket and a few other odds and ends. Getting close to starting to wind down on the Dart and putting away until fall. It's almost time to getting the 64 home and ready for the upcoming season!
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The other car.. Have installed a Triple adjustable outlaw ladder bar set up with Strange Dble Adj. coil overs after the last race day. (This picture is still on leaf springs).
So for 2019, gone are the split mono's, cal tracs and dble adjustable shocks and starting fresh on ladders.
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132.18 MPH / 10.12 ET

Both cars rock ,really dig the 64 !!
 
The Dart project is going into hibernation now until next fall, when racing season is over. A few pictures of where it got to.

Dash is in, completed except the top pad. All electrical, switches, relays, etc checked and good to go.
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Dart is off the hoist and rolled outside for first time since dragging it home last Oct 1st. Sitting on 15 X 4 and 15 X 10 steel wheels with 28's up front and 315 ET Streets on the back.
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6 cylinder front torsion bars, split leaf calvert / cal tracs under the rear with dble adj. shocks.
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Narrowed Dana ended up being 46.375 total width (housing). Loads of room for more wheel / rubber. Glad that I took the time to raise the spare tire area, no hiding that beefy Dana.
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Inserts installed on both sides of the crossbar for shoulder harnesses. Interior will be stock and complete, including rear seat.
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Brakes, fuel lines, wipers and wire harness finished in the engine compartment. Ready to set a motor in place.
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Project Dart's resting spot now until next October. Thanks for following along guys and the useful tips along the way.
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Wow this post was way back about page 12! Figured I had better pull it out and dust it off! That's because a guy's getting ready to bring the Dart back home now that the racing season is wrapping up. Have been grabbing a few parts here and there though in the meantime.

Jegs got rattled last week.
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Rear tires showed up
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12's with the right offset will put things right where they need to be.
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And finishing up a fun season with the old Plymouth. Legal to go 10.0 and stayed out of trouble all year except once with a 9.97
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Itching to get the Dart home - about October and then the fun reconvenes! Back soon.
 
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Been working on a 68 Dart that I picked up a little while back. I started on it the beginnning of October and figured that I would start a thread and post some occasional updates for those that are interested. Will go back and start at the beginning, adding pics and will get caught up to current progress in the following days.

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About a year ago I started thinking about maybe picking up an old Dart to fix up that would keep me busy. A hobby Dart sort of project, that I would work away at over the winter months with no deadline. Retired, and living in Canada, winters can be long. So having a heated garage is a must! To add to the project, there's an 11 year old Grandson who is itching to be part of the project and who has plans of his own 5 or 6 years down the road... The grandson is no stranger to Mopars, and racing, as he comes along with me in the summer months when we hit the local track with an old Plymouth.

So in the hunt for an old Dart a few were dug up. It didn't take long to find that anything out there had a ridiculous price and all in need of major repair. Complete floor pans, trunks, exterior sheet metal and so on. Months went by and eventually I heard about one, a 67, located just over the border in MT. Approx April of this year I whipped over and had a look. It turned out to be a 68, not a 67 and it had been sitting for a very long time. It needed work, but amazingly in pretty good overall condition, considering... I contacted the owner and yep, he would sell his lawn ornament. He had long lost the keys, the title and had no interest in finding or replacing either. A few pictures when first looking at the Dart.

Tires flat and rotted. No idea of how many years it had sat in this spot.
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A GT. Slant 6, buckets, no console, column shift. 100% complete.
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Headlights bust out and a bent front bumper. Parked behind an old Church, and home to church mice..
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Damage to the left fender, left door and quarter panel. Obviously taken off the road decades ago because of an accident.
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A deal was made. 2 problems though. The title was long lost and the owner couldn't be bothered to obtain a replacement. No problem, I'll just replace the title on my own. Wrong, in order to obtain a title I needed to be a MT resident. So the Dart was bought as parts and that's the way it came home, in parts. Some pics.

Spent a day in late August disassembling and loaded up a trailer full of parts.
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Grandson was right into it and that was fine with me!
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Amazingly, only 1 or 2 bolts gave any trouble. It came apart like a breeze, came with a full tank of gas too. Whew..
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Damaged quarter panel. The fender and door also had some damage, not too bad. In the back seat however was a mint left front fender that went with the car! Now the plan was to remove the rear seat and pop the trunk from the inside (no keys). When we removed the rear seat, damned, the trunk was full... No climbing in.... Thank goodness I just happened to have a set of long extensions with me, we undid the trunk lock and we were in. And as luck would have it, a mint left side door was in the trunk!
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With a trailer load of dart parts we headed home, crossed the border, said the trailer was full of old Mopar parts and we were waved on, all good.. A couple of weeks later we headed back again for the carcass. Crossing the border, no issues, carry on. Not wanting the motor / trans, I took the engine hoist along and that was left behind.

You can see by the grass where the Dart sat. As was the deal, the motor / trans was left behind and we took a minute to make sure it was left in it's exact spot! The owner laughed and said he's gonna call the mayor and say the car vanished except for the driveline. Aliens!
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October first the Dart was rolled into the garage and the project got into full swing. Stay tuned.

Man, what a sad sight, ol' slanty left to rust by it's self.
 
Wow! Just read this whole thread! Excellent job you’re doing! Can’t wait to see more!
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Thanks 75! I've been excited to get started on it again. Will likely be setting the poly paint booth up again, likely November some time.

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It's that time. The Dart came home yesterday and it's time to start messing around with that once again.
Racing season is over and time to switch from B body to A body.
It's probably best to get that RB set in place first, engine plate, trans mount, drive shaft hoop cross member figured out and see how much work those Doug's D452's headers might need to fit. Yep, the plan is starting. A couple of pics.. Stay tuned.

Dart is back home. I bolted the Pro Stars on for motivation.
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Not much left to do back here. Tires fit real nice, 3/4" room on the inside, lots.
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Gonna have to peel off the W/P housing, alt, etc, going With an engine plate up front.
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The B body is tucked away, was a great summer, 10.0's @ 133mph and 1.33 60's.
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Hell yeah. Love the tall tire. Looks pretty close though. Any concern with it rubbing?
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Thanks! It's got to have a full fender of rubber! It's got 1/2" space at it's closest point so I'm not too worried about it, there is the support rod to install too once I get to that point.
 
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