New 1964 owner with many questions

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808-dartGT

808-dartGT

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Hey guys, I bought this ‘64 dart slant six. It was not running, but I got it running, still needs voltage regulator (not charging). Questions I have for now are;
1. No power drum brakes are they adequate for a daily driver?
2. Is it worth buying JEGS steel brake lines vs making your own (my thought is I don’t have to buy tools )
3. Is there any source to buy stainless trims, taillights, etc.
4. Is Borg Warner electronic ignition kit EI-6 worth buying? Is there better options without spending hundreds of dollars
5. Does anyone makes complete exhaust for slant 6?
Thank you for looking!
 
808-dartGT said:
Hey guys, I bought this ‘64 dart slant six. It was not running, but I got it running, still needs voltage regulator (not charging). Questions I have for now are;
1. No power drum brakes are they adequate for a daily driver?
2. Is it worth buying JEGS steel brake lines vs making your own (my thought is I don’t have to buy tools )
3. Is there any source to buy stainless trims, taillights, etc.
4. Is Borg Warner electronic ignition kit EI-6 worth buying? Is there better options without spending hundreds of dollars
5. Does anyone makes complete exhaust for slant 6?
Thank you for looking!
Click to expand...
1. The drum brakes (9" if original) will be okay, but if you need new drums, may want to upgrade to 10" or discs. Dual master cylinder would be good idea.
2. I made my own, but had tools.
3. Have you tried Classic.
4. Would keep points distributor.
5. Don't know, but someone probably does.
 
9 drums suck but they work, but barely in my opinion. manual gives a better feel, power is not really necessary
if you got the money, prebent lines are 'drop in' flaring brake lines requires the tools and get the softer brake line, stainless wont flare easily with cheap flare tools
only source for stainless is used, lots of guys here sell this stuff.
electronic ignition was stock so its easy to find the stuff used cheap, like $20 for an electronic distributor and another $10 for the ECU
complete exhaust can be found new, even manifolds. Upgrade to 2.25 head pipe.
 
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Reproduction tail light lens are available. Only original stainless trim available. 170, 270, GT, 2 or 4 door?
Pertronix should make electronic ignition to eliminate points using stock distributor. I don't
believe tail light bezels are reproduced.
 
Thank you for replies, I’m trying to keep it as original as possible, it’s a 2door gt convertible
 
As for Tail lights, Layson's is supposed to be getting some next month if the email I got is accurate. They aren't cheap but they are difficult to find in good shape. I have a pair on order now.
 
Drum brakes are fine as long as you drive "normal".

Brake lines are ok to buy prebent but I make my own (cheap).

No reason to ditch the points. Hundreds of millions of vehicles got by for 100 years with them.

Close those fancy catalogs and erase all the bookmarks to parts sellers... You will save thousands and still have a nice car.
 
Thank you guys, I have a stupid question, my Dart doesn’t have any cable to pop the hood and I have no idea what was original set up. To open the hood I have to reach in from the outside. If anyone has pictures of how it’s supposed to be, I would appreciate it! Thank you
 
Krooser said:
Drum brakes are fine as long as you drive "normal".

Brake lines are ok to buy prebent but I make my own (cheap).

No reason to ditch the points. Hundreds of millions of vehicles got by for 100 years with them.

Close those fancy catalogs and erase all the bookmarks to parts sellers... You will save thousands and still have a nice car.
Click to expand...
 
I like that, only thing is I cannot find everything I need and being in Hawaii even worse, because most of the stuff can’t even ship here ( if they do , they charge arm and leg)
 
eBay has a lot of trim for the '64s on there now, but it's expensive.

The hood latch is outside under the front of the hood in the middle, that's the way it was in '64 for all Mopars.

You may want to post any 1964-specific questions under the "Early A body" forum since that's where us early A body guys tend to look.
 
Thank you , I’ll try posting in a right place

so anyone can walk up and pop the hood?
 
so anyone can walk up and pop the hood?[/QUOTE]
Yeah, it was the 60's, not as many douchebags walking around EVERYWHERE back then
Well into the 80's I just left my keys in the car in case anybody needed to move it. Nobody wanted the **** I was driving anyway.
 
I like the drum brakes on my 64. They stop the car fine. Not like it can go fast anyway with a stock slant six. I put new wheel cylinders, hardware kits, shoes and drums on the car. It stops fine. I haven't put the dual master cylinder on, but I plan to.

Where in the world did you find that antique ignition system? I don't think that's been made in decades. I guess if it works, use it.......but what's wrong with the point distributor?
 
Where in the world did you find that antique ignition system?
Im guessing he bought the one on ebay yesterday
 
Thread moved to "Early A Body Discussions"
 
i just bought a 64, i converted to MBM power brakes and front disc using the existing small bolt pattern. brakes are GREAT
 
Welcome.
Cool car; post pics if you can.

Questions:
1. No power drum brakes are they adequate for a daily driver?
- Barely, you can get by if you stay alert and anticipate the awful drivers and people texting. And an upgrade to front disc brakes requires at least 14” wheels from your 13” ones.

2. Is it worth buying JEGS steel brake lines vs making your own (my thought is I don’t have to buy tools )
- Im Not sure.

3. Is there any source to buy stainless trims, taillights, etc.
- only used, this is the big frustration with all these pre-‘66 A-body cars, good exterior trim is difficult to obtain and there aren’t too many reproduction pieces available

4. Is Borg Warner electronic ignition kit EI-6 worth buying? Is there better options without spending hundreds of dollars
- looks of good affordable alternatives

5. Does anyone makes complete exhaust for slant 6?
-yes:
http://waldronexhaust.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=61_52_113
 
RustyRatRod said:
Where in the world did you find that antique ignition system? I don't think that's been made in decades. I guess if it works, use it.......but what's wrong with the point distributor?
Click to expand...
Rusty, what did I miss here? Did OP buy a Spaulding flame thrower ignition or something? Points tickling a multi spark box, good stuff on a slow burning slant.
 
I think the brake lines end up costing too much to ship more than they're worth? The weird long box... I think that's the reason most people just bend their own.. in my opinion it's utterly ridiculous to fiddle with points at this day and age. It's just not necessary. One less thing to worry about.. is there a get a distributor that has an electronic ignition like said probably very cheap or an ignition module to replace your points..
 
pishta said:
Rusty, what did I miss here? Did OP buy a Spaulding flame thrower ignition or something? Points tickling a multi spark box, good stuff on a slow burning slant.
Click to expand...

Naw, It was BWD EI6 electronic ignition conversion. It included the control box, wiring harness, and parts to convert a points distributor to an electronic. It was a nice kit but hasn't been made in forever. Kinda cool to see one again. Looks like this.

EI6 BWD.jpg
 
I recently did a lot of this stuff so I'll comment on what I did and what I would do if I did it over.

1) No power drum brakes are fine, I would avoid rush hour but they are plenty for a cruiser. The 9" brakes will lock up the stock size tire so there is that to consider. I would only upgrade that if I wanted bigger tires/wheels. Something I did do was upgrade to the 67 or 68 (can't remember year) brake hardware and matching shoes. The newer design is less likely to rust up and cause adjuster problems. I also used finned drums from a 70's a body that are a direct replacement but should start brake fade later as they cool better.

2)I bought steel brake lines from Inline tube, they had a sale at Xmas time last year but I forgot what I paid. They ship bent in half in a few places with instructions to bend them back out to proper dimensions. Overall a good product (upgrade to a dual master) but I would likely buy the tool and do it myself next time, it was still hard to get prebent tube over to pass side brake.

3)Trim you need to keep an eye out on used stuff or restore what you got.

4)I rebuilt my distributor (fairly easy if you don't need to replace bushings). The rock solid option is convert to HEI with electronic dist and GM branded modules, but I chose to go Pertronix 2, as it was cheap and used my current dist. Also looks 100% stock if that matters to you. HEI needs room on a fender or on the firewall.

5) I bought a TTI exhaust for slants and wouldn't do it again. Fitment wasn't great and needed dents and still doesn't have great ground clearance. I was told it was designed for a 67 up a body. If I did it over I would have a local exhaust shop bend me up a whole set and I am sure it would be a neater job.
 
808-dartGT said:
Hey guys, I bought this ‘64 dart slant six.
Click to expand...

Cool. Tune-up parts and technique suggestions in this post. See to the valve adjustment, too.

1. No power drum brakes are they adequate for a daily driver?
Click to expand...

Power or none, the 9-inch drum brakes were adequate for the lightweight '64 Valiant in 1964 traffic. They were questionably adequate on the larger, heavier Dart, and their inadequacy grew less and less arguable as the cars got heavier and the traffic got denser. There's a variety of good options for upgrading. See this thread (login required and worthwhile).

2. Is it worth buying JEGS steel brake lines vs making your own (my thought is I don’t have to buy tools )
Click to expand...

Save yourself an enormous amount of hassle; www.cunifer.com instead of steel. Also do the Fuel line mod.

3. Is there any source to buy stainless trims, taillights, etc.
Click to expand...

See here and here and here for advice on where to (and where not to) buy parts.

4. Is Borg Warner electronic ignition kit EI-6 worth buying? Is there better options without spending hundreds of dollars
Click to expand...

Do the HEI upgrade .

5. Does anyone makes complete exhaust for slant 6?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you're better off getting a better-than-stock setup built by a good local exhaust shop. Good recipe is here; it works just as well (with a 2-1/4" headpipe) for an upgraded stock single exhaust.
 
slantsixdan said:
Cool. Tune-up parts and technique suggestions in this post. See to the valve adjustment, too.



Power or none, the 9-inch drum brakes were adequate for the lightweight '64 Valiant in 1964 traffic. They were questionably adequate on the larger, heavier Dart, and their inadequacy grew less and less arguable as the cars got heavier and the traffic got denser. There's a variety of good options for upgrading. See this thread (login required and worthwhile).



Save yourself an enormous amount of hassle; www.cunifer.com instead of steel. Also do the Fuel line mod.



See here and here and here for advice on where to (and where not to) buy parts.



Do the HEI upgrade .



Yes, but you're better off getting a better-than-stock setup built by a good local exhaust shop. Good recipe is here; it works just as well (with a 2-1/4" headpipe) for an upgraded stock single exhaust.
Click to expand...
That’s good information, on thing about exhaust , I don’t want loud, little rumble is ok, but I want comfortable quiet ride
 
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