69 Dart GT Convertible
Here is the car I have been hard at work on since November of 2018. I have had it for nearly 25 years. Here is the story on it:
In the early 80's this car was in a wrecking yard in the Phoenix AZ area. There was flooding that year, and the car got swept into the riverbed. One of my uncles found the car, and found the wrecking yard it came from. They gave him a box of titles and said if you find the title you can have the car. Of course he did, so the car was his. He consequently gave it to his mother for money he owed her, which she did not want the car. It was passed off to her youngest son, who put a new top on it, but didn't get it running, as the engine was frozen (probably the reason it was in the wrecking yard). He passed it on to his brother, who got it running and driving ( I remember riding in it!). It was then sold around 1984 to another brother, who took the car to the Salt Lake City area and used it as a daily driver. In that time some bodywork and interior work was done as well. After about 10 years it was repurchased by the brother that sold it, and in 1994 it was taken apart to be restored. Parts were located during that time. In 1995 my uncle that owned the car passed away, and in early 1996 I purchased the car with the intentions of getting it running. Time passed and it was put on the back burner, until November 2018. That is when I started to get it running, with a goal of having it at a family reunion planned in July of 2020. I wanted to fix all the rust that would require the engine and transmission being out of the car, so I started with the inner fenders, then the floors. After that I got the suspension and engine and transmission ready. The engine compartment and underside was painted in late February of 2020, and the engine was installed in May. The car finally was running as of the middle of May, and moved under it's own power the first week of June!! Exhaust, alignment, and a ton of tuning got it so it made it to the family reunion!! Of course it had it's issues, it ran very hot, but that was fixed upon returning home. This winter I am hoping to get the body panels replaced, and maybe get it painted.
Here is the car I have been hard at work on since November of 2018. I have had it for nearly 25 years. Here is the story on it:
In the early 80's this car was in a wrecking yard in the Phoenix AZ area. There was flooding that year, and the car got swept into the riverbed. One of my uncles found the car, and found the wrecking yard it came from. They gave him a box of titles and said if you find the title you can have the car. Of course he did, so the car was his. He consequently gave it to his mother for money he owed her, which she did not want the car. It was passed off to her youngest son, who put a new top on it, but didn't get it running, as the engine was frozen (probably the reason it was in the wrecking yard). He passed it on to his brother, who got it running and driving ( I remember riding in it!). It was then sold around 1984 to another brother, who took the car to the Salt Lake City area and used it as a daily driver. In that time some bodywork and interior work was done as well. After about 10 years it was repurchased by the brother that sold it, and in 1994 it was taken apart to be restored. Parts were located during that time. In 1995 my uncle that owned the car passed away, and in early 1996 I purchased the car with the intentions of getting it running. Time passed and it was put on the back burner, until November 2018. That is when I started to get it running, with a goal of having it at a family reunion planned in July of 2020. I wanted to fix all the rust that would require the engine and transmission being out of the car, so I started with the inner fenders, then the floors. After that I got the suspension and engine and transmission ready. The engine compartment and underside was painted in late February of 2020, and the engine was installed in May. The car finally was running as of the middle of May, and moved under it's own power the first week of June!! Exhaust, alignment, and a ton of tuning got it so it made it to the family reunion!! Of course it had it's issues, it ran very hot, but that was fixed upon returning home. This winter I am hoping to get the body panels replaced, and maybe get it painted.
