66 Dart Owners thread
Here's a shot of my wagon (273/auto, 72K) as it was when I got it. My Dad bought this car new in Feb. '66 and drove it until I made him stop about two years ago. He passed away in March and the car was one of the few objects I wanted from the estate.
When I went to pull it out of the garage, it started right up, but driving it was enlightening. Granted, I hadn't driven it since the '70s, but the best term i can come up with for how it felt was "nautical". It went fine but braking and steering were quite boat-like. That shed new light on my father's driving. He didn't drive like that because he was old. he drove like that because the car was old.
The tires were quite worn, and unevenly so, so i started there. I replaced the tires and had to replace an idler arm before I could get the front end aligned. I tightened up the adjuster on the steering box and that all helped quite a bit. Of course the car was still floating like it suspended with bungee cord so I put new shocks (KYB) all around.
My dad had a few mishaps in his last few years of driving -among them, a hit low on the passenger side a-piller which pushed in the lower hinge so the door didn't close properly. I took it to a body shop and they put it on a frame rack and pulled it back in line. Still has the cosmetic damage to the door and fender but the door is lined up again.
Then there was the tail-gate crank issue my Dad had been skirting for a decade. the crank had ceased grabbing the internal regulator mechanism with the glass stuck in the down position. He simply screwed a piece of plexi over the opening. I made contact through this august forum with Travis out in Sacto and he told me how to get the window out of the tail gate so I could get at the mechanism. Once out, I pulled the crack mechanism and cleaned it up and it has been working since.
Found the correct hubcaps on eBay ($20 + shipping) a couple weeks ago.
Next up is the turn signal switch. The rear left signal works but the front left and dash indicator light don't, which from looking at the schematic would indicate to me that it is the switch -which doesn't return from the down position either. haven't pulled it but I know it's not the bulb or a grounding problem at the socket as the parking light works...
Then the front seat, which is torn and crushed down, (the rear is in perfect shape). Actually thinking of eventually going to buckets with headrests -possibly a floor shifter as well.
Anyway, there you have it.
Maurice Tani
Here's a shot of my wagon (273/auto, 72K) as it was when I got it. My Dad bought this car new in Feb. '66 and drove it until I made him stop about two years ago. He passed away in March and the car was one of the few objects I wanted from the estate.
When I went to pull it out of the garage, it started right up, but driving it was enlightening. Granted, I hadn't driven it since the '70s, but the best term i can come up with for how it felt was "nautical". It went fine but braking and steering were quite boat-like. That shed new light on my father's driving. He didn't drive like that because he was old. he drove like that because the car was old.
The tires were quite worn, and unevenly so, so i started there. I replaced the tires and had to replace an idler arm before I could get the front end aligned. I tightened up the adjuster on the steering box and that all helped quite a bit. Of course the car was still floating like it suspended with bungee cord so I put new shocks (KYB) all around.
My dad had a few mishaps in his last few years of driving -among them, a hit low on the passenger side a-piller which pushed in the lower hinge so the door didn't close properly. I took it to a body shop and they put it on a frame rack and pulled it back in line. Still has the cosmetic damage to the door and fender but the door is lined up again.
Then there was the tail-gate crank issue my Dad had been skirting for a decade. the crank had ceased grabbing the internal regulator mechanism with the glass stuck in the down position. He simply screwed a piece of plexi over the opening. I made contact through this august forum with Travis out in Sacto and he told me how to get the window out of the tail gate so I could get at the mechanism. Once out, I pulled the crack mechanism and cleaned it up and it has been working since.
Found the correct hubcaps on eBay ($20 + shipping) a couple weeks ago.
Next up is the turn signal switch. The rear left signal works but the front left and dash indicator light don't, which from looking at the schematic would indicate to me that it is the switch -which doesn't return from the down position either. haven't pulled it but I know it's not the bulb or a grounding problem at the socket as the parking light works...
Then the front seat, which is torn and crushed down, (the rear is in perfect shape). Actually thinking of eventually going to buckets with headrests -possibly a floor shifter as well.
Anyway, there you have it.
Maurice Tani
