Eeeee! My dart works!
Hello everyone! I'm so excited that I had to post a thread to mark the day my 66 dart FINALLY reached road worthiness!!! I can't call her restored quite yet but I am now the proud mama of a happy, healthy, well adjusted daily driver! I would like to list the symptoms that my "mechanic" missed along with the solutions and I think you will agree that this mopar chick has come a long way on an impossibly thin budget! :cheers:
Lets start with a brief vehicle history. I bought my 1966 Dodge Dart 270 for $500 when I was in high school. It rested in peace for a few years until my brother-in-law offered to fix her up as his daily driver. Eventually he warped the head and she sat for a while before I could afford a rebuild. A friend offered to do the work in his spare time for free if I could supply parts. Several setbacks later I hopped in what I was told was a rebuilt car that could safely shuttle me around town. She was blowing a little white smoke but sounded okay to me so I ran her up to the corner to get gas and this is where the adventure begins...
After filling my tank and stuffing the old rag that I call my gas cap back into position I hopped back in and eagerly turned my key in the ignition. *nothing*
My new roommate was there to save the day and hot-wired her so that we could get back home. On the way home she died several times and overheated badly. She got harder and harder to start and her performance almost instantly degraded from rough idling to "one sick puppy". My roomie didn't know much about slant sixes but he agreed to take a look at the wiring and has been a loyal partner in this project ever since. Thank you David!!!
On with the diagnosis! I replaced my ignition switch and opened every wire bundle under the hood to verify that everything was connected right. At this point I found that a shop had put the coil in backwards and added an extra condenser to make it work. The PO had installed an aftermarket ammeter by running a wire thru a post crimper, bending it over once, and pulling vacuum tubing over the whole mess. A few wire caps and a re-wired firewall harness later I had a constant 3 volt gain at my coil.
My coil wired correctly, the red wire is the extra condenser:
So now electrical is better but she still wont start.
The throttle response on my old Holly 1920 carburetor was shot so I thought I'd start with a carb rebuild. I dunked all metal parts in a cleaning basket, wiped em down, and blew all passages out with compressed air.
Dirty carb:
Clean parts:
All done:
She still wouldn't start! Ugh! Okay what now?
I popped the cap off of my distributor and noticed that the point gap wasn't opening at all. During the engine rebuild the timing marks were lost! I identified and marked TDC, and then made a mark every 10 degrees BTDC using a protractor. I set the gap and SHE STARTED! Now we are making progress! I took her out for a test drive and within a few miles she was over-heating and smoking from the valve cover. Uh-oh! I got her back home okay but sure enough she was blowing even more white smoke the next time I started her up. Dang it, there is a blown head gasket now for sure! I wonder why shes getting so hot?
I drained the radiator and then removed the bottom hose and guess what? No coolant drains from the block. My "mechanic" had returned a car that was getting no coolant flow and told me it was okay to drive. Well I can tell you they don't last long in that condition! I checked the thermostat: Good. So I replaced the water pump, flushed the hoses and radiator, and bypassed the heater box loop with a short piece of hose. BINGO! Now she was cooling fine during idle.
Suddenly she refused to start again. The point gap had almost instantly degenerated and was no longer opening regardless of adjustment. I discovered that there was too much play in the distributor shaft and the moving arm's cam point was worn down to nothing. Time for a refurb'd replacement.
Old Distributor:
Okay so now I had reworked my electrical system, rebuilt my carburetor, installed a newly refurb'd distributor, and fixed my cooling system. She was running much better, minus the billowing white clouds of smoke that my tailpipe was emitting! Time to dig in and replace that head gasket!
Special tools for removing head bolts may be necessary =) :
Head coming off:
One of my "mechanics" obviously used a scratch owl to check TDC. Grrr!:
Torquing my head back down:
Once I had her re-assembled I started her up and she drove so great that I assumed all of my troubles were over. WRONG! The second the headlights were turned on the temperature began to creep higher until finally the pressure overwhelmed the safety cap. One refurb'd alternator later not only did she run better but I can drive her with the headlights on and she doesn't overheat!
I'd like to dedicate my progress to the abodies forum and all of the incredible members who contributed to the threads that I researched and patiently answered my silly questions! I'm so incredibly grateful and relieved that I have finally found a place where a girl can get a straight answer about her car!
Hello everyone! I'm so excited that I had to post a thread to mark the day my 66 dart FINALLY reached road worthiness!!! I can't call her restored quite yet but I am now the proud mama of a happy, healthy, well adjusted daily driver! I would like to list the symptoms that my "mechanic" missed along with the solutions and I think you will agree that this mopar chick has come a long way on an impossibly thin budget! :cheers:
Lets start with a brief vehicle history. I bought my 1966 Dodge Dart 270 for $500 when I was in high school. It rested in peace for a few years until my brother-in-law offered to fix her up as his daily driver. Eventually he warped the head and she sat for a while before I could afford a rebuild. A friend offered to do the work in his spare time for free if I could supply parts. Several setbacks later I hopped in what I was told was a rebuilt car that could safely shuttle me around town. She was blowing a little white smoke but sounded okay to me so I ran her up to the corner to get gas and this is where the adventure begins...
After filling my tank and stuffing the old rag that I call my gas cap back into position I hopped back in and eagerly turned my key in the ignition. *nothing*
My new roommate was there to save the day and hot-wired her so that we could get back home. On the way home she died several times and overheated badly. She got harder and harder to start and her performance almost instantly degraded from rough idling to "one sick puppy". My roomie didn't know much about slant sixes but he agreed to take a look at the wiring and has been a loyal partner in this project ever since. Thank you David!!!
On with the diagnosis! I replaced my ignition switch and opened every wire bundle under the hood to verify that everything was connected right. At this point I found that a shop had put the coil in backwards and added an extra condenser to make it work. The PO had installed an aftermarket ammeter by running a wire thru a post crimper, bending it over once, and pulling vacuum tubing over the whole mess. A few wire caps and a re-wired firewall harness later I had a constant 3 volt gain at my coil.
My coil wired correctly, the red wire is the extra condenser:
So now electrical is better but she still wont start.
The throttle response on my old Holly 1920 carburetor was shot so I thought I'd start with a carb rebuild. I dunked all metal parts in a cleaning basket, wiped em down, and blew all passages out with compressed air.
Dirty carb:
Clean parts:
All done:
She still wouldn't start! Ugh! Okay what now?
I popped the cap off of my distributor and noticed that the point gap wasn't opening at all. During the engine rebuild the timing marks were lost! I identified and marked TDC, and then made a mark every 10 degrees BTDC using a protractor. I set the gap and SHE STARTED! Now we are making progress! I took her out for a test drive and within a few miles she was over-heating and smoking from the valve cover. Uh-oh! I got her back home okay but sure enough she was blowing even more white smoke the next time I started her up. Dang it, there is a blown head gasket now for sure! I wonder why shes getting so hot?
I drained the radiator and then removed the bottom hose and guess what? No coolant drains from the block. My "mechanic" had returned a car that was getting no coolant flow and told me it was okay to drive. Well I can tell you they don't last long in that condition! I checked the thermostat: Good. So I replaced the water pump, flushed the hoses and radiator, and bypassed the heater box loop with a short piece of hose. BINGO! Now she was cooling fine during idle.
Suddenly she refused to start again. The point gap had almost instantly degenerated and was no longer opening regardless of adjustment. I discovered that there was too much play in the distributor shaft and the moving arm's cam point was worn down to nothing. Time for a refurb'd replacement.
Old Distributor:
Okay so now I had reworked my electrical system, rebuilt my carburetor, installed a newly refurb'd distributor, and fixed my cooling system. She was running much better, minus the billowing white clouds of smoke that my tailpipe was emitting! Time to dig in and replace that head gasket!
Special tools for removing head bolts may be necessary =) :
Head coming off:
One of my "mechanics" obviously used a scratch owl to check TDC. Grrr!:
Torquing my head back down:
Once I had her re-assembled I started her up and she drove so great that I assumed all of my troubles were over. WRONG! The second the headlights were turned on the temperature began to creep higher until finally the pressure overwhelmed the safety cap. One refurb'd alternator later not only did she run better but I can drive her with the headlights on and she doesn't overheat!
I'd like to dedicate my progress to the abodies forum and all of the incredible members who contributed to the threads that I researched and patiently answered my silly questions! I'm so incredibly grateful and relieved that I have finally found a place where a girl can get a straight answer about her car!
