1963 Dart 170 2 Door Post Resto

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Yes it is. The fence was actually up. Bylaw made them take down the front half. It's above what they are allowed. Apparently one of the neighbors on the other side complained.

Yes it is a corner grocery store. Not many of those left these days. Not much in this one though.

Got the new voltage regulator installed today. Ordered the DB regulator. It is made in Taiwan. The blue streak and others day china. I've had better luck with Taiwan quality. Way better now. Steady charge and actually seems to run better for some reason. Less inconsistent load on alternator and steady power. Really pleased
 
I've heard where putting a relatively large capacitor (at least 2200 uF) across the alternator output smoothes out the rectified AC and makes the DC components happier. I have a rather large super cap across the battery on my '95 Grand Cherokee and the battery keeps going. It's dated 4/16, which means it should have died around 2 years ago. Your new regulator may have some sort of capacitive filtering that makes it run better.
 
So, after a few good drives found a few minor issues. Charge is nice and steady with no pulsation at all. The squealing from the front brakes never really went away so I replaced them with new Raybestos Brakes. Now it's all new. After thinking about it I realized (and confirmed) these were worn into a larger diameter drum (worn drum). Therefore I would only be getting brake contact at top and bottom of the shoe. This was confirmed when I replaced them. My mistake there.

Car also got a little warm after the end of a long drive. Never had an issue before so I replaced the thermostat. It was a new 160F thermostat so I went with the same. Maybe just a faulty one. It ran nice and cool at first.

I also added silicone coated fire protection heat shield sleeve to the fuel line from the pump up to the filter. I was going to do the relocation but have read this also does pretty much the same in reducing the heat soak issue with the fuel line. We will see. I have also ordered a new spacer. I will install it when it arrives.

Next long run is this weekend. We will see if any more issues show. So far it has been not too bad for a car that has been parked for so many years.

Still haven't dug into the noisy speedo much yet. It isn't as bad so maybe the lube is working its way through the speedo and the cable.

One more issue though. My radio died. It turns on and I can hear static as I turn the volume knob, but no sound. Have to look into that further too. It gave me issues in the beginning and then suddenly started working, then suddenly quit again. Might have just finally gave up.
 
On my '65 Dodge, I found a tiny hole in the housing at the top of the cable. Clean that area good and you will find it. The tiny hole is to add a drop of oil. That stopped all the noise from the top of the cable and stopped the needle from jumping around too.
 
Richard Sweet said:
On my '65 Dodge, I found a tiny hole in the housing at the top of the cable. Clean that area good and you will find it. The tiny hole is to add a drop of oil. That stopped all the noise from the top of the cable and stopped the needle from jumping around too.
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I didn't even see that. I took a look at a dash for a 63 on line and it looks to have a hole on the top of the speedometer in the back too. I didn't see that when I had it apart. I just oiled around the brass bushing where the cable end slides in. I will have to have a look for that. Thanks
 
Yeah, it's in in a little cup and it usually attracts dirt because of the presents of oil. It's a spot that usually gets ignored because we don't usually take out the instrument cluster. You don't need to remove the cable.
 
So, took the car to its first car show last weekend. Car drove great, but overheated on the way there. It was the first time I had the car at 50MPH for any amount of time. Not sure if it's the thermostat didn't open, or if the water pump just isn't giving good flow. I had it come close to overheating on an earlier run so I replaced the thermostat. I accidentally ordered a 180HD thermostat. When I took it apart and discovered the 160 I had no choice but to grab another 160 from a local parts shop.

I'm going to pull it entirely and see if it still wants to creep up on temperature. I may have to pull the water pump to see if mine is a 6 or 8 vane pump. I might just bite the bullet and order one of the Flowcooler pumps. The rad was newly re-cored by a reputable shop and the heater core is new so I don't see either of those being the issue.

One other thing I discovered is I have to pull my steering wheel and see what is going on with my signal switch assembly. When I turn one direction it "clicks" like it is wanting to cancel a signal even though it isn't on. Probably just a slight adjustment.

Other than that the car is a pleasure to drive. I have to replace my radio as it died on me. I got it cheap and it didn't work right at first then on it's own it started working so it was probably already on it's way out. No big deal.

Also got my carb spacer the other day, so I will have to install it and see if it helps with the heat soak
 
i'd cut the centre from the 'stat rather than completely remove it. it'll think the 'stat's open all the time but still have some amount of flow restriction as it should.
neil.
 
So, a little update. Cut the center out of the thermostat as suggested to see if there would be any difference...there wasn't.

Adjusted the timing back to 2.5BTDC as per spec and reset car to get it to run right. No change. Finally got a temperature gun and checked the rad and found the middle was almost 100 F cooler than the outside. Drained it and checked with my scope to find a bunch of tubes blocked completely.

I did blow out the engine when the core plugs were out and again with the water pump and head off and even flushed it before first drive. I guess there was a pile stuck somewhere that dislodged and clogged it all up when it got hot and the vibration from driving. Either way, looks like cooling issue is found. Dropped off the rad at the shop today to be hot tanked, flushed and flow checked before getting it back. Hopefully that'll be the end of my cooling issues. Will be putting in a new high flow quality 160F thermostat and new rad cap while I'm at it. Had a FlowKooler water pump ordered but I think I'm going to cancel if the rad was plugged that bad.

Next will be the fuel line reroute. Is it better to go rubber or is metal fine, as long as I leave room to remove the valve cover for valve adjustment?

I tried the spacer, but it never helped and the car ran like crap, even after multiple attempts to adjust carb setup. Went back to original.

Have one more small thing to look at. Have to pull the steering wheel and look at signal cancel cam. When turning one direction it clicks even with the signal off. Hopefully it's a minor adjustment.
 
Mineallmine said:
So, a little update. Cut the center out of the thermostat as suggested to see if there would be any difference...there wasn't.

Adjusted the timing back to 2.5BTDC as per spec and reset car to get it to run right. No change. Finally got a temperature gun and checked the rad and found the middle was almost 100 F cooler than the outside. Drained it and checked with my scope to find a bunch of tubes blocked completely.

I did blow out the engine when the core plugs were out and again with the water pump and head off and even flushed it before first drive. I guess there was a pile stuck somewhere that dislodged and clogged it all up when it got hot and the vibration from driving. Either way, looks like cooling issue is found. Dropped off the rad at the shop today to be hot tanked, flushed and flow checked before getting it back. Hopefully that'll be the end of my cooling issues. Will be putting in a new high flow quality 160F thermostat and new rad cap while I'm at it. Had a FlowKooler water pump ordered but I think I'm going to cancel if the rad was plugged that bad.

Next will be the fuel line reroute. Is it better to go rubber or is metal fine, as long as I leave room to remove the valve cover for valve adjustment?

I tried the spacer, but it never helped and the car ran like crap, even after multiple attempts to adjust carb setup. Went back to original.

Have one more small thing to look at. Have to pull the steering wheel and look at signal cancel cam. When turning one direction it clicks even with the signal off. Hopefully it's a minor adjustment.
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I'm pretty sure the line from the fuel pump to the carb is all steel. The line out of pump that runs to the fuel line on the frame rail is rubber to account for engine movement. All fuel lines should be steel unless they need to flex at certain point.
 
Scamp Rhonda said:
I'm pretty sure the line from the fuel pump to the carb is all steel. The line out of pump that runs to the fuel line on the frame rail is rubber to account for engine movement. All fuel lines should be steel unless they need to flex at certain point.
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Yes, originally they were all steel, that I was aware of. What I was referring to was doing the fuel line reroute modification to help with heat soak. Wondering if rubber would actually keep the fuel cooler than metal. Also for keeping enough flexibility to be able to remove the valve cover for valve adjustment.

I only have one vacuum line (besides the pcv valve) and they are in good condition
 
mygasser said:
you can get heat wrap to go over pipes that may help. rubber fuel line should be kept to an absolute minimum if possible.
neil.
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I just bought new steel line today to do the reroute. I will just have to loosen and pivot up out of the way when prepping for a valve adjustment. Already have the heat wrap for the factory routed steel line. Didn't help as much as I hoped it would. Hoping that the newly cleaned rad (just got the call) and fresh flush (again) and new coolant will have it running much cooler, thus cooler fuel lines and less chance of fuel boiling.

Might even try a tank of supreme to see if the less percentage of ethanol is enough to stop the heat soak. Hope I don't have to go that route as the price difference here is huge between the 2 and I plan to drive the car a lot
 
mygasser said:
is the steel line a pre formed one? if not route it round the valve cover,
neil.
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Routing over to avoid heat areas. To go around the front defeats the initial purpose as it again would be close to the upper rad hose and interfere with the alternator unless I kept it high and that wouldn't look very good. Around the rear would also look odd and it would need to be really long and create a lot of surface area above the manifold to absorb heat. Can you tell I given this some thought already? lol. I think over the top is fine as it isn't frequent enough that I will need to do valve adjustments to create a big hassle. I can just take the line off the carb, flip it up to pull the cover, then reinstall and start the engine to adjust the valves. I think it'll look cleaner that way too
 
Picked up my rad today. Cost a lot less than they quoted... Bonus. That rarely happens. Installed it with a new thermostat and rad cap and filled it up with new coolant.

Took it for a 40 minute drive and it didn't even come up to operating range on the gauge. Looks like success. That's where it was when I first ran it. Will take it for a longer drive this weekend and see what it does.

Think I need to bump the timing a degree or two. Not liking this setting. A little harder to start cold and RPMs drop more in gear and almost stalls. Didn't do that before, but that's only a couple minutes to tweak.

Almost there ...
 
Another setback. Took the car for a longer drive Sunday after work and it overheated again. Had to turn on the heat to get it cooled down to get home. Left it overnight and discovered a pile of crap in the radiator...AGAIN!!! Drained it all again and this time it was loose enough to flush from wrapping a rag around a hose and sticking it in the lower hose and forcing it all out. I flushed the heater core again both forward and back until it was pure clean water. Did the same with the block as well as I could with the thermostat pulled again. Reassembled and filled it and as soon as I started it, it pushed more sediment into the rad. (to be clear, this cooling system has been flushed probably 5 times now. 3 times off, 2 running. Would've thought all the crap would be gone by now. Mind you I have not done a chemical flush)

Wasn't impressed to say the least, but at least I've confirmed the issue. I unhooked the upper hose and started the car placing the garden hose in the rad to provide constant water (keep in mind i filled it with pure water this time until I was sure it was clean) and started the car. Got lots of sediment out. Have to do this a few more times until I am sure it's clean to my liking, then I will pull and flush the rad one final time and reinstall the thermostat and fresh coolant.

Would have been done last night but had a weird setback. When I was flushing it a bit of water got on the alternator (accidentally pointed the upper hose the wrong way). when I did the car bogged down and the alternator squealed loudly and the alternator pulley popped off. Couldn't believe it. It's not seized so it must have been a poorly installed pulley (china rebuilt...all I could get at the time). I could press it back on but don't think I would trust it very much if it came off that easy. Will just order a new one I guess.

Also did the fuel line reroute over the valve cover. Doesn't look too bad but I'm not happy with the sharp 90 degree bend from the carb. I think I might redo that and do a more gradual bend towards the valve cover. Less restriction for the fuel too.

Hopefully this work will take care of my issues. Got the signal issue fixed too. It was only a piece of extra plastic that needed to be removed that was hooking the steering wheel cancel as it went by. No more clicking.
 
Ok, another update, another issue... Hopefully a solution.

Flushed the rad again. Flushed the engine over and over again. Took it for a good drive. No issues. Took it for the same drive I took it for that it overheated bad and no issues. Looks like I'm getting past the cooling issue.

Still getting heat soak issues. Have tried carb spacer... No luck. Rerouted fuel line over the valve cover with the filter behind the alternator... No change. Soo, I decided to try something else. I decided to make an aluminum heat shield to put between the carb and intake to dissipate some of the heat and help keep the carb a little cooler. I've read somewhere this helps with heat soak and vapor lock as well.

Went to go buy some sheet aluminum but my metal guy is closed until Wednesday next week and the only other metal supplier with something thick enough would want to trade my car for a small piece. Hate buying from them unless I really need to. So, we got creative. We checked out a local trust store and I found a perfect thickness aluminum serving tray. Made a cardboard template and transferred it over to the tray and cut it out. Then made a carb gasket for below the shield and sanded the coating of the tray (had pictures on it and would've burnt off anyway). Came out pretty good. Not real fancy but clean and should provide good heat deflection. Installed it and took it for a drive and so far so good. Got home and the plate was pretty warm but the carb was cool too the touch. Fingers crossed.

Even got the radio replaced with a working one.

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Dne007 said:
Wow, just finished your entire build, very impressive~ boy do I have a ways to go! ;)
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It was a long process. Ever evolving. Been driving it all summer and working out the bugs and deciding on the next upgrades. Definitely power steering, power brakes and more than likely a drivetrain upgrade. That will probably be next winter. I'll drive it one more year with the six before pulling it apart again. Will probably paint it again then anyway. (especially if I have to modify the firewall to make the 8 fit)
 
Good weekend. Took the car out for it's last run of the year before being put away for the winter. Took it to a show about an hour south of me.

Weather was questionable all week so I wasn't sure if it was going to be worth the drive, but figured when I got up at least it would make for a nice Sunday drive. Weather held out. Wasn't super warm but it never rained and it wasn't windy so it was nice.

LOTS of cars there. Close to 1000 cars if not more turned up. A little bit of everything. I got put in the goalpost on the field we were parked in at the local high school so that was kinda cool as I had room on both sides as there wasn't enough room for 2 cars there. Got way more attention than I expected. I'm happy with how it looks, but it isn't anything special, so the looks and comments it got were very welcomed. The best one was a guy who knew the early Darts that couldn't quite put his finger on why it looked different in the front. After explaining the custom front bumper and painting in the headlight rings all I got was cool. Said it looked like it belonged there. Really liked the look. That was exactly the look I was going for when I did it. Wanted it to look like it came that way.

All in all it was a great day. Me and the wife had a great time and will be back next year for sure. Was almost home before the rain moved in so we timed it pretty good overall.

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Looks like fun, awesome 63;). Funny to think I was 8 years old when it was coming down the assembly line;)
 
Mineallmine said:
Good weekend. Took the car out for it's last run of the year before being put away for the winter. Took it to a show about an hour south of me.

Weather was questionable all week so I wasn't sure if it was going to be worth the drive, but figured when I got up at least it would make for a nice Sunday drive. Weather held out. Wasn't super warm but it never rained and it wasn't windy so it was nice.

LOTS of cars there. Close to 1000 cars if not more turned up. A little bit of everything. I got put in the goalpost on the field we were parked in at the local high school so that was kinda cool as I had room on both sides as there wasn't enough room for 2 cars there. Got way more attention than I expected. I'm happy with how it looks, but it isn't anything special, so the looks and comments it got were very welcomed. The best one was a guy who knew the early Darts that couldn't quite put his finger on why it looked different in the front. After explaining the custom front bumper and painting in the headlight rings all I got was cool. Said it looked like it belonged there. Really liked the look. That was exactly the look I was going for when I did it. Wanted it to look like it came that way.

All in all it was a great day. Me and the wife had a great time and will be back next year for sure. Was almost home before the rain moved in so we timed it pretty good overall.

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All that work is worth it once you start taking them to the car shows.
 
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