1965 Dart Crewcab daily driver

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BKCowGod

BKCowGod

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Santa Cruz, CA
Guess I probably should have started this back in January when I got the car, but oh well...

The subject is a '65 Dart sedan. Only options are 225 and A/C that is from close to when it was originally sold.

My other cars at the moment all get terrible fuel economy, so I got this to be my daily. To that end, I am slowly puttering away at little bits and pieces and making it a little better for me every day. Some of the things I do will annoy people, some may seem illogical, but I do them because they work for me. When I got it the tires were cracked and fuel was pouring out of the carb. It also didn't have front brakes and the speedo pegged at 120 when I drove it, among numerous other small things.

So far I have done:
  • Carb rebuild (Holley 1920)
  • Solid state voltage regulator
  • Electric ignition (Rick Ehrenberg's kit), plugs, wires
  • New 13" tires (Hankook)
  • Replaced the terrible 80's tape deck with a broken factory unit
  • Put an Android Auto head unit under the A/C, along with 4 new speakers
  • Made the A/C work
  • Giant aluminum radiator with super skinny Mercedes mechanical fan
  • Put in a thermostat, because the lovely previous owner thought no thermo would help
  • Replaced front shocks, installed rear shocks (there weren't any!)
  • Installed the world's most expensive speedo cable
  • Tossed on a beautiful gas cap from sdj234
  • 80's Chrysler remote trunk release, aftermarket keyless entry
  • Dakota gear reduction starter
  • H4 headlights with a proper harness
  • Slightly more powerful alternator (55a, woo!)
  • All new brakes
Next on the list:
  • Upper bolt for the thermostat housing (vice grip works for now)
  • Front suspension rebuild
  • Steering rebuild w/20:1 box
And the list of things I thought would make things better, but made them worse so I ripped out:
  • Electric fans - went through six different iterations before I went back to mechanical.
  • LED interior bulbs - They were bright, but didn't like fluctuating voltages and kept burning out.
  • 140 amp alternator - fire bad. Melting wires bad.
  • Cheap Amazon H4 harness - first time I have seen a fuse actually melt without popping.
Then honestly I will be good for a bit. Maybe in the far off future I will look into EFI or some power ups, but I have plenty of fast cars.
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Last edited:
JDMopar said:
Great job so far! You should add a dual master cylinder to the to do list, just for safety sake.
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On the list for sure. Already had to limp home with only the e-brake. The PO did a full brake job using the cheapest pot metal crap he could find and the driver auto adjuster stripped and fell out.
 
Last week has been spent making sure I like placement of my temporary console before I make a permanent one. Started with one of those pods glued to the bottom of the a/c unit. Worked well enough but always thought it looked hacked. New console has six switches and a USB plug across the top, Android Auto unit in the middle, and at the bottom the volt meter is on the left and GPS odometer on the right.

Oh and the combination of giant radiator and mechanical fan (and an actual thermostat) worked. Cruises, idles, and everything in between perfectly. Gauge verified against a resistance generator and an IR thermometer.

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Now I just gotta wait 14-16 weeks for my cupholdersplus arm rest (4-6 days my a$$).
 
A twofer today! Finished the front brakes (again) and managed to mangle a hub so will be pulling one off to replace that. But more importantly got to slap in the QA1 UCAs. Clunk went away, since the factory ones didn't have any bushings. At all.

Also put in my new floor mats. Very pleased with how they turned out.

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I just picked up a 65 “crew cab” today myself I’ll make sure to watch out for your future post!
 
Bigb9412 said:
I just picked up a 65 “crew cab” today myself I’ll make sure to watch out for your future post!
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Nice, there's something so understated about them. Be ready for a lot of things that are unique to the '65 but not reflected in the parts books. Transmission, trim, locks, speedo cables, all sorts of fun stuff!
 
The center console is done, just need to design a permanent mount and then decide if I want to clean up the sides. First time messing with vinyl. The imperfections don't bother me.

Switches control trunk release, backup camera, aux fan, fog lights, and two empty for future use.
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Radio runs Android Auto wireless, to four speakers (previous owner cut holes in doors. Otherwise everything is reversible)

Left gauge is voltmeter, since ammeter no longer works. Right gauge is a gps speedometer/odometer for accurate fuel economy calculations.
 
A decision has been made... Now I just need to install the LCAs and the rest of the suspension parts I just bought, put the right size tires on these, order two more (I'm a cheapskate and someone was selling two on CL), get the disc kit, etc etc etc.

But I think it'll look good with Rallyes.

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Hopefully with all the electronics you’ve added and a higher rated alternator, you’ve done the mad bypass. If not you should consider it. Sweet little cruiser.
 
TT5.9mag said:
Hopefully with all the electronics you’ve added and a higher rated alternator, you’ve done the mad bypass. If not you should consider it. Sweet little cruiser.
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I have, though the electronics don't use all that much amperage. The radio is rated for 10 amps, the only other major thing is the headlights at another 10 amps.
 
Productive day...

  • Oil change - 10W-30 Valvoline VR-1 Synthetic / K&N filter (I like the blue oil, it has lots of zinc, and it's only $7.50/quart)
  • Brakes are finally happy - replaced a bent hub and now everything's smooth. Of course........
  • Ordered disc brake/dual pot master kit, and new wheels so it will fit (which will not be here for two months)
  • Installed 14x6 Rallyes in the rear for now. 235/60R14 WILL fit a stock '65 dart rear, 1/2" clearance with 4" BS. Still deciding if I want to go 195, 215 or 225 for my new tires.
  • Installed a cheap hood insulation panel
  • Finally drilled out the broken upper thermostat housing bolt - no more vice grips!
  • Replaced leaky bent trans cooler pan with deeper pan from a Jeep, with thick Mopar gasket and a drain plug
  • Cleaned up some wiring
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I was bored and wanted to test out the brakes. 100 miles later I was eating delicious tacos in Monterey. The Dart did great, 20 mpg with half the time 65mph and the other half stuck in stop/go traffic. Thermostat was rock steady at the bottom line until I shut it off 25 miles from home. After that more fluctuation, centered around the middle line (12 o'clock). Never got to line 3 so not overly worried, probably a bubble or a sticky thermostat. 235's make a much quieter 65mph cruise, I could get used to those tall tires in the back.
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Can't think of many worse happy days than having three big boxes from Pirate Jack show up six weeks before the wheels I need in order to install the disc brake conversion. Oh well, boxes keep piling up. New LCAs, new tie rods, new disc brake kit, new wheels (eventually), new tires, new carb. This was gonna be a cheap tinker project daily driver at one point.

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BKCowGod said:
Can't think of many worse happy days than having three big boxes from Pirate Jack show up six weeks before the wheels I need in order to install the disc brake conversion. Oh well, boxes keep piling up. New LCAs, new tie rods, new disc brake kit, new wheels (eventually), new tires, new carb. This was gonna be a cheap tinker project daily driver at one point.

Link to the disc conversion?
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