1965 Dodge Dart Charger

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I can't speak for the DartCharger, but my 65 Dart convertible and wagon both come with orange turn signals. I'm sure the DartCharger did as well.

You're right Don. All US built cars upto 73 (what I know of) came with amber lenses. All cars built for export was equipped with clear lenses.

Thanks guys for the comments!

Today we trailered the car to the show. Way easier to get a better shot of the car.
 

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All US built cars upto 73 (what I know of) came with amber lenses.

That is definitely not correct.

Prior to 1963, all cars in America came with colourless clear front turn signal lenses and colourless clear bulbs. The front position ("parking") light and front turn signal light functions were done with white light.

In 1963, by voluntary industry consensus (no regulations existed yet), amber was adopted as the one and only colour for the front turn signal function. Because most cars in America had combination park/turn lamps, this also meant amber was adopted as optional to white for the front position light function.

So starting in 1963, vehicles sold in America came with either amber lenses and colourless bulbs, or colourless clear lenses and amber bulbs. Both setups were used as a matter of styling preference at the option of the automaker.

If we're talking about post-'63 A-bodies in the American market:

All 1963-'65 A-bodies (except the '64-'65 Barracuda), the '68 Valiant, and all '76 A-bodies came with amber lenses.

The '64-'65 Barracuda, the '66-'67 and '69-'75 Valiant and Duster, the '66-'74 Dart, and the '66-'69 Barracuda came with clear lenses.

All cars built for export was equipped with clear lenses.

Not necessarily, no. At various points in the '60s and '70s, other countries started adopting amber front turn signals instead of the previous white. However, no European-approved amber bulb was available and most countries outside North America did not (and do not) permit any colour other than white for the front parking/position light function. So cars sent to those countries that required a white front position lamp and an amber front turn signal tended to get amber front turn signal lenses and separate white parking lamps (often integral to the headlamps).

It's more than a little difficult to speak categorically "All ______ got ______" when talking about export-spec cars of that era; regulations differed widely by country. Some countries accepted US-spec vehicles, some accepted US-spec vehicles only as private, one-at-a-time, noncommercial imports, some required full or partial compliance with European or individual-country regulations.
 
Another interesting history lesson Dr. Dan! I know my lenses are clear on my 66 Dart and Ulf's amber lenses really stand out. Did the factory use 1157A bulbs or the transparent 1157NA's with the clear lenses in 66? tmm
 
You're right Don. All US built cars upto 73 (what I know of) came with amber lenses. All cars built for export was equipped with clear lenses.

Thanks guys for the comments!

Today we trailered the car to the show. Way easier to get a better shot of the car.

Beautiful Ulf. When are you planning to show it in the USA?
 
Beautiful Ulf. When are you planning to show it in the USA?

I told him he needs to join AACA, show it at a National Show - pick up a First Junior then at the big AACA national meet at the Fall Hersey. Prior or in-between AACA meets, show it at l at Carlisle and the Mopar Nats in Coilumbus. Just my 2c. That would cover all the major shows.
 
Ulf....you car looks beautiful, awesome to finally see the complete car..... It's perfect :cheers:
 
Another interesting history lesson Dr. Dan!

Glad you liked it; I had to physically (ow!) resist posting at much greater length -- those amber lights up front were controversial in '63 when they appeared, and there were some interesting things said, articles written, and laws passed about them, but this isn't really the thread for it.

I know my lenses are clear on my 66 Dart and Ulf's amber lenses really stand out

Yep. Officially the '65 export cars got clear lenses, but what's on any particular car outside North America depends on what country it was originally delivered to/when it was taken to another country/by whom/etc.

Did the factory use 1157A bulbs or the transparent 1157NA's with the clear lenses in 66?

The original bulb in your '66 was a 1034A, with that "looks like school bus paint" easily-scratched-off coating on them. 1034 was the shorter-lived predecessor of 1157. There was nothing such as the transparent "NA" ("Natural Amber") type bulbs in the '60s; those came along in the mid-late '80s.
 
Glad you liked it; I had to physically (ow!) resist posting at much greater length -- those amber lights up front were controversial in '63 when they appeared, and there were some interesting things said, articles written, and laws passed about them, but this isn't really the thread for it.



Yep. Officially the '65 export cars got clear lenses, but what's on any particular car outside North America depends on what country it was originally delivered to/when it was taken to another country/by whom/etc.



The original bulb in your '66 was a 1034A, with that "looks like school bus paint" easily-scratched-off coating on them. 1034 was the shorter-lived predecessor of 1157. There was nothing such as the transparent "NA" ("Natural Amber") type bulbs in the '60s; those came along in the mid-late '80s.

Thanks for the info Dan! If I remember, I replaced the bulbs with 2057NA's. Although not original, I thought they would be brighter and safer. tmm
 
2057 is the same brightness as 1157 in the "bright" mode.
2057 is 33% dimmer than 1157 in the "dim" mode.

Why would they reduce the candlepower for the tail light filament? The turn signal filament is similar.
 
Because there are intensity ratio requirements for the bright (brake or turn) and dim (tail or park) functions, and with some kinds of lamp designs the optics are efficient enough that a 3-candlepower dim filament makes the dim function too bright and not enough difference between it and the bright function, hence the bulb with the 2-candlepower dim filament. We really oughtta be talking about this in another thread; this is getting pretty far afield of Ulf's build…
 
That is definitely not correct.

Prior to 1963, all cars in America came with colourless clear front turn signal lenses and colourless clear bulbs. The front position ("parking") light and front turn signal light functions were done with white light.

In 1963, by voluntary industry consensus (no regulations existed yet), amber was adopted as the one and only colour for the front turn signal function. Because most cars in America had combination park/turn lamps, this also meant amber was adopted as optional to white for the front position light function.

So starting in 1963, vehicles sold in America came with either amber lenses and colourless bulbs, or colourless clear lenses and amber bulbs. Both setups were used as a matter of styling preference at the option of the automaker.

If we're talking about post-'63 A-bodies in the American market:

All 1963-'65 A-bodies (except the '64-'65 Barracuda), the '68 Valiant, and all '76 A-bodies came with amber lenses.

The '64-'65 Barracuda, the '66-'67 and '69-'75 Valiant and Duster, the '66-'74 Dart, and the '66-'69 Barracuda came with clear lenses.



Not necessarily, no. At various points in the '60s and '70s, other countries started adopting amber front turn signals instead of the previous white. However, no European-approved amber bulb was available and most countries outside North America did not (and do not) permit any colour other than white for the front parking/position light function. So cars sent to those countries that required a white front position lamp and an amber front turn signal tended to get amber front turn signal lenses and separate white parking lamps (often integral to the headlamps).

It's more than a little difficult to speak categorically "All ______ got ______" when talking about export-spec cars of that era; regulations differed widely by country. Some countries accepted US-spec vehicles, some accepted US-spec vehicles only as private, one-at-a-time, noncommercial imports, some required full or partial compliance with European or individual-country regulations.


Dan! You are so right. Thanks for the lesson.

For 65 Dart there are amber lenses and clear lenses only. If I'm correct the FPC shows clear for export only. All 65 Dart exported to Sweden had clear lenses. Even today clear lenses is the only option here.

I have a question for you. The dome light has a bulb with 2 prongs!! On the lamp under the dash board is also a lamp with 2 prongs. For what reason is there a difference in the size of the bulb glass?
 
For 65 Dart there are amber lenses and clear lenses only. If I'm correct the FPC shows clear for export only. All 65 Dart exported to Sweden had clear lenses. Even today clear lenses is the only option here.

That's all correct. When I had my '65 (Canadian Valiant Custom 200; the tan/beige one here) I wanted a set of the colourless lenses, but the only vendor who claimed to have them was Layson, who was (and still is) on my "never buy from this guy" list for a long list of good reasons.

I have a question for you. The dome light has a bulb with 2 prongs!

That is true. It's because this is a 2-wire lamp (feed and ground) rather than a body-grounded lamp. The door switches and the dome light contact in the headlamp switch complete a ground path for the dome light, which has constant +12v feed. This is much easier and safer than providing a constant ground (by using a single-pin bulb with body ground), because that way would require a fuse for each door switch, a fuse for the contact in the headlamp switch, and would have a lot more "hot" wires running up and down and all around within the body.

On the lamp under the dash board is also a lamp with 2 prongs.

For the same reason. I don't have a spec for the bulb type in the courtesy lamp under the dash -- might be a #90, which is a 75-lumen bulb with a G6 globe. The dome light takes a #1004, which is a 189-lumen bulb with a B6 (bigger than G6) globe.
 
My plans for the car is;

Chrysler at Carlisle
Mopar Nationals

But we will see what happens! I need to get into that AACA thing that Don mentioned. I don't have the knowledge about US car shows.
 
There is quite a difference between the heelpad that was mounted on the carpet compare with the replacement one the Legendary sent me. THis one is the correct one for sure. Now I can take measurements and cut the opening for the accelerator bracket and then mark the position for the heel pad so it can be sewn in Place correctly.

After the show I change the direction of my car so I have more space on the passenger side!! Not it was time to mount the door switches. The center brass pipe is loose inside the nut and when you close the door it will automatically gets into the right position.

The package from Just Dashes arrived last week but I hadn't time to open it up. Dave Ferro at Totally Auto gave me the tips to use Just Dashes for their great job. Well, I sent this one over last year and now here it is. I had my concerns about the color and pattern but man was I blown away of the result. It looks absolutely stunning. Later on this week I will mount it to the dash. Then I can mount the air hoses for the air ductson the dash.

The kick panels is done and they turnes out great. But the stiches on the is only from one side meaning it was sewn in place with the flap poiting up when they did the job. I have searched for almost a year but here in Sweden nobody has the equipment to do it. I will try to glue it in place.
 

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For reference reason, does anyone know what manufacturer that produced the door switch? The markings reads "MB"
 

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Ulf:

OF course your Dart looks fantastic. I've been following all your work updates.
I hope I can see it up close soon!
>>Robert K.
 
Have you seen this car in Monte-carlo
Picture taken in 2007 in the Prince's Auto museum.

They call it a 1964, but I think that is because of its build date.
 

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Re the DART GT door emblems that goes on the inside I must admit that I haven't been over welmed impressed by the result. On the website Tradera here in Sweden I was able to locate a set that was in mint condition. My plan is to stick with them instead. I can keep the rechromed Dart emblems or sell them.

I had my door badges rechromed and they took off so much material from the GT letters that I can't get the black paint off them without disturbing the background. So I'm in the market for a set if you decide you would like to sell them. If not, they should be easy to find so don't feel obligated.
 
Thanks Alf! Glad you enjoy it!

grimreaper! Thanks for sharing the information.

I took some pictures of my 65 Dartcharger convertible. It seems like this one is spot welded too.

By looking atthe A-pillar post I see marks of the spot welds. Looking at the VIN tag there is a spot weld on each side.

It might be that the Los Angeles plant spot welded the VIN tags on all cars. Is there anyone out there who can shoot a picture of a VIN tag on a Los Angeles built car? Also St Louis and Detroit built car. Then it might be possible to compare the way of attaching the tag.

Don (65 dartman) sent me a picture of a VIN tag from his Detroit built Dart. It looked like it was glued in place!

My car was built in Detroit and the VIN tag was glued on.
 
I'm looking for pictures showing the area around the upper control arm area on 1965 Dart, Valiant or Barracuda. I need to get the idea how close the undercoating was applayed towards the upper control arm brackets.

Thanks for any help FABO!

This is the best picture I have. It's a Detroit car.
 

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Have you seen this car in Monte-carlo
Picture taken in 2007 in the Prince's Auto museum.

They call it a 1964, but I think that is because of its build date.
And they don't have a clue.
 
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