1966 Dodge Dart

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rod7515

rod7515

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Location
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I picked this up back in the end of July. Wasnt sure what my direction would be, so I put it in the storage shed until October. During those 8 or so weeks I decided to do a rebuild with some extra features. I brought the car home from the shed in late October and have been working a few hours on it since then. I pulled the engine and sold it and the trans as a package. Removed the 7 1/4 rear and gutted the interior. I was lucky to run into an old friend that had just finished using his rotisserie and he offered it to me to for my build. So at that point the car went on the rotisserie where it hangs today. Here are some pics of work to this point.
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Car being brought home to start work
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As you can see the cars on the rotisserie and I have scraped undercoating and installed frame connectors and have cut in the boxes to move the springs in so I can do a mini tub.
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So far I have removed 26 Lbs of undercoating. I would guess since I have the front fenders to do yet I would hit the 30 lb total. You can see the how I cut the boxes in. Im sure theres a better way. I cant take any credit for the welding as I have a friend that welds for a living so I am taking advantage of his skills. He has covered some ugly work already as the frame connectors had some very large gaps that needed to be filled. I just tack things into place and give him a call! I'll try to update this as I move forward.
 
My plan at this point is to make it a street/strip car. I hope to drive it on the street around 1500-2000 miles each year. I am building a 408 stroker with a 10.5-1 compression, comp solid roller cam .575 lift / .308 Duration/.262@.050. My heads are 915J with an edelbrock 2x4 setup. The 2x4 is for the wow factor! lol Im hoping that a set of TTI headers will fit. I will be using a 904 trans, dynamic 3200 stall, and 3:91 8 3/4. I will be keeping the body looking factory but not sure what paint scheme I will do. (Open to suggestions) My wheels will be weld racing prostars with BFG Radials, frt 155/80r15 & rear 295/50r15. Still looking for some 15" wheels to mount slicks on to race. I havent figured out what Im doing with the interior and I need to make that decision soon. I bought a set of buckets from a 69 Barracuda but not sure if Im going to use them or go with summit racing seats. Cost may determine that decision. Ive already gone over budget from my original plan looking at a completion costs so redoing seats may be put on back burner. Here are some additional pics to this point. Im almost ready to set the rear into the car so I can figure backspacing for my wheels.
Rodney


This is the 295/50R15 I plan on using on the rear. It has a section width of 12" with an 11.3" tread width. Looks like I'm going to have about 14" of clearance so I just need to get the right backspacing.
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My buddy Scott using a plasma cutter to remove the rear saddles. He also did all the welding so far, as he says I'm no welder!

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This is how I transfered the correct location for the shackle relocation. Then I used a die grinder to finish the holes, Probably the worst job to this point!

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Forgot to mention I will also be changing the front brakes to a disc brake setup. A lot to do and its going to be at least a year or more to complete. I can only work a few hours a week on this.
Rodney
 
Looks like it will be a fun car when it's completed. Keep us posted on your progress. Another nice 66 in our midst.. tmm
 
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View attachment DSCN2164.jpgI cut the tubs out today and then moved the inner wells in to the frame, tacked them in place and now have to add the new center section in and then complete all the fill in areas. I have a few questions and I will be posting them in the body section later tonight.
Here are a few pics of progress from the weekend and today.

Rodney
 
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I also had some extra time and decided to play with some spray cans in my attempt to figure out what type of paint scheme I am going to use. I went of to ace and bought some of their finest $4 a can spray paint. Did some taping and this is what I came up with for now. I started with the black then added my red and white.
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After playing I think im going to make some changes and go with only red and white. Thinking about replacing the black with red and take it up to the corner of the rear window instead of using the body line for a cutoff. maybe separate the red and white with a small thin blue pinstripe. Going to make some changes Wednesday when off work again.
Rodney
 
Wow Rodney, moving right along there. I agree with you on the black, as soon as I saw it that was my first thought.

Keep posting.
 
Been a little over a month since i last posted and have spent a few nights out in the shed. Wish there was more time but I have spent way to much time cleaning snow this year. Well heres the update on my progress. I will attach pics however Im not sure I can put descriptions with each photo so Ill explain where im at and then post all the pics. Since my last post I have completed the passenger floor board, welded in the center sections of the tubs, removed the passenger side front suspension and welded a new section of metal under the hood. I have sand blasted a lot of the suspension and rear end housing and brake plates and hardware. I am hopin gin Feb and March that I can finish the tubs complete, replace the rear quarters and paint the engine compartment and interior/trunk. Sounds like a lot but once spring gets here there will be less spare time to work on the car so I need to get hoppin the next month or so. I also tried to alter the paint scheme a little and I like these soft changes much better. Let me know what you think.
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Another great build thread to watch :cheers: Thank you for taking the time to share his build with us rod7515:glasses7:
 
well, I didnt get much done this week as Ive been sick, but I did get the Kframe out and all the suspension off the drivers side. I removed the steering column and box as well. Plans for the rest of the weekend are to get the tub pieces for the floor frt and back cut and fitted so I can weld them in next week and cover the seams and put closier to that part of this build. I also dropped the trans off to have it gone over and some mods done. Its a 904 trans and theres an older guy locally that builds trans so I thought I would give him a shot. Going to go with what he called the good blue clutches, alter the pump some, install manual valve body and some other things I had no clue what he was talking about. I had ordered my convertor from Dynamics and it arrived this week. Ended up per their recommendations with a 3800- 4000 stall. Not sure if any of you had read in the small block section I had issues with the cam and had to send it back to have them regrind the base circle smaller. Well they called this week and said they are grinding a new cam with a smaller base circle because the original one couldnt be reduced enough. I have to say that Comp Cams have been great to work with as the only out of pocket this cost me was the shipping back to them. One last thing, I spent last night reading the entire thread about pettybludarts journey with his 66. What a story! I dont plan on going as fast as his but I hope to have as much fun throughout the build. I am sure I will be sending you PM's for advice. Well its out to the shed to get something done!
Rod
 
Just trying to catch up on where I am at. I find I dont keep my posts up to date. The wheels arrived last week and I mounted them as soon as they showed up. then I actually sat the rear onto the springs and mounted the wheels to see how they were going to fit. I wish I would have narrowed the rear but I kept it stock so the rear wheels dont have much dish to them. the offset ended up at 6.5. Wheels are 10". tires are 275/50R15 and fronts are on 5" 155/80R15. The reason for only 3 tires mounted is because one of the new rims ran out about 3/8" so they sent me a new one to replace it.
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With rear just sitting in car.
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Looks as tho I should have about 1" clearance inside and outside of rear tire. Wish I was ready to actaully install the rear but much work to do before I am to that point!
Rod
Rod
 
The Cameo belongs to my dad, it is a 55 that he just did a motor refresh to or should I say is in the process of completing.
Rod
 
Quick update on my progress. I bought a parts car so I spent the last week taking things off of that one while my build sits! But here is the progress since last post. I spent some time completing the floor board repairs, I finished the mini tub except for the sealer and epoxy paint. I pressed in the LCA bushings but havent started to reassemble front suspension since I have to do the engine compart clean up and paint. I did finish welding the engine compartment fender top replacement metal in place on both sides. I spent some time refabing the dash for gauges. I removed the radio bezel, did some chopping and welded radio hole shut. Then laid out my gauges. Looking back I wish I would have gone with all 2 1/16 gauges instead of some being 2 5/8 gauges. I spent time changing out my steering column to a floor shifter column so no more shifter up high! Still no word on the latest cam change from comp cams as the replacement they sent had some journel issues and had to go back again. I did some brake work to make sure everything would fit on the rear and started on brake tubing as well. Oh and I did some slight changes to my paint scheme trying to get a more balanced look. I think I like this a little better. Its more black and less red but it seems to flow a little better. I really want a late 60's early 70's look. What do you think of the latest? Here are some pics.
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Been a while since I updated the post and I havent been making a lot of time to get out and work on the Dart but heres whats been happening. Ive removed the side 270 trim and have started to weld all the holes shut where it was attached. I've drilled the rear quarters so I can put the GT DART emblems on the back. The engine compartment is going to be getting all the holes welded shut that held the harness and battery tray in place. I have installed the mounts and brackets for the console and shifter then mounted both. I am in the process of fabricating seat brackets for the new seats. I still need to make the supports for on the floor to support the seat brackets. I am hoping to have both the seats in place so I can start on installing the rollbar and have that completed some time before the middle of june. I will be picking up the 904 transmission this week and I have started to push the engine builder to have the engine done by the end of may. I know as summer approaches my time will be very limited. I am shooting for completion by May 2015.
Here are some new pics
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Sweet project,subscribed.... Like, that color combination....
 
well I havent had a lot of time to work on the car. I was able to make a set of seat adjuster rails and weld supports on floor then mount the front seats. I have sarted to drill the spot welds from the Drivers rear quarter to prepare for the inner fender rebuild and rear quarter replacement. Still have a ton of body work to complete but I can only work a few hours a week on it so it will be a slowwwww process. I did disassemble one of the carbs and cleaned it with both carb cleaner and soda blasting. Here are a few pics of the seats mounted in place and how they fit up. The steering column is only in for reference to where to mount the seat. It is the wheel I plan on using.
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OK, heres an update on the progress or lack of progress! I have the guy thats going to help with the body panel replacements coming on Saturday so I had to cut the rear quarters off so his time is spent on more important things like fit new quarters and glue them in. He had me cut them about 1" below the factory body line which he said will give us a clean blending area. I got the driver side done tonight and will try to get the passenger side removed tomorrow night. Here are some pics of the removal.
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I'll make sure to take some pics of the replacement panels going back on. Ive never done body work so this is all new to me. Sometimes I guess you have to step outside your comfort zone!
 
Tonight I removed the passenger side quarter panel. I am sure that cutting off these panels was much easier then its going to be putting new ones back on but I think Im ready for that challenge. I called Jon, my body guru to confirm Saturday as a working day so if all works out hopefully the fun will begin this Saturday. Here are a few pics of the passenger side removal.
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Now as for the motor I will be posting in the small block engine because that hasnt been going very well. But I guess everything takes time and patience.

Rod
 
well its time to do what seems to be a monthly update on the Dart. Heres where I am at since the July update, I have prepared the gas tank for the sump to be welded, the holes drilled for the baffle effect. Hoping to have it welded sometime yet this month. The motor finally came back completed so I mounted the K Frame using the new 360 mounting kit and it looks like I need to do a little clearance work on the K Frame. I hope to get some color on the block and heads before the months end. I can tell having the motor here gives me more of a reason to go out and work on it. Here are some pics of the K frame mocked up and also the fuel tank ready for welding.
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