dadsbee, you are very ambitious taking on the project. I'm in the process of building a 416 stroker for my bracket car & now I'm reenergized seeing your "cleanup". BTW, I'm soon to be 69, so there is hope for some of us old farts.
1969 Dodge Dart Swinger clean up
- Thread starter dadsbee
- Start date
-
Not my first rodeo, here's the past two demonracer. The Bee a "to the last bolt" restoration and the Bird a good clean up.
Now Complete Restoration / Pulling my 1969 'Bee down for strip and paint
Talladega or Bust - 1970 Super Bird Cleanup
Now Complete Restoration / Pulling my 1969 'Bee down for strip and paint
Talladega or Bust - 1970 Super Bird Cleanup
The Demon isn't my first rodeo either. I'm down to just my bracket car as of now, I sold off my two stock eliminators about a year & a half ago. I now trying to organize all of the BS I've accumulated as far as Mopar parts go. I have storage here, I have stuff stored in my trailer, I have stuff stored at a friends shop. I've been trying to sort what I want to keep, what needs to be junked, & what needs to be sold. In my lifetime, I've owned somewhere in the vicinity of 80 Mopars, some were drivers, some were parted out, some were restored, driven, raced, & then sold. I've sold off all but the wife's 300, my 3/4 ton truck, my DD caravan, & the bracket car that I bought in 2009.
That Demon is bad to the bone by the way.
Thanks Stephen, you are one of the few that have seen it other than in my avatar.
My back was nice enough to give me most of the day off, but I did get some stuff degreased ready for the blasting cabinet.
AV100LL is the best degreaser there is and at about 1/2 the cost of buying something like watered down Industrial Purple degreaser.
Torsion bars nicely degreased, ready for blasting and paint. 51 years old and the one torsion bar still has it's assembly line Blue paint dash on it, showing it's for 340 engine cars only.
Transmission mount ready to take off. I always take a picture as some go flange forward.. some back..
Quick dip and a bit of paint brush action and she's clean.
Leaf spring front hanger bushing bolts are always fun.
Passenger side came out easy enough. "Nice" 51 year old bushing.
Drivers side is another story. It will have to wait until I have the springs off the rear axle and try to press it out then. Definitely a car that was driven in Winter. Everything on the drivers side shows signs of running that salt trail down the White line!
AV100LL is the best degreaser there is and at about 1/2 the cost of buying something like watered down Industrial Purple degreaser.
Torsion bars nicely degreased, ready for blasting and paint. 51 years old and the one torsion bar still has it's assembly line Blue paint dash on it, showing it's for 340 engine cars only.
Transmission mount ready to take off. I always take a picture as some go flange forward.. some back..
Quick dip and a bit of paint brush action and she's clean.
Leaf spring front hanger bushing bolts are always fun.
Passenger side came out easy enough. "Nice" 51 year old bushing.
Drivers side is another story. It will have to wait until I have the springs off the rear axle and try to press it out then. Definitely a car that was driven in Winter. Everything on the drivers side shows signs of running that salt trail down the White line!
Last edited:
E = 1969 model year, W = Windsor engine plant, 340 = 340Cubic Inch displacement, P = Premium fuel recommended, 2641 = a Sept 21st 1968 build date based on the 10,000 day calendar, 0149 = the 149th engine built that day.
Passenger side torsion bar, X member end, #892
Passenger side torsion bar with it's single blue dab for assembly line installation. That way nobody had to read numbers, or know which end was which. Drivers side bars got two dabs.
Drivers side is the odd number on Chrysler products, bar #893
Nice roller rockers. All look good and are a 1:1.5 ratio.
Exhaust headers coming off.
Knew I heard a tick on the passenger side bank. God I hate headers...
Ready to lift off the K frame, but I got stood up for the return of my engine hoist!
Passenger side torsion bar, X member end, #892
Passenger side torsion bar with it's single blue dab for assembly line installation. That way nobody had to read numbers, or know which end was which. Drivers side bars got two dabs.
Drivers side is the odd number on Chrysler products, bar #893
Nice roller rockers. All look good and are a 1:1.5 ratio.
Exhaust headers coming off.
Knew I heard a tick on the passenger side bank. God I hate headers...
Ready to lift off the K frame, but I got stood up for the return of my engine hoist!
FedEx showed up today with two parcels, header gaskets, header bolts and new lower rear shock strut studs.
These Remflex are about 60% thicker than the ones I took off. Hopefully they're the answer to longevity and no leaks.
New rear shock lower attach studs and new header bolts. Figured at a buck each it was a no brainer on the header bolts.
New Monroes for front and back and a new rear brake flex hose for body to axle.
31131 rears, 32022 fronts.
Drive shaft graffiti. Possibly assembly line markings?
Stood up for the return of my engine hoist this weekend, so had to go with plan B today and dug out my gantry. Issue, wouldn't fit past the spindles to get it centered.
That'll make it a bit narrower!
Gantry in place and engine/transmission off the K frame.
Now I can get to work on the K frame and front suspension as I have all the parts on hand to restore the assembly. Thankfully the steering box doesn't appear to need a rebuild.
These Remflex are about 60% thicker than the ones I took off. Hopefully they're the answer to longevity and no leaks.
New rear shock lower attach studs and new header bolts. Figured at a buck each it was a no brainer on the header bolts.
New Monroes for front and back and a new rear brake flex hose for body to axle.
31131 rears, 32022 fronts.
Drive shaft graffiti. Possibly assembly line markings?
Stood up for the return of my engine hoist this weekend, so had to go with plan B today and dug out my gantry. Issue, wouldn't fit past the spindles to get it centered.
That'll make it a bit narrower!
Gantry in place and engine/transmission off the K frame.
Now I can get to work on the K frame and front suspension as I have all the parts on hand to restore the assembly. Thankfully the steering box doesn't appear to need a rebuild.
Digital pics make life so easy, compared to back in the day when we just tore stuff apart and then tried to figure out how it all went together again.
Drivers side of the center link has a longer "flat" section than the passenger side.
Passenger side.
Lower control arm pivot bushings are done after 51 years.
Bit of rubber missing on this one.
Passenger side badly torn.
Making sure I have the correct idler arm before disassembly.
All front suspension off the K frame except the pitman arm from the steering box.
1 5/16" socket and the 3/4" ratchet.
Puller as tight as you can and a 5 lb hammer wack to the side of the arms socket and pop.
Drivers side of the center link has a longer "flat" section than the passenger side.
Passenger side.
Lower control arm pivot bushings are done after 51 years.
Bit of rubber missing on this one.
Passenger side badly torn.
Making sure I have the correct idler arm before disassembly.
All front suspension off the K frame except the pitman arm from the steering box.
1 5/16" socket and the 3/4" ratchet.
Puller as tight as you can and a 5 lb hammer wack to the side of the arms socket and pop.
Steering box needs some degrease and showing the 12 point head bolts and belleville washers that retain it to the K frame.
Car "restored" without removing the K frame from the car. A good 4 pounds of blasting sand and junk inside.
Contents of the K frame structure.
Ready to clean up and repaint semi gloss black.
Bolt degrease. Throw them all in an ice cream container, fill partially with your favourite degreaser (AV100LL for me), put the lid on and shake like a martini . Once clean they'll go into Evaporust to clean them up ready for rust protection coating.
Pressing out the lower control arm pivot shaft.
Note the inner bushing sleeve stayed on the shaft. Needs to be removed to reuse the shaft.
Outer shell removal tool that I bought 4 years ago, from Mancini Racing, when doing my Super Bee restoration. I had to mill the bottom face off a few thou so that the edge would fit in the small space between the LC arm socket and the bushing shell.
Tool in place and tightened up.
Bushing shell pressed out. Other ways to do this are welding a washer to the shells upper flange and pressing out, or threading an 1 1/4" tap into the shell and pressing out.
Car "restored" without removing the K frame from the car. A good 4 pounds of blasting sand and junk inside.
Contents of the K frame structure.
Ready to clean up and repaint semi gloss black.
Bolt degrease. Throw them all in an ice cream container, fill partially with your favourite degreaser (AV100LL for me), put the lid on and shake like a martini . Once clean they'll go into Evaporust to clean them up ready for rust protection coating.
Pressing out the lower control arm pivot shaft.
Note the inner bushing sleeve stayed on the shaft. Needs to be removed to reuse the shaft.
Outer shell removal tool that I bought 4 years ago, from Mancini Racing, when doing my Super Bee restoration. I had to mill the bottom face off a few thou so that the edge would fit in the small space between the LC arm socket and the bushing shell.
Tool in place and tightened up.
Bushing shell pressed out. Other ways to do this are welding a washer to the shells upper flange and pressing out, or threading an 1 1/4" tap into the shell and pressing out.
I get to do front suspension soon as well.
Lower control arms in degrease.
Removing 51 years of abuse, from 5 pound hammers and pickle forks, before media blasting.
Canada EH... -15C and power washing the K frame. Hoping with that and degrease I can get it clean enough without having to have it media blasted up the road.
I used ECS's Rust Prevention Magic on my Bee restoration. Gonna put the toaster oven away and use T9 Boeshield this round instead. $207 Cdn (w/tax and shipping) for a gallon.
New "mini" starter. Figure now is the time considering the PITA to change one with headers. Old one can be a spare to have on hand.
K frame has a few bends after 51 years to fix up.
Bucking bar and my favourite "rock" hammer.
Line up is starting for the blasting cabinet.
Removing 51 years of abuse, from 5 pound hammers and pickle forks, before media blasting.
Canada EH... -15C and power washing the K frame. Hoping with that and degrease I can get it clean enough without having to have it media blasted up the road.
I used ECS's Rust Prevention Magic on my Bee restoration. Gonna put the toaster oven away and use T9 Boeshield this round instead. $207 Cdn (w/tax and shipping) for a gallon.
New "mini" starter. Figure now is the time considering the PITA to change one with headers. Old one can be a spare to have on hand.
K frame has a few bends after 51 years to fix up.
Bucking bar and my favourite "rock" hammer.
Line up is starting for the blasting cabinet.
The easy removal process, to get the inner LCA bushing sleeves off the pivot shafts.
Mill within a few thou of the shaft.
Use one of Dad's old wood lathe chisels to peel a slot.
Pull the bushing sleeve off the shaft with zero damage.
Promised myself I'd never fight with a '69 sway bar bushing install ever again, after proving to myself I could install poly's on my Bee restoration.
This time I cut the buggers open on one side of the welded strap.
Out with the old, then blast everything, paint everything, reinstall a new rubber bushing and then weld the strap back up and touch up the paint.
Blasting cabinet line up is growing.
K frame clean up in progress. Might end up at the media blaster yet..
Grinding off some of the welding splatter from the original assembly arc strike trails. "Hack and wack", there certainly wasn't any pride in workmanship. I've seen a 10 year old do better welds.
Mill within a few thou of the shaft.
Use one of Dad's old wood lathe chisels to peel a slot.
Pull the bushing sleeve off the shaft with zero damage.
Promised myself I'd never fight with a '69 sway bar bushing install ever again, after proving to myself I could install poly's on my Bee restoration.
This time I cut the buggers open on one side of the welded strap.
Out with the old, then blast everything, paint everything, reinstall a new rubber bushing and then weld the strap back up and touch up the paint.
Blasting cabinet line up is growing.
K frame clean up in progress. Might end up at the media blaster yet..
Grinding off some of the welding splatter from the original assembly arc strike trails. "Hack and wack", there certainly wasn't any pride in workmanship. I've seen a 10 year old do better welds.
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Car looks great. Can't wait to see when the bottom matches the top.
Lots of ways to skin a cat, but can't do any of them 'till I get that mount bracket and bolt out of the way and I'm not cutting that bolt until it's a last resort.
Working away on the front suspension assembly at this point, as I have all the parts in hand to put it back together. Still waiting on the rear spring refurbishment parts...
Working away on the front suspension assembly at this point, as I have all the parts in hand to put it back together. Still waiting on the rear spring refurbishment parts...
When installing headers I use Fel Pro gaskets at the head and collector .
I tighten them cold , then get them hot and tighten again , let them get cold and tighten for the last time . Never had a failure in 100,000 miles on my van or on customer cars .
I tighten them cold , then get them hot and tighten again , let them get cold and tighten for the last time . Never had a failure in 100,000 miles on my van or on customer cars .
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Wow, great work. I have done a lot of this same stuff myself. Hard to believe these cars are over 50 years old now. I remember tinkering w them as a teenager and the junkyards were littered with them. BTW I'm 52. No stranger to the old ailments. Lower back surgery permanently damaged nerves in left leg make my calf constantly twitch on it's own, and randomly Charley horse itself. Upper fusion in my neck. Pinched nerves there kept making my hands go numb and drop tools. Getting old sucks. To think after my sons car, I have my 67 notchback, and my 94 chevy pickup to redo.
Last edited:
Joe Mc
No Car Like A MoPar!
Awesome work. Subscribed
First time I've been disappointed with Jamie from Megaparts. $140US + shipping for two new hood badges and they didn't even come with the 2 faced attachment tape.
No access to my painter during Covid and his secret hoard of epoxy paint in our water based county called Canada, so Tremclad it will be. Gloss for the torsion bar dip and then I'm experimenting to see what mix of gloss and flat will give me a nice semi-gloss to dip the sway bar and spray the K frame with.
While the A and B body cars use the same lower control arm and bushing, they use a different pivot shaft. A body left, B body right for reference. (bushing inner sleeve is still on the B body shaft)
Original OE finish of a 1969 strut bushing washer. I've had this one in dark storage since 1977.
Couriers have been "fun" this week with BS weather delays and no shows by all of them. Fortunately I decided to put the garbage out tonight and found my $1200 box of parts from National Moparts out in the rain... 1100 feet from the house.
Great service CanPar.
Only to open the box and find Nigel's packer F'd up and shorted me a good part of the order deciding that a packaged pair is the same as 2 on an item order vs the TWO PAIRS I paid for. $800 worth of parts in a $1200 box.
Oh and the bonus of the day. Opening the mail and getting a bill from UPS for my PST front suspension kit that was supposed to be shipped in the mail. So nice of them to give me a discount because I'm in their system!! FFS ! I need to get their Crown and Anchor wheel away from them....
No access to my painter during Covid and his secret hoard of epoxy paint in our water based county called Canada, so Tremclad it will be. Gloss for the torsion bar dip and then I'm experimenting to see what mix of gloss and flat will give me a nice semi-gloss to dip the sway bar and spray the K frame with.
While the A and B body cars use the same lower control arm and bushing, they use a different pivot shaft. A body left, B body right for reference. (bushing inner sleeve is still on the B body shaft)
Original OE finish of a 1969 strut bushing washer. I've had this one in dark storage since 1977.
Couriers have been "fun" this week with BS weather delays and no shows by all of them. Fortunately I decided to put the garbage out tonight and found my $1200 box of parts from National Moparts out in the rain... 1100 feet from the house.
Great service CanPar.
Only to open the box and find Nigel's packer F'd up and shorted me a good part of the order deciding that a packaged pair is the same as 2 on an item order vs the TWO PAIRS I paid for. $800 worth of parts in a $1200 box.
Oh and the bonus of the day. Opening the mail and getting a bill from UPS for my PST front suspension kit that was supposed to be shipped in the mail. So nice of them to give me a discount because I'm in their system!! FFS ! I need to get their Crown and Anchor wheel away from them....
Nice of them to leave your parts almost a 1/4 mile from the house, what a joke! I've been in the pick up and delivery business in one form or another since 1981, have never done anything like that, just ridiculous. Fricken people are so damned lazy today.
This was UPS a week ago last Wednesday with my $500US of PST parts! At least the dick picked up the newspaper...
If I leave something at a residential stop, I always try to put it somewhere that is not easily visible from the road, if possible, even if it means I have to walk a few hundred feet. Since I drive a tractor-trailer I sometimes can't get close to the house.
I've had packages left on my front porch a few times, not ideal, but generally pretty safe, not a lot of traffic on my street.
I've had packages left on my front porch a few times, not ideal, but generally pretty safe, not a lot of traffic on my street.
Today was a Blast ! 7 hours of fun today..
Lets get her going..
I don't listen to an air compressor run in my shop, so I'm certainly not listening to a shop vac. Exhaust out the door. Note the booster cable ground from air inlet to water hydrant. Your nuts will love you if you remember to do that !
I run an air bleed into the back of the cabinet so the dust flows outside via the exhaust tube due to the air flow.
A valuable "tool" from your vinyl collection. I use it to take the static charge off the viewing window.
Time to try out that $200 jug of T-9. Last round I used ECS's Rust Prevention Magic (RPM), but I'm not gonna miss the toaster oven work after finding out T-9 works better.
Filled an empty resolve container with T-9, as it has a lid for storage. Dipped each piece of hardware.
Ice cream container with a 1/4" screen mesh on top of it. Lets the parts drain and the $$ run off can be dumped back in the dipping container.
Transmission cross member all ready for paint.
Center/drag link nice and clean and ready for T-9. And I'll point it out again with a member here finding out his front end is assembled backwards. That is drivers side left and passenger side right!
Lets get her going..
I don't listen to an air compressor run in my shop, so I'm certainly not listening to a shop vac. Exhaust out the door. Note the booster cable ground from air inlet to water hydrant. Your nuts will love you if you remember to do that !
I run an air bleed into the back of the cabinet so the dust flows outside via the exhaust tube due to the air flow.
A valuable "tool" from your vinyl collection. I use it to take the static charge off the viewing window.
Time to try out that $200 jug of T-9. Last round I used ECS's Rust Prevention Magic (RPM), but I'm not gonna miss the toaster oven work after finding out T-9 works better.
Filled an empty resolve container with T-9, as it has a lid for storage. Dipped each piece of hardware.
Ice cream container with a 1/4" screen mesh on top of it. Lets the parts drain and the $$ run off can be dumped back in the dipping container.
Transmission cross member all ready for paint.
Center/drag link nice and clean and ready for T-9. And I'll point it out again with a member here finding out his front end is assembled backwards. That is drivers side left and passenger side right!
Last edited:
-
