1970 /6 Dart

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/6 Matt

/6 Matt

30 Degrees Crooked
Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Messages
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Location
Lincolnton, NC
Well I suppose that after three years of being here, it is finally time to start a resto-thread for my Dart. What prompted this is last saturday, I went and took a 14 hour round trip to Ga and picked up a HUGE pile of slant six parts from Rob (RustyRatRod). I am in the proccess of taking inventory right now as well as pictures to make everyone jealous lol!

I have another thread somewhere else hidden in some subforum that has a good back history on the car as well as lots of pictures of it and my plans for its restoration.

Stay tuned folks there's more to come!:cheers:
 
Here is the begining of my inventory list of parts


Parts I already Had
  • Cast iron 2bbl intake purchased from Chas Duster $50+shipping
  • 1972 318 2bbl Carter purchased from a ss.org member $20+shipping
  • OEM 1970 points distributor
  • Holley 650CFM Carb
  • Carter 650CFM Thermoquad from a Pontiac (not really mine)
  • 9” Drum Brake Master Cylinder, new in box from Autozoo
Here's a shot of that intake:
View attachment IMG_1538.jpg
 
New Stuff From Rob (RustyRatRod)
  • New in-box Clevite crank main bearings
  • New in-box Hastings rings
  • New in-box Comp Cams timing set
  • Complete set of drool tubes and seals
  • 1 Rear main seal cap/retainer
  • 1 new set of lifters
  • 1 used set of lifters
  • 1 rusty set of pushrods
  • 1 dirty set of pushrods
  • 1 set of brand new Michigan cam bearings
  • 1 set of brand new Michigan rod bearings
  • 1 set of new Federal Mogul rod bearings
  • 1 set of new no-name crank main bearings
  • 1 brand new set no-name freeze plugs and cam plug
  • 1 brand new set of Elgan freeze plugs and cam plug
  • 1 Electronic ignition distributor with adjustable vaccum advance pod
  • 2 New Schmidt cork rocker-arm cover gaskets
  • 2 New Felpro non-retorque head gaskets, one in-box
  • 1 Vintage Mallory Dual-Life dual point distributor, non vaccum advance
  • 1 intake/exhaust manifold gasket
  • 1 carter 2-bbl (still at Rob's house)
All this is only what I have in a box, in my bedroom. I haven't even taken inventory on what all is sitting in the carport.
 
Clevite Main Bearings
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Hastings Rings
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Comp timing set
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Drool Tubes and Main Seal Cap
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New and Used lifters and both sets of pushrods
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Michigan cam bearings
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Michigan rod bearings are in the first pic, the second is the package flipped over to show the Federal Mogul rod bearings
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As everyone can see, I have taken lots of time to do very thorough inventory and documentation of all this stuff so that I can start thinking hard about how I gonna use it all... Not to mention so I can keep track of it all.

I wasted no time taking any parts that weren't sealed in bags out of all their boxes and then sticking them in ziplocs with some Castrol 10w-30 Oil and then grouping it all together. Saved a TON of space.
 
I am glad you like it all, Matt. It makes me feel good you are going to do something with it all. I am glad it was you that got it.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I am glad you like it all, Matt. It makes me feel good you are going to do something with it all. I am glad it was you that got it.
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I'm glad you're as happy about it as I am dude. I'm gonna tell ya, all this inventory I've been doing, it feels like Christmas morning as a kid lol!
 
soooo...I take it your leaving this car a six .....which is awesome ....I am guilty of a lot of v8 swaps but sometimes I wish I had some of my cars back to the way they were when I first met them.

good call on keeping the slanty ....great engine, great car.
 
RaniDart70 said:
soooo...I take it your leaving this car a six .....which is awesome ....I am guilty of a lot of v8 swaps but sometimes I wish I had some of my cars back to the way they were when I first met them.

good call on keeping the slanty ....great engine, great car.
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Yes mam I sure is. When I was younger, like 12-13, I had been considering a 340 or a 360 (SB strokers were not the norm yet) and as I got older I got into reading all the mopar magazines. Through all the magazines I read their was always one thing in common with 98% of the cars their...

8 Cylinders. :banghead:

No love for the 6 cylinders.... No love.... So I decided I was going to keep the car a slant. Car shows in this area are ridiculous: Chevelles, Mustangs, Novas, Torino's, Crapmaros, new muscle. All bellybutton cars IMO. I still like them, they are pretty, I can respect the craftsmanship. But everyone and their bother's sister's mother's cousin's uncle's boyfriend has one.

All of them have V8's. So the plan for a long time has been to build a slant six mopar so tastefully unique that I can park it beside a Superbird and steal it's thunder lol!

I fell in love with my slant six for the..... er..... "performance". I can beat the living crap out that tiny little engine and it always comes crawling back for more. I can drive it like grandma and it buzzes along happily. It always gets me from point A to point B and I respect it for that.

As far as leaving your cars the way you met them Rani, I wouldn't think twice about it. I get really excited when I find Darts very similar to mine like that one you have, but I still have big (on the verge of crack-pipe) dreams for the car and I'll never look back. Build it the way you want it!:D
 
BTW, stick around folks, there's more inventory taking and pictures to come!:glasses7:
 
your car always catches my eye ....I cant believe how much it is almost exactly like this one I have here ...same color, same top, same engine ....everything.

the only difference is this one had bucket seats ......and is a 3 speed manual. but other than that same car.

I love green cars.

are you planning to keep yours green?
 
You should totally share some pictures of that car sometime Rani, the only pic I have seen of it is that one of it sitting on the trailer, I love that Dart.

I plan to keep mine green, but not the same green. More on that later.
 
Here goes some more inventory:coffee:

2 oil pans
View attachment IMG_1574.jpg
1 super six intake
View attachment IMG_1558.jpg
2 exhaust manifolds, 3 oil dipsticks and 1 transmission dipstick
View attachment IMG_1572.jpg
1 A/C compressor still bolted to it's bracket
View attachment IMG_1567.jpg
1 Crusty peanut plug head and two rocker arm covers
View attachment IMG_1571.jpg
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1 cast crank, 1 forged crank and a camshaft
View attachment IMG_1573.jpg
1 set of pistons with rods installed
View attachment IMG_1570.jpg
 
Now for the really good stuff
1 completely rebuilt head, needs a little cleaning with some emory cloth and it is ready to bolt on and go!
View attachment IMG_1568.jpg
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904 slant transmission, a little crusty but a good tranny
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1 cast crank 225 block and one forged crank 225 block
View attachment IMG_1559.jpg
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I have yet to flip the blocks over and pull the numbers of the deck to find out exactly what I am working with here, but here is the number on the side of the cast crank block
View attachment IMG_1563.jpg
And the number on the forged crank block
View attachment IMG_1564.jpg
Hey Rob, what's up with all the dots on the side of the cast crank block? I didn't notice them till I unloaded the stuff Saturday evening and I made note to ask Dad, then he asked me the next morning. Everyone is clueless on this.
View attachment IMG_1562.jpg
This is a shot of the number three and four cylinders on the cast crank block. #3 definitely needs a sleeve like Rob said because there is heavy rust pitting in the direction the arrow is pointed, #4 I am in question on because the rust pitting circled in the cylinder wall is very low where the rings won't touch.
View attachment IMG_1566.jpg
One last picture and then I am done with pics of inventory, even though there still is more stuff, just not as major and mostly odds n ends type things.

This is the forged crank block. See those nice pretty brand new cam bearings? (I haven't miked them yet to see if they really are new like they appear, do you remember if they are or not Rob?) Is there a way I can remove those so that I can bag, oil and store them suckers?
View attachment IMG_1561.jpg
 
So several months ago I had pulled the heater box out while doing some under dash work and I had discovered how nasty the the cowl was. Off came the whole front clip and one massive cowl cleaning later I had the car half assembled and ended up driving the car around all summer with the heater box out.

Problem solved.:cheers:

Yesterday I got out in the car and restled that sucka back in and went through the arduous task of hooking everything up and making sure it was adjusted properly and I am VERY happy to report that the heat now works better than ever. I was sweating during the test drive! :D

The only problem I have is that the vaccum accuator for the max A/C air door is shot, it wasn't actuating the door and when I borrowed a vaccum tester to use on it, it wouldn't hold vaccum at all. I ended up just leaving it for now and rubberbanding the door shut but the question remains, where can I get a replacement? Anyone know?
 
So, what will be up next will be a some transmission work. The transmission in my car is the only original drivetrain piece as the engine is a reman from the PO and the rear is from a 70' Duster. The tranny has about 200,000 miles on it and is becoming very erratic. When it's cold it slps alot and gives very mushy shifts and sometimes on takeoff it acts like it's in neutral. When it warms up it shifts really harsh and firm.

The game plan is to cleanup the tranny rob gave me, do a service on it and change the fluid in the converter too and replace the front and rear seals while it is still out of the car. I'm kind of excited to put it in the car because it is a lock-up converter transmission and I can use everybit of a cruising rpm drop I can get due to those 3.55 gears that I love to hate.

Stay tuned folks, I'll keep everyone updated.
 
Update: working on some new wheels for my car.

I bought these steelies from barracudakid back at the begining of the year and had the tires unmounted and my dad was kind enough to take them to work and stick them in the sandblasting cabinet and bring them down to bare metal.

Yesterday I laid them down on cardboard and got to priming.
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Some wheels looked better than others. This wheel has some odd rash on it, another wheel in the group does too.
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Here's anothe wheel with some heavy pitting.
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This is the best wheel of the bunch.
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This is definitely the worst of the bunch.
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Here's the primer I'm using
View attachment IMG_1746.jpg
And I used this for a guide coat cause I had some left over from a model I just built and it was the only paint I had on hand.
View attachment IMG_1747.jpg

Plan is to sand with 80, go to 180, sand one last time with 320 and then prime again, scuff with 320 and hit them with F4 light green metallic. Then I'll need to track down some dog dishes lol.

On my next day off I plan to pull the transmission that Rob gave me out of hiding and take measurements of the pan for my dad. Dad's gonna fabricate a plate to bolt in place of the cup on my jack that will hug the 904's pan so that we don't have to rent a transmission jack.

On a side note, I finally applied my A body stickers.
View attachment IMG_1748.jpg
 
Nice Matt! Can't wait to see the wheels done and get to work on the grill ! ;)
 
I'm hooked on slants,,,, Damn good engines
 

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Very nice project! I like steel wheels too. I agree with you thoughts about slants, their durability, and how nice it is to have something a little different.
 
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