1970 Dart Swinger FINALLY UNDERWAY

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oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy :blob:

media blasting!

the shop made very quick work of it seeing as it was only brought in last thursday, they've already gotten it mounted on the rotisserie and blasted

a couple surprises but nothing too unexpected, the entire floor pan swiss cheesed front and rear floor pans. one awkward place that rotted out was the cowl where the where the heater box mounts too, see the pictures I took.

the quarters are exactly as I expected them, front fenders blew out a little bit where they mount to the inner fender but overall its not too too bad for a winter driven, 40 year old new england car.

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R/F inner fender

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front of the L/R wheel well

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floors are pretty much like this all around

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roof seams cleaned up very well

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trunk floor is solid oddly enough

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nice clean inner wheel well

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(cont...)

this is the spot on the inside of the cowl, up underneath the dash that I was talking about

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front of the R/R wheel well and door frame

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pinholes on the fender, should be patched using an extra fender I had

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shop was nice enough to also blast all the brackets and shackles

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Nice Dude! Looking forward to seeing it go back together. Let me know when you want to weld in the new floor pan/transmission hump.
 
Yeah, it might be a while haha. I'll let you know if I have to, I'm gonna check how much it would be for the body shop to do it while it's in there.

Oh by the way I asked about the sandblasting for you, would have been 600ish to do the whole car inside and out providing it was already stripped like mine was.
 
Well the car that I am doing is actually worse, so don't feel too bad. Yours actually isn't that bad. Just keep after it.
 
Update time,

Went over to the body shop today to check things out and go over some points on the car that the body man wanted to show me. Going to have to replace both front inner fenders, of course the usual rust that I expected to show up once panels started getting cut off. Gave them the go ahead to take on the work for that.

Work is getting done pretty quick though, they've already got the roof patch in and a couple other spots that needed work. Along with hanging the doors.

Looking at it more the passenger fender shredded in the sand blaster so I'll be in the market for one of those (preferably a solid, mid-southwest one)

Good news is that all the frame rails and cross members are good, only going to have to replace one of the floor pan braces.

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You are at a point where an Art Morrison chassis would probably save time AND money. Just sayin........
 
How would buying a whole new chassis/suspension for a car that already has a perfectly fine chassis/suspension save me any money/time at all? :-k

Not to mention I don't even think any of those parts are for A-bodies... not mention these cars are unibody anyway.

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They make them to a width you specify as well as wheelbase. You called it a Pro Touring build and from what I can tell, a few more spot welds and the front rails are gone anyway. AM makes bikini clips with C5 suspension and rack and pinion to your specs also that are just the front clip. Not trying to offend didn't know you were set on using stock suspension.
 
Not offended I just don't see how it would save me money, time I'm not really bothered with haha. Besides I like the idea of doing everything myself, I think if I build the car myself I'll have a better idea of what went into it and what limits I can push it too.

Most of the suspension modifications are going to be designed and fabricated personally, it's just the way I like to do things I suppose. I'm working on the rear end right now tying in the 8.8 sway bar and traction bars as well as working up a watts linkage setup. Front end right now is going to be done with double adjustable shocks (toying with coilover shocks), 1" torsion bars, a firmfeel 1 1/4" sway bar and I'll be reinforcing the LCAs.

I still need to grab up some subframe connectors and fab up some tubular stiffeners that weld to the shock mounts - firewall

In the future I might pick up an alterkation front end but until then...

(yes I dream larger than my current budget... must save money)
 
I believe MaDart sells the tubular connectors that run from the firewall inside the fender to the shock mount ear. Looks like a quality piece for a good price. Unless you really want to do it all yourself lol

Are you having the body shop weld in the new floors and transmission hump while its there?
 
Funny I actually just found that thread and PM'd him about the last set he's got, it does look like a good piece and will save me some headache.

Yeah it looks like I might as well, they're doing everything else and we're trying to get AMD to cut us a deal on the body panels since we're ordering a ton of stuff from them...

BTW mike you don't by any chance know anyone with a spare passenger fender?
 
I don't know anybody local, but I know a few guys here with extra fenders. You may as well just list a wanted ad. Somebody will have what you need.
 
Found a solid fender from a guy in minnesota actually, should be on it's way.

Going to check up on the car tomorrow. Will have pics when I get back but so far the floor is in along with the passenger quarter and inner wheel well. Subframe connectors should be on the way along with the drivers quarter which is the last piece we're waiting on.

Unfortunately at this point I've reached about as far outside my budget as I can go and due to the cost of having to replace both front inner fenders I can no longer afford paint. Most I can do at this point is just be happy with my solid car and rattle bomb it just to give it something until I can afford to make it as pretty as I promised it.:thumrigh:

Just trying to justify to myself spray painting it after putting so much into the bodywork:mumum:
 
Keep up the good work it will be awsome when you finish.One day at a time.BTW where did you get the panels?
 
Got some more parts back from sandblasting,

Bumper brackets, shackles and battery tray. Going to paint most of these with some POR15

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Went over to the shop today to take a look on the weekly progress. The passenger side full quarter and my new passenger fender came in so they're on, the quarter just has to be welded now and trimmed a bit. Inner fenders have gone in and it's starting to look like a car again. 4 speed hump is in place and cut out, just needs to get bonded to the floor and seam sealed.

I am going to have to get a new hood though, it was a little rusty and went all swiss cheese on me when they started cleaning it up. This is good for me because thinking I had a good hood was the only thing stopping me from getting a fiberglass 6 pak hood. Looks like I'm getting a fiberglass hood and eliminating my hood hinges. :D

My subframe connectors from seymour_scamp came in, they look great! Really good work and they fit well!

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Subframe connectors in the shop ready to get welded in, they really well.

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Eric I shipped your Inner fender braces today via UPS. Should be there Friday. BTW the frame connectors look good. I love watching your build come together.
 
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