1971 Dodge Dart Beginnings...

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Nappa82

Nappa82

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Feb 18, 2012
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I'm the proud owner of a 71 Dodge Dart. Just bought the car on 2/18/12. I have never restored a car nor do I have much knowledge on it. Thankfully my best friend is and has been helping me as he is very good with cars. I will be learning as much as I can from here and from him so all comments and advice (Constructive/good) is appreciated. Please feel free to ask any questions you have about the car and I will answer the best I can.

I will edit this post with more info a bit later when I get back home.

Here is a link to photobucket of the car. I took all these photos today. If anyone would like more/better photos let me know what youd like to look at and I can take some more.

http://s1153.photobucket.com/albums/p511/dodgedart82/
 
It's good to see another Demon on the site, welcome from Texas. Tell us what your plans are for the car.
 
My first goal is to make it run like new again. I am currently in the process of replacing everything I can (hoses, filters, wiring, plugs). It runs but it is a bit rough around the edges. Needs a tuneup bad. I will be doing that tomorrow.

As far as a long term goal, I plan to get it looking new again. It will be as close to original as I can possibly make it. I am however still on the fence about weather or not I want to keep the 225 in it or replace it with a V8. I want a lot of power but I am in no hurry to just run out and get it. I want to learn to crawl before I run.
 
Did a tuneup today and she runs WAY better now. Went on a shopping spree and bought myself a bunch of new tools and boxes. Many new parts for the car and a lot of general maintenance stuff.


There was no paperwork on the car aside from the pink slip. The guy said his dad had it for over 20 years and that one other person owned it before then. I have been playing CSI trying to figure out what all has changed on the car. The engine has been rebuilt and the interrior has been half assed. Muffler looks a bit botched and is really old. I haven't been able to get under the car to really look at it and will do so in the next few days.
 
Well I have let this go long enough and have asked around town at the auto shops to see what was supposed to be in this hole...
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What was in there was this wire.....
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So.. as you can see I'm 99.9999999% sure that is not the part for that :p Is there supposed to be a pin in there?

I ordered a book on the car and have also ordered an original owners manual but neither will be in for a few days. Yikes these photos really show the dirt lol.
 
Looks like its in pretty good shape. Solid at least.

As Demonracer already pointed out, your car isn't a Dart, its actually a Demon. Very cool, even with the slant 6 in it. Although, if you do decide to put a V8 in it you'll probably also want to get rid of the 9" drums and the 7 1/4 rear end. The 7 1/4 rear won't take much power, and the 9" drums won't stop much. :grin:

The steering coupler is supposed to have a pin in it. The lack of the pin, and the blue steering column make me think that the power steering may have been added later, and the column picked up to match the steering (manual steering shafts are longer than power steering shafts). But decoding the fender tag should tell you.

Good luck with your Demon!
 
Thank you all for the help. I do plan to change the drums. Thinking of converting to pads. The rear end is on the list of things to get. As of now my goal is to get the engine running better and making sure all the nuts and bolts are there.
 
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