1972/69 Dart Swinger

[Jlcaptain24]

I've lurked this place for years with random questions here and there. This is my first car restoration so its not exactly a concours level deal. My fab skills are nowhere NEAR some of the guys on here....I'm in awe at what some of your minds can produce.

So here goes.....I've been at this thing for 4 years. It's survived a divorce, a move, and job change....but it's back on the front burner, so to speak.

I'm nearly the point where everything is kinda coming together and I find myself with a lot of questions with the details. Thus, the build thread....

So here we go....I'll try to catch you up. Pics primarily...cause reading is hard (LOL)...

 

[Swinger340Canuc]

Looking forward to your build thread, post up what your working with love to see what you got and where your at.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

So here's now it sat when I purchased it. 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger. No engine...originally a 318 car. There was a 904 in it as well as a 7 1/4 rear end. Car was intact...but once I dove into it the rust was MUCH worse than I thought....

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Trunk pan was totally shot from the converter dude left sitting in there. Trunk extensions were damaged as well. I chose to patch them rather than to a complete replacement....mainly cause money was an issue at the time. Got the trunk pan from a member on here....driving through Tulsa if I remember correctly....

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Leading edge of the hood was rusted out pretty good....searching locally...I couldn't find anything. The grill was pretty damaged as well. Lots of brittle cracked plastic. I stumbled on an entire front end of a 69 dart from a member on here. He actually shipped it all the way from colorado for me. Well...he sold me a fender, hood, and front bumper. The rest I slowly scrapped together.....Thus the birth of the 72/69...

One of the fenders had a little rust that needed a patch...donated from the 72 fender

 

[Swinger340Canuc]

That's a good start, these things can get out of control if your not careful so that's a sensible way to proceed. Your grille looks to be in good shape maybe just needs freshening up, they're starting to get expensive to replace. Hope we can all help if you need any info or parts, will be watching your build, good luck with it.

Dan

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Searched high and low for 8 3/4 rear end down here....Hard to find in the A body size and expensive when you do. Opted for the 8.8 ford...had a shop swap I'n 3.27 gears, rebuild the unit, shorten the tube, and relocate spring perches. All said 600...little pricey, but I didn't trust my welding skills to glue that tube back together. Still cheaper than a 8 3/4....

 

[Princess Valiant]

so why does your title say 1972/69 dart ??

where does the 69 play into this whole thing?

EDIT: as you said ....reading is hard LOL ...I see it now

 

[Swinger340Canuc]

Just seen your reply on the grille, they're a pain in the butt but if not to bad they can sometime be repaired, real finicky work thou, should be some posts on repairing grilles on here.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

The cowl vent had some pretty good corrosion. It was at this point, i'd decided I was going to use an entire aftermarket AC system...which doesn't use fresh air. So why do I need a cowl vent?? I don't. There was SOOOOO much crap in there.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

That's a good start, these things can get out of control if your not careful so that's a sensible way to proceed. Your grille looks to be in good shape maybe just needs freshening up, they're starting to get expensive to replace. Hope we can all help if you need any info or parts, will be watching your build, good luck with it.

Dan

Thanks Dan....things are MUCH father along from those pics. I still have that 72 grill....I look at it too hard an it cracks. TX heat is pretty brutal.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

so why does your title say 1972/69 dart ??

where does the 69 play into this whole thing?

EDIT: as you said ....reading is hard LOL ...I see it now

LOL...you beat me to it!!

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Guess what else was had rust damage....the freaking firewall. I was seriously questioning my car decisions as this point.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

From this....

To this....

The green tape is covering a brake line I just ran....

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Guess what else had rust damage??? The dash...LOTS of it. Hard to see in this pic. Bought this 67 dash of eBay...The dark blue one is the new one...or the older one, depending on how you look at it...

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Which led me down the rabbit hole of gauges...

I dislike the 72 setup...

I considered a lot of options...in the end, did my own thing. I have an intelligronix 6 gauge cluster that will be going in....modified the dash for it to fit.

Also had to modify the climate control area to make it a bit bigger to fit the unit I want to use...still need to cut the hole for that.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Body work is 99% done....Opted to paint the bumpers as they had some dents and the rear had corrosion damage. Too expensive to fix/rechrome. I can always buy repops down the road if I choose.

3 coats of 2k urethan primer....and block sanding for DAYS. Skim coated some areas that weren't perceptible til I block sanded. 37 to be exact. Followed by 2 more coats of 2K. I'm HATING body work at this point. But it's going to be black...which will show every bit of laziness.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Oh...I also shaved the marker lights and antenna hole...

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Enter this turd....1976 440-3 from an RV. Dude said it was "running"...not a chance in hell. I think I paid 600 for it and the 727....

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Machine shop bored it 30 over.

SpeedPro 7025 Pistons milled to give me 9.5 Static Compression.
440 Sourced Forged Rods
Stock Forged Crank
452 Heads rebuilt
Edelbrock Performer Intake
Summit 6401 Cam

 

[Jlcaptain24]

I went in from the bottom....It was super easy. Used a wheel dolly to support the mass...couple furniture dollys for rotors and a transmission jack for the tail shaft. It was actually SUPER stable.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Oh...my headers. Rumor is they're CPPA headers. I bought them from the ol guy who build my transmission...he had em laying around and said they'd fit an A body with a 440....but they'd be pretty chopped on. I gambled that for 75 bucks they are chopped to fit power steering. I was right!!! 250 dollars later for ceramic coating....

 

[cwirth7]

sub'd!

 

[limegreen70]

Doing some Fantastic work my friend.

 

[Jlcaptain24]

Doing some Fantastic work my friend.

Thanks!!!