1974 Dart Swinger VS. The Evils Of Rust!

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Thanks for the words of encouragement guys! Since I have the 73 style marker light hole on the new panel, and I need to replace the lower section on the other side, I'll just keep the 73 location.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/72-73-Dodge...4?fits=Model:Dart&hash=item3a8fab1e66&vxp=mtr

Anyone know a good supplier for this part? I really would rather not buy from the same vendor... I just checked the AMD website and don't this part available.
 
We've made a little more progress on the bodywork, but I don't have any good pics to share. Since everyone likes pics, I thought I would show a little bit of what the future holds for the dart...

 
trunk15.jpg
ttt.jpg
I love the progress, the condition was eerily familiar......It's a dart thing they wouldn't understand......
 
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Nice! Someone's gotta save em! From what I've seen most would have turned our darts into parts cars.
 
low_kota said:
Thanks for the words of encouragement guys! Since I have the 73 style marker light hole on the new panel, and I need to replace the lower section on the other side, I'll just keep the 73 location.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/72-73-Dodge...4?fits=Model:Dart&hash=item3a8fab1e66&vxp=mtr

Anyone know a good supplier for this part? I really would rather not buy from the same vendor... I just checked the AMD website and don't this part available.
Click to expand...


Try stephens performance:

http://www.stephensperformance.com/
 
dukeboy_318 said:
Just so you know, the only difference between a 72-73 quarter panel and a 74 quarter panel is the marker light locations. Dimensionally and body line wise, they are the same. However, I don't think you got an AMD as I was under the impression AMD was US made.
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Dartnut said:
Good progress, keep it up.
The panel looks like a Goodmark one, not AMD.
BTW, AMD panels are stamped in China, but the tooling is developed in the U.S.A. then shipped over there. This is why they can put on their boxes "Made in the U.S.A."
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I want to put a correction here. I bought my drivers side quarter directly from AMD themselves. Note the attached picture to confirm it says 72-76. I bought this back at the 2015 Mopar nats and finally got around to installing it this past weekend. I ran into the exact same issue you did. its almost an inch too short. Also, there is a sticker on the panel itself stating it was made in Taiwan.
 
dukeboy_318 said:
I want to put a correction here. I bought my drivers side quarter directly from AMD themselves. Note the attached picture to confirm it says 72-76. I bought this back at the 2015 Mopar nats and finally got around to installing it this past weekend. I ran into the exact same issue you did. its almost an inch too short. Also, there is a sticker on the panel itself stating it was made in Taiwan.
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I stand corrected then.
I thought mine said ''Made in China'' on them.
There's still no excuse for the panels being too short, from what i read, the dies were made in the U.S.A. and then sent overseas to actually manufacture the panels, bad quality control i guess........
 
Dartnut said:
I stand corrected then.
I thought mine said ''Made in China'' on them.
There's still no excuse for the panels being too short, from what i read, the dies were made in the U.S.A. and then sent overseas to actually manufacture the panels, bad quality control i guess........
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yeah, i spoke with a vendor about them this morning at a swap meet and pretty much confirmed my thinking as to the problem. when they changed the rears in 74, the last part of the quarter where it goes to the tail panel is infact a different length than the previous years. the angle where it welds to the tail panel is also different slightly. AMD did not stamp these panels for much more than a year from what this vendor told me so she thought as I did, being that AMD realized their issues and stopped production of them.

My solution is to cut and weld the pieces I need from either my junk factory quarter, or try to find a piece from a car in a junkyard, shouldnt have too go thru this but no choice.
 
Ok.... I know I haven't posted any real updates since 2015, so here goes...

All the heavy body work is finished. The driver side lower quarter panel was replaced with a 73 style patch so that the marker light will match. I wonder if anyone will ever notice that my 74 has the marker lights in the location of a 73...

The entire trunk floor and trunk extensions have been replaced, as well as a small patch on the driver side fender. The car is now officially rust free!
20161002_140255.jpg

20161002_140308.jpg

These pics are a few years old. Once the car got to this point, it sat for about 2 years because I bought a 73 Duster "parts car" that turned into project.
I got the duster cleaned up and back on the road.

Before:
20160722_165211.jpg


After:
Duster.jpg

Dusty.jpg
 
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That is awesome I love both of them! Keep up the good work and keep us posted on the 74. You did a really great job on the body!
 
Looks like you moved up to a larger garage.
 
Yes! We moved in April. I had a 1 car garage at the old house that couldn't fit my toolbox. Having the 3 car garage makes things a lot easier.
 
Dartn440 said:
Great to see another 74 going back together. Miss mine. And why can I never find a complete car that runs for $500?
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They're getting harder and harder to find. Every time a moron sells overpriced junk to a drunken fool at Barret Jackson a new mopar fan dies inside and prices go up.
 
I have to pay up for stuff around me and it ALL needs work. In some cases just not little stuff either.
 
low_kota said:
Ok.... I know I haven't posted any real updates since 2015, so here goes...

All the heavy body work is finished. The driver side lower quarter panel was replaced with a 73 style patch so that the marker light will match. I wonder if anyone will ever notice that my 74 has the marker lights in the location of a 73...

The entire trunk floor and trunk extensions have been replaced, as well as a small patch on the driver side fender. The car is now officially rust free!
View attachment 1715265877
View attachment 1715265878
These pics are a few years old. Once the car got to this point, it sat for about 2 years because I bought a 73 Duster "parts car" that turned into project.
I got the duster cleaned up and back on the road.

Before:
View attachment 1715265879

After:
View attachment 1715265880
View attachment 1715265881
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Master pieces take time
 
I just saw thread, great work! Check around the door strikers. I know earlier A bodies tend to tear the door jamb around the striker washer because the metal is just thin. I think they may have changed it on later years, but I would hate for you to get is done and have this issue rear its ugly head

841D31F0-2C55-4351-94B4-C0A6463B2185.jpeg
 
Any advices or tips on how properly doing this? I have no welding experience! Costly to send to a shop? My front right floor pan is badly rusted. I also found my brodcast sheet, was under the carpet but sheet in very bad condition.

low_kota said:
Over the weekend we started replacing the floor pans with new metal from rock auto and got the driver side front pan almost finished. I don't have a lot of experience welding so I am getting a lot of help from my Dad, this car will give me plenty of practice to develop my welding skills. Here are some pics from this weekend:
b2d08b3a.jpg

bb7e8519.jpg

e5735c3d.jpg
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Dart/Valiant said:
Any advices or tips on how properly doing this? I have no welding experience! Costly to send to a shop? My front right floor pan is badly rusted. I also found my brodcast sheet, was under the carpet but sheet in very bad condition.
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Clean metal, the right size wire and settings, and above all else, practice, practice, practice (did I say practice) on some scrap sheet metal the same thickness as the replacement pans.

Then either order you a patch panel or make one. Or replace the whole floor if you want a factory like install
 
For pitted surface rust on horizontal surfaces like the roof, i have been using naval jelly from walmart, with sheet plastic to cover it and keep it wet, and a small steel wire brush to scrub it periodically and recover it. Sometimes adding more fresh naval jelly. It turns black as it removes the rust. When it does this, peel the plastic back, scrape the black off, scrub with the wire brush, and reapply more naval jelly. It does take time, however the end result is clean pitted steel ready for a primer sealer, no brown steel oxide in the pits to keep rusting.

To rinse it off, go to lowes or home depot in the paint section. Buy a box of trisodium phosphate. You add about 5 table spoons of this to a 1 gallon plastic bucket of water. Wipe the excess naval jelly off with a clean paper towel, then using the TSP and water mixture, scrub with the wire brush one last time then rinse with a TSP and water coated paper towel and dry. Inspect the pits to make sure theres no more brown rust oxides in the bottoms of the pits.

The TSP and water solution neutralizes the naval jelly and prevents flash rust from forming on the clean metal. I have a 69 notchback someone brutalized with a sander then left it to rust. Some areas have paint to strip other areas are pitted surface rusted metal. Look at my build thread w my son titled 67/68/69 cuda dilemma. Theres lots of good ideas about rust removal and treating in the last 4-5 pages of the thread.
 
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