1974 Dodge Dart Sport rebuild

[mygasser]

i assume you're mig welding? it looks like you need to either lower your wire speed or increase the power/voltage/amps or a bit of both. you'll get flatter welds with better penetration that require much less grinding. if i'm 'telling my granny how to suck eggs' then just ignore me, if not i hope it helps.
neil.
ps when adding to the lip weld a wider piece than you need and cut it back afterwards. trying to weld a really thin strip without it wobbling out of shape from the heat is a ballache.

 

[Builderguy]

First pass at making the repair panel look like factory. One more pass and it will be fine.

This was what I started with

 

[Builderguy]

All done with the quarter panel repair.

 

[Builderguy]

Had to fix an accidental cut I made. No one is perfect, right?

 

[Builderguy]

Remember this pic?

I was curious so I did a little digging. The PO, or at least the person who installed this 360 where a 318 used to reside, used the wrong insulators. For a 360 they should have been; for the right side #3642 810 and for the left side #3642 813. NOPE, they used #3642 819 on the left (which is for a 318 Satellite or Charger) and #3817 122 on the right (which is for a 360 Station Wagon). Now I have to hunt down the correct ones. More time and $$$

 

[340six]

Remember this pic?
View attachment 1716405093

I was curious so I did a little digging. The PO, or at least the person who installed this 360 where a 318 used to reside, used the wrong insulators. For a 360 they should have been; for the right side #3642 810 and for the left side #3642 813. NOPE, they used #3642 819 on the left (which is for a 318 Satellite or Charger) and #3817 122 on the right (which is for a 360 Station Wagon). Now I have to hunt down the correct ones. More time and $$$

Yes 340/360 takes a different mount ears are different offset on the 340/360 blocks. When I installed my 340 X Block into my 340 Dart Sport I had to find a 318 mount I had the opposite need lol.
They do make a soild tube spacer so you can pay less Mopar Tax.

 

[mygasser]

Had to fix an accidental cut I made. No one is perfect, right?

View attachment 1716405048View attachment 1716405050

sometimes you have to cut into good steel to make a better repair next to it. easy enough to sort the 'cuts' afterwards though
neil.

 

[Builderguy]

Still in this insulator rabbit hole. Pulled them off and they are the same except for one being left and one right. But I did find that the right one has the correct part number for what I need. Only need to find the left one now. RA has it but it just doesn't look right. Now I just have to find my way out of this damn hole!

 

[Builderguy]

Then a miner yelled out, "There's a light up above" And 20 men scrambled from a would-be grave! I don't know where the other 19 guys went, but I am out of the rabbit hole at last.

Down another one.

Started to tear down the engine. Just too curious, I guess. The 360 was born on 8/21/78 but the only other ID numbers I can find, don't make sense to me.

9W3 11 51 is not a language I understand. The pad by the oil pan rail was blank.

I did pull the plugs and they don't look too bad, but the PO was having some carburetor issues.

Thought about putting the bore scope down the holes but then there would be no end to it.
The heads would be next, then the bottom end, then @#%$@ NOPE NOPE NOPE gotta stop now! There is body work to do, enough with the rabbit holes already.

 

[Builderguy]

The last of the wiring has been removed!

Fuel gauge wire needs a little help.

Tomorrow I will pressure wash/disinfect the whole body. Frigging mice!!!! I normally don't disinfect a car but those rat bastards made such a mess in the headliner that I would just feel better knowing the next owner has a clean/healthy car starting out. Probably better for my health too as I am the one sanding on it hour after hour.

 

[Builderguy]

Watching a huge storm pass through our area and had nothing to do, so I did a little checking on the PO installed 360 that is in this Dart Sport. Found out some information that is going to take some further research. In 1979 there was an E58 police edition 360 that was installed in the Lil' Red Express trucks. The engine ID pad on these was blank, my engine pad ID is blank.
The only numbers are on the block, just below the cylinder head. Mine are 9 for 1979, W for Windsor Plant, the next three are, 360, followed by the letters IT and then 4 numbers that are the build date, mine are XX51. Maybe, just maybe this 360 is one of those. Makes me want to open it up even more. LOL Anyway, we will see what unfolds.

 

[Builderguy]

The calm after the storm! Today is just plain beautiful. Rolled the car out to pressure wash it, disinfect it, and remove a bunch of hardened grease. A couple of hours later and it is much cleaner, smells GREAT, and is safe to work around. I am sure the future owner will appreciate the bath it got. Current status: Mud Dauber nests are gone, all remains of the mice activity is gone, mouse smell is gone, decades hard grease is gone, and some light flash rust has appeared as it dries in the sun. PERFECT

 

[Builderguy]

Always look for a bright spot. The rear seat covers just came in from PUI and they look great! Plus they are made in the USA!!!! WIN WIN

 

[Builderguy]

I took a little more time to look over the 360 that I need to rebuild. The wife and I examined the numbers and found the following:

Casting date: 08-21-78
Build Date: 09-08-78
Engine ID pad: Blank
Build Numbers: 9W360IT6251
Number 6251 (10,000 day calendar) is Sept 8th, 1978

Still have no idea of what car/truck the engine was originally in.

Will know a lot more when I tear it down.

 

[Builderguy]

There I was, standing in my foxhole, knee deep in grenade pins, thinking about my life choices. This was supposed to be a simple grind, treat, prime, and shoot; not a remove all the seam seal, grind it all down to bare metal, treat for rust, replace "all" the seam seal, epoxy prime, high build prime, sand sand sand, enamel paint, and then cover it all up with a trunk mat. On the plus side, at least it is still solid and won't need a trunk pan.

When I started to pull up loose seam seal, the rust was exposed underneath. By the time I got back to solid metal, most of the seam seal was gone. Might just as well remove it all and start fresh. Okay, decision made, time to implement.

START

LOOSE SEAM SEAL

GETTING THERE

 

[Builderguy]

Let this set for a bit while I switch to the engine compartment.
Not done but it is step #2 in the process.

 

[Builderguy]

Step #1 on the engine bay is about 1/2 way done.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

[Builderguy]

Most of the engine compartment is done, just have to switch to smaller sanding tool to finish up.

I had forgotten that one of the fender J nuts tore itself off. Have to fix that, no big deal.

One of these is not like the other.

 

[TF360]

Moving along quick!

 

[Builderguy]

This sanding party is getting boring, time to bring in the stripper!

Stripper is on the stage!

I will not rate her performance (she is one I never used before) until tomorrow. I will let you know her name and how she did.

Had a free moment so I grabbed the exhaust hanger setup to see how that will go. The actual pipe hanger is OEM so that is correct, but the mount is after market and is a little different than the original. Might be that the left side is different as it also has the brake line attachment point. IDK Maybe someone in the know can tell me if the aftermarket part is correct. Thanks in advance.

Side note: This is the stuff that makes me smile. Seeing the way they did the blackout treatment from the factory. The runs, the drips, and the errors. LOL

 

[Builderguy]

This stripper will be invited back, she performed GREAT!! Very little mess left behind, smelled great, and actually worked well. I used a small wire brush and off it came. I did let it sit overnight.

BEFORE

AFTER

AND HERE SHE IS

Available 7 days a week at your local WalMart store. IIRC it is around $17

For cleanup, I just shot some brake clean over it, followed by some wax and grease remover.

 

[Builderguy]

When I was cleaning things up I noticed a couple of broken spot welds. Fixed and on to the next thing.

 

[340six]

Great work still and fast. I like the nose cars. Factory welds suck, I had a few as well. And my k frame looked like a a drunk, smoked some weed and thoughts of learning to weld was a good idea

 

[Builderguy]

Did a little work on the floor pans. Noticed a huge dent (upward about 3/4" and the size of a lady's fist) in the left rear foot well. I should have taken a photo but I did not think this was going to be a long drawn out repair. Anyway, I gently (with a sledge hammer) forced the dent back down. Even though I did it very slowly, the metal had nowhere to go. Too much metal for a given area causes "Oil Canning". You know, where you can push the metal up and down with a slight popping noise in each direction. &^%$#$% more work! I tried to take some pics to show this but not sure it does. The upper right piece of tape is where the big ol' dent was.

First pic is metal pushed down and second is when pressure is released. Moves about an 1/8" to 3/16" up and down.

Just locate where the largest amount of movement is.

Heat it up with a propane torch, as it does not have to be molten, just very hot. You should see a color change when it is good and hot.

Then remove the flame and quench the area. Colder water please. I just use a micro fiber cloth and soak it. Quickly place the cold wet towel on the spot. The metal should start to tighten back up (science I guess). May take a few times, adjusting the flame to where the metal moves the most each time. I did it about 7-8 times on this repair before there was no more movement, well at least not "oil canning". Still had a small amount of flex, but was the same as the other foot well. PERFECT

 

[Builderguy]

On to that tear on the inner fender support. Remember this one?

Half hour later and it looks like this:

Which is a little better than the factory hole next to it.