70 340 4-speed dart - talk me off the ledge

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You know what the right answer is or you wouldn't have asked us to talk you off the ledge. You know it's just not worth the time, effort and money... AND it never will be.
The same debate goes on about Ferraris and almost every other kind of car.
I hate to see a cool car like this disappear but the math tells the story.
If you really want a car like this sell this one and start looking for a better candidate.
 
MOPAROFFICIAL said:
Most if not all the people who are telling you to part it...want parts from it.lol
FIX IT, TAKE YOUR TIME...NO HURRY.
Its just sheet metal , patch weld or flange it, fill it...no one cares if you use expensive repop panels and they shouldnt.
Just maybe buy the repop rails and then just grab a sheet or 2 to do all the rocker panels, lower fenders,1/4. I've seen worse get brought back in about yr by guys with no money , just brains and a welder with some paint skills.
I have looked into trunks and seen plain sheet patched in, painted and nice...and said to myself.."this car could have been junk, if some Galen goobier had decided rerop parts or scrap...this car would be a memory.
Save it!
Click to expand...

This is what i needed to hear. I will get pics when its up on the lift.

To start i think patching the frame rails and floor and fire wall are mandatory...and to be honest part of the reason i wanted the car was to test my skills.
 
abodyjoe said:
Can ya sell it as is?

Just doesn't seem worth it to me. You'll have 40k into a 25k car. I could see if maybe there was some sentimental attachment of something but I still don't see it being worth it. All that for a VIN tag. I'd buy s clean car and build what you want out of it. Too much time and money for me to be bothered with that thing.
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SSVDP said:
You know what the right answer is or you wouldn't have asked us to talk you off the ledge. You know it's just not worth the time, effort and money... AND it never will be.
The same debate goes on about Ferraris and almost every other kind of car.
I hate to see a cool car like this disappear but the math tells the story.
If you really want a car like this sell this one and start looking for a better candidate.
Click to expand...

Deep down i know you're both right, but i am going to resist sanity on this one until i get it on the lift. If it can be patched, it will get repaired...but to be clear will not be a restoration.
 
I would not patch the frame rails. We have members here who have good used ones available.
 
If you want to patch it, maybe make it safe to drive that's great and might even be worth that effort.
But many have been in the same position and you should learn from their experience.
I just want you to enjoy what you're doing and the end result.
 
340duster340 said:
This is what i needed to hear. I will get pics when its up on the lift.

To start i think patching the frame rails and floor and fire wall are mandatory...and to be honest part of the reason i wanted the car was to test my skills.
Click to expand...

the key is doing the work yourself ....if you have a shop do it, the car will be upside down the minute they look at it.

I know AMD panels are expensive but if you get one at a time, you will be glad you did. I can say from experience, they make the quality of the build go up and you wont regret it. I am doing a tail panel repair right now on a Demon for my dad and it could have been patched and all ...but I am using an AMD panel and the dang thing is like using an NOS panel.

Just one piece at a time and get it done. you will save a lot if you use O.E. style single stage paint. So much is available for this popular body style to have a top notch fix up. Your car is worth it, I also have a 70 swinger that was a slant six car but where mine is a total rust free Colorado car, I only wish it were an original 340/4 speed car like that one....so your car is worth a great deal of effort.
 
IMO, if you're going to do the car,
Do it right! Get the full frame rail from member "crackedback", and repair the frame the correct way! If you are saving the car, and want it to be worthy, don't cut corners!

With that said, I would also pull it into the shop and start dismantling it and taking stock of what you have before making any decision about its future! It doesn't cost a cent to take the seats out, clean the entire interior, inspect the floor pans, and make a list of the needed sheet metal! Same with the trunk, and engine bay! The engine would have to come out anyway to do a frame rail, and won't hurt a sale if you end up not keeping it! Get it right down to the point where you can inspect every aspect of the car, but not so far that you can't turn back! Do everything you can that's free, make a list of needed parts as you go, then when you get to the point where you can see everything it needs, and how much $$$ the needed metal costs, then decide if you can afford it, and if your heart is in the job! Then jump, one way or the other!! Good luck brother!!!
 
Some people may not agree with this, but I would patch what can be patched and make it a beater/ driver car. Doesn't hurt a car to be alittle ratty
 
I would find a clean body, and put all the good 340 car parts into it. I'm not saying in any way to make a rebody, or to use the 340 vin. Just get a better body, make it cool, and enjoy it a lot sooner and less burned out.
 
furyus2 said:
I would find a clean body, and put all the good 340 car parts into it. I'm not saying in any way to make a rebody, or to use the 340 vin. Just get a better body, make it cool, and enjoy it a lot sooner and less burned out.
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Here is your clean factory 1970 340 Dart Swinger - 4 speed to repair and add the parts from your current car - if you wish. The price on this car is very negotiable and this establishment has been a Mopar salvage yard that is trustworthy - for many years. I purchased an R4 1969 340 Swinger that came from this establishment and the car was exactly as described. Forget all this shame being put forth about saving this car --- if you have every resource already in place and deep pockets - money no object - then restore your current car with AMD panels (but you better be an ACE welder / restoration person - as what you describe is not for the faint of heart).

The smart move is to check out this car at the following link - using the rationale abodyjoe suggested.
70 DART SWINGER 340

Also I have seen this car up close and it is very very nice - sheetmetal is 100% good - and no bodywork / paint work needed. Just add your 340 ...

1970 Dodge Dart Swinger
 
Well you've got a better start than I did on my 69! I wont lie, it's been a ton of money and no where near done yet. But I am wayyyyy proud of everything I've done and how this car is coming. I get a lot of satisfaction with everything that I've done myself! Good luck with your build!!

IMG_2384.JPG
 
My advice? Buy as cheap a running/driving car as you can, even if it's a 4 door. That way you have one that you can drive and enjoy now and then get the 340 car in the shop and start the disassembly and "restoration". Then once the 340 is done you can always sell the other.

I plan on doing something similar with my 72 Duster, it took me 2.5 years to get it driving (first drive was just over a week ago) there were times I got burned out and didn't touch it for a month or 2. Now that it's drivable I'm gonna do everything I can to keep it that way, my money will go toward improving the mechanicals and doing any metal work that can't be seen from outside and getting the interior done. Then I'll get my 67 valiant 4 door running/driving BEFORE I tear my Duster down for body/paint so if I get burned out on my Duster I can take a drive in the valiant to relax and get remotivated.

And if you were much much closer to me if be more than happy to lend a hand on getting that awesome car back to its former glory!
 
thanks all for the feedback, glad to see the support. the plan right now is to save it.... i will get more pics for you guys over the weekend and we can collectively assess the damage. its on my trailer but should be good enough to see what we are working with here. unfortunately i will be another few weeks before i can clear out the garage and get this on the lift (i store my dad and uncles 67 corvettes at my house)...

and by save i really mean preserve, for me i get my jingles out of taken something broken and cleaning it up and making it usable again. doesn't have to be perfect and don't want it to be. i will start with the structural rust and take it from there.

as far as frame rails -- does anyone have pics of frame rail replacements and recommendations for approach? i will have search the site here tomorrow when i am rotting away on the train.
 
ok, to update i have been clearing out the garage to make room to work on this, so pics from on the trailer will have to do for now,

as you can see the drivers side is pretty roached. both look patch-able as the rot is limted to the lower portion of the front rails and the t-bar cross members. looks like there is enought at the top of the rails that is solid to patch into.

anyone's thoughts on the auto rust tech's frame rail caps? they look like will be the quickest way vs. full rail replacement.

drivers side:
20161008_001617_zpsivvujnku.jpg


20161008_001656_zpsehdwzsjl.jpg


passenger side:
20161007_193324_zpsacw78dgb.jpg


20161007_193312_zps5kgvwzv1.jpg
 
Well,well, that is just awful. Keep in mind that the entire weight of the front end(less the wheels) goes directly into that T-bar X-member. And when you put the car through it's paces, all of that weight may go into just one side. And if you jump it, whoa, that's more math than I know how to do.
The point is this; that T-bar crossmember better be well anchored into a solid frame and solid rockers and a solid floor. With what I see, the holes are just the tip of the iceberg. This is not your 69 Chevelle. This is a unibody. The entire car is the frame.The entire car.
 
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yeah, it sat nose down in a field for a while before i got a hold of it, its really just those parts of the front rails and the fire wall that are structural and really rotten.

the rest of the car actual, although scary looking isnt that bad. i
 
MOPAROFFICIAL said:
Most if not all the people who are telling you to part it...want parts from it.lol
FIX IT, TAKE YOUR TIME...NO HURRY.
Its just sheet metal , patch weld or flange it, fill it...no one cares if you use expensive repop panels and they shouldnt.
Just maybe buy the repop rails and then just grab a sheet or 2 to do all the rocker panels, lower fenders,1/4. I've seen worse get brought back in about yr by guys with no money , just brains and a welder with some paint skills.
I have looked into trunks and seen plain sheet patched in, painted and nice...and said to myself.."this car could have been junk, if some Galen goobier had decided rerop parts or scrap...this car would be a memory.
Save it!
Click to expand...

Get it on the lift and see what you have to work with.... Poke around and see how many holes you can make with a screwdriver on the frame. Can't get any worse at this point lol....

I have done an every last nut and bolt restoration and couldn't be happier to say that will never happen again. If you really want a beater than keep it in that direction. Make is sound so you can not worry about being stranded on the side of the road once a week and run the wheels off it. I have a thread started about a car I am working on now and the only thing I would get out of a full restoration is impression people I don't know with money I don't have lol....

As for parting it out, plenty of sharks in this place so if you do strip it make it worth your while and put the right price on your parts or otherwise you are better off flipping burgers at Mcdonald's IMO lol....

JW
 
340duster340 said:
anyone's thoughts on the auto rust tech's frame rail caps? they look like will be the quickest way vs. full rail replacement.
Click to expand...

I have used them. The rears were never the right width. I had them make 2 sets and neither fit my rear frame rails so I made my own. The front cap I used from them was a perfect fit. I also had to reinforce the torsion bar sockets in the crossmember, but it wasn't in as bad of shape as what yours looks to be in. That's a tough call. Pretty bad rust there, but I've seen guys take on a lot worse. Might need to cut out the whole crossmember and swap it out for a better one and cap the frame rails. Or replace the frame rails too which I wouldn't even want to think about personally.

2033.jpg


2035.jpg


2047.jpg


2048.jpg
 
don't know how far you've come on your resto , i have both rear quarters cut through the door jams to the other side of the frame legs and wheel houses out the trunk . the rear panel cut thru the trunk floor keeping the tire well whole , and a passenger front fender interested ?
 
clinteg said:
I have used them. ....

View attachment 1714979975
Click to expand...

thanks for posting this, i am 99% sure this is the route i go. it will ensure the car is made drive-able. if i start with replacing rails, i have a feeling it will never get done. nearing the end of frame rail connectors and floor pans on my 66 dart, i know the frame caps would be a breeze to install. plus i figure i can always do a rails down the road if i needed to.
 
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