70 Dart Custom

[70DartMike]

Well, decided it was time to pull out the interior, and look at the condition of the floor. It is in much better shape than I thought it would be in! Two small holes in drivers floor pan, and a bit of rot in drivers rear pan, but other than that, hardly even any surface rust.

As for interesting finds, I found two build sheets. One under the drivers bench, and one under the carpet.
I also found what appears to be a Mexican dollar, and two dead rats in a nest built under the rear seat.

After I cleaned it up a bit..

More progress to come. Just awaiting funds.

 

[OldVart]

Doesn't look bad at all Mike. Little metal cutting and patching here and there, and you're good to go.

And, on the bright side, at least those 2 illegal immigrants had some money with them.

 

[OneOfMany]

From where I'm from, I'd call that MINT!

Grant

 

[Rob]

I haven't even looked and know that is not what I'm going to find under my carpet other than maybe the rats :-D

So what's the plan Mike, are you going to do the whole deal, paint inside and out or just cleaning up the interior for now?

By the way, it was good to see you on the weekend. You'll have to drop by again when you have some more time.

 

[jrlegacy23]

Where are the pics of the rats?

 

[GoFish]

Where are thhe pics of the rats?

LOL. Beat me to the punch!

 

[7071DartGTReg]

Take REAL good care of those Door Panels! They are 1 Year (1970), 1 Model (Dart Custom/GT) Only. And per Year 1 and Legendary will NOT be reproduced. I would kill for a VG set of Green ones. I did find 1 Set of Black ones about 16 years ago and that is it. So far no luck on finding a good Steering Wheel (Deluxe) either. The good news is that you CAN get the Seat Covers in the correct pattern and colors from Year 1 and Legendary (Look under 1970 Dart Swinger 340).

Looks exactly like my '70 GT except Bench Seat.

Come on over and Register her!

Later,
Bruce B.
http://www.7071dartgt.net

 

[mopardude318]

very clean dart!!! Thats how I got mine, from the original owner...clean, straight, and NOT a drop of rust..lol

 

[pettybludart]

Looks good Mike,glad to see you keeping yourself occupied.What better way than what you love doing.

 

[Burntorange70]

Looks like she is in good shape Mike. Good luck with the build.

 

[Johnny Dart]

Tearing the car down and finding interesting trinkets is truely one of the cool parts of a restoration. Looking good !

 

[70DartMike]

Thanks guys.

Rob, I don't really have a plan. So far, just going to patch the holes, and clean up the surface rust. Then paint the floor. I do have new carpet and package tray for it, as well as a black dash pad which I need to paint green, but that will come later. Not sure what to do after that. I'd like to do the whole body at once, and then build the 340. Depends on the funds though.
It was good to see you too, I will stop by on my next turn around if you guys are around.. I will be home March 25th.

7071DartGTReg, thank you for the info on the seat covers! I was wondering where I would possibly find the pattern, or if I would have to have an upholstery shop make them for me.
Any idea on where I can get the head rest material? Mine look to be burnt, and one is ripped pretty bad.
As for the door panels, I took them off and they are stored inside. I think I remember you telling me something about them being very rare before, but I didn't realize you couldn't find a set anywhere.
Any info on my steering wheel? The horn pad is in good shape, but the wheel itself is crap, and I cannot seem to find a wheel that matches the one I have.

As for the rats, there isn't really anything to share. They were so dried up they almost looked like tattered clothing. The only indication they were once rats was the little hands, and the tail sticking straight up like an antenna.

 

[Badart]

I love that interior. That is cool. I have never seen it before.

 

[70DartMike]

I love that interior. That is cool. I have never seen it before.

I have had this car for 9 years, and haven't seen another interior like it either.

 

[demon seed]

Wow that interior is in excellent shape Mike, whats the underbelly (the car not the rats) look like.:-D

 

[70DartMike]

Wow that interior is in excellent shape Mike, whats the underbelly (the car not the rats) look like.:-D

Its covered in undercoating! But when I scraped the undercoating off, the frame and body are still a nice F8 green.

The rust issues on the car are as follows..

A tiny bit of quarter rust, just behind rear wheels.
Drivers side inner fender is pretty bad.
Drivers fender is bad around the headlight, and at the bottom near the door.
Passenger fender is bad around the bottom, near the door.

So far that's all I can find. The drivers fender is pretty bad, but I do have another to replace it.

 

[7071DartGTReg]

The Steering Wheel is a "Good Luck" finding one issue. I have been looking for 9 years now. It is called a "Deluxe" wheel. I got lucky and got a like new F8 Dash Pad off ebay last October for $80.00 delivered, nobody even bid against me on it. As for seeing one that looks like yours... Here is my '70 GT:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=43550

Later,
Bruce B.

 

[70DartMike]

Well, its been a while since I posted anything here. I welded some patch panels in the floors, and tore it down for body work / paint. I pulled the windows, to find that underneath will need a little bit of work. I pulled the engine and tranny the other day.
A few months ago I installed new Moser axles, 5x4.5" bolt pattern.

Tomorrow night it is going into body work / paint.

I'll get pictures of the 340, hopefully tomorrow when I go talk to the engine builder.

 

[4spdragtop]

Good work Mike, where you taking it for body/paint??

 

[70DartMike]

A guy from Australia, who just moved to Parksville, contacted me on here actually, about doing it. He actually lives about 3 streets down from where the car is, so tomorrow night I'll tow it behind my truck to his place.
Still going with F8 green, no stripe.

 

[Meet-Joe-"Dart"]

Nice Dart man... I've got a 70 Dart Custom over here in Vancouver. Nice to see the pics after the paint job!

 

[4spdragtop]

A guy from Australia, who just moved to Parksville, contacted me on here actually, about doing it. He actually lives about 3 streets down from where the car is, so tomorrow night I'll tow it behind my truck to his place.
Still going with F8 green, no stripe.

Hey Mike, no disrespect at all to you or him, but I wouldnt leave Nigel out of the equation...very good work for a very good price.

 

[70DartMike]

Nice Dart man... I've got a 70 Dart Custom over here in Vancouver. Nice to see the pics after the paint job!

PM sent!

 

[70DartMike]

Well, it got loaded on the trailer today. Initially I didn't want to pay for a tow, so I was going to tow it behind my truck and get someone to sit in the car and steer/brake, but everyone else didn't like that idea much, so my cousin pulled through and we used his truck/trailer.
It's now in the shop to get started, and my bodyman said he will be starting tomorrow. I'll get pics when I can of updates.
As for the 340, the engine builder is taking his sweet *** time, and has no progress. I did get to see my rockers and high rise intake, but that was about it.

 

[70DartMike]

I took some pictures yesterday of the car, mostly down to bare metal. Not many surprises were found! The only major surprise was the passenger quarter. It must have been side swiped years ago, and instead of pulling the dent, they just layered on the bondo. Paul said there was about an inch thick of bondo just to even it out. He got all the bondo off, and the original quarter was underneath. Still has a bit of rust, but at least not a huge hole like it first appeared.