73SwingerBuild- Restification 340/4-spd

[73SwingerBuild]

I don't have any pictures of the back of the cluster, but I can tell you that I ground it flat down so that there were no weird protrusions from where the old gauges mounted, then I just bored out holes so that the new gauges would fit snug. This way, the Autometer gauge pod holders snug up against the back of the old instrument panel and hold the gauges and metal panel in place. I did not use any glue or bolts. The gauges literally hold themsleves in place.

 

[snowcrow]

yeah thats exactly what i meant cause my trunk is rusting through so i was wondering what would be a good way to tackle it. so patch panel and weld?

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Yes, I always recommend welding and seam sealing. Brazing may be less harsh on the thin metal, if you have a gas setup handy. How bad is your trunk area, and which parts are rotting? You can buy patch panels off of Rockauto.com if you need them.

 

[clv22p]

I don't have any pictures of the back of the cluster, but I can tell you that I ground it flat down so that there were no weird protrusions from where the old gauges mounted, then I just bored out holes so that the new gauges would fit snug. This way, the Autometer gauge pod holders snug up against the back of the old instrument panel and hold the gauges and metal panel in place. I did not use any glue or bolts. The gauges literally hold themsleves in place.

Thats what I needed to know. Thanks.

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Hey, I'm here to help.

Moving forward tonight, the quarter panel repair is geting wrapped up and the gauges are being installed in the car. Then I just need to wire up the rest of the car. Hopefully this is as "painless" as it is supposed to be.

 

[73SwingerBuild]

"Painless" was not the accurate name for the kit. Though sometimes not too bad, it has been a PITA for most of the process. Still tying up some loose ends on the interior. The motor is being dropped in tomorrow afternoon if all goes to plan. Wish me luck! I'll hopefully have some good pictures to upload sometime next week.

 

[340plot]

this thread is worthless witout pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol glad to see it is still moving forward. you will love that power of the 340!!!!!!!!!!!!! it will not disappoint

 

[73SwingerBuild]

MOTOR IS IN!!! Hopefully get a chance to upload some pics tonight. Motor, transmission, headers, clutch master cylinder, brake master cylinder, steering wheel, and pedal assembly are all in and fit great (just need to slightly notch the headers for the monstrous 1" torsion bars). I am just waiting on one more heim joint to wrap up the hydraulic clutch conversion. Then the wiring, fuel line, and carb are all that stand in my way before getting her going.

I'll be adding pictures and details once I have more time. My focus now is to get the car running and driving asap so that I can break her in before the New England Summer Nationals.

 

[73SwingerBuild]

I decided to take a few pics tonight after getting some more wiring done. I actually feel like I'm in the home stretch now! :burnout:
Just need to wrap up the ignition wiring, fuel line, etc.

I ordered the Pypes X-pipe exhaust system (which came with race pro mufflers, but I ordered some Dynomax Ultra-Flo mufflers too). I know some people said it fits great and others say it fits lousy, but it's going to a local exhaust shop anyways so it doesn't matter much.

If I keep up at this pace, I should make my goal of driving it to Summer Nationals... We will see.

-Mike

 

[74DartSwinger360]

What brand is the radiator?

 

[Badart]

I forgot to tell you, but your control arms are on the way.

 

[73SwingerBuild]

The radiator is an ebay special. It came with the engine i bought from 340Plot.

Badart, great to hear, i can't wait to see them and get them mounted up!

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Well, I haven't been able to find my camera, so all of my pictures are on my cell phone. I've been working like a dog lately trying to get it running (and registered, but that is a separate issue).
I will hopefully be able to upload some pics tonight.

The exhaust is in, the fuel system is done, carb is rebuilt, throttle linkages are hooked up, dash wiring is pretty much done, engine bay wiring is done, battery is mounted in the trunk. Just need to clean the tail light and headlight/marker light housings and run the final few wires.

Waiting to confirm which oil to run (hopped up 340, hydraulic lifters, 10.0:1 compression, so I'm thinking 10w30 VR-1 Race oil) and then I will be starting her up. Still need to bleed the hydraulic lines for the clutch and brake systems. Also need to fill the tranny and rear diff with gear oils.

I'm also still looking forward to installing Badarts tubular UCAs!

Plenty to do, but she is coming together quickly. Hopefully some new pics will be up here soon.

-Mike

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Well, suffice to say I've been very busy. But one trip up to the New England Summer Nationals put my butt in gear. I could explain everything that I've done, but videos are soooo much cooler :burnout:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGvYnMWyw-A"]1973 Dodge Dart Swinger- 340/4-speed idling - YouTube[/ame]

For the record, 340Plot has been true to his word through every step of his involvement with my car. He sold me the motor and transmission and I didn't know the state of either when I bought them. But both pieces were better than described. He deserves a pat on the back. He's just one of the several hundred members here that make FABO what it is and I feel it should be stated.

Thanks again Joe!

Now off to bed so I can be well rested for another night of tuning after work tomorrow.

-Mike

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Well, I finally got the motor running right, but the damn thing won't shift out of neutral. I did install a hydraulic clutch setup and I thought I had it right, but it appears I'm still off by a bit.

I used a hole drilled in the clutch pedal (the spot located where the clutch pedal arm and the linkage arm connect with four spot welds) and used a stud to connect to a heim joint connected to the threaded input shaft of the clutch master cylinder (3/4" unit with a 1.4oz reservoir). This feeds a hard line with a flex-bend in it to the slave cylinder (7/8" unit) connected to the clutch fork. I grabbed the clutch fork where there is a slot cast into it from the factory (allowing a small amount of adjustability). Based on my measurements, I currently have 0.5" of movement on the clutch fork where it mounts to the slave, which is based on about 0.7" of movement at the pedal (all the way to the floor). It appears I will need about another 0.7" of movement from the pedal swing in order to modulate the slave cylinder the total 1" allowed, which will require doubling the distance betwene the pivot point and the mounting point on the pedal.

I wanted to type this out to see if anybody else had run into this issue yet and how they might have resolved it. Any and all responses are welcome. Thanks.

-Mike

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Haven't heard a lot of feedback. I guess I haven't screwed anything up bad enough to start a fight. That's good at least!

Unfortunately, I haven't been around enough to update the build thread as much as I wanted. I wanted to do a step-by-step for everything I did, but I was just too anxious to get the car on the road.

I'm attaching some updated pictures below. I can go more in detail about absolutely everything on the car, since I did it all myself with help from a lot of friends, but I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking for tonight.

Enjoy, and please feel free to leave comments/feedback below!

-Mike

 

[73SwingerBuild]

I got the stainless exhaust welded up at a local shop. I cut it and added band clamps (which amazingly don't leak) to speed up transmission removal.

I also got the hydraulic clutch hooked up and functioning. If only I could get my heads a little further away from my torsion bars...

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Last but not least (for now), I got the tubular upper control arms that I won in a contest from Badart. They went in with minimal clearancing around the lower support area of the from A-arm mounting area, though from the pictures it appears that a little more might not hurt. I'm not sure if all A-bodies have these folded pieces there though, so that's no fault on Badart's part. They fit great! They look good too next to the Comp Engineering Shocks.
I also got the subframes connected with the Mopar frame connectors, which helped with running the brake and fuel lines.
Enjoy!

 

[1972DusterPaul]

I like your Swinger...sounds good in the video too!

Paul

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Thanks Paul!

It's still a work in progress. I need to get the paint on so I can get the rest of the exterior trim on. Then it will be time for an outdoor photo shoot.

Soon enough...

 

[73SwingerBuild]

I know I haven't updated this in a while. I've been waiting to get quotes from a few body shops but I think she's going in for paint sometime in the next two weeks. I'll update this as the results come in.

I can't wait to see the final product!

 

[doogievlg]

What carb are you running? You prob. said it earlier but my computer is not letting me go back to page one.

 

[73SwingerBuild]

It's a rebuilt Holley 3310 750 cfm with vacuum secondaries. It's just rebuilt as I got it, I think it needs to be tuned.

 

[73SwingerBuild]

Well, after a long period of waiting and asking around for different quotes to get my car painted, I sent the car out to a local shop (Lav's Auto Body in Uxbridge, MA). I got a quote for $6,900 to finish the body and paint her, which was the lowest I found. I'm hoping they come in around that number, but it's been two weeks and she's not painted yet so I'm getting nervous.

It seemed like a lot of money since I'm trying to buy a house, but when I asked my girlfriend for her input, she thought for a second and said, "Well, it's kind of like a band-aid. You need to just suck it up, and rip it off as fast as possible." (I think she's a keeper)

Anyways, I went by the other day and took some pictures of the progress. Considering I paid a guy $4,000 to get it "ready for paint", they found even more problems with his work than I did. Lesson learned: shop around for body work, and find somebody who takes pride in their work. I think I found the right place this time around.

Now hopefully they can get it painted and back to me as quick as possible so I can start getting her ready for the cruise season.

Thanks all for looking.

-Mike

 

[QuintinMotorCompany]

cool!! looking forward to seeing it with paint