Hello , I have a 76 dart lite , matching numbers , 4sp. I leaning towards making it a nice street car, looking at installing aluminum block, and automatic. 83/4 rear end and beef up the suspension and brakes. I dont know much about the mopars so im glad to be here and get some answers.
76 dart lite restore or modify?
- Thread starter superlite
- Start date
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WELL MY REPLY PROBABLY WON'T:cheers: HELP YOU MUCH, BUT IT IS YOUR CAR, DO AS YOU WANT
I dont what state your in, but in Oregon (most of it anyway) along with most(?) other states you gotta deal with some sort of emissions testing on post '74 vehicles. Something to consider during your build
efriedrich
69 383S
Do both brother, with the aftermarket these days your car can have all the modern technology and still retain the classic look and feel of a bad *** Mopar.
slantsixdan
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That's a cool, interesting, and rare car. Obviously you get to do what you want with it, but my gut reaction is "don't hack it up!". I'd strongly recommend keeping the 4-speed (overdrive!) transmission. Do you already have an aluminum block to put in it? If not, be advised they are rare and require special care and some special parts to build and maintain successfully. Suspension upgrades are easy and there are many good ones available. Brake upgrades? You don't have to spend much money or effort; this '76 will already have the best A-body brakes (2¾"-piston front discs, 10" drums). An 8¼" rear would be an easier, less costly, and plenty-durable swap, but is there anything the matter with your present (presumably 7¼") rear? If not, why spend the money? Run it til you need to think about it. Plenty of good, non-invasive/non-hack engine upgrades (2bbl carb, Dutra Duals, etc.) are available.
You may also want to drop in and say howdy on the Slant-6 board.
cudamark
Well-Known Member
Welcome aboard! I agree with Dan, don't do anything that you can't easily undo. Being a 4 speed car, it might already have an 8 1/4 in it. If so, that's all you'll need with a 6cyl. If it has the 7 1/4, you might want to gather up all you need for a bolt-in conversion and when the 7 1/4 lets go, you have everything to do the job just waiting to get to work. Unless you're drag racing a class car, why go to an aluminum block? Build a good cast iron one and forget about it. you could probably sell the aluminum block and fund your other upgrades. The only thing I would do to the front suspension is to put in bigger torsion bars and to add a sway bar. Everything else will work great. The rear might need some 6 leaf springs but nothing else unless you want a rear sway bar which adds a little to the handling too.
Thanks, Mark
Thanks, Mark
slantsixdan
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Minor point of quibble, Mark: the aluminum slant-6 does not do well in high-power competition applications. Just not enough rigidity or sealing surface at the tops of the cylinders. It's best as a street/mild-build basis -- really more a conversation piece/"lookit what I got".
Well its kinda ironic, i just sold the slant 6 to a guy down the road. I might or might not keep the 4 speed which i think is just a 3 speed with overdrive. It looks like its time to build this thing after i finish my 72 camaro.
slantsixdan
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So...you started taking the (no longer) numbers-matching car apart and selling-off its (no longer) numbers-matching pieces, then you posted on here saying it's "numbers matching" and asking what to do with it…?
Isn't that a little…I donno, backwards?
(Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "just a 3-speed with overdrive". It's a 4-speed transmission with an overdrive 4th gear ratio.)
Isn't that a little…I donno, backwards?
(Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "just a 3-speed with overdrive". It's a 4-speed transmission with an overdrive 4th gear ratio.)
LH23H2R
Well-Known Member
If your RARE Dart Lite was built from 01/01/1976 and later , it'll have the excellent single piston disc brakes ; if it's an earlier build it could have those held-over delicious drums or those fantastic , held-over 4 piston K-H brakes .
These cars were capable of 25-30 mpg when they were new ; and with modern tyres and synthetic lubricants ( don't forget to add ZDDP to the motor oil !!! ) , I'm certain that it could easily get that same mileage , if not better !
The 4 speed in 1976 MoPars is an aluminum case , with an overdrive 4th .
Also , remember that the Dart Lite and Feather Duster had some exclusive parts from the factory :
- V8 single exhaust
- Aluminum bumper brackets
- Aluminum hood & trunk bracing
- 2.76 axle ratio ( 2.94 w/ 4 speed )
If your car has that stupid , 100% worthless 7.25" diff , dump it . An 8.25" diff from any '73 -'76 Dart , Dart Sport , Valiant or Duster can be used ; 2.71's are the most common gearset w/ V8 , and 3.21's with a Slant Six and 340/360 .
Got any pics you can share ?
These cars were capable of 25-30 mpg when they were new ; and with modern tyres and synthetic lubricants ( don't forget to add ZDDP to the motor oil !!! ) , I'm certain that it could easily get that same mileage , if not better !
The 4 speed in 1976 MoPars is an aluminum case , with an overdrive 4th .
Also , remember that the Dart Lite and Feather Duster had some exclusive parts from the factory :
- V8 single exhaust
- Aluminum bumper brackets
- Aluminum hood & trunk bracing
- 2.76 axle ratio ( 2.94 w/ 4 speed )
If your car has that stupid , 100% worthless 7.25" diff , dump it . An 8.25" diff from any '73 -'76 Dart , Dart Sport , Valiant or Duster can be used ; 2.71's are the most common gearset w/ V8 , and 3.21's with a Slant Six and 340/360 .
Got any pics you can share ?
slantsixdan
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Incorrect. All A-bodies with disc brakes got the single-piston variety starting with the first of the '73s (built in late '72). All '76 A-bodies with disc brakes, starting with the first ones built in late '75, got the 2.75" caliper bore rather than the '73-'75 2.6" caliper bore. All '76 A-bodies built on or after 1/1/76 got the disc brakes as standard equipment (from start of '76 production in 9/75 to 12/31/75, discs were optional)
You don't need to add anything to the engine oil; the ZDDP "crisis" is as overblown as the leaded-fuel "crisis", the R12 "crisis", and other similar "crises" hyped up to sell product. There are those who feel otherwise.
Most of them were aluminum, yes, but there was a casting porosity problem that made an ugly appearance; trans lube would leak through the housing and onto the garage floor. Production switched back to an iron case briefly, and a fair number of aluminum-case A833ODs were replaced with iron-case transmissions under warranty.
That's not very thoughtful advice. The 7¼" diff is certainly weaker than the 8¼" unit, but it's not like the 7¼" is a ticking time bomb waiting to grenade and sideline the car. They work fine for low-stress street driving; millions of A-body owners have put millions of miles on 7¼" rear axles behind slant-6s and mild V8s over the years. You'll break it as soon as you start doing neutral-drops, or if you put a big, torquey engine in front of it and go racing. But there's absolutely zero need or call to spend money, time, or effort on the rear axle just for the sake of swapping the rear axle.
2.7 ratio with slant-6 and automatic, making that the most common ratio with the six-banger. Stick-shift slant-6 cars got 3.2 ratio.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
big block it and forget about it... 
Im not sure when it was built. Im looking at what i have left from the broadcast sheet. From whats on the broadcast sheet, front brake 11, rear brake 25, after that i have a number 43 what that section says actually im not sure. IM not sure if there is a date time on the broadcast sheet, or if its tied in with the sequence or some other area. It does have the front disc and rear drums, 7 1/4 rear end aluminur 4 speed housing, but i thought all 4 speeds had the aluminum housing. If someone would like to have it and put it back to original ,ill sell it otherwise my thoughts are to go with an 605 aluminum block hemi, pump gas 900-1000 hp.
slantsixdan
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Post the contents of the fender tag and we can decode it for you.
Wylde1
"No Value Added" Member
Since you sold the original engine, it's time to modify the hell outta it and make it yours. And if it ain't tasteful, there will be no hesitation on here about scolding you for it. lol
Wylde1.
Wylde1.
Here it is , KY4 U A31 N37.................
KY4 A1Y3000A30 114148.............................E24 D24 LL29 C6G 133O12 tHANKS SLANTSIXDAN
Yes but the friend i sold the engine to says i can get it back if i wanted.
slantsixdan
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LL29: Dart family, Low trim/price class, sport fastback body (Dart Sport)
C: 225-1bbl slant-6 engine
6: 1976 model year
G: Built at St. Louis, MO
133012: serial number
E24: 225-1bbl slant-6 engine
D24: 4-speed overdrive manual transmission
KY4: Main body exterior paint color "golden fawn" PPG 2635
A1Y3: Cloth and vinyl bench seat, light tan
000: Upper door frame: full panel
A30: Built October 30, 1975
114148: vehicle order number
KY4: Upper body paint color "golden fawn" PPG 2635
U: Built to US-market specifications
A31: Dart Lite package
N37: Unleaded fuel pkg w/catalytic converter
Is that all you find? Nothing else, no more codes?
C: 225-1bbl slant-6 engine
6: 1976 model year
G: Built at St. Louis, MO
133012: serial number
E24: 225-1bbl slant-6 engine
D24: 4-speed overdrive manual transmission
KY4: Main body exterior paint color "golden fawn" PPG 2635
A1Y3: Cloth and vinyl bench seat, light tan
000: Upper door frame: full panel
A30: Built October 30, 1975
114148: vehicle order number
KY4: Upper body paint color "golden fawn" PPG 2635
U: Built to US-market specifications
A31: Dart Lite package
N37: Unleaded fuel pkg w/catalytic converter
Is that all you find? Nothing else, no more codes?
thats it Dan , thats all she wrote.
cudamark
Well-Known Member
I knew guys years ago that sleeved and o-ringed those blocks and had good success in a stock class car. There are probably better ways to go now but that doesn't seem to stop the demand for those blocks. Probably the same guys that think the 6 pak rods are the way to go on a big block.
Mark
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