Am i crazy?

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KramerSwinger70

KramerSwinger70

70 Dart Swinger360
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
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Location
Rohnert Park, CA
im 19 and broke with a 70 dart in need of work everywhere. gonna have an complete drivetrain swap(225 is being replaced with a 360), need to upgrade brakes to 10" spindles so i can get a disc brake conversion, need an a-body 8 3/4 (thot i had something that would work, but apparently not), car needs body work and paint and the interior needs reupholstery, new headliner, dash, and carpet. i dont believe that i can find anything in the car that doesnt need attension to some degree

oh, and this is my very 1st project and my daily driver, i go to school at the Santa Rosa Junior college aiming to b ASE certified mechanic, an work currently at a local baskin Robbins

please understand that i can NOT sell this car. ive oned it for about a year and have fallen in love with it. it is the one thing in the world i truely own. title in my name:toothy10:

so am i insane to think that i can restore this thing? granted i set the bar low, expecting to finish the car when im about 30ish. that gives me 11 years!:clock:
 
this is the 8 3/4 rear end i have waiting on the side of my house. i figured since it looks like it fits under the car that it would work but someone on here told me it wont without major modification
photo.jpg
 
heres a pic of the car as of now. i know it doint look too bad, but the idea behind these pictures was to make it look good...note the body work the P.O. did on the quarter panel...
ryanscar011.jpg


and heres basically how i want it to look when im done, with the 360/904 installed, power fornt disc brakes, original bench interior and beautiful green and black paint

dartside-1.jpg
 
No your not crazy, just take your time, and do things as you go, the rear looks like a amc/jeep rear, any pics of the car?
 
oh i have load. a couple weeks ago my girlfriend and i went nuts takin about 30 pics of it...with really bad lighting! haha
 
ok you beat my post with the car picture, looks like a great starting point.
 
P.O. did a number on this car. reletively sure the front driver fender is not original nor is the fornt valance...my clue, u may ask?...theyre blue. painted yellow to match the car but theres blue co,min up through it. as far as rust goes, the cars pretty sound, but the strikers on both doors are currently weleded to the body cuz back in march they snapped off.
 
Trust me on this. Unless you want a mail-order camaro, or mustang, buy something newer, or buy something someone else has already done the work on, any resto is going to be just as tough. Just keep your head on, fix what you have to, when you have to. Don't go nuts and yank the (running?) engine before you have a replacement and have thought it all out ahead of time. Of all the cars I have had, most were my daily drivers at one time or another. Just don't bite off too much at once and you'll love the car even more. the last thing you want is to start an improvement only to find out in the middle of it that the new part is too rare or too expensive and have to park it for an undetermined amount of time. Take it slow and it'll still be around when you have more time, money and experience. You may even be able to work it into some of your classes - Kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
 
Im almost 24, broke and have a family and every day bills to take care of.

I think alot of us are in the same boat (maybe we are all crazy LOL)......but the duster sits and patiently waits as I get a chance to do work to it little by little.

just take your time, you will get there one day!

great starting point too by the looks of it!
 
if u get lucky you can find a 360 727 combo. i got a rebuilt one with the 727 for 800 buck....im not sure if this is the best set up but it has been working just fine for me....i put a 3000 rpm stall in it with a b&m flex plate though just to help with the cam. as far as the a body 8 3/4 goes ur going to get really lucky or spend big bucks. Im twenty and have had my dart since i was 15. It took me three years to get the motor and tranny in and im still working with the drums and 7.25. I am hopping to have the 8 3/4 in by next summer when i turn 21 lol. college and working on cars are 2 things that dont really fit together.
 
No you're not crazy. This is an ongoing thing and always will be. Besides: you don't want to make it so perfect you'll be afraid to drive it, nor do you want to tear it all down with some grand plan, then realize you've taken on too much. Fix what needs fixing, drive it, enjoy it, make improvements within your budget. You'll find getting small things done almost as satisfying as making big changes.
That's a fine looking rig. Good start, solid foundation. You may have found a friend for life.
 
if your like me its easy to not worry about the entire project. focus on the motor/tranny first. Then tackle the rear end. Your car may not look the best but it will run with the best of them on the street if u do it right. my car has rust and faded paint on it but its a blast to drive and im not afraid to drive it in the rain or down a gravel road.
 
Hang in there, and do what you can when you can.

When I was about 19 I got my grandfather's Belvedere, drove it everyday through college and spent 15 years restoring it. Sold it in a moment of stupidity a couple years later. :angry7:

Regret selling it everyday.

Paul
 
FYI, an 8-1/4 will hold up to 400 HP without issue and live a long time for a fraction of the 8-3/4 price. Sell the rear and get another. Collect parts and stash them someplace that they'll stay good. When you get the whole package of parts to do the next step IE; rebuild trans, engine, exhaust,etc... Then assemble it and and put it to the side until the whole package comes togther. Take your time on the whole thing.
 
rumblefish360 said:
FYI, an 8-1/4 will hold up to 400 HP without issue and live a long time for a fraction of the 8-3/4 price. Sell the rear and get another. Collect parts and stash them someplace that they'll stay good. When you get the whole package of parts to do the next step IE; rebuild trans, engine, exhaust,etc... Then assemble it and and put it to the side until the whole package comes togther. Take your time on the whole thing.
Click to expand...

Pretty much nail on the head here. That's what I'm doing with my Dart. Im currently waiting on a gas tank. Looks like a great start. I dont have any other car besides my '72. The plan is to get mine roadworthy then work on then work on going to an 8 1/4 with discs using the jeep conversion from mtandrews and front discs. Then suspension, then interior then Imma swap in a 340 im gonna build. Then I'm really unsure if I wanna keep the "fresh out of the junkyard" look because if I did, it'd be a super sleeper.
I'm 20 currently.Best of luck on your build, looks like an awesome start:cheers:. Just try not to overwhelm yourself. Do one thing at a time like brakes then engine. Just do it step by step. It's really not too hard, everything is simple on these cars. You are definately not crazy. You just have some serious motivation in them shoes like the rest of us!

Oh yeah, and Badass shirt man!!8)
 
yeah the 225 sl;ant in there is running and i know its stayin in the car for a minimum of 5 years, probably longer to be realistic. i picked up a 360/904 combo and it came with two 8 3/4 rears, one is pictired above, the other i sold, and that all came with a driveline too. best $200 i ever spent. motor and trans are tucked away at my grandparenmts shed and theyr in great condiiton but definatly will be completly rebuilt.

two things are my major focus at the moment- fixing my ball joints, getting disc brakes, and gettin the body work done and re-do the paint job yellow and black for the time being. with those 3 things out of the way, the project i hope will beocme a little less stressful
 
That rear end in your picture could very well be Mopar. Like probably a '52 Plymouth. They had what looked like an 8 3/4 pumkin type differential with two piece axles. If I remember right, the pumkin used eleven bolts back then instead of ten. It's been awhile. Count them and see how many studs hold the center section to the housing.

Russ.
 
well does anyone wanna trade me that rear plus cash for an a body 8 3/4??? hahah yeah im dreamin

this thing will hopefully be my daily driver once its done. cuz im kinda an oddity in the musclar community, in that i care alot about mileage. my chevy buddy likes to gloat about his 98 camaro SS that gets 30mpgs and 20's in town (6spd manul and plenty of mods to the car including exhaust and intake) but then, nothing compares, in my opinion, to a good ol muscle car from the 60's-70s....especially a MOPAR!
 
hell no buddy. ur not crazy...keep that car forever. it already looks badass just the way it sits..hell, im 24, have 2 jobs to specifically make money to work on my cars and buy parts for...lol i got a 70 dart, and a 68 cuda I work on with my pops. build everything slow, do it once, do it right, and do ONE THING at a time!!! if ya need any help, any tools, or a bud to hang out with and talk cars, im only a couple hours away down in gilroy...

-james
 
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