Bought 66 Dart

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pettybludart

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Well I did it,I,m purchasing a 66 Dart 6 banger with a clifford 4 barrel,headder,dual exhaust.Not sure if I,m gonna swap it out yet.I needed something to work on for the winter months(my Dart Sport is being put in storage)that way I,ve got lots of space to work on this.I,ll post pics. when it arrives.I,m buying it off an a-body member(twilson81)in Alabama.The car is all there and pretty much original paint.it has it,s issues but I like to play with cars..I,m gonna need advise from MeMike seems he,s the go too man here and I think he knows his way around the early a-bodies.I hope he reads this and give me his best advise.I,ll keep posted.Scott:clock:
 
Welcome to the 66 Dart club!! toolmanmike
 
Thanks Toolmanmike!!I,ve seen your car and posts..I believe you posted a pic. of a white 66 that kinda got me thinking.SHEEEEEESH thanks.do you think you could pm me those pics. please!I,m sure I,ll have questions for you also as I,m not to familiar with 6,s or conversions(was a G.M guy)and also work at Ford in Oakville,Ontario.Thanks in advance.Scott
 
Yeah, welcome to the Dart 66 Club. I'm going the other way having started with a 66 and working on a "Petty Blue" Demon. One of the nice things about the older ones is that they used a lot less glue and plastic (particularly fasteners) than the Demon does.:snakeman:

66 Dart GT 001.jpg


66DartGT rear.jpg
 
The bumper guards were an extra cost option. The one over the exhaust was badly rotted when I got the car. It took a lot of looking to find one in decent condition. (No FABO in those days.)

I did a lot of documentation on this car in part because it had a CAP on it (and how did a CA spec car get to the Edge of the World?), after decoding the body tag and build sheet, I found that it was made over a month before the official introduction of the 66 models.
 
That Sounds Like A Hard Piece To Find!that,s A Gt Right??i Like All The Small Chrome Pieces.do You Think I Could Clone Mine To A Gt??
 
I will post the pro street 66 photos here. You should be able to save them from here. Keep us posted on your progress and let us know if you need anything. We can help.. toolmanmike
 
Thanks For The Pics. Toolman Also I,m Sure I,ll Be Asking For Your Advise.thanks Again I Appreciate Any Help!!
 
That Sounds Like A Hard Piece To Find!that,s A Gt Right??i Like All The Small Chrome Pieces.do You Think I Could Clone Mine To A Gt??

Mine is a GT. It would be possible to clone a GT. Mechanically, there's nothing to differentiate a GT from a Dart 270. Although the Rallye Pack was promoted with the GT in mind, I didn't find anything in the literature that made it a GT only item. The /6 and V-8 use the same K-member.

My car was also a 273 4-bbl car with a 904, disk brakes, and factory A/C. The rear axle was a 7¼. The single exhaust essentially consisted of two resonators which make a great sound track for a sortie of spirited driving. It's not offensive enough to drown out the dealer installed AM/FM in my car. The torsion bar rear cross member had only a single dip on the driver's side in it to allow the exhaust pipe to go under it. You can put duals on an early A-body, but be prepared for some 3rd world routing on it.

Bucket seats were standard on the GT, but the console was an option. I figure that the console was optional because a 3-speed manual column shifter was standard. The GT and 270 had chromed plastic armrest bases front and rear. The rear pads had ash trays in them. (There was a total of 4 ashtrays and one lighter in my car.)

The exterior appearance stuff may be a bit more difficult. Someone who is making a race car out of a GT may want to ditch the "basket handles" on the top. Note that the chrome outlines a canopy vinyl roof on Toolmanmike's car where mine was not equipped with one. The front chrome "spears" along the top of the front fenders and doors was also unique to the GT. The loopy GT insignia, I think, is available in repro.

The 66 Dart GT shared bucket seats with the B-body cars. IMO, the 66 Dart GT had the most attractive interior of the A-bodies. The seating is beautiful.

If you have a 4-speed car, they originally came with Inland shifters. They were much less precise and durable that the Hursts they replaced, but they did have a reverse lockout and came up in the middle of the console.

IMO, I think if I were starting with a non-GT, the interior would be worth cloning. If I'm putting a V-8 with a mild cam in it, I'd enjoy the exhaust note of the 4-bbl exhaust. Putting the holes and posts in place for all of the GT exterior trim would drive me nuts, so I'd pass on that. I would spring for the bright wheel well lips and rocker panel moulding.
 
Congrats on your purchase.:cheers: Your going to love the little car.

Anyone know how many of these had factory Air and power steering? Mine did, but I don't know if all GT's came with it or not.
 
tHANKS FOR ALL THE INFO.72 DEMON.IT,S NICE TO FIND OUT EARLY A-BODY STUFF,AS I,VE NEVER HAD ONE.THE P.O OF MY DART SPORT HAD A 67 VALIANT 273,4 SPEED.I REMEMBER IT WAS BURGUNDY WITH RALLEYS,DUAL EXHAUST.THAT WAS ABOUT 25 YEARS AGO.I,LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE THE DIRRECTION I GO WHEN THE CAR ARRIVES.THANKS AGAIN.(I,LL BE LOOKING FOR THE LITTLE CHROME W.WELL PIECES)
 
Good luck on the build. Let me know if you need any trim or anything. I've got a 66 GT that I'm building a race car out of. I still have quite a bit of parts I don't need.
 
Thanks Mopowers!I,ll keep it in mind.Are you gutting the hole interior?buckets and console??Do you know what years of cars you can use for the brake swap(disc and control arms)??thanks
 
Thanks.That,s what I was lookin for also what condition are your seats and where are you located?Just incase.
 
Wow :tongue9: pettybludart you have an early A Dart :blob: and a 66 too.
I have my go to guys so you just give me a yell on your first move and I will find the tec's I us to keep us straight :-D
How long before you get the Dart? and when you decide what direction you
are going in we can get started.:thumleft: Congratulation Bud :cheers:

Ya know the half dozen will be buzzin before you know it. :burnout:
 
Thanks MeMike:happy10:I,m hopeing it will be in the driveway later next week..say Friday?mY FINGERS ARE CROSSED xxxx.dISCS ARE A FIRST AND i STILL HAVE That 8 1/4 rear that I snapped an axel in(back in june)only it has 4.10,s.I just happen to have 3.23 gears handy also have spare 8 3/4 3.23 also 3.91.I bought that one FOR 100 BUCKS IT,S OUT OF 73 RR(SATELLitE)ONE whEel peEL.friggin computer(caps lock is#%$@ed)Might send to Moser??Ihave a 2006 ferd fusion I might sell to support my build,still undesided.BBP is a must regardless.We,ll see when I get her..HHMMMM a name??Gonna clean her up first and foremost.I,ll start looking at prices on 360 donour car.talk later:read2:
 
Friday is here =P~
I hope all is going well pettybludart:clock:
 
A 66 Dart half dozen with a clifford 4 barrel,headder,dual exhaust =P~

I had to be the PH here :profilel:
 
WELL MEMIKE,THE GODDAMN DEER GOT IN THE WAY!!P.O HAD GONE HUNTING FRI-WED. THAT PUT A DAMPER ON THINGS,SO THEY,RE LOADING IT MON. OR TUES.I CAN,T WAIT.MY KNEE IS DOING ALOT BETTER SO I,LL RETURN TO WORK DEC.1 THAT WILL GIVE ME SOME TIME TO POLISH??WE ARE ALSO gONNA SEE QUITE A FEw layoffs in dec. and jan.we collect unemployment and s.u.b benifits,it works out to 85%of our PAY,WHICH IS O.K WITH ME.I WILL PM YOU AND POST PICKS WHEN SHE GETS HERE.NEED A NAME FOR THE CAR??ANY SUGGESTIONS.OH ALSO WENT FISHING AND GOT 4 WALLEYE..YUMMY!!!
 
Congrats on your purchase.:cheers: Your going to love the little car.

Anyone know how many of these had factory Air and power steering? Mine did, but I don't know if all GT's came with it or not.

I can't give you numbers on those options. Powertrain combination numbers are available, however. Not all GTs had factory air or PS. In fact, you could not get factory air on any 273 3spd car 66 Dart. The 4bbl required the 833 or 904 trans. PS was an option on everything.

The Rallye Pack came with the same quick ratio manual steering as the Formula S Cuda. I'm not sure, but I think the PS and QR manual were the same ratio 16:1.
 
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