Budget Build 70 Swinger

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swingn340

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Location
Lexington, Missouri
Hi all this will be a father son project. And on a very low budget. First off the car, one well used 70 Dodge Swinger with /6 at,71/4 rear. it needs quarters and some other rust repaired but overall not in bad shape. I found this car about four years ago when my son was 12 and figured we get some stuff done before he started driving. Well it took him until he turned 16 to get motivated and now we are getting some work done on it. So some pics and a running total here we go. $400 for the car, it still had all the trim and wheel covers plus the factory am radio. the car had never had anything done to it. we did the spray bomb and hood pins somthing like $15, my son thinks we should put a V8 in it but first we need to upgrade the brakes. 9" drums wont stop a /6 a V8 that would be scary. We found a guy that was getting rid of some A body stuff and got a complet K member V8 sway bar stearing box and 10" drums out of a 69 and he gave us the disc stuff from a 74 A body:toothy10: the man had some sweet stotted wheels 14x6 15x8 275 60 15 big i know but will fix that later. payed $125 and another $20 for lugs and locks.

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Cool.Lets see the progress pics when you start bolting stuff on!
 
got an 8 3/4 from another project that i sold, so the cost $0 but i spent $75 bucks to drill for 4 1/2 bolt pattern. Im moving the rear back 1 1/2 inches so i redrilled the spring seats a 1 inch back and ill make a shim for the front spring hanger 1/2 inch. I painted it and bent some new lines for it. also making a caltrac bars for it.

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I wish one of my daughters would get interested..so far they only want my car if I die....lol 8)
 
My daughter is 8 years old and she to wants my car when she turns 16, figures its only fair, her brother got one.:toothy10: BTW its a 70 Road Runner
 
Why move the rear housing backwards?

I agree with your son, a V-8 would be good for many reasons IMO. You can start him with a basic rebuild and 340 cam and 4bbl for reasonable power. And those upgraded brakes are a real plus to do. When I did my /6 - 318 swap, the 9 inchers all around, even though power, were bad. Brake fade is scarrrrrry!
 
swingn340 said:
got an 8 3/4 from another project that i sold, so the cost $0 but i spent $75 bucks to drill for 4 1/2 bolt pattern. Im moving the rear back 1 1/2 inches so i redrilled the spring seats a 1 inch back and ill make a shim for the front spring hanger 1/2 inch. I painted it and bent some new lines for it. also making a caltrac bars for it.
Click to expand...


Hey man, nice Dart build so far.
I have to ask as well....why move the rear BACK 1"?, I don't understand the reasoning.

Is that a A-body 8.75.....53.25" between the backing plates? When I read through your thread at first, I was thinking you were about to move the perches IN to the frame rails and move the leaf springs IN, so you could fit a 10.5-12" tires in there....but now I am wondering WHY you would move the rear back a inch....In my mind, it would limit Tire O.D., and the gain would be -0-....but if I am mistaken please let me know.

Dont mean to hijack, or upset.....:glasses9:
 
rumblefish360 said:
Why move the rear housing backwards?

I agree with your son, a V-8 would be good for many reasons IMO. You can start him with a basic rebuild and 340 cam and 4bbl for reasonable power. And those upgraded brakes are a real plus to do. When I did my /6 - 318 swap, the 9 inchers all around, even though power, were bad. Brake fade is scarrrrrry!
Click to expand...

Lol how do you think I feel when driving my '68 newport 383 with drums!


Very cool project
Wish I had a '70 swinger at that age.
 
If you look at the rear wheel opening the tire sits off to the front, got lots of room on the back side. and its easyer than cutting up the quarters to make the taller tires fit. Ill get some pics and show you. BTW we will do mini tubbs and movin the springs to the rails before we put the rear in.:thumbup:
 
If you are going to MINI-tub ... you should have plenty of room for taller tire .. i still don't get it? when you add a section to wheel tub .. amount of widening is even all the way around > is it not?
 
I get what he is saying, but i wouldn't move the rear back any, you'll have plenty of room for a decent tire for what you'll be doing, & alot more if your planning on the mini tubs & moving the springs in.
 
It's certainly unorthodox and you are the first guy I've ever seen do it. Doesnt mean it's wrong,but It will disengage the driveshaft 1 inch from the transmission. Also things like brake lines and e brake cables may not fit anymore,but it's the driveshaft that bothers me as there are problems that may occurr when the shaft isnt completely engaged.

Minitubbing,springs inboard will make room for as much as 13" wide tires,and combined with Caltracs you wont need any more traction.

A 10" slick and caltracs are all thats needed to hook up 750 hp for the boys at moparmuscle magazine with thier bracket A body Barracuda.

Some food for thought...
 
What a fun first project for you and your son. Good luck with it. I too don't think you should move the rear back. You should be able to fit a 28 tall tire in there with out doing it. That and it will only hurt the cars weight distribution.
 
Cool build. I have a 70 as well that I'm building...I am also concerned about you moving the axle back...All you need is a standard mini tub job, and spring relocation and you can get a fatty tire under there...I'd leave it where it is buddy. :)
 
The drive shaft will be plenty long, it needs cut anyway. the 8 3/4 is longer from axel centerline to the yoke than the 7 1/4 and those 275-60-15s hit the front side of the wheel well, they fit every were else. the tires in the pics are F-78-14s on the stock wheel and its close.

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Casey nice swinger it looks just like mine if it wasnt for the cancer. 17 sec. what engine you runnin. We should run it down the strip to see what the ol /6 does, but with 2.67 gears its snail slow on the take off but it will run on the top end.
 
Swapped the front seat, the bench was trashed, all the springs on the drivers side were broken. (I bought it from a very large woman) and my son was putting stacks of magazines under the seat to keep his a$$ off the floor.:toothy10: got the seats out of a Jeep Commanche PU i got for $100 i just wanted the bed but the seats were good so ive been storing them for years. they look good i think. and pulled the carpet to do the seats and the floor looks way better than the quarters:-D Ill start on the subframe connectors this weekend.

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Almost forgot this under the carpet was 2 build sheets and a sheet that looks like an inspection form. Ive pulled alot of mopars apart but never seen one of these.

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Thanks! Paint is next on the to do list. Just a little cancer on the driver's side quarter, and surely their will be some under my original vinyl top. My Dart has my "senior-project" built 225" with a 4-BBL, mild cam, headers, forged racing pistons, etc...The 2.73 highway gears are keeping the Dart from 15 second time slips. The older engine with the 1-BBL would do 20 seconds. You add headers and a super-six setup you will get 18 seconds, and my current setup had a best of 17.03 seconds. I add my 3.23 8 3/4" suregrip and my home built turbocharger setup, and we'll be in the low 14s in no time!

Good luck with the build!
 
Cool, you staying with the same color? We are going sublime with the black hood and rear. My son is tired of all the tuner stuff and wants an old school musclecar, like his ol dad had. :-D
 
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