came upon a 76 dart donor car w/ 318

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jasonmrenda

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well i am enjoying my 67 dart and have a plan to get it to where i'd like it- mainly starting with the interior, followed by some areas of body work then paint, and then possibly tackling the performance side of things.

so as a web designer i am on the web all day long and i get caught up on craigslist. anyway i found a guy with a 76 dart w/ a 318 auto trans that runs but he says the steering turns to the right as soon as the engine powers on. now i'd just be using this for parts depending on the condition of things. mainly the leafs, front disks and a-arms?, and the drivetrain maybe down the road. i'm sure there will be plenty of these types of vehicles around as i get closer to actually doing this stuff, but as i am very new to all this i was hoping you could let me know if this car would be a possible good donor for what i am looking to do. i know 318's are cheap. i would think that between the driveline, the motor mounts, the k frame, the wheels, the brakes, and possibly the leaf springs that i could use a lot of this and get a fair deal if i can get it for 5-600?

i had decided to keep the /6 and just some simple bolt ons to wake it up a little bit but prob keep it fairly stock so i wouldnt need to do brakes, rear end, etc. but then i saw this car for sale and thought maybe i could spend the money more wisely.

any thoughts?
 
Now you have a real decision to make. The fix for the steering issue is easy and really cheap. How is the rest of the car? Is the major issue the steering? The only thing wrong with it is a need for a reman steering box which are going for around $125. The center adjustment for the power steering box is out of whack. You can try to adjust it yourself, but it is a lot simpler to get a reman box. All the parts you mention will be a direct bolt in swap and will also rid you of the '67 one year only idler arm which is nearly impossible to find.
 
thanks grumpus
havent seen the car as of yet. may go see it on sun. my 67 dart runs fine and steers good as-is. can i use my current steering box if i do a 318 swap? or do i need a reman steering box spec to the 318? all i'd like to do right now is get the discs on the front, get the leafs on the back (mine look like ocean waves!!) and poss swap the front susp as i heard that the 318 is beefier than the /6. then again if i am going to be under the car maybe it would make sense to just do the whole drivetrain swap if the donor car has most if not all the needed pieces? argh this is how i get myself in trouble!!
 
also has new headliner and carpet not installed (would those work on a 67?) has new headers, carb, intake manifold, and valve covers. another dumb question but can you swap sheetmetal FROM the 67 to the 76? instead of other way around? which would be easier? sorry for dumb question.
 
sorry for multiple posts - where would i get a reman steering box?
 
You can get a reman box at most any parts store or if you feel the need for high zoot techno with a corresponding price, firmfeel can fix you up. Me, I'd buy the '76, put a steering box on it, and use it as a driver while I did body work etc. to the '67. When I had the '67 to the point of driveline swap, I'd pull the parts off the '76 and go. There are 3 setups that will work in your '67. The '67 K member will require swap mounts for a V8 since it is set up for a slant, and uses an idler arm that was only used that year. You can find a '68-'72 V8 K member which will accept all your '67 steering gear except the idler arm which would be '68-'72 specific. Or you can use a '73-'76 V8 K member and steering gear. If you use either of the earlier K members you will still need the upper A arms, spindles, lower ball joints, and brakes off the '76.
The carpet and headliner should work in your '67 if the headliner is cloth. Some of the '73-'76 headliners were one piece fiber board.
 
cool thanks Grumpus. so i t seems like the 76 has a bunch of possibly useable parts. the 67 is already a daily driver so i'd prob be about ready to do the stuff pretty soon - well winter time anyway.
 
well i offered the guy 500 for the 76 swinger and he countered with 750 which i think seems pretty fair. now i just need some help in determining if this is a wise move.

currently my 67 really doesnt need much other than seat covers and a headliner and a new exhaust. starts and runs good, not the fastest machine but it will get to highway speeds. trans shifts well. i think i need to look into the leaf springs due to the left-dive on braking but other than that, there is really no "need" to mess with anything.

while hunting for a disk kit to do over the winter i cam upon the ad mentioned above. for 750 plus the 15o or so for a reman steering box, i'd have a complete swappable donor car. my dilemma is it really worth it? i know that is very subjective and i've been trying to research the pros/cons of an engine swap and disk brakes etc.

i havent heard anyone regret doing a disk swap, but some have said they weren't as necessary as they'd thought. i dont really need any of the sheetmetal from the donor car as mine is in decent to good shape. the wheel couuld be cool. the 3q8 has anew edelbrock carb and intake and new headeers though not sure who made them. has a black carpet i could use and a headliner too. i am thinking i couuld culla ll the parts within a weeknd or 2 then sell the scrap metal. can keep the /6 for originality purposes and if i ever want to go back to stock.

is there a noticeable seat of the pants difference from the stock /6 to a basic stock 318 from 76? it seems the 318 has a lot more bolt-on potential than the /6 to wake it up. again i am not drag racing. i love the vintage styling of the /6 but also would enjoy a simple bolt on build up of the 318.

sorry for the all over the place posts. i wish i could be content to just drive it but a lot of the fun for me is in learning and working on things.thank you everyone

- jason
 
If the 76 has a good drivetrain the swap is really easy, drop the K frame with the engine still on it and unbolt the upper control arms from the rails and stick it under the 67, the rear is even easier, 12 bolts, shocks and e-brake cables and roll that under the 67, the driveshaft from the 76 will work in the 67 also.

To keep it real simple on the electronics reuse the 67 alternator and get a V8 points distributor, As long as you have a decent place to work on it at this is a good weekend project.
 
it's a perfect donor but your going to need a drive shaft from a 73-6 dart w/ 904 & 8 1/4 axle if it's a dart sport.the 108 & 111 wheel bases use different driveshaft lengths.is it a dart sport or dart?
 
it is a dart swinger model - doe sthat change anything? my 67 is a dart GT. i also have a 53 dodge pilothouse that needs seats and a driveline and the 318 or the /6 could work on this - plus i already did a disc brake conversion on it. so for 750 i could have almost all the parts i need to complete both vehicles (the pilothouse is just gonna be a rat rod) and if the sheet meatl is all bad i'll just have the scarp yard pick it up and prob get a 100 for that or so. i'd say not a bad plan for 650 bucks or so!
 
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