ep16
New Member
Hi all, this is my first post although I have been browsing around for a while. FABO seems to be a great little community.
I am looking at buying a '63 Dart over here in the UK. The car has already been imported and run around for a little while by the importer. Before I buy, I have a few questions to ask here and then I will start a proper build thread if it goes ahead.
A quick bit about the vehicle; it is a '63 that has already had a running gear swap from a '74 Duster including the 318 with stock two barrel, A833, 7 1/4 rear end, suspension and big pattern brakes (discs on the front) so should make a really good base for something very fun.
The plan will be to build up the 318 (or a second one at least) to get in the 350-400hp range @6k rpm at the flywheel as they are readily available over here and will be more fun on our roads in a light car with a 4 speed rather a 360 torque monster. This leads me on to my first question; will the stock 318 crank survive in this sort build or is it better to be safer rather than sorry and go forged?
The second question is; how interchangeable is the early suspension with the later stuff as I see most of the Hotchkis kits for example are listed as either '67 or '73 onwards? The importer says it has all the stuff mentioned above including the suspension off the Duster, just wondering if it is even possible to swap the early/late suspension? If not, what bits is it likely to have from the later car to achieve the above? Is it just spindles, rear end and the later brakes?
Thirdly, at what point is the 7 1/4 likely to let go? Some seem to think they are disaster waiting to happen behind even a stock 318... If anyone has an A body 8 3/4 they are wanting rid of, feel free to drop me a message as the chances of me finding one over here are pretty much nil!
I look forward to hearing peoples opinions and hopefully becoming a more active member assuming a deal can be struck.
I am looking at buying a '63 Dart over here in the UK. The car has already been imported and run around for a little while by the importer. Before I buy, I have a few questions to ask here and then I will start a proper build thread if it goes ahead.
A quick bit about the vehicle; it is a '63 that has already had a running gear swap from a '74 Duster including the 318 with stock two barrel, A833, 7 1/4 rear end, suspension and big pattern brakes (discs on the front) so should make a really good base for something very fun.
The plan will be to build up the 318 (or a second one at least) to get in the 350-400hp range @6k rpm at the flywheel as they are readily available over here and will be more fun on our roads in a light car with a 4 speed rather a 360 torque monster. This leads me on to my first question; will the stock 318 crank survive in this sort build or is it better to be safer rather than sorry and go forged?
The second question is; how interchangeable is the early suspension with the later stuff as I see most of the Hotchkis kits for example are listed as either '67 or '73 onwards? The importer says it has all the stuff mentioned above including the suspension off the Duster, just wondering if it is even possible to swap the early/late suspension? If not, what bits is it likely to have from the later car to achieve the above? Is it just spindles, rear end and the later brakes?
Thirdly, at what point is the 7 1/4 likely to let go? Some seem to think they are disaster waiting to happen behind even a stock 318... If anyone has an A body 8 3/4 they are wanting rid of, feel free to drop me a message as the chances of me finding one over here are pretty much nil!
I look forward to hearing peoples opinions and hopefully becoming a more active member assuming a deal can be struck.
- as long as it's straight and priced right, grab it!! The rest you can do/figure out as you go. 
