help! i dont want a ricer

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Have you ever been inside of a celica? Not a 4 seater unless you mean kids/midgets/multiple amputees in the back seat.
 
lol same as any camaro/firebird ect. i just want the "backseat" as a just in case kinda thing. i dont often drive more than myself an my girl.
 
I still wonder why nobody but sinister mentioned a neon, besides the head gasket problem that was solved with the MLS gasket in 97, they are great cars. They are fast parts are cheap and can be built up to be little go carts. I miss my 98 dohc 5spd coupe. I could get 40 mpg on the highway and 30 in the city if I didn't get on it. Plus it will whoop most ricers out of the box and has a huge back seat. throw a grand in it and you go a whicked lil street car. Mine had a phantom grip, MP computer, cams, ACR struts and springs it was quick and fun. Much better than a celica and a whole lot more cheaper.
 
73charger said:
i recently did a tune up on the /6 with plugs, wires, cap rotor ect an it changed nothing really.
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Replacing parts isn't tuning. You need to learn to diagnose issues, whether you're working on a slant six, a big block, or a Toyota 4-banger. A poorly-tuned slant with some new parts will run poorly. So will a poorly tuned 360. You've gotta learn the same lesson I did - that making cars faster and/or better isn't just about bolting new parts together. Your 360 will still need to be tuned. It won't be "drop in and go" unless you're spending a lot of money to have someone else build it, break it in and tune it for you on a dyno. It'll be cheaper to learn how to tune your slant than your 360.

73charger said:
theres just too much little things. i worry my doors r gonna fall off cuz the stikers r porrly repaired an rusting again.
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That's a valid issue. So, cut out the old metal and have new metal/door strikers welded in. Are you saying don't plan to do this until AFTER you swap in the 360? Gotta get it done anyway, and with some research and elbow-grease, it would be a LOT cheaper than buying another car, even if you had to hire someone else to do the welding for you.

You seem to have made up your mind that you need another car. That's totally cool, it's your money and your time. Some of the older guys here are just trying to point out that, since you ARE short on funds, the "less-glamorous" alternative would probably be better for you in this case. Your arguments against putting money into the Dart seem to be based on inexperience. We've all been there (well, most of us have), and some repairs seem intimidating and frustrating until you've been successful in fixing them.

Rebuilding my first front end scared the crap outta me, but I couldn't afford to pay someone $700-800 in labor to do it for me. And I wasn't 16, I was 40. It wasn't easy, but it didn't take a lot of "brain power" either. The night and day difference in ride and handling makes me VERY proud, and unlike other cars I drive, I savor every single mile I drive it. I also wouldn't hesitate to do it again on another car, now that I know what I'm in for.

On the other side of the coin, when I first bought my slant six Swinger, I had every intention of dropping in a 360, just like you. Driving it reinforced my determination - getting it up to highway speeds was a monumental effort, and I practically had my foot to the floor just to maintain highway speeds. Oh, and the mileage SUCKED. I thought this was because it was a slant six, and of course, slant sixes sucked. Guess what? After driving it that way for a couple of YEARS, I had the car at a local mechanic for something (don't remember what), and he figured out that the distributor was stabbed wrong by a previous mechanic or owner. He reinstalled it correctly, set the timing at 10 degrees, and guess what? It was like driving a different car! Was it fast? No. But it ran "normally", and would keep up with every average car on the road, and mileage went WAY up. Now, had I been smart enough to diagnose the problem myself, I wouldn't have wasted YEARS driving it that way. Now I know better, and how to diagnose the problem in the future.

Like I said, if you want another car, that's up to you. But this is an A-Body forum, not a Honda, Toyota, Cavalier, or Neon forum, so what kind of advice would you expect here? A LOT of us would rather drive our a-bodies as our daily-drivers AND our toys (or have an A-body for each). And there's only one really good reason that you can't do it, too: You want another car, and nothing we can say will change your mind on that.

Hope you find what you're looking for, and when it comes to questions about your Dart (like,"what's the cheapest way to replace the doorjambs?"), ask away. You'll get some of the best A-Body advice right here, by folks who have been there, done that, and learned things the hard way.
 
My daily driver is an 2003 Chevy impala Good on gas plenty of room and comfortable, Me and my wife drive it daily( her car is a 2002 outback we never drive) so between the impala and the truck
 

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Anyone out there payin attention to whats happenin in Japan lately,...If you thought alternators, stereos and exhaust parts for ricers were expensive before,wait about a month...

and my 08 Calibre was 83% made in USA,( I checked stickers/Labels on cars before I bought It)...
 
I know there's something friend wrong with my car. I'd prefer to get my /6 to just run better an figure out wits wrong. But I feel like wen I take it to a mechanic, they aren't gonna find anything wrong. I need it everyday an can't afford to have it stuck at the shop for a week an I feel it's a lost cause sometimes. I know I can get it fixed, and trust ne the 360 is the last thing on my mind for the car. Just would feel like I'm throwing away money putting extras on the /6. Idk i get ahead of myself a lot cuz i have such big plans for this little thing and im young an impatient! Haha I sometimes wish I had a mopar guru at the local shop or something
 
Toyota Camry....mid 90's wide body model ( 94 and later ) with the 2.2lt 4 banger....parts easy to get, and good on fuel, and they are reliable.
 
How about an HHO Generator on that Dart its something worth looking into its cheap to build and effective if done right.
 
73charger said:
I know there's something friend wrong with my car. I'd prefer to get my /6 to just run better an figure out wits wrong. But I feel like wen I take it to a mechanic, they aren't gonna find anything wrong. I need it everyday an can't afford to have it stuck at the shop for a week an I feel it's a lost cause sometimes. I know I can get it fixed, and trust ne the 360 is the last thing on my mind for the car. Just would feel like I'm throwing away money putting extras on the /6. Idk i get ahead of myself a lot cuz i have such big plans for this little thing and im young an impatient! Haha I sometimes wish I had a mopar guru at the local shop or something
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Ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!! Dude, I can't stop laughing! I just noticed where you live, and did a little detective work. You want a Mopar guru to offer a hand? Well, there's this guy who lives out that direction. I THINK he lives out in the S.F. area. Name is Doug Dutra. He knows a thing or two about slants, and from what I hear, he's always willing to help a guy learn a thing or two about A-bodies and/or slants. Ever heard of him? If not, do a little looking around here:

www.slantsix.org

Heck, send him a PM. Maybe you guys can get together. I'm bettin' he'd be willing to help. ;)

You couldn't live much closer to a genuine Mopar legend. Geez, kid, I wish I lived that close to Doug!!!! Ever heard of Dutra Duals? I live in Texas, so the shipping for my Dutra front manifold was a killer!

Good luck!
 
I think it's hilarious that you called the thread "help! i dont want a ricer" and yet with almost every post where you talk about another car you talk about a ricer.
 
I have been driving 120 to 175 miles a day to work over the last 4 years so I have experimented with a couple cars. The best mileage car I bought semi cheap was a 2001 Monte Carlo with the 3400. I paid about $3K with about 100K miles on it. It was silver with no visable issues with the big NASCAR type spoiler on the back. 30mpg+ in the summer and 28 in the winter (not an issue for you). It was boring but would go 110mph plus on the freeway when it was safe with nobody around. I then got a 2001 GT mustang convertible for about twice the price and it is a lot more fun to drive with the 5spd and gets 25mpg+. I want a Mopar daily driver but if you are looking for mpg and want to have fun a fox body Mustang with a 5spd will probably be your best bet.
Mother mopar needs to put out something cheap with a V8, under 3500 pounds and an overdrive manual trans. If they could do that and advertise over 30mpg I think there would be alot of sales. Their new V6 is close to 300hp. and is now in the Challenger but that car is way too heavy. Look at the current Mustang V6...305hp and 31mpg. I think I might be looking for one of those in 5 to 7 years.
 
I have to agree. I want to find one of the DOHC neons with a manual trans. They seem to be hard to find.
Most of the Neons I find are autos.
 
Get yourself one of these. I get 26 in town and 32 on the highway. You gotta use premium with the Turbo.
 

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I agree with the not wanting a ricer; I'm in my 40s, not working, back in school full time and drive my 97 4.0/stick Wrangler back n forth 40 miles (each way) to school 5 days a week, I have figured out its cheaper to feed that than buying, licensing and insuring something else. and I, too, refuse to buy a Toyota, Honduh, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai etc. My payments are $0, and what I save there by not having payments will pay for a lot of gas; I mean any car I replace what I have now I will still have to buy gas , tires, brakes, for and maintain.... I have already spent that money on what I currently own if I buy anything else I have to start all over on that stuff too.
I have an 83 D 250 as well, 318, Magnum heads etc and went on a road trip today to pick up a tank, vaporizer, carb "hat" and all the valving etc from another FABO member, to put a dual fuel propane setup onto the truck; as of 2 days ago propane is more than $1 per gallon cheaper than gas even though it may be slightly less efficient it will still come out cheaper to run.
As far as FWD I worked on them 18 years for a living from beneath an alignment rack; after 18 years I hate FWD as much as ever. I refuse to buy one.
My Mom has a 98 Intrepid; better MPG than anything I have; decent ride, etc... but being 6-foot, and having had 2 severe right leg injuries over the last 22 years, that damn Intrepid sits too low to the ground, I have to roll out of it. I have so much easier toime getting into/out of a truck or Jeep because they sit up higher.
I wish I could find and get back the 76 Feather Duster that my Dad and then my older brother, had in the 80s..... /6 3 speed 4 wh drums manual brakes and steering; but it got well over 20MPGs..... and was all sorts of fun to drive.
FWD doesnt guarantee MPG; my wife's 88 Escort got 25 MPG no matter the fuel, highway in town, driven easy or hard; while I had an 81 W150, with a 318 and TQ that got 22 (while in 2 HI, steady 63MPH on "cruise") a 79 D 100, an 85 Diplomat and a 76 Charger all with 318s and got low-mid 20s on the road, and high teens in town when driven "right" no EFI no computer no OD; for that little bit of difference I decided that FWD and computers weren't worth it.
 
I already got rid of teh /6 K frame and got a V8 one for my Volare, if I can ever get back going on it I may look for a 273.
 
I vote for a neon also have had a couple of them now. Cheap cars fun to drive and will get 30 mpg at 80 MPH, mine gets around 25 in city only driving and about 33 max on the highway if you stay below 70 but it's a 97 DOHC auto three speed. Automatic cars aren't super fast out of the line but have great highway passing power.
 
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