I have no Idea where to start

-
Stephen_Bull

Stephen_Bull

Active Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
Messages
35
Reaction score
48
Location
Mustang, Ok
Ok, so day after Christmas, I bought a 68 Dart GT. 318/904 w/2.76 rear (Bit of an impulse but I digress). Uh, yup that's it. I'm not sure where to start. I know I need to replace trunk floor and one spot under passenger feet but that's it for rust. The entire interior was rattle canned to black (it was green) the seat brackets are gone so the seats are bolted straight to the floor, the rear seat bottom is torn the back is good but greenish/black. I got all the electrical (minus fuel gauge and engine heat) working. It's a factory A/C car but no A/C compressor or braket (pretty sure that's why the alternator sits weird), or lines, or any of the vacuum stuff (but I have no idea what's missing), and it's a P/S car but there's no bracket or pump or lines (the rack has connections for P/S and there's a random pulley). One of the heater lines is missing. The front end is really "bouncey" if there's a seal on the body/windows, it needs replaced. Also, the little passenger roll down window on the drivers side has the window to window trim piece, but not on the passenger side (this is a no-post car).

I KNOW I want to do a 383 (stroked to 440ish) with a 727 and what ever rear end fits. (I dont know any specs for the engine i.e: cam, valves, carb, intake, lifters, rockets etc.) I will be doing a chassis upgrade kit, it comes with torque boxes, frame stiffening, rear leaf mount adjustment and mini-tub (forgot who made the kit). I would like the rear to sit a little higher than the front, I believe it's called "raked"? Not sure how I will do that yet. And I want an all black interior, that's easy enough to purchase new.

I'm a "build a spreadsheet first" kind of guy, but as I've NEVER tried the muscle car thing I'm completely new. I am not new to working on cars or rebuilding motors I'm just switching gears from imports to Muscle. So any guidance would be great. I can figure out my way around a welder, grinder etc so that doesn't scare me. Just don't know what to start with.

I would like it to be a solid street/strip car. I know that is a huge "opinionated" statement but I just came from the turbo 4 banger world so be gentle, lol. I like the "idea" of Nitrous, but not sure if that means I have to run it all the time or just on the weekends at the track sort of thing I honestly don't know how this whole "you get to choose" thing works, basically I'm a kid in a candy store filled with candy he's never had. Guidance needed.

Stephen B.
 
Last edited:
Welcome Stephen! You will find answers to any and all questions here. Do you have a work area about four times the size of your car? Once you take it apart, that's about how big it grows. I know, that's why I have not torn mine apart yet. I guess sell off what you are not going to use, do the undercarriage/steering/suspension next. Fix the rust. Decide what rear end and wheels/tires you want and get the car rolling. Gather engine/trans parts,headers. Assemble. Install. Interior. Get the bugs worked out, drive and enjoy. (What about a twin cam turbo 4 cylinder with a face plated 5-speed? ) Best wishes on your project! We all love pictures here to watch others progress while ours languish.
 
abdywgn said:
Welcome Stephen! You will find answers to any and all questions here. Do you have a work area about four times the size of your car? Once you take it apart, that's about how big it grows. I know, that's why I have not torn mine apart yet. I guess sell off what you are not going to use, do the undercarriage/steering/suspension next. Fix the rust. Decide what rear end and wheels/tires you want and get the car rolling. Gather engine/trans parts,headers. Assemble. Install. Interior. Get the bugs worked out, drive and enjoy. (What about a twin cam turbo 4 cylinder with a face plated 5-speed? ) Best wishes on your project! We all love pictures here to watch others progress while ours languish.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm not sure what to ask. Like with the A/C...do I look for 318 stuff? Or since i know I'm going 383 look for that? Same with Power Steering? Also, I dabbled in the "what rear end fits" search...good lord...I wouldnt be upset if someone told me "buy an old (insert year) Dodge (insert van or truck) and rob the powertrain from that" statement. I'm cool with transplants too. I just cant fab anything, that's the biggest problem I think. I guess I'll need the closet to bolt-in I can get. I can cut and weld but not "design" I'm mechanical, not artistic.

But thank you very much for the reply, I will start with what you mentioned.

Stephen B.
 
IMHO.... get the car road worthy first. If the rust can be repaired for now rather than replaced, do that for now, especially the trunk if you tub, replacing the trunk floor might not be necessary. Do everything in a one change at a time. You might change you plans along the way. Good luck
 
Welcome, you chose wisely, that '68 is such a pretty car. Get a factory service manual and start studying how your vehicle is constructed, and this site as well as BigBlockDart.Com will help you immensely in your build.
 
I agree with dana67dart, do one thing at a time because if you just disassemble you will get overwhelmed and never go back to it. it will sit there for 5 years and then one day you will say "What did I ever buy that for?". One thing at a time, get it running, drive it, fall in love with it, then take on bigger tasks so you will finish what you start. Enjoy planning what to do to it, that way it will turn out the way you really want it to. Or plan B, take it to a shop, write a check, pick it up in 3 years.
 
Yes, by all means, get it out and drivable first and get used to the way it handles and drives, and plan accordingly what you would like to do for improvement. I also recommend upgrades to braking, chassis, suspension and whatever else before dropping X amount of power plant in. When doing your floor pan rust repairs, it's a great time to go ahead and fabricate a set of subframe connectors.
 
Keep it running and driving as much as you can...like was mentioned before if it's torn down it's a huge de-motivator. I would start with just sorting out the drive train that's in it, and go through and make the car safe. Make sure it runs, drives, stops, steers, cools, charges, lights work, etc. Spring is coming soon.Enjoy it while you figure out what you want and get a list of parts started.

If you do end up needing a front suspension, do the upgrade to big bolt pattern (5 x 4.5"), either with stock disc brake stuff or aftermarket stuff (Strange makes a great kit).
 
I had a new 68 dart gts, triple green. I loved it. Green went out of favor for several decades because of overuse, but I think it is coming back in popularity. I personally loved the med dark green metallic paint on the door frames. If you choose to bring it back to stock or even restomod, I think you might like that green metallic interior, too.
 
rustycowll69 said:
I had a new 68 dart gts, triple green. I loved it. Green went out of favor for several decades because of overuse, but I think it is coming back in popularity. I personally loved the med dark green metallic paint on the door frames. If you choose to bring it back to stock or even restomod, I think you might like that green metallic interior, too.
Click to expand...

I'm not against 1 step at a time. I just didnt know what was the first step. To me it seems like figure out what's missing. The alternator works great, but I think the A/C braket also acts like a spacer for the upper bolt on the alternator? Since the A/C xomp and bracket are gone I dont know what else is missing. So mounting the alternator is important. I guess I'll start with fix the rust holes, then seal all the windows. I really appreciate the help. Some one mentioned a service manual, like factory? Or like Chilton/Haynes?

Stephen B.
 
Hopefully you will get it up and driving soon, the bouncy front end is a concern. Does it have power steering/power brakes? A good build to review is posted by MomsDuster, he has done a great job with a Dana rear axle and a QA1 front chassis set up. For future reference, if you stay with the torsion bar suspension (I still feel it to be sacrilege to use anything else under the typical mopar build, but that's just me) the big block torsion bars are barely adequate for a six under normal driving conditions, and unless it's a drag only car, it's advisable to use heavier bars to be on the safe side. But drive and enjoy it for the spring and summer first and get a feel for it, you'll probably change your plans several times before you decide on how you really want it to be. Find a factory service manual. Unless you absolutely need it, you may be better off to set up a non A/C accessory drive arrangement first, and plan on A/C down the road because your a/c options are going to be aftermarket modern refrigerant systems.
 
Last edited:
Stephen_Bull said:
I'm not against 1 step at a time. I just didnt know what was the first step. To me it seems like figure out what's missing. The alternator works great, but I think the A/C braket also acts like a spacer for the upper bolt on the alternator? Since the A/C xomp and bracket are gone I dont know what else is missing. So mounting the alternator is important. I guess I'll start with fix the rust holes, then seal all the windows. I really appreciate the help. Some one mentioned a service manual, like factory? Or like Chilton/Haynes?

Stephen B.
Click to expand...
preferably, a FSM. Chilton/Haynes are better than nothing, but nowhere near as good as a FSM.
 
They are hard to find, but Motors Manuals had some single manufacturer manuals out there that had a lot of the FSM material in it. Even the all make and model Motors manuals are a good start though, as well as My Mopar online.
 
I haven't read anybody's answers here but I'd like to see some pictures are generally worth a thousand words..
 
I'll take some pictures of what arras I think um missing parts in the morning, just got off work at around 2300. Tha is for all the advice.

But here are some ones I already have

Stephen B.
 
The wheels gotta go, but as far as rust goes those two spots are it. Although I haven't pulled the heater box out to check if the fresh air vent drain area is rusted out, but fenders are good, doors are good, some small holes under the rear window frame/speaker deck area. I've thought about pulling out the interior out (all like 6 pieces of it; fronts seats, carpet, floor consol, rear seat bottom and back) and give it a good once over. But I'm still not sure about around the windshield and back window.

Stephen B.

20181226_213606.jpg


20181228_134308.jpg


20181228_134936.jpg


20181228_135009.jpg
 
Nice. Looks to be in fair condition. It is easy to get overwhelmed. Pick one thing to fix or change at a time. Tag it, drive it while you work on it.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Keep it driveable if you can. I bought a 70 Duster 6 years ago and stripped it down. It’s a bare shell now and will probably be 4 or 5 more years before it’s done.
 
What "I" would do is pull the engine and install a 360... 408 crate engine. While the engine is out I would convert it to manual steering. Power steering is OK but robs horsepower, leaky, has to run another belt. Paint the engine bay the same color as the car. To me this is where the previous owner stopped working on the car. He was going to pull the engine and do the above next. While you're prepping the engine bay for paint that's when you work on the rust spots. Rip out interior. Paint trunk and floor board. Get that done install new carpet and get seat covers from Lengedary. I'm not a seat repair guy so I would have to send that out to a professional. Replace wheels with Weld racing after big bolt conversion.
 
That’s a good looking car! get under it with the trunk open in daylight with some eye protection, a scraping tool and a wire bush and poke scratch anywhere you see daylight. It looks like there is still a lot of good sound sheet metal in the car. If you haven’t already, carefully around the subframe and wheel wells and around the front spring mounts. Check out the center crossmember braces closely, as that part of the car carries the suspension load of the torsion bars. Do the same up at the front structure where the k frame ties and bolts in especially at the cowl area. It’s good to double check all the load bearing box and cross structures to confirm they are all solid, some areas can hide rust working from the inside out. A slag hammer is good to find it with but be gentle and use common sense, get any bare surface rust or metal cleaned up and get some permatex extenze rust treatment or POR15 on it.
 
Agree with the general sentiment in here...

Get/keep it insured, drivable
Fix the little issues
Procure a legitimate factory service manual
Inspect all around under and inside the car (I would pay particular attention to wiring as the factory stuff is literally 50 years old)
Look into parts like electronic ignition upgrade, ammeter bypass if not already done
Go ahead and pull your interior including the carpet out-this will help you build your spreadsheet...it looks like you have a bad front passenger side pan, but look at all the potential areas under the carpet...
Garrett's suggestion above for finding soft metal is a good one...slag hammer works great for that purpose.

I was about to launch into a novel about all the things you might want to start looking into for your desired swap, but you need to figure out "your way." Start perusing the threads about your desired direction, pay attention to the stickies, and read read read. I spend a pretty good bit of time lurking in the resto section because tons of people have already done big metal replacement and documented it very well...the same goes for the small and big block forums, the drivetrain forums, the brake forums, etc etc ad nauseam.

Welcome aboard, I look forward to seeing more about your adventure with your new toy...and I sympathize about the wheels...I am a little curious though-is this still a small bolt pattern car or has it already been swapped?
 
gawd I wish I still had all my factory two barrel stuff-I'd give them to you-it's making me itch to see all those open holes in the valve covers and no breather...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top