James's 1970 Dodge Dart build.

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mopardude318

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Hey all. I bought this Dart as my first car from the original owner, when I was 16. (7 years ago) It came with a 741 8 3/4 and had a 225 slant 6 that I ran out of oil and it threw a rod. My plans were to build a 400HP 318, with a 727, put a 373 sure grip in it and call it good. But I never got around to it. 2 years later I joined the Army and it sat in my yard for another 3 years. Now after 2 deployments to Iraq, I've managed to same some money to build it how I want it.

Here it is on the way to my buddies house back in Feb.
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Out goes the 8 3/4
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Interior is out. Solid floors, no rust anywhere!
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Here are some pics of our mini-tub job:
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Homemade subframe connectors 2x3x120 boxed steel, installed 3" side verticle:
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Heres some pics of spring relocation:
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Here is my narrowed Strange S60. 35 spline axles, detroit locker, 373 gears, wilwood 12.19 brake kit:
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Installing RMS street linx kit, I had to make an 1/8" plate for the rear crossmember, as I had one of the "loose" cars:
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Installing the RMS alterkation:
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American racing torq thrust 15x10, with BFG radial 295/50/15:
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Installing the 4 speed hump:
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I will soon have some pics of my 833 4 speed, that my brother rebuilt using new parts from passon performance, with hydraulic clutch, and Quicktime bell housing, competition plus shifter, and custom made shifter linkage.

Here's my small block 408 stroker, built by Hughes Engines: Forged internals, 10:1 compression, stage 3 ported Edelbrock alum. heads, port matched victor 340 intake manifold, milodon gear drive, hydraulic roller cam and lifters, 576, 576 lift at 256* duration @ .050". Hughes 1.6 roller rockers, main stud girdle, 1 3/4 TTI headers and 7qt milodon pan. Dyno'd @ 532 HP and 520 FT LBS.
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Well, there ya have it. All my work up to date. I will post more pics as soon as everything is finished welded, and the car will be able to sit on its own for a change! BTW, I had to go with 17" rims instead because in order for a 15" wheel to fit on front, it would have to be way skinny for my liking, so I custom ordered american racing thorq thrust 17x8 for the front and 17x11 rear. I'm going with 315/35/17 Nitto 555 and 245/45/17 for the front. I will keep you all updated....
 
Just a little update. I took the vinyl top off yesterday, and boy was it so clean under there and rust free!!!
Please excuse the crappy photos, from my cell phone...

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wow quite a post lol i love the car ****:) those are some good lookin welds and gr8 fab work. this is gonna be a sweet car. keep it up and more **** lol lol
 
Just a little update. I took the vinyl top off yesterday, and boy was it so clean under there and rust free!!!
Please excuse the crappy photos, from my cell phone...

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My friend helped me take the front and rear glass out, took out the dash, and all the under dash components, and we are cleaning up the fire wall & engine compartment. I bought a Vintage Air Heater/Defroster which has a built in motor, and also much smaller, to get rid of the blower motor stickin out through the firewall. I'm also getting a late model Chrysler wiper motor to mount under the dash as well.

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All these parts...I'm nervous on putting it all back together when the time comes...I'll definitely need help...
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Here's a shot of the rear all welded up
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And my Aeromotive 20 gallon fuel cell. It has an A1000 fuel pump and a 100 micron fuel filter all built inside the cell...
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Nice work, good looking welds.

I hope you are going to go back and weld the subframe connector front plate to the crossmember. Those plug welds likely won't survive.

Another trick is to run the subframe connectors inside the rear frame rails and tie them to your relocation box front vertical surface.

Again, nice work!!!
 
Nice work, good looking welds.

I hope you are going to go back and weld the subframe connector front plate to the crossmember. Those plug welds likely won't survive.

Another trick is to run the subframe connectors inside the rear frame rails and tie them to your relocation box front vertical surface.

Again, nice work!!!

yes, I have already went back and welded the sub-frame connector front plate to the crossmember. Will have updated pics shortly. :)
 
Awesome Vintage Air Heater/Defrost unit!!!

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Look how much smaller it is compared to the older, bulky unit, and it gets rid of the blower motor sticking through the firewall!

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All I can say is this will all be money well spent! I was looking into buying one of thoes heaters for my duster. How much money did it run ya if you dont mind me asking?
 
First of all, thank you for your service in the Army.
You are doing a great job on the fabrication and detail work of the car. The build is well thought out and is going to be great when finished.
It sure is nice to start with a solid rust free car like yours.
Lastly, i hope you keep it green!
 
All I can say is this will all be money well spent! I was looking into buying one of thoes heaters for my duster. How much money did it run ya if you dont mind me asking?

The heater/defrost unit was right at $236 bucks...
 
First of all, thank you for your service in the Army.
You are doing a great job on the fabrication and detail work of the car. The build is well thought out and is going to be great when finished.
It sure is nice to start with a solid rust free car like yours.
Lastly, i hope you keep it green!

Thank you. I got out of the Army on September 13th. I've been home in Gilroy, Ca for 2 months now, and all I've been doing is working on my Dart! However, it will not stay green, I'm thinking of vitamin C orange metallic, with gloss black hood and tail stripe, or two tone orange and black..not sure yet...
 
great work man it's looking awesome!! Man i wish i could find a super clean car like that. Good luck finishing it!!!BTW that orange will look awesome!!
 
Your build is both amazing and inspiring. Great work! I am looking forward to new pics.
 
First, thank you for your service to our country:)
Second, nice car.
Third, would you be interested in selling the 8-3/4 rear end and if so how much?

Cheers,
Ken
 
You aren't messing around are you? Looks like you have a plan and have had plenty of time to save for it. What a great car to start with. Love that year of darts. Great looking welds and attention to detail. I am also building a prostreet dart with a parallel 4-link system. How big of tires did you get in your mini tubs? I am debating on mini tubs if I can get away with it.
 
I also thank you,for both your military service and this excellent thread. I am moving forward with my 70 Dart as well but not nearly your pace,lol! We also have completely different build idea's which is cool.

I am subscribing!
 
First, thank you for your service to our country:)
Second, nice car.
Third, would you be interested in selling the 8-3/4 rear end and if so how much?

Cheers,
Ken


hey buddy. i already sold the 8 3/4 before i even took it out! sorry...
 
You aren't messing around are you? Looks like you have a plan and have had plenty of time to save for it. What a great car to start with. Love that year of darts. Great looking welds and attention to detail. I am also building a prostreet dart with a parallel 4-link system. How big of tires did you get in your mini tubs? I am debating on mini tubs if I can get away with it.

First, thank you all for the compliments. It helps me get through the lonely/time consuming build, and that I'm not alone. I have spent so much, it's ridiculous, and when I see that I'll still have to throw a whole lot more money on body, paint and interior, it kinda gets me down, makes me second guess myself if I should continue to throw money at it...I see other people's cars and I wonder how nice they get it like that, and how they reach that final stage of completeness...seems so far away for me...anyways, back on subject...

Badart, I had my dana 60 built at 49 5/8" in length. The wheels in the pic are 15x10 with a 3.75 backspace, bfg 295/50/15. However, I am not going to use those wheels anymore, I decided to use 17's instead. i had to have them custom made at 17x11 with 4.25 backspace. I am using nitto 555 315/35/17...
 
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