I haven't figured that out, yet. Based off rimsntires.com it says with the same tire size, it should be 100% bolt on with some extra room prior to having the leaf springs moved in. But I kind of want to go to a wider tire. A 265/35/18 seems like it would have worked with an extra +3-4 mm spacer on top of my +5mm spacer. But almost approaching half an inch, I think I'd want to install longer wheel studs.
MuuMuu101's 68 Dart, A Learning Process...
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I haven't figured that out, yet. Based off rimsntires.com it says with the same tire size, it should be 100% bolt on with some extra room prior to having the leaf springs moved in. But I kind of want to go to a wider tire. A 265/35/18 seems like it would have worked with an extra +3-4 mm spacer on top of my +5mm spacer. But almost approaching half an inch, I think I'd want to install longer wheel studs.
SNKEBIT
Spending $$ on Mopars
^^^^^^^ Must do!!!!!!!!!!^^^^^^^^^^
And, when you get out that far, you want hub-centric spacers so you don't get a wobble.
I flipped the front and rear wheels on the Dart yesterday to see how much room I have. With a +27mm offset wheel and a 255/40/18 on an 18x9" wheel, I have about 3/4" of room on each side. A 275/35/18 might seem easier than I think, even with the +35mm Enkei's I was thinking about getting.
First 3 pictures display the room between the tire and the leaf springs, inner wheel well, and outer fender in the rear. Pictures are upside down.
Last picture is how close the wheel is to the outer fender in the front with -10mm offset (from +32mm to +22mm offset).
All pictures are from the driver's side.
First 3 pictures display the room between the tire and the leaf springs, inner wheel well, and outer fender in the rear. Pictures are upside down.
Last picture is how close the wheel is to the outer fender in the front with -10mm offset (from +32mm to +22mm offset).
All pictures are from the driver's side.
I'm thinking about going with Falkens in the future as they're cheaper and likely to fit better than the Bridgestones even though the Falkens don't perform as well. But we'll see when I'll be able to afford them.
1st picture is for 255/40/18 Michelin Super Sports.
2nd picture is for 265/35/18 or 275/35/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R.
3rd picture is for 265/35/18 or 275/35/18 Falken Azenis RT615K+.
1st picture is for 255/40/18 Michelin Super Sports.
2nd picture is for 265/35/18 or 275/35/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R.
3rd picture is for 265/35/18 or 275/35/18 Falken Azenis RT615K+.
goldduster318
Overzealous Car Modifier
It might work but it'll be tight. Usually I'd like to think of a finger's width (roughly 1/2" clearance) everywhere due to the tire deflection and the suspension deflection especially in the rear axle since the leaf springs will flex a little as well. This is more of an issue to the quarter panel than the spring since there won't be much dynamic movement relative to the spring.
Mine will occasionally rub pulling into my driveway where you're making a moderate left and hitting it with a good jounce at the same time because the LF fender was in an accident at one point and isn't super straight. Everywhere else it has 1/2".
Mine will occasionally rub pulling into my driveway where you're making a moderate left and hitting it with a good jounce at the same time because the LF fender was in an accident at one point and isn't super straight. Everywhere else it has 1/2".
It'll work with 275's. Keep in mind that you won't see the same section width's because you're putting the 275's on a 9" wide rim, they're measured on a 9.5" wide rim. They'll probably only end up being about 10.6" wide on a 9" wide rim, that's about what my 275/35/18's measure on the front of my car. Based on your pictures I'd want most of that extra width on the spring side though, I see what the tape says but I don't think I'd want to give up too much more clearance to the quarter. I only run about 3/8" to the springs with my 295/35/18's on 18x10's on the back of my car, but I've never had an issue with the tires rubbing the springs.
Well, I have at least 3/4" on both sides, if I give myself 1/4" of each that leaves me with that 1/2" gap and 1/2" of extra tire. Almost all of my rubbing problems so far have been due to contact to the quarter panels. That's why I was thinking about going to +35mm offset Enkei wheels (while still using +5mm spacers on the rear, +30mm effective offset). That will place the tires closer to the leaf springs compared to the +32 mm offset wheels (+27mm effective offset).
To fit the larger tires I need new wheels as my wheels are dicontinued and the larger tire won't fit with the +22mm wheels I have on the rear. I was going to go with +35mm offset Enkei's in a 9.5" wide wheel (it would match the specs from Tirerack). Looking at Rimsntires.com, it seems like that will put me at about 0.4" closer to the leaf springs and about 0.2" closer to the quarter panel compared to the +32mm offset wheels. Right now my quarter panel clearance is significantly less than what is on the tape measure. my current wheels are only about 1/4" away from the quarter panels and rub the sidewalls when the trunk is full or I have a heavy passenger on turns. Granted, I've pounded out the quarter panels a little bit since then.
I made spacers yesterday that slid underneath my driver's side motor mount and installed the spacers and went for a 25 mile cruise today. Overall, I think the biggest improvement is that it seems like there are less vibrations in the car and because of that it seems like the overall volume inside the cab has gone down and that there's a little less drone; however, the drone is still there. It was also hard to judge as it took awhile for the engine to warm up (it was about 50F today). Most of the ride I was under 180F water temp but I did notice that the hotter the engine got, the more the car droned. I think the next step will be resonators before the mufflers.
1st Picture: Pre-spacers (left-most tube).
2nd Picture: Post-spacers.
1st Picture: Pre-spacers (left-most tube).
2nd Picture: Post-spacers.
Alright, so I went to an exhaust shop Friday and had them install some Helmholtz resonators. I had to do the math for them, but I came out to needing about a 25" long resonator. The muffler shop I went to was great. Really cool mom and pop place. Overall, the car is a little quieter, sounds a little different, and part of the drone has gone away, but not completely. Aside from exhaust tips, I think I am going to stop messing with the exhaust. Let's face it, I'm throwing 500+ hp through a tiny tube. I'll just cruise at 60 mph instead of 70 mph. I'll save gas anyway.
racerhog
RacerHog likes his Mopars
Next go round... Check out the Spintech... Shop is out in Riverside... Great hiflow systems.. 
SpinTech Performance Mufflers
SpinTech Performance Mufflers
racerhog
RacerHog likes his Mopars
How is the car doing overall? Have you got most of the other issues worked out?
Overall, the car is ok. She's temperamental but will go for Sunday morning drives. She still takes forever to start up. I think there's something in the fuel system. Anyway, I've been selling all my spare parts and have enough for a Fitech system, new gas tank with a submerged pump, and new feed lines. I might make a cold air intake setup for extra horsepower. So, that's cool.
Yeah, there's something inferfering in the rear. I think it's tire rub as we inspected the exhaust on Friday.
They cars slowly getting there.
itchy666
Well-Known Member
Read the whole thread last weekend, Fkn WOW nice car, what does it owe ya, in Oz they would be charging $100-150 per hour on that stuff???
NICE RIDE!
racerhog
RacerHog likes his Mopars
Sounds like a good upgrade... Should fit that nicely
Too much, I can tell you that. Thank you for the compliment.
Sounds like a good upgrade... Should fit that nicely
I'm excited for it.
So, update on the Dart. I have good news and bad news and it's a long story.
So, a couple weeks ago, I found out my manual choke cable was causing my car to run extra rich for the past year, so I yanked it out and the car has been running well. The past two drives, it did pretty good and gave me little to no trouble.
Lately, I've had this amazing plan that I was going to convert the Dart to EFI. I was going to install a Holley Sniper, put in all new lines, install a Tanks Inc tank with Stealth Aeromotive in-tank fuel pump. Good news, I bought everything! I even bought some new, Afco 142 lbs/in leaf springs to raise up the rear a bit to deal with the heavy Dart.
The bad news... When I was leaving work today, I started the car and started to hear some crunching under the engine bay. I took a look and it looks like the water pump pulley is wobbling a little bit back and forth. Shut off the car, wobble it a little with my hands, but it's tight. Great... the bearing might be going out... but the belt is still tight?
Drove home, everything was perfect, water temps were perfect. As I pull up my street, which is on a hill, and I am literally one house away, the car fumbles dies. I tried starting it up again, and it fired, but died immediately. I thought the car may be low on gas and the hill was pushing the fuel away from the pickup so I rolled the car down the hill, walked to my house to get my extra gas canister, and filled the tank with 2 gallons. Started it up, and died immediately. So, I roll it further down, I turn on the ignition and check my fuel pressure gauge and I'm getting 7psi. So, it seems like the fuel system is working. I left the car there for an hour, ran some chores, came back and tried starting it up a couple of times and the same thing happened, except this time, it sounded like all of the teeth on my starter decided to go missing with some extra crunchyness because now when I was cranking it, there were no crunchies the RPMS were stuck at 0.
So, I had to get the car towed to my house 3 houses up the hill. I'm going to fix the car starting next week. It's not going to a shop. I'm going to spend an hour or so a night a couple nights a week to tackle it. I just don't know where to start. Should I try making it run again before going efi? Or just start converting stuff over and hoping it was a fuel issue? Decisions... Decisions...
So, a couple weeks ago, I found out my manual choke cable was causing my car to run extra rich for the past year, so I yanked it out and the car has been running well. The past two drives, it did pretty good and gave me little to no trouble.
Lately, I've had this amazing plan that I was going to convert the Dart to EFI. I was going to install a Holley Sniper, put in all new lines, install a Tanks Inc tank with Stealth Aeromotive in-tank fuel pump. Good news, I bought everything! I even bought some new, Afco 142 lbs/in leaf springs to raise up the rear a bit to deal with the heavy Dart.
The bad news... When I was leaving work today, I started the car and started to hear some crunching under the engine bay. I took a look and it looks like the water pump pulley is wobbling a little bit back and forth. Shut off the car, wobble it a little with my hands, but it's tight. Great... the bearing might be going out... but the belt is still tight?
Drove home, everything was perfect, water temps were perfect. As I pull up my street, which is on a hill, and I am literally one house away, the car fumbles dies. I tried starting it up again, and it fired, but died immediately. I thought the car may be low on gas and the hill was pushing the fuel away from the pickup so I rolled the car down the hill, walked to my house to get my extra gas canister, and filled the tank with 2 gallons. Started it up, and died immediately. So, I roll it further down, I turn on the ignition and check my fuel pressure gauge and I'm getting 7psi. So, it seems like the fuel system is working. I left the car there for an hour, ran some chores, came back and tried starting it up a couple of times and the same thing happened, except this time, it sounded like all of the teeth on my starter decided to go missing with some extra crunchyness because now when I was cranking it, there were no crunchies the RPMS were stuck at 0.
So, I had to get the car towed to my house 3 houses up the hill. I'm going to fix the car starting next week. It's not going to a shop. I'm going to spend an hour or so a night a couple nights a week to tackle it. I just don't know where to start. Should I try making it run again before going efi? Or just start converting stuff over and hoping it was a fuel issue? Decisions... Decisions...
Dang man!
Yes, I would definitely get it running again and find whatever was causing those issues before going EFI. What your describing doesn't sound like it has anything to do with fuel. "Crunching" noises aren't something you normally fix with a carburetor.
You'll want to be able to tune the EFI when you get it going again, and you won't be able to do that right if there's something else going on. And that could cause a whole new host of issues.
Yes, I would definitely get it running again and find whatever was causing those issues before going EFI. What your describing doesn't sound like it has anything to do with fuel. "Crunching" noises aren't something you normally fix with a carburetor.
You'll want to be able to tune the EFI when you get it going again, and you won't be able to do that right if there's something else going on. And that could cause a whole new host of issues.
RBConvert
Well-Known Member
The start/no run sounds like a ballast resistor
Yeah, I'll be sure to get it running before I install the efi. Thankfully now I finally have time.
Thanks! You're the second person to recommend that. I'll check it.
It isn't doing anything. The starter is fried. The rpms won't climb and you don't get the normal clicking when you turn the key. It just sounds like an electric motor is free wheeling.
Can you physically turn the engine? As in, turn the crank with a socket and ratchet or bar?
If you lost the water pump, the fact that the temp gauge read ok would just mean the water where the sender unit is at was ok. If no water was actually being pumped, then you could have overheated parts of the engine even with a normal gauge reading.
It’s worst case, but the starter could be toast because the engine seized because of a local overheating problem caused by no water circulation.
God... I hope you're wrong.
Do I use the big screw in the center of the crank pulley? If so, I don't have a socket large enough that fits on the crank pulley. I believe the largest I have is a 13/16". And I can't turn it over by hand... I tried and I'm really strong. I swear. Jk.
So, to recall what happened before the starter "gave out." When I started the car, it would fire back up. I specifically remembering that in every scenario, the rpm would rise to 3000 rpm and then drop to 0, causing it to die. I'd assume that should mean no seized engine. Plus, it seems like the water temp sensor is on the intake manifold, which is on the engine, so hopefully that means that cool liquids were in the engine.
I did take out the starter and the teeth look ok, which is good because that means no stray teeth in the bellhousing. If I'm not mistaken, there are some clutches in the starter that can fry, correct?
I also lost another 1/2" wrench (2nd one so far for this car) due to forgetting to remove the negative battery cable before working on a car.
I’m just trying to connect some seemingly separate issues. It would be weird for your starter, water pump, and some kind of ignition component to all have separate problems/failures all at the same time. Like winning the lotto kind of weird for odds.
But a starter failing like you described can be caused by the flywheel not spinning, which is caused by a seized engine, which could be caused by a failed water pump and an overheating engine. And that’s not weird for odds, that’s a logical sequence of events. But I’m not there and I didn’t see what happened, I’m just going on the description.
The crank bolt should be 1-1/4”. If you don’t have anything that large you can pull the spark plugs and see if you can turn the engine with the fan belt or pulley. With the plugs out the engine should actually spin pretty easy.
As for the not seized thing, overheated engines don’t necessarily seize up when they’re still hot. They totally can, that’s usually a melted bearing thing. But they can also get ring stuck after they’re shut down. An overheated engine that would spin but not run when boiling hot could still seize up after its shut down, all the tolerances change as it cools and sometimes the rings will stick.
And the sender is just in the water leaving the block. But if the water isn’t pumping it’s not leaving, and the water around the cylinders and in the heads will heat up A LOT faster than the water sitting at the sender in the intake.
I’m just speculating, and trying to connect a bunch of issues with different components based on your description. I have seen overheated engines run “ok” and then ring seize after they’re shut down. And I’ve seen localized overheating issues from failed pumps.
I’m just stringing together the events in your description in a logical progression. I could be totally wrong (and hopefully I am!) about the particulars, but usually a bunch of different stuff doesn’t all fail at the same time unless there’s some kind of connection.
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