My 67 Dart, Where to begin...

[joeboy]

man your car is gonna look great i wish i had the time to get all the undercoat from under my dart

Thanks,

The undercarriage was by far the worst part of this I have dealt with so far... I love layin under it now though!

JOE

 

[joeboy]

I finally got my oil pan gasket all figured out, I initally ordered a 5.7 car gasket (OE) for my Milodon Pan, but you need a 5.7 truck gasket...the car used different holes for mounting...

Here is the pan, pick-up, (with new stud) and windage/gasket.

 

[kazooom]

GREAT job dude... I just bought my first Dart 3 weeks ago, a 1967 4 door 225. I'm keeping it original for now. Just finished the frt rails last week, rusted on the top by the control arm. Now we just have some odds and sods to do and hope to have it on the road soon. Keep on buildin and postin as it is giving me ideas and inspiration... Thanks

 

[Cevidicus]

Great thread. I look forward to seeing it completed. Lots of good first hand information. Thanks for sharing.

:burnout:

 

[joeboy]

Thanks for all the kind words... Someday maybe I will get to drive it. I hope its soon.

JOE

 

[joeboy]

I finally got the Hemi and 727 in the car, I truly hope it doesn't need to come out for any reason... EVER...

It is a real tight fit, it seems like the clearance at the passenger fender, header to trans, steering box, and torsion bars is all about 3/16"... Basically this thing better not move. The TTI stuff is great, lust tight getting there. I still need to drop in the steering column, and may have to modify or move the brake prop valve. The Prop valve is the only thing with direct contact to anything (headers). Gonna bend the bracket to move it toward the frame, then maybe build a shield for the heat.

The mancini kit for the 727 worked good to, just beware, you need to put the spacers in the flexplate before you mate-up the 727 there is no room otherwise. (I had to use grease to hold them in place 1 at a time, turning over the engine until I got them all in place, then move the converter into place... Not easy...


JOE

 

[joeboy]

I did some more fitment work today, finally, (for the last week I just kept walking into the garage, looking at the motor, and leaving again) I cut and re-welded the bracket for the brake dist block, so it has some clearance, (it was right against the headers) it has about 3/8-7/16 now, hopefully I don't boil my brake fluid...

Once that was done I removed the 1/4 shim I had under the drivers mount. That moved my passenger valvecover off the fender to about 7/16-1/2. Enough that I am not as worried about it. The pics are hard to see, and they really don't give justice to the space I have now compared to before... But, anyway, here is my new found "wiggle room".

JOE

 

[joeboy]

I have been waiting a while to get this kit... and here it is. I cant even say how excited I am! I need to measure the harnesses and figure out where I am gonna stash the ECUs. Either under the dash, or the pasenger seat. Then I am gonna start routing the harnesses, I wanna tuck them away as best as possible for that "clean" look. I will keep you guys posted. The last PIC is just cause I like it...

JOE

 

[joeboy]

So,
The more time I have spent under the hood, or under the car the more having my brake prop valve that close to the headers bothered me. So I decided to go ahead and rebend new lines for the front of the car to move everything back. I will go ahead and add a adjustable prop valve since I did the disc swap while I am bending lines. Here are some pics of the first two.

The first pic is a wire mock-up, the hoops I made by wraping a 1-1/4 electrical conduit I had in the garage... Worked pretty good...

JOE

 

[varlo]

looks like some real nice goodies you have to keep you busy!

 

[joeboy]

looks like some real nice goodies you have to keep you busy!

Thanks,

My wife will quit her job to go back to school in 2 months... So, I am about to lose my car budget... I am really trying to stock up on stuff now. I am hoping, like you said, to keep busy while she is in school without spending $$.

JOE

 

[joeboy]

I finally got a break from some of my "honey-do" stuff to work on the car a bit again. I spent a good portion of today doing more brake line bending, and mock-up. I mounted a summit adjustable prop block (it has 2 entry and 3 exit ports with a dial for the rears) on the frame rail behind the old one. Much more space from the headers. it has a full inch at the tightest corner, and is 2-3 inches away overall. I then started connecting lines, and flaring ends. It went really good overall except the Pass-front line was a PAIN. I spent forever trying to get it close to the correct bends, which was HELL cause I had to do quite a bit of it after putting it in the car along the firewall. I ended up pulling the master cylinder back out for a portion of the work... overall, It turned out pretty good. I still have the rear line to shorten and flare, but I was out of time and energy. I should be able to get it done thursday.

JOE

 

[trendkill]

Hey Joe boy I also have a 67 dart with the 273 4 barrel I am trying to find the conversion kit for the disc brakes (without breaking the bank to bad) just wondering where you got your conversion kit from

p.s. your car looks amazing I cant wait till my undercarriage looks like yours lol

 

[joeboy]

Thanks for the kind words... I love the car, but sometimes I just wish it was finished... I cant wait.

As far as brakes go, you have several options. I went super cheap when I did mine and bought a bracket and parts list from www.scarebird.com they use chevy parts, and it takes some mods to your drum hubs (my brother has a brake lathe so I used it) but ended up with discs for about $250. That being said, you still have small bolt pattern on the car, and in hindsight, I would have gone to big bolt... future upgrade I guess...

Keep a eye on the mech parts for sale section, guys sell disc's there frequently off of later cars. To get the brakes, and larger bolt pattern for a similar price ($250-$300) that is what I would do.

Good luck.

JOE

 

[t-granger]

JoeBoy I noticed your Avatar engine in a post and thought I would take a look at your thread, very nice build.

I know what you mean I wish mine was done already as well. Keep up the great work Hey atleast your motor is in the Vehicle Mine is just sitting on my K-member outside the vehicle, waiting and waiting.

 

[kazooom]

doin great Bud , keep up the fantastic work. I have my 4 door on the road now, runnin great , will give her a little tlc this year and hope to follow in some of your footsteps for next year.. cheers.

 

[Aj408]

Looks really good Joe.

 

[PapstXX]

fantastic work and thanks for sharing

i cant wait for next step

 

[joeboy]

JoeBoy I noticed your Avatar engine in a post and thought I would take a look at your thread, very nice build.

I know what you mean I wish mine was done already as well. Keep up the great work Hey atleast your motor is in the Vehicle Mine is just sitting on my K-member outside the vehicle, waiting and waiting.

T-granger,

Thanks for the compliment. I love that engine PIC... Someday we will be able to drive them... I have to remind my wife of that fact frequently...

I have been following your thread for my "fix" sometimes. Your ride is gonna be sweet. I am jealous of the Trans... maybe someday.

 

[joeboy]

doin great Bud , keep up the fantastic work. I have my 4 door on the road now, runnin great , will give her a little tlc this year and hope to follow in some of your footsteps for next year.. cheers.

Thanks!
Running!! that is awesome, I cant wait to be on the road, It would have been nice to get it built first, then go back for paint and body or "TLC", sometimes it is hell mocking up stuff on a painted car...

fantastic work and thanks for sharing

i cant wait for next step

Me either, slowly chipping away at it. Thanks for the kind words, lots to do, and summer moves way to fast.


JOE

 

[joeboy]

Looks really good Joe.

Thanks AJ,

hope that stuff makes it to ya today or tomorrow.

JOE

 

[joeboy]

still adding to the collection for the winter, the wife quit working last week, so besides the gas tank on the way (and a pump) this is my last big purchase for a while.I am just gonna be building with little to no buying while she is in school... Anyway, here is the latest for my stock pile.

TTI 2.5" X system with Borla Pro XS mufflers. It looks great, even on the basement floor.

I am waiting for the new fuel tank before I install the system, so I get all the clearances right... then I will slowly build the fuel system, and start the install on all my wiring and FAST system...

 

[joeboy]

So... Basically I couldn't wait for my tank to arrive to see how the exhaust was gonna fit... So, last weekend I went ahead and installed the TTI system. In reality it was a breeze... The kit fit great, I should have plenty of room to install the tank between the pipes. The hangers and clamps all look to be nice I was impressed with the quality of hangers for sure.

I still need to get underneath it with some help, to get everything square/centered and tucked close to the body before I clamp it all down. But it felt good getting it in place all the same. IT LOOKS SWEET!

A few of the pics are a bit dark, but hopefully you can pick-out the new goodies..

JOE

 

[joeboy]

Progress has been slow around my place, but I did manage to make a mock-up plate for where I wanted to Mount my XFI ECU's, I made the first of cardboard, then took all my measurements to a guy at work that does some light Fab work.. The End result was a light Alum plate that will mount in place of the glove box. It is about 17X9, and should fit from the glovebox's outer edge to just inside the passenger defrost tube. The ECU's have LEDs in them that verify sensors and injectors are firing, so I wanted to be able to peek at them easy... The angled sided of the panel are just for rigidity/strength. The main fuse pale will be in the pass kick panel I think, so close by for all my wiring needs...

The dash you see in the PICS was just for mock-up... but I may change that and work toward a aftermarket cluster I really want a in dash tach...

More to come...


JOE

 

[t-granger]

Joeboy,

Still looking good, I really like the exhaust, Hopefully I will get mine soon

Keep up the good work