My Dart Gets it's Wings Back

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Wrencher

Wrencher

Well-Known Member
Joined
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Location
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Well, my dart has been sitting for quite some time, 12-13 years in fact since my grandfather died and gave it to me. It's been a combination of lack of interest and work that was the biggest reasons.

Just recently, thanks in no small part to this forum, and the info that is here, i decided to get it out of the back yard and get something happening with it. The biggest problem was the 13" wheels & tires. They, at least to me, are just ugly. I like a more muscle car look myself, and this combo is just not it. Since i had a little extra cash burning a hole in my pocket, I ordered some Coy's wheels and a set of BF Goodrich tires to spruce it up.

I've attached (i hope) a few pictures of the car. since ive never actually posted pics of the car on this site, I added interior shots, an engine shot, and a before wheel picture. This will give you an idea of what im working with.

I'll probably be driving the car alot this summer, and any days after that are nice and warm. Here in AL we have rather mild weather year round so i think I'll be driving it more than i think:)

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Your Grandfather is smiling. And you will be smiling a lot driving this Dart GT. It looks great all cleaned up and with new shoes.
 
Now I need to get to work on the interior. Please excuse all the crap on the floorboards. The car was sitting so long it caught a few things that needed storage :D

I plan to clean the interior up and then go have the windows tinted to 35%. This should slow down the sun damage to the interior and keep the interior nice and cool. The cracked dash is really annoying, but I think it would be rather expensive to fix, so im stuck with it for now
 
Thank you goldfish. I'm thrilled so far. I cant wait to drive it again
 
Nothing huge atm. To Do list includes (in order of importance or need);

- get headlight relays installed to increase light output.

- Replace the master cylinder with a duel type.

- Repair whatever is wrong with the fuel gauge.

- The LR quarter is missing the "D" in Dart. I find this incredibly annoying and need to fix it

- Purchase the o-ring modded fuel cap that ive seen mentioned on this sight numerous times.

- Remove the amp gauge and the aftermarket radio (tape player hanging under the dash. Thanks Grandpaw :)

- tint the windows

- 2bbl carburetor, and HEI ignition. Thanks waggs :)

- Grant steering wheel, either a nice leather wrapped wheel or a wood grain. Something that looks like it belongs on an old dodge.

- pull the R-12 out, vaccuum the system and get it converted to 134-A.

- I have to get a few spots of rust that have crept up repaired and repainted.

- Find bumpers to replace the peeling ones i currently have. Or even do something to make these look better.


- split and modify the exhaust manifold, and run dual 2.5" exhaust on flowmaster 40's

- rear leaf springs

- At some point, id like to get it to my friends shop and get it on the rack, drop the rear end, leafs and fuel tank, give it a really really good bath and rattle can the hell out of all of it. Would look a lot better than bare metal. Maybe when i purchase the leaf springs.....
 
+1
The wheels really change the character of the car..........it went from " cool " to " COOL ! "
 
Nice 66 and boy those new wheels/tires really made a difference. Factory air to boot. Have fun! tmm
 
Thank you!!!

Best $800 I've spent in a long while :)

Getting all the brake parts replaced, and swapping the drivers side over to RH threads went pretty well all things considered. Only casualty was a brake hose which I may or may not have gone "hulk smash" on :)
 
Sweet Ride! nice wheels really do it for these cars. I love the red interior too have fun!!
 
The new shoes really make the car and you are going to have a super fun time with it. Remember Cruising ths Coast will be coming up in Oct here on the coast you need to try and come on down for the Mopar at teh Marina.
 
I agree with the other posters.
You have changed the car with those wheels - they look terrific.
Enjoy your driving
 
Man its crazy what some soap and water will do she looks good and the rims and tires really change the look of the carI would roll it. Great car
 
Sharp looking little car! It's just amazing what a set of wheels can do for a look of a car. Very nice!
 
OK, time for an update. Over the Past few months I have been working on a number of the cars needs.

Brakes - All new Brake hoses, wheel cylinders, one new hub, and 2 new front brake drums. Then I took care of the Master cylinder. I converted it over to a dual reservoir and replaced the tee at the frame with a distribution block. SS Master cylinder lines to ensure i dont have to deal with corrosion in the future. I feel alot better about driving it now.

Suspension - P.S.T. front end kit. They were a pleasure to deal with and I got my parts fast. Couldnt be happier with them. I got all the parts put on, some of which were incredibly worn out, I cant believe something didnt just let go at some point. Bought it to the dealer i used to work at after hours and aligned it myself, car drives true now, steering is as tight as you'd expect from a car of this age.

I cheaped out on the leaf springs. I struggled with this decision for quite a while. I didn't like the idea of cutting corners on the car, but it was a lot of money to spend on a car that will see light duty driving for the forseeable future. Ultimately i wound up opting to save $150 and ordered a set of air shocks. I got the sagging rear end up off the tires. I installed new front shocks as well of course.

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Then i was off to the races on the carburetor. It still had the 1 barrel holley carburetor, which after sitting for 10+ years had developed a dead spot from the 7th circle of hell. This thing had been built a few times, and some screws were not tightening anymore, so i went ahead and got a 2 BBL intake (courtesy of waggs) and a carburetor (Thanks to Reddartowner). The engine color was terribad so i went ahead and repainted it. I didnt do as good of a job as i wanted to, but at some point the engine is going to come out anyhow, as i think the timing is one tooth off, and i want to take the oil pan off to see how much crust and deposits are lingering in the engine. The linkage proved to be a pain in the *** to find, but again, the folks on Fabo came through (ty DionR). The engine runs really well now, minus a very slight and bearly noticeable misfire at idle speed. My guess is that the points need adjusting, or it could use a set of plugs. It's not getting either right now though :)


I also took care of the fuel gauge being inoperative. Easy enough, sending unit, clean up the ground strap and life was good.

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So now a few things remain to get taken care of. I plan on taking care of this in the very near future.

1- Air Cleaner - Dont have one yet

2- EGR Blockoff plate. I will make one at some point in the near future at work.

2- Reinstall A/C compressor and charge the system with r134

3- Kickdown linkage needs to be installed. The carb didnt come with the stud? that the throttle linkage and kickdown linkage hook to. I need to locate one and get it hooked up correctly. Then i need to get the linkage hooked up at the transmission. the 1bbl linkage was secured to the Trans throttle valve with a ball and and cup type whereas the new one needs a hole to pass through for a clip at the bottom. Im sure i can find the right type or modify my existing one. I dunno. One end at a time.

Distributor - I have an electronic distributer to upgrade to, I just need to get rolling on the module and coil. Once I get these I will go ahead and get a set of plugs to finish it off.

Headlights - I want to wire the high beam and low beams into relays. This will up the voltage to the headlights, as well as reducing the load on the headlight switch circuit (which is good for a >45yo circuit) in a huge way.
I did this on my 69 Chevy C10 and the difference is quite noticable. before the relays i had roughly 10.4-10.8V at the headlights at idle. After the relays, they were at 13.6- 14.0v. You think that made night time driving a little brighter?

- THE STUPID MISSING "D" ON THE LR QUARTER - IT IS INSANELY ANNOYING :)

After that, it's back to the drawing board. I will make a list of "iwants" to work on now that the "ineeds" are taken care of. Window tint will probably get priority, i dunno yet.


the story continues.......
 
Very nice looking, I love the wheels, your grandpa would be proud! Keep up the progress :glasses7:
 
beautiful looking rig!!!!! if you dont mind me asking, what backspace, width, and size rims did you get? it definitely made it "pop"!
 
Thank you very much fellas. It was time to do something to it rather than letting it sit out in the yard waiting for the rot to set in.

66dergedurp, dont mind you asking one bit :)
I went 15x7" on the front and rear with a 4" backspace. Tires are 205/60front with 225/60rear
 
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