My First Mopar

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Not-A-Duster

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Hello Everyone,

I just purchased my first Mopar. A 1973 Dodge Dart Sport. It has a 71-74 360 in it with a 904 transmission. It is a factory sunroof car. I am looking to start putting some work into to make it faster. I'm not familiar with mopars at all but it appears there aren't very many choices for parts. I'm a chevy guy so I'm used to a million options, new and used, and for cheap.

I'm not exactly sure where to start here. Here are some pix of its current condition.

The car originally had a 318 in it, now it has the 360. It seems that the front shocks may not be up to the job. Is there a big difference in weight between the 2? With a driver and passenger in the car it lowers the front and if you turn to sharp the front tires rub.


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Any input or feedback would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to spending some time here. :burnout:
 
Welcome ! Nice ride, My favorite A body. Lost of guys dont like the beak in the front. Does the Sunroof open ?

318 and 360 are the same weight. If the front is sagging raise the torsion bars (3/4 adjustment bolt on the lower control arm) and toss a new set of shocks in it.
Theres plenty of parts out there for them,p You just cant get them at Wamart like you can with Chevy stuff.
 
AdamR said:
Welcome ! Nice ride, My favorite A body. Lost of guys dont like the beak in the front. Does the Sunroof open ?

318 and 360 are the same weight. If the front is sagging raise the torsion bars (3/4 adjustment bolt on the lower control arm) and toss a new set of shocks in it.
Theres plenty of parts out there for them,p You just cant get them at Wamart like you can with Chevy stuff.
Click to expand...



Thank you. Unfortunatley the sunroof is the only thing that is not operational at the moment.
 
Nice looking car .....Like Adam said ...turn your torsion bars to lift the front from dragging on the tires, but not to much ....I think they look better lower in the front ....lol.......and check out the stripe kits you can get, it will change the whole look of the car.

My first Mopar ( at age 16 now 50 ) was also a 73 Dart Sport, it was also yellow, mine had a 340 4bbl auto, bucket seats and the stripe kit with the hood treatment and the hood scoop, but no sun roof and mine also had a big ole dent in the rear quarter, and the nose was smashed in, By the time I sold it I had gone through the 340 and a 360, the new owner drove it away with a 318 in it smoking like crazy. I didn't care back then ....wish I had it now. :violent1:

And Welcome to a very cool site!!
 
Good looking car!

Probably not so much the shocks as it is the torsion bars. Stock torsion bars are awful, these cars were way undersprung. Raising the front end with the torsion bar adjusters will cure the tire rubbing issue, but you're treating the symptom not the cause. A set of 1" torsion bars and some new shocks and you'll be amazed how much better it handles.

Good luck with the new car!
 
One of the first improvements I made to my Dart's front end was a set of big block torsion bars and new front shocks; made a huge difference. It'll be money well spent, IMHO.
 
Very nice I just seen that car on Craig's like 2 days ago nice ride. And welcome

Stephon
San Jose , ca
 
Welcome to FABO!

You will enjoy this site. Great people and information!

Ma Snart
 

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For a chevy guy, you scored a nice Mopar to start with! Crank up the torsion bars, or better yet, get some larger ones. Shocks on Mopars dont hold anything up, its all spring.
 
pishta said:
For a chevy guy, you scored a nice Mopar to start with! Crank up the torsion bars, or better yet, get some larger ones. Shocks on Mopars dont hold anything up, its all spring.
Click to expand...

Amen, Great score on that dart!

And welcome to the Dark Side! :cheers:
 
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