Newbie looking for info

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mckey73

New Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2011
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Location
Albuquerque
Hey there! My name is Jay and I live in Albuquerque, NM and have an opportunity to buy a 1970 Dodge Dart Custom 4dr. with the slant 6 for $2500. It seems to be a relatively nice car with no rust and original paint & interior. Is there anything I should look out for or issues that might come up after I drive it for awhile? I'm looking to make this a reliable daily driver 'cuz I'm totally sick of new cars and how much they cost initially and for repairs. Here is a link to the ad, please don't buy it out from underneath me :thumbup:

Thanks in advance,
Jay
 
Welcome to FABO! Good to have you here. Looks like a nice car. Check it over for rust. Pull the carpet back and make sure the floors are in good shape and the under side and rear 1/4's. Go over the car well and check every nook and crany. Good luck to you.
 
That looks like a great car, for a reasonable price. I'm not the expert, but I would check for leaky window seals, condition of brakes (including hydraulics), Lift the trunk mat and spare (to look for hidden rust), make sure the transmission shifts smoothly and is not too noisy, and do a compression test on the motor. If the compression checks out, but it smokes a bit on startup, it's almost assuredly valve seals. They can be changed without removing the head, but you can use it as a bargaining tool to knock a few hundred off the price, and as long as the plugs are not fouling, you have some time before needing to repair. These cars are very simple, and pretty robust. I drove a '67 Dart 225/6 daily for a while, and loved it.

If you buy it, I'd consider upgrading to electronic ignition, and learn to adjust your own valves. Learn about the ballast resistor, and keep a known good spare in the car at all times.
 
The slant six is a great engine-check out the slantsix.org for more info on the slant six, the "leaning tower of power"
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone! We are still a bit undecided, but haven't given up on it yet. I have looked at the car and there appear to be two "repainted" areas, one is on the trunk and the other is not a big deal. Apparently the car has been here in NM it's whole life, if that is true I can believe the "no rust" claim the owner made. The owner's daughter put up a new link: http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/2565733466.html

Thanks!
Jay
 
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