polarman's refurb Claytronic 68 Dart

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polarman

polarman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
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Location
Bovina Center, NY
I'm starting to work on my 68 Dart. A buddy of mine named Clayt pulled it out of a junkyard in 1976 and hopped it up.He gave it to me 15 years ago and I got it running and drove it for a summer. Haven't touched it in 13 years. I love this car just the way it is, so I'm planning on keeping at as original to the way it was built back then as I can. I'm on a super tight budget, so this is going to be a slow motion project that will take forever.
The Dart is a 68 hard top with a 318 block, 340 heads, 727, 8.75 suregrip.
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Got some more pics and updates. Sorry about the poor quality pics!
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This just happened sometime this summer.I'm going to have to find another door.
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I have some parts collected up. I have a new top, carpet, headliner and a buddy of mine found the hood trim that the car has been lacking at Carlisle. The engine will need a rebuild.When I drove it back in '97 it has some corrosion in the cylinder walls that ate up the rings.
 
I've gone as far into the engine as I can until I get an engine hoist and stand home. I haven't found any surprises yet....
It's a 68 318 block with 340 heads, Edy torker II single plane intake, and I ditched the old holly and put on a Carter style Edy 750 back in '97. The engine was built for high RPMs and it has a huge cam in it. I wish I knew the specs, but I don't. Here's what I've found so far...
No apparent problems on the even side, but I'll know more when I measure things up.
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The head gasket was blown between 4 & 6 and the exhaust seats are hammered to ****. It also appears to have a replacement intake valve in #6.
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I'll cry if these heads are cracked......
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#3 cylinder wall was the worst of them with corrosion. That one ate up the rigs and lost compression.
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As far as the engine goes, I'm just going to scope things out and make a plan for now. I have no money for machine work and I'm working on buying a house, so it's going to be a long time before I can get it back together. There's plenty of work to do on the car that will cost me nothing but time that I will work on in the meantime.
 
AWESOME car man! I think your plan is gonna do it justice. Since nobody else has said it, I will. Don't cry if the heads are junk. It'll run a LOT better with the correct 318 heads on it anyway. Those 340 heads have a lot bigger chambers than the 318 heads and compression is probably pretty low. Specially with that big cam....that's probably hurtin performance. Technology has come a long way since 1976 and I'm sure old Clayt wouldn't mind you makin some smart upgrades to make it even more badass than it already is.....or ever was. GREAT story, btw, too. Keep us posted.
 
If it has been bored out and better comp pistons installed those heads will work, may suffer down low a tad but when you stomp on it those heads will work great.I have 340 J 202 on my 360 and from a dead stop all the way to 5500 she pulls real hard.Good luck and welcome here.
 
I hear what you guys are saying. The car always ran like crap at low RPM, but what a fun time once you get it rolling!The heads were shaved and it was bored, I'm guessing .030 over. Like I said earlier I'll know more when I get it apart and measure it up.
That being said, the plan is to refurbish this car. In my mind that means crappy idle and all. So I plan on keeping a stupid big cam in it at this time. Plans might change, who knows. I have alot of research to do and alot of questions to ask, so please keep your opinions on the engine coming. Believe me, I'll have plenty of time to decide how I want this motor done. I'm broke!
 
Well, I've been poking at the Dart a little bit. I have a 2 year old boy and a 4 year old girl, and a wife that works some weekends and evenings, so I cant work on it as much as I would like. I have not done anything to photo worthy, but have managed to get a little bit done.
I pulled the seats out and stripped the floor pans in the front, spot primed and painted the bad spots. I was going to install the carpets, but the shifter is bolted through and there is no reaching the nuts with the tranny in place. I pulled the lifters out of the block have everything off of the trans. I just have to remove the bellhousing bolts and crossmember and drop it down. I hope to have it out by the end of the weekend.
Clayt has a engine stand that he said I can borrow forever and I have another buddy that will let me use his hoist. I'd like to buy/rent/borrow a leveler to make pulling the engine a little easier as I am doing this alone and it will be the first engine I've pulled.
That's all for now. I'm trying to get my boy to sleep so I can go loosen some more bolts. Or drink beer. Most likely both!
 
mikesduster said:
Someone reported a post on this thread. I have read the posts and find nothing wrong with them.....Thanks.
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Reported Why??????
That is an incredible dash, but I don't see a speedo.
 
Yeah, that is the 2nd post I've tried to do in this topic that had to be reviewed. Pretty weird.
There is no speedo. I know when I'm speeding anyways. I never got a ticket in it......
 
How do you all like that tranny cooler? It's from an old refrigerator. This car is full of old farmer fixes like that. It has a trans temp gauge and it seems the old fridge cooler works really well!
 
It's been snowing here, so I drug my snowmobile into the garage and didn't get much done on the Dart. I did split a bunch of firewood to keep the Dart all cozy.
I got looking at the car and thinking about pulling the trans vs. engine first. With the limited room I have it looks to me as though it would be easier to pull the engine first, then the trans. If I drop the tranny first, I'd have to figure out some way of bracing the engine. A jack won't do because I'm going to have to move the car kitty corner across the garage to have enough room to get the engine hoist out from under the car to get the engine out.
Do you guys think I'm right there? Or is there a simple trick to keep the engine from flopping around once the trans is removed without bracing it from the floor?
Once I get my sled ready to go I will pick up the hoist and stand and get back to it.
 
If you a way to get the car high enough, just drop K frame and all out the bottom. That's how the factory put it together.
 
polarman said:
How do you all like that tranny cooler? It's from an old refrigerator. This car is full of old farmer fixes like that. It has a trans temp gauge and it seems the old fridge cooler works really well!
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hi neighbor, my cars also seem to have alot of old farmer fixes too. must be a delaware county thing! looks like you got a nice project.
 
Hey Justin. It's cool to see a local guy! Be sure to piss in a stream whenever you're in the NYC Watershed!
Nothing to report on the Dart right now. With the interior out, it seems the best place to hide the kids' Christmas presents.My wife is working this weekend, so no garage time for me. Well, at least I got my sled ready.....
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I thought I wasn't going to get anything done in the garage this weekend, but last night I stayed up late and painted up the exhaust.I called it a night around 1:00 AM, and of course the kids had to get me up around 6:00 AM. It was well worth a little time in the garage!
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The car has no trim on the rear of the trunk. I have a buddy that is really good with an airbrush that I want to restore the design on the hood and do something that would match that design on the trunk between the tail lights. I want the car to scream 70's when it's done. I'm not planning on modernizing much at all, but I would like to find a disc brake kit for the front while keeping the small bolt pattern wheels. Am I just screwed there? I can't find a kit that isn't large bolt pattern.
 
Nothing like those 6 am wake up's. Been there before and now it's the grands doing it. Usually starts with, Papa me hungry. lolol
 
polarman said:
The car has no trim on the rear of the trunk. I have a buddy that is really good with an airbrush that I want to restore the design on the hood and do something that would match that design on the trunk between the tail lights. I want the car to scream 70's when it's done. I'm not planning on modernizing much at all, but I would like to find a disc brake kit for the front while keeping the small bolt pattern wheels. Am I just screwed there? I can't find a kit that isn't large bolt pattern.
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Please leave the awesome wheels and keep the color scheme on the hood 8)
 
polarman said:
. . . . . I'm not planning on modernizing much at all, but I would like to find a disc brake kit for the front while keeping the small bolt pattern wheels. Am I just screwed there? I can't find a kit that isn't large bolt pattern.
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SBP disc brake set-up is as close as an OEM Kelsey Hayes 4 piston set-up.
 
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