"Project Satan" '68 Dart

[1968dartman]

Are you going to change the inside door lock position on the door so it looks like a 68 door? That will be a dead give away that they are not 68 doors.

 

[Powerslave]

Yup, i have two 1967 doors and two 1969 doors, ill just take measurements from the 1969 doors on where the lock is positioned, drill the hole for the lock out, take the lock mechanism out of the 1967 door, put in the 1969 one, fill the old hole, and that should be it. Sounds easy on paper.

 

[1968dartman]

It should not be terrible as far as I am concerned. But like you say it all looks easy on paper! Good luck! The reason I asked is that there was a guy here wher I live that had a 68 Dart with 69 doors and it was very obvious to anyone that knows these cars.

 

[Saetun]

I <3 Satan! How did it take me two months to see this thread?

Great start, can't wait to see more.

 

[Powerslave]

I thought that the only difference between 67, 68, and 69 doors is that in 68 they changed the lock position inorder to avoid theft and otherwise kept the 69 doors the same., how can you tell a '68 door from a '69?

Thanks for all the kind words of support and complements on the roller, no more getting distracted im going full speed ahead on the car.

Gutted the passenger side door today, sanding it down tomorrow, was a lot easier the second time around to gut.

 

[Powerslave]

Finshed the other door

Also got the passenger side fender done, had a pause in production due to not having any more 40 grit lying around, didn't think 220 grit would do anything but I tried it and its just as good and I have enough to do a whole other car.

Nothing better than rust free fenders included with your car, and in canada none the less.

Slowly chipping away. I scraped the coating on the inside of the drivers quarter too, since the other side wont have it, Im only going up to a point where you cant really see the coating unless you look for it.

I wasnt done in this picture.

 

[Woods74]

Make sure to treat the inside perimeter of your door skins, fender light buckets and rear braces. Out of all the options I've exercised, tremclad bbq paint sticks well to rust, and makes great weld thru primer. I've heard good things about 3m rust fighter too. Nice build!

They will come back to bite you:

 

[Powerslave]

I'll take note of that, thanks for the advice!

Have a bonus picture of the fender, thought it looked cool all stripped down, able to see all the lines pretty clearly.

Each panel is a little dinged up but when you've been on this planet for 45 years chances are you'll have a few dings too.

Edit: How did you thumb your photo, I was think of thumbing all my photos since they are quite big but I could leave them big if that is preferred,

 

[QuintinMotorCompany]

nice! it looks fairly solid for a canada car

 

[BobK]

First time I came across this thread. Love the roller, man! Did you start from scratch on the design for that, or did you find drawings somewhere? Do you have any drawings of the tubes?

 

[Woods74]

No problem, take a look around my thread and see what rusts so you can get to it before it becomes a problem, if you haven't already.

 

[mopardude318]

nice work man!

 

[Powerslave]

My dad had built one before when he restored his 1968 Coronet, I don't know where he originally got the idea from but I can ask him, its a really simple design and i dont even think we did many measurements. It was pieced together with what we had lying around except the two long pipes it rolls on, because why do it nice when at the end its just going to be cut up.
I built the brackets for the doors which didnt take long at all and we used the back bumper mounts since they were damaged anyways, I'll ask him to chime in for the specifications of it.

Here are some photos i have of it when we were building it

 

[Powerslave]

Finished up the drivers side fender and thats it as far as stripping down the old paint goes, on with putting on (and sort of taking off) the new.

Seems everything I've sanded down has been repainted at one point, a plus for lack of rust but that means someone has messed with them before.

Boy, what a mess, time to clean the garage, everything is covered in dust.

 

[BobK]

My dad had built one before when he restored his 1968 Coronet, I don't know where he originally got the idea from but I can ask him, its a really simple design and i dont even think we did many measurements. It was pieced together with what we had lying around except the two long pipes it rolls on, because why do it nice when at the end its just going to be cut up.
I built the brackets for the doors which didnt take long at all and we used the back bumper mounts since they were damaged anyways, I'll ask him to chime in for the specifications of it.

Here are some photos i have of it when we were building it

That's awesome. What's the chances of you pulling a few dimensions- like the distance from the centerline to the first bend on the roller, the length of each bend, and the angle of the long semi-vertical upright? I can figure out the rest from there.

Also, what size tube is that? Looks like maybe 1 1/4"?

 

[wade]

If you need any ceramic or powder coating done shoot me a pm as my business partners own Impact Coatings in Edmonton and I can get you a good deal

 

[Powerslave]

I'll make note, I'm going to need someone to powder coat the rims I will be buying soon.

 

[CudaChick1968]

If you need any ceramic or powder coating done shoot me a pm as my business partners own Impact Coatings in Edmonton and I can get you a good deal

One of the site's Vendors is a powder coating shop. The owner even gives discounts to FABO members. Wish I could remember who it was ........... :-D

 

[Powerslave]

So what is the real position of the door locks on 1968 cars because I'm seeing some with them like the 1969 ones and some with the 1967 position, was it a mid year thing? After riding in a 1973 dart where the door lock was like the 1969 doors near the middle so when I put my arm on the door the lock would poke into my arm.

I'll have to turn down your offer unless there is a way to get around shipping because to send it down to the US to get coated, unless its really cheap, will be expensive and take longer as opposed to going to a local place.

 

[CudaChick1968]

I won't use FedEx or UPS for my Canadian customers under any circumstances -- the brokerage fees are ridiculous -- but have no control over the Post Office so I can't "get around" the shipping. My work would be top of the line but it won't be really cheap or turned around immediately either.

Better go with Wade's buddy. :-D

 

[Powerslave]

I have been tossing around the idea of what kind of drivetrain is going in this thing, though I will only purchase an engine when everything else is done its nice to know what its going to be.

Option one will be a 400-500 hp .030 383, roller lifters and rockers, aluminum heads, aluminum rods, single plane intake, intended for another vehicle (which wont be done any time soon) it is readily available and only needs a few things.

Option 2 is a detuned (or not) Dodge NASCAR R5P7, 800+ hp, dry sump, top of the line components, this is my original choice for the engine. Will be eventually slightly decammed and EFI'd, possible twin snails way later on.

Option 3 is a .060 over 426 Hemi, 1966 block, eagle H beams, aluminum heads, either a forged 4.250 stroke crank (496) or a monster billet 4.770 crank (551cui!).

Trans will be a RMVB TH400 with a Strange 9" rear on any of the applications. What do you guys think?

 

[txstang84]

I like that roller idea-pretty clever!

 

[Powerslave]

Replaced the floor pan in the dart this weekend, just needs to be welded in and its all good.

It took me around 7-8 hours total to do and it turned out pretty good, I did all the work myself, my first floor replacement, with the only help being ideas and pushing down on the panel for the clecos from my dad.

Next thing on the list is finishing the mini-tubs.