Snowcrow's 76 dodge dart

[snowcrow]

Ive been working very slowly on it for a couple of weeks and its not going fast but it is going haha

To start: splotchy paint here an there.

Previous owner replaced this but some wires are just hangin out.

leaking a bit from the carb im guessing and fuel im guessing

 

[snowcrow]

ill post more tomorrow gotta go to work :s

 

[txstang84]

Don't sweat a lack of huge progress...there are some guys on here who have more time to play around than others, and some that just burn a lot of midnite oil. Any progress is forward...just keep doing little things at a time as you can.

What are your end goals for the car anyway? How about some full vehicle pix? I know you're off to work and stuff, but let us know what all you have in mind for it

 

[snowcrow]

Ultimate plans are to restore and cruise it the buy a 4 door and do the same. Maybe put a 318 in it but not sure about that.

 

[snowcrow]

a few more pics before midnight and then the rest tomorrow.
when i first got it home

before i bought it

A hose that is disconnected and taped off from the air filter. does it need to be hooked up? anyone? anyone?

more engine bay: is this supposed to be loose?

battery isnt down tight

tomorrow ill post more from the interior and either tomorrow or the next day showing ALL of the rust.

 

[snowcrow]

under my dash are some wires hanging. i REALLY hope someone can identify these (please)

one in my trunk

and this is the custom switch the previous owner put in for the dome light so it wont come on every time you open the doors. (kinda handy)

some other things that need to be fixed:
Passenger floor rust

Driver side floor rust

bent glove box door

door panel (only on drivers side)

seat and back side panel (only on drivers side)

Door holder (on both sides)

Door handle (only on drivers side)

trunk tub rust

Trunk sides rust

Fender rust (minimal)

Bent bumper (only in rear)

Rear deck both windows leak a tiny bit and need to be resealed

and the only thing that bugs me on the car

old vinyl top nipples.

 

[snowcrow]

things ive fixed so far

covered with a clear coat so its not TOO bad looking.

put the tube back on the filter housing

rigged the battery so its on the tray tight. (supplied by bolts from my first dart)

and im working on the antenna after finding out the previous owner spliced a ford antenna onto the dodge cord....

 

[FomocoReformed]

Looking good! Don't sweat slow progress, my project is 3 years ongoing and still doesn't have wheels. :cheers:

Looks like you have a pretty good car to start with although the wiring is kinda fubar'd. If you want I have a complete wiring harness front to back that I'm looking to sell if you're interested, it's in good shape and not cut up just a little dirty.

 

[snowcrow]

today i put new license plate holder plastic plugs in on the front, deer whistles and replaced my bulbs in the dash so i can see at night. forgot the light that is for the brights tho. need to fix my fuel gauge REALLY bad since i ran out of fuel the other day....

 

[snowcrow]

Today I found out the acknowledge light holder for my brights was missing completely and since I don't use my ebrake I switched it into the brights light holder so I know if I'm blinding people. Found out the rust on my tree bars is just very light surface rust so I can scrape that off easy. Need to go to the junk yard to get more parts for the dart. Anyone know a good way to mount the dart emblems on the fenders???

 

[snowcrow]

Fixed all the lights in my dash, just need some help getting my gas and temp gauge working. Also installed a working antenna. Ill post a pic of the antenna soon.

 

[snowcrow]

finally put my emblems on

put my dart badges on too

not sure what happened to my car today but now i need to either adjust my distributor or rebuild my carb....

 

[goldfish65]

Very nice to see the love you have for this last-of-the-a-bodies.

 

[txstang84]

Run down the wires for your temp and gas gage first. The temp gage ought to be a purple wire going all the way to your temp sender. Locate and shoot that wire for continuity all the way to the gage cluster. The gas gage ought to be a dark blue wire all the way to the sender...same story as above, isolate and shoot the wire for continuity. If they're good to go, you'll need the gages, or the cluster...I believe there's a couple folks with parts that will fit your dart-just peruse the classifieds, and I'm sure you'll find everything you need...or at least most of it.

 

[snowcrow]

Found out my dart is the only dart in the county. My car is acting up for some reason it'll stall out randomly when I'm driving and I have to double pump the gas to keep it running.

 

[snowcrow]

And thanks for the advice txstang

 

[txstang84]

Did you ever fix your suspected carb leak or replace your seeping carb gasket? If those items are still an issue, they can certainly relate to something like what you're experiencing.

 

[snowcrow]

funny thing is, it hasn't leaked since... not sure why it even did that one time. could possibly be the gasket since the mechanical stuff looks like all the gaskets could use a re-do. it didnt stall out today or last night but not sure it wont ever again.

 

[snowcrow]

Washed and ready for the rat fink convention.

 

[74DartSwinger360]

The 2 prong wire hanging down next to the fuse box is for the map light switch the light itself is located in the same spot on the other of the dash.
There is a hole in front of where the fuse box goes on the underside of the dash the switch should poke through the hole.

The orange socket style wire is for the cig lighter in the ashtray on the dash.

The one in the trunk would connect to the trunk light the light housing is located under the panel behind back window. The little tab sticking up on the trunk gutter on the drivers side upper is the switch to turn it on and off.

 

[74DartSwinger360]

And it is either yellow or green that are speakers I think it is green but I am not home now but will check when I do.
And the Dart is lookin really good it shined up nicely.
And for the rust on the sides of the wheel well you can get some flat sheet metal welded in. This is what I am doin and yours is much nicer than mine
How does the grille look any cracks?

 

[snowcrow]

Grill is gray with no chips or cracks. Ill have to trace the wires tomorrow to see what's unplugged. I know it has new speaker wire installed for the speaker. Only plastic that is broken in my car is the dash, driver door and pillars for the windshield. Cant decide if my next step after oil and spark plug change should be. New one or two barrel carb OR some piece of the car that can be ordered and reinstalled like the side marker reflector or back bumper. Also need to find out how to move my bumpers in closer to the body.

 

[74DartSwinger360]

to bring in the front bumper you have to find an entire assembly from a 73 or 74. This means the reinforcement bar, bumper itself, and the mounts.

The rear bumper i dont think can be closer it looks to be as close as mine is.

 

[74DartSwinger360]

What antanna did you use on it? Do you thinck I should remove the bumperettes on my rear bumper or keep them?

For your door post strickers amd sell the whole panel or you could buy from some company(cant remember which one) that sells the replacement patch

Have you thought of changin to a 1973-74 Dart Grille

 

[snowcrow]

i want to buy the new patch panels for the strikers and im fine with the grill i have on it since its in good condition. i would only remove the bumperetts if you like the cleaner style. i think it looks fine on the back but too cop like on the front. my antenna is a auto zone special with a spring on it. guessing it goes on a truck usually.