Starting my 1968 Dodge Dart project

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cjcx3

cjcx3

Twisted Sundance
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
145
Reaction score
6
Location
CARTERSVILLE GA
Hey folks, well I tried to sell this but no one wants it so I am gonna build it. My goal is small block 360, 4 speed, 3.55 sure grip 8 3/4, aluminum slots, race buckets, possibly a cage, lots of fiberglass and lexan. follow along and watch this come to life. The rear quarters have already been replaced. Today I started repair on the floor pans. I cant afford new pans so I use what I have. The metal was salvage from a rusted deck lid, I just cut what is needed to fill the hole- weld it in shaping and forming with a hammer as I go. no this is not the concours way, but it will work and the rust is gone. I will post all the progress here so keep a watch. Chuck8)

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Nice work so far. Keep it up. Sounds like it will be a fun cruzzzer. Good luck on the build.
 
its looking good, nothing wrong at all with welding in a piece of metal that didnt cost an arm and a leg that no one sees anyway.
 
cjcx3 sure is moving on :cheers:
and like RPM said cool... will follow this thread.
Keep up the good work cjcx3 and enjoy this time you
are spending with this great car. 8)
 
You are where I was about 1 & 1/2 yr ago, doing the best you can with available monies. I've found that if I buy a little at a time, the project does come together. Stay with it, and you'll have a nice ride. Howard
 
Nice work Chuck......great fab & welding skills. 8)

What color are you thinking for it?
 
Now that I look back on my prior post and threads of this project, I think I have come a long way in a very short time. I just feel like its taking forever to acomplish anything. I am glad that I had this site to go back to and see what all I have gotton done. It keeps me from loosing interest due to lack of progress.
 
Nice work bud! Keep it up!
If you do put a roll cage on it, what kind and where are you buying it from or are you building one?
 
I still cant decide how much cage is going in it but I will most likely buy a competition engineering kit from Summit. They have a store in Atlanta so I can pick it up to save shipping charges.
 
my 68 dart project part 2

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Well folks, back at it again. I am glad to see everyones interested in this thread. This will be my 5th project so I have learned a little in the past. This project should be completed in about 12 months or less, money permitting. Today I removed the dash, steering colunm, brake lines, and I droped the K frame and front suspension. I also ordered the pistons for the 360. I figure I will get the block and crank to the machine shop next week. the crank is gonna get a good polish and the block will get a 0.030 over bore and 0.010 decking. Should I use the power steering or install manual steering? Rememberthis will be a 4 speed car.
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my 68 dart project part 2 continues

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ok folks, I know its not much but its all progress right?? I got the front end disassembled and the rear out. Gonna start cleaning the parts and painting everything. still need the $$$ for the suspension kit. Anyone need a power steering gear box? What about a /6 K frame? I have the sb v8 K frame and a manul box thats going in. I want to take this time to thank all that has helped me gather parts for this car and didnt charge me an arm and a leg. Hope yall keep following and enjoy this build.
Make note that ALWAYS be aware that spiders love to nest in cars that have been sitting for years. I ran across a huge black widow on the rear brakes, took a photo but file is too large to post. I know how to resize but it requires a program that my new computer does not have. I still need the Z bar and ball studs and small parts for the 4 speed conversion.

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1968 dart project slowly continues

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Slow go at this point. got my pistons in, and ordered the rods( Eagle I beam). I have sand blasted and cleaned the suspension parts, and cleaned and sanded the engine bay. more to come. Chuck

Eagle I beam rods came in today! Got the K frame, lower control arms, spindles, manual gear box, upper control arms and some other chassis parts bead blasted, pressure washed and painted today. I have almost decided to just use up all my left over paints and make the car a multicolored paint scheme, something different and wild. Got the PST suspension kit ordered, should be in this next week and I can start the fun part of reassembly.

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my 68 dart project part 3 some assembly required

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Well gang, I actually got a 4 day weekend to get some things done on the dart. I have only made small progress untill this weekend. Thanks to a few awsome members here in FABO, I have been able to get some of the items I need for really great deals. Last week my hump and steering colunm came in, I also received my Eagle I beam rods that I stole off ebay for 150.00! The P-S-T suspension kit also came in Friday (perfect timing!). A close freind helped me clean all the front parts and sandblast what was needed, and paint. I blasted the hump and cut it down to size, fitted, cut the floor, welded it in and sealed it. I took the steering colunm apart, cleaned and painted it. Finished cleaning and sanding the engine bay, then painted it. I replaced all the front suspension rubber stuff, i.e. the idler arm, upper control arm bushings, lower control arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, inner and outter tie rod ends and sleeves, strut rod bushings, upper and lower rubber bump stops, and the essentric bolts for the upper control arms. I still need to get the pitman arm. The P-S-T kit was 400.00, where if I bought everything at local parts store it would have been over 600.00. Keep this in mind when building your suspension! I hope that I can post all my pics but due to the lack of some microsoft program my computer doesnt have I cant resize my pics yet.
Chuck

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Finished the rear end- for now its a 3.23:1 posi. I want a 4.11 to a 4.88. The ride hight turned out very nice by adding the extra leaf in the leaf springs. I have also made a custom aluminum dash, but its not completed. I am building my own wire harness for this so I can mount the fuse panel and guages anywhere. At this time I am at a stoping point due to lack of money and space. I currently have a friends 69 Dodge Charger in the shop. It all started out just getting floor pans repaired. Now I have media blasted the entire front clip and seems that now my friend wishes for me to carry on and start on the rear quarter panels. I think he wants me to do a complete restoration on this....hope he has enough cabbage!@#$ Toby....get down here I need your help!!! This is your area of expertise. Chuck

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