Street / Strip 72 Swinger

[draginmopars]

now that the steering is finished
moving on to the brakes

finally found the correct hose mounts
removed the old drum brake bracket

a little more clean up
will weld on the disc brake bracket

 

[draginmopars]

got both front brake hose brackets welded to the body
looking at the rear one
made it shorter and used a truck hose, to move everything higher to give more clearance for the 3" exhaust pipes

got brakes

now time to move onto the electrical systems
install the wiring harnesses

 

[67 prostreet gt]

Whats up with the Groovy Headers is it just the way I am looking at it or do they come up and towards the front of the Car?

 

[draginmopars]

Whats up with the Groovy Headers is it just the way I am looking at it or do they come up and towards the front of the Car?

they are Max Wedge manifolds
when the 540 was in the 68 Satellite,(full time race car) it was no problem to move the firewall back and move the steering column , and master cylinder over, toward the driver's side for clearance.

This project, being a street car.
I didn't want to lose the heater, wipers,plus move the steering column and master cyinder

with them mounted the correct way they stick past the rear of the engine
4 1/2"

by swapping sides the master cylinder was all that needed moved
plus the heater motor fits better

Mainly >I'm to lazy to build a set of headers to fit the ported heads

I had a set of Super comp headers , I was going to cut up to fit.
But, got lucky and remembered that the the head port was larger than the header port, and would have leaked.

That's when I had to figure out how to make these manifolds work

here's an old pic, where I was going to make headers for the rampage, and use these heads
the ports are 1/8" larger than the copper gasket

 

[draginmopars]

The Rampage is next in line, went a different direction

Dragged it out of storage a few weeks ago
waiting on the blower and injector hat to show up

 

[draginmopars]

wiring went mostly, plug and play.
no cutting or splicing

except one tan wire to swap the early wiper motor to the later model
had to move it over one position, in the connector

used the slant charging harness, because the alternator was moved to the drivers side
used the v-8 points ignition harness, kept the ballast, even since not using it
(using MSD)

spark plug wires fit great,(all are under the manifolds, for a clean look)
just need a few wire separator to clean up, make two brackets to keep the wires off the manifolds, near the head pipes

after picking around the pile of wires,
there were 3 sets of harnesses in the trunk, when purchased
still got a pile left.

Was going to load it up
take it to the hose shop
to have fuel and transmission lines made

Then remembered>
I need to measure and make a drive shaft,
also install the emergency brake system

so, I guess they are next on the list.

Project is moving quick now.

 

[draginmopars]

a slight set back
old parking cables didn't look right, So waiting on new ones

Decided to work on the radiator and fan
found what I needed, but the fan sat to close for comfort

So, removed the mounts, placed the radiator where is fit best, re-solder it in place.

added a little paint, it's not noticeable, what was done

 

[Divenut]

Awesome build Howard! :burnout:rayer:

Pat

 

[draginmopars]

Awesome build Howard! :burnout:rayer:

Pat

Thanks....
Just the little things
slowing me down

Like the radiator,
then the battery tray was in the way, of the radiator.
which didn't really matter, cause the exhaust manifold
stole some of that same space.

So, had to cut the tray in half, re weld it.
after finding a narrower battery, needed a narrower hold down strap
and shorter "J" hooks.

on the trans, because of the JW bell housing.
had to make a cable kick-down linkage.
Shorten the shifter rod going to the steering column and
move the shift rod closer to the bell housing,to clear the safety shield.

the MSD was wider than the mounting area, So added 1 1/2" strip of metal to have a place to mount it

I'm sure there will be a few more surprises, before I'm finished

 

[draginmopars]

install the new E brake cables, finished that system.
moving on to the trans cooler and lines

robbed some more parts from a 92 CTD
since I already am using the internals from the 618 trans
might as well use the trans cooler and lines too

Ordered a cooler/fan but, don't know when it will show up. so,

"Plan B"

re configured the routing of the 1/2" lines
to go behind the trans pan,
then up along the T-Bar, on the passengers side.
they will then go into bulkhead connectors, and turn up toward the upper shock mount
INSIDE the inner fender to the cooler
will build a "Rock Guard" to protect the lines

water for the cooler will come from the heater core to the cooler, then forward into the upper tank of the radiator.
soldered in a hose fitting, will get the correct length hose Monday.

last project today, found a upper radiator hose that fit well, only had to cut 6" off of it.

Will add the hose part # to the list of special part #'S

 

[draginmopars]

starting to re-hang the sheet metal and align

Did any Darts get the "black out" treatment behind the grill,
from the factory ?

I'm thinking it might look better, blacked out???????????????????????????

 

[lee g]

Both of mine had section behind the grill that were blacked out. One was originally blue and one green and both were blacked out behind and around the headlight buckets and middle support. Other members can correct me if I am wrong but the ones I have seen with original paint were blacked out.

 

[draginmopars]

plans have changed again.....

made a few passes at the track (last year)
need to pull the 518 trans for a converter change

sent it to Freak show performance (Texas)
to move the stall to 3000

over the Winter
decided to strip it all the way back down
to put a nice paint job on it
install a roll cage, and change the Dana to a 4.56/ Detroit locker

while the engine is out,
pulled the pan/ checked the bearings.
then gave it a fresh paint, since the car is getting painted

that's where it sits today.

soon as weather gets warm, will be ready to paint > Soon

F6 Rally Green , as the prior owner had started under the hood

 

[draginmopars]

finally got some warm, dry days to proceed

Have been sanding, and sanding,,,,, and sanding some more.... LOL

I'm ready to shoot the engine bay

 

[draginmopars]

while the paint is curing

Next will be to bend a main hoop for the Roll cage
and install

 

[draginmopars]

started out the morning digging out the tubing bender
moved the brake parts pile out of the way.
installed the line lock and brake lines on the car

One thing lead to another

I'm happy with the eng/trans install from the bottom
didn't even scratch the paint

 

[draginmopars]

got the front suspension on

working on getting the exhaust on,
first need to install the steering column

 

[draginmopars]

rolling again

 

[draginmopars]

Got a charge out of it today> no burnt wires....lol
good to hear it run again
won't get paint this year, more sanding to do

BUT, will hang the sheet metal
to take it to the track before the season ends > only 3 weeks left.

 

[txstang84]

Ffffffffffffffffffffffffffudge--this is a bad machine

 

[draginmopars]

finally got the 3" exhaust finished> (Not me in the pic)

band clamp at the head pipes, h-pipe, and before the mufflers so that can drop the exhaust if needed
next install the seats and new carpet, dash pad
then back to aligning the doors, hood and panels....
more sanding....lol

 

[draginmopars]

nice day for prepping the doors, and a little background noise for motivation..
I want to just hang all the sheet metals and bumpers, go for a ride, test the overdrive.
But then It will never get painted