ronald55555

Just picked up my first dart(first domestic as a matter of fact) a couple of months ago. I've been looking for a 70/71 dart for several years, and finally found a original cali car with pretty much no rust. I definitely paid a premium considering it's a slant 6 car, but it was worth it given the condition. I'm just taking a break from working on the civics. Long term plan is to build it for autox and hpde. For now I just want to have it looking and running decent to use as a summer daily driver, since I want to get back to working on my eg soon. On to the pictures.

CB

good luck on the build/restoration

johnkilo3

iTrader: (2)

Very nice condition considering

ronald55555

Some work I've been doing for the past couple weeks





40 yr old insulation liner




Steering column chilling with the B18

Striping the dash for paint


original radio and speaker












Dash ready to go back in the car


Test fitting the wheel


Perfect fit

Doberio

Hell yeah!

Nice project, can't wait to see it done, you're off to a great start!

I love the Nascar Steelies and the BF's!

SlammedDC2teg

Cool project man. Need to get those fenders rolled. Can't wait to see more.

johnkilo3

iTrader: (2)

Yeah... just do it the right way... not the "mad-tite jdm honda-tech stance" way where you ruin the quarter panels. But I have no doubt you'll do it the right way.

ronald55555

The wheel is out so far because I'm using a 5 on 4" to 5 on 4.5" adapter, which is 1" thick. The car comes stock with 5 on 4. Not an ideal solution for converting to big bolt pattern, I know. This all started when I ordered the Wilwood front brake kit, which is 5 on 4.5, so I had to get new wheels. I didn't want to get 5 on 4 rear wheels since I'm eventually going to swap the rear end. I figured it'll be easier and cheaper to just ditch the adapters once I get the new rear end than to have to get new wheels again. I'm not too sure what I'm going to do about that wheel fitment yet. I will mostly likely machine the adapter slightly since the surface finish on it is garbage, but it's not going to completely solve the fitment issue. I will probably have to grind the inner edge of the lip slightly. Last resort would be to roll the lip, not so much that it flares out the arch of course. I would not like to do that unless I have to, since the chrome wheel arch trim screws into the inner lip. Not that I would ever put that chrome trim on, but it's nice to have the option to. I'll need about 3/8 tp 1/2" of clearance since the rearend on these things are very well located.

After all that though, I might end up getting new wheels since I saw the Volk te37v. Not sure how they would look on the dart but the rims are damn hot.
http://www.rayswheels.co.jp/2009/pro...de=VOLKQ_TE37V

ALLxMOTOR EG

egCoupe

This is awesome show us more, looks great so far a Dart is going to be my next vehicle purchase I'm just searching for just the right one!

It Wasn't Me

'73 or earlier look the best, IMO. The only thing I didn't like with my old '73 Swinger was the pointy front end. I wasn't going to complain considering I only paid $50 for it and it had less than 100k original (senior citizen) miles on it. Had the 225 slant-six, automatic trans, etc etc blah blah. Anyway, the one featured in this thread has the much more (IMO) attractive front clip, although they aren't hard to swap.








OP, nice project! I will be keeping an eye on this.

egCoupe

^ Yeah I agree, I'm keeping my eyes pealed for a 68-70 factory v8 2dr car, I have a .30 over 440 waiting patiently for a chassis

I like the dash and wheels on the OP's car, keep it up!

juevi

Nice op, have a 73, 340 duster at my parents. Still awaiting some major work though. Any questions I can help you with, let me know, I used to be an encyclopedia on these cars back in the day, but admit have lost a great deal of it.

LobeSex

i think with those volks its gona look dope

It Wasn't Me

Any updates on this beast?

BIGBLOCKEK

very cool, first car i ever worked on was a 66 valiant with the slant six, that thing was bullet proof.

i want to see a dart on some volks, but arent those going to be about 10x the cost of those steel cragars or whatever it is you have on there now?

pimpwagon

beautiful car. those slant 6 motors hurt chrysler because they lasted so damn long. ever consider doing a turbo slant 6 in that car? those motors can make huge power and have in many setups. what a sleeper that would be.

pingar

Nice start.

ronald55555

Unfortunately they still dont make the TE37V's in 5 lugs, but when they do, I'm getting them, doesn't matter how much they cost. There just aren't many american style wheels that I like, pretty much only the torq thrusts, oem rallyes, or these steelies.

There are definitely some fast turbo /6's, but it just doesn't make the sounds of a V8. Since this is my first domestic, I want the full sensation of a muscle car. I don't think I have the time or money to swap it now, but long term plan is a small block 340 or 360 with a Tremec 5 speed.

Since my last update, I haven't had much time to work on the car since I'm back in school. I striped down the front suspension and restored the control arms and machined some custom strut rods and solid tie rods. Wilwoods are also replacing the stock drums.

ronald55555

Put the dash and headliner back in.

ronald55555

I also got the glass put back in after the headliner install, so I had a chance to drive it for a couple weeks at the end of the summer before I tear the front suspension apart. The Wilwood kit is a pretty good deal for this car considering how much stuff is included. I think the equivalent kit for a civic costs the same except you don't get the wheel bearings and hub, which is actually a very intricate piece.

ronald55555

Taking apart the front suspension. It was much easier than I thought it would be, nothing was seized, didn't even have to swear once.

ronald55555

Restored everything I was going to reuse, replaced all bushings, balljoints. Control arms were bead blasted and repainted, lca was reinforced.

ronald55555

I didn't like how the stock strut rods work by binding a compliance bushing. After market units are expensive and the Hotchkis unit only has a rodend on the front of the strut rod. This would not be a problem if the axis of the strut rod mounting hole was always intersecting the pivot point of the rodend. This is obviously not the case all the time, since bushings flex. I also found that the geometry gets worse near full compression. Once the axis is not intersecting the pivot point, it induces a bending moment on the strut rod.

Long story short, I designed and machined a new set of strut rods, and some solid tie rods while I was at it.

ronald55555

The finished product