Dart Restoration

C130 Chief said
Black will be super sharp on that car for sure. Big help that you have a straight, pretty rust free body to start with. In fact, the car seems almost too nice to make a Hemi-Dart clone out of (not that the Hemi-Dart wasn't about the most pissed-off combo Mopar produced, and therefore well worth emulating). I say this because it looked like you already had the buckets and console (not the same buckets as a Hemi-Dart), and therefore the basis for a whole lot nicer interior for street use.

Not trying to tell you what to do, but a (flawless) black paint job, white seat console interior and a big orange stroked low deck 6-Pak B-motor, would make for a striking combo. Imagine 451 cubes and painted factory valve covers. Clean, simple, and stupid quick.

The above being said, I keep half an eye open for a straight 68 2-door Dart. I would go whole hog with cut quarters, grey primer / black fiberglass, van seat interior with seatbelt windows and the most obnoxious 13.5:1 cross-ram Hemi I could almost afford. Forget about street cruising, this would be pure old school monster. And there wouldnt be one square inch of chrome under the hood.

Have fun whatever you do, but build a car you can drive and enjoy. A good looking car with a stout smallblock will be plenty of fun, not super expensive, and still capabile of winning a few races. I don't know anything about your budget, but when I was 17 I would have sold my soul for the car in the "before" shot.

You bring up VERY good points. The Hemi is more or less out of reach. It has a fun and very fresh 340 - 727 - 8 3/4 combo in it right now. However I do have a line on a running 440 - 727 - 8 3/4 in a car for $800. I think I'll run the 340 for a year or two and then build the 440 when I have the cash. :happy3:

When the body is all sorted out, I hope to have it looking something like this..