‘A’ Family Affair: 67 Dart and 68 Valiant restorations

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nates68

nates68

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Location
Puyallup, WA
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So I pretty much finished my 1968 Barracuda (thread Brutal ‘Cuda ) so we are moving on to the other cars in our ‘fleet’, my oldest sons 1967 dart and youngest sons 1968 Valiant. We have 3 boys and the middle son chose to buy a newer truck, which is good, I don’t have the time to help with any more projects!
Here’s a few pics and I will give some info on each.
Both came to our place on a trailer and were not running but complete cars.
I will alternate the ongoing progress between cars much like a ‘reality’ car show.
We have had the Dart for 4 years now so I will start on it first.
Stay tuned!

Nates68
 
I hope your sons realize how lucky they are. I’d have given anything when I was their age for a dad that would do what you’re doing. You’re making memories that will last several lifetimes.
 
yep, agreed they're real lucky kids. it took me years to convince my dad that hot rods were 'a' cheaper to build and 'b' worth more than 'restorations' here in the uk.
neil.
 
Thanks and yes we are making great memories for sure. I never thought we would own 3 great classics (not sure why the link is bad for my 68 Barracuda build, advice?). All 3 boys can turn a wrench but have lots of learning ahead, which is more than I can say for the current generation of teenagers these days.
 
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Both cars have a great story of how we came to own them, so let’s get started on the 67 Dart.
We had been scanning Craigslist like we all do and weren’t finding much or if we did it was overpriced or sold immediately. Then one day my son sent me the link of a 67 Dart that was listed in a small town outside of Wenatchee, Wa. It wasn’t showing up in the major cities listings so people weren’t seeing the car. We called and went to go get it that weekend! Being an eastern Washington car it was almost rust free and had been in a barn for 10 years. The trip was easy and we had a great time picking up our new project (It’s always exciting when you find that car you have been looking for!)
We immediately pulled the interior out as it was rodent infested. The floors were rock solid!
Next post: getting it running...
 
Ok so the previous owner had the foresight to pull the carb off and rebuild it; and the tank was empty so some fresh gas, oil change, and carb back on and it fired right up! Want to guess what motor? Yeah it’s a 225 slant 6. Plans are for a v8 swap in the future but as you will see there is lots of other things to address first, so the goal is to keep it a driving restoration.
 
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Next major problem was the suspension and brakes were all junk. I had a disc brake swap we didn’t use on my 68 Barracuda so we used it along with all new bushings, ball joints, etc...
Picked up a cheap 7 1/4 big bolt rear so we could run the 15” steel road wheels and fresh tires. My son quickly found out that even when you get deals on parts it adds up quick. He had lots of ‘character’ building with the work that had to be done.
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While we had the k member out we cleaned it up and fully welded all seams and boxed in the steering box area, reinforced the lca holes, and fabricated parts so it could use a 68 idler arm.
 
A trip to the alignment shop and back on the road! Hard earned life lessons you get to drive! Should be required learning!

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Alright so remember this is all previous work, just updating until we get to the present.
The slant wasn’t exactly speedy so we swapped in a super six intake, Holley 2bbl carb, and installed 2 1/4” exhaust. Also cleaned things up a bit.
It was definitely an improvement but the Holley took a bit of tuning. The kickdown linkage took some fab work as well and we adjusted the transmission to shift later by adjusting the spring inside by the valve body.
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I like that you're making the /6 work. It has lots of potential, mainly because it was cobbled together with so many flaws that just about anything is an improvement. However, many many folks have extracted respectable power from these "boat anchors". I built a couple myself. Kudos!
 
Moving onto the bodywork, this car had dents and waves everywhere and was repainted poorly over bondo. We sanded one panel down at a time, got it straight with minimum or no
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filler, then repeat on the rest of the car. The body lines on Darts are a real pain! My Barracuda was much easier with it’s rounded sides.
Primed car and started blocking it out to get it ready for paint.

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Got the high build on entire car, will block it down and next will be the topcoat! The emblems and trim were junk and he wanted a clean look so it was welded up at the start of all this.
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And...
It begins, it’s white! It’s Southern Polyurethane single stage. Son is happy we are finally at this stage, I hate to tell him the color sanding and buffing is needed to make it really nice.
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Great work. Why did you go with single stage? I’m wanting to paint my dart white but I’m not sure between single or base/clear.
 
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