1963 Dart 170 2 Door Post Resto

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Beautiful photo and commentary documentation above! The car, and it's components, look great. Question for you, since you seem like a detail-man. I'm reassembling a 67 Signet, in Ireland. I'm wondering if you did any cleaning/restoring of the Package Tray? I'm pondering what to do with mine. Any thoughts or insights are appreciated.
 
Harold Wolk said:
Beautiful photo and commentary documentation above! The car, and it's components, look great. Question for you, since you seem like a detail-man. I'm reassembling a 67 Signet, in Ireland. I'm wondering if you did any cleaning/restoring of the Package Tray? I'm pondering what to do with mine. Any thoughts or insights are appreciated.
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I cleaned the top completely and even filed off the sharp burrs that were still present from the original spot welds. Underneath I hand sanded as well as I could and epoxy primed, sealed and painted it. Originally it wouldn't have gotten fully sprayed as it was difficult to access (mine had lots of bare metal showing), but I wanted to clean it up better so it wouldn't flash rust again. It's mostly hidden unless you look up from under inside the trunk, but I wanted it as clean as I could get it. It's not perfect my any means, but it does look pretty good overall.
 
Thanks for the response. Much appreciated. I should have been more specific. I'm wondering about the 'cardboard' package-tray/shelf itself. My original is in pretty good condition and I feel I'd be sacrilege to paint it. I was wondering what folks have used to clean/preserve/restore the outer cardboard material.
 
Harold Wolk said:
Thanks for the response. Much appreciated. I should have been more specific. I'm wondering about the 'cardboard' package-tray/shelf itself. My original is in pretty good condition and I feel I'd be sacrilege to paint it. I was wondering what folks have used to clean/preserve/restore the outer cardboard material.
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I bought new. I think a mild cleaner on a rag would be best to clean it. Nothing too harsh as it would possibly damage the coating. I would test it on a less conspicuous area first to confirm it doesn't damage anything.

It also wouldn't hurt to start a thread asking this question as I'm sure there's lot on here with much more knowledge than me on how to clean this without damaging it.
 
Thanks for the good input. Yeah it might be a good question for a new thread. I might look at it again and then reach out if it's still illusive. Thanks again for the message.
 
So, my wife and I after some discussion have decided that we are going to have to let the Dart go. The original reason for building it was so we could drive it daily in the summer and go to shows all over. After driving the Dart last year and only a little this year we found that the dart is geared poorly for any long drives (revs way to high on the HWY). Also, with the manual brakes and steering it is very difficult for my wife to drive it around town (a little wider tires didn't help either..lol)

I seriously thought about doing and engine upgrade and power steering/brakes, but the cost to do this (and the fact that it's a 63, which would require firewall modifications) we decided it was best to pass it along to someone else to enjoy as it is a solid Arizona car (didn't want to start cutting it up) and all original except color.

Therefore, I started to get it ready for sale this week. There was a couple spots on the cowl that started to bubble and one on the wheel well. The wheel well was easy to figure out. It got a stone chip and the moisture caused it to bubble. The cowl was odd. This is an Arizona car and was rock solid. I decided I wasn't selling it as is so I sanded it down to find the issue to address correctly. What I found was it was right at the edge of the lead seam where the cowl meets the pillars on both sides had a small seam in the lead by the edge of the metal that moisture got into when painting (must have missed it originally) and that caused the paint to bubble. Fortunately it was only surface rust as I caught it before it went any farther. I decided to grind it out until I got to a clean point (where the separation in the lead/body panel ended), clean it all good and apply new. Didn't do as good as factory but good enough. I filed it down and applied a very thin coat of fiberglass to clean up the slight imperfections. I use fiberglass as it doesn't absorb moisture and I find it does a much better job in the long run. Fortunately this only needed to be done on the drivers corner. The passenger it was on the surface so a quick clean and spray with epoxy and a coat of 2K and I was good to go. Same for the wheel well. There was a chip in the paint on the edge of the pillar where the drip rail stainless meets the pillar so I addressed that at the same time as well.

This was my first time ever trying to do a paint blend (hell, it was the first time I've painted a car) and I think it went very well. Read a bunch and learned how to create a "soft edge" with folding tape over so one edge doesn't actually contact the body. It worked really well. Just need to do a small bit of wet sanding and polish to blend it all in. Put on lots of clear too so it will hold up and be easy to wet sand/blend.


After this, I have to just clean and polish the entire car, do an oil change and replace the trunion boot (apparently critter like to chew on it when parked so it has a hole in it. Stupid soy based rubber). It only has about 2000km on the restore but I still plan to go over everything before putting it up for sale.

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shame it has to go after all the work you've done. you mentioned bulkhead mod's to upgrade the engine and steering/brakes. what were you thinking of swapping to as most 'normal upgrades won't need any bulkhead changes at all, maybe the lip flattening where the tunnel meets the bulkhead for a 727/ big block swap. but i assume you weren't thinking of a daily driver big block car, lol.
anyway good luck with the sale, someone's about to benefit from all your good work.
neil.
 
Makes me sad, but I do understand your reasoning. We so get used to modern day cars, makes classic cars feel dangerous, and sadly, they kind of are. Would you and your wife like another classic car? If so, what? Obviously something with power brakes, steering, etc. and down here in Houston(Cypress), I put AC in everything!

Just for fun, had you priced out installing power steering/brakes, etc. I always thought a set of mags might make your car Pop even more;)
dne'
 
Dne007 said:
Makes me sad, but I do understand your reasoning. We so get used to modern day cars, makes classic cars feel dangerous, and sadly, they kind of are. Would you and your wife like another classic car? If so, what? Obviously something with power brakes, steering, etc. and down here in Houston(Cypress), I put AC in everything!

Just for fun, had you priced out installing power steering/brakes, etc. I always thought a set of mags might make your car Pop even more;)
dne'
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Yes, we are considering another classic. Actually, already have a few...lol.

We have a 1948 international KB2 we are building for my wife. She wants to drive it daily so we are putting in a 5.3 LS with a 4L60E trans with a Ford Explorer 8.8 rear with posi and disc brakes. Also installing a IFS with power steering and brakes. We have a floor shift Lokar shifter that looks like the original floor shift so it keeps it's original look with all of the modern driveability/reliability.

I have a 1951 International 1/2 ton that I haven't decided on how I'm going yet (original or modern). We don't mind original for something driven once in a while, but we want one we can use comfortably every day in the summer. This one will probably go original for now as we will have my wagon and my wife's truck for daily enjoyment.

I also just purchased a 1966 Impala wagon. It came with no drivetrain but is an original power steering/brake car. Plan is to install a "massaged" 5.3LS and 4L60E trans. Rest will be pretty much original besides adding vintage air. We intend to take this across Canada and into the States. I've always had a soft spot for the big wagons of this era.

I did look into the power steering/brakes and upgrading the rear but as anyone knows on the early A's it adds up rear quick. I figured it was time to call it and let it go to someone else to enjoy.
 
mygasser said:
shame it has to go after all the work you've done. you mentioned bulkhead mod's to upgrade the engine and steering/brakes. what were you thinking of swapping to as most 'normal upgrades won't need any bulkhead changes at all, maybe the lip flattening where the tunnel meets the bulkhead for a 727/ big block swap. but i assume you weren't thinking of a daily driver big block car, lol.
anyway good luck with the sale, someone's about to benefit from all your good work.
neil.
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All the research I did shows the 273 (I actually already had a core to build) will not fit in a 63 as the wiper motor mount point on the firewall interferes with the distributor. I read somewhere where a guy did a full custom distributor but it was a pretty complex milling operation I don't have the tools to get into. I already sourced all the original brackets and engine mounts and exhaust manifolds for the swap when I found this out. Also have the correct drag link as well for a V8 swap. Just decided I didn't want to cut into such a clean body.
 
Mineallmine said:
All the research I did shows the 273 (I actually already had a core to build) will not fit in a 63 as the wiper motor mount point on the firewall interferes with the distributor. I read somewhere where a guy did a full custom distributor but it was a pretty complex milling operation I don't have the tools to get into. I already sourced all the original brackets and engine mounts and exhaust manifolds for the swap when I found this out. Also have the correct drag link as well for a V8 swap. Just decided I didn't want to cut into such a clean body.
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I'm not good verbally describe what I picture in my head, so please bear with me. For the distributor, hack it off like an inch below the main body (where the cap sits) and and flush or maybe half an inch above the flange where the distributor hold down rests. Weld them together. Have the shaft cut to length and a "bevel" that matches the original shape of the factory end on the shorter shaft. Would this now clear the wiper motor? "Maybe", there is a "marine cap" where the wires come out the side and not the top?
 
So, last night I went out to wet sand and polish the new paint to see if I could "blend" my paint repairs to look a little cleaner.

I must say, I am very impressed with the results. Other than a very slight darker spot on the wheel well just in front of the rear tire I can no longer tell where I touched up the paint unless I get really close and even then it is difficult. The pillars came out really nice too. If you didn't know I repainted you wouldn't be able to tell. Super happy with the result.

I polished the hood while I was at it as well as most of the rear drivers passenger quarter. Now I have to do the rest of the car to make it look as good. Car is starting to look as good as when I first pulled it out again. A few more minor details to take care of and it'll be ready to move on to it's new owner. Don't want to list it until I'm happy with it.

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Mineallmine said:
So, last night I went out to wet sand and polish the new paint to see if I could "blend" my paint repairs to look a little cleaner.

I must say, I am very impressed with the results. Other than a very slight darker spot on the wheel well just in front of the rear tire I can no longer tell where I touched up the paint unless I get really close and even then it is difficult. The pillars came out really nice too. If you didn't know I repainted you wouldn't be able to tell. Super happy with the result.

I polished the hood while I was at it as well as most of the rear drivers passenger quarter. Now I have to do the rest of the car to make it look as good. Car is starting to look as good as when I first pulled it out again. A few more minor details to take care of and it'll be ready to move on to it's new owner. Don't want to list it until I'm happy with it.

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Wow, that turned out great!
 
So, finally got a few hours to get at the dart yesterday. Pulled the driveshaft to replace the damaged trunnion boot. Turns out is wasn't chewed but torn. Guess buying NOS wasn't the best idea in this case. Gues it was a little brittle, though it didn't feel like it when installing. The new was WAY more flexible. I was actually able to install it without removing the pin. I read that you could get it over the pin and then squeeze it though the sleeve. It actually worked. The left-over grease definitely helped. That and my wife came out to give me an extra set of hands. Hardest part was putting all the needle bearings back in and holding it while packing it with grease and getting the cover back on. Hopefully this time it will last.

Also got the leaky exhaust gasket replaced. Almost miss the little rumble it had.

New problem though. Took it for a run and the temp guage stopped working. Testing lead me to a faulty sender. Got one coming from Rock Auto.

A couple more little things, check over the front end, and do an oil change and wash and polish and it should be ready to move on to a new owner
 
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