1963 Dodge Dart 270 Convertible for the Wife

[66Dvert]

Spent the morning (before it got hot) outside bead blasting the window regulators and hardware and getting them freed up and working smoothly...

Before an after....
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Drilled the holes in the heater box and mounted the vent door.... All done.

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Bought a battery and the hardware on the outside it too long... don't think this was for an early A body but I don't care.

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Kurt's (@66Dvert) cool speaker kick panels.... need to move the dimmer switch out or drive with low beams all the time....

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looking great, BTw have fun stuffing those wires behind the kickpanels. I ended up making a hole on the lower portion and putting in a tie to hold the wires away from the kick panels.....are you going to paint em? if so make sure to wash them down well and use Bulldog (or any type you preffer ) adhesion promoter before hand.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

looking great, BTw have fun stuffing those wires behind the kickpanels. I ended up making a hole on the lower portion and putting in a tie to hold the wires away from the kick panels.....are you going to paint em? if so make sure to wash them down well and use Bulldog (or any type you preffer ) adhesion promoter before hand.

Turquoise man, turquoise....

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Putter day that ended poorly......

Undercoated inside the rear quarter and doors. Got the rear glass in, I need to get some gasket material to make new glass to frame gaskets so I am not pinching metal to glass then finish any buffing I'm going to do on the upper lip and its time for the whiskers and they are done.

Restored the vent frame with new seal and buffed out the chrome. Not perfect but perfectly fine and shiny.. Had to order some Mohair to line the rear channel for the front windows but did get the latches and hardware in. I am going to get the handles rechromed so they are not in yet.

Got tired on the drivers door vent...... while putting in the new seal I knocked a box on the floor..... what was in the box you ask....

The LH vent glass.... Looking for one.

 

[crvtec90]

Ive seen door handles ( inside and outside) as well as window cranks are available new online. I cant speak for the quality of them but just thought Id mention it in case its easier then having yours re-chromed. Noticed your rear window cranks look like they are ones used on the front windows. The rear windows use a shorter one. Sorry about your vent glass, happens to the best of us. Ive got a spare one in Jacksonville Florida unless you can find one closer. Keep up the good work, shes a beauty

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Ive seen door handles ( inside and outside) as well as window cranks are available new online. I cant speak for the quality of them but just thought Id mention it in case its easier then having yours re-chromed. Noticed your rear window cranks look like they are ones used on the front windows. The rear windows use a shorter one. Sorry about your vent glass, happens to the best of us. Ive got a spare one in Jacksonville Florida unless you can find one closer. Keep up the good work, shes a beauty

Thanks that was simpler outer handles ordered. Yea I just grabbed window handles out of a bag. So I could crank it. It is possible it had 4 fronts in it. I have not got that far yet and did not know that. Thanks

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Little bit of polishing of a few parts and test fitting the dash. I am retrofitting '65 wiring (because it is available and '63 is not) so I needed to see how I can make a bracket for the fusebox on the LH side of the column.... '63-'64 had it on the RH side because the PB shifter is on the LH side. I think it is going to be a piece of cake to upgrade.... only a couple of wiring changes for the wiper switch and extend the wire for the door jamb switch on the RH side as it only makes it to the area the '63 fuse box should be.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Time to button things up. This is a D100 Truck sending unit. The A-Body Powers that be say it is the best after market sending unit that closely resembles the original... The POS I put in the Duster is useless. This should be better.

New rubber jacking bumpers installed before the bumper in aligned and torqued down.

The licence bulb wire was hacked so I replaced the connector with a Delco locking connector. Always solder.

A few more details completed and we are done under here!

I would not know what to do with DMT and Jim's OEM correct seal kits. There is something about installing a brand new body gasket that makes the world right again...

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Missing one of these... maybe someone has a beat up panel I can steal on from.

Not sure where this edging goes.... I think it goes around the chrome backup light insert but I will have to ask DMT

Need to buy some Delco 2 wire connectors to modify this. They don't make a '63 harness so it appears the later years have a socket that pops in, the '63 has wires and a connector on the taillight....

These go in the trunk plate, I removed them to polish and restore them. I don't want to glue them on so I will drill and tap them some evening I am bored.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Front half day.... expecting a short day but as usual in at 5pm..... a bead blaster and buffing wheel with 3 grits of compound make a world of difference.... The drill buffer is only for the plastic.... be very careful you can melt the plastic but the results are worth it...

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Again without Jim and DMT it would just not be the same restoring these cars.... splash shield seal exactly like the originals.... The GT style trim for the valance is still at the polishers as well as the grill. I am not going to get these parts re-chromed yet. They are so far out of sight under the bumper flaws just don't matter.

 

[Dartsun]

Hey Jim such a great build so far. Do you know if anybody remakes those splash shields? I see them for 67+ dart but not for earlier. Thanks Dustin

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Hey Jim such a great build so far. Do you know if anybody remakes those splash shields? I see them for 67+ dart but not for earlier. Thanks Dustin

Hey Dustin,

I don't know. Thank goodness these where there. I have not seen them listed in my searches for parts for these early old girls.

 

[Greasyfingers]

Jim, that's a beautiful car. I have the panel retainer you need. I took it off a damaged panel. It has I little rust pitting, but is still pretty solid. Pm me your address and I'll send it to you if your interested.
Aaron

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Jim, that's a beautiful car. I have the panel retainer you need. I took it off a damaged panel. It has I little rust pitting, but is still pretty solid. Pm me your address and I'll send it to you if your interested.
AaronView attachment 1715538645

PM Sent, thanks so much!

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Well as expected aftermarket sucks. The one door handle the rod rotated in the button and moved in and out 1/4". I know know the weak spot so I drilled the rod and installed a short roll pin to keep the rod in place. Did both sides just in case.

Then installed new Mohair from Steel Rubber in the front window rear channels. Nothing is better than this Wellwood contact cement for Landau Tops....

 

[Jim Kueneman]

New after market door handles installed. Also Steel Rubber has universal 1/2" x 1/2" U channel that is a perfect match for the front of the door glass in the vent glass frame... Found a complete set of NOS locks that should be here mid next week so the wife will have the correct Mopar keys and the ignition will match the doors.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Brutal heatwave continues but should cool off tomorrow.... Puttered in the garage a little today and got a few things done... These window regulators are a PIA to say the least.... time to put in the glass for good and the whiskers need to go in before the glass goes in. It is painful to get them in once the glass is in....
Uses simple gasket paper to make new gaskets for the pinched rear glassed by tracing one of the originals... The fought with the RH vent frame, regulator and glass out in the sun because I can't open the door all the way in the garage... but it is done. Reassembled the LH frame without the vent glass and then buffed and installed the door panel upper bright trim. Got tired and not 100% sure I can get the vent glass in with the frame in the car... I am 99% sure but the last thing I want to do is remove the side window and regulator to get the vent frame if I have to.

 

[Scamp Rhonda]

Brutal heatwave continues but should cool off tomorrow.... Puttered in the garage a little today and got a few things done... These window regulators are a PIA to say the least.... time to put in the glass for good and the whiskers need to go in before the glass goes in. It is painful to get them in once the glass is in....
Uses simple gasket paper to make new gaskets for the pinched rear glassed by tracing one of the originals... The fought with the RH vent frame, regulator and glass out in the sun because I can't open the door all the way in the garage... but it is done. Reassembled the LH frame without the vent glass and then buffed and installed the door panel upper bright trim. Got tired and not 100% sure I can get the vent glass in with the frame in the car... I am 99% sure but the last thing I want to do is remove the side window and regulator to get the vent frame if I have to.

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Last year our AC went out and we needed a whole new system and we were in the middle of a heat wave. Couldn't get anyone out for over two weeks and we weren't going to live without air that long. Sooooo....we got a cheap window unit to get by. Now that cheap window unit is in my garage and doing a wonderful job making life easier for me. That is one tool that I wish I had gotten sooner. You need to treat yourself! Lol

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Last year our AC went out and we needed a whole new system and we were in the middle of a heat wave. Couldn't get anyone out for over two weeks and we weren't going to live without air that long. Sooooo....we got a cheap window unit to get by. Now that cheap window unit is in my garage and doing a wonderful job making life easier for me. That is one tool that I wish I had gotten sooner. You need to treat yourself! Lol

Yea my house AC (main) is out and the new one just arrived at the freight depot in Tucson... I'll be installing that next weekend.....

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Whoop the last batch of trim is done (though I may leave a few pieces to get rechromed)! I also found the 1/4" #8 license plate nuts at Ace and now she has a license plate.... I did almost nothing on the Dart this weekend.. Sat under the AC and watched a few movies....

 

[Jim Kueneman]

The best place for Mopar radiators and heater core restoration in the world package arrived today... Bob is nothing short of an artist in radiator restoration at GlenRay.... This is actually a high altitude HD cooling radiator from a '65 if you look up the number but I just look for original look not numbers on my restoration....

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Thanks to @mycuda all fixed.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Spent the day installing a new main house HVAC system.. All done but decided to replace the lines from the Heat Pump to the Air Handler so another order to HVACDirect.com..... Seriously my new Air Handler connects to my iPhone via BlueTooth to set it up....

That said the thing hanging me up on the Dart was the new lock set that as stuck in Cincinnati for the last week finally made it to Tucson... should have it Monday...

 

[JayinMI]

We've had several similar issues with shipping once it hits Detroit. I live near Flint, and once packages hit Detroit, they are usually out for delivery within 2 days. Lately, progress will be good until it hits Detroit where it will typically sit for a week before it moves on. I ordered a tool from Inline Tube not realizing their location. Turns out they are in Shelby Township, MI (about 1 hr from me)...it took a few days to ship, moved through 2 points and then sat in Detroit for 4 days. It *did* arrive faster than Amazon thought it might, but still seems like it took a long time to go roughly 60 miles. Had I known where they were, I might have called them and picked it up. lol

 

[4.7Light]

Pretty quiet over here hope to see you back at soon.