1966 Dodge Dart

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GGs66GT, thanks for taking the time to go thru everything. Im sure some of it is confusing because i screw things up as I write!
A quick update, I am still wet sanding and have everything done to 1500 grit except the side drivers panels. Im thinking I should go to 2000 then 3000 yet but was told I should be ok where I am at. I hate sanding but want it to be nice. My concern is howdo I know if im getting to close to going thru the clear coat? The Nason I had sprayed said to only do 2 coats. I wish I had put more on but I followed the instructions. So does anyone know if theres a way to tell how close you are to sanding thru?? And from your experiences is it worth sanding with 2000 then 3000 to get a better finish?
Thanks Rod
 
Tonight I started the compound buffing. Had a guy come over to the house and give my about 45 minutes of instruction and then I put the buffer in my hands and started what looks to be a very long detailed process. So here are the first pics of what I got done tonight. Its only the first step in the 3 step process. But I think I will be very happy if each step gets better as much as the first step seemed to develop a shine. Heres some pics of the passenger side of the hood.
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Rod
 
I finished the first step of buffing with 3M's #1 compound on Tuesday night. I gave the car a complete sponge bath and started the 2nd step of the process using the #2 compound. I can say I am very happy with the results I am getting, however if I were to ever do this again I would put on at least 4 coats of clear no matter what the instructions say. That way I wouldnt have to worry about cutting threw during the wet sanding process. Anyway the 2nd step seems like it will go much faster then the 1st step went. Once or should I say if I ever get done compounding I plan on using the F11 synthetic polish. Hoping that will level out everything and make the car pop! Im not around at all next week to do any work but once I return the following week I will need to get hopping if there is any hope in having it ready for the Octobers car show. I'll post pics once the polishing process is completed.
Thanks for following
Rod
 
Thought I should update this. I completed the wet sanding and the buffing of the car. So glad to say that is behind me! I am still not a fan of the body work process but I will say I respect the work that is done a whole lot more. Im not sure if I will ever tackle body work again! With that said I can say I am very happy the way the car looks. The color sanding was tedious but it was worth the time. I could have gone further with it as I sanded with 1000 grit then to 1500 grit then buffed. I did do a 2000 then 3000 on the fiberglass scoop to get rid of the sanding marks. I guess i could always go back and sand some more but the marks are 95% gone so I stopped at that.
Now its time to move on to other work. I plan on doing the clean up of the interior next and then install the headliner. Once the headliners done i can get the front and rear windows installed.
I still need to paint all the interior window trim and the console to red. Then get out the original door panels and see if they will clean up or if im going to have to rework or redesign something there. Also I need to install the door windows and tracks. That wont be fun.
Ive decided that October isnt going to happen for a finishing date so Im looking at using the winter to make sure I dont rush. lol, I read back over this thread and saw at one point I had a date of completion for May of 2014. Looks like Im only going to miss that by 5 yrs! lol
I need to get some pics posted of the car when its outside and hope that will be this week. While the car is out of the garage I plan on doing a complete cleanup of the garage. This way I can get an idea of the parts that I collected over the last 6 years. Some will need to go once the car is completed. I know I have an extra pair of headlight trims and an extra grill.
Oh, I also decided on switching to PS. Now this is more work the I wanted but I was given a PS box and I bought a dress up kit which includes brackets for both alt and PS pump then I got the pump and alt that is plated. Should look good however it looks like its going to be a major job to change the box out and change the steering shaft and coupler. But I now have all winter to get it done.
Ill try to get some pics posted this week. Thanks for following and as always your comments are welcomed.
Rod
 
You are doing awesome Rod.. Love the way the car is looking. Mine still on primer and can not wait to get it painted.
 
PSegarra said:
You are doing awesome Rod.. Love the way the car is looking. Mine still on primer and can not wait to get it painted.
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rod7515 said:
Thought I should update this. I completed the wet sanding and the buffing of the car. So glad to say that is behind me! I am still not a fan of the body work process but I will say I respect the work that is done a whole lot more. Im not sure if I will ever tackle body work again! With that said I can say I am very happy the way the car looks. The color sanding was tedious but it was worth the time. I could have gone further with it as I sanded with 1000 grit then to 1500 grit then buffed. I did do a 2000 then 3000 on the fiberglass scoop to get rid of the sanding marks. I guess i could always go back and sand some more but the marks are 95% gone so I stopped at that.
Now its time to move on to other work. I plan on doing the clean up of the interior next and then install the headliner. Once the headliners done i can get the front and rear windows installed.
I still need to paint all the interior window trim and the console to red. Then get out the original door panels and see if they will clean up or if im going to have to rework or redesign something there. Also I need to install the door windows and tracks. That wont be fun.
Ive decided that October isnt going to happen for a finishing date so Im looking at using the winter to make sure I dont rush. lol, I read back over this thread and saw at one point I had a date of completion for May of 2014. Looks like Im only going to miss that by 5 yrs! lol
I need to get some pics posted of the car when its outside and hope that will be this week. While the car is out of the garage I plan on doing a complete cleanup of the garage. This way I can get an idea of the parts that I collected over the last 6 years. Some will need to go once the car is completed. I know I have an extra pair of headlight trims and an extra grill.
Oh, I also decided on switching to PS. Now this is more work the I wanted but I was given a PS box and I bought a dress up kit which includes brackets for both alt and PS pump then I got the pump and alt that is plated. Should look good however it looks like its going to be a major job to change the box out and change the steering shaft and coupler. But I now have all winter to get it done.
Ill try to get some pics posted this week. Thanks for following and as always your comments are welcomed.
Rod
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Very Special Rod. It will get done....be persistent.....looks great. Im hoping for the 1st of the year on my 65 Dart Charger Clone build. Maybe a contest on who gets done first? Best not do that as the slower pace gives the better results. I like your colors. Best. Old Dart 66
 
Been working with the headliner the last few nights. I think Ive got a pretty good start on getting it in. I started by laying it out in the sun for 2 days. That really helped flatten out all the creases form being in a box for the last 3 years. Then I layed it upside down on the hood of the car and installed the bows. I found I was missing one bow so I had to make one from some spares that I had. I cut the pockets for the bows back 1" and installed bows into the liner. I ran into trouble on the back 2 bow pockets as they were much longer in length and I wasnt sure how they needed to be trimmed. Looking bck I would say i ended up cutting them just a little to far. I then placed the liner into the car working it over the rollbar. then I hooked up the 2 rear springs on the back bow and stretched the liner starting in the front. Went to the back and pulled back trying to keep the liner centered as well as possible. The liner came from legendary and they did not mark a center on the liner. then I repeated the front stretch and rear stretch one more time. Once I was happy there I went to drivers side and started in the middle of door area and worked forward on both side then went to the rear sides. This didnt take very long to do but its not easy to be crawling around in the car with a rollbar at my age! I had about 3 hours in the initial install. Now I am re-glueing everything and starting to trim material as I go forward. I am very happy with the front half of the headliner install, but the rear area around the sail panels looks like it will be the biggest and hardest challenge. I plan on taking that area on next week. A few notes, The glue i used was DAP Weldwood. However those 2 bottles werent even close to enough. Also when I went back to get additional glue I ended up getting the DAP Weldwood in a guart can and I bought the Gel non drip. It was much easier to work with and seemed to be just as good bonding. Heres a few pics of the install.
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Id like to throw out a thank you to one of our members heres that contacted me and offered good solid advice when he read my thread for help. Thank you Hoosierdaddy! Im not sure how this would have gone without your help.
Rod
 
Have to say, Rod, this project is looking great. Keep up the good work!! I am hoping to get back on mine real soon. Keep posting your great work. Old Dart 66
 
rod7515 said:
but its not easy to be crawling around in the car with a rollbar at my age!
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What are ya? Like 36? :poke:
Headliner's lookin good. Hey, probably be ready for another set of Magnum tires sometime in October. Passed inspection, but want them before any Snow flies... Let me know if any sales on...
 
PSegarra, I bought the headliner a few years back from Legendary. I seems to fit pretty good. The difficult part looks to be at the rear sides. Im thinking about gluing some of the bubble foam I used for the roof insulation onto the cardboard sail panel to help with taking out wrinkles. May even glue the liner to the bubble wrap to hold it in place. Ill post what I end up doing. I hope to complete the liner this week. Thanks for following.
Rod
 
Of course I am following. I am doing a 66 dart 2 door post like yours. I wish mine comes out the way you are doing yours. You are doing a hell of a job...
 
Oh by the way. Check Jimmy's 66 dodge dart GT pictures for the interior stuff that you requested on the Mopars A body forum. Do a search on Top Right. He shows interior, exterior and underneath the car. Might help you.. Good luck.
 
Headliner is basically in! Thanks to all for your advice on what to look for as I went thru the install. It was a slow process as I stretched it out to a couple days. I only had a few hours a night to work on it. I would guess I had 8 hours or so on it. Its not perfect but Im very happy with it. The problem areas are definitely the sail area. I added some bubble insulation in the sail area. I thought maybe that would allow me to stretch the liner a little more but it made no difference. Here are some final pics of what I ended up with.
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I think some of the wrinkles are because I cut the bow pockets just slightly to much on the last and next to last 2 bows. Also I didnt glue the liner to the sail boards but they werent glued there to start. I still plan on using a heat gun to try some additional wrinkle removal but I will wait until all the trim is in place first.
I plan to move on to the carpet next which will have the challenge of cutting for the roll bar legs and floor shifter.
I took the night off from working on it tonight to catch up on some R&R! lol
Thanks for following and as always comments and suggestions are welcome.
Rod
 
I installed the rear window trim clips tonight and tomorrow I am scheduled to have the windshield and rear window put in. I hung the gaskets out for the last 2 days so they would lay better and hopefully it will help make the installation easier. I looked at the inspection sticker that is on the windshield and the car was last on the road in 1991! Little does it know its only a few weeks away from its first drive in 25+years!!
Rod
 
rod7515 said:
I installed the rear window trim clips tonight and tomorrow I am scheduled to have the windshield and rear window put in. I hung the gaskets out for the last 2 days so they would lay better and hopefully it will help make the installation easier. I looked at the inspection sticker that is on the windshield and the car was last on the road in 1991! Little does it know its only a few weeks away from its first drive in 25+years!!
Rod
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Rod. EXCELLENT. Best to you and your NEW car. Old Dart 66
 
Front and Back windows are in!!! They came out today with 2 techs to install both windows. After watching them work to install these 2 windows I am so glad I decided to let pros do the job. Here are a few pics of the work underway. It was a pretty slick operation. They used window glass cleaner as a lubricant. worked the rubber with plastic wedges. Used the suction cup to pull the front window back and forth. And after about 90 minutes from the time they arrived the windows were in!
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I took a pic of the tool they used for the windshield rubber trim lock. That would have taken a lot of time if I had to do it with a pik or screwdriver.
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Well its one step closer to being road worthy!
Ive welded up any holes in the floor boards and will put in the plastic plugs. Then I plan on doing the carpet next. I'll keep updating as I go. Thanks for following, it makes it fun to post the progress.
Rod
 
Rod. Slick. Nice to see your progress while mine sits patiently waiting. This winter's project for sure. I have nearly everything bought for the 65 Dart GT Charger clone project. My next "New Experience" will be building the 65 904 cable shift transmission. I have the core from the Valiant parts car, and I watched a few YouTube videos. Maybe I can get some help from our members with advice. Hey guys, are there any pitfalls I need to know about on this 904 cable shift transmission? Nice work all the way around Rod. It is/was great to follow along with your build. Best to you. Old Dart 66
 
Moved a little more forward tonight as I ruffed in the carpet. It was a little tricky as I had to cut for the fit around the roll bar. I did decide to put down some additional insulation on the floor boards because of how loose and big the carpet seems to be. Heres some pics of the work so far.
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I found out that the insulation that came glued onto the bottom of the carpet set is a ***** to cut. I am disappointed with how oversized the carpet is. The amount of excess across the hump is huge and it leaves the carpet looking a little bulky. I bought it from one of our Dodge vendors so I expected a better fit!
I guess my next step will be to prep and paint all the interior trim along with the console so I can get that stuff installed. I want to get the console in so I can work any extra carpet up under it to hide the excess. Should get more time on the car tomorrow. I'll post any work i get done.
Thanks Rod
 
My neighbor needed some help last weekend and again on Monday night so I didnt get as much time on the car as I was hoping for. He's a great guy so I didnt mind helping him but now its back to the car. I went back to work on the carpet and I fit and taped the rear section into place. When I say tape I had my friend that installs carpet give me some special tape they use to fasten the carpet down. Worked very well. Then I cut the holes for the seats. I still have to permanently fasten the front section of the carpet in place but I need to finish the console and install it before I can do this.
Tonight I took some time and scrubbed and washed the door panels. I posted in the interior section trying to hear from someone about painting these panels. When I washed them I dont think they came clean enough. And believe me I scrubbed for quite some time. So i plan on painting them with a vinyl paint along with the door handle pads, the console, pillar post covers and defroster vents. I'll keep you updated on the progress.
Rod
 
rod7515 said:
My neighbor needed some help last weekend and again on Monday night so I didnt get as much time on the car as I was hoping for. He's a great guy so I didnt mind helping him but now its back to the car. I went back to work on the carpet and I fit and taped the rear section into place. When I say tape I had my friend that installs carpet give me some special tape they use to fasten the carpet down. Worked very well. Then I cut the holes for the seats. I still have to permanently fasten the front section of the carpet in place but I need to finish the console and install it before I can do this.
Tonight I took some time and scrubbed and washed the door panels. I posted in the interior section trying to hear from someone about painting these panels. When I washed them I dont think they came clean enough. And believe me I scrubbed for quite some time. So i plan on painting them with a vinyl paint along with the door handle pads, the console, pillar post covers and defroster vents. I'll keep you updated on the progress.
Rod
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Yes, Rod. SEM makes an excellent vinyl prep.....vinyl paint, as well. Great looking 66. Old Dart 66
 
rod7515 said:
Well with temps hitting the mid 40's today enough snow melted that I was able to get the dart back out into the shed. Now it doesnt matter if snow hits us, I've got a car and room to work!
My only progress tonight was to rebuild the door hinges and I bolted the passenger door on. I can see that aligning will be a difficult job. Not sure where to start or how to go about it so there will be lots of trial and error i'm sure. Im hoping to get the doors aligned and fenders hung in the next week or so. Then get the hood on so I can see where to cut for the hood scoop on the spare hood for when I go to the 2x4 setup. Heres the pic of the door and hinges.
Rod
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Nice mate
 
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