1966 Dodge Dart

-
Well I got some time this week that I spent working on the car. I painted the console, heater vents for dash, arm rests and door panels. I dont know if any of you have followed the thread I started earlier this week in the Interior section about my door panels but these panels got very expensive because of the vinyl paint and cleaner. I was shocked to find that red Vinyl Dupont Paint was $107 for a pint. Then the recommended cleaner was $102 a gallon and they didnt have a smaller container. So i actually ended up using 2 pints total of the paint. I did the panels in a low gloss for the textured areas of panels and a medium gloss for the Solid smooth areas. Taping was fairly easy as I used the 1/4" vinyl tape that I had left over from striping the car. Im happy with the end results. Problem is I still have the front windshield pillar covers and the trim that goes on under the inside of the windshield to paint and Im out of the Dupont. Im going to use a plastic rattle can for those parts as there is a color fairly close. Since they dont get touched and moved Im not worried about flaking or cracking later. Here are some pics of the process and finished parts. The first pic is the panels wash and scrubbed but still has the dark stains from 50+ years of use.
DSCN0738.JPG

below is the pic of the panels taped, wiped and ready for paint
DSCN0877.JPG

Next is the textured areas painted with the low gloss
20181016_193632.jpg

then the higher gloss area was painted and here is the final results of the completed panels
20181017_071239.jpg

also I painted the console
20181017_071408.jpg
20181017_071418.jpg

And lastly the arm rests and dash vents.
20181017_071451.jpg
20181017_071635.jpg

So now I can move forward to getting the interior in place. Will be working on that in the next week.
Rod
 
Here's something that I hope will help other members when restoring your cars. I was watching some videos the other day and I saw a guy talking about replacing the chrome trim on door panels. So I went down to the local Ace Hardware and I bought a roll of the chrome tape. I cut a piece about 1/4" longer on both ends of the trim that the chrome had peeled and very carefully I put the tape on the trim area. Once I had it on I used my finger nail to push and cut the excess off. Here are pics of the one panel i did tonight.
20181023_230152.jpg
20181023_230236.jpg
You have to be careful when peeling the back off as it will curl up and stick together and your going to the next piece! Ask me how I know!
Rod
 
I dropped in for an inspection today.. LOL
Looks even better than the pics... Keep up the awesome job! This thing will be on the road soon. :thumbsup:
 
Not much happening lately that I can report on. I found out I put the rear window in to soon and its going to have to come out. The reason for this is because i only put the clips on not thinking about the trim around the rear window that goes on before the clips. Whatever you do, dont make this mistake!! So I decided to start some polishing of the trim since I have to polish the rear window trim and Im finding out this is a time consuming part. Here are the pics of the headlight bezels I did.
The first pic is one completed and one that needs done. The second one is with both completed and one of my spare bezels that needs done.
20181117_203331.jpg
20181125_210645.jpg

Then I moved onto some trim. The 2 trim strips that go down the rear quarters had some damage that needed fixed and i started on them but will finish them later this week. Heres the one piece that i repaired tonight and the tools that I made to repair it.
20181204_222824.jpg

20181204_222851.jpg
20181204_222910.jpg
20181204_224210.jpg
20181204_225137.jpg
20181204_225143.jpg

So thats where I am at right now. Ill post pics later this week of this trim finished and polished. Im hoping to get the car back into the garage in a few days and get the interior and trim put on.
I did order 2 bumpers that are to be ready in Mid January and I will need to get to Allentown Pa for a car show where they will be delivered. So if anyone else is going to be there let me know so we can say hello! Oh, almost forgot I actually found 2 decent reverse lights in really good shape and they were only 20 miles from me! Im still going to need to do the front grill and I think thats going to be the most time consuming part and also the most difficult!
One last thing to fellow Dart owners, I still looking for the Dodge emblem that goes on the rear trunk with the Dodge emblem attached. Should you find one that in good shape please let me know. I know theres one on Ebay but Im not paying $175 for it!
Thanks Rod
 
Fantastic work!
You should put some clear paint on those aluminum trim pieces or they will oxidize again.
 
I've thought about doing the clear on the grill and bezels. Heres what's keeping me from that, first many have said they leave them as is and just polish them with a hand cleaning once a year, I was going to have them anodized again but dont want to take them until grill and trunk parts are ready and lastly doing the clear coat, it would be a ***** to repair and strip if they got any chips while driving. At this point I'm leaning to the once a year polish and using a detail spray during the year. Just my thoughts at this time.
Rod
 
rod7515 said:
Not much happening lately that I can report on. I found out I put the rear window in to soon and its going to have to come out. The reason for this is because i only put the clips on not thinking about the trim around the rear window that goes on before the clips. Whatever you do, dont make this mistake!! So I decided to start some polishing of the trim since I have to polish the rear window trim and Im finding out this is a time consuming part. Here are the pics of the headlight bezels I did.
The first pic is one completed and one that needs done. The second one is with both completed and one of my spare bezels that needs done.
View attachment 1715257768 View attachment 1715257774
Then I moved onto some trim. The 2 trim strips that go down the rear quarters had some damage that needed fixed and i started on them but will finish them later this week. Heres the one piece that i repaired tonight and the tools that I made to repair it.
View attachment 1715257775
View attachment 1715257776 View attachment 1715257777 View attachment 1715257778 View attachment 1715257779 View attachment 1715257780
So thats where I am at right now. Ill post pics later this week of this trim finished and polished. Im hoping to get the car back into the garage in a few days and get the interior and trim put on.
I did order 2 bumpers that are to be ready in Mid January and I will need to get to Allentown Pa for a car show where they will be delivered. So if anyone else is going to be there let me know so we can say hello! Oh, almost forgot I actually found 2 decent reverse lights in really good shape and they were only 20 miles from me! Im still going to need to do the front grill and I think thats going to be the most time consuming part and also the most difficult!
One last thing to fellow Dart owners, I still looking for the Dodge emblem that goes on the rear trunk with the Dodge emblem attached. Should you find one that in good shape please let me know. I know theres one on Ebay but Im not paying $175 for it!
Thanks Rod
Click to expand...
Damn, nice work. I have an extra pair that I need to practice getting out dents. I don't seem to be too handy with that kind of stuff.
 
Toolman, I have 6 sets of bezels and 3 spare grills that I hope once this car is done I can rework and buff out as well. It takes a lot of time but they surprised me how they turned out. And I didn't get them as good as I would have liked! Will redo them once I have the car together. Thanks for the compliment!
Rod
 
Last edited:
Dogbreath, gloss what is that and how does it go on? Where do you buy it and do you have any sample pics? Thanks Rod
 
Well its time for the final post of 2018. First let me say I am disappointed to not have had the car completed and on the road in 2018. But i did make some good progress this past year. I still plan on having the Dart completed before the end of March 2019!!
Now some progress ive completed since last post. Ive finished polishing all the trim that goes around the rear window and down the top of the rear quarters. here are some pics of them.
DSCN0938.JPG
DSCN0939.JPG
DSCN0940.JPG
DSCN0941.JPG
Im very happy with them and Im hoping in the next week or so to get the rear window removed and put the trim on then go back in with the window. Also plan on getting all 4 of the rear tail lights in and i am picking up my rechromed bumpers on the 19th of January at the car show in Allentown. They will get put on the car right away and that will make a huge difference in the looks of the car. I also completed the repainting of the console components so I hope to get that put together and in place shortly as well. I have started to rework, straighten and polish the front grill. I think that will be a 25-30 hour job. Here are some pics of them as well.
DSCN0942.JPG
DSCN0943.JPG
DSCN0943.JPG
DSCN0944.JPG

DSCN0945.JPG
DSCN0946.JPG
DSCN0947.JPG

So far ive only gotten the bottom ledge done with 400 grit. I need to do the whole grill with that then go to 800, then 1000, then 1500 then polish. So theres where I finish 2018 and with 2019 starting tomorrow i need to get my butt in gear and get this thing done.
Thanks for all the support this past year and for following this thread.
Rod
 
First post in this thread of 2019 which is also going to be the year this car finally gets on the road!

Been doing the little things that go unnoticed but I think ad so much to the car like repairing and sanding then polishing and polishing these old trim parts. Yesterday I decided it was time to put some of them on the car to show some kind of progress. The first piece to go on was the 2 small emblems on the front fenders that show its a V8.
DSCN0952.JPG

Next was onto the rear quarters and I put the DART letters on. Now yes this was a 270 model and they didnt have these letters but I had bought a parts car that was a GT and it had nice letters on it so I made a templete of the holes for both sides and then as I was working on the rear quarters I transferred the pattern to mine. I like the way it turned out!
DSCN0953.JPG
DSCN0958.JPG

So now I need to put on the trim around the rear window, but the window needs to come out before I can make that happen and Im working by myself so I skip that and go back to work on the drivers door and put on the mirror which if you go back to the first pic you will see its on. By now its lunch and I go inside. While relaxing my phone rings and I get a surprise visit from member zkx14 better known to me as Keith who says hes standing at my garage and wondering if i'm around. So I go back out and Keith directs me and helps get the back window out! What a great guy to stop over to force me to do more work and keep me on track. Sometimes you need someone to push you, Thanks Keith. So heres the pic of the window removed with the trim back on.
DSCN0955.JPG

Of course while hes here he takes time to make fun of my sign that i wire tied to the inside of my garage door.
DSCN0959.JPG

Now we were going to put the window back in but I didnt have the needed rope and I also needed to fit the trim on the rear quarters before I could fasten the window moldings down. Well tonight I ran into issues with the trim clips on that quarter trim and I spent time reworking them so hopefully tomorrow i can put that trim on both quarters, adjust and tighten down the window trim. However while i was fitting it trying to get it aligned I had to take pics of it in place. I also installed the drivers door lock and handle as you can see in the pics below.
DSCN0957.JPG

Well thats the first week of progress for 2019. Hopefully much more to come each week. Let me know what you think and thanks for following.
Rod

DSCN0956.JPG


DSCN0960.JPG


DSCN0954.JPG
 
Rod... I admire you for the fantastic work you are doing. I am also building a 66 Dart 2 door Sedan Post and I am following what you are doing. I am not as handy as you are, but have been working on mine for almost 2 years doing all the body work, suspension, interior, etc. I have bought some parts from you and have learned a lot following your build and I do appreciated. Can not wait to see the final Results..
Pedro..
 
PSegarra, Thank you I appreciate that.

Im Working on the rear quarter top stainless trims.
I started a thread last night in the Body and trim about the clips that hold the rear quarter trims in place. These clips have a slot for the bolts to slide left and right which allows you to adjust the trims as you tighten it in place. I will update that tonight but it was an easy refurbish with new rubber washers from Lowes. If any members are working with these trims you might want to check that thread out.
Well now that the trims are finally in place I am ready to reinstall the window trim back down and get the rear window back in place. I am also going to get the windows in the door which Ive been putting off for a month or so but now it has to get done. I hope to have all this done by the weekend. Then it will be on to the interior completion. I'll keep you updated.
Rod
 
Great work and that car is looking fantastic! I like the dart emblems you put on from the GT its your car and its always nice to have some different touches that YOU do to make it stand out from the crowd. i now its in the thread somewhere but what white did you use? It looks brighter than WW-1 very nice. Our interiors are the same color as well. thanks!
 
66Dartdriver, Thank you for the kind words. Yes that is a brighter white and I will have to write the paint in very small letters so the Mopar Purists dont see this! lol Its the white from a 99 Trans AM Firebird. I can get you the official paint code later tonight if you need it. The blue is also from the same Firebird as well. I wanted the car to be the same color as my other car and I always thought that white stood out very bright as you said.
P6060837.JPG

Rod
 
Everything is looking great! I have decided that I don't have what it takes do restore a car like you are doing. I don't have the shop space or more importantly, the patience. You are doing a wonderful job with it all and I have enjoyed the ride so far. Will you have it at Carlisle? I hope to see it and you there.
 
Toolmanmike,
I know by your posts and the amount of time you have responded to those of us with 66 Darts that you have what it takes to restore your car if thats what you choose to do. You are always one of the first to jump in with help or answers. The only reason mine has taken this long is because of my addiction to spending to much time on the golf course anytime the weather permits!! As for space I am operating out of a 20 x 24 shed that I built. Yes space has become an issue from time to time but believe me you will find a way to work around it.
Looking forward to following your restoration thread!!
I will try to do Carlisle for a day or so this year.
I thank you for the kind words.
Rod
 
Rod. Outstanding. What else need be said, but if one has not done a complete, like you, with the effort you put in, like you did, on a beautiful car, like yours, we can still say a job well done in the process. OUTSTANDINGLY GREAT. Can't wait to see the complete. 2019 for sure. My 66 grille? I did not take the time as you are doing. I saw an NOS when I was doing mine for $450.00....wish now I would have grabbed it up. Thanks for sharing. sgrip65
 
rod7515 said:
Not much happening lately that I can report on. I found out I put the rear window in to soon and its going to have to come out. The reason for this is because i only put the clips on not thinking about the trim around the rear window that goes on before the clips. Whatever you do, dont make this mistake!! So I decided to start some polishing of the trim since I have to polish the rear window trim and Im finding out this is a time consuming part. Here are the pics of the headlight bezels I did.
The first pic is one completed and one that needs done. The second one is with both completed and one of my spare bezels that needs done.
View attachment 1715257768 View attachment 1715257774
Then I moved onto some trim. The 2 trim strips that go down the rear quarters had some damage that needed fixed and i started on them but will finish them later this week. Heres the one piece that i repaired tonight and the tools that I made to repair it.
View attachment 1715257775
View attachment 1715257776 View attachment 1715257777 View attachment 1715257778 View attachment 1715257779 View attachment 1715257780
So thats where I am at right now. Ill post pics later this week of this trim finished and polished. Im hoping to get the car back into the garage in a few days and get the interior and trim put on.
I did order 2 bumpers that are to be ready in Mid January and I will need to get to Allentown Pa for a car show where they will be delivered. So if anyone else is going to be there let me know so we can say hello! Oh, almost forgot I actually found 2 decent reverse lights in really good shape and they were only 20 miles from me! Im still going to need to do the front grill and I think thats going to be the most time consuming part and also the most difficult!
One last thing to fellow Dart owners, I still looking for the Dodge emblem that goes on the rear trunk with the Dodge emblem attached. Should you find one that in good shape please let me know. I know theres one on Ebay but Im not paying $175 for it!
Thanks Rod
Click to expand...

Rod. Question? Where did you find your trim dollies and anvil? I will be needing a set to complete my 65. Thanks. sgrip65
 
The small anvil and theres a special small hammer came from Eastwood. They were reasonably inexpensive. The pieces I used to get the dents out I made from small round stock I bought and cut to fit then welded together. i would grind the contour I thought I needed on my belt sander. SOme worked and some didnt. It wasnt all success! lol
If this car ever gets done I will have enough work for next winter as I have 5 sets of headlight bezels and 2 spare grills plus plenty of spare trim for a 66.
Rod
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top