bentdart47
FABOlous
Good deal! I don't know exactly how thick, maybe 22 gauge? It's not thick.
1969 Dart Pro touring daily driver **Crashed**
- Thread starter purplehazenils
- Start date
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bentdart47
FABOlous
He was asking about the thickness of the steel of the cowl itself not the recommend J bar plate thickness. I used 1/8" thick myself.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
I have been working alot and havent got as much as Id like done but there is some progress still.
I will be painting the engine bay so I went ahead and removed the brake and electrical system. Since a good deal of wires have been routed straight through the firewall and I dont want to cut and re-solder them I have most wires bunched up in the hanging plastic bag. Im planning on keeping this there and just painting around it. The engine bay has been sanded once but needs another few hours of prep and the J-bars have to go in before I can actually paint it.
In pictures 2-3 you can see the valve from the power steering pump. I added a 1.5mm/0.059in thick washer (almost scratch made because I couldnt find anything close in size) as recommended in the "pump it down article". The idea here is to space the valve spring to reduce the strength of the the power steering to give a better road feel.
Next up I made some inner fender braces in 1.5mm or 0.059in sheet. I got the idea from US car tool as they sell braces like these however mine are just straight sheet which could arguably be better because the enclose a larger area. Either way Im happy to have something there as they tie the area in to the top of the shock tower which the J-bars also attach to. I grinded the welds down so they are relatively flush, this is because its in the wheel well so dirt and water wont hang around as much.
I think the rims turned out well with the chrome in black. I have yet to see how it looks on the car but I might stick to this look using plasti dip so I can more easily sell the rims when an upgrade is in order way down the line.
I will be painting the engine bay so I went ahead and removed the brake and electrical system. Since a good deal of wires have been routed straight through the firewall and I dont want to cut and re-solder them I have most wires bunched up in the hanging plastic bag. Im planning on keeping this there and just painting around it. The engine bay has been sanded once but needs another few hours of prep and the J-bars have to go in before I can actually paint it.
In pictures 2-3 you can see the valve from the power steering pump. I added a 1.5mm/0.059in thick washer (almost scratch made because I couldnt find anything close in size) as recommended in the "pump it down article". The idea here is to space the valve spring to reduce the strength of the the power steering to give a better road feel.
Next up I made some inner fender braces in 1.5mm or 0.059in sheet. I got the idea from US car tool as they sell braces like these however mine are just straight sheet which could arguably be better because the enclose a larger area. Either way Im happy to have something there as they tie the area in to the top of the shock tower which the J-bars also attach to. I grinded the welds down so they are relatively flush, this is because its in the wheel well so dirt and water wont hang around as much.
I think the rims turned out well with the chrome in black. I have yet to see how it looks on the car but I might stick to this look using plasti dip so I can more easily sell the rims when an upgrade is in order way down the line.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
When welding to the cowl did you weld around the plates aswell or just do spot welds where you drilled holes?
Any suggestions anybody else?
bentdart47
FABOlous
For my application since I am working on a painted car I just plug welded the holes as to not cook my paint. If you don't care about the paint as this time I would weld all the way around. I will do the same when the time comes to paint my car.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Some previous owner had either swapped the axles or the whole rear end on the car to get the 5 on 4.5in bolt pattern out back. The fronts however were still the small bolt pattern 5 on 4in kelsey hayes discs. Because 700 usd willwoods are not in my budget I decided to do this mod: Using mustang rotors for 4.5" bc
It involves reducing the outer diameter, lowering the bearing seat and removing the seal area on some 1965 mustang discs. Kelsey hayes made brake kits for fords too just with some slightly different specifications.
I managed to find a guy in my town who took care of them and made centric adapter spacers for the wheels from some fiber-derlin like material. He opted to CNC the bearing race as he was not confident that turning this part would be precise enough. Somehow he only wanted equivalent to 110 dollars for this so I gave him 130 because he was being almost too kind!
The discs really have shrunk for me, Im used to only seeing them on 14in wheels.
It involves reducing the outer diameter, lowering the bearing seat and removing the seal area on some 1965 mustang discs. Kelsey hayes made brake kits for fords too just with some slightly different specifications.
I managed to find a guy in my town who took care of them and made centric adapter spacers for the wheels from some fiber-derlin like material. He opted to CNC the bearing race as he was not confident that turning this part would be precise enough. Somehow he only wanted equivalent to 110 dollars for this so I gave him 130 because he was being almost too kind!
The discs really have shrunk for me, Im used to only seeing them on 14in wheels.
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purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Could not edit out the double posted photos in the last post for some reason.
Have finally welded the J-bars in, had some help from a friend to push and bend the plate flat against the firewall because it warped slightly when plug welding the larger area plate to the original one.
Also got the spring clamps from 2mm plate made, thanks BigBlockMopar for the idea!
Have finally welded the J-bars in, had some help from a friend to push and bend the plate flat against the firewall because it warped slightly when plug welding the larger area plate to the original one.
Also got the spring clamps from 2mm plate made, thanks BigBlockMopar for the idea!
BigBlockMopar
BigBlockMember
Nice and heavy duty work.
I'm using C-body disc rotors and calipers on my Dart.
11.75" diameter, 1.25" thickness.
Not really a weight improvement but they do the job without issues.
I've got a pair of Wilwood 4-piston calipers at hand, but their combined piston diameter is smaller than the current 2.75 single piston in the C-body calipers. So I would loose piston surface by going that route.
I'm using C-body disc rotors and calipers on my Dart.
11.75" diameter, 1.25" thickness.
Not really a weight improvement but they do the job without issues.
I've got a pair of Wilwood 4-piston calipers at hand, but their combined piston diameter is smaller than the current 2.75 single piston in the C-body calipers. So I would loose piston surface by going that route.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
After having spent so much time and energy on just stiffening the front up I wished that I had found a tube bender somewhere and made the J-bars from a single piece of thicker steel. I remember reading somewhere that filling cavities or tubes with foam could increase the strength by alot with little weight added. This in turn got me thinking about composites so I decided to make them a steel epoxy foam composite.
I thinned out some epoxy to make it more viscous, poured some into the cavity, sealed it, rotated it all around and poured out the excess three times. Then I filled them with high density construction foam and called them done.
I thinned out some epoxy to make it more viscous, poured some into the cavity, sealed it, rotated it all around and poured out the excess three times. Then I filled them with high density construction foam and called them done.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Ready for paint finally. Its been alot of work getting the surfaces prepped and even just masking the car and garage but looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Engine bay painted with temadur 20 and some assembly done. Im waiting until the engine is in to properly route the wires, will be getting rid of the old plastic wire tubes and replacing them with summits braided wire wraps, should end up with a nice clean look.
Only problem is that the area in front of the radiator behind the grill sticks out as unpainted but this will be done some other time, want to get the car running again soon.
Only problem is that the area in front of the radiator behind the grill sticks out as unpainted but this will be done some other time, want to get the car running again soon.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Pressed the moog offset bushing into the control arms with the vice myself but had to go to a machine shop to get the PST polygraphite lower control arm bushings and greasable pivot shafts installed into the lower control arms. As you can see the pst pivot shaft threads got a bit messed up by the bolts provided, they had some locking dimples in them so Im going to re-use the original bolts.
I used some pretty pricey Terostat 9120 industrial chassis seal to cover the inner fender brace welds. Figured it was a good idea not to cheap out in such an exposed place. Next I painted it with the same paint I used before, temadur 20.
I used some pretty pricey Terostat 9120 industrial chassis seal to cover the inner fender brace welds. Figured it was a good idea not to cheap out in such an exposed place. Next I painted it with the same paint I used before, temadur 20.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Next up I changed the freeze plug that went just before I started working on the car, naturally it was one of the most unaccessible ones between the gearbox and engine.
Also noticed that some joint in the steering had been progressively working its way into an header tube by rubbing every now and again so I welded that up. Will have to dent the tube some more or hope that shifting the engine over a bit will remedy this.
Also noticed that some joint in the steering had been progressively working its way into an header tube by rubbing every now and again so I welded that up. Will have to dent the tube some more or hope that shifting the engine over a bit will remedy this.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
While putting the engine back in the car I helped my cousin with her 89 Dodge ram van. We changed pretty much all fluids since shes planning on driving with it to France in the next couple of weeks. Its is pretty daring but the car has never had a previous trouble so hopefully there wont be any problems!
As a side project/toy I also bought a gokart with a two stroke 100cc yamaha engine, had to have something to drive while getting the car back together.
As a side project/toy I also bought a gokart with a two stroke 100cc yamaha engine, had to have something to drive while getting the car back together.
BigBlockMopar
BigBlockMember
Never thought I was going to say this is in this topic, but your cousin has some "seriously big looking headlights"... lol ;o)
Has she been to France already?
Has she been to France already?
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
So after a long time its finally time to update this thread and maintain it up to date again. The car was never finished and driven during last summer as some other things got in the way but there has been progress!
As you can see below the engine is back in but has not been test started, the wiring has been cleaned up and put in wire braids and the suspension has been re-assembled but is not torqued or had the geometry set up. There were no problems putting it all back together and the machined mustang disc brakes (for 5*4.5in bolt wheels) were a perfect fit.
As you can see below the engine is back in but has not been test started, the wiring has been cleaned up and put in wire braids and the suspension has been re-assembled but is not torqued or had the geometry set up. There were no problems putting it all back together and the machined mustang disc brakes (for 5*4.5in bolt wheels) were a perfect fit.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Yeah I went down and made the trip back up with her, went through Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark on the way, the van held up and had no problems at all!
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
The new exhaust is shown below, the old one did not have a crossover section and was a little damaged from a drifting incident a few summers ago, along with this I wanted bigger mufflers so it would be possible talk (not shout) to other passengers at highway speeds and the neighbors wouldn't hate me.
The exhaust is 2.5 in and has flowmaster 50 series delta flow mufflers. The old absorptive mufflers are still in place but the plan is to remove them depending on how quiet it becomes and after i do some research to make sure it is a good idea, you never know if an expansion like that at the end might be beneficial or add no resistance to flow at all.
As you can see the X/H-pipe position is not ideal and it might have been better to put the cutouts right after to collectors, however its easy to be captain hindsight and in any case I will probably swap the engine within 5-7 years to its "sort" of temporary. I hung the exhaust with these rubber things which hold it pretty firm so the flex pipes will be working to take all engine moment.
When making the car so much quieter (one of the milder flowmaster mufflers) I decided to bite the bullet and buy electric cutouts. These are from QTP and can be opened just partially or any amount so the idea is that you can adjust the volume of the car. The black switch to the right of the wiper switch is where you do this.
The exhaust is 2.5 in and has flowmaster 50 series delta flow mufflers. The old absorptive mufflers are still in place but the plan is to remove them depending on how quiet it becomes and after i do some research to make sure it is a good idea, you never know if an expansion like that at the end might be beneficial or add no resistance to flow at all.
As you can see the X/H-pipe position is not ideal and it might have been better to put the cutouts right after to collectors, however its easy to be captain hindsight and in any case I will probably swap the engine within 5-7 years to its "sort" of temporary. I hung the exhaust with these rubber things which hold it pretty firm so the flex pipes will be working to take all engine moment.
When making the car so much quieter (one of the milder flowmaster mufflers) I decided to bite the bullet and buy electric cutouts. These are from QTP and can be opened just partially or any amount so the idea is that you can adjust the volume of the car. The black switch to the right of the wiper switch is where you do this.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
So my girlfriends moms car failed the car inspection the other day due to rust holes which meant I got to do some work on a different car. Its a rear wheel drive Volvo 940 with a turbo and a rear end so a sort of cool car really.
I can safely say I had never welded in rust that bad and hope to never have to again, it just takes so much more time since the fabrication job is pretty much doubled when you have to build fresh metal to where your actually working!
I can safely say I had never welded in rust that bad and hope to never have to again, it just takes so much more time since the fabrication job is pretty much doubled when you have to build fresh metal to where your actually working!
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
In order to fix the Volvo in the previous post I had to get the car out of the garage. This meant filling the car with oils and coolant and starting it for the first time since disassembly last year.
It worked out fine apart from another bad freeze plug which made its presence known after starting. This I hope to fix in the next few days.
However the best part with getting the car out was to finally properly see how the new wheels and tires on the front look which turned out way above my expectations. I little “chromey” when you look at the car from the front and at an angle but other than that I think its spot on
It worked out fine apart from another bad freeze plug which made its presence known after starting. This I hope to fix in the next few days.
However the best part with getting the car out was to finally properly see how the new wheels and tires on the front look which turned out way above my expectations. I little “chromey” when you look at the car from the front and at an angle but other than that I think its spot on
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purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Today was a good day as my seats arrived. The sparco R100 is one of the cheapest sparco seats but more comfortable (for me) than some other higher priced alternatives. They will be replacing the seats that came with the car which were are from a Volvo amazon and were very mushy and unsupportive.
Alot of people will probobly not like the modern look (my dad included) but they will hold you in corners so what can you do. I thought about getting some second hand seats from a porsche 911 which would honestly suit the look better but they were too expensive and heavy. The Porsche seats weighed something like 40 kg (88 pounds) each! Whereas these only weigh 13 kg (29 pounds) per seat.
The r100 seat handles are known to break so I filled them with some epoxy to hopefully remedy this. The sliders from the old Volvo seats will be reused since they work perfectly.
Alot of people will probobly not like the modern look (my dad included) but they will hold you in corners so what can you do. I thought about getting some second hand seats from a porsche 911 which would honestly suit the look better but they were too expensive and heavy. The Porsche seats weighed something like 40 kg (88 pounds) each! Whereas these only weigh 13 kg (29 pounds) per seat.
The r100 seat handles are known to break so I filled them with some epoxy to hopefully remedy this. The sliders from the old Volvo seats will be reused since they work perfectly.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
I received the wheel bolts (was missing 10 for the front after the bolt pattern conversion) and the v-belt to replace the one which I recently noticed was a total disaster, it was super old and dry rotted as you can see.
The freeze plug which I had suspected to be bad (and turned out to be) was in a very easily accessible place which is the reason I left it when I had the engine out. It was at a low part in the engine and I was surprised to see just how much water stays when you empty coolant from the radiator, always thought when you empty it it is pretty much emptied. There was however alot of rusty goop gunk right behind the freeze plug which I cleaned out.
..Is this normal?
The freeze plug which I had suspected to be bad (and turned out to be) was in a very easily accessible place which is the reason I left it when I had the engine out. It was at a low part in the engine and I was surprised to see just how much water stays when you empty coolant from the radiator, always thought when you empty it it is pretty much emptied. There was however alot of rusty goop gunk right behind the freeze plug which I cleaned out.
..Is this normal?
McGurik
Active Member
Any updates? I am curious if you got all 4 wheels on.
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