Can't beat the price, and the work looks really top notch! Looking forward to seeing the reassembly and first test drive.
1969 Dart Pro touring daily driver **Crashed**
- Thread starter purplehazenils
- Start date
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purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
For a while after the crash I was not sure if I was going to fix the car and I didn't know much about wheel repair, I assumed the two damaged wheels were scrap so I sent one to Ireland to serve as my garden hose holder for the past two years.
After learning that repairing wheels is normal I sent the other wheel from Sweden to bring both to a local Irish shop (luckily things can be sent for free forth and back with work).
I should have taken better photos but both wheels were dented and one had horrible gouges. The repair shop did a great job welding and straightening though, I was yet again very pleasantly surprised with the bill which came to 200EUR! Replacing the two wheels (US Rambler mags) after all the shipping, VAT and customs in Europe would have cost 900EUR. They just need to be wet sanded and polished but its something to worry about down the line.
I also found a old photo pre crash showing the car and wheels before all the damage.
After learning that repairing wheels is normal I sent the other wheel from Sweden to bring both to a local Irish shop (luckily things can be sent for free forth and back with work).
I should have taken better photos but both wheels were dented and one had horrible gouges. The repair shop did a great job welding and straightening though, I was yet again very pleasantly surprised with the bill which came to 200EUR! Replacing the two wheels (US Rambler mags) after all the shipping, VAT and customs in Europe would have cost 900EUR. They just need to be wet sanded and polished but its something to worry about down the line.
I also found a old photo pre crash showing the car and wheels before all the damage.
mygasser
Well-Known Member
now you need to splash out on a new hose reel, lol.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Exactly, haha it will be hard to find something as cool.
Moparone
Well-Known Member
Wow. Just stumbled across this thread today and read it from the beginning to end. Great job not giving up on this and keeping this build going. Looks like you should be able to finally start enjoying the car soon. Looking forward to seeing the car completed.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
So a little catch up on the last couple of months, I got a new hose reel that came from a freinds friend
who hit a rock on his BMW E46 M3 and broke it. I also took a few days off work and flew from Ireland to Sweden to work on the car.
The plan of the trip was to make the car completely ready for engine where the biggest job was going through the front suspension again and then overcome
all the other things that inevitably go wrong and cannot be predicted.
The first step was to tow it up a small hill from storage to my dads garage which was available to work in. My sister who featured on page one
of this thread and now is pregnant gave me a hand to steer the car as it was being moved.
who hit a rock on his BMW E46 M3 and broke it. I also took a few days off work and flew from Ireland to Sweden to work on the car.
The plan of the trip was to make the car completely ready for engine where the biggest job was going through the front suspension again and then overcome
all the other things that inevitably go wrong and cannot be predicted.
The first step was to tow it up a small hill from storage to my dads garage which was available to work in. My sister who featured on page one
of this thread and now is pregnant gave me a hand to steer the car as it was being moved.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
The next step was to drop the fron suspension and paint it, this is the second time doing all of this so Im hoping this time will be the last!
The K-member and lower control arms were painted with a very durable paint called Temadur 20.
A thread for the steering box was damaged, something I skipped fixing when throwing the car together last time. I grinded down a sacrificial bolt and used it as a threading tool.
I also noticed that a brake line on a caliper was damaged in the crash which I had somehow not realized due to the rush when getting the car rolling last time, part of the uphill battle of not having normal access to the car.
The K-member and lower control arms were painted with a very durable paint called Temadur 20.
A thread for the steering box was damaged, something I skipped fixing when throwing the car together last time. I grinded down a sacrificial bolt and used it as a threading tool.
I also noticed that a brake line on a caliper was damaged in the crash which I had somehow not realized due to the rush when getting the car rolling last time, part of the uphill battle of not having normal access to the car.
mygasser
Well-Known Member
i've made thread chasers a few times with bolts. i cut slots lengthways on them with a 1mm cutting disc so any swarf has somewhere to go.
neil.
neil.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
I found that original steering box weighed 15kg and the borgerson box 10kg, this will mean a whole 5kg or 11pounds weight saving up front which is great. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how the car will feel with the 14:1 steering ratio, it should be a game changer.
The suspension parts were bought from Peter Bergman who I recommend buying from. His idler arm comes with a bearing which is very cool but I'm curious about how it will hold up over time to water and dirt.
The suspension parts were bought from Peter Bergman who I recommend buying from. His idler arm comes with a bearing which is very cool but I'm curious about how it will hold up over time to water and dirt.
340sFastback
Well-Known Member
I put a Borgeson steering box bought from Bergman.. i had to add a PS fluid cooler cause I would lose assist when headers heat soaked steering box. Also had to pull column out and re-orient steering wheel cause splines from steering shaft to box aren't keyed. Now that its all sorted out it is super nice. It does deliver on that modern car steering feel. And my PS is completely silent zero noise at all.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
I remember reading about your issues but didn't know that this was the cause. Any idea why this was not an problem with the original box, or did you go from manual to PS? I luckily got a cooler from Bergman but will certainly look out for similar symptoms.
340sFastback
Well-Known Member
I had manual steering before. Also forgot to mention first PS Pump stopped working and Bergman gave me another new one. Not sure if heat killed the first pump or not? So had a few challenges struggles but well worth the effort .
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
For the steering coupler I was going to get a universal joint to replace the old one with but Bergman said that the original design was far better, once I had it in hand I could see why, its precise and allows some chassis flex without the any risk of the steering binding. The steering column lined up well but not totally perfect, it seems like a normal thing though. I used the rubber boot solution instead of the original cover just so that it can all come apart again easily if need be.
The next surprise came when installing the torsion bars, they were now about 5mm or 0.2in too long. I didn't notice when making the car a roller last time as I never installed the clips. I made sure the lower control arms were the whole way forward and then tried to see if the K-member could be moved forward but found they were still too long. Since literarily every part had been changed (apart from the car and torsion bars) I figured it was a tolerance thing and removed some material from the front of the bars until the clips would fit snuggly.
The new lower control arm pivots and bushings seem more chunky than the old ones which should push the lower control arm and therefore torsion bar back, but it seems like this is not a common problem?
The next surprise came when installing the torsion bars, they were now about 5mm or 0.2in too long. I didn't notice when making the car a roller last time as I never installed the clips. I made sure the lower control arms were the whole way forward and then tried to see if the K-member could be moved forward but found they were still too long. Since literarily every part had been changed (apart from the car and torsion bars) I figured it was a tolerance thing and removed some material from the front of the bars until the clips would fit snuggly.
The new lower control arm pivots and bushings seem more chunky than the old ones which should push the lower control arm and therefore torsion bar back, but it seems like this is not a common problem?
abdywgn
dismantler
With the torsion bars fitting snug against the clip, if there is any flex, could it pop the clips out?
It's been a long time since I've swapped bars and don't remember the amount of spacing there was.
Keep up the great work!
It's been a long time since I've swapped bars and don't remember the amount of spacing there was.
Keep up the great work!
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
That's a good point, Ill keep an eye out for that.
When assembling it made me wonder what exactly is it that stops the lower control arms and torsion bars from gradually working their way back, I assume its just the weight of the car on them that stops this.
abdywgn
dismantler
Now that you say that, I can't imagine that little wire clip holds the bars in place...but it does hold pistons pins in place. Maybe the hex the bar goes in is just a bit bigger and when the bar is adjusted, it locks the bar in place. Kinda like a mm nut in a fractional socket.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Right, its a little funny but clearly works, will definitely keep an eye on the clips, any movement should be quite clear.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Next up it was time to fix the brakes. Both flexible hoses going from the car to the caliper were destroyed (no surprise) as well as one line on a caliper and the drivers side line going from the distribution block to the wheel well. I had never made brake lines before but luckily dads friend came to the rescue again, while at his place he also showed me a fun fact about how badly designed a Ford intake manifolds coolant passage is.
The drivers side mount where the brake lines go from hard to flexible needed to be fixed as well.
In photo #3 & #4 you can see that the upper control arm spindle hole is not perfectly centered, this unfortunately happened when I increased the hole size with the reamer, since the new upper control arms are so adjustable I should be able to adjust this out of existence. If I'm missing something or anyone thinks otherwise please let me know.
I was unlucky with shipping and didn't get the braided brake hoses or lower control arm ball joints in time for this trip so yet again the crashed ones have to go in for now yet again.
The brake booster and cylinder were also reinstalled, these are from a Volvo 240 from what I can tell. The shocks are from Ridetech with adjustable rebound which should be interesting to play around with the future.
The drivers side mount where the brake lines go from hard to flexible needed to be fixed as well.
In photo #3 & #4 you can see that the upper control arm spindle hole is not perfectly centered, this unfortunately happened when I increased the hole size with the reamer, since the new upper control arms are so adjustable I should be able to adjust this out of existence. If I'm missing something or anyone thinks otherwise please let me know.
I was unlucky with shipping and didn't get the braided brake hoses or lower control arm ball joints in time for this trip so yet again the crashed ones have to go in for now yet again.
The brake booster and cylinder were also reinstalled, these are from a Volvo 240 from what I can tell. The shocks are from Ridetech with adjustable rebound which should be interesting to play around with the future.
abdywgn
dismantler
the "restriction" in the passage is to slow the coolant down to remove more heat from the engine...
great job on the lines!
great job on the lines!
Dartsun
Mopar Dude
These steering couple clamps are pretty awesome just put one on my 67 Belvedere.
Mopar A B E Body 66-73 Dodge Plymouth 3" STAINLESS Steering Column Coupler Cover Clamp / Retainer
Mopar A B E Body 66-73 Dodge Plymouth 3" STAINLESS Steering Column Coupler Cover Clamp / Retainer
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
Next up I took a closer look at the 68 fender that I sourced a while ago, when test fitting the trim around the light I saw that something was way out.
I knew that the 68 and 69 fenders had different light fittings but I thought it would just be a matter of rotating or moving the mount. I didn't realize that the entire surface was 20mm or 0.8 inches further back on the 69 fender. I thought about how I could move the front section from the old fender to the new one but then decided that the best thing is to repair the old fender by sacrificing the blue one (all damage is at the bottom rear on the old fender as isn't too bad).
As for the much more damaged drivers side, I have not been able to get anything second hand in Sweden so I had to bite the bullet and buy a new Auto metal direct fender through a vendor in Germany. This is where the budget went to hell as with shipping and the obscene taxes in Europe it cost 1500EUR or 1650 USD!! To make matters worse the fitment was horrific, the bonnet of the car curves and sits above the much more straight fender. Body alignment isn't at the top of the list at the moment so I just mounted it and moved on.
I knew that the 68 and 69 fenders had different light fittings but I thought it would just be a matter of rotating or moving the mount. I didn't realize that the entire surface was 20mm or 0.8 inches further back on the 69 fender. I thought about how I could move the front section from the old fender to the new one but then decided that the best thing is to repair the old fender by sacrificing the blue one (all damage is at the bottom rear on the old fender as isn't too bad).
As for the much more damaged drivers side, I have not been able to get anything second hand in Sweden so I had to bite the bullet and buy a new Auto metal direct fender through a vendor in Germany. This is where the budget went to hell as with shipping and the obscene taxes in Europe it cost 1500EUR or 1650 USD!! To make matters worse the fitment was horrific, the bonnet of the car curves and sits above the much more straight fender. Body alignment isn't at the top of the list at the moment so I just mounted it and moved on.
purplehazenils
Well-Known Member
After this I did a small cleanup of the wiring mess under the dash that accumulated through the years with cars 20 previous owners to me, picture two shows the redundant wires removed and some that wont be needed going forward.
The shifter for the 727 transmission was also removed, the plan was always to convert to a manual T56 six speed and now I am extra motivated after this sticky throttle with auto trans ordeal. Had the car been manual the crash could have been avoided by pushing down the clutch, a much faster more natural motion than suddenly trying to reach for the keys in 0.5 seconds.
After this the seats were test fitted, I kind of regret the seat purchase and don't think they quite suit the car but they were a good price and will do fine for now.
With this I did a 5 minute alignment just to set the camber to -1deg but did it before the car was ride height so it needs to be looked over again.
The shifter for the 727 transmission was also removed, the plan was always to convert to a manual T56 six speed and now I am extra motivated after this sticky throttle with auto trans ordeal. Had the car been manual the crash could have been avoided by pushing down the clutch, a much faster more natural motion than suddenly trying to reach for the keys in 0.5 seconds.
After this the seats were test fitted, I kind of regret the seat purchase and don't think they quite suit the car but they were a good price and will do fine for now.
With this I did a 5 minute alignment just to set the camber to -1deg but did it before the car was ride height so it needs to be looked over again.
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mygasser
Well-Known Member
agreed, as you say the seats are fine for now. they do look more suited to a subaru imprezza or a mitsubishi evo though, lol. 
neil.
neil.
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