1969 Dodge Dart Swinger clean up

[dadsbee]

Re-wrapping the battery to starter cable with a tad more correctly textured cloth tape. Not perfect, but better than that shinny vinyl electrical tape.

Starter cable installed to starter solenoid on the new mini starter.

Now to make an attempt at cleaning these neglected things up.

Most things I've read state that you can't get the "blue heat hue" off the chrome. Sounds like a challenge to me.

Starting with the easy, removable, #7 pipe.

Still needs some work, but what we're looking for. Cut and polished on the harder wheel with White compound.

Buffed on the flap wheel with Rouge and then hand wiped with MAAS.

Quick lick with a file shows this center flange needs some work or my next gasket set will just blow out the bottom.

Amazing what you might find inside a header. Brake line adapter rattling around inside while I was polishing.

2.5 hours in. One side almost done where the polishing wheel will reach. The remainder will have to be done with a small dremel wheel. Arms had enough for one afternoon, not light these TTI's !

 

[dadsbee]

Short day today, transmission cross member bracket installed.

New battery that was in the car with Mopar decals on it.

I don't have an old script battery to gut and stick an AGM battery inside, so this is a nice cheap ($124cdn delivered) compromise. A script battery, by the time it's delivered, is around $600 Cdn.

Something to give it the more correct look. Of course now I have to widen the hold down clamp...FFS...

Arms gave me about 1.5 hours today on the buffer.

.. and about 30 minutes with the dremel. Getting there, still a ways to go. Buying new might have been easier...

 

[fran blacker]

Polishing out the blue is it worth the time and effort?

 

[dadsbee]

Everything else is being given a new life, so why not?! Should be good for a few runs!! and if running correctly it shouldn't be cooking them like that anyhow. I'm gonna "coke" them like an old radial engines exhaust stack before then go back on, may help. They were absolutely filthy, so no point doing 1/2 a job.. you know me by now!

 

[dadsbee]

As good as the passenger side's gonna get.

Final wipe down with MAAS on the drivers side.

Took a LOT of filing to get that low spot, while keeping the sealing surface flat.

So pissed off. Incorrect gaskets and I had even bought two pair to have spares. Thanks to Mancini using Fedex, when they were supposed to use USPS, I have $190Cdn into these two pairs of gaskets that I can't use.

Correct head port shape on left, incorrect right.

Figured while I had the Dremels out I may as well clean up the header ports and some spots that were welded in much further than they should be.

Incorrect gaskets, if anyone local needs a pair for theirs! (I just ordered new correct ones delivered off of amazon $63 Cdn/pr)

Passenger side set in place until I can get the correct gaskets.

Drivers side, guess I'm pulling that starter back off to get them on. Got ahead of myself I guess..

On to the rear axle assembly.

 

[dadsbee]

Picture for the file on brake spring and parts locations for re-assembly.

Wheel cylinder pistons pushed in and tie wrapped in place, so I can push the other sides in as well to expel old fluid.

Brake lines removed from rear axle, ready to take the Y splitter/vent stud out of the axle tube.

Bolt put in place to keep the gunk out.

How I depress the emergency brake retainer tabs to release the cable from the brake backing plate.

14mm box end works perfect to hold all the tabs down so you can pull the cable out of the backing plate.

SO SO SOOO relieved to find Timken tapered bearings. Had bad dreams that I was going to find some old style Green rollers.

Yukon modular iron sure grip unit cracked off to drain the gear oil. Good use of Rikki's old dog bowl.

Brakes off, axles out, sure grip pumpkin out, ready to remove the leaf springs.

The answer to the mysterious welded patch on the pot and the new Yukon sure grip unit. MAN that must have made some noise!!

 

[moparmat2000]

I guessing that whoever assembled this car prior to you buying it was a hack. They deserve the golden hatchet award.

 

[fran blacker]

Everything else is being given a new life, so why not?! Should be good for a few runs!! and if running correctly it shouldn't be cooking them like that anyhow. I'm gonna "coke" them like an old radial engines exhaust stack before then go back on, may help. They were absolutely filthy, so no point doing 1/2 a job.. you know me by now!

Your an all in guy. Love looking at your work. Your work on airplanes, there is no good enough on them. Good enough can come around and kill somebody.

 

[tallhair]

You may also want to protect the top car from uv from fluorescent shop lights. (Real thing, most don't think about)

Never heard of that before. Thanks for the tip.

 

[tallhair]

Just read through to here. Nice work as usual.

 

[dadsbee]

Cleaning axle bearings and retaining flanges of grease and goo.. in a bucket of gas. Anyone got a light..

Cleaning between the retaining flange and bearing to get gunk and check the smoothness of the sealing surface of the shaft. There were no signs of leakage prior to disassembly, so we'll clean it, grease the bearings and run'm.

When the last guy used RTV vs the correct foam seal. Also probably the first time in my life that I'm working with a ring on... getting old and stupid. Been hanging that thing on a locker hook or in my change pocket for almost 39 years.

Getting stuff cleaned up and my favourite liquids container. Thanks Simcoe County!

Nice fresh 489 cone unit and new gears as well.

3:55 to 1 ratio.

Set up seems to be running a nice pattern.

Wear pattern dead center on the teeth.

Hunting for metal in the axle tubes, after finding a few chunks with my fingers down by the axle seals.

A few fragments that the last guy missed after someone exploded a differential unit!

 

[dadsbee]

Jamming a shop towel through the tubes, over and over again.

If you look closely you can see shiny flecks

Stud threads protected from damage.

The plate welded to the pot from the previous differentials destruction.

Flipped over and ready to remove the U bolts and leaf spring assemblies. Nuts soaked in PB plaster for the night.

Axles, Yukon differential and brake backing plates (that need refurbishing).

Flattening out a bent up retainer plate with the 5lb, using my press plates and an I beam piece to hold it solidly in place.

Works perfect.

 

[dadsbee]

52 years of grim and salty roads. Break out the heat wrench.

Almost an hour working the nuts back and forth to successfully get them all off with no stripping.

Heated and bent the clamp strap tabs up, so if necessary they can be reused. If you just bend them up without heating they'll snap when you bend them back down.

Both spring sets off the axle housing.

Springs still have a LOT of "boing" to them. Clamp them before taking that nut off ! 6 leafs on a Dart!

Everything on the drivers side of this car is worse than the passenger side. Probably from running the salt trail on the white line!

Drivers spring pack pin/nut apart.

Lots of arch left in these things.

Now to clean everything up.

Removing the ceased in spring hanger bolt. Took about 3 tons for the first "crack" and then came out fairly easily.

 

[dadsbee]

Used a bolt to press the hanger bolt the rest of the way through.

One good OE bolt, didn't even mess up the threads!

Similar deal to get the shackle bolt out, with a bit of creative metal layout to press against.

Success.

 

[dadsbee]

Wok with Wayne! I had a great idea, but it didn't quite pan out!! The Wok I bought was bigger than advertised and not quite round bottomed.

Want to hide the messed up housing pot by cutting the Wok down to 9" diameter and welding it on, but I'm on the hunt for another one... or a pressure tank end.. or...

Using an old bearing race to press out the rotted spring bushings.

Took about 6 tons to get them to move.. but they're both out.

Main leafs, passenger side a tad flatter than the drivers.

Figured I should do something about that a little bit at a time.

Getting there.

A few presses and compare, repeat at the appropriate location.

Back to matching.

Nice thing about the Dart, both rear springs are the same part #... so I'm gonna swap passenger side for drivers, since the passengers side works harder on launches.

 

[dadsbee]

Cleaned up all the springs with the wire wheel to get the main grunge off them. Blasting them is up next.

Springs were made on the 246th day of 1968.

All wire wheeled and ready for media blasting then paint.

 

[dadsbee]

Got this note from a buddy of mine a few minutes ago.. he may have a case!

Nooooo...! lol

. It will erase the mighty 340s street racing patina. What will there be to chew the fat about when an old guy gets down to get a look underneath her and doesn’t see that plate welded on the pumpkin? Just another restored Swinger with all it’s glorious street history erased.

 

[harrisonm]

Nice work. Tedious isn't it?

 

[dadsbee]

All I found time for today, too many projects going on at once...

Studs pressed out of the leaf spring hangers and another line up ready for the blasting cabinet. Nice that my OE U bolts off the Bee are the same as the Darts for length, so I can pick the best 4 out of the 8.

 

[dadsbee]

Something you don't like @Dusty2 .. or fat fingers??!!

 

[dadsbee]

I'll have her running like a well oiled sewing machine soon ! (guess I can't complain, it was my overalls that broke it on her!)

 

[Dusty2]

Something you don't like @Dusty2 .. or fat fingers??!!

Sorry, must be the fat fingers!

 

[fran blacker]

I'll have her running like a well oiled sewing machine soon ! (guess I can't complain, it was my overalls that broke it on her!)
View attachment 1715688746 View attachment 1715688747

What did you break one it. Hate trying to fix home appliances. Wife replaced small brush on Roomba stripped nylon driveshaft screw hole. Tried a slightly larger screw, wouldn't hold.

 

[dadsbee]

Good as new Fran... bought it for her in 1983! If they don't find ya handsome, they should at least find ya handy!!! But a seamstress I'll never be...

 

[dadsbee]

Gotta love Amazon. Last correct port shape header gasket set available on line that I could find and free shipping to boot! Now I can put them shiny pipes back on.

Got to thinking about how the strut rod nuts didn't tighten down past the split pin hole and realized that PST supplied the same sleeves as I'd put in my Bee...that has a thicker K frame attachment area. Rubbers weren't really squashed either..

Disassembly and I cut the sleeves down to a length of 1.25". Just glad the sleeves weren't press fit like they are on a B body, so I could easily pull them off the strut rods.

Reassembled. The rubber is now nicely squashed, the split pin hole is accessible.