1969 Swinger 340

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My hood showed up yesterday, so I just scuffed it and put the same black epoxy primer from the roof on it. I think it finished the car nicely (for now), I was worried the scoop would be too big. It's race weight, so we'll see how long it holds up without extra pins or bracing. I'll have to get some miles on it before the snow flies!:burnout:
 

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Well we lost the last two posts on here, but I'll summarize: I had been fighting a driveline vibration, and after getting the angles perfect, it was still there. Took the driveshaft to have it balanced, and it is fixed! Just in time for snow flurries tomorrow, lol. The cars are tucked away for the winter, but they can come out for a nice day :)
 

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very cool build... I cant wait to see the car in final color (though I have to admit it looks pretty mean in red oxide primer...) I look forward to watching the progress.. Body work is always tons of fun LOL .. check out my build over the winter when you have some spare time.. I thought the bodywork stage would never ever end LOL ... Great job
 
Thanks speedracerx, I am enjoying this thing for a little bit before paint I think, at least next spring/summer if the engine holds together. My belvedere is next in line for paint, and I think I can get it shiny next year while I cruise and do a little auto crossing with this thing. I'd love to mess with some imports, and not have to worry about cone rash on new paint :) I know what you mean with bodywork, I did a quickie paint job on my 68 fury 4 door and that thing went on forever! I definitely want this thing in the toxic orange of the engine bay, hopefully it will get there soon!
 
Oh and I forgot, the buggy is cool!!!! I have one of those duster scoops, and it almost made it on my dart, and my belvedere! Nice car, and nice work!
 
I basically had the last bit of fun before they pre-treated the roads this past weekend, my cousin came to visit for a long weekend and brought a very tight replacement steering gear for the dart. We swapped it out, did a quick alignment, put the factory sway bar back on the front, and put the steelies with smaller tires back on so they wouldn't rub the fenders. This thing drives like a different car! It is so fun to throw at corners that we were looking for curvy roads all weekend, and it really felt planted. I personally haven't owned an old mopar that even felt close to the handling of this one, and it will fry tires as long as you want it to as well. This week I borrowed a friends set of scales, and it surprised me at only 2719 lbs, and I still have the steel front bumper on it. It was a pretty awesome close to the driving season!
 
:burnout: :d
 

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Well I had the dart in the house garage so I could do struts on my fatherinlaws crown Vic, so this morning I got to take her for a little spin before it goes back to hibernation. 40 degrees and dry roads means I got to harass the neighborhood! Man this thing sounds good when it revs!
 

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Nice ride ....but why is there a 174lb weight difference between the right front and left front ? I can understand the 33lb left/right rear due to possibly an extra leaf in the right rear but 174 is a really un-balanced. The total seems a few hundred lbs. light for a car with stock suspension and all steel (except hood) body panels, factory numbers were closer to 3200 lbs. with a 340 and 4 spd, if a modern driveline and fiberglass hood save just shy of 500 lbs. that's a great swap, you sure your borrowed scales are accurate ?.
 

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I was skeptical too, but the car has very little interior in it, and the fenders are glass as well. When I built it I went the light route, so it has no heater, radio, wipers, dodge neon seats, glass rear bumper, no undercoat etc. When I sat in the drivers seat it went up 200 lbs, so I think they are accurate, if not close. I did re zero them because I thought the scales were wrong, and I even tried another battery in one. I was concerned about the weight difference as well on the front, I messed with the bars a little but and got it to change, but I dont know what I'm doing when it comes to corner balancing, so I let it be for now.
 
Here is the scales with me in it. I have some friends that have a lot of experience racing and setting up cars, so I'm going to try and have them help me with the final alignment and balancing at the same time. Looks like the driver needs to go on a diet!
 

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ralphie361 said:
Looks like the driver needs to go on a diet!
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Really ...188 lbs. in todays world with a thirty something percent obesity rate in the U.S, I'd say your well below the average. Unless your a horse Jockey or 4'5" tall.
 
76orangewagon said:
Really ...188 lbs. in todays world with a thirty something percent obesity rate in the U.S, I'd say your well below the average. Unless your a horse Jockey or 4'5" tall.
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Lol true, but I don't think I can get the car any lighter! Don't worry, I'm 5'11" and couldn't lose anything if I wanted to. I'll Swiss cheese the car before I give up good beer :headbang:
 
Hey Ralphie,remember that ma mopar offset all it's drivetrains to the right. Scales are probably correct.
 
needsaresto said:
Hey Ralphie,remember that ma mopar offset all it's drivetrains to the right. Scales are probably correct.
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Yeah I didn't even think of that. I've never corner balanced anything before, so I don't know how far off they usually are. I figured since I had everything front and rear suspension wise apart that it would need some adjusting. I assume you would want equal side to side (for street) but do you do that with driver in the car?
 
Merry Christmas everyone, thanks for all of the help and support on this project! Last Christmas Eve I was sorting through a wire harness for this car, and a few days ago I took it for a 20 minute cruise (roads were dry, couldn't help it). Have a great holiday!
 

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I finally wrapped my wire harness tonight, I used the split techflex loom, I love how it looks! Hopefully it still runs, I waited to wrap it so I could diagnose problems in the wiring if I had any. It almost seems like a shame to cover up all that work, lol!
 

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