Beautiful job.
1972 Canadian H-Code 340 Dart Swinger Special Resto - Finally started!
- Thread starter Swinger340Canuc
- Start date
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Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Thanks fellas, just been fixing dented brackets
And fixing holes that owner 3 put in the rails for a trailer hitch, I can't imagine putting a trailer hitch on this car but they did using the blow torch method and suck the bolts down until you squash the rail,
And the holes I made in my crossmember,
Bit more welding to do this weekend and some more blasting if the weather permits.
It's like magic. Or as if you just posted the pics in the reverse order. 
My first dart had a trailer hitch and owner used it to tow snowmobiles to Canada! My original automatic transmission might still be up there as he blew it towing!
I'm glad that you have been able to find some time to get some work done on the Dart. It also gives me a chance to educate myself on proper body work. I thoroughly enjoy your thread.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Never thought I’d be spending this much time on the bottom of the Dart and still not finished.
After taking a closer look at the bracket welded to the spare tire tube the rust between the two needed to be addressed. It was clear areas were getting pretty thin and a couple of holes starting. After removing it I decided to try and weld up the holes and build up the backside I didn't won't to remake the piece if I could avoid it, pretty tricky it was like welding tin foil but I eventually got enough build and copper primed the hell out of it so hopefully it won’t be a problem and will last.
This right hand seat brace needed straightening out which needed some heat to bring it back, it was pretty squashed so it’s not perfect but quite a bit better,
Then I need to tackle the good size dent in the front crossmember and the quickest and best way was to cut the section out so I could put some heat to it and straighten it from the backside. The refit was good so welded it back in and a bit of grinding and you’d never know it had hit a boulder or something hard, lol.
Still a bit more to do under here and a quick re-blast to clean it up.
After taking a closer look at the bracket welded to the spare tire tube the rust between the two needed to be addressed. It was clear areas were getting pretty thin and a couple of holes starting. After removing it I decided to try and weld up the holes and build up the backside I didn't won't to remake the piece if I could avoid it, pretty tricky it was like welding tin foil but I eventually got enough build and copper primed the hell out of it so hopefully it won’t be a problem and will last.
This right hand seat brace needed straightening out which needed some heat to bring it back, it was pretty squashed so it’s not perfect but quite a bit better,
Then I need to tackle the good size dent in the front crossmember and the quickest and best way was to cut the section out so I could put some heat to it and straighten it from the backside. The refit was good so welded it back in and a bit of grinding and you’d never know it had hit a boulder or something hard, lol.
Still a bit more to do under here and a quick re-blast to clean it up.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
It's like magic. Or as if you just posted the pics in the reverse order.
Abra Kid Abra 360DartGT66, ah crap you figured it out, lol!
Joel your tranny is up here but we turned it into pop cans, sorry brother, lol.
Long ways to go Doc, glad your checking in and picking up on some info.
Space Duster
Well-Known Member
I'll watch this one. My dad had a 69 340 swinger.
What's the bracket on the spare tire well used for? Is it a Dart thing because my Duster didn't have one
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
The rear valance attaches to this bracket for some centre support Kevin, might be a Dart thing.
Ok. The Duster doesn't have a valance. Just bumper.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Had an opportunity Monday, a little slow in the morning, to respray the trapdoor air cleaner I bought a couple of years ago. It had been restored but on close exam the colour wasn’t quite right and it looked like they may have sprayed over some surface rust.
Confirmation of this when I started blasting so finished it up and took it to work to respray. I had purchased two of these trap door air cleaners and the other one is in original condition and I was able to use it to come up with a really good match for the colour and the gloss level. Need to put the decals and hoses on and mark this one of many small resto chores done and put it back in the pile of parts.
Confirmation of this when I started blasting so finished it up and took it to work to respray. I had purchased two of these trap door air cleaners and the other one is in original condition and I was able to use it to come up with a really good match for the colour and the gloss level. Need to put the decals and hoses on and mark this one of many small resto chores done and put it back in the pile of parts.
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Dartnut
Don't hate me because i'm beautiful
Great progress as always, keep up the good work and pics!
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Thanks fella's, wasn't able to work on it yesterday but managed to work on it today, mostly putting some All Metal and filler on some areas that it was not possible or not practical to work the damage out so some slight filling was required.
Still have some holes to weld up so I had to drop the seats in to establish again which were the holes from the non mopar bucket seats that needed welding up. The bench seat holes are straight forward and will stay for when I swap out the seats, just marked the correct ones with some weld thru primer.
I like to weld these large holes on both sides before I do any grinding, when you weld against the copper backing the weld tends to be quite porous and pitted on that side so re-welding flows in the pitting and any pinholes and makes for a much nicer result then I grind both sides down. The trick is to do both sides before grinding one side so you have a thick weld your re-welding into and it won't blow thru at all.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Thanks, my paint system came up with a Peterbuilt colour, fleet code was DPN4899 or PBT2005E, one of the two should be correct.
Thanks for the welding tips.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Had a bunch of yard and other work today so didn't get much done on the car today. I did manage to get after the nasty trailer hitch holes on the other rail today, I didn't show the process I decided to use when I did the other rail so thought I would post it for this rail incase others have similar issues. Since there is no easy way to gain access to the inside of the rail to work the metal out from the inside and this is mostly a cosmetic problem not structural I decided to repair it from the outside.
I found a large thick washer that had the same size hole that the factory stamped in the rail and since the rail had been squashed in by the over torquing of the trailer hitch bolts it sat in that area pretty nicely at the level the rail should be.
You might notice the broken off leaf spring hanger bolts in this picture, thanks trailer hitch guys, two of those and can't get them out so I'm likely going to tap the two unused holes and use them instead.
Then I bolted it thru the corresponding hole on the other side so they line up properly and it held tightly for welding,
Made a plug that sits in the hole that's not supposed to be there and welded it in and grinded the welds down ready for some filler,
Manage to sneak in thru the bolt hole with my die grinder and a carbide bit and remove some of the metal that was hanging down thru the hole.
Then some All Metal, sand and clean up the hole and thats the end the damn trailer hitch, whew!
Should hopefully finish up with the bottom tomorrow.
I found a large thick washer that had the same size hole that the factory stamped in the rail and since the rail had been squashed in by the over torquing of the trailer hitch bolts it sat in that area pretty nicely at the level the rail should be.
You might notice the broken off leaf spring hanger bolts in this picture, thanks trailer hitch guys, two of those and can't get them out so I'm likely going to tap the two unused holes and use them instead.
Then I bolted it thru the corresponding hole on the other side so they line up properly and it held tightly for welding,
Made a plug that sits in the hole that's not supposed to be there and welded it in and grinded the welds down ready for some filler,
Manage to sneak in thru the bolt hole with my die grinder and a carbide bit and remove some of the metal that was hanging down thru the hole.
Then some All Metal, sand and clean up the hole and thats the end the damn trailer hitch, whew!
Should hopefully finish up with the bottom tomorrow.
autopar3000
Well-Known Member
What is it with trailer hitches on these cars!? My 70 Swinger had a trailer hitch on it. It was probably a home made thing, made out of half inch thick steel welded to each frame rail with a horizontal piece going across between the rails.
When I had it cut off 20 years ago, we didn't clean it up like you're cleaning up the underside of your car!
When I had it cut off 20 years ago, we didn't clean it up like you're cleaning up the underside of your car!
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
I'm with you, I can't imagine this car with it's snorkel scoop and wing on the trunk and Hi-Jacker shocks and fat tires with a trailer whipping along behind. Actually that would make one hell of a funny picture, lol!
Dan, not only trailer hitches. A few years ago I had to hammer out four dents in my roof left from the old suction cup style of roof racks. Probably had a aluminum fishing boat up there. Now there,s a funny picture for ya. Kev
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Funnier yet is a 20's something Kev with long hair and a doobie heading out fishing with his buddies and his boat on the roof, LOL, sorry brother it just came over me!
My anal gene took over again today to try and reverse the holes drilled thru the factory punched holes in the floor re-inforcement plates to make them look like they were never drilled. I made a copper plug, which took way to much time to make, that would sit down in the hole and save the depth of the plate from filling with weld. Worked out about as good as I could hope for and that wrapped up welding in floor pan holes, thank god.
Finishing up the last of the grinding and bit of filler to sand off tomorrow, my neighbours all know my favourite web site.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Found some more evidence to support what my experts Cliff and Kevin theorized that this shell was pulled from the Scamp production line and put into the production of the special ordered “Swinger 340 Specials”. When they saw the bucket seat reinforcement plates on the floor pan this theory made the most sense. When I was stripping the rocker I found that this shell had at its beginning the pins for a rocker moulding that the factory boys knocked off ground and filled. There was no paint but the factory orange and the black I put on it. Unfortunately on this side they made a couple of holes that they just ground and filled so I need to clean them up and weld them closed.
Did a some sanding off of paint and e-coat to get down to bare metal prepping for a light skim of filler to get every thing nice and straight,
Ground off the Mickey Mouse sheet metal reinforcement that we made from sheet metal back in the 80’s for the Z-bar pivot,
Just have to nail down the exact orientation and placement for this proper support and weld that in solid,
Did a some sanding off of paint and e-coat to get down to bare metal prepping for a light skim of filler to get every thing nice and straight,
Ground off the Mickey Mouse sheet metal reinforcement that we made from sheet metal back in the 80’s for the Z-bar pivot,
Just have to nail down the exact orientation and placement for this proper support and weld that in solid,
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