66 Dart Owners thread

-
Here is my Hemi Dart Clone.

1527_1.jpg


44e4_1.jpg


8b08_1.jpg
 
Bill,that 66 Dart ragtop is beautiful!!I,m speechless!Very clean nice car,someone took great care with that one!
 
I saw a burnt orange 66 Dart convert today in town. It is a 60,ooo mile cream puff with a 340 and Cragar ss's. I didn't get pictures but now I know who owns it and I'll see it again. toolman
 
Umm.I believe 360Scamp needs to be posting in this thread?He,s purchasing a 66 Dart 4-door this weekend!Congrats and welcome to the Early-A,s crew!
 
Yep! there's quite a few of us around. toolman
 
Last week I had some free time so I did a time swap on my D/Dart. The wheels and tires were on my 64 Belvedere and I wanted to see how much tire I could get underneath it. What do you think?


Wow! I absolutely LOVE your DART! I've never seen anyone go with the body lines that way.

Here y'all mine is on my signature! ;)
 
19Dart66, You really have a fine car. I like the hood scoop. What type is it? I like the color too. Seems to me, that there are a lot more 66 Dart Lovers out there then I thought. (and I thought it was just me). What time did you run?
Thanks,
Benny


I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that. I guess its just we are all spread out, few and far between, and we all just gather up with the other A-body ppl on here! Looks like we could start a '66 D-Dart Army now! :-D
 
Here's a front license plate I found @ a swap meet. It's on the front of my little /6 66 :happy10:

The seller said it was on their son's Mustang. I thought it belonged elsewhere.....on my Mopar

Vert Plate.jpg
 
I just installed my new Blue Streaks and Cragars on my 66 Dart Conv...What do you all think of the way it looks?

tmpphp1KRWiz.jpg


tmpphpiIzyFF.jpg
 
One of the reasons this is so interesting is that alot of the '66 Dart race cars were that exact combo. Post cars with 4-speeds. I've seen pics of Trans Am type cars that were built from that platform. (tell that to the T/A-AAR crowd :-D ) I've got a ton of questions... do you have the original shifter setup, I doubt 3.90 was the original gear, but is an 8.75 original to the car? The early cars had grips in the 7.25. Toolman and I both have original 8.75 cars which are rare. I know a guy who just parted out a '66 GT, 4-speed car that had the 7.25 grip. I have that cars info...I should just start a registry. Was your car a bench seat? (that would be AWESOME...bench seat 4-speed!) Does your car have the original disc brake master cylinder? What size wheels were factory, I'm guessing you would have had 14 inch...that is rare as well.... lots of questions. That is a rare and historically significant car.


Hipo 273 66 4 speed cars with the 8.75 are not rare. Mid year in 65 ma Mopar decided to offer the 273/4speed cars with the 8.75. Too many of the 7.25 cars were coming in for warrenty work due to broken rear ends. Before the mid year change, if you broke the 7.25 it was replace by the 8.75. 273 2 barrel 4 speed cars didn't have that problem. Hipo 273 cars with autos came with the 7.25 as standard in 65 and 66 and had to be ordered in 66 inm order to get one. Here is rare. 1966 Dodge Dart GT, 273/4, 4 speed, 8.75, front power disk brakes, A/C, 14" wheels and tires. Guy in Oregon is the original owner of that very same car.
 
"Rare" is a relative terrm. Considering the 1200 or so built, any mid year introduction of a part would make it rare in my opinion. The majority of those cars were certainly built early to satisfy demand with numbers tapering off as they tooled up for the new model and year.
Regarding the car you mention, it is definately rare in my opinion. However a car that was built in LA with AC (which I assume this one was...), Is not as rare as a car built in MI with AC. IMO, the rarity of that car is the power disc brakes.
 
I just installed my new Blue Streaks and Cragars on my 66 Dart Conv...What do you all think of the way it looks?
Normally I don't particularly like ragtops, but that one is so clean it is hard not to love it. The Bluestreaks are a nice touch. Not enough people pay that attention to detail and I really appreciate a car done right. My car came with Bluestreaks as well, but since it is a drag car, and I have the Cragar skinnies it has worn since the '60s...I may not go with the Bluestraks. Those Cragars are pretty rough however... I may just shelve them and go with Bluestreaks up front anyway. I'm still struggling with sheetmetal issues due to the stretched wheel openings, so that bridge is a ways off.
Can you post another pic with a close up of the tread and lettering? I am really interested in how the tread looks.
 
Here's a shot of my wagon (273/auto, 72K) as it was when I got it. My Dad bought this car new in Feb. '66 and drove it until I made him stop about two years ago. He passed away in March and the car was one of the few objects I wanted from the estate.

When I went to pull it out of the garage, it started right up, but driving it was enlightening. Granted, I hadn't driven it since the '70s, but the best term i can come up with for how it felt was "nautical". It went fine but braking and steering were quite boat-like. That shed new light on my father's driving. He didn't drive like that because he was old. he drove like that because the car was old.

The tires were quite worn, and unevenly so, so i started there. I replaced the tires and had to replace an idler arm before I could get the front end aligned. I tightened up the adjuster on the steering box and that all helped quite a bit. Of course the car was still floating like it suspended with bungee cord so I put new shocks (KYB) all around.

My dad had a few mishaps in his last few years of driving -among them, a hit low on the passenger side a-piller which pushed in the lower hinge so the door didn't close properly. I took it to a body shop and they put it on a frame rack and pulled it back in line. Still has the cosmetic damage to the door and fender but the door is lined up again.

Then there was the tail-gate crank issue my Dad had been skirting for a decade. the crank had ceased grabbing the internal regulator mechanism with the glass stuck in the down position. He simply screwed a piece of plexi over the opening. I made contact through this august forum with Travis out in Sacto and he told me how to get the window out of the tail gate so I could get at the mechanism. Once out, I pulled the crack mechanism and cleaned it up and it has been working since.

Found the correct hubcaps on eBay ($20 + shipping) a couple weeks ago.
Next up is the turn signal switch. The rear left signal works but the front left and dash indicator light don't, which from looking at the schematic would indicate to me that it is the switch -which doesn't return from the down position either. haven't pulled it but I know it's not the bulb or a grounding problem at the socket as the parking light works...

Then the front seat, which is torn and crushed down, (the rear is in perfect shape). Actually thinking of eventually going to buckets with headrests -possibly a floor shifter as well.

Anyway, there you have it.

my-wagon.jpg


Maurice Tani
 
Welcome!!!!! Very nice 66. That big block looks right at home in there. Tell us more about it. toolman
 
66Dart500 WOW!Your car is beautiful,with a big block to boot.I love the rims,interior,well just the whole car.Very nice job!:cheers:
 
Welcome!!!!! Very nice 66. That big block looks right at home in there. Tell us more about it. toolman

Hello,
it´s a 66 Dart 270 2door Hardtop (Supersleeper) and I made a frame off restauration.
The engine is a 500 Wedge from Mopar Performance, 727, 8³/4, Sure grip, Porsche 993 brakes, weight 1.450 kg.
 
-
Back
Top