68 Dart Project.

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Been working on the Dart each day and things are coming along. AMD quarters are at my US shipping address now so tomorrow is a travel day. Glad it's the north border and not the south one...

Here's the latest:
The metal was cracked / broke around the pin. From too many closes with the body damage that it had. I used 18 gauge metal and crimped it so that it just fit the hole I cut. Lots of measurements, it ended up a very good strong fix.
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Side cleaned up, hinges rebuilt, ready to drag out some sheet metal.
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The fender is in place. This was a 69' fender, the reflector hole has been welded in and marker light hole added. Completely rust-free fender, was in the back seat of the Dart, came with.
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Door installed, door bar tucks nice and close to it, more room for the driver.
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Fender and door in place. This door was in the trunk of the Dart, no dents, zero signs of any rust, didn't know it was there until I got the trunk open when bringing the car home. Good gaps along the rocker, fender and cowl area, a slight tweaking yet but ready for the quarter to get set in place.
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Next up, rear quarter panel install. Going to be tough cutting and raising the wheel wells on those new AMD quarters, no turning back now though.
 
Travel day today but the good news is the quarter panels are home. Left side first.

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Spent some time on the left quarter today. Template worked like a gem.

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Revhendo said:
Nice work. Mind if I ask what you did with the outer wheelhouse where if meets the quarter?
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It's still in progress and I'll be posting pics as I go along. Right now the outer tub is cut to the same level as the new opening, I'll be cutting it higher, then shape and build it into the 1/2" quarter lip. The front lip welds flush over the tub at the front. The rotisserie makes wheel tub work easy.
 
Progress on the Dart. Check the pics.

This is the left side tub. A load of work. What I did was make 3 cuts so that the tub would open up. Then welded strips over them, which made everything solid. From there I formed metal and welded everything in. There is a 1/4" inner lip.
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After some fibreglass. A little filler to smoothen things out and a shot of primer.
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Another shot to give an idea how it came together. Once it all gets a good shot of epoxy primer and high build, it will sand out nice.
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Filling in the fuel tank access
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Initial weld of the filler panel. Despite using thin wire, stitching and cooling, the panel still pulled and distorted. Pissed me off because the panel was perfectly straight... but I fixed it up.
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Quarter panel finished for the time being. Moving over to the right side next. I did set a wheel up in place to give a better idea of the finished product. I'm happy with it, it was a **** load of work but well worth it. A lot of time was spent on the templates and it all worked out so far. 15 1/2" space between the frame and the inner wheel lip. Can run a 12" rim no problem.
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It will be the same as on the show 2 lane blacktop. Where they pull into the gas station and the kid can't find the fuel filler...
 
Time for an update on the Dart.


Got busy on the right side quarter panel. This side is only getting a skin. The original panel could have been used over but a new skin ensures no possible rust showing up years down the road.
In this picture you can see the outer tub was split and swelled out. 2 cuts was adequate to get the tub out to within a half inch of the quarter panel. I used the template and cut the old quarter and then shaped the tub to it.
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New skin tacked into place. The new skin was cut at the top line and then tucked in behind the existing. When finished, a bead of seam sealer along the inside seals it up, hard to notice it was changed from the inside.
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Initial cut marked out from the first template.
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First cut made. Second template in place, will mark out and then form a new lip to the line.
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Lip formed and tieing in the inner tub to the new lip. Being able to roll the car to a good working angle makes the job a lot easier.
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All metal work is done, fenders and doors aligned. Made my 2018 deadline to have all metal work done. 2019 will start out with making it smooth and straight, epoxy and high build primer.
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Will be setting up the old poly paint booth once again... in 2019.
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Darned, there is more of a difference between the 68 and 69 Dart fenders than just the marker light.. The headlight is sunk about an inch more on the 69. Will have that fixed up in no time..

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Malex said:
Darned, there is more of a difference between the 68 and 69 Dart fenders than just the marker light.. The headlight is sunk about an inch more on the 69. Will have that fixed up in no time..

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Headlight section changed over and fender installed. I just assumed the 68 and 69 fenders were the same other than the marker light.. Boy was I wrong.

Jan 1st, final body work commences. It took 3 full months (Oct 1, to Dec 31st) from the time the Dart rolled in the garage to get to this point.

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Lots of body filler hits the floor at this point. This Dart fits like a glove.


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Left side done, ready for primer. Starting on the right side now.

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You said your garage has 13' ceilings ? How tall is it under the balcony where the corvette is parked ? I wanted to do something like that in my barn. Its waisted space if I dont build something like that.
 
Rd2Scamp said:
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You said your garage has 13' ceilings ? How tall is it under the balcony where the corvette is parked ? I wanted to do something like that in my barn. Its waisted space if I dont build something like that.
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Ceilings are 13'2". It's about 75" both underneath and on top. It gives me a good 3" of headroom. The only time I have a problem is when I forget I've got my welding helmet on and flipped up... No regrets building it. It's all tied into the trusses but I have legs on the farthest corners. The leg out in the middle comes off in a minute if I need it gone.
 
Rd2Scamp said:
View attachment 1715271108

You said your garage has 13' ceilings ? How tall is it under the balcony where the corvette is parked ? I wanted to do something like that in my barn. Its waisted space if I dont build something like that.
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The lower doubles as a paint booth too. Waiting long enough between coats is not a problem with the bar overhead..lol

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Malex said:
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Ceilings are 13'2". It's about 75" both underneath and on top. It gives me a good 3" of headroom. The only time I have a problem is when I forget I've got my welding helmet on and flipped up... No regrets building it. It's all tied into the trusses but I have legs on the farthest corners. The leg out in the middle comes off in a minute if I need it gone.
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75" wouldn't work for me. Im about 6'3". My barn ceiling is about the same height as yours. If I can't come up with a way to do something like you did I could always make it a storage space.
 
Rd2Scamp said:
75" wouldn't work for me. Im about 6'3". My barn ceiling is about the same height as yours. If I can't come up with a way to do something like you did I could always make it a storage space.
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Yeah you would have to rob a couple of inches from the top. Or, you could go with 2 x 6 joists on a closer centre. I used 2 x 8.
I have a couple of inches to spare for headroom, never had a problem except with that damn welding helmet..
 
Very nice. Just double checked my barn hight. Its about 12'7" with maybe 2 inches of foam insulation on the ceiling. May have to just build storage on top and a hang out down below.
 
3 months and 1 week after starting on the Dart, It's ready for primer. Huge milestone.

Right side finished.
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Next up, set up the poly paint booth and get the primer on.
 
So cool. Looking forward to seeing it in paint. I think I will get a Rotisserie for my Dart, looks like a great way to go at all sides.
 
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I just read through your whole thread , great job !

You also inspired me to add a balcony to my shop .

BTW if you hunt down the rear window crank handles for the ‘63-‘66 Darts they are shorter then the front ones. Of course you will want a set of front and rear cranks as they are a different design then what you have.
The front are available new but the rear aren’t.
 
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