68 Dart Project.

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mopardude318 said:
Very nice work. Is that B5 blue?
And for the interior, is that just gloss black? Again, very nice work.
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Thanks Mopardude!
Yes, B5. I got the paint code off of a 2019 Hellcat. The can says "Surf Blue Pearlcoat". My paint supplier says B5.
The interior is base black and I found some left over sikkens clearcoat in the cupboard from some other project and that went on over top.
 
Alex5280 said:
Love the build, keep it going!
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Thanks, I sure will!

In fact I dragged the motor and transmission out from under the stairs today and blew the dust off.
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Then one thing lead to another... There's a good chance there could be fitting going on tomorrow..
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I came across these measurements a while back, they;ll come in handy.
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belmateo said:
Looks about right, however your strut rod washers on not on correctly I think. Maybe I am wrong
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It's a picture someone posted that notes proper A body positioning measurements. I'll use it to fabricate mounts for the front engine plate.
 
Very nice work! After messing with my 68 dart for a number years I realized a man needs to know his limitations...and it went down the road to another garage. And it has been sitting on a hoist for the past 2 years gathering dust. Really like the 68's. Maybe someday I will have another...but it will be purchased as a finished car, not a project! Only suggestion I might have...that thing needs a hemi!!!!
 
belmateo said:
Thanks guys, I stand corrected. Great thread and I love your Plymouth
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No problem, those washers do look *** backwards, LOL. Thanks for the Plymouth compliment. I put a set of Outlaw ladders under it and it's been a thrill every pass since. Hooks hard, goes up, goes straight and consistent every pass.
 
savoy said:
Very nice work! After messing with my 68 dart for a number years I realized a man needs to know his limitations...and it went down the road to another garage. And it has been sitting on a hoist for the past 2 years gathering dust. Really like the 68's. Maybe someday I will have another...but it will be purchased as a finished car, not a project! Only suggestion I might have...that thing needs a hemi!!!!
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Suggestion taken Savoy. Thanks! I'll still start off fitting the RB block now with the engine plate for the time being.
 
Was at it again today. Check it out.

Hooked onto the 526 and got things going.
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Once the motor was sitting in place I got after the trany. Bolting my home made lift plate onto the trany using 4 longer 5/16" bolts
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Once bolted on, tip back and ready to go up. Forgot to remove the engine stand bracket in these pictures.
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Trany going up into place in this picture. Us old guys got to work smarter you know..
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Trany up in place. Was expecting to have to modify the Trans crossmember, but nope, it all slipped into place easily.
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Engine in place and now to build brackets to bolt the engine plate to the frame rails.
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Loads of room between the draglink and pan, no contact on turns and engine angle is 1.5 degrees. YES!
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Will be interesting to see how the Doug's D452 headers fit, or don't fit. Have researched lots, only one fellow has told me that he's done it and they will fit. Going to find out soon!

Headers have been hanging on the wall for some time, coming down tomorrow. These came off of my buddies low 10 second B body Charger.
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Hoping no, or little mods needed for these to fit. The right hemi might show up yet and these won't be needed.
 
Malex said:
Was at it again today. Check it out.

Hooked onto the 526 and got things going.
View attachment 1715397267


Once the motor was sitting in place I got after the trany. Bolting my home made lift plate onto the trany using 4 longer 5/16" bolts
View attachment 1715397268


Once bolted on, tip back and ready to go up. Forgot to remove the engine stand bracket in these pictures.
View attachment 1715397269


Trany going up into place in this picture. Us old guys got to work smarter you know..
View attachment 1715397270


Trany up in place. Was expecting to have to modify the Trans crossmember, but nope, it all slipped into place easily.
View attachment 1715397271


Engine in place and now to build brackets to bolt the engine plate to the frame rails.
View attachment 1715397272


Loads of room between the draglink and pan, no contact on turns and engine angle is 1.5 degrees. YES!
View attachment 1715397273

Will be interesting to see how the Doug's D452 headers fit, or don't fit. Have researched lots, only one fellow has told me that he's done it and they will fit. Going to find out soon!

Headers have been hanging on the wall for some time, coming down tomorrow. These came off of my buddies low 10 second B body Charger.
View attachment 1715397292

Hoping no, or little mods needed for these to fit. The right hemi might show up yet and these won't be needed.
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The measurement on the hemi pictured, and a r/b wedge are diff , the wedge needs more offset , mine is exactly 1 3/8'' , and is what TTI says for a wedge .---
Will b following the header fitment . Didn't catch it/do u have an aftermarket front end ?
 
famous bob said:
The measurement on the hemi pictured, and a r/b wedge are diff , the wedge needs more offset , mine is exactly 1 3/8'' , and is what TTI says for a wedge .---
Will b following the header fitment . Didn't catch it/do u have an aftermarket front end ?
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Bob I'm using the stock front end. The engine plate is the same for RB and Hemi but the location is different, like you said. I've got some D452's here, will see how close they come with the motor in the wedge location. I've been told that they will fit, will see.
I'm going to be building 2 different sets of engine plate brackets that will be bolt in. One set for the RB and the other for the hemi. That way if and when a hemi shows up I can go either way.
Thanks for following along and sharing your knowledge Bob!!
 
For what it is worth, I have used E body headers on a 383 Dart. Your D452's are for the RB block 440, should actually be esier to install than small block headers. At least that was my experience. Like the way you installed your transmission, work smarter not harder!
 
wish I would have seen this sooner, but I now see F Bob pointed this out and you addressed it.

the 1" offset (Hemi location pictured above) is great for the Hemi because the exhaust ports do not exit vertical, but at a downward angle. The additional 3/8" to the drivers side is valuable for the passenger side valve cover clearance....but with a wedge, I would advise keeping the factory offset (approx 1-3/8") for header clearance with the passenger side inner fender well. Moving the engine further to the drivers side can make steering shaft / header clearance on the drivers side a P.I.A.

just my experience and opinion.....others may vary
 
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HemiDenny said:
wish I would have seen this sooner, but I now see F Bob pointed this out and you addressed it.

the 1" offset (Hemi location pictured above) is great for the Hemi because the exhaust ports do not exit vertical, but at a downward angle. The additional 3/8" to the drivers side is valuable for the passenger side valve cover clearance....but with a wedge, I would advise keeping the factory offset (approx 1-3/8") for header clearance with the passenger side inner fender well. Moving the engine further to the drivers side can make steering shaft / header clearance on the drivers side a P.I.A.

just my experience and opinion.....others may vary
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Appreciate the info!
There's lots of experience out there, I'm glad that it's being shared here. Thank you all.
TTI has a nice chart that sure comes in handy.

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Once the engine plate brackets are made and I'm finished seeing how those headers fit, it all comes back out. Then to get started on the right side shock tower.
 
belmateo said:
For what it is worth, I have used E body headers on a 383 Dart. Your D452's are for the RB block 440, should actually be esier to install than small block headers. At least that was my experience. Like the way you installed your transmission, work smarter not harder!
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I've had one person tell me that he installed these D452's on a Dart and they fit. We're going to find out in case I end up with the RB.
Yeah the old cherry picker sure works good for trany installs. Just a simple tilt of the tail shaft to get the proper angle and the trany slips over the dowels, in with some bolts.
 
What size is your garage/shop you are working in? I’d like to see more pics of that to get ideas on how I want to build my garage.

This is my 27x29 pad I poured last year. (odd dimensions I know, but that was the biggest I could go in the area I wanted to put it)

Now I just want to frame a nice building 14 foot tall.

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mopardude318 said:
What size is your garage/shop you are working in? I’d like to see more pics of that to get ideas on how I want to build my garage.

This is my 27x29 pad I poured last year. (odd dimensions I know, but that was the biggest I could go in the area I wanted to put it)

Now I just want to frame a nice building 14 foot tall.

View attachment 1715397789
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Mine is attached to my house, it's 26 across the front and 43 deep. It narrows down a few feet at the back to accommodate the darned house. 13'2" ceiling height, in floor heat and dual compartment drain.
The plan was for 32' wide across the front but I had to move inward to fit my lot that's beside a park.
14', very nice, you can build a second level.
 
Made up a couple of sets of plate brackets today. One set for the RB, which gives 1.375" right side offset and the second set for the hemi with 1.000" right side offset.

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Gonna give those headers a try next but that will be another day.
Thanks again Bob, Denny for the mount information!
 
[QUOTE="Malex, post: 1972662739, member:
OK Savoy, keep a spot open! LOL.[/QUOTE] Will do!
 
mopardude318 said:
What size is your garage/shop you are working in? I’d like to see more pics of that to get ideas on how I want to build my garage.

This is my 27x29 pad I poured last year. (odd dimensions I know, but that was the biggest I could go in the area I wanted to put it)

Now I just want to frame a nice building 14 foot tall.

View attachment 1715397789
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last year!
James, you better get those wall up before the rain starts!
Are you considering a steel building?
 
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