68 Dart Project.

[Malex]

Where did you learn your skills from? Fantastic work! I sold my Dart project as the garage is full with two B-bodies.

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Thanks Hemirunner! Yeah, too many projects in the way sure can cause problems. My skills are a result of always having the unbalance of desire, passion and not enough money. Cutting out the labour end of any job always made the difference and along with it came experience. It's probably the same for many of us. Hemirunner, I'd sure like to tap into your skills!

 

[Malex]

Darn good looking work . Wonder if the d 452`s would work better with raised port heads , and no torsion bar front end set up ? Looks like they would .

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I got the 452's to fit but it only came with determination. Withoutout torsion bars the 452's fit the underside perfect. #7 cylinder though, the pipe exits at the steering column so the pipe needs some reshaping there or get the column over another half inch. And #2 cylinder, that pipe ends up almost touching the shock tower. That problem was solved when I made room for the hemi valve cover though.

I reworked these 452's and they will work with the engine plate on the RB. All for not though, I've decided that the Dart needs a hemi. I'm watching, learning, reading up on hemi's now. See, now I need to tap into Hemirunner's skills!

 

[Hemirunner]

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Thanks Hemirunner! Yeah, too many projects in the way sure can cause problems. My skills are a result of always having the unbalance of desire, passion and not enough money. Cutting out the labour end of any job always made the difference and along with it came experience. It's probably the same for many of us. Hemirunner, I'd sure like to tap into your skills!

I’ve gotten handy with the chromoly tube and TIG welder driven by that same set of circumstances, lol. Another batch just showed up.

 

[Malex]

View attachment 1715423514
I’ve gotten handy with the chromoly tube and TIG welder driven by that same set of circumstances, lol. Another batch just showed up.

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Yes that's exactly what I'm talking about! And the thing is that with each job you have to do it at least as good as or better then the last. People come to expect it from you.

Do you have a tube bender adequate to bend the chromoly? Hemirunner please share your progress so that we can learn from you.

 

[Malex]

A monotonous day.. But by tomorrow this will be done. About next Tuesday or so the paint mask will be in operation. Some pics.

Inner fenderwells taped and ready to spray. Once done and dry I'll mask this area off, then I can paint the tops of the fenders and top portion of the firewall at same time as the body.

Left side rear wheel tub taped up. Will just bag the rotor and caliper when it's time.

Right side, same thing. Once in the poly paint booth the Dart will sit on jack stands for the entire job.

Working my way to the front, half done underneath.

 

[Malex]

Finished up all the masking today on the Dart. Painstaking job...

And I got a good start on setting up the paint booth. 2 rolls of heavy poly and tuck tape, and tarp for the floor and the next stage is good to go.

Mid week and we should be seeing some colour!

 

[Alex5280]

Exciting times! Your car is going to look amazing! It already does!

 

[HemiMark]

I just read the entire thread, Dude, you're killing it! Nice job.

 

[Malex]

I just read the entire thread, Dude, you're killing it! Nice job.

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Thanks Mark!
It's been a fun home project. That was a fair bit of reading too! Every day I make a point of getting something else done. And I did get a little further along today too.

Over half finished setting up the poly paint booth. Will be sealed up good. 11'6 X 20'6 X 8'.

 

[Malex]

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Thanks Mark!
It's been a fun home project. That was a fair bit of reading too! Every day I make a point of getting something else done. And I did get a little further along today too.

Over half finished setting up the poly paint booth. Will be sealed up good. 11'6 X 20'6 X 8'.
View attachment 1715424846

Getting close!
Booth is sealed up, Dart in place.

A couple of things left to do with the booth and then to get the Dart sitting on jack stands. By end of week things should look quite different.

Makeup air in low at the back and exhaust out low at the front.

 

[mopowers]

That's a great looking booth. Whats the frame made of? What kind of fan are you going to use?

 

[Malex]

That's a great looking booth. Whats the frame made of? What kind of fan are you going to use?

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1 X 1 square tube, about .060. And all the joins are 1.250 X 1.250 square, so that the 1X1 slips inside and bolts. To make the booth bigger or smaller, just add or remove joins and lengths.
Exhaust is an old house furnace fan for the exhaust, blowing through a 10" concrete pile tube. I've got an old slab door with a hole cut in it that the 10" tube slips through. So I open the walk in door, and set the old slab door in the opening. Secure and slip the tube out. Hey, it's all home project stuff and it works!

 

[Malex]

Paint day tomorrow. Did get the passengers inside door ledge resprayed along with the engine compartment so far though. Some pics.

Wheels off, ready for paint.

Engine compartment done and masked over.

Resprayed the black on the door yesterday. Had to let dry overnight before closing the door and masking up.

Engine compartment.

Body gets it tomorrow. Hope it goes well!

 

[Malex]

Paint day for the Dart today!!!! Up bright and early and ready to get at it. Pics and updates, check it out.

7:30 AM. Car is wiped down, ready to go. Paint mixed.

10:00 AM. Almost finished laying 2nd basecoat on, Power goes out! ####&##@!!!! Pitch blackness. Found my way out of the booth, made it over to a flashlight, took this picture while pondering WTF I'm gonna do. While feeling my way out of the booth my coverall leg gets stuck to the right quarter panel.. Paint gun in hand, paint hose, mask hose in other, cannot see a bloody thing, trying to feel my way along. Thought I was at the back, turned and stuck..

11:00 AM, power still out. Took a picture with the flash. Unbe F'in lievable. Check out the overspray on the roof. When the power went out the exhaust stopped. Glad I had a couple of tach clothes handy.

11:45 AM. Power comes back on. And here is my denim type print on the right rear quarter panel...

600 wet sanding to get rid of the denim print on the quarter.

Good enough, feels smooth, time to try and save this job.

Basecoat finished, 3 coats of clear on the roof, 4 coats on the sides.

Finished up about 4:00 PM. Of all the things that could go wrong, that was likely the worst.. Regardless, I kept my head and worked through it. Car looks great, it's smooth, wet and lots of paint and clear on.
Still can't believe that happened!

 

[Alex5280]

Wow....that's a quick formula of how to lose your ****! Great job keeping cool and pushing on through. Looks great, I am sure it will look amazing all sanded and buffed out!

Alex

 

[Malex]

Wow....that's a quick formula of how to lose your ****! Great job keeping cool and pushing on through. Looks great, I am sure it will look amazing all sanded and buffed out!

Alex

It was not a happy day yesterday when that happened but I pulled it through and kept on top of it.
Tires on today, off the jack stands, masking paper off and the poly coming down.

 

[Alex5280]

Wow she is looking Good!!!

 

[67dartgtgo]

I've just read your entire thread and have to tell you what a fantastic project and the results are fantastic. Impeccable workmanship. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Malex]

I've just read your entire thread and have to tell you what a fantastic project and the results are fantastic. Impeccable workmanship. Thank you for sharing.

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Thanks!
It's a fun project being done 100% at home. I update pretty consistently, not leaving much out and it has helped a few members along the way. That is what it's all about, helping each other and keeping the motivation stirred up!

 

[Malex]

Been doing some detailing on the Dart the last couple of days. Working my way back from the front left corner, coming along great. Will look great once the finish polishing is done.

And a stroke of luck, Dante's has their Black Friday sale starting today. I got a loaded cart sitting there, time to hit the checkout button! New AMD bumpers should be at my US shipping address in a couple of days too.

 

[Alex5280]

Man O man does that look slick! Fantastic!

 

[HemiMark]

Super!

 

[Alex5280]

I think I am going to make a poly booth very similar to yours. Looks like a great way to go.

 

[Malex]

I think I am going to make a poly booth very similar to yours. Looks like a great way to go.

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Alex you wouldn't regret it, a must for the DIY guy. I have the corner attachments made so that the 1X1 tubing can slide through, which makes it variable size.

This is my smaller version, 8 X 10 that slips underneath of my upper level. A guy has to have one of these for all those smaller jobs that make a hell of a mess. Then clean it up good inside and time to paint. Another great thing with this booth, waiting between coats is no longer a problem, just slip upstairs, crack the beer fridge and before you know it, time for another coat!

The old trunk lid made an ugly mess, but the garage stayed clean.

Clean it out, wipe the plastic down, wash the floor and stir up the paint.

My booth is now down, poly hit the garbage and the frame hangs on my fence behind my shed. Ready for the next job.

 

[HemiDenny]

very nice.....I'm sure if you hung out a shingle, they would be lined up around the block. But that would take the fun out it.

if I lived within 60 miles, I'd be at your door before the sun came up just to watch.