69 Dart 340 Swinger Street/Road Race build

[black954]

Some more progress today. I put the original TBs back I in while I’m waiting on the 1.14”s. Then i could install the hubs and calipers. I’m still waiting on the 2 piece rotors to be assembled so I cannot shim the calipers. Then I’ve been dreading the next step, grinding out the outer wheel center’s on my brand new wheels. Luckily it went well and I took my time with a large Aluminum carbide burr and lots of WD40. I was able to get it back to a roller. I can’t express how happy I am with the look of this car. I know i’m going against the norm of fatties and skinnies, but I really think the car looks great with the wide squared look. Tomorrow I’ll get the inner fender wells painted so I can get the fenders back on and really see how it will look and more importantly, how the wheels fit in relationship to the fender arches. I had to get a pic next to my other project that was put on hold, my 81’ Bronco Ranger.

 

[limegreen70]

Boy, that thing is looking pretty good. You are making good progress to. The J bars look super well done. I want you to make me a pair lol.

 

[LO23M8B]

Some more progress today. I put the original TBs back I in while I’m waiting on the 1.14”s. Then i could install the hubs and calipers. I’m still waiting on the 2 piece rotors to be assembled so I cannot shim the calipers. Then I’ve been dreading the next step, grinding out the outer wheel center’s on my brand new wheels. Luckily it went well and I took my time with a large Aluminum carbide burr and lots of WD40. I was able to get it back to a roller. I can’t express how happy I am with the look of this car. I know i’m going against the norm of fatties and skinnies, but I really think the car looks great with the wide squared look. Tomorrow I’ll get the inner fender wells painted so I can get the fenders back on and really see how it will look and more importantly, how the wheels fit in relationship to the fender arches. I had to get a pic next to my other project that was put on hold, my 81’ Bronco Ranger.

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Looking good brother.

 

[black954]

Boy, that thing is looking pretty good. You are making good progress to. The J bars look super well done. I want you to make me a pair lol.

Thank you! They weren’t too bad to fabricate. The hardest part is notching the short down bars to fit up nice. Hit me up, I’m sure I could make up another set pretty easily now.

 

[black954]

I was able to clean and paint the back sides of the fenders yesterday and today. Then I hung them with all the original spacers and they went back on just like they came off. I just can’t get over the stance of this car! The front needs to come down more with the weight of the engine still. I’m just floored at how good it looks despite the horrible old paint. A friend of mine seems to think we can buff it and it will look much better, but I have little expectations of that.

 

[black954]

The Firm Feel torsion bars arrived today along with their poly grease boots. They took some beating to get in because of the thick powder coat, but they’re in. I couldn’t help but put the front end back together to get a new lowered ride height pic. I think the front end will be an inch higher or so when it’s all dialed in.

 

[kursplat]

I think the front end will be an inch higher or so when it’s all dialed in.

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have you checked the tire clearance at full lock yet?

 

[black954]

have you checked the tire clearance at full lock yet?

Yes, and actually it clears everything including the fenders. It’s super close though. I will probably raise the front end an inch or so when the car is fully assembled and at full weight. Otherwise, I may need to roll the front fenders a touch

 

[black954]

Well, started on bending up new stainless brake lines today. I got 3 done and ran out of brake line.

 

[frozenfish]

Read the thread from the beginning. Very nice!

 

[my68barracuda]

Kind of like what I read, the factory welds are horrible which makes it difficult to get clean enough to weld over.............. Nice build, but if you ever weld up another k frame, have it hot tanked or chemically dunk tank cleaned before welding. It is the oil and road grime that is inside the k frame that percolates out when welding that messes with the new weld. I had my k frame cleaned by a shop that has a chemical strip tank big enough to take a car body. When I got it back it was clean outside and inside, welded fine.

 

[moparmat2000]

Kind of like what I read, the factory welds are horrible which makes it difficult to get clean enough to weld over.............. Nice build, but if you ever weld up another k frame, have it hot tanked or chemically dunk tank cleaned before welding. It is the oil and road grime that is inside the k frame that percolates out when welding that messes with the new weld. I had my k frame cleaned by a shop that has a chemical strip tank big enough to take a car body. When I got it back it was clean outside and inside, welded fine.

I ended up using a carbide rotary file to grind down factory welds and then laying new beads down. And yes hot tanking the K frame prior to welding is the way to go.

 

[black954]

Kind of like what I read, the factory welds are horrible which makes it difficult to get clean enough to weld over.............. Nice build, but if you ever weld up another k frame, have it hot tanked or chemically dunk tank cleaned before welding. It is the oil and road grime that is inside the k frame that percolates out when welding that messes with the new weld. I had my k frame cleaned by a shop that has a chemical strip tank big enough to take a car body. When I got it back it was clean outside and inside, welded fine.

All the new welds went in just fine. It was just difficult to grind out all the porosity in the original welds that was the problem. Unless you get the porosity completely out, it will just come through the new weld. I think my car sitting for last 44 years helped that it wasn’t saturated with oil and grease like most are.

 

[black954]

Read the thread from the beginning. Very nice!

Thank you very much. I do my best to keep the updates coming along as best I can. This stay at home order has unfortunately/fortunately given me some much needed time to make progress on the car.

 

[black954]

I started off this morning by placing a pretty large order with Summit for the brake line and a bunch of engine parts. Then, on the recommendation of another member here, I called Kevco racing and ordered one of their road racing oil pans and pick-up tube. Great customer service with Kevco. Then I fab’d an aluminum mount for my B&M supercooler oil cooler. That way I could get it mounted and get the grille back on. I spent a few hours cleaning, polishing, and straightening the grille. It’s still pretty aged looking, but it matches the cars paint job lol.

 

[Red Stripe]

Looking awesome! Coming together nicely and have some great parts going on there.

 

[black954]

Today’s progress so far. My rotors came in from Baer so I was able to get my front brakes finished up. Also, the Kevko pan and pick up I ordered yesterday arrived today. I’m pretty happy with the quality and I think It will serve me just fine.

 

[black954]

After a few days off, I was back on the Dart today. I rebuilt and installed the steering coupler with the BAC direct fit coupler. I ended up reusing the original shoes and spring because they were still in excellent condition. I bought the BAC coupler boot that replaces the crimp on original boot. Not sure if I am sold on it. Seems to spit a lot of grease out every time the steering shaft is rotated. Maybe it will eventually stop when enough grease has pushed out. I also finished the last 2 brake lines so those are done now.

 

[black954]

I picked up my block yesterday and tried to drop of my rods to get the pistons pressed on but that didn’t happen. I was sent +.040” pistons instead of STD bore pistons that I need. Hopefully the correct ones will show up sooner then later so I can assemble this engine. I had the crank polished as well. My son and I fit the main caps and installed a new bronze distributor bushing while we wait.

 

[black954]

I’ve also been working on polishing the front bumper so I can put it back on. What a huge pain in the *** removing 51 years of grime and hand polishing it back as best I can. So far it’s taken about an hour to do half of it. But I only do 15min at a time until I go do something better lol.

 

[black954]

I finished polishing the bumper and then decided to paint the brackets before I reinstalled the bumper. It’s nice seeing it back together looking more like a car again.

 

[abdywgn]

A friend of mine seems to think we can buff it and it will look much better, but I have little expectations of that.

I bought a car from a friend that looked like it was red primer. Using Meguiars products,it came back to life. When the PO came by a couple weeks later, he asked how I got it painted so quick. Told him what I did, all he said was if he'd have known, he probably would not have sold the car.Give it a try! Looking good!

 

[Gearhed73]

Just curious if you have plans of getting her on the track? I’d love to see it on a road course or even a time attack type of venue!

 

[black954]

I bought a car from a friend that looked like it was red primer. Using Meguiars products,it came back to life. When the PO came by a couple weeks later, he asked how I got it painted so quick. Told him what I did, all he said was if he'd have known, he probably would not have sold the car.Give it a try! Looking good!

Thank you. I’m hoping my buddy will make it shine again. I’ve never buffed anything and he’s buffed a lot of barn finds he’s had over the years with great success. My problem is there’s a lot of scratches down to the bare metal because it was parked in my dads garage for 40 years. So naturally it got bumped into a LOT lol. It is what it is though, I’m not too concerned with the looks. The performance is where I’m spending all my money.

 

[black954]

Just curious if you have plans of getting her on the track? I’d love to see it on a road course or even a time attack type of venue!

Yes, I will take it to Road America in Wisconsin as well as Gingerman and Gratten in Michigan. Mostly, it will see the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL. It’s a private track/club, but I have an awesome connection there and I’ll be able to use the tracks whenever there isn’t an event going on. I really don’t like auto cross at all so I doubt I’ll ever do that. Really, Road America is the entire reason for the Viper brake upgrade. That track is probably the fastest track in the country and brakes will definitely need to be up to the task of slowing this car down. I’ve run off the track there in T1 at over 150mph on a GSXR600 motorcycle because of a brake failure so I’m taking it serious on the Dart.