71 Dodge Dart Swinger in England

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Not been in here for a while or worked on the Dart as I have been working on my 59 GMC Apache ready for a road trip to france then needed 69 camper ready for a friends wedding. Well that all went well so back into the Dart.
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Re painted the dashboard and top trim
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Dashboard back in now and steering column
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fabricated the exhaust also with flowmaster 40 boxes and stainless 3" tube, need to put a cross piece in later

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Hi Guys, back from our USA holiday 1500 miles around California and Nevada. Awesome country I must say! Anyway whilst there picked up a B&M flex plate and a new transmission mount. I have an engine vibration in neutral, see separate post .360 engine vibration
However I also have a diff oil leak so thought I'd start at the rear and move forwards, so I stripped the diff out thinking it was a 8 3/4 dodge item (bought gasket ready whilst in USA) turns out to be a 9" ford unit???WTF!! Is this a known upgrade? Also I think the prop is too tight as there was zero movement to slide the yoke into the 727 trans? car is on axle stands under the axle.

So starting at the rear I will sort this first, check prop length, yoke play and then move back the the vibration issue. I'll post photo of the diff housing and axle tomorrow.
 
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A lot of guys go 9" ford since its pretty tough, has the same bolt pattern as mopar passenger cars with the bigger bolt pattern or bbp and is relatively cheaper than building an A body 8&3/4 one piece at a time.

Starting from scratch and building an 8&3/4 A body rear, you can easily end up with about $1,200 in one complete drum to drum. And thats with doing some swapping and trading.

I lucked out and got a complete 8&3/4 that was shortened to an A body width minus center chunk for $250. It was small bolt pattern. I sold the axles for $100. And the brakes which were completely rebuilt for $100. So my housing cost me $50. Then i built up a set of 10x2.50" bbp drum brakes out of a donor car i scrapped. Added a set of used chrysler cordoba finned drums. Spent about $50 in wheel cylinders, spring kits, and getting drums turned. Bought new dr diff bbp axles w green bearings, $300. And an open center chunk from a 67 newport $100. So far i'm into it $500.

Now i have to decide on gears $200
Buy a master bearing, seal, shim kit $80
Powertrax or Eaton Trutrac LSD $400

Bingo $1,200

Some guys out here are modifying and using the ford explorer sport trac 8.8 rear axles now. Same as mopar bolt pattern, right track width when you use 2 right side axles, and cut 3" out of the left side axle tube to shorten it and put the differential carrier in the center. These come with 3.73 gears rear disc brakes and LSD stock. About $200 from pick n pull wrecking yards. Thats a total no brainer. Me, i had to have an 8&3/4.

My sons 69 barracuda, we will be going with the ford explorer sport trac rear.
 
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ok thanks for info, there looks to be a date stamp on it and maybe some other identification number , would be nice to know what it came off
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Ford 9" do not have a pinion snubber since they werent designed for this application. You will prob need to install either cal tracs bars, or some other sort of traction bars if you plan to drive it hard to prevent spring wrap up.

The pinion snubber is a rubber bumper on a bracket mounted on the center gear housing that prevents the nose section of the diff from rotating up too high on hard acceleration. It hits on a reinforced spot on the rear floorpan.
 
ok i have the diff out now and struggling to get the sliding yoke out, so that's tonight's job. its either jammed in the transmission or the prop is too long as there is no movement to slide the prop forwards. I had to dismantle the rear UJ to get the prop clear of the diff. So still not getting closer to the the engine vibrations. But need to sort all these things out before i can go for a run in it. With the prop off the exhausts off and the car nice and high on stands i might as well take the trans out and change the flex plate. Oh did I mentions the trans sump is so distorted and over tightened and covered in red sealant that it leaks from every seam. So there's another job.
Does this date stamp on the diff say 1975?
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looks like the axle has been shortened one side form the donor car, the splines on the drivers side look new and looks to have the DART written in white paint on the halfshaft, again suggesting very low miles since fitted.
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All the brake drum internals look new
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Ive counted the crown wheel and pinion teeth 35 and 10 , so 3.5 ratio, anybody recognise these markings on the crown wheel?
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I have a set of Doug's headers that have the same raised area, according to them, that is by design. I don't plan on grinding mine down smooth, I'm installing them as is.

It will change the header location slightly if those raised area are removed.

Headers have always been problematic regarding keeping them from leaking. Something you need to stay on top of. That's why some people would rather have stock exhaust. On a Chevy it's not much of s gain to put headers on, on my Dodge 318 it is big gain, worth it.
 
the problem with my header is the raised part was not even all the way round and blow out of the gaps.
 
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When I got my headers, one side had uneven machining, I sent that one back for replacement. In your case, I might consider some clean up if it starts leaking again right away.
 
Got the transmission out and old flex plate off and swapped out for a B&M balanced flex plate.With the transmission on the floor I was able to get the stuck yoke removed. It would not slide on and out and needed quite a bit of force to remove. Looking at the splines on the yoke they seem quite square edged compared to the splines on the transmission (see photos below). Also the yoke has had some machining at the end to remove about 1 1/2" of the splines so its been modified to fit. Hence I'm thinking either the machining has left a burr on the end of the splines causing it to be tight, or its the wrong spline/yoke, as it is a ford 9" diff, maybe the PO used a full ford propshaft? the markings on the yoke say 'W4' and '434' does this identify the yoke as either mopar or ford?
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After a lot of google and starring at photos and without the option of just trying another yoke I decided to tackle it head on. With the gearbox out and stood on its end I took off the tail shaft housing so I could better see the full length of the output shaft and splines. The yoke was a tight fit (tap with a hammer would move it a couple of mm each hit). It wasn't binding in one spot, it was tight on the tops of the output shaft splines and hence bottom of the yoke splines. After a bit of head scratched decided it must be a machining tolerance issue on the yoke (which looks new and aftermarket). Also found a few small burrs on the top of output shaft splines, so I dressed these off with a fine file and oiled wet n dry paper. kept doing this, maybe 10 or more times and each time it would go on easier with less effort. Got it to a nice point where with it greased and light hand pressure it would push up and down the splines smoothly. So next rebuilt the tail shaft and box ready to go back in. No photos but hope to get the box back in over the weekend and see if the B&M flex plate has solved the engine vibration issue.
 
Well nearly 2 years have passed and the Dart is still on axle stand! Been busy doing other things and ready to get back in this.

I left it in Jan 17 with the prop off and the transmission propped up with a piece of wood and the trans cross member removed. Well last weekend I spent a whole day shifting crap from around it, beneath it, on top of it and in it! and 5 hours later i found it.

I've since rebuilt the prop yokes and refitted and currently straightening the trans sump pan

Also binned the alloys that had the wrong offset and gone back to a set of steel rims as per first photos on page 1.

as it currently looks
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I order a new cross member mount but it was too tall , so modified the cross member to suit, being 4000 + miles from parts means you need to think differently when the wrong part arrives. Its not just a case of nipping out to local parts store to get another one!
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Diff back in with fresh oil. It's a Ford 9" diff and axle with shortened axle one side to suit Dart track width.
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Guys, any idea if these would fit my 71 Dart? the PCD seems to be correct but not sure about the width. Ive tried contacting the seller but he didnt understand offset and inset, so couldnt get much useful info. The wheels are only 30 miles from me, but currently my Dart is not road legal. So I cant pop round and try them on.

Anyway all feedback welcome.

Ford Mustang SN95 chrome alloy wheels. | eBay
 
If off a Mustang they probably will work ok, but with no bolt pattern measurements and back spacing info it's tough to be positive.
They don't seem to be an odd backspacing by just looking at them

I guess that's clearcoat coming off and good chrome underneath?



uber cool said:
Guys, any idea if these would fit my 71 Dart? the PCD seems to be correct but not sure about the width. Ive tried contacting the seller but he didnt understand offset and inset, so couldnt get much useful info. The wheels are only 30 miles from me, but currently my Dart is not road legal. So I cant pop round and try them on.

Anyway all feedback welcome.

Ford Mustang SN95 chrome alloy wheels. | eBay
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They should fit if you have the larger 4.50" bolt circle. SN95 mustangs i believe still had 1/2" R/H threaded studs as well.
 
yes i have the larger stud pattern. I might go take a look and measure the backspace. Currently i have 2 sets of 14 " rims, but its hard to get 14" tyres anymore.
 
uber cool said:
I'm also trying my hand at a You tube channel, documenting the rebuild of the Dart, take a look and subscribe. But don't laugh as it's my first time at filming and editing, hopefully it will get better over time:lol:

Vintage Steel
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Subscribed to the You Tube channel
 
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