72 Dart - slow revival

[D-ROD]

25 years later it’s time to get back on the Dart! I originally purchased this car in 1998 from its original owner and spent my high school years wrenching on her. I had a great time with the car and the original 318 small block and 904 for many years until around 2013 when I parked it in the garage and pulled the motor for a rebuild. I sent the motor out, had it bored 30 over, installed some flattop pistons, a mild cam, swirl port 302 heads, and a 340 intake with the intent of making a nice cruiser. After building the motor it sat for another 10 or so years as life, kids, house projects, etc got in the way. I’ve just recently picked it up again with a front end rebuild and disc brake swap. So thought I’d share my slow journey here.

Here she is in the late 90’s with my old Honda

After the mild restoration and new paint in the early 2000’s

And the recent sad state of affairs after a long hibernation with no motor

 

[CFD244]

Glad you are getting back at it. Looking forward to following along!

 

[D-ROD]

Here’s a couple shots of the motor assembled and port work on the heads. Also freshened up the 904 with a bigger pan and shift kit.

 

[D-ROD]

Next I pulled out the 73 upper control arms and spindles that I had picked up a few years back and cleaned them up for the rebuild (note I forgot to get a pic of the uppers). This will also convert my front end from small to big bolt pattern. In terms of the front suspension I came up with the following: All new Moog components for the upper and lower ball joints, Energy Suspension upper control arm bushings, and the PST lower control arm rebuild kit with new greaseable pivot shafts, bushings, stiffening plates, and torsion bar adjusters. I also picked up a set of Mancini Racing larger diameter strut rods with new Energy Suspension bushings and new washers. For the brakes, I'll run the 80's style caliper in the rear with the Chevy Camaro front brake hose. I picked up the 1.03" PST torsion bars for the ride & handling and a rebuilt steering box and all new tierod ends to finish it off. I’m interested to hear of others experience with this mix of components and anxious to get it back on the road to give it a try.

Now out with the old

 

[Hellrats]

Very nice... keep up the good work on the old girl!

 

[joel d. snyder]

looked really good in the 2000's picture.

 

[Plymouth 65]

Looks great so far, nice work on the o'l girl! 65'

 

[D-ROD]

Rebuilding the lower control arms and welding up the stiffening plates....

Any recommendations on sway bars? I've seen a few different styles used. Some require weld on tabs for the LCA like the factory, others appear to be bolt on.

 

[Hellrats]

I changed over one of mine to the '73 style brakes and also used the 1.03" PST torsion bars. I went with all rubber bushings and MOOG ball joints. All was great but for the lower ball joints. Don't know if I got a bad batch or what but they didn't last 5000 miles. The 1.03" PST torsion bars were a bit stiff but after a year or so of driving they have been nice. I was second guessing my choice at first but now I do like them. After changing the lower ball joints and another alignment it drives great. For some reason those lower ball joints would not let the steering wheel return to center... almost but not all the way. Then while I was looking it over I found the right one was very loose. Upper ball joints have been fine. Weird

 

[Hellrats]

Before everyone tells me how to do an alignment. I have been doing this for years.... I know the difference between bias and radial tires. I have a really nice Hunter alignment system. So yes, the ball joints were the problem.

 

[D-ROD]

I changed over one of mine to the '73 style brakes and also used the 1.03" PST torsion bars. I went with all rubber bushings and MOOG ball joints. All was great but for the lower ball joints. Don't know if I got a bad batch or what but they didn't last 5000 miles. The 1.03" PST torsion bars were a bit stiff but after a year or so of driving they have been nice. I was second guessing my choice at first but now I do like them. After changing the lower ball joints and another alignment it drives great. For some reason those lower ball joints would not let the steering wheel return to center... almost but not all the way. Then while I was looking it over I found the right one was very loose. Upper ball joints have been fine. Weird

Hopefully I have better luck with the Moog components I'm using. Out of the box they appear very well made, but you never know these days. Also glad to hear you had a good experience with the PST torsion bars. Seems like they've had good reviews on here but sometimes tough to tell as ride quality can tend to be a very personal preference.

 

[D-ROD]

Got the new bushing into the LCA with new PST greaseable pivot shaft and torsion bar adjuster:

Here is a comparison of the stock V8 torsion bar against the new PST 1.03"

Getting things buttoned back up with the new balljoints, control arm bushings, and Mancini Racing strut rod:

Also picked up some new dust shields off ebay

Finally the finished product. Note I had to use a small die grinder and file to allow for the new brake hoses to go back into the factory location with the OEM clips.

Overall I'm very happy with the result. I only took one pic of the driver side, but the result was the same. I also left out me wrestling with my old hard crusty tires on the tire machine to dismount from the small bolt pattern and mount to big bolt pattern 14" rally wheels - for the sole purpose of keeping the car a roller (I destroyed the bead, but hey they're holding air!). I'm still debating using some 15" rally wheels or police wheels for the final finish. Still plenty of time though to ponder that thought. Next up is tie rods and then on to the rear where I have an 8.75 waiting to be cleaned up and installed. Any thoughts on the offset spring hangers? I'd like to get as wide a tire as I can in the rear without a mini tub or spring relocation kit.

 

[D-ROD]

Hi all, I'm back after a very long delay. Fortunately, but unfortunately I have been pulled away from the Dart as required to complete my new garage. It's a 30x40 with 14' ceilings, a two post service lift and 2 four post storage lifts so looking forward to getting back at it. Already have 6 cars piled in and the Dart is still stuck in the old garage!

In between construction I've been cleaning up rear end components for the Dart and trying to come up with a plan so looking for feedback/advice/experiences:

I pulled an early (63) B-body 8.75 rear axle out of storage with plans to install. I have a number of B-body housings, however I believe this is the narrowest 8.75 axle housing aside from the A body. As I was planning to go with BBP axles anyhow so thought it would be worth using. The tapered axles were pulled out and custom BBP axle kit ordered from Dr. Diff. (Cass gave me everything I need for the conversion). I have a number of center sections to choose from including the 741 and 489, but for this build was planning on just running a 741 with a 3:23 open gear set. Also picked up a set of 11" X 2.5" backing plates and all the required brake hardware to install including new drums.

A couple of thoughts:

- Should I order a sure grip from Dr. Diff and a new set of gears? - I get the gut feeling if I don't I'll regret it, I'm already this far. Is the 3:23 gear set a good compromise? - I still want to be able to highway cruise. In either case I think the 741 center is strong enough for this build.
- I need to relocate the spring perches to properly install the axle - so now would appear to be the best time to also purchase an offset spring kit, however Dr. Diff is out of stock. Any other quality options here?
- How realistic would it be to squeeze a 275 50 15 tire in the back after completing the offset springs?
- Brake proportioning valve - will a 73' and up A body work for the front BBP disc & rear drum conversion?
- Brake Master Cylinder - currently looking to go with the Dr. Diff 15/16 aluminum master conversion kit for manual brakes (I don't want power brakes). Any experience with these?

 

[mygasser]

if you're going to order new axles why not shorten the casing to 'a' body width now. another of those things to do now rather than regret it later?

 

[D-ROD]

if you're going to order new axles why not shorten the casing to 'a' body width now. another of those things to do now rather than regret it later?

Thanks, if my calculations are correct the difference is only 5/8” or 5/16” per side so I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. Could go narrower just for the sake of bigger tires but probably overkill for this car.