74 Dart nighmare Project

[deathjest]

My parents bought a 74 dart two door a few years back because they thought they had a decent deal in it for 900 which isn't too bad. Unfortunately other than the standard rust in the rear quarters and pretty rough interior it looks like someone had a heck of a blow out and busted the seams in places of the rear drivers side wheel well. Then i went to change the oil and filter for them and it turns out that the engine got changed and with the headers on there is no room for the oil filter to come out. So i dropped the old oil out and left the filter obviously. Oh and there is also no exhaust on the headers so its almost completely unbearable to drive not to mention not street legal on days other than the cruise night where everyone gets their rat rods and other toys out.

Ive looked and cant seem to find the serial number on the engine. So it seems like i am going to have to get out the tools on this simple little step.

 

[65dartcharger]

My parents bought a 74 dart two door a few years back because they thought they had a decent deal in it for 900 which isn't too bad. Unfortunately other than the standard rust in the rear quarters and pretty rough interior it looks like someone had a heck of a blow out and busted the seams in places of the rear drivers side wheel well. Then i went to change the oil and filter for them and it turns out that the engine got changed and with the headers on there is no room for the oil filter to come out. So i dropped the old oil out and left the filter obviously. Oh and there is also no exhaust on the headers so its almost completely unbearable to drive not to mention not street legal on days other than the cruise night where everyone gets their rat rods and other toys out.

Ive looked and cant seem to find the serial number on the engine. So it seems like i am going to have to get out the tools on this simple little step.

Slant six or V8?

 

[TylerW]

Has to be a V8 because oil filter is on the opposite side of the engine from the exhaust on a slant.

The engine numbers to look for on a smallblock are a stamping on the front of the block just below the driver side head, and the displacement and casting date are cast into the sides of the engine block, one on one side, one on the other.

Some engines can use the 90 degree oil filter adapter which turns the filter parallel to the block but that still might not give you clearance. You might consider just swapping on some factory manifolds to avoid that headache altogether.

 

[deathjest]

I'm possibly considering looking for a lower profile oil filter. I think there are a couple compatible that might be an inch or two shorter that may get me the clearance i need to get it in. if not i might just have to look into a different pan if i can find one on the cheap. That is if the headers need to come out if they put any future exhaust too low for my comfort. To avoid any serious headaches with the exhaust i might just look into terminating them in front of the rear tires if there is space.

Also i ended up finding the engine number on the front of the block and it is a 318 built in 74 and that is if no one did anything weird to the block. As to what kind of cam or anything it might have in it i have no clue. i don't have anywhere to pull any of that stuff out of it right now so it will have to wait. I am however thinking of putting a Thermoquad carb on it. i have heard that with their lower cfm primary they don't run as rich on an idle and the 800 cfm total can be tuned well for a 318. I'm just not sure about the composite resin middle section in it.

 

[mopardrt]

I run my 74 swinger with a mild 360 quite often with the exhaust dumps open, and I have no problem driving it around. Like they say. "If its too loud your too old." ;) Anyways, headers are a pain in the *** on these cars. I am on my second set of headers and I am deff going back to manifolds.

 

[deathjest]

I've been doing some research and am considering doing a transmission swap to an A518 since it has overdrive. The major concerns would be the drive shaft mods and the cross member mods. I hear they are doing most of the controls these days with oil pressure switches and a little bit of wiring. The higher gearing i think they would have and the better gas economy is attractive to me.