AlV 69 Dodge GTS project

[AlV]

Or Fore and Aft. lol Either way it's looking pretty sweet!

It turns out the UCA mounts are fine.. Less than an eight difference between the sides nothing to worry about....I was relieved lol.

I found a replacement Arm so we're good to go.

 

[AlV]

Almost through my first MOPAR front end. There were a few twists along the way.. NO, REALLY there literally was a twisted UCA and strut rod. lol they are now replaced and we even sorted out the strut bushing.

I'm just waiting on the steering gear and will install the center link and ends.

Here's a progression to what it looks like today:

Chipping away

 

[burdar]

Great job!

 

[2fine69s]

Almost through my first MOPAR front end. There were a few twists along the way.. NO, REALLY there literally was a twisted UCA and strut rod. lol they are now replaced and we even sorted out the strut bushing.

I'm just waiting on the steering gear and will install the center link and ends.

Here's a progression to what it looks like today:




















Chipping away

Awesome Job Al,
Very good detail work

 

[AlV]

Great job!

Thank you!
It is a great feeling completeing this milestone.

 

[AlV]

Awesome Job Al,
Very good detail work

Thanks Martin!

I hope it works as nice as it looks -LOL

AlV

 

[AlV]

That's all she wrote... First Mopar front end rebuild in the books. Just have to do final adjustments and torque to spec.

That is a satisfying feeling.

Now let's hope it works

-AlV

 

[AlV]

We are staging the fronted, engine, and trans in preparation to install them into the car.

This is going to be a real milestone for us.

Here are some pics from the engine build.

Thanks for the motivation FABO!

:burnout:

 

[Hemiorangeswinger]

Your car is coming along great! Nice work!!

 

[66340SEDAN]

Your car is coming along nicely! Nice work!!

X2!!!!!

Not to rain on your parade but that intake is a little restrictive on the 340 (Eddy Performer) The intake ports are smaller than 340 heads.....would be better to use a factory 340 intake...still, nice job!

 

[AlV]

Your car is coming along great! Nice work!!

Thanks Randy! Much appreciated. It's been a long road to get to this point and still a way to go. We (my son and I) are cutting our teeth on this project and learning as we go.

Our next steps are to get all of these assemblies bolted together and in the car.

That should be fun!

-AlV

 

[AlV]

X2!!!!!

Not to rain on your parade but that intake is a little restrictive on the 340 (Eddy Performer) The intake ports are smaller than 340 heads.....would be better to use a factory 340 intake...still, nice job!

Oh man Keith, was that you!? It rained cats and dogs yesterday 😃

Thanks for the kudos and the heads up... I guess We have some low hanging untapped potential available. In the future We can swap out the intake and the stock HP manifolds to kick it up a notch.

Help me understand the restriction (because I am learning as I go) are you saying that the entire length of the intake runner on the Eddie is smaller than that of the original stock 340 intake? Or is it just the mouth where it mates with the head?

Good looking out, and thank you for the feedback.

-AlV

 

[AlV]

I did a little more research on manifolds and I can see that the majority of folks prefer the stock 340 manifold over the eddy performer. In addition most folks would choose the rpm or air gap model but to quote crackedback..

"The Performer 318/360 isn't the manifold a RPM or Air Gap is but it's no slouch either.
Seen some 360's with 275hl and 9.5:1 make 400+ with a Performer, actually up to 440. Will a stock 340 do the same, likely. Pick your poison and maybe open up the port window a bit, window size in this case is overrated as to effect, and the performer will work well."

Keith, I think you're right and we have something to look forward too

Thanks again.

 

[68gtsjr]

Nice GTS you have. I see you have mad pic posting skills i only dream about.

 

[AlV]

Nice GTS you have. I see you have mad pic posting skills i only dream about.

Thanks Jr! It's my first build so I take. Lot of photos for reference
Hahahaha! I have to get back to including notations in the photos.

 

[KENTON]

Seems to be going faster now, great work.

 

[AlV]

Seems to be going faster now, great work.

Thanks Kenton! Some things move faster than others lol

Hope to have it on the road by next summer.

 

[AlV]

It's a Big Day for our LS23P9B.

After many months and $$$ we are proud to announce our numbers Engine is finally reunited with its matching Transmission.

This is the first milestone for this Dart the next is going to be when we install the assembly into the car. It will be the first time in many years (unknown) that they are all together.

We are finishing odds and ends at the moment, and trying to figure out what to do for the Vinyl trim clips, do we go metal or plastic? We also have to decide on a way to transport all this stuff ( front end, engine and trans) to the shop.

 

[AlV]

Just a couple of odds and ends this morning. Pulleys, Oil adapter, Vent window frames, Side glass.



Pulleys....I have to admit that I totally underestimated how difficult finding the right arrangement could be to get right.We might have it now but it's not certain. First, we tried to move the set from the 70 318 but the WP pulley didn't fit. We picked up and cleaned an original set of 69 pulleys for the 340 from Tony Difeo. Single groove water pump and a triple groove crank. This setup should work for water pump, alternator/AC/power steering. The alignment looks nice.

90* Oil Adapter...We cleaned and painted the Oil adapter and installed 3 new Mopar Performance P5249320. Gaskets

Vent window/Frame and side Glass.. We starting the windows..
Our first order of business was removing the film tint (the Glass is original factory tint, you'll notice the glass has color) then clean all pieces inspect and replace parts as needed.

Cleaned Vent windows and Frames with Original glass.

Side Glass

I have the window regulators on the bench. Pictures coming soon.
Love this site!
Thanks FABO!

 

[burdar]

What paint did you use for the LCA's and UCA's? That looks nice.

 

[AlV]

What paint did you use for the LCA's and UCA's? That looks nice.

Thanks! I was very happy with the finished look.

It's rust oleum universal metallic spray paint in dark steel.
I stripped all of the parts to bare metal and hit them with metal prep,then spray.

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/universal/universal-metallic-spray-paint/

 

[AlV]

With the vent and side glass done I moved on to the quarter glass. Since I had everything apart I decided to order window kits for the sides and quarters. The kits come with new rollers, rivets and pins to rebuild the assembly. I also picked up new edge seals. The stuff should come this week.

Next stop on this tour are the regulators.

We also decided to Sort out the Saginaw power steering pump. Cleaning the pump, brackets and replacing the damaged high pressure hose.

things are shaping up nicely and we'll take care of the pump next.
Stay tuned.

 

[AlV]

What can I say! It's just beautiful.

The guys at are doing an outstanding job.

I can't stop looking at it. lol

Vinyl trim

The Blue

Wow!

the Clear

The Black interior

I am Stoked!

Happy daze

 

[Scamper]

Looking great wow!

 

[1969383S]

Are you feeling it yet!!!

Looking great ! You have put a lot of work in the details.