build thread for jamies dart..:)

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april 2, 2017

well the front seat has been pissing me off for a few years now.. we finally ordered the covers for it a few weeks ago.. and today had a friend put them on for me.. he also did some voodoo **** under there to get it less springy and ya now sit a little higher like its supposed to.


before: just worn out..
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after: much nicer..

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march 28,2020

well after having this center section and axles laying in the basement ready to go for about 2 years now i figured i may as well put them in.. truth be told if this virus didn't have everything closed and us basically on lock down i probably would have found something else to do instead of the gear swap..:)


had my son come over today to give me a hand pulling the open 2:94 out and installed the 3:23 sure grip. when i had the converter built it was built to run the 3:23 gear... hopefully i'll feel a difference going from the 2:94 to the 3:23..

i also switched out the moser cut down C-Body axles i had done 25 years ago for a new set of Doctor Diff axles.. i figured they were about the only old thing on the car left and they have had the living **** beat out of them for 25 years now..lol. i also replaced all the studs in the housing with ones i got from doctor diff also..

man i hate the smell of gear oil and the ford additive is even worse..lol




out with the old:
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in with the new :)
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this **** smells bad..
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back on all fours.. i'll take it for a ride when it stops pouring out. i'll re-torque the wheels and put the doggies back on..
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may do the speedo gear in tomorrow. just didn't feel like it today.

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I went from 3.23’s to 3.55’s and the feel was modest but notable. Not a lot of acceleration improvement but over all, I’m very happy with them and the change.
 
I went from 3.55's to 3.91's. Just haven't driven car yet. Hope I will feel the difference. Also changed cam from 280 to 292 mopar cam so that also will change cars overall behavior!!:steering:
 
3-29-20

put the proper speedo gear in and the speedo is dead on with my gps. got a test drive in and all is good. smooth and no hums. i looked on the calculator site and at 3000 rpm it looks like i'll lose about 7 mph with the swap.. 71 instead of 78 mph at 3000 rpm.. not a big deal.




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finally found someone local that could actual align the car for me.. hasn't been right for a long time.. now its nice and straight down the road. so nice to drive now too... i raised the front ride height up about 3/4". front was way too low before.... these asshole at shops think they know better with alignments instead of listening to what i want and why. anyway its real close the specs i gave him..

i also installed the front sway bar. car felt great before it with the 1" bars up front and 383 dart springs out back but this helped quite a bit... stock style is 7/8" i believe. the new one is about 1.25"

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latest update was @crackedback headlight relay and wire around kits.. man what a difference.. can tell in the garage that thr lights are much brighter. can't wait to get the car out after dark now.. used to drive everywhere with the high beams on.. shouldn't have to now..


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bought a steering box from bergman auto craft.

got the complete kit. box, pump, pulley, low profile hose, coupler and the mounting brackets. hope this thing is as good as people say it is.

i also have bilstein shocks coming. i may order 1.08 torsion bars too but we will see how much money i have to spend after this engine project.

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bought a steering box from bergman auto craft.

got the complete kit. box, pump, pulley, low profile hose, coupler and the mounting brackets. hope this thing is as good as people say it is.

i also have bilstein shocks coming. i may order 1.08 torsion bars too but we will see how much money i have to spend after this engine project.

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That all looks so nice.
 
bought a steering box from bergman auto craft.

got the complete kit. box, pump, pulley, low profile hose, coupler and the mounting brackets. hope this thing is as good as people say it is.

i also have bilstein shocks coming. i may order 1.08 torsion bars too but we will see how much money i have to spend after this engine project.

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The Bergman kits are nice. Did he provide a used power steering pump pulley?
 
One thing about Borgeson boxes is the splines where steering coupler connects aren't indexed. My steering wheel was crooked had to pull out turn and reinstall. I plan to put a dab of paint on splines and coupler once I finalize location.

I remove all steering column bolts then use zip ties between column and dash frame to hold column up inside the car. That way its a one man job to pull coupler off turn and put back on.
 
Good thing is you don't have to pound a roll pin in and out it that would super suck.

The coupler cap, I pre-bent the tabs then squeezed it over coupler. It flexes like a spring type of metal. Super easy that way.
 
ok so today i ordered new torsion bars and lower arm bushings from pete at Bergman auto craft. car has 1" just suspension bars in ot now and I'll be going to a 1.08 bar. figured while this thing is apart i may as well do them. and being that the lower arm bushings are the only rubber bushings in the front end i may as well replace them with the delrin ones that pete sells.

i also called bill at RMS and bought all new heim joints for my upper control arms and adjustable strut rods. nothing wrong with the ones in there but figured I'd have all that stuff out so o may as well freshen them. the ones in there have been there since 2015 i think.

heard from my buddy tom and he says the last of my trans stuff should be to him this week. hopefully ill have the trans back next weekend. then i can plan the time to swap all this stuff. :)

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5/5/24

picked the trans up today. all I'm waiting for is the lower control arm bushings which should be here this week. then I'll schedule a time that i can get it into my buddies shop so i can do all the work. he is doing me a huge favor clearing a place for me to work on my car. i could do it in my 14x24 garage but theres a bunch more room in his shop. plus a lift. hopefully i can pull this off in the next few weeks.

i have all the parts all boxed and ready to go.

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