build thread for jamies dart..:)

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abodyjoe said:
pinged, neutered it timing wise to help, fattened it up to help, only got 9 mpg, you smelled like exhaust after getting out of it. probably too small a cam for the compression. just got tired of messing with it. wanted something much more simple. can't get much more simple then the new engine. box stock 74 360 with a very mild cam.
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I didn't knows that old engine was that bad, 9 mpg thats really bad. Good thing you had that other 360 laying around.
 
Got the same stock 360 set up with the next size larger MP cam - 3.23 gears.
Getting 17 MPG at 65 mph.
Get 18+ MPG cruising the farm roads @
45-55 mph.
 
1969reddart said:
Got the same stock 360 set up with the next size larger MP cam - 3.23 gears.
Getting 17 MPG at 65 mph.
Get 18+ MPG cruising the farm roads @
45-55 mph.
Click to expand...

we have 3.23 gears in the dart. nice efficient 9.5" converter too.. 680 vac secondary carb. once we start driving it i'm sure i'll be able to tweak the carb more.. all i've done so far is take a little jet out of the primarys.
 
abodyjoe said:
finished the car up today... needs a front end alignment before i can drive it... have hardware coming for the fan shroud to mount that properly and have to tighten the PS belt.

seems to run nice. i'm sure i'll dial the carb in some but man it starts right up, idles well and seem to have decent pep. can't wait to get this thing out on the road.

a recap on the updates done to the car:
fresh very mild 360
fresh low gearset 904
1.08 torsion bars (Mopar A Body Torsion Bar Set 1.08" - Bergman Auto Craft)
Delrin lower control arm pivot and bushing package (BAC Lower Control Arm Pivot and Bushing Package – Mopar A Body -)
Borgeson 14:1 steering box (BAC Steering Box Upgrade Master Kit - Bergman Auto Craft)
Bilstein Shocks all the way around.
i unexpectedly upgraded to 11.75 front brakes. my buddy had the set up laying around from his charger. he talked me onto changing to the larger brakes...

i hope this all makes the car a great cruiser. just moving it around the parking lot i can feel how much better the steering box is. took some time to save and collect parts, had this project kick my *** the last 5 or so days. glad its done and now i can just tinker with it hopefully.

only had a couple problems and that was with doing the new steering box swap.

first the little triangle piece that bolts tot he block needed the holes opened up because they didn't line up properly. if i hadn't already taken the old motor home i'd have used an original mopar bracket.. no big deal though. easy fix but figured I'd mention it incase someone else has the same thing happen.

the other problem was the pulley i received was totally wrong. didn't come close to lining up. luckily my buddy tom who restores Chevelle's for a living noticed that it looked like a chevelle pulley would line up. sure enough a 70 chevelle pulley lined up perfectly. i did call/text pete at Home - Bergman Auto Craft - Home of Quality Muscle Car Parts about the problem and he was great to deal with. he was on vacation and still took the time and conversed with me about the problem. was even going to overnight me some different brackets if that chevelle pulley didn't work. i had text him quite a few times during this update with questions about a few different things (probably me over thinking things)and he got right back to me and answered my stupid questions.... his awesome customer service was greatly appreciated.

crappy cell phone video:





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Great sounding little 360. I know for some time you were considering EFI. Is that still the eventual goal, or did you decide against it?
 
mopowers said:
Great sounding little 360. I know for some time you were considering EFI. Is that still the eventual goal, or did you decide against it?
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undecided. the small holley is so simple and easy to repair if something happens its hard to go away from it. love efi, i even have the tank/pump set up new in the box but scared of the electronics and specialty parts associated with it. plus the kit and fuel system costs. i need to recover from this part of the project before thinking of anything else. now if someone wanted to give me a set up for testing and real world feed back I'd do that probably.
 
its something little and stupid but i had to do this. its been annoying for years so i finally broke down and bought the kit.

for a authentic mopar reproduction it sure fit like ****. i hate the fact that the lids on the repop ones open in the wrong direction. whatever though. it looks much better and has all the pieces now. :)

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6-21-24


so i messed around with the upper control arms today to get the wheels atleast somewhat in the right directions,, goes for alignment on thursday but i wanted to drive it....

idle is a bit high, easy fix, shifts too early, easy fix, alignment way off.. thats the bad...


the good is: the 11.75 front brakes are a huge difference.. way more then i expected. the steering box feels great even with the alignment out,, it is hissing dome so i'll call pete monday about that. the shocks are an incredible improvement.. with 1" bars, 130 pound rear springs and kyb shocks it would chatter and kinda move the car sideways over washboard type of bumps in the road if that makes sense... the car now has 1.08 bars, the same 130 pound rear springs and bilsiein shocks all the way around.. i hit those bumps right down the road from my house and noticed the differnce right away, i felt the washboard but the car stayed in place and didn;t jump around...

one of the things i'm really happy with is that the windshield washers work again...lol.. its something stupid but make sme happy.

oh, one more thing.. the exhaust dron is worse.. i'll drive it more and see how bad it really is.. may be in the market for different mufflers... hate muffler shopping.. never know what is gonna drone and what isn't..







 
got the car back from alignment today. really only drove it home because the weather here today is nuts.. sky can open up at any moment. feels good.. so weird compared to before... had it to like 70mph and felt real straight.. the bilstein shocks made a huge difference. still can't believe what they did. one thing i noticed that i don't like is the steering wheel.. its the black stock skinny thing.. thinking i may go tuff wheel since thats a bit fatter and more moren feeling. can't wait to put some miles on this thing.. smells a bit fat and i need to adjust the kickdown some.. i knew that before but now i can actually drive it and test it out and get it to my liking..
 
ok, adjusted the idle, leaned it at idle a bit and adjusted the kickdown today. took it for a decent ride and it really seems to run nice. it goes down the road nice and straight. cruises at 75 mph nicely and seems peppy. i nailed the throttle and it kicked down to 2nd gear and it took off. i was pleasantly surprised how nice it took off. still not a fan of the steering wheel and i found what is going to limit how it handles. its the bench seat but jamie wants that bench so its staying. all in all so far I'm really happy with it. oh and it has 87 octane in it right now. :). i keep forgetting to hook up the vac. advance. i have to run up and get some tubing for that.

 
temps outside are a bit milder today so i went out and messed with the dart some. its had a slant six fan shroud on it for years wich only allowed a 17" fan. was never impressed with the air it pulled.

ordered a V8 shroud from mancini and i have a couple 18" fans i wanted to try.

shroud fit great. i was quite surprised at that. decided to try the 5 blade fan since I don't have to blast and power coat it first. very happy with the air its pulling. car idled for 20 minutes in the garage and the temp barely moved.

next up is the hood to rad support seal. this car didn't come with one so i ordered one today from detroit muscle. figured for 50 bucks it couldn't hurt.

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new tires for the car. had a 7 year old set of kuhmo's on it. nothing wrong with them and plenty of tread but didn't trust them being 7 years old. 7 years ago it was much easier to find a set of 225/60-15 V-rated tires. now all i could find is H-rated tires. i just hope it still handles as well. not sure if the sidewall is as stiff.

new tires are

General Altimax RT45. hopefully its a decent tire.​


now i just have to find the damn oil leak or the mustang will be doing tr 66 in oct.

​


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69conv said:
Where are you noticing the oil?
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looked like the 90* oil filter adapter. now i can't tell. its inside the bell housing but the flexplate and converter are dry. me and a buddy were under it last night. can't see any place obvious. may pull the trans and see if one of the plugs are leaking. its pissing me off now. car runs and drives awesome now. just needs to hold oil. lol
 
abodyjoe said:
looked like the 90* oil filter adapter. now i can't tell. its inside the bell housing but the flexplate and converter are dry. me and a buddy were under it last night. can't see any place obvious. may pull the trans and see if one of the plugs are leaking. its pissing me off now. car runs and drives awesome now. just needs to hold oil. lol
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you sure it's engine oil and not from the trans front seal?
neil.
 
abodyjoe said:
new tires for the car. had a 7 year old set of kuhmo's on it. nothing wrong with them and plenty of tread but didn't trust them being 7 years old. 7 years ago it was much easier to find a set of 225/60-15 V-rated tires. now all i could find is H-rated tires. i just hope it still handles as well. not sure if the sidewall is as stiff.

new tires are

General Altimax RT45. hopefully its a decent tire.​


now i just have to find the damn oil leak or the mustang will be doing tr 66 in oct.

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15 x 7 with 225-60R15. I used that size all the way around. Makes a spare simple.
I thought they were a great tire for the money. Tire Discount did a price match and the mfg had a $70 rebate
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well getting ready for sick66 thats coming up in a couple weeks.

adjusted headlights, checked all lights, new weather strip on the trunk, making sure the spare has air and still have to clean the windows and vac it out.

car is running good, still leaking oil after the new pan and gasket but not near as bad. out of time to play with it. I'm just sending it and I'll hope for the best. like Freiburger says "Don't get it right, just get it running"... :) I'll mess with the oil leak more over the winter.

have a few things i want to do to it over the winter and for next year. fix oil leak, new drive shaft. less gear. may go to 2.76. its not a race car and i want to do more road trips in it. update the stock radio, some wiring that is just old and I'm sure ill find more stuff to mess with.

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