Dad’s 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 340

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Josh is going to be really good as he matures, doing pretty darn good already.

If I may offer, suggest to him that he run the hose thru his belt, with enough slack to stretch his arm straight, use that left hand to make sure the hose stays behind him so he won't have to step over it and/or chance kicking it into the wet paint. This way when he moves side to side he'll only have to take one "side-step" and be able to better keep the gun straight on and maintain desired distance. I'm sure you've mentioned this stuff before, but as you know from when you (we) were younger Mom or Dad can tell you something and it sometimes doesn't sink in till a neighbor, or someone else, says the same thing:lol:.

Looking good:thumbsup:
 
When I was back doing this, why didnt anyone tell me the dash came out so darn easy? Last night we went to repaint the dash with the metallic black, and as part of that I took out the 6 mounting bolts at the windshield edge of the dash. I had no clue that I was only 2 bolts away from taking the whole thing out! My son figured that out, so we took it out and did it right this time. Sand blasted it inside and out (no pictures), and put epoxy primer on the inside. Tonight I will put the white epoxy on the outside, and paint it tomorrow night along with a bunch of trim parts I primered a couple days ago.

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My 99 Ram & 73 Duster same thing, 5 or 6 bolts at base of windshield one on each lower side, tilt it back, lift it up and it's pretty much out.
 
So today sucked. I went to paint the dash and some trim and fudged it up royally. First coat went on great and looked good(black metallic). After the first coat I needed to mix more paint. Mixed it up and started shooting. Did the dash and half the trim pieces before I realized I grabbed the black epoxy instead of the paint. So all those parts have to start over because the epoxy will never cure. FML.
 
Been working on things. Pulled the underdash wiring for cleaning, inspection, and rewrap. Also pulled the shifter for rebuild. Bought a kit online and pulled it apart. It wasn’t bad, just nasty. Needed a total disassembly and cleaning/rebuild. After disassembly I soaked the hard parts in that Berrymans stuff. I took the case, cover, bayonet, and shift levers to sand blast and epoxy primer them. I know the carrier is in that picture, but I did NOT sand blast and paint that. I taped off the working surfaces of the shift levers and went to work. It shan’t rust anymore! After a week of cure time I reassembled the shifter. It feels so good now! Black shifter knob to match the rest of the interior. Had to pulled the fine thread insert out of the stock white one and press it into the black one.

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Parallel to the shifter and wiring stuff that I do at home, we’ve been working on getting the unibody in paint. Well, it’s done.

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Dash painting take 2. Sand blasted it tonight. Took twice as long because that epoxy primer is tough stuff. Primered it too. Also had a batch of bumper brackets I primered last night. You can look at that too

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Today was "grunt work" day. Spent the evening blasting, cleaning, and primering miscellaneous pieces, including the door hinges. Most of the parts get black metallic, but the hinges get red.

Look, I made a Mopar Christmas tree!

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Working on the heater assembly. First disassembly. There are some broken bits that need addressed. No idea I’d the blower motor works. But I do have a rebuild kit and a new core. There is a clear film on one of the doors. What’s that for? One door looks moldy but I’m guessing that used to be foam. Anyway. Pics

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Heater box is done. The halves didn’t want to line up very well. Almost like it’s 50 year old fiberglass. I sand blasted everything. Even the fiberglass, albeit very lightly. Epoxy primered everything. Then black satin rattle can. Used a DMT kit to rebuild it. Used left over rope caulk to try to fill gaps in the poorly fitting halves. Checked the motor and it spins. Replaced the core just in case.

Oh and got the door hinges painted

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Yesterday was a busy day with non-Mopar things. I did manage to slip in some time at home doing miscellaneous bits that, while not huge, needed to be done. No pictures, just cataloging for my record.

Went through the underdash wiring harness. Only found one break (not really a break, someone had repaired the passenger side door switch wire with a butt connector, but I removed that and soldered and shrink wrapped it). Rewrapped the harness in harness wrap (no adhesive, just stretchy friction wrap). Also went through the wiring for the rear lights. Found a near break in one of the taillight sockets. Fixed.
 
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Today was more interesting. I assembled the fender turn indicators, which included cutting the new socket lead in half just to get it in, then soldering it back. Also worked on the outside mirror. Since I drilled out the cast in rivets that hold the retaining plate for the ball pivot, i decided to tap those for 6-32 screws. Finally, I glued new vinyl to the dash pad. Let there be pics!

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jcmeyer5 said:
Rewrapped the harness in harness tape.
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JC, you mentioned "harness tape". I've noticed the factory used this and would prefer, when I'm doing auto electric work, to use what the factory did versus 3-M Supper 88. So, do tell where did you get the harness tape, assuming its "like and kind" that the factory used? Thanks.
 
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Thanks. Absolutely great tip on adhesive tape after first few wraps. I've seen tape with cloth strands used after first few wraps by factory. Not looking for originality just mentioning recollections. Thanks again
 
When I say ends, I mean when I get to the end of the wrap. I dont mean after I start wrapping it. Does that make sense? So if I start on the left, and go to the right, I put the tape on the end at the right. At the start, I do two wraps of the harness wrap overlapped and then start down the wires. No tape needed at the beginning.

I should also be more precise with my wording. Wrap = no adhesive. Tape = adhesive.
 
Tonight I worked on the trunk hinges. Long story short, either the metal that interfaces with the torsion rods is worn out or I’m too stupid to make it work. Either way, I’m going with gas struts. I measured out where the brackets will go, and modified the hinge arms. I plug welded the 3 holes and bead welded the edge Tomorrow I will get the other end welded in and strut installed.

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Planning on doing gas struts trunk and hood myself. No matter how much you grease those coiled hood springs they still squeak like a mouse.
 
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