Dad’s 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 340

[jcmeyer5]

So I used a screwdriver in the coils to open them up and bead blasted between the coils the best I could. Once that was done I opened the coils with the screwdrivers and packed the coil with grease. The Duster hood is smooth as silk and you can't hear it open. It can be done . I also welded a couple of washers to give it more support on the pin to help with how they wanted to bow out when you closed it.

oh no doubt it can be done. I’ve seen your builds.. you can do nearly anything.

I went with struts on the trunk because the torsion bars weren’t staying in place. I’m making mods to the hood hinges for more stability, and struts because I like the idea

 

[Joe Mc]

Good idea

 

[jcmeyer5]

Headliner time. First was the insulation. I used some left over Dynaliner. Nothing exciting there. Sail boards went up next. I drilled the nail hole out to 5/32 and used some small panel push pins to hold it in place. I actually drilled a 2nd hole towards the back near the rear window for a 2nd pin. Installed the bows, trimmed the listing channel, and hung them. We used binder clips and started clipping the front and rear. We had to cut a lot of material out of the rear because the headliner I got didn’t have the back window portion cut out. Today I think we will trim some more out so we can start pulling the material.

 

[Joe Mc]

Always good times with headliner install. Thankfully your front and rear glass is out, really the only way to do it for sure. Can't wait to see finished install.

 

[jcmeyer5]

So I've been working... just not posting. Headliner is done... not great, but acceptable. Quarter glass is in both sides. Passenger door is on, door glass is in, working on door internals. Rear window and windshield are in as well. Here are some random pictures from putting the passenger glass in.

 

[jcmeyer5]

Many moons. No updates. The car is nearly complete. All major assembly is done. Here are some photos showing some more recent accomplished items

not exactly a Roadrunner, but found this dead guy on the roof one day

 

[jcmeyer5]

Bumpers went on last week. Here are finished bumpers.

 

[jcmeyer5]

We are doing steel wheels with dog dish caps. The wheels are going to be body color, while the caps will be the black metallic accent I have used elsewhere. Acquired the rims from a forum member. They have really nice tires on them too, so as soon as the rims are finished being painted, we will get them mounted.

 

[Joe Mc]

Looking great!

 

[jcmeyer5]

Hubcaps are painted. Note the Mustang decklid paint table

 

[jcmeyer5]

Alignment and wheels mounted and balanced today. 215/75/14 up front and 225/70/14 in the rear. Gave the car its first bath afterwards.

 

[jcmeyer5]

So the car is a driver, and it is able to do that. There are finishing touches that I am working on. Nothing picture worthy, but here's what I have done over the last 3 days

• Hooked up and tested backup lights - working
• Hooked up and tested windshield wipers - working
• Working on the dash cluster - temp and fuel gauge are no bueno. Everything else is bueno.
• Adjusted clutch pedal level to dad's liking
• Adjusted shifter linkage to "hopefully" keep it from coming out of 2nd gear
• Rattle canned the tailpipe tips satin black instead of "overspray pink"
• Cleaned up the "not original but useable" seatbelts. Need installed
• Installed the base of the side mirror while I was fixing the door handle (lever popped off)
• Installed the baseplate off my blow through Holley 650DP on dads 650DP for its power valve protection and "top down" secondary idle adjustment

Still more to do. Glove box door is not installed - waiting on a hinge. Heater cables need adjusted. Trunk needs to be finish painted. Whole car needs cut and buff. Radiator, while not leaking NOW, needs to be recored. The fun never ends.

 

[TF360]

Wow the Hub Caps and painted wheels look great. It's different-nice! I think a black tail panel stripe would look amazing too.

 

[jcmeyer5]

Yeah, I wanted to do one, but dad vetoed it. It’s his car, so he makes the calls

 

[jcmeyer5]

Working on the gauge cluster. 3 gauges were giving fits. Temp and Fuel gauges were not working at all. Speedometer was working, but getting stuck and wouldnt drop back to zero - or past 40MPH for that matter.

Pulled the gauge cluster and tested the gauges individually. Fuel gauge works but the nuts that hold it to the circuit board were loose. The temp gauge wasnt working at all. Took the face off to find the filament was broken. So that thing is junk. Ordered a new gauge cluster from ebay. Two chances at a working gauge. Temp gauge was crispified and no bueno. Fuel gauge was in good shape, just needed the tangs tightened to make the needle make a full sweep. Since the gauges use the same cores, they function the same. I will install the temp gauge on the new working core and reassembly the dash.

Speedometer had some dried out rubber grommets on the mounting screws for the speedometer. This was allowing the speedometer (the whole thing) to wobble. I trashed those and grabbed a set of small grommets from the hardware store. Reinstalled the speedometer (after rolling back the odometer, its already titled as past mechanical limits), and reinstalled. Nice tight now.

That mess is going back in tonight, which will allow me to reinstall the steering column, column trim, steering wheel, and e-brake assembly. And then go test drive it.