Now giving investment advice?? Lol
Dodge Dart Sport
- Thread starter RiderOfCerberus
- Start date
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I'll bet Granddaddy's right there to help him if anything goes wrong with that car too. And from the looks of it grandpappy is a Mopar man.
Absolutely! We have limited pics/insight into the car but I bet there is more than $7500 into it.
Looks like GP did it right and what better way to get into Mopars then buying from Mopar family.
Looks like GP did it right and what better way to get into Mopars then buying from Mopar family.
RiderOfCerberus
Member
Great looking car!
Looks like it's been really well taken care of. Love that the top is painted instead of vinyl, that will save you a lot of rust repair later!
As for your questions-
1. A 360 is a great engine. Biggest drawbacks are probably the cast crank and 360 specific external balance, but neither of those are really a big deal. Pretty much everything else about it is a plus.
2. Yes, you can totally swap on a Duster front end. As nice as that car is though, I think I would leave it alone! Painting the new bodywork to match isn't cheap, and it's definitely money you can spend elsewhere. But, if you really want to swap it, you'll need everything from the doors forward that unbolts. Fenders, hood, hood latch support panel, grille, grille support, bumper, and brackets. Since your car is a '74, you might have a shock mounted front bumper, which can be complicating. But it kind of looks like you've got a standard bracket bumper, which means any standard mounted Duster bumper that matches the front clip should work.
I did the opposite swap, I went from a '74 Duster to a Dart front end.
Before
View attachment 1715150897
After
View attachment 1715150898
3. Forced induction is not my area of expertise, there are no doubt options for the 360, for your Dart specifically is a different story. Keep in mind if you have a stock engine build you have cast pistons and a cast crankshaft, so, you'll want to go easy on the boost until you get things sorted out.
And finally, get rid of those lift shackles!!! They're not particularly effective, not exactly safe, and in the long run will ruin whatever is left of your springs. Overall, they give you LOUSY handling. If you like the ride height as high as it is in the back, you'll need new leaf springs with a higher arch to do it correctly. ESPO is a good source, they sell +1" and +2" springs for the back. If you don't want the back end of the car jacked up '70's street freak style, just put a stock set of shackles back there.
View attachment 1715150896
Thanks, thats super helpful! I probably wont do forced induction, for awhile. I dont need any extra power anyways. As far as the shackles go, thanks for pointing that out, cause i had no idea they were even an issue!
RiderOfCerberus
Member
Actually, he's a GM guy. Has a '58 Impala and a same year (I think?) Delray. Owned a bunch of VW's before that. I might end up a Mopar guy if this car ends up being as great as I think it will.
Well from the looks of that car he did an excellent job on it.
Dad was a GM/car guy as well, but I was able to convert him before he passed.
Very nice transition! Good work
Great looking car!
Looks like it's been really well taken care of. Love that the top is painted instead of vinyl, that will save you a lot of rust repair later!
As for your questions-
1. A 360 is a great engine. Biggest drawbacks are probably the cast crank and 360 specific external balance, but neither of those are really a big deal. Pretty much everything else about it is a plus.
2. Yes, you can totally swap on a Duster front end. As nice as that car is though, I think I would leave it alone! Painting the new bodywork to match isn't cheap, and it's definitely money you can spend elsewhere. But, if you really want to swap it, you'll need everything from the doors forward that unbolts. Fenders, hood, hood latch support panel, grille, grille support, bumper, and brackets. Since your car is a '74, you might have a shock mounted front bumper, which can be complicating. But it kind of looks like you've got a standard bracket bumper, which means any standard mounted Duster bumper that matches the front clip should work.
I did the opposite swap, I went from a '74 Duster to a Dart front end.
Before
View attachment 1715150897
After
View attachment 1715150898
3. Forced induction is not my area of expertise, there are no doubt options for the 360, for your Dart specifically is a different story. Keep in mind if you have a stock engine build you have cast pistons and a cast crankshaft, so, you'll want to go easy on the boost until you get things sorted out.
And finally, get rid of those lift shackles!!! They're not particularly effective, not exactly safe, and in the long run will ruin whatever is left of your springs. Overall, they give you LOUSY handling. If you like the ride height as high as it is in the back, you'll need new leaf springs with a higher arch to do it correctly. ESPO is a good source, they sell +1" and +2" springs for the back. If you don't want the back end of the car jacked up '70's street freak style, just put a stock set of shackles back there.
View attachment 1715150896
If you have a question or problem with that car you just post and somebody on here will help you.
67dartgtgo
Well-Known Member
Pretty nice ride just the way it sits. Might want to enjoy it for a while before you start that upgrade fever that grabs us and doesn’t want to let go.
diymirage
HP@idle > hondaHP@redline
now that you mentioned that, i have one question...what color is the engine bay?
(you'll get a chuckle out of that question as you grow into mopars....speaking of growing, im kinda curious about your age?)
now, a few things about this dart sport
first of, it is a gorgeous looking car, it is obvious your grand dad put a lot of work into it making it his own
the downside of that is that "personalization" can, in the eyes of some, reduce value
take the interior for instance, i love the red stripe in the upholstery, but a purist may not
for resale value (not like you're ever going to sell this care) that could be a minus
do you know if the roof was vinyl before?
if it was, there are some areas that may have had rust repaired and can be burdensome
when you open the hood, on the drivers side fender there is a tag (sometimes two) with a bunch of codes on it
this tag will tell you how the car was first ordered, if you post a picture of it, we can decode it for you and tell you if it had a vinyl roof or not
j par
Well-hung Member
Oh wait a minute here you twisting me up. Yeah of course I wish my grandfather would have sold me I totally cool car and I think the car is totally cool. What does that have to do with the complete fact that if he has no money to purchase the car flat-out he certainly has no money to start doing forced induction. How that got Twisted into something about not wanting the car or something I don't even understand.
j par
Well-hung Member
He might actually want to pay for it on the payments and all that before he starts doing any upgrades?
j par
Well-hung Member
Well no s*** Sherlock.
j par
Well-hung Member
No I was pointing out to Yellow Rose a local one that is for sale. Wasn't giving any advice, I was making locals aware of their options. Stop twisting...
j par
Well-hung Member
You guys all need to get a grip! This is obviously some kid who stands to inherit his grandpa's car. On payments. His very first post his very first muscle car and he's already talking about forced induction? It's quite obvious he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. Sure doesn't take much for everybody start talking nonsense. Why don't we start talking this kid into some nice big disc brakes or something for it before he goes doing something fool hearted like putting forced induction on it?
M e l l o, m e l l o, m e l l o come on say it. m e l l o.
If he gets it paid off and invest in a 401 gets married has 2.4 children lives to be 103 then he could maybe hop it up just a little. If the children have graduated with master degrees then it's time to spend some money on some good used tires.
Come on make a payment , buy parts, modifly. Make a payment, buy parts, modifly, roast tires, cruise. Repeat.
1. Buy it NOW. NOW. NOW. If you aren't going to, give Grandpa my phone number. If the rest of the car looks as well done as what we can see, you have a very nice prize from him.
2. Some people on this site are always:
A. Negative. Nothing is ever good enough or correct enough.
B. A$$holes. You can always ignore them.
C. Sarcastic. You will learn which ones are and which ones fit into A, B or C above.
D. Great People. This is by far the largest group on this site. Many will help with any issues you have and a great deal of them are pure genius' when it comes to figuring out problems and solutions.
3. Welcome to the site! Enjoy
You,you cant build that car for 7,500.
I will likely have that just in parts to get my Barracuda rolling.
Grandpa spent a lot of time and or money on that car. I would grab it in a heartbeat.
And respect it as is.
If you were raised on driving front wheel drives,pay attention,as it will get away on you until you get used to it. Wouldnt want a wreck in the first week.
I will likely have that just in parts to get my Barracuda rolling.
Grandpa spent a lot of time and or money on that car. I would grab it in a heartbeat.
And respect it as is.
If you were raised on driving front wheel drives,pay attention,as it will get away on you until you get used to it. Wouldnt want a wreck in the first week.
j par
Well-hung Member
Oh yeah I stand by buying the car for sure sight unseen especially if it was my grandpa's on whatever terms he was going to give me. The fun part will be when you look back on this thread and you find out what a handful it is as it is and think what was I thinking about forced induction already? I can't keep this on the road as it is! From someone who's came from a car that has 10 times more handling abilities no matter what you have or what you do. I can only imagine after you drive it a few times that you will immediately want to do some work to the suspension to make it handle like every other car you've ever driven before. I think you'll find the power more than adequate for a first-timer with a muscle car. I'd be shocked to find out grandpa doesn't have this dialed in completely.
j par
Well-hung Member
Yeah in other words after driving it you'll be looking for more ways to get it to stop than to get it to go faster! LOL 2 months from now you'll probably be all over the suspension part of this forum LOL
j par
Well-hung Member
If the word "whoa" isn't in your vocabulary it will be soon...
j par
Well-hung Member
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