Geo's 1969 Swinger 340 thread

[Geo4K]

I'll start with some background: This car was bought new in Albuquerque NM in the summer of 69. Tom (original owner) was in the Air Force there TDY (temporary duty) to Kirtland AFB from Wright Patterson AFB, OH. He was in Albuquerque a long time and lived cheaply with 3 or 4 other guys staying in a small apartment - and saved every dime and penny he could. Near the end of the TDY he went to the local Dodge dealer (Dodge Country Inc.) and bought this Dart off the lot. In September of that year he married his wife Sue. They had this car here in Albuquerque until 2011.

 

[Geo4K]

As Tom explained it, "this was my family car, so I never abused it and kept good care of it." He later separated from the AF but stayed in the area. Working at Intel here, a co-worked in an early 70s big block Camaro constantly bugged him to race - he really didn't want to, but.... after much grief, one day the Camaro and the Dart found each other on the freeway. Tom got next to the guy and downshifted that 340 and the green machine with its 3:23 gear buried that Camaro. Dude never bugged Tom to race again. A few clutches, one water pump and typical tune up parts was all the car ever needed. Sometime in the late 80s though, it stopped running. His father in law, a wrench by profession was no longer able to help maintain the car and it sat in his driveway for many years.

 

[1970Duster]

Nice back story

 

[Geo4K]

So, in 1987 the AF sent me to Sembach AB, Germany. There I met this young kid from New York - he was an annoying Mopar guy - and a Giants fan to boot. We got along pretty damn well aside from that. We stayed in touch over the years and ended up both retiring after 20+ years in, and after all our moves, we ended up living less than 8 miles from each other here in New Mexico.

Bob got stationed at Kirtland AFB here in Albuquerque long before I did. Naturally, he put out his Mopar feelers and eventually was tipped off about the 69 Dart sitting in a driveway. Bob is a friendly guy and it was easy for him to go to the car and introduce himself to the family. They weren't interested in selling the car though.

Bob married his wife, who is from here, so he was able to visit often, and keep tabs on the car. His persistence paid off on 2011 when Sue called him and told Bob they were ready to sell. Pretty sure he got the car that very day.

 

[Geo4K]

Bob did what he does and got the Swinger running in short order. Rebuilt the brakes and located and bought many missing items. He installed a Legendary interior and took a boat load of photos to document the car. All the important stuff is numbers matching. Everything else is properly date code for the car - less the water pump. He went through the trunk and found something dear to Tom and Sue and returned it to them.

 

[Geo4K]

About 18 months later, Bob is tired of me drooling over the Dart. While visiting him during a hospital stay, he offers to sell it to me. Life is too short, he can't drive them both at the same time, and he has his Cuda to spend money on... I agree to buy it, but want to talk to him again when his head is clear of all those wonderful meds they throw at you in hospitals. Sure enough, he wasn't kidding. The car came to me in late January 2014.

 

[Geo4K]

So, currently it's in the air in my garage. Bob and I have the front end out of it and are in the midst of rebuilding it all. It's a learning process for me and as he puts it, he still has a part of the car's life. He has full visitation - and I pay the bills. I figure on a 5 year plan. The goal is at times a moving target. Lots of work to do and at times I question my sanity. In the end, I find myself sometimes just standing in the garage and looking at the car, happier than a pig in sh1t!! This site and you members are an outstanding source of inspiration and knowledge. Thanks, so far, to all you guys and gals that have answered my questions. I'll post more soon and try to get this thread caught up with where things are at right now. Here's a few more.

George

 

[limegreen70]

I will be watching this thread Love 69 340 Swingers

 

[684mulas]

Awesome. I even love the sun roasted paint! I'd drive it like that. Is it as straight and un-rusty as it looks in the pictures? That car has character that you never see in a restored car. Good luck with it.

 

[FJRdoc]

Love the car and the story. If you need help, this forum is the place to be. FABO has saved me a lot of time and money with the help of the very knowledgeable members here. I think that the price of the gold membership is a bargain and a way for me to show my support.

 

[Geo4K]

Thanks all. Here's some more of the "back story". It was late last night when I put this up and I should have done this then.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=219389

http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/mopp-1303-one-owner-1969-dodge-dart/

One neat thing about this car - aside from all the history that came with it, is the SPD of 505. That is a natural for the Albuquerque area, with the area code of 505.

 

[Snake]

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSweet

 

[UCUDANT]

George, actually I told you that since I was going to need another driver when I got out of the hospital (and since lifes too short) I was going to make the Swinger my daily driver. At that point you pleaded with me not to and said you'd buy it if it came down to that.... and I'm still building my Turbo Driver

George skipped allot of work (that he helped with too) he came by and we hand degrimed the upper portions of the 340, and stretch some vinyl etc.

 

[3rdLM23P9]

What a great story - will be watching your progress!

 

[813Demon340]

Now get that front end put back together and start driving it!! I'm glad you started a thread because theres a lot of knowledgeable folks on here.

I had tried to buy that Dart a few times when I lived there but obviously had no luck. I'm glad you and Bob got it. If you ever need anything for it just ask!

 

[Geo4K]

As I was cleaning stuff - and that gave me plenty of time to think, I wanted to improved upon a few things from when Ma Mopar built it. Offset bushings for the upper control arms came to mind and so did boxing in the lowers.

BTW: I bought the tool set from American Muscle and that was handy with taking most of the components apart as well as reassembly - but the pivot arm bushings.... ugh. We did one side via the Frankenstein brute force method that was a PITA and scared the inner side of the sleeve just a bit. I had a washer welded on to the top of the other LCA and will push it out using that method. Research, Google and read. And more photos and labels from here on out. No matter how much people preach it, until you get into it for the first time, ya just don't really know.

That's it for now, I'm a slow mover but I do try to make steady progress in some form or another!

 

[813Demon340]

Any progress is good progress, keep it going!

 

[Geo4K]

OK - now I can concentrate on nothing but reassembly of the front end. Should another one of these cross my path later, I'll approach it with more confidence. There's more reading and note taking I could have done... but you live and learn. I've never been this deep into a ft end before and Mopars are pretty new to me anyways.

 

[FJRdoc]

I was in the same boat George. I had never been this aggressive with the tear-down or rebuild processes on a car before digging into my Duster. Researching FABO, YouTube and the factory service manual answered most questions. I posted questions for some of the other things I couldn't find answers for. By the time you finish the Dart, you'll be ready to tear into another A body!

 

[Geo4K]

Thanks Kevin - It's hard for me to get focused sometimes... and not wonder off at start work on another section of the car! I am taking a slight detor looking for a place to ship my manual steering box off to for a rebuild. I need to grab some rotors too. Once I get the bushings into the LCAs, I'll start to make quick work of the front of the car. Was a bit off last week so I got very little done.

 

[twotone68]

I Also had a 69 340 4 spd. swinger in high school. was That creamy yellow with a black bumble bee strip, bench man,man. Black steels with pie tins.Sure do mis that car. Fabulous Story. Keep it Up. Love to see the end results !!!

 

[Geo4K]

It pays to have friends with a garage full of tools and access to a shop - if needed. The 80 ton press we used here made it pretty easy. Just need to clean and paint them - along with the uppers and a few other bits. Need to get my new bushings on the sway bar brackets next - which I understand can be a bit of fun!

- George

 

[paulz340dart]

George, I fought both sides of them Lower control arm bushings as well. Took 3 hours of beating and banging on one side, and 2 hours on the other side just to get them out!!! After that they went together perfectly. My name is Paul and I live here in mesa Az. If I can help you in anyway, please give me a shout. I do have some spare stuff left over after my build. I to also knew and then owned my car for many years, which gave me the drive to finish it. It has to be a labor of love. No promises but I will try to post a picture for some more ambition for you!!!!!

 

[BIG-B-Barracuda]

AWESOME thread.

 

[Geo4K]

Thanks guys - This can get painful at times, but it will be so satisfying to know my car from end to end when its done. I love these cars - the lines that shout 60s styling. Mine will surely be driven a lot when its done. Love seeing these old Mopars on the street.