''I'm going to fix it up someday'' The resurrection of a '74 Dart Sport......

[Dartnut]

Looking good Dartnut! I also hope your back gets to feeling better so you can continue on with the metal work.

Thanks Scott, i am starting to feel better now.
The sheet metal work will be coming soon.
This car build is also an investment in my mental health, so it has to progress forward!
Damn it sucks getting old!
I am now officially an F.O.P. rotest:

 

[Dartnut]

Right on Tom. That does give it a nice stance with the new diff. She's come a long way from the state from which you started. You know I have a work out program, it may not do much for your back, but it will help keep your arm in good shape! :drinkers:

Thanks for the offer, George.
I may need to come over for your all natural ''Homeopathic Remodies''
I like the ''John Molson'' approach that you are suggesting......:drinkers::drinkers::drinkers:

 

[Dartnut]

Well, the Dart Sport is officially on the road! :cheers:
It breezed through the inspection, now i can take care of some small details and fine tuning.
The lady at the registry office couldn't believe that i still had the paperwork from 1986 still and it survived the house fire we had 12 years ago. It was singed around the edges, but still legible!
I've got about 100 miles on it now, been driving it for about a week. No major problems yet, just get in and drive! :burnout:
Now i can do the other upgrades as i drive it. (Mostly cosmetics) :glasses7:
Stay tuned.........

 

[gdrill]

Yesir! I can vouch for the ride as Tom took me for a cruise, it is excellent. The 4spd took me back to a time when I was younger and cruising with my Buds. Congratulations Tom, it has been a long time coming......27 years long!!

 

[Dartnut]

Yesir! I can vouch for the ride as Tom took me for a cruise, it is excellent. The 4spd took me back to a time when I was younger and cruising with my Buds. Congratulations Tom, it has been a long time coming......27 years long!!

Thanks George.
Now we have to get together some time so i can go for a ride in Rex.
What's old is new again!

 

[71Racer]

WE WANT A UPDATE !!WE WANT A UPDATE!! LOL :violent1:
I GOT TO GO FOR A RIDE IN THE GREEN DARTSPORT AND WHAT A NICE DRIVING CAR. SMOOTH, SOUNDS GREAT AND A REAL HEAD TURNER.
IM VERY HAPPY FOR YOU TOM AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND YOU FINALLY GOT THE OLD GIRL DONE AND ON THE ROAD. WHATS NEXT??

 

[txstang84]

Right on Dartnut-glad to hear you got it all squared away and are now driving it. I had to drop my '72 Scamp down at my Dad's house for storage...I'll be away from it for four years while stationed in the Pacific. I was pleasantly surprised when it made the non-stop 360 mile trip (except for nature/gas) without a hitch. Actually made about 16mpg doing 70-75mph the whole way.

Awesome work man!

 

[gdrill]

I'm tapping my foot! Haven't you done anything else!?!?!

 

[Dartnut]

WE WANT A UPDATE !!WE WANT A UPDATE!! LOL :violent1:
I GOT TO GO FOR A RIDE IN THE GREEN DARTSPORT AND WHAT A NICE DRIVING CAR. SMOOTH, SOUNDS GREAT AND A REAL HEAD TURNER.
IM VERY HAPPY FOR YOU TOM AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND YOU FINALLY GOT THE OLD GIRL DONE AND ON THE ROAD. WHATS NEXT??

As if you didn't know, and thanks for the props......lol
O.K., i'll do an update!

 

[Dartnut]

So, i wanted the up and over stripes, but this being a budget, and the paint is so/so, the next option was to paint them on.
With some help from George (gdrill) i got some patterns and measurements off of one of my parts cars that had originals on it.
This is a very rusty '74 dart Sport 318 parts car. The stripe is white, but you can see how faded the stripe and paint are......especially on the roof!
We made a tracing on some sheet paper for the complicated contours of where it goes up and over on the quarter panels.

 

[Dartnut]

Now it was time for the Green Meanie to get the stripes painted on.
I used 3 coats of gloss white Duplicolor after a scuff with a grey scotchbrite pad.
A lot of credit goes to R.J. (71 Racer) for use of his shop and involvement........
He even took the sheets off their bed to cover the car!
(I hope Jen isn't reading this)

 

[Dartnut]

Now, the final result! :cheers:
I think it changes the car completely!
Me likey.........:burnout:

 

[gdrill]

It does look good with those stripes Tom! Honestly I wasn't sure about the white with the black, you know me I like plain, but I have to say it fits very well. Job well done you guys!
Now......don't you have a couple more stickers to put on yet?!

 

[unknownsnake]

Ya the strip really completes the car. Same reason I went with that stripe on mine

 

[Space Duster]

Looking good

 

[Dartnut]

It does look good with those stripes Tom! Honestly I wasn't sure about the white with the black, you know me I like plain, but I have to say it fits very well. Job well done you guys!
Now......don't you have a couple more stickers to put on yet?!

Thanks George.
Yeah, there's a bit more to go as soon as i do some quarter panel and tail panel work.

 

[Dartnut]

Ya the strip really completes the car. Same reason I went with that stripe on mine

Thanks, your car looks awesome in that color and stripe you chose.
If i could afford a good paint job, i would have gone with the decal kit like you did.
Maybe in a couple of years.......

 

[Dartnut]

Looking good

Thank you, it has been a lot of work!

 

[Dartnut]

Well, i got tired of looking at the rust in the driver's side quarter, so i decided to fix it up a bit.
This is what it looked like after someone repaired a light rear end collision back in the early '80s and how it looks today........
Most of the bondo behind the tail lights actually was stuck to the bezels and fell off when i took them out. Lol!

 

[Dartnut]

Let's see what we have here......
Not many surprises, except the lower part of the tail panel sprung inward when i relieved the quarter.

 

[Dartnut]

Pics.

 

[Dartnut]

AMD rear patch panel should be big enough to fix this i hope!
I had an old Goodmark panel to cut up for the inner trunk drop off, and like all Goodmark panels, some tweaking will be necessary.......
It actually was pretty good overall.
The AMD panel was thicker than the original and all of the lines etc. was spot on in the original location. :cheers:

 

[Dartnut]

More welding and fitting........
It took a little push with a port-a-power and some hammering to get the tail panel back into place.

 

[Dartnut]

Well, it's a lot of sanding, filling, remove high spots and low spots etc. to get it close enough for paint that you can't see in the pics, but it was worth it.
Body work isn't always fun or easy as you all know.......
If i were to do it right, i would have replaced the full quarter and the tail panel, but this will have to do for now!
Cheap 'n dirty! :evil4:

 

[Dartnut]

Final results........:glasses7:
A little better, and i don't have to shovel the rust away before i move the car! :wack:
I also painted the rubber trim and replaced the rubber on the bumperette while the 500 pound bumper was off.
Ozzy the big black shop kitty likes it, so how do you argue with that?
Maybe he's just happy to have the car out of the shop so he can finally sleep! rotest:
He hates grinders and welders.
Thanks again R.J. (71 Racer) for all of your help and the use of your shop and kitty.

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