MuuMuu101's 68 Dart, A Learning Process...

[MuuMuu101]

Got some more work out today. I removed the driveshaft (making a big ATF mess

) and my friend and I cut the ends, measured what we need to, and the ends should be shipped to have a new driveshaft made.

Also, we brought out a punch and a BFH for the LCA pins and started hammering the back side so that we'd can start tightening them down. This method did work out great. Only problem we had was at a point the nut bottomed out on the threads before the pin fully seated in the K-frame so we added the oem washers underneath the Hotchkis washers. We still have full thread engagement on the nut (about 3-4 threads showing).

I've been juggling back and forth between Cass and I regarding tracking numbers. He had to drop ship them from the supplier so they may get here later in the week. Hopefully brakes will probably be done by Saturday.

I'll do some quick measurements and I'll order my wheels.

 

[MuuMuu101]

So, I should probably update this thread. I've been busy with school for the past 3 months so I haven't been able to work on the car till last weekend where I was able to loosely put the entire suspension together.

Tonight, I asked my friend to help me real quick. I wanted another set of eyes when looking at my Dr Diff disc brake kit as I don't think anyone has installed this on an A-body. Apparently there were contact issues with some other rear mounted calipers and these UCA's due to an added bend in the UCA. Of course, mine interfered as my calipers are humungous. So, we swapped spindles side-to-side and there was a good 1-2" of room between the caliper and the strut rod throughout the suspension's full range of motion. So, some brake lines are going to need to be moved around, but that shouldn't be a major problem. While waiting and thinking for a bit we took a detour to install the driveshaft.

So, the project is moving along...

 

[MuuMuu101]

A little more work done today.

 

[DNasty777]

Damn those puppies are big!! Looks mean!! But will they clear the sway bars?

 

[MuuMuu101]

Damn those puppies are big!! Looks mean!! But will they clear the sway bars?

I'm pretty sure they will. The Hotchkis sway bars mount in board on the LCA whereas a stock and most aftermarket sway bars mount closer to the spindles.

 

[dennday67]

Wow its been along time since I've read your build. Everything is looking great. I need to get out and work on the valiant. Been really busy working on the new house.

 

[MuuMuu101]

Wow its been along time since I've read your build. Everything is looking great. I need to get out and work on the valiant. Been really busy working on the new house.

Dude, you and your buddies make awesome projects. Your Valiant and Justin's Dart are top notch. Want to come out here and repaint the Dart?

 

[barbee6043]

wind chill this a m is bout - 20!?? been reading your build.... awesome!
college teaches you tons-- real world teaches you even more!!?????
you have a car and work to be proud of,, the rest of your life and look at all you have learned ,,, and even though hard work.. enjoyed!!????

 

[MuuMuu101]

wind chill this a m is bout - 20!?? been reading your build.... awesome!
college teaches you tons-- real world teaches you even more!!?????
you have a car and work to be proud of,, the rest of your life and look at all you have learned ,,, and even though hard work.. enjoyed!!????

Thank you. I've learned a lot and working on a couple cars has definitely helped expand my knowledge. I'll be graduating in a little less than 3 months and my current internship is looking to hire me. So, I've got that going for me. :blob:

 

[dennday67]

Dude, you and your buddies make awesome projects. Your Valiant and Justin's Dart are top notch. Want to come out here and repaint the Dart?

Thanks, dan does the painting, I do the welding and grinding. I'm really happy with justin's mini tub and frenched in flip top gas cap. Really thinking of getting the 360 put back together.

 

[MuuMuu101]

Thanks, dan does the painting, I do the welding and grinding. I'm really happy with justin's mini tub and frenched in flip top gas cap. Really thinking of getting the 360 put back together.

I've got the flip top gas cap on reserve at the moment. I've got to take apart my front suspension, partially, as the threads for my LCA ball joints are screwed up. On the plus side, my adjustable shocks came in last week and my wheels are coming in Friday.

 

[dennday67]

I really need to come up with a game plan for my Valiant but with the new house its been on back burner. Plus Im looking at replacing the motor in the wives truck and were going to be starting on dans wives mustang soon. I have the adapter to mount the flip top gas cap just need to order one. Trying to decide if I want to run the mini lite wheels I picked up or order new ones but that ties into do I want to run the B body 8.75 stock, narrow or find something else.

 

[MuuMuu101]

I really need to come up with a game plan for my Valiant but with the new house its been on back burner. Plus Im looking at replacing the motor in the wives truck and were going to be starting on dans wives mustang soon. I have the adapter to mount the flip top gas cap just need to order one. Trying to decide if I want to run the mini lite wheels I picked up or order new ones but that ties into do I want to run the B body 8.75 stock, narrow or find something else.

Once suspension is done, I really don't know what I want to do with drivetrain as the engine and trans are going to need a lot of attention. The last on my list is body. From my experience, using an A body 8 3/4 was nice since it was bolt on and the center section can be replaced; however, it was quite expensive to rebuild (like Dr Diff S60 rear expensive), and limited me a bit on wheel options. If I were to do it again, I would have done a B body one.

 

[MuuMuu101]

So today I decided to stop thinking about the things that are stressing me out more in life and focus on a different, but arguably, less burdensome task.

I finished putting together the entire front suspension and brake setup. I toqued everything but I haven't fiddled with my camber bolts because I'm not sure how to set those properly. I also installed my Hotchkis, Fox Adjustable shocks and right now I set them to the softest setting. I just hope when I start driving this thing it will be painless and I won't find things I overlooked or forgot.

Right now, what I need to do is remake a couple of the front brakelines to make up for the front mounted calipers, swap out my rear shocks, install subframe connectors and sway bars, send it to an alignment shop, and some fluid based maintenance (oil change, add trans fluid, flush radiator, etc.)

O yeah... Test fit of new wheels to see how they'd look. Torsion bars and shocks were already installed so I couldn't get it any lower.

 

[MuuMuu101]

I know it's towards the end, but I'm throwing in the towel. I've got the wheels on the car and put the car on the ground. Definitely an awesome moment and all I could think was how bad @$$ it was. Well, next weekend, I'm going to be sending the car over to my mechanics. I'm going to have them redo a couple brake lines, do some regular maintenance, set its alignment, and weld in the sway bars and subframe connectors.

Hopefully it will be done sometime before April and I'll be able to take it to the Hotchkis Autocross and/or Spring Fling.

One thing I was upset about was that one side sits higher than the other. Whenever I fiddled with the passenger side adjuster the ride height changed. No matter how much I tightened or loosened the driver side torsion bar adjuster the ride height stayed the same so now my car has a little gangster lean to it. The whole driver side is taller than the passenger side. Overall, I like the ride height of the passenger side.

Also, it looks like there may be some interference with the top passenger quarter panel brace. I don't have that problem with the driver's side because the brace tore off sometime in its lifetime... No, seriously, the mounting points are gone, sheared.

Due to the wheels, the GT trim is starting to grow on me. I really don't know why, but not too long ago I wanted to throw it all out. Now I wish I kind of had the driver's door trim and all the trim was in better condition.

So here are some pictures... I edited on my phone, increasing the brightness and adding a filter to see more of the details. That's why there's an interesting hue to it.

1. Driver's Side
2. Passenger Side
3. Driver's Front
4. Driver's Rear
5. Passenger Front
6. Passenger Rear

 

[TylerW]

The car looks great.

Maybe it would be a good idea for you to spend more time actually driving and enjoying that car instead of being concerned with large-scale projects. Just pick away at small stuff as you drive it.

Guys always think the first thing to do is tear a car apart. Then, they realize that it'll require being put back together and so there it sits while Mr. Amateur car restorer works hard to find other things to occupy his time and money.

It's a short list of affordable Mopars that are much cooler than a '68 Swinger. Keep that in mind next time you contract sell-it-itus.

 

[MuuMuu101]

The car looks great.

Maybe it would be a good idea for you to spend more time actually driving and enjoying that car instead of being concerned with large-scale projects. Just pick away at small stuff as you drive it.

Guys always think the first thing to do is tear a car apart. Then, they realize that it'll require being put back together and so there it sits while Mr. Amateur car restorer works hard to find other things to occupy his time and money.

It's a short list of affordable Mopars that are much cooler than a '68 Swinger. Keep that in mind next time you contract sell-it-itus.

Although this is the first, this will definitely be the last car I build. The reason why I went all out is I redid the brakes last year and I still wasn't happy with the performance, so I thought, "Let's do it once and do it right." There are so many things screwy with this car that the previous owner abused they have to be addressed, taking it out of service. The engine and maybe the trans is going to have to be next to go as the engine has low compression and is probably going to die sooner than later. I don't ever plan on selling this car.

To be honest, I hate the build. I just do it to learn whatever I can even though there are so many people who can put it together 4-5x's faster and more proper than I can. I try to follow the service manual as best as possible and constantly ask for help on the forums. All I care about is driving.

 

[DNasty777]

My Val had the same problem with the t-bar adjusters. Didn't want to change height when I backed them out. What I did was jacked the car up, backed out the adjusters, alot, then bounced the crap out of the front suspension. Drove it around the block to let it settle and then adjusted them back to the position I wanted, bounced it, took it for a ride, rinse and repeat!

 

[MuuMuu101]

My Val had the same problem with the t-bar adjusters. Didn't want to change height when I backed them out. What I did was jacked the car up, backed out the adjusters, alot, then bounced the crap out of the front suspension. Drove it around the block to let it settle and then adjusted them back to the position I wanted, bounced it, took it for a ride, rinse and repeat!

I was being stupid. I focused more on tightening the adjuster than loosening it thinking it was the opposite. Now it sits just fine.

 

[H20loo]

I can't seem to find the info on your wheels. Are they bullit replicas. I would keep the gt trim- I also like it with those wheels.

 

[MuuMuu101]

I can't seem to find the info on your wheels. Are they bullit replicas. I would keep the gt trim- I also like it with those wheels.

I sent you a pm. They're M/T wheels sold on Summit.

 

[MuuMuu101]

Getting back on it. Finished my last set of finals on Friday, so hopefully I pass all my classes. Then I should be working full-time soon.

Other than that, I'm back on the Dart. I've got a bunch of little things I need to take care of. Today I replaced a shock (the one I got had a shim that was accidentally pressed in the bushing). Tomorrow I'm going to fiddle with the front and the ride height a little bit. Monday I'm doing an oil change (actually the first one I've ever done). Tuesday my friend is coming over to do brake lines and help me bleed the system. Wednesday I'm going to start greasing ball joints. Hopefully Thursday or Friday I'll send it out to be aligned. And if I'm lucky, I will be able to compete in the Hotchkis Autocross over the weekend.

 

[Fitz68]

I'm stoked I found this post...I have the exact same car you do(318 tho) and have decided to start with the brakes...I'm just trying to figure out which kit to get and whether to replace the rear end or just get an adapter for now. Like you, I enjoy driving it and don't want it up on stands forever! Looking back, any advice for someone starting where you were a few years ago?

 

[MuuMuu101]

I'm stoked I found this post...I have the exact same car you do(318 tho) and have decided to start with the brakes...I'm just trying to figure out which kit to get and whether to replace the rear end or just get an adapter for now. Like you, I enjoy driving it and don't want it up on stands forever! Looking back, any advice for someone starting where you were a few years ago?

If it's running and it's not broken, don't upgrade it! Half the time, literally, I've owned the car it's been on jack stands. I really haven't enjoyed driving this car as much as I could have because I've been trying to upgrade it. Granted, my upgrades were for "safety" reasons, but some of them I overdid just a tad. If it runs and drives ok now, just enjoy it for what it is and save some money for the big stuff later. Besides that, your Dart looks great! It looks much better than mine (you even have the driver's door trim ).

 

[MuuMuu101]

Well, a big update for you guys... I got the Dart on all 4's again and sent it to a shop. Part of it is to get some safety concerns addressed and the other part is to make it a racecar. Things on the list to get done... Engine swap (I already have a deal made it should make more than enough power for me to handle), new steering box (we're going to try something new, not Borgeson or FirmFeel), a potential manual trans swap (up in the air), and new interior (seats, belt, steering wheel, steering column/maybe, and a 4-point cage). It should be fun, but man is it going to hurt the bank account.