weldedrail
Well-Known Member
Kind of new around here but not new to Mopars. I bought this 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger in 1996 for $400. It needed a few things like a battery and starter, points and a spare tire but I drove it 75 miles home without any problems. Over the years it needed just about everything and keeping this car driveable has taught me a lot about cars. I rebuilt the front end, master cylinder, 2 rear ends, (blew up 2 7 1/4's and currently it has an 8 1/4), rebuilt the 318 on a $150 dollar budget, and many other things. I had it re-painted in 1998 complete with a new vynal top. About 7 years ago I was hit in the drivers side quater. The accident folded up the rear valance and dented the quater pretty bad. At this point I bought a new truck and parked the Dart with hopes to restore it someday. It started to seem like I would never get to restoring my old friend and entertained a few offers to sell it but I just couldn't so there it sat. The weather is not kind to the steel under vynal tops and within a few years there was rust.
Then one day I happened to be in the local Pick-n-Pull wrecking yard looking for good bumpers for one of my destruction derby cars (one of my other hobbies) when I came across a nice 71 dart with an almost perfect rear valance. I pulled it off and it got me thinking I was already half way towards fixing the wreck damage on my Dart. My main roadblock to restoring this car has always been where to start?
Now I had found somewhere to start. Fix the wreck damage. This has led to stripping the top, gutting the interior, pulling the front and rear glass to fix a little rust in the rear window seal area and the front becouse the glass was cracked and needed replaced anyway. Having the front glass out allowed me to remove the dash and repaint and re-cap the dash pad, rebuild the ac/heater controls, and repaint the plastic dash bezels and guage cluster.
Now I have been sanding for about 3 weeks and I am almost there to 100% bare metal. No real suprises as to the condition of the body. Haven't found any rust (except for the top), or unknown bondo. I knew about a few spots of filler on dings and where the passenger fender had a dent. What I was suprised to find was the method used to delete my emblems. I was under the impression that the shop had welded the holes. I can now see that they tapped each hole with a hammer and scuffed the metal and then filled the indentations with filler. I am now thinking about putting the emblems back on. I always liked the car without the embelms as they are kind of obtrusive and most people couldn't tell what it was without the name on the side.
Almost done sanding!
Passenger side finnished.
The new rear valance that started the whole restoration.
My quater panel slowly getting there.
Then one day I happened to be in the local Pick-n-Pull wrecking yard looking for good bumpers for one of my destruction derby cars (one of my other hobbies) when I came across a nice 71 dart with an almost perfect rear valance. I pulled it off and it got me thinking I was already half way towards fixing the wreck damage on my Dart. My main roadblock to restoring this car has always been where to start?
Now I had found somewhere to start. Fix the wreck damage. This has led to stripping the top, gutting the interior, pulling the front and rear glass to fix a little rust in the rear window seal area and the front becouse the glass was cracked and needed replaced anyway. Having the front glass out allowed me to remove the dash and repaint and re-cap the dash pad, rebuild the ac/heater controls, and repaint the plastic dash bezels and guage cluster.
Now I have been sanding for about 3 weeks and I am almost there to 100% bare metal. No real suprises as to the condition of the body. Haven't found any rust (except for the top), or unknown bondo. I knew about a few spots of filler on dings and where the passenger fender had a dent. What I was suprised to find was the method used to delete my emblems. I was under the impression that the shop had welded the holes. I can now see that they tapped each hole with a hammer and scuffed the metal and then filled the indentations with filler. I am now thinking about putting the emblems back on. I always liked the car without the embelms as they are kind of obtrusive and most people couldn't tell what it was without the name on the side.
Almost done sanding!
Passenger side finnished.
The new rear valance that started the whole restoration.
My quater panel slowly getting there.
