My other Early A ---65 Dart post

[crvtec90]

I dug through my garage and found the drive shaft for my 66 dart. Its a few inches longer than the 67 but the front yoke seems to be the same on both. Its from a v8 4 spd car so its thicker in diameter of the shaft and the rear u joint has larger caps on the shaft. I bought two new u joints . Front one is precision part # 315 and rear is 347. The 347 has the larger caps to fit the 66 shaft and the smaller caps to fit the differential yoke.

Special thanx to fabo and its members for having the u joint info and part numbers i needed. The guys at the parts store weren't very knowledgeable of what i was trying to do

 

[crvtec90]

Using 36 grit on a high speed sander and the paint on the roof gets polished quicker than it comes off. Geez. Switched to aircraft paint stripper and so much easier now. I just make sure to keep the stripper away from the joints so it doesn't creep into any crevices.

 

[crvtec90]

Air cleaner assembly has been rubbing on the master cylinder. Its from a truck slant six ( i think) and isn't in the best shape. I had a spare assembly from a v8 but couldn't find the right adapters to mount on a carter one barrel. So I cut the base plate from the truck cleaner and used the v8 top.

 

[crvtec90]

More speedometer and gauge fun. Ive had the cluster out several times for tweaking. With the new speedo cable it was working for a while. Just barely anyhow. Jumping up and down way too much.

First I noticed that when I had my hand on the end of the assembly ( while screwing on the cable) that it moved around alot. The speedometer screws to the cluster with two screws. There are rubber bushings/ washers on the screws which had worn away to nothing. I used a pair of small rubber o- rings to get it tight again. It worked to get the slop out but not to stop the jumping. Eventually it started making lots of noise and the speed was way off. Showing 60-70 mph at around 40.

Removed the whole assembly once again for inspection. Used my cordless drill and bit kit with a square drive bit. Cordless drill on reverse with square bit shoved into the slot where the speedo cable goes. Pull the trigger and the noise was definitely in there. From what I have read, the bushings go bad inside the unit where the shaft spins and makes the moving parts contact.

I pulled out my spare cluster to compare the two and couldn't see a difference except my spare one had the shaft frozen and would not spin at all. Theres a lil plug on the housing i pulled out and sprayed with pb blaster to loosen it back up. Spun it up in my hand with the drill and now its back in business. Nice n quiet, no jumping around

 

[crvtec90]

Here's a shot of the plug I pulled out to lube the shaft. It was totally covered with junk. When I cleaned it off I noticed there was a pin hole in the plug. Both speedometer s were this way. I shoved a sharp pick into the hole to remove the plug and both also had a piece of cotton or something under the plug.

 

[crvtec90]

Here's another shot. The coiled spring on the shaft closest to the faceplate ( on the bottom of the pic) returns the needle back to rest position

 

[crvtec90]

Here's the stop tabs that touch when the needle is on zero. If the gauge doesnt sit at zero when not in motion u can bend the tab to adjust the stop.

 

[65dartcharger]

Great work!:glasses7:

 

[crvtec90]

More paint stripper. The top layer of paint bubbles up very quickly then scrapes off easily. The original paint and primer underneath however only gets soft.

Definitely had the passenger side door replaced with one from a white car. Cant wait to see what damage id under the bondo. Looks like the door must have made contactwith the fender at some point

 

[crvtec90]

I wouldn't say the stripper is quicker, but it's convenient to just put it on and walk away to let it do its thing. Then come back and hit it with a scraper. The paint is very worn with rust spots coming through all over. My plan is to get it all to bare metal and soak it down with rust converter before priming.

 

[crvtec90]

Not that I plan to drive in the rain but I would like to have wipers just in case. Theyre also nice in the morning when the windshield is covered with dew. Ive already swapped out the dash harness with one from a dart 270 that had the variable speed wipers. The motor and linkage look the same between the two. The variable speed has 2 connection instead of 1. My original motor didnt work very well. When i took it out I realized it was trying to move but the wiper pivots were rusted much like every other moving part on the car. Hopefully I can free them back up and add some grease fittings to keep them lubed.

 

[crvtec90]

Still removing paint. Lil by lil. Got the trim holes in quarter panels welded up and ground smooth.

 

[crvtec90]

Switched my da sander for a small grinder with a poly abrasive disc from harbor freight. It tears through paint very well.

 

[crvtec90]

Even the sunvisors are rusted stuck. First I took the staples out to get the cardboard off. Next I took them to the wire wheel on my bench grinder to get the loose stuff off. Then I soaked them in evaporust for a few hours. Eventually the rust gave way and I was able to separate the rod from the flat bracket. The rust is all gone now but the pivots aren't moving easily where it screws to the body. Gonna keep spraying it with penetrant and hope it works loose.

 

[crvtec90]

Cut the top off a brake fluid bottle , filled it with pb blaster and let the visor pivots soak in it for the weekend. I imagine they should be a lil stiff since they only have one support to stay in position. I couldn't hardly move them at first. Used my pulley holding tool which has two knobs on the end that fit into the screw holes of the visor base to get them moving easier. Not sure where I'll be able to get new staples to put the flaps back on. Also looking for material to make new visors.

Ill probably throw the driver side back together temporarily so i have something other than just sunglasses to keep the sun out of my eyes.

 

[65dartcharger]

I might have some old sun visors you can have! I'll check and get back.

 

[crvtec90]

I might have some old sun visors you can have! I'll check and get back.

Excellent! Definitely not in a hurry to get them. I installed the driver side yesterday just to keep the sun out of my eyes. Its only the paper board without material but it does the job. Don't want to install anything too nice yet because its just gonna get all dirty then have to come apart again.

 

[65dartcharger]

Excellent! Definitely not in a hurry to get them. I installed the driver side yesterday just to keep the sun out of my eyes. Its only the paper board without material but it does the job. Don't want to install anything too nice yet because its just gonna get all dirty then have to come apart again.

OK, let me know when you want them! :coffee2:

 

[txstang84]

This ought to be a pretty awesome little ride when you finish up. And at the rate you're moving, probably won't be too long-keep on keepin' on

 

[crvtec90]

OK, let me know when you want them! :coffee2:

Also thinking about the door latch. My passenger side opens from the inside handle but not the outside one. Currently don't have the outside handles on anyhow. No window glass either. I just reach in to open the door.

 

[crvtec90]

This ought to be a pretty awesome little ride when you finish up. And at the rate you're moving, probably won't be too long-keep on keepin' on

Thanx bud, Im just doing a little at a time. Actually started working on it November of last year. The fact that I have it running n driving helps to keep me motivated.

This forum is the best motivation!

 

[crvtec90]

So almost down to bare metal all over. Left the cowl and lower quarter panels alone for now since its gonna need lots of rust repair. The hood and trunk lid will get done some other time. Just trying to get the main body ready for now. Still haven't decided if I will spend the extra money on epoxy primer or cheap out and spray the whole car with rustoleum. Ive done it before and turns out okay. U get what u pay for I suppose. Leaning towards the smoke gray color .

 

[barracudadave67]

If you use rustoleum on the outside external surfaces of your car you will regret it. You cannot get the finish with it, as compared to real auto paint. Their are lots of doubts as to how it will hold up on autos.

Epoxy primer, is a sealer and bonding agent. Epoxy primer adheres excellently to bare metal, is a great anti rust agent, and is a great sealer when painting over other unknown surfaces, and can be top coated with many types of auto paint, and fillers.

Do it right, the first time, after putting all that work into it. just my 02.

barracudadave67

 

[crvtec90]

If you use rustoleum on the outside external surfaces of your car you will regret it. You cannot get the finish with it, as compared to real auto paint. Their are lots of doubts as to how it will hold up on autos.

Epoxy primer, is a sealer and bonding agent. Epoxy primer adheres excellently to bare metal, is a great anti rust agent, and is a great sealer when painting over other unknown surfaces, and can be top coated with many types of auto paint, and fillers.

Do it right, the first time, after putting all that work into it. just my 02.

barracudadave67

I hear you man. U get what u pay for. Painted my buddy's car with rustoleum white. Looks okay to me. Definitely doesn't hold up like newer cars. Stains easily. But 150 in materials is cheap. Ive been using " ospho" to remove rust and its supposed to be compatible with oil based paints. When I use it on bare metal it stops surfast rust. Was planning on ospho for the whole car then rustoleum. Still working out a plan.

 

[crvtec90]

Still learning to read directions thoroughly. The chemical paint stripper that I had picked up is actually for oil based paints and stains. Guessing the dart had a repaint with oil based paint which is why the stripper only took off the top layer. Whoops! I picked up a different brand from auto parts store instead of home depot. Used it sparingly on the door which removed a good bit. Next I used it on the rockers as thick as possible and it lifted the paint all the way to metal.