My other Early A ---65 Dart post

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Now that I have the newly acquired 66 Dart 2 door sedan I decided to put the 65 back the way it was when I got it . Just figured that is the way it should look. Today all the 65 body panels, bumpers, and tail lights went back on.

So do I start a new thread for the 66 or just continue on with this one? Technically its still "my other early a" but not a 65. I might sell the 65 if I can since I really had my mind set for a 66 anyway.
 
crvtec90 said:
Now that I have the newly acquired 66 Dart 2 door sedan I decided to put the 65 back the way it was when I got it . Just figured that is the way it should look. Today all the 65 body panels, bumpers, and tail lights went back on.

So do I start a new thread for the 66 or just continue on with this one? Technically its still "my other early a" but not a 65. I might sell the 65 if I can since I really had my mind set for a 66 anyway.
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Continue with this thread, and if needed or wanted edit the The title..
Sell the 65 and build the 66 as you want.
:thumbsup:
 
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Loving the new 66. Its fairly complete and very straight. The trim is also very nice. Taillights pitted badly but lenses are good. Very minor rust in the lower quarter panels but wheel arches are solid. Floors are gone but so are the ones in my 65. Frame rails and cross members intact. Previous owner cut out the spare tire well which is no big deal. Feels like it was "meant to be" because the majority of parts it needs are collecting dust in my garage from another 66 I had years ago.

Weird thing is the guy advertised it was set up for a big block but then told me he had built a 318 for it. I guess he just meant it was v8 ready. Either way doesn't matter because the slant and v8 K frame is the same on early a body. Immediately I recognized the large 5x4.5 bolt pattern disc brakes which helped me decide I wanted the car. Hoping they are a body and not the f,m,j boody brakes. I believe somehow he managed to put a 73 v8 k fame which makes no sense to me because everything I read on this site says it wont work. It doesn't look right. Steering linkage is not hooked up. The k frame bolt holes were ground away larger to get it to line up on the frame rails if that makes any sense. I will try to get some better photos another time.

Thanx 4 reading, and I appreciate any input
 
There is no problem in using FMJ spindles. They work just fine.
Is it me, or are there spool mounts on that K-member. That would make it a 73 or later, unless they were swapped on for a "Big Block" swap.
 
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Yeah I read both good and bad about fmj body spindles and I wouldnt really worry about it if they were for my car .....but Id like to sell them along with the k frame to recoup some cash from buying the 66.

When I looked at info for k frames found that yes , like u said the spool mounts are 73 and up. Also the slant6 has a smaller pocket than the v8.

Pic is where they removed some material near the bolt holes to get it lined up. Thinking it just needs some thick washers welded to get the holes back to where they should be for a later a body.
 
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Decided to take a look into the cowl and see how bad it is on the 66. Its bad. Ive seen several members tackle this in different ways and still formulating my plan of attack.

I knew I didn't want to just brush some sealer and call it good because the metal is so far gone that there would be no structure for strength. I thought about just welding the grille shut in the upper cowl but water would still get in around the wiper pivots. I need to have working wipers on this car.

Luckily I have other cars to either cut pieces out of or even just use as a reference of the shape needed. I bought a set of snap on brand spot weld cutters which work fairly well as far as I can tell but have no experience to say otherwise. Got a bit carried away and had to stop before there wont be anything left to hold my shape.
 
Read all the posts, are You forgetting You have another car to work on? :)
 
Avispa said:
Read all the posts, are You forgetting You have another car to work on? :)
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Just figured Id throw another iron into the fire as if I didn't already have enough to do. It takes a special kind of crazy to rebuild an old car like this. I haven't yet opened up the cowl on the 65 but Im pretty sure its not gonna be in much better condition. The 65 still runs and drives with tag and insurance so Ill drive it like it is while I mess around with the 66. For some reason the majority of rust is concentrated in the cowl area and I feel like once I get that sorted out it should go much smoother. In theory anyhow.
 
65dartcharger said:
I know 65 Dartman did a great job on his panel Dart just as you need to do. You might want to check it out.
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Thanx Ill check it out. Not really concerned with it looking factory original as long as its functional. The plan is to fit it all together a little at a time and make sure everything lines up before final welding.
 
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Bought a 65 parts car today. Pretty much took up the whole day. Seller gave me the grand tour and words cannot begin to describe his collection. Mostly B body stuff and old hemi motors which is good for me otherwise he wouldn't have sold me the parts car.

He told me it was a V8 car and the first digit of the vin is an "L" but I don't know for sure. Engine and transmission gone. I don't see the 10 inch drums. The center link doesn't look like it has a drop in the middle for clearing the oil pan and the torsion bar crossmember doesn't have the cutout for dual exhaust.

Its very rusty! Especially in the frame so probably not a keeper. It is however a good donor. Has rust in different areas than my 65. The rear valance looks decent while mine was really bad. I was hoping for a good cowl section but its not likely.Tail light lenses are bad but the bezels are better than mine.

It has factory air conditioning but missing pieces. Brings me a little closer to a complete system. I already had the hvac housing but now I have the firewall to match . The condenser is there as well as the hard lines. The hoses are junk but at least I know what they look like now to either source new, rebuild or whatever.
 
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Can you see the gorilla tape on the doors? They wont stay latched. Got down the street from picking it up and the doors kept opening. I was thinking the wind would just blow them shut. Didnt really work out like that. The tape held. Highly reccomend adding it to the emergency tool kit of zip ties and bungee chords.
 
It doesn't look all that Rusty. Can you poke a screwdriver through the frame anywhere? Maybe it's just surface rust. I was thinking two door conversion project there. ;-)
By the way I do have a good cowl area on a 64 Dart, but it's up north in PA.
 
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Valiant63 said:
It doesn't look all that Rusty. Can you poke a screwdriver through the frame anywhere? Maybe it's just surface rust. I was thinking two door conversion project there. ;-)
By the way I do have a good cowl area on a 64 Dart, but it's up north in PA.
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You can get your fingers through
Valiant63 said:
It doesn't look all that Rusty. Can you poke a screwdriver through the frame anywhere? Maybe it's just surface rust. I was thinking two door conversion project there. ;-)
By the way I do have a good cowl area on a 64 Dart, but it's up north in PA.
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There are big holes in the front frame rail near the upper control arm and also near the torsion bar crossmember. Even the dash is rotted away. Its been sitting out in the weather full of rats nests and whatever else made a home out of it.

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65 Darts just have great lines, look at that 4 door thing on a tow dolly and it still looks great!
 
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I have been working on the 66 every so often. Not much to show. Lots of spot weld drilling. Lots of measuring, cutting and planning. Very time consuming since I dont really know what Im doing but there's lots of great info on fabo that keeps me moving.

The rust is very bad in the passenger cowl area. So bad that it has gotten down into the door pillar support and all the way to the top of the rocker panel. Decided it would be easier to just cut the whole thing out rather than try to piece it back together.

I used some square tubing to keep the door opening/ windshield frame in place and cut out the door post. Luckily the rocker is ok with only a patch needed across the top where the door pillar sits.
 
Wow, what a project this is. I'm glad your sticking with it to save this Dart. Not many would do the work you are doing.
Congrats.:thumbsup:
 
Thanks Keith. Im trying to get it back together where everything lines up again. Luckily I have an extra car to measure against.
 
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This is the general idea. I have this section from a parts car to work with. Not the best piece but definitely alot more solid than what came out.

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