My second 1965 Dodge Dart.

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On the picture of the speaker it looks like it is a fold in the fabric on the left side. And it is.
When I glued the fabric on it was straight, so I wonder if this has to do with temperature changes or moist or whatever it is.

The white spot in the middle is actually a shine from the bottom of the speaker that can be seen through the fabric.
 
Yesterday I managed to mount the right defroster vent. I have misplaced one of my long pipes for the nuts that also has a 1/4 inch square so it made it very hard to work up there. The left one I got one nut on, and tightened, but the others I did not get on, not even to enter. And I lost one nut inside the dash, and can not figure out where it went.
It looks good, and when it is done I can mount the speaker.
Yesterday I also got the Mopar model 223 service manual. It was not a very comprehensive one and is not made by Bendix, so I wonder if there is a better one. The schematics is fine, but I could have used a little more info than just that since I am not a radio repair man.
But, I will organize a battery, and hook up the radio, also with a speaker and see if I can find any voltages in there.

I was also able to glue the last part of the trunk lid seal, so now it is fine, but it is hard to close the lid. I have now adjusted it so the lid can be smacked in place with less effort. However, it seems to be protruding a bit, so I guess the seal could have been a bit "slimmer", at least in some places. Which is an impossible thing, but would have been an easy solution.
 
Yesterday, Friday Dec. 20, I sprayed primer on the rim I sandblasted a few weeks ago. It has been in the garage all this time so that was not a problem. But, it was so rusted that I never got it completely clean.
I have learned that the primer used on the rims in 1965 was moss green, and I have gotten some kind of greenish primer but that is etch primer and intended to be used on bear metal only, and not on top of any rust. However, since this was a rim for 1964 Dart, it was used some kind of red / brownish primer, and I used Rust-Oleum primer for rusted steel which is red / brownish, but not entirely identical to the primer on the rim. It looks good now, I just need to decide if I am going to paint it in gloss black rim paint, or just use gloss black Rust-Oleum regular spray paint. It will hopefully hold up well for a spare rim inside the trunk.
 
I finished the painting of the rim for the spare tire on what we in Norway call "little Christmas eve", :D It was supposed to be a Christmas gift to myself.

It was quite pitted, but I am very happy to just have a spare rim for a Dart, even if it is from 1964 and have bigger "vent" openings and only fit 9 inch drums.

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Now Christmas has passed and the gifts opened. I got 4 Dodge related gifts, so I am as happy as can be. One of them has not arrived yet, but will be coming hopefully in January. That is two 1965 Dart license plate frames for the car.
The other 3 gifts were a t-shirt with a red painted Slant Six, and the Dodge Brothers book, and the Chrysler catalog of cars from 1914 to 2000. All 4 gifts very appreciated. I put the t shirt on right away, and has started reading the Dodge Brothers book, and also read some of the Chrysler catalog of cars too.

Big motivation in the work on the car.
 
I discovered bad news today. I have not been using the car or been i it when it has been raining. Today I did, and it is soaked wet in the car. It is dripping water under the dash and down on the floor. But not wet on the recess in the dash. So, I have no idea where the water comes in. It is still just twilight here so I will wait for a couple og hours to see where the water comes from.

Bill
 
Time for windshield wiper seals. Also water can come in the bottom corners of the windshield. My best advice other than fixing the seals is to either have the car garaged during rain storms, or tarp it during rainstorms. Check your trunk spare tire well for water as well. Water gets past the old trunk seal as well.
The car I have outside, I just cover it with a nice tarp. Problem solved.
 
Johnny Dart said:
Time for windshield wiper seals. Also water can come in the bottom corners of the windshield. My best advice other than fixing the seals is to either have the car garaged during rain storms, or tarp it during rainstorms. Check your trunk spare tire well for water as well. Water gets past the old trunk seal as well.
The car I have outside, I just cover it with a nice tarp. Problem solved.
Click to expand...

I have found the leak. Well, it is actually not a leak, lol, it is more something that is plugged up. It is the two slots in the cowl where the water is supposed to drain out. They were plugged, and it is full of gunk inside and other stuff that I have no proper name for. So, I am off to a hardware store to see if I can find a hose that is about an inch OD or slightly over and get into the holes where the rubber plugs are under the hood to clean it out. I have now flushed a little with water, and the water comes out where it is supposed to come out, and not down and out the vent doors under the dash. And I have a heater fan in the car trying to dry it up. Thankfully the rain in the morning went away and it is pretty nice here now, sun is out smiling at the car, and things looks better.

I wonder if it is something I can spray inside there to stop it from rusting, because I see it is some flaking going on. What is the name of that underbody stuff that never dries ?

Bill
 
Bills65Dart said:
I have found the leak. Well, it is actually not a leak, lol, it is more something that is plugged up. It is the two slots in the cowl where the water is supposed to drain out. They were plugged, and it is full of gunk inside and other stuff that I have no proper name for. So, I am off to a hardware store to see if I can find a hose that is about an inch OD or slightly over and get into the holes where the rubber plugs are under the hood to clean it out. I have now flushed a little with water, and the water comes out where it is supposed to come out, and not down and out the vent doors under the dash. And I have a heater fan in the car trying to dry it up. Thankfully the rain in the morning went away and it is pretty nice here now, sun is out smiling at the car, and things looks better.

I wonder if it is something I can spray inside there to stop it from rusting, because I see it is some flaking going on. What is the name of that underbody stuff that never dries ?

Bill
Click to expand...

Ok, I have been able to vacuum out some of the bad stuff inside the cowl. But, it is more, and it is hard to get to. So, I need a different approach to it. I have ordered an endoscope to get in there to see how it looks. And, I need a way to clean out bad stuff. I am going to Home Depot tomorrow and see if I can find a metal rod of some kind that I can tie a rag to and try to wash and clean up in there.

If it is badly pitted but not really holes, maybe a 3 step POR 15 treatment can cure it, anyone having good experience with that ?
 
There are 2 little drain holes on each side of the cowl , at the fender. Have you spotted those yet ?
You have to open the doors to see them. Through the years leaves and dirt can block those holes, not allowing them to drain. I use a combination of compressed air, blower, hose, and a small screwdriver or metal rod to clean that area out.
 
Johnny Dart said:
There are 2 little drain holes on each side of the cowl , at the fender. Have you spotted those yet ?
You have to open the doors to see them. Through the years leaves and dirt can block those holes, not allowing them to drain. I use a combination of compressed air, blower, hose, and a small screwdriver or metal rod to clean that area out.
Click to expand...

Yes, I found them and have gotten them opened with a little cable tie. But it is only 1/4 open. I need to do more, but that was all I got.done yesterday. Need to and get some more stuff today.
 
A couple of days ago I got the spare tire moved from the 6.5 inch rim to the 4.5 inch rim. It was a significant change, not a 2 inch bump sticking up anymore.

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Well, the verdict is clear. I had hoped that the cowl drain hole was plugged so the water level got above the large vent tubes that sticks up inside the cowl and that way came into the car. But, no. It is rusted through the sheet metal and comes in that way. Well, the drain holes were plugged, but it is holes into the car too and that is where the water comes in.

Has anyone fixed this kind of problem without taking out the windshield, and off with the entire dash, and cowl and everything ?
 
It has been raining here quite a bit lately, and I have gotten a "top tarp" to put over the car so much that the rain does not get in. I have tried to take the left vent down inside the car, and have loosened the rod that goes up and holds it. But, the vent is still stuck. I can not get it loose. I have tried to feel with my fingers if there is any more screws or whatever kind of fasteners, but no luck so far. I have looked in the shop manual, nothing there either, and I have looked in the parts book (which is not entirely complete) and can not find anything there either.

So, I wish someone would help me a bit here. I am afraid of pulling and bending so much on the vent that I break it. Does anyone have a pic that shows something ?
 
Ok, the vent is down, I have no clue how I managed to miss rod number two. But, there is no hole in the sheet metal that faces down in towards the coupe. I mean under the dash. However, there is a ... well, I assume the black stuff there at some point have been a foam rubber gasket / seal of some sort. It is hard, and someone has used some black sealant around there. Like black silicon or liquid nails, or caulking. Whatever it is. And, it seems to me they have put some around without taking down the vent, just tried to smear it on on the outside.

But, as we all know, there is a metal tube, 6 inch or whatever that sticks up there. So, this still puzzles me. The tube sticks up there, and if it is water tight between the tube and the plate it is welded to, it should not have to be a foam rubber seal on the vent to keep the water out. Or, is that really the issue here, that the tube is not watertight where it is welded to the sheet metal ?
I have troed to take some pictures with my phone, but that did not give any good pics, it does not focus well.

Anyway, I need to get my vacuum cleaner up there and suck up the dust and whatever around there.

Will be back later with more. Maybe I will get some good pics.
 
Got som pics. I struggle getting clear pics, but these are not so bad. I will try to sand off the rust and see how it looks like then.

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Ok, I have come up with a plan. I am first going to use abrasive cloth / sandpaper on the underside where you see the pics, and get it down to bare metal. Then apply water on top, and see if I can see where it comes in. After that I am going to let it dry up, and then use duct tape to cover the hole from the underside. Push it hard towards the sheetmetal, and then I will try to use soap / engine cleaner / whatever comes to my mind / something that works. I have already used a hose on my air gun and blown in there. The leaves, and soil, and whatever else that was stuck in there flew around. The inside of the car looks horrible. Have to vacuum inside, but that is a minor issue. Working inside the cowl is the struggle. All 4 drain holes in the cowl are now fully open. So the water will come out there, and I hope to get to the point that the water comes out a little brown and dirty. In other words that the water brings out the dirt in there. If I can manage to get it really clean inside, I am planning to attempt to block the drain holes in there and get evapo-rust in. and then flush with plenty of water, and set a fan heater in the car to get it warm and get the water to dry out as fast as possible.
If that proves impossible or not advisable, I have a second option, but it also requires that I get the sheet metal clean with soap or whatever. I have a quart of Owatrol penetrating oil, and if I can get it completely dry in there, the Owatrol oil will seal and stop the rust, it is the best I have ever come across in my life. And I have tried most. It dries in a week time to a rock hard glazing, and I can either leave it like that, or I can spray some paint in there on top of it.
 
Today my back was in good enough condition to work on the Dart, and the weather was nice too.

I sanded some around the hole for the left vent, on the underside. But, i did not take any pics. Need to sand more. My paper was a 120 paper, but I think I should have had a little more coarse paper, like 80 or 60. Just to rub the rust off. It is surface rust, nothing more. I have a wire brush on the battery drill, but well, ... hm... it was all over the place as I had only one hand to hold it with. I should have had something else to use. I have to see tomorrow if I can use the Dremel for it, if I have any sandpaper disc for it.

But, I got the heater box down, and out of the car. I did not get to open it, but I took some pics of the air inlet hole in the cowl where the heater gets the air from. It is even less rust on the right side of the car.

I also took a picture of the hole for the fan motor in the firewall. It has not been painted on the inside of the car, not primed either. It is plain steel, as grey as it came out of the steel mill in Pittsburg or wherever they got their steel from. How is that even possible ?

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Not opened the heater box yet, but when I peek into the hole where the air goes in, it is full of leaves, straws, and whatever else garbage it can be. So, if for nothing else it will look good when I get it cleaned. Looking forward to that part.
And when having it out and open I will check the heater core to see if it is leaking or if it is good and can go back in. I refuse to put some aluminum thing in there.
 
Bills65Dart said:
Ok, I have come up with a plan. I am first going to use abrasive cloth / sandpaper on the underside where you see the pics, and get it down to bare metal. Then apply water on top, and see if I can see where it comes in. After that I am going to let it dry up, and then use duct tape to cover the hole from the underside. Push it hard towards the sheetmetal, and then I will try to use soap / engine cleaner / whatever comes to my mind / something that works. I have already used a hose on my air gun and blown in there. The leaves, and soil, and whatever else that was stuck in there flew around. The inside of the car looks horrible. Have to vacuum inside, but that is a minor issue. Working inside the cowl is the struggle. All 4 drain holes in the cowl are now fully open. So the water will come out there, and I hope to get to the point that the water comes out a little brown and dirty. In other words that the water brings out the dirt in there. If I can manage to get it really clean inside, I am planning to attempt to block the drain holes in there and get evapo-rust in. and then flush with plenty of water, and set a fan heater in the car to get it warm and get the water to dry out as fast as possible.
If that proves impossible or not advisable, I have a second option, but it also requires that I get the sheet metal clean with soap or whatever. I have a quart of Owatrol penetrating oil, and if I can get it completely dry in there, the Owatrol oil will seal and stop the rust, it is the best I have ever come across in my life. And I have tried most. It dries in a week time to a rock hard glazing, and I can either leave it like that, or I can spray some paint in there on top of it.
Click to expand...

My experience in tryingto deal with rust in blind locations has led me to conclude that there will always be some nook or crevice with moisture. We put POR15 into the lower rear quarters of my '67 notch until it came up to the drain plugs. Didn't work. Had to have a small piece cut out and repaired 5 + years later.
I'd normally suggest something like the Waxoyl which never hardens. Waxoyl might be too sticky though and hold the bits of leaf that gets in...
 
Matt, that is where the Owatrol penetrating oil comes in. It is a bit like the Waxoyl, but after a week, a little depending on how thick layer it is, it will dry to a see through layer that is very hard. And, it sticks very good too. Not like some of these products that makes rust black and then can be peeled off easily.
But, I am not saying it will last for me. Just that it is the best product I know of for just this problem. It might be other and better products, just that I am not familiar with that.
 
On the back side of the heater box is a black card board that I shoud have replaced. Does anyone know what that cardboard is called ? It looks like the type of cardboard used in old photo albums. It is 1/16 inch thick.
 
Google firewall insulation pad 1965 Dart. They are available from different vendor's. They have it for AC cars, and non AC cars. Should be about $40 for non AC cars.
 
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