Project- Bills Buggy

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Congratulations on the new family member Bill :D
Hay!! you knew I had to jump in here and do more then read this time :cheers: Looks outstanding and a job well dun Bill :cheers:
 
Man, that came out smooth and straight. Persistance to perfection paid off.

Have fun with the grand kids. I have 4, 3 girls and a boy.
My wife and I watched two girls 21 months and 3 yr old this evening, while their parents went to dinner and a movie.
I am way too old to keep up with both of the chicks, and I am only 45.
 
cool looking Dart (I refuse to call it a "buggy"... I had overlooked this thread a number of times because I thought it was about a VW sand rail) Great work on it!
 
Congratulations on the new family member Bill :D
Hay!! you knew I had to jump in here and do more then read this time :cheers: Looks outstanding and a job well dun Bill :cheers:

Thanks Mike!! Im glad you stopped in... Also glad to hear you've been keeping up with the thread..

Man, that came out smooth and straight. Persistance to perfection paid off.

Have fun with the grand kids. I have 4, 3 girls and a boy.
My wife and I watched two girls 21 months and 3 yr old this evening, while their parents went to dinner and a movie.
I am way too old to keep up with both of the chicks, and I am only 45.

Shes not quite as smooth as I was hoping, (the pic lies a little LOL) but it is what it is... and I intend to have fun with the grandson (when he arrives) but im right behind you at 44 and I hope I have enough energy for the little dude LMAO ..

cool looking Dart (I refuse to call it a "buggy"... I had overlooked this thread a number of times because I thought it was about a VW sand rail) Great work on it!

LOL .. calling it a buggy is by no means mandatory lmao.. I can still remember my reaction when my buddies gave her that nickname.. I didnt like it at first, but over the years it has grown on me.. at this point thats what everyone in the group refers to it as.. (including my wife and I lol) . Thanks for the compliment and thanks for not overlooking the thread this time lol...
 
Bill, congrats on the new family member. Hope that you have enough energy to chase him around.

The "Buggy" is looking great. Can't wait for the pics of it outside in the sun. You should be proud of the work you and your friends have done. After I painted mine I started to see all the things I missed. But then remember my car is not a show car, it's a driver. It looks a-hell-of a lot better then it did sitting in a junk yard. Most people either don't see them or say anything bout them.
So congrats on both of your new toys :)
 
Bill, congrats on the new family member. Hope that you have enough energy to chase him around.

The "Buggy" is looking great. Can't wait for the pics of it outside in the sun. You should be proud of the work you and your friends have done. After I painted mine I started to see all the things I missed. But then remember my car is not a show car, it's a driver. It looks a-hell-of a lot better then it did sitting in a junk yard. Most people either don't see them or say anything bout them.
So congrats on both of your new toys :)

Thanks! Yea my Dart was sitting in a yard under a pine tree for several years. Wouldn't have been too much longer before she would've been rotting into the ground. I like to think I helped give her a 2nd chance at life lol
 
Well... I have been making little bits of progress over the past week... Real life has been keeping me busy, so car time has been hard to come by, but I am squeezing in what I can.. I got the inside of the doors repainted, door rubbers back in.. some of the things I had yet to reconnect on and under the dash got done... back side panels painted, front bumper installed... and then last night, we marked the hood for the scoop.. drilled the holes and mounted the scoop... we then took it back off, stripped down the hood (lettering and front trim strip) and removed the hood for the small amount of body work it needs and to be painted... lastly I got inside and removed the front bench seat to make way for the buckets I plan to put in... all in all a good week.. Did take one pic just before we took the scoop back off and pulled the hood... I think it makes the buggy look kinda mean LOL .. Cant wait til the hood and scoop are a nice satin hot rod black.. what do you guys think?
 

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lookin sharp that scoop looks good on there i'd like to get one for my 72 but not right now as it wont help me get it on the road any faster when are we going to see the buggy in the sun
 
lookin sharp that scoop looks good on there i'd like to get one for my 72 but not right now as it wont help me get it on the road any faster when are we going to see the buggy in the sun

Thanks! and yes, hopefully I'll have some out in the sun pics in the next couple weeks.. When I first got to the garage we had the door up and the sun was shining.. man did she look good to me.. I just wanted to pull the buggy out and do some burnouts or something LOL .. but I knew if I did, I wouldnt get anything done LOL .. I really wanted to get the hood squared away so we could get it back off and start getting it ready for paint...
 
WEE WHOOOOOOOO lookin GREAT Bill, love the Scoop does look MEAN. Coming along great glad to see you getting more progress done to her. FANTASTIC!!!!

Can ya tell I'm excited :)
Brad
 
WEE WHOOOOOOOO lookin GREAT Bill, love the Scoop does look MEAN. Coming along great glad to see you getting more progress done to her. FANTASTIC!!!!

Can ya tell I'm excited :)
Brad

Thanks Brad... and yes, I can tell your excited LOL :cheers: Im pretty excited myself
 
dang.....fabo never alerted me that there was any updates to the thread or i would have popped in sooner to look.

man Bill, that thing is coming out SHARP! I like it....im jealous....I want to be at that stage of my project too! come finish mine for me! HAHAHA

that hoods going to be a real nice accent to the dart and will go nicely with the vinyl top. are you putting a black tail stripe on it too? it would like great I think if thats something you have in mind.

looks like your about ready to start cruising.
 
dang.....fabo never alerted me that there was any updates to the thread or i would have popped in sooner to look.

man Bill, that thing is coming out SHARP! I like it....im jealous....I want to be at that stage of my project too! come finish mine for me! HAHAHA

that hoods going to be a real nice accent to the dart and will go nicely with the vinyl top. are you putting a black tail stripe on it too? it would like great I think if thats something you have in mind.

looks like your about ready to start cruising.


Thanks very much for the compliments dude.. I never get alerted to any updates, so I am anal about checking everyday for new things in my favorite threads LOL ..

If you were closer I would most certianly be stopping by to lend a hand, and share a couple cold ones.. To answer your question, yes I am putting a tail stripe back on the buggy.. We were originally going to paint one on, just as we did the first time (which was nothing more than a beer induced experiment LOL) .. but I was way too worried about the new paint, and messing something up.. Plus I wanted a vintage stripe.. one that had the 'Swinger' with that classic font.. So I got a stripe kit from ChallengerGary on here... We just havent reached the point of getting it on yet.. I am hoping to have the hood and scoop painted this weekned, and back on the buggy hopefully by Tuesday, that way I can continue with the interior stuff I am trying to get done...
 
awesome. I would have hooked you up on a tail stripe for it but I don't have any black vinyl. Challengergary does great work though so i am sure you will be pleased with his!

Id like to be doing interior again instead of this dang body work. I enjoyed doing my interior ( aside from my headliner giving me a little trouble) but otherwise it went pretty smooth. you ought to have the ole girl on the road in no time. awesome job buddy. happy for you for nearing the finish line on it!
 
Well... tonight sucked.. best way I can put it. Went to put the bucket seats in, found out the hard way that the tracks I bought at the Nats last year that were labeled A-body, Dart, Duster, Demon, were most def, NOT a-body bucket seat tracks... 1 step forward and 3 steps back.. this screws me bad. So.. left the garage, and inspected a couple of other a-bodies that my friends have.. a 68 Barracuda and a 73 Duster... Guess what? they seem to have the same tracks, but the tracks I bought dont match.. Lord only knows what my tracks are out of, and at the moment, I cant say I care.. all I know is they're wrong..

So.. we moved on to the next disaster.. Turns out I got ahead of myself last year when I put the rear window chrome back on before finding out if she was water tight.. shes not.. so.. We went to take the chrome off to spread some silicone around the outside of the rubber and try to squeeze some into the seam between the window and rubber.. yeah, well those new clips I bought are something else.. they just wont give the chrome up.. we got the lower piece on the drivers side out after 30 minutes (and yes we were using a trim removal tool) the passenger side we bent.. never got it out. finally gave up.. I was so pissed i figured hell with it, she'll just leak (I was that frustrated and mad) my original drivers side bottom piece was a little bent to begin with, and I have since found another, so I said lets just put that back on and we will deal with this another day... yeah, well the drivers side piece wouldnt go back on right and the alignment is now off.. basically it looks like sh*t... That was the end of the night for me.. we closed shop, and I just walked away from the buggy.. Apparently the 'Christine' thing exists.. tonight she just wanted left alone I guess...

Sorry for the rant.. just frustrated and pissed.. I mean I obviously am a guy with a bench seat car.. I dont have a clue what the seat tracks are supposed to look like.. You go to a show, and expect that when people label stuff, they are being honest and have some clue what they are selling.. Im not made of money, and those seat tracks werent cheap.. ugh..

Tomorrow is another day.. hopefully it goes better than this one.. Now I just hope I can fix my back window chrome.. Im gonna go to bed and try to forget that the buggy and I had this kind of night...
 
Don't give up brother, the sun still comes up in the morning.
Take a deep breath and carry on.

I would pull the glass and re-seal, outside goop is just a band-aid.
 
Don't give up brother, the sun still comes up in the morning.
Take a deep breath and carry on.

I would pull the glass and re-seal, outside goop is just a band-aid.

Thanks.. but pulling its not an option I want to try.. The rubbers arent being produced currently anymore, the one in it I got from a member on here, and it came out of his Dart.. its 43 years old, but wasnt cracked and still somewhat soft.. with no others available anymore I have to use what I can.. and then there was putting it in.. I dont have a clue how Ma Mopar put the rear glass in, in a Dart back in the day.. but its freaking HARD to do.. we fought that rear glass for hours.. I am just afraid of the further damage we do by pulling the glass again.. all I know is I am bummed
 
bummer.....I hate it when it feels like you take one step forward and two steps back.

I am sure your aware of this but just incase your not....I figured i would mention. buckets seats in a bench car are not a direct bolt in. they dont line up with the same holes that a bench seat uses. there are dimples in the floor pan where the bucket seat mounting holes would be located that will need drilled out. also factory they had metal plates welded over said holes to beef up the floor pan in that area so if ever in an accident or due to years of wear and tear ...your seat tracks would not rip or beat up the metal. when I converted my duster over to bucket seats I drilled out where the dimples were located in the floor for buckets and I then welded plate steel in place and drilled the hole through it aswell. I put a plate on every hole just so i know it will never get beat up or ripped ( I documented all of this in my build thread....take a look if you need too).

as for your window leaking.......taking the glass back out would be the "right way" but you can get around all that work if you don't mind cutting a corner or two. dont just smear it in with your finger. you would probably be best getting a tube of urethane sealer from your local paint shop, load it in a caulk gun, stick the tip of the gun deep into the channel that the seal is in and try to pipe it in under the seal if you can.

yes those clips are a paint in the but. I found that even when the actual removal tool was being troublesome....I took a flat head screw driver and lightly pright up on the trim just enough to slip a 90 degree seal pick tool in under the trim and snag the clip and pull . the pressure of the screw driver and pulling with the seal pick popped the clips. I did my whole back and front windshield like this because i couldnt find my tool and my trim still looks as straight as can be.

just some hints/tips. hope you can make some use out of them.

hang in there buddy. sometimes its best to just walk away from it for a day or two and cool off.
 
bummer.....I hate it when it feels like you take one step forward and two steps back.

I am sure your aware of this but just incase your not....I figured i would mention. buckets seats in a bench car are not a direct bolt in. they dont line up with the same holes that a bench seat uses. there are dimples in the floor pan where the bucket seat mounting holes would be located that will need drilled out. also factory they had metal plates welded over said holes to beef up the floor pan in that area so if ever in an accident or due to years of wear and tear ...your seat tracks would not rip or beat up the metal. when I converted my duster over to bucket seats I drilled out where the dimples were located in the floor for buckets and I then welded plate steel in place and drilled the hole through it aswell. I put a plate on every hole just so i know it will never get beat up or ripped ( I documented all of this in my build thread....take a look if you need too).

as for your window leaking.......taking the glass back out would be the "right way" but you can get around all that work if you don't mind cutting a corner or two. dont just smear it in with your finger. you would probably be best getting a tube of urethane sealer from your local paint shop, load it in a caulk gun, stick the tip of the gun deep into the channel that the seal is in and try to pipe it in under the seal if you can.

yes those clips are a paint in the but. I found that even when the actual removal tool was being troublesome....I took a flat head screw driver and lightly pright up on the trim just enough to slip a 90 degree seal pick tool in under the trim and snag the clip and pull . the pressure of the screw driver and pulling with the seal pick popped the clips. I did my whole back and front windshield like this because i couldnt find my tool and my trim still looks as straight as can be.

just some hints/tips. hope you can make some use out of them.

hang in there buddy. sometimes its best to just walk away from it for a day or two and cool off.


Thanks Jerrod.. yea, I knew I needed to walk away before I started losing my mind.. as for the seat thing.. I knew where the holes were supposed to be.. I had done some research before I decided to do this switch, but never really knew what the seat tracks were to look like til tonight,... and from the factory I know they only welded in 4 extra plates.. 2 per side (on the inside side of the seat) the outer holes still fall into the same brace under the car that the bench seat tracks bolted into.. I think I may have tracked down an actual set of bucket seat tracks though..

As for the rear glass.. I still havent decided what I am going to do.. I cant express how difficult that glass is to get in.. the front glass was an abslolute DREAM compared to the back.. any sealant we would've put on the pinch weld, or in the rubber itself, we would've rubbed off, or pulled out trying to get the glass in.. Maybe im over my head with the back glass.. I could live with the fact that it leaked, if I could garuntee this car will never be sitting out and a rain storm roll in.. of course.. I cant predict the weather LOL .. Im just going to quit thinking about the buggy for tonight.. we're suppsed to get the hood and scoop painted tomorrow, so thats my focus for now... I'll deal with the rest after that..

Thanks again for the pep talk.. the buggy may have won this battle.. but I will eventually win the war :rambo: lol
 
if you were a little closer i would hook you up with my glass guy. for $125.00 .....it got me a brand new windshield for my duster.....delivered.....material cost.....and installed!

I had the same trouble as you finding a gasket because they were all on national backorder with no known availability date because of the disasters in japan last year and it shut down most of the production.

I do know of a few places that MIGHT just have your gasket Ill check and let you know just incase you do decide to go that route on sealing it up.
 
Hey,
You had several comments that it had to be right, the whole tread.
A piece of glass that is not correct fix it or your kids will have to if it rust out.
Urathane is about $30 a tube, new gasket be done with it.
Welding, twisting, bending the car into shape may have affected the sealing surface.
Urathane will seal leaks.
 
Well... I didnt sleep much.. My mood hasnt improved much (go figure LOL) .. I am gonna be leaving for the garage soon and will figure something out.. whether I just seal around the rubber for now, or decide to pull the glass (which I still at this point dont see me doing)... I have a question though.. I asked this a while back with no real response, but for all those that have done Dart resto's before, HOW did you get the back glass in?? In our case after fighting for hours, we had to get a 'rope' (for lack of a better word)all slicked up, that fit inside the rubbers outer groove (the part that fits over the pinch weld).. we put the glass into the rubber.. then laid it on the car while two people were in the car and two outside the car... the two inside started pulling on the rope to 'suck' the seal in and onto the pinch weld.. this was insanely difficult, and had to try several times, finally getting it in.. I dont know what else we could've done.. Now I know there are a ton of people that have done Darts... so pleas.. info requested .. thanks gang
 
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