Slow, Driving Rustoration 1972 Dart

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Busy with work and I'm driving the Dart more than working on her so that's good and bad. I'm getting ready to get dual exhaust and picked up a couple of exhaust manifolds used that I'm hoping will work. From researching on here it looks like they will. Got a driver's side 3614368-2 and a passenger side 3418623 D for $150. Combined with the new exhaust I'm hoping it will make driving her a little less fumey. The single exhaust Y pipe is very leaky.

I sold my main 2-wheeled transportation so lately I've been rebuilding my vintage motorcycle's engine. Hopefully that will be done this weekend and can get the dart back in the garage for a quarter panel repair or two.

Here's a picture proving that this car is still a grocery getter. Also about to get rid of that scratched up 0 on my odometer.
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I received my exhaust manifolds from UPS today. The passenger side (3418623 D 3.5.73) outlet is 1 7/8" and the Driver side (3614368-2 11.15.73) is 2 1/4" I don't suppose that will make much difference on a stock 318.

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moparmat2000 said:
Drivers side is prob a 340 manifold
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Yeah it is supposed to be, the other one was listed as off a 360 but the number is listed as a 71-73 340 A-Body. I've read you can easily take them up to 2" but I don't Imagine I will need to. 1 7/8" is the same size as my single exhaust is right now.
 
:poke:If you want, you should be able to get a passenger side that is similar in outlet size to driver side size pretty easily.
That larger outlet for the driver side is the hard one to find. I think a truck manifold off a 360 will work on an A-body with no problems:poke:
 
DusterDaddy said:
:poke:If you want, you should be able to get a passenger side that is similar in outlet size to driver side size pretty easily.
That larger outlet for the driver side is the hard one to find. I think a truck manifold off a 360 will work on an A-body with no problems:poke:
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The pass side is off a 360 truck.
 
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I'm going with 2" dual exhaust so I am not sure it even matters a whole lot with the mismatched outlets. I can easily open the passenger side outlet to 2" with the bell, or even match it to 2.25" if I remove the bell, there's plenty of material in the mounting flange.
 
Whatever you think Dude! No matter where you get the kit, you will most likely need to have down pipes made. Do yourself a favor and call TTI. They will get you with a retailer who will take your manifold casting numbers and they will make you your down pipes.
IT'S WORTH THE MONEY....
 
I just got back from the muffler shop. He said I can do whatever I want to the flange bell, he can make it work. This is an old school local exhaust guy, he did my duals on my 70 Swinger back in 1990.
 
Just got back from a music festival camping trip in Indiana. I met John, @my68barracuda who gave me a 7.25" rear end from his very nice Gold 68 Barracuda. He even helped me load it! I'm getting ready to clean it up and swap it out.

Many thanks to John and forAbodiesonly for a great caring community!


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Doctor Who
If you are traveling through the area next year, doing the music gig, let me know, I may travel down to Southern IN and see the show.

and remember to check out "Don't Blink" really good Sci Fi.
 
Took the new-to-me rear end to the car wash to clean it up. Just needs a little wire brushing and some black rustoleum. The brake hardware and drums on the donor look good, but I will be Swapping my current 10" setup instead of the 9". There's no bolt tag on this one but I verified it is the same 2.76 as the original one. I'm going to go ahead and remove the cover, clean it out, and basically just stare at it for a few minutes pretending like I know what I'm doing.

I ordered new stock springs from General Springs KC yesterday, they should be here today along with new axle bearings, gaskets, and seals from RockAuto. Planning on getting everything back together by Sunday night. I'm going to see if I like the ride and stance and have a 1" lowering kit from Speedway at the ready if it needs it.

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Well the easy part is done...

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I have the new to me housing all cleaned and painted and I have the old rear end out of the Dart. However despite soaking the mounting bolts and nuts in PB Blaster and Liquid Wrench everyday, I still managed to break 3 out of 10 bolts, plus all of the shackle nuts. 1 each on the front studs and 1 more bolt on the back-top-right. I'm pretty sure I can replace the studs on the front. Not so sure I can get the broken bolt out in the back. May see if I can screw is back in all the way rather than trying to remove it by unscrewing it. This is what happens when a ratchet hits your face as the bolt breaks.

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I may have said darn.

I have the axles out of both housings. The axles I was running on both have very dry bearings which explains some of the noise I was hearing back there. I have new bearings and seals so that's a new skill I get to learn.

I was surprised when I got the springs out, and side-by-side the new ones, that they were the same height. I figured they would be a little flatter based on how it was sitting. Hoping the ride is better.

On a note of seemingly pure success:
While I was waiting for paint to dry I decided to try and charge the AC. I put a couple of adapters for R-134a and evacuated the system for about 2 hours. It took about 38 oz of refrigerant and I was totally surprised that it had no leaks. I fully expected to see the condenser or compressor seal blow once I got it fully filled, but no leaks and nice cold air coming out the vents. It was late morning and about 85 degrees out and it made the outside of my windows form condensation. The case condensation drain even works. I need to install a new heater hose valve, but for now I just have the hoses hooked into two closed loops.

Onward and sideways I guess.
 
Got my new stock shackles, and a differential cover gasket. Still need to pick up a new stud bolt for the front leaf hanger mount. I'm hoping to get it all wrapped up this weekend so I can get the Dart back on the road and test the air conditioning cuz it's getting hot here!
 
I am no AC expert, I was told that the total charge when using 134a is about 80% of the r12 fill.
Also the lube oil used is different between the two. You may be ok, but just passing this on as an FYI.
 
my68barracuda said:
I am no AC expert, I was told that the total charge when using 134a is about 80% of the r12 fill.
Also the lube oil used is different between the two. You may be ok, but just passing this on as an FYI.
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Indeed, about 80% is usually correct. I added a new oil charge first then the 134a. Full charge on r12 was 44 oz, mine took 38 oz before the gauges read the correct system pressure and the sight glass cleared up. I probably needed a new drier but it seems ok. We'll see. I'm excited to get the rear installed and give everything a road test this weekend.

Thanks again for the donor 7.25"!
 
dartnlo said:
Indeed, about 80% is usually correct. I added a new oil charge first then the 134a. Full charge on r12 was 44 oz, mine took 38 oz before the gauges read the correct system pressure and the sight glass cleared up. I probably needed a new drier but it seems ok. We'll see. I'm excited to get the rear installed and give everything a road test this weekend.

Thanks again for the donor 7.25"!
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That 7.25 certainly went to the right home! You have it looking great.
 
I spent 13 straight hours wrestling with the rear suspension and drivetrain yesterday but so far I think I won!

First fought the driver's side u-bolt nuts for about an hour with heat, penetrant and determination. They all came off without damage. Then moved on to cleaning up all of the mounting hardware. Cleaned all the threads, removed grease and surface rust and used rust restorer on everything for a universal look under the car. I couldn't get the bolt out of the right rear spring mount on the body so I drilled tow more holes in the mount and used the existing body holes along with new bolts and nuts. I also used new bolts and nuts on the left front mount where two studs broke off.

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The installation was pretty easy once I realized I had the front mounts upside down. Those holes only look symmetrical.

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I used Hondabond along with a new gasket for the differential cover. If you haven't used this stuff it is really great. Works very well, and makes the gasket reusable if you desire. Also clean up is easy. While I was waiting for that to set up I cleaned and painted the driveshaft and front yoke.

While the driveshaft was drying I moved on the the axle assemblies. I had removed the bearings and retainers bus still hadn't decided how I was going to install the bearings, which by the way were most definitely the cause of the noise I was hearing from the back. I got the backing plates and new seal installed and moved on to installing the bearings. I used a large steel pipe with a washer welded on the end and drilled out to slide over the axle. It went on slick as all get out. I buttoned up the backing plates, bled the brakes, hooked up the parking brake, and put new gear oil in.

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Next I installed new u-joint on the drive shaft and installed it.

I went through every bolt to make sure I hadn't missed anything, which of course I had. It was dark by the time I took it off jack stands for the first time and I made some contact with the deck as I was backing out. Nothing bad though just a little paint transfer. I took it for a quick spin and was pleased that the ride was so much improved. It actually had rear suspension now and the wavy brick streets in my neighborhood hardly transferred any shock to the body now. Also my crappy muffler installation doesn't hit coming out of my driveway anymore. The grinding noise was gone at low speeds, likely a result of new bearings. And the pinion slap was almost non-existent now. I wasn't able to get a good look at how much the stance changed till this morning. I was happy to see that it only came up about an inch.

Before:

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After:
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As you can tell by the photos, my working conditions are barely concrete and I was working in shorts flip flops and no shirt. It felt a lot like an episode of roadkill. The car was apart for only 10 days but it felt like an eternity. I'm glad I can return to taking road trips again!

My short list right now includes rebuilding the steering gear to stop the leak, installing a new heater/ac fan switch, and putting in a heater hose block or valve so the AC will work! After that I'm ready to get it into the muffler shop for duals.

Thanks again to @my68barracuda for the donor 7.25" I guess my Dart is amphibious now right?

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