The Other 68 Dart Resto Project

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I have watched your build over the years from what you started with....

Congrats!! on being able to finally drive what you've built!!! Looks great! Good job!
 
I spent about 2 days reading this thread from start to finnish. Love the way you started out in an apartment one car garage, moved on to buying a house with an awesome work space. Shows how our car projects can mark milestones in our lives. Sometimes life gets in the way but you got it done. Awesome work and an insperation to us all. I thought I would be driving my 70 Dart last month, well life gets in the way. Hoping to still have it in paint in a couple of weeks.
 
Well, I have had opportunity to drive the car some, the brakes sucked (or more appropriately, didn't). I had no business running power brakes on an engine that only pulls 7" vacuum at 950 rpm idle, which made for some scary stops, I played around with a new modern aluminum master cylinder, but I had problems finding the correct fittings, so I finally reverted back to the old style cast iron master, and a new brake push rod, which works great, it does not require that much pedal pressure at all, so problem fixed.

Rebuilt the front suspension with all new poly bushings and new 1.03 torsion bars, and an Addco 1 1/4 sway bar, which made the car more stable, the torsion bars are nowhere near too stiff, I could probably even go stiffer.

Lastly, I ordered a Fast EZ-EFI 30227 kit from Jegs last night, no more playing around with my carb every weekend, which means I will be making a long trip with the Dart next year, possibly even the Power Tour. At very least I will try to make it to Mopar Nats, Carlisle, or Vegas.
 
hope you ez-efi goes bvetter than the last two i installed.

and had i known, i have a manual disc, drum master, rod, brake lines, and line lock/brackets/plumbing left over from my duster i would have sold you cheap.

did you mean 1 1/8 sway bar? i did not know that addco had started doing 1 1/4.
and glad to hear about the t-bars. im thinking about those for mine. whered you get them from?

michael
 
The EZ EFI kit was easy to instal, except for those bastard push lok fittings, if I had to do it again, I would just order the basic kit, fuel pump kit, and stainless braided lines. I probably spent about 12 hrs installing the kit, about 8hrs was spent on running fuel lines (A-bodies are exceptionally hard to run lines). It took me another 3hrs running wires because I mounted the ecu under the pass side of the dash and made a nice bracket for it.

It took me a few tries to get the throttle blades adjusted for it to idle, but it would have been easier with a second set of hands, still it only took 15 min for a perfect idle. Now it starts with a quick flick of the key on 34F mornings, and considering the size of the cam I have, that's a freaking miracle. Driving around is also a lot smoother, well, as smooth as a lumpy big block with a 4000 stall converter and 4.56 gears can get. I am also noticing WAY more power at full throttle than my old carb.

Now I still have to get the overheating problem fixed, I am another victim of cheap water pump housings from 440 source.
 
dusterbd13 said:
hope you ez-efi goes bvetter than the last two i installed.

and had i known, i have a manual disc, drum master, rod, brake lines, and line lock/brackets/plumbing left over from my duster i would have sold you cheap.

did you mean 1 1/8 sway bar? i did not know that addco had started doing 1 1/4.
and glad to hear about the t-bars. im thinking about those for mine. whered you get them from?

michael
Click to expand...

I think you are right, it's a 1 1/8"

The t bars came from Just Suspension? Can't remember, bought them 2 years ago when they had a sale on them for $159
 
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Fly,

Nice work. That fuel pump looks very much like the one (Walbro) I have on my diesel. Nice install and not in the way, they tuck up along the frame nicely.
 
Recent changes and refinements to my car, I installed a flex fan to solve my overheating issues, I installed a pair of Magnaflow mufflers in place of the old Thrush welded, and yesterday I took apart the doors to get rid of as many rattles as I can, and to get the drivers door to seal to the weatherstripping. I also installed about 1 1/2 sheets of dynamat in each door.
 
flyboy01 said:
That was 3 coats. Matrix MS-42 Clear, the stuff is awesome, blows away any name brand stuff (except HOK). No more coats of clear, in the future will be wet sanding with 1500 and 2000 grit, then buffing. very little orange peel.
Click to expand...

Can I use this clear over PPG bases?
 
Should have waited on the EFI...Their coming out with a new one in March EVEN BETTER
 
Update. Almost a year has gone by, got married, have not driven the Dart since early September. It was time to dig it out of mothballs and freshen it up. I changed the oil, and started it up with a single twist of the key (I love the EZ-EFI!). I decided it was time to add the wheels I wanted all along, and bought a set of American Muscle 17x8 and 17x10 Bullitt wheels and a set of tires, 245/45r17 and 295/45r17 drag radials.

Unfortunately, I tried to bolt on the fronts, but the rotor hubs interfered (I suspected they would), fortunately my friend Kevin Alexander had a very large lathe in his garage. He turned down the small step on the hub near the rotor and cut a notch toward the outer bearing of the hub, the wheels fit perfect now! We spent about an hour cutting and measuring with a bit of trial and fitting, and probably spent two hours shooting the bull. The front tires fit perfectly on a 73+ k frame with about 5/8" clearance to the front fender lip. The rear is a stock a body 8 3/4 rear with small drums redriilled to large bolt pattern. The back was mini-tubbed, I have at least an inch clearance to the inner and outer fenders/wheel wells.

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what ^ he said X1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 what ever that is :) 8)
 
How the hell did I not see this thread before?? Man, that's a beauty of a Dart. I'm picking up a ton of ideas from these threads. Congrats on building a car you can treasure, drive, enjoy, and truly call your own.
 
Damn that's awesome-I just noticed you have retractable seat belts...where would you recommend buying them for a pre-'73 A body? I think the old school ones are quaint, but I can't stand not being able to lean forward more than a couple inches without having to disco the shoulder belt...
 
Daymmmmmm dude.. very sweet ride! I remember we started around the same time with the same color scheme... I gonna say that the red interior is the tits on ur car!
 
Wow, it's been a long journey....7 1/2 years. Along the way I changed careers, bought a house, and got married to a wonderful woman who encourages my car hobby! And I'm still not 100% done yet. I have an A/C kit that needs to be installed, soundproofing that needs to go under the carpet and rear seat, and a bunch of little things that need sorting out, but the car is driveable and goes to car shows whenever I get a chance.
 
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