Ok I know I had a "learn me" post on beetles but I have also seen several cheap Darts. Parts don't seem to expensive. Any suggestions, things to look for, etc...
Ok I know I had a "learn me" post on beetles but I have also seen several cheap Darts. Parts don't seem to expensive. Any suggestions, things to look for, etc...
I have no suggestions but lately I have been really itching for one with a 318 and manual trans.
why am I waiting for a lawn dart reference?
how 'bout a bundy reference?
Because I finally got mine out of the lawn and into a garage, and have actually been doing some work on it.
Yes, parts for them are dead cheap and you there's a surprising number of ways to upgrade the suspension and brakes to get it to handle - well, not like a newer sports coupe, but a lot better than you'd think. Plus, the front suspension has adjustable ride height with a couple bolts in the lower control arms.
Usually you see them turned into drag rockets - there's a lot of parts for any of the V8s. Hopping up the slant six is a good deal more expensive - not that I'd discourage it :), but it's more something you'd do for the challenge of it than for cheap power.
The biggest thing to look out for is, of course, rust. The rear quarter panels and under the chrome are the biggest spots to look for rust, but one insidious place they can rust is the fresh air system under the dash. There's some drains to prevent this but they can get clogged with leaves. Have someone pour water down the cowl vents and make sure it doesn't come out in the footwells.
The most popular years to hop up are the '67-'72. The '63-'66 years have a narrower engine compartment, are harder to find headers for, and trim parts are a royal pain to get. The '73-'76 are a bit heavier and more choked with smog parts, but if they have disc brakes they will have the more desirable 5 x 4.5" bolt pattern. All other Darts are a 5 x 4" bolt pattern that isn't easy to find wheels for compared to the large pattern; large bolt pattern conversions on older models are pretty common though. (And '62 and earlier Darts have no relation to '63 and later. Interesting cars but almost no resto parts to be had for them.)
You can put a V8 in a slant six car, but keep in mind this can mean replacing a lot of parts. The K-members are different, but there are conversion mounts readily available to handle that. You'll also probably want to upgrade the tiny drums if it was equipped that way (though slant six / disc or V8 / small drum combos aren't unheard of), you must swap out the transmission, and slant six rear axles can break behind a V8. Keep in mind that a heavily built slant six may very well get all the items swapped out except the transmission as well.
Next to the Plymouth Valiant, the Dart is the finest car in the world. 
BTW, Al Bundy's "Dodge" looked to be a Plymouth Duster.
twas a Dodge Dart Demon specifically.
Was that a picture of Greg Voth? 
Grtechguy wrote: twas a Dodge Dart Demon specifically.
Well they changed the name from Demon to Sport Dart so as to not offend the wrong people. Same car really.
A 2 door ChryCo A-body is my number one classic car to build. I want one soooooo bad. With a stroked 408 and upgraded suspension
I'm at work so I need to keep this one short.
Al's "Dodge" was a '73-74 Plymouth Duster. Why they kept calling it a Dodge I don't know. Possibly an inside joke.
Matt covered most of the basics. For a V8 swap the best bang for the buck is a late model Magnum 318 or 360. Converting it to a carb is easy with the right intake manifold. Or go the extra step with the fuel injection.
-Rob
In reply to aussiesmg:
No no no. I sold that thing after the transmission blew up on me. Broke even so I can't complain.
So 96DXCivic did you get the answers you were looking for? Here's a little more info
Depending on what part of the country you are in look for rust in the front frame rails where the upper control arms mount. Salt likes to sit in there and do very bad things.
The inner fenders can rust where they meet the cowl. That's a pretty easy fix.
Check the torsion bar crossmember for rust. It also doubles as your transmission mounts.
Front floor pans will rust out from leaking windshield wiper post seals. If there is a large amount of silicone around the windshield trim, it's because the wiper posts are leaking and they didn't know to look there.
The doglegs in the rear frame rails can get rusty as well as trunk extensions (trunk floor between the quarters and frame rails) as well as the spare tire well.
For the '67-76 cars, all the floors are available repop. Quarter skins are available as well. Floors and some patch panels are available for the '63-66 cars. Depending on the year Dart assorted fiberglass body panels are available too.
The '73-76 fenders can work on the '67-69 cars but the side marker holes will be wrong. The '67-69 quarter panel profile at the taillight is shared with the front edge of the '67-69 & 73-76 fender so a fender that's rotted out below could be used to patch a quarter at the taillight opening.
Oh, Ford 8" rears from Granadas or Mustangs or Mavericks will bolt in where a weak 7 1/4" Mopar rear was. Don't need to cut the driveshaft either.
Wheel bolt pattern was mentioned by SlantValiant.
In my morning post I mentioned the Magnum motor. It will bolt right in using LA (318-340-360) motor mounts and bolt up to an earlier LA transmission. An LA distributor will drop right in. Edelbrock makes a very nice RPM Air Gap for the Magnum heads.
I know a '75 Dart running around with a (mostly) stock 360 Magnum, Air Gap intake, Comp Cam (I'd have to look up the specs but it wasn't anything crazy), 3.00 gears in the Ford 8" rear and turning low 13's with poor traction. No fancy head work, no trick parts. It's mild enough to be a daily driver.
I also have a couple buddies that ran One Lap in a '70 Dart back in '98 & '99. If you want more info on that combo let me know.
-Rob
Slant 6. Gutless, but good aftermarket support, and just about as close to bulletproof as you can get. 'Nuff said.
curtis73 wrote: Slant 6. Gutless, but good aftermarket support, and just about as close to bulletproof as you can get. 'Nuff said.
Amen brother!
www.slantsix.org.
Pretty much the only site I frequent that's as as cordial and informative as this one.
curtis73 wrote: Slant 6. Gutless, but good aftermarket support, and just about as close to bulletproof as you can get. 'Nuff said.
Yeah. GUTLESS
Unfortunately, Slant Six-specific aftermarket support is limited to a few intake manifolds, headers for some models, a split exhaust manifold (Dutra Duals), maybe a distributor or two, and not much else. The Aussies make some good stuff for the Slant. I've heard of a centrifugal supercharger kit, but suspect it's vaporware.
Most of the performance enhancement on the Slant Six come from old-time hot rodding, as in making/modifying/adapting parts and tuning.
An aftermarket head with better flow and good chambers sure would be nice, but the subject really raises hackles at slantsix.org (my other web home!), mainly because it probably won't happen.
slantvaliant: Has anyone to your knowledge gone crazy with a grinder and had a /6 head milled as much as possible, opened up the ports "intelligently", and installed some dished pistons to keep the compression ratio where they want it? I'm thinking the overly open chambers of the /6 isn't really helping things, I know the ports aren't that hot or flow that well, and the compression ratio isn't that punchy either.
My first car was a '64 Savoy with a 225 and a pushbutton automatic, I'd love to have something like that again as a starting point, but eventually port fuel inject & coil on plug the thing with a 'Squirt, yadda yadda fantasy stuff. Wondered if you had seen anyone go full tilt with one since you seem to be up on the subject.
Well, it's a classic case of YMMV, but there was this stuff in HRM: www.hotrod.com/techarticles/hrdp_0803_1965_plymouth_slant_six_engine/index.html . (I don't feel bad mentioning HRM here, because I first found out that GRM existed from them.)
pres589 wrote: slantvaliant: Has anyone to your knowledge gone crazy ...
... with Slant Sixes? Yes
The Slant Six has been bored, stroked (a little), destroked, rollerized, milled, ported, polished, turbocharged, supercharged, EFI'ed, fed nitrous, fed propane, fed alcohol ... There was a NASCAR variant in 1960 (see Hyper-Pak)
A Slant Six was even installed in a LOTUS ELEVEN
Poke around the before-mentioned SLANTSIX.ORG, read the articles, then do some searches in the forum.
However, Valiants and Darts are their natural homes, where they make reliable, durable, easy to maintain, and responsive engines. If you find an A-body Mopar with one, think about working with it.
GREAT PLATFORM!
You can get it going respectably fast for little money. If you want it to handle stick with an "A" or "LA" motor.
To Make it go Really fast (like keep up with Vettes and stuff)- its gonna cost ya.
For handling stuff - try FIRMFEEL. They have steering boxes that are much quicker. I think they have bigger diameter Torsen bars, too.
I also recommend "How to Build a Super Street Mopar" by SAbooks. I'm not sure it is still in print but it is a great book for someone trying to make a musclecar era mopar handle.
I would really like to build a "A" powered A-body one day.
Oh great. Now I'm desperately craving a 4 door slant six Valiant sleeper. Thanks guys.
Oh berkeley. Oh berkeley. Oh berkeley. Oh berkeley.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1312730171.html
WHY GOD? WHY!?!?!?
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/1318352512.html
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1297166945.html
How fast do you want to go? Got money?
Check out "Performance Handling for Classic Mopars" byTom Condran for some good info on junkyard upgrades for the suspension and brakes. My front end followed that basic outline.
Several aftermarket brake upgrades are out there, including those using Viper or Wilwood calipers and pretty good size rotors.
If tweaking the basic suspension design isn't enough, there are coilover front and rear suspension kits available. See XV Motorsports and ReillyMotorSports.
For inspiration, check out these A's:
The GREEN BRICK a '69 Valiant built by Rick Ehrenberg, used competitively in a couple of cycles of One Lap of America. Stroked 360 (408 CID, IIRC), with maxed out torsion bar suspension.
Lou Madsen's 64 DART ROADRACER
Mike Martin's "How to Build a Super Street Mopar" has been out of print for a very long time. It was re-released sometime in the '90's as something like "Dodge / Plymouth Performance" but that's out of print now too. They do surface used from time to time.
Another SA Design Series book to look at is Chrysler Performance Upgrades by Frank Adkins. It's geared for someone like 96DXCivic who wants to know a little bit about each area of the old RWD Mopars.
I'll throw the disclaimer out here now. I helped with the book and am friends with the author. I am not in the canoe business. I don't even like canoes. I don't get anything out of the book sales other than extending my 15 minutes of fame another couple seconds.
-Rob
poopshovel wrote:
HAHAHAHA! I created mental waves to get those people to sell those cars, just because y'all made me buy the Alfa.
Seriously, poop...I'd come help. I've heard having a Hong around is a Good Thing (tm).
You'll need to log in to post.
