'64 Dodge Dart - what should I do with it?

I recently scored a Craigslist find- a 2 door hardtop 1964 Dodge Dart. The body is perfectly straight and rust-free except for a little bit of cancer around the tailights and trunklid, and a small hole in the spare tire well. The car has no engine, a pushbutton transmission leftover from the /6 engine that used to inhabit the engine bay, and a pretty wasted interior.

My first thought was to make a track car out of her- there was no title with the car, so road-registration would be a bit of a hassle, and I won't feel too bad about gutting the interior as most of the soft bits are dry-rotted and worn. And since the chassis is pretty solid, it'll be a good foundation for improving the handling characteristics. Plus, torsion bars and leaf springs are the hot setup these days, aren't they?

Any thoughts? A stupid- fast 440 swap wouldn't be ruled out, either...

Do a hillbilly Nascar sendoff.

16x8 black steel wheels with R compound tires, a snot spitting roller cammed 360, 5 speed, full cage, interior with two Racecraft racing seats. and do NOTHING with the exterior... actually... make it rust more.

Probably too short of a wheelbase for American Iron series. Did they ever race these back in the day? Possible vintage racing candidate?

There was a team that ran 1 Lap a couple years ago with a late 60s Dart that did pretty well. There was substantial engineering and weight reduction in it, but it looked horribly stock outside. Way cool car.

Cant you do a mix of B and RB big block Mopar components to get above a 440? Like a B 400 block and a RB 383 or 440 crank? Or am I off my roller rocker?

Mopars are all kinds of screwy but not a lot of them can be mixed or matched together.

The small block engines are making a big power comeback with updated heads and cams.

ddavidv wrote: Probably too short of a wheelbase for American Iron series. Did they ever race these back in the day? Possible vintage racing candidate?

From Wikipedia:

SCCA Competition

Also in 1966, the SCCA introduced the new Trans-Am Series 2 litre to 5 litre class that allowed competition among Dodge Darts, Plymouth Barracudas, Chevrolet Corvairs, Ford Mustangs, and other "Production Touring Cars" with a maximum wheelbase of 116 in (2,946.4 mm). Few modifications were allowed; bumpers, rear seats, and floor mats could be removed, mufflers could be replaced with straight pipes, and different wheels could be used so long as the stock rim diameter and width were maintained.[9] Any engine component available over the dealer parts counter was sanctioned for use.[9] Bob Tullius' race team, called "Group 44," used Dart 270 model coupes and GT coupes with 273-4bbl engines and were sponsored by Quaker State. The team won the 24 hour endurance race at Marlboro Motor Raceway in car No.4 driven by Tullius and Tony Adamowicz, who would also go on to win at Riverside International Raceway.[9] Unfortunately, Dodge pulled sponsorship of the Darts after one season after being dominated by the Alfa Romeo GTA team of Austrian-born Horst Kwech and the Swiss driver Gaston Andrey.

Perfect vintage racer!

Brock Yates used to race one in the 70s. Come race with us in ~VRG~ or SVRA, HSR, etc.

Ross of Nine wrote: Cant you do a mix of B and RB big block Mopar components to get above a 440? Like a B 400 block and a RB 383 or 440 crank? Or am I off my roller rocker?

You can put a 440 crank into a 400 and end up with a 451...more if you overbore. But it hardly seems worth the effort for 3% more displacement.

A big block in an A body (these cars weighed about 2700# with the /6) sounds like a lot of fun...until the first turn. ;-)

My initial thought was to build up a /6 that I have laying in my garage. I have a super six intake, and headers are available. I could even turbo it.

Or I could get a junkyard 318 and have more power right off the block. And with the setback of the V8 vs the inline six, weight distribution would probably be pretty close.

I thik some of the trans am cars (subject to the 5 litre limit) used de-stroked 340's with something like 304 cubic inches.

Hey, didn't I see a Studebaker Lark in one of your BeaveRun videos?

Fine, no big block. How about a turbo 2.2 out of a k-car and a 5 speed from a dakota? Dont those bolt together?

I wonder if a /6 or an LA block engine would bolt to a T5 tranny...anyone heard of such a thing?

Turbo Slant Six.

I only realized this yesterday after looking at my newly acquired Dart, but the '63 and '64 hardtop 2 door Darts have a Hofmeister Kink, just like a BMW. Coincidence?

Altered wheelbase match race drag car, like Steve Magnante's: http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/rampage-dart.html

There are a few narrow-body Darts and Valiants still racing. With enough work, all sorts of engines will fit. With the Slant Six, five-speed conversions, fuel injection, etc. have all been done successfully. Suspension and brake upgrades aren't hard.

Check Slantsix.org, and Mopax.
Lou Madsen races a '64 Dart with a Slant Six. And don't forget about MadScientistMatt's EFI Turbo '66 Dart.

Fumble!

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I wonder if a /6 or an LA block engine would bolt to a T5 tranny...anyone heard of such a thing?

It's been done in several variations: T5 to Slant Six

But pushbuttons are cool! .

slantvaliant wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I wonder if a /6 or an LA block engine would bolt to a T5 tranny...anyone heard of such a thing?

It's been done in several variations: T5 to Slant Six But pushbuttons are cool! .

I agree, I love the jukebox tranny. I have a '63 Dart convertible with the same setup. But a hardtop...well that just speak "racer" to me. And a proper race car lets you pick your own cogs. I'd leave the tranny buttons there- perhaps I could repurpose them for something...

ddavidv wrote: Did they ever race these back in the day?

The first over-2.0 Liter Trans Am race was won in a '66 Dart with a 273 V8, Bob Tullius driving.

Darts and Valiants ran in some rallies,as well.

Go sacrilegious: 2JZ-GTE, or do a full R34 RB26DETT + AWD conversion.

What? Why's everyone got that look in their eye all of a sudden?

Woody wrote: Turbo Slant Six.

/thread. Seriously. This is on my not-so-immediate list of things to do. I would freaking kill for a turbo slant 6 sleeper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2D92O66SZY&feature=fvw

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I agree, I love the jukebox tranny. I have a '63 Dart convertible with the same setup. But a hardtop...well that just speak "racer" to me. And a proper race car lets you pick your own cogs. I'd leave the tranny buttons there- perhaps I could repurpose them for something...

Various stages of nitrous.

ReverendDexter wrote: Go sacrilegious: 2JZ-GTE, or do a full R34 RB26DETT + AWD conversion. What? Why's everyone got that look in their eye all of a sudden?

No, no... i'm with you. This car is basically a rolling shell, so it's an oppurtunity for something great, and to piss off every purist ever.

Think the Mopar people will get as pissed as the LS1 forums were with the guy that put a 2jzgte in a classic numbers matching Camaro SS?

John Brown wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I agree, I love the jukebox tranny. I have a '63 Dart convertible with the same setup. But a hardtop...well that just speak "racer" to me. And a proper race car lets you pick your own cogs. I'd leave the tranny buttons there- perhaps I could repurpose them for something...

Various stages of nitrous.

Win.

1... 2... OMFG