Going to work on the Dart Saturday morning with my friend. We're probably going to pull out the steering column to replace the shaft and the coupler. Also was looking around the car and as I was looking for what I was going to need for the column, I spotted my AC box/vent. It doesn't seem like I'm going to need that anymore. I'm thinking of just taking everything AC related out of the car. Because as of now I have no compressor, random hoses in the engine compartment that go nowhere, and no effective way of transferring air flow to the cabin.



O, and I was also looking around the engine to see if I can spot the numbers to confirm whether or not it was a 273 or 318 (just wondering if the original engine was swapped because when I bought it, it was advertised as an "original" 318 even though it's a coded 273). I couldn't get a good angle from either inside or under the engine bay to get the numbers. Anyways, I knew the 273 exhaust was pretty restrictive, but does there seriously need to be a huge @$$ dimple in the exhaust right next to the torsion bar? I figure some headers, a larger diameter exhaust, and x-pipes would really give this car a little kick.



I'm thinking about just pulling out some of my Castrol Superclean Degreaser and start scrubbing the underside of the front end as well. Boy is it greasy.

What is the casting number on the intake? That will at least tell you something.

Been working all day. Update later.

Alrighty. Well I've been working on the Dart all day. My friend came over in the morning to help me out. The first thing we did was finish up the wheel cylinders. He taught me how to work with them so with the proper tools I should technically be able to work on any drum brake set. Then we went to replacing the steering coupler and shaft. We basically removed and took apart the column. As it was out my friend asked me, "You want to paint it?" I looked at it and said, "Well if it's out, I might as well. At least I'll have one nice looking thing on the car." So off to Home Depot we went. Got some sand paper, steel wool, primer, and black paint. Then we went back to my place, prepped everything, and he showed me how to spray on the primer (I've never been good with paint). After that he had to leave to a friends so I finished the job spraying 2-3 coats of paint. Overall, I'm really happy with the turnout (except for a couple spots where the paint pealed because it was lying on the cardboard, but I just touched them up). Anyways, here are the pics I always provide...

It's a little more roomy in the car. While the column was out we took out the brake pedal assembly and we're going to fix it in the shop probably sometime this week.


Old vs. New Coupler and Shaft. Kind of a scary thought looking at the welds. Some of the welds cracked and others didn't even look like they would hold at all. I bet you I could break it easily with a hammer. Bye bye steering... Crash!... Injured/dead.


Disassembly of the steering column:


Parts laying out waiting to be painted:


In primer:


After a coat or two of paint:


Plan for the car is to be driving, safely within the next month. At this point, our schedule is up in the air between both our works and baja, but there should be a couple more updates coming up within the next week or two. I would like to get the car back on the road for old times sake.

As far as brake stuff goes, the column is going to stay out till we get the MC installed. I decided to go manual steering with the new MC and an adjustable pushrod I already have in stock. We're basically going to take out the old, cut rivets on the brake pedal assembly and weld those in. We're also going to cut out the firewall and replace it with some new sheet metal. Going to go with 2, Grade 8 bolts to hold the MC in. I already have new brake lines on hold as well.

Keep up the good work, young man! Lol. I think I will have to go grab a master cylinder and get back to work on the Swinger.

Had a fairly good day today and made some progress with the car. Well, I got a set of Bilstein RCDs this morning for Christmas so I got a little excited and decided to install the rears since my wheels were already off the ground. I got to work and my mom's husband walks into the garage and tells me I should take a bunch of pictures of the car how it sits now just so 30 years from now I could talk to my kids about it. So we took a bunch of pictures and I continued to remove the shocks. When trying to install my new shocks I needed some oil from my uncle and when I told him about it, he just went at it when he got here trying to work as fast as possible to get these shocks on. Anyways, here are my pictures from today and I hope you enjoy them.
























I had a blessed Christmas today and had some real fun with my family. Overall, I'm fairly happy with these shocks. It seems to have lowered my ride just a tad but that's what I want anyways. I still have to get to the fronts though. I'll probably get working on those within the next couple days. I also need to find time with my friend to work on the brake issue and putting the steering column back together. Merry Christmas Moparts and have a great night!

Looks good, I still don't know if I will have any exhaust or wheel rubbing problems since I made the same switch as you. I went ahead and bought these though to raise up the rear a bit in case they do. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrg-1288
You can get them from probably any parts store. mr gasket part # 1288

Wow, great progress ..and Merry Christmas. Looking forward to seeing more pics in 2013.

One of the most important things I see in those pics are the tools. You seem to have developed a habit of putting them back in the cases instead of letting them get scattered all over the garage.
It really sucks when you spend half your wrenching time looking for the wrench. A bonus is that friends are more willing to help when they know it won't end up in a game of hide and seek with tools and parts.

Looks like you're doing nice work.

That old steering shaft was so scary....glad to see that gone. I think I'd keep it as garage wall art though...a good way to remember how far you've come, and the shortcuts that you are NOT taking.

Working on front shocks. Block number is 2806050-273.

Ok. I'm finally done for the night. I'm pretty happy right now. I believe this is the first time I've ever done anything major to the Dart without any physical help or input on what to do. Just finished putting on the front shocks right now. I had some questions along the way and I just thought it through. The instructions weren't much help but I got them in just fine. I didn't clean up the grease on all the suspension components because I'm just going to pressure wash it all in the future anyways. Another note, found out that the previous owner replaced a stud on the driver side and put on some metric bolt and thread pattern. Unfortunately for me I just ordered a new lug nut from rockauto (extra $3 due to shipping). O well, it's nice to have spares. Here are my pictures...





Overall, I'm happy with the shocks. Front end is sitting a little high but I figure the shocks need to settle. The car is definitely stiffer; however, when you rock the car up and down you still get just a little bounce. That's not firm enough for me. It's obvious the next things that need to be upgraded are going to be my torsion bars and leaf springs (after I get it driving and rebuild the suspension).

My tools are tucked away beneath the car and I'm currently cleaning up the garage. I had a lovely date with my Dart.

Good work man! I like the way it looks with white walls and no hub caps!

Good job. Sounds like you are having a good time learning. Making progress and making it safer to drive.

Glad you got that scary steering coupler fixed! Looks good. Did you thank your uncle for crawling under the car in his nice clean shirt?

Sometimes, us old guys are like that. If he's like me, he may have meant to take it off and change....but got wrapped up in what he was doing and forgot!