My latest project: 1970 Dodge Dart 512 C.I. Bracket Racer

Some of you may remember that I used to have a 1972 Dodge Dart which I drag raced.

Well, I got the itch to get back into racing Our new house is only 3 miles from the Speedworld racetrack and I can faintly hear them running the cars from our house. It was just too much for me to bare I haven't been doing much in the way of local fourwheeling, so I thought drag racing would give me something to do on the weekends.

A couple weeks ago I bought a 1970 Dodge Dart off of E-bay. The car was located in New Jersey, a mere 2500 miles from home I decided this was the right car for me mainly because I really needed to get out of the house on my own for a couple weeks and this was just the excuse I needed

The car is going to be stripped and repainted. It will get new quarter panels, at least one rocker, one floorpan, new door hinges, fiberglass hood, bumpers, and most likely trunk lid as well.

The new color will most likely be orange, but it just may end up being red, like my old one. Plans for it include a 650HP, 512 CI, big block Mopar and an automatic transmission. I'm just not sure if it will be from BB or SB or whether or not it will even be a Mopar I plan on ditching the torsion bar front suspension for an aftermarket K member which gives you rack and pinion steering, upgraded brakes, and the choice of coilover shocks or airbag suspension.

The rear end in the car right now is a trussed Mopar 8 3/4", with a three link suspension and coilovers.

 

[Rick]

Oh yeah, I did have a bit of a problem with my headers hitting the trailer deck, and the trailers fenders interfere with opening the car doors. Always somethin'.

 

[IZwack]

That video is awesome.

As for the door-trailer problem: the previous owner of my trailer was a hot rod guy and had the same door problem. He solved it with strips of thick wood on the deck to elevate the car.

 

[Rick]

Looks good. We were talking about doing something like that. It just needs to be easily removable so I don't raise the CG when trailering the Explorer. I'd like to eventually get an enclosed trailer for the Dart. Actually I'd love one for the Ex, too, but a trailer with a tall door is much more expensive.

 

[rookieshooter]

Just wait untill you win your first race, then it Will be a "Yipee Kiyaa mutha' f*****, I be the Man"
And don't tell me your foot won't be shaking on the peddel and butterflys in the stomach as the lights come down either on your first race.
Liked the way the front end responded.

I've been out of the drag racing loop for so many years, so my question might sound a little odd, but your carb, how do the secondaries open up? Progressive or just open same time as the primaries? Or is there even such a thing on your carb?

 

[Rick]

The secondaries start to kick in very quickly, but not as the exact same time as the primaries start to open. This carb is much more aggressive in that respect than any of my previous double pumper carbs. This carb is a a modified 1050 Dominator.

 

[JoshC]

My car hauler has removeable fenders. I had to replace the ones that were on it due to rust, so I bought so new ones at Tractor Supply and made my own mounting hardware. Really simple, I can get some pictures if you like.

 

[Maniak]

Looks good. We were talking about doing something like that. It just needs to be easily removable so I don't raise the CG when trailering the Explorer. I'd like to eventually get an enclosed trailer for the Dart. Actually I'd love one for the Ex, too, but a trailer with a tall door is much more expensive.

Rick,

Like this? The add is a week old, but who knows.

http://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/1975448127.html

~Mark

 

[Rick]

An enclosed trailer is definitely in our future.

 

[Rick]

What a kick! An old friend of mine just sent me this photo of my first Dodge Dart from 1983!

 

[Rick]

TOMORROW

 

[Maniak]

TOMORROW

Don't forget the Vid Camera..

~Mark

 

[Rick]

I'm bringing cameras, I just hope whoever's using them does a good job

 

[Rick]

Yahoo!!!!

Made three shake down passes. The first was 18.55 @ 68mph, then 11.66 @ 101, then 11.58 @ 109.

First off, that's quicker than my first Dart ever ran. My all time quickest prior to today, was 11.86. Not bad for the first time out and a driver who was afraid to give it all she's got... Not that I was actually "afraid". I was just being cautious not wanting anything to go wrong on the first outing. I never made a full pass under power today. I was backing off the throttle before it picked up too much speed. The idea for today was just to feel it out and see how she handles. It went so straight on the first run I felt comfortable enough to give it a bit of gas off the line on the second and third. I actually thought I might not run faster than a 12 or 13 today. Just had no idea how it handle.

Now that it's home I'm going to go through the valve lash again and make sure everything in the valvetrain looks good, no burned pushrods, etc. I was also running it a bit lean. The carb needs more jet, and less fuel pump squirt. Time for a bit of tuning... I didn't have my O2 sensor on today. I felt that would just add a bit more complexity to the process, so I left it off, and just read the spark plugs, old school...

Anyway, enough blabbing... Time to upload pics and then get the video edited and uploaded.

Thanks to my friend and neighbor Fred, for taking the still shots, to Brandon for coming out and offering your expertise, and to Char for putting up with all this, and shooting todays video:chug
:

 

[Rick]

BTW, today was 10/10/10 and the car number was 01. Binary day!!

 

[Rick]

Best slip of the day...

To give you an idea how early I got out of it, I was doing 96MPH by the 1/8th mile mark, and only 101 in the quarter. So, I basically just drove it at that speed from the 1/8 mile on... For it to only take 11.58 seconds to complete the quarter at that speed, shows what kind of potential is left in the car.

 

[Rick]

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

SIMPLY AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seems I can hear a little bit of a throttle tap at the very end there.

 

[Rick]

Thanks!!! I'm still pumped!!

I never put the thing all the way to the wood yet, not even off the line

Didn't try the line lock either. I just wanted to keep it all as simple as possible today.

 

[IZwack]

To give you an idea how early I got out of it, I was doing 96MPH by the 1/8th mile mark, and only 101 in the quarter. So, I basically just drove it at that speed from the 1/8 mile on...

I think that means you got scared at the 1/8th mile and let off of the throttle :

 

[JDraper]

From the sound of that run, you've got quite a bit left to play with!! High 10's??????

Great job Rick!!!