1960 Dodge Dart Seneca Project

Here is a pic of the dash from the same model:

The brown car in the attached photo is the actual car I bought. The green car is what they looked like new.

It's a beast that's for sure! I really like the front bumper and the dash on this model. If I decide to keep her my plan is to drop in a ridiculously powerful BB Mopar and have a hell of sleeper on the street When I say ridicoulously powerful I'm thinking along the lines of 750 - 1000hp on pump gas A turbo motor isn't out of the question.

I'm hoping that buying the car will be more motiviation for me to build a detached garage to store our current rides. I will need the whole attached garage for the restoration on the "new" Dart.

 

[Rick]

So now Honda is making rear engine vehicles to copy the Beetle.

It has close to 50/50 weight distribution and for the tuner crowd it's already been lowered in the rear.

 

[Rick]

Feeling very lucky right about now...

I went for a cruise in the '60 Dart this morning. Just as I was turning onto my street the brake pedal went hard and I could barely slow the car. Turns out the power brake booster took a dump. The diaphragm must be broken as it will not hold vacuum. So incredibly lucky that it failed where it did!!

 

[BKennedy]

Can you get replacement parts for that car?

 

[Rick]

Can you get replacement parts for that car?

I'm running a booster from a late '60s Challenger, Charger. The power brake booster they used in 1960 was really funky. They make replacement parts for it, but since the car is a hotrod and not stock I didn't have a problem using the newer booster.

 

[410Fortune]

oh dang that is scary! I had the floor matt on my old 96 explorer peg the throttle and those old 5.0 96 brakes did nothing to slow me down...went right through a red light before I turned the key off and finally was able to stop. SCARY crap when the brakes wont hold you back........never ever ever did I ever install my floor mats again without checking they are not on TOP of the throttle pedal.......sheesh
glad you and the car are good!

 

[FROADER]

That happened to me in my '63 Galaxie on the 405 freeway! I was pushing so hard and not stopping I figured I was going to crash, but on one final push is ended up braking and locked up the tires. Thankfully I didn't hit anything... Scariest driving scenario of my life, still. I was able to get a "new" reman. booster for it.

 

[BKennedy]

I had that happen in a 92 or 93 Crown Victoria patrol car when I was exiting a freeway off ramp in Ventura. I hit the brakes, felt/heard a bang in the front and the car was not stopping as I came up on some stopped cars at the light at the top of the ramp. I pushed the right-front fender into the guardrail to slow me down enough to stop. Right-front brake rotor had shattered, which took out the brake line, which caused a severe loss in braking. Car was nearly new and only had a few thousand miles on it. Department mechanics inspected the other new Crown Vic's at the office and about half had cracks in the front rotors. Ford replaced nearly 500 sets of front rotors throughout the state for us, and thousands more for other departments nationwide. Rotors were not properly heat treated at the factory.

 

[Rick]

 

[Rick]

I'm in the process of installing electronic power assist power steering (EPAS) in my '60 Dart. As is, I dread having to back into parking spots at car shows. So much cranking, so little movement! The EPAS gives the most boost at parking lot speeds, while removing the boost when traveling at highway speeds. I can't wait to try it out. I just need to cut some gussets and weld it all up. Then i'm good to go.

This car came with a 16" steering wheel and 14" road wheels!

 

[410Fortune]

wicked cool! EPS is the best because it can be retrofitted into all the old muscle
Brett was ripping Prius steering motors out at the junk yard about 7-8 years ago, I am like "WTH are you doing with those"... he's like "Early Mustangs"....
Always a pioneer that Brett.
Years later I see them putting EPS into all the old rods! So cool.
I know the EV's and UTV's also helped make EPS a thing we can afford
I bet this becomes your favorite upgrade on the whole car

 

[Turdle]

Very interesting mod!

 

[Rick]

I just got back from a 50 mile cruise with the Seneca and this new setup is amazing. I struggled with manual steering on this car for nearly 10 years. I have ensured that I get to some car shows early so I can pull through one spot into the other so I don't have to back in. No more of that, and no more planning ahead for my slow speed turns.

I could have sourced a used power steering box and a new pump for the car, but power steering from the '50s and '60s is often described as over boosted. The electric power steering is adjustable. I have it set to 3/4 power and it's just right at low speeds and cruising.

Advantages of electric over hydraulic include:
Power steering with engine off - ignition on
Adjustable "feel"
Returns to "normal" manual steering if power assist stops working
If a belt comes off, many power steering systems become very "sloppy" at highway speeds.
Electric assist doesn't pull power from the engine.

I certainly wouldn't pull a functioning power steering setup out to install something like this, but when building a custom project it is definitely something to keep in mind.

 

[Rick]

Beautiful morning for a drive. Temps have been below 100 for the past week or so. Finally getting rain here.

 

[Turdle]

That is a nice shot

 

[BKennedy]

I love that car. Its got the coolest fins of just about any car from that era.

 

[allmyEXes]

Nice, nice, nice! So y'all are in Wayoutin, Arizona? I think Lackawata Creek runs through there. The EPAS steering set-ups are nice. Me and brother have so far have rounded up 4 2004 to 2009 Toyota Prius electric units. They are perfect for the early Mustangs, Falcons and more. We are going to install one on our 1976 CVF150 project. A 2003 CV cop car chassis with a 1976 F150 body. We are gutting the rack and pinion steering to make it manual and then add the EPAS.
I'll say again, nice ! You have some really nice Mopars in addition to your Fords !

 

[Rick]

Ive been working on a cold air induction setup. This car was ordered with no heat or AC so there is a big opening accesible in the firewall that gets fresh air from the cowl vents.

The air filter is from a VW Golf

 

[Rick]

New plan. I'm ditching the VW air filter because the sidewalls of the air pan meets up with the hood insulation perfectly. I will keep the hole in the firewall open and use the two round filters that I have been using all along. The reason for that is to filter out any fiberglass that could be pulled out of the insulation. I'm going to see if I can find a

I think I am going to put a stainless steel mesh screen, something with like 1/4" holes in the opening in the firewall for appearance I will also have the air pan coated with a heat reflective powder.

 

[Rick]

@Turdle Is there a heat reflective powdercoat or is the reflective stuff a different process?

 

[allmyEXes]

That really is cowl induction...