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]

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

Yep, scared that something might break and throw me into the wall

I did a shake down after each pass checking for any loose suspension components, loose wheel bearings, etc. Didn't find anything wrong I got a load of compliments about the workmanship of the car:biggthump

 

[BigRondo]

Nice job Rick!!

 

[RangerX]

Rick, was it your first time on the track since you had the first Dart? How many years?


I love this pic!

 

[Scott B.]

+1! ^^^^^ Awesome picture!

 

[Rick]

It's been 26 years since I had the Dart

I ran a couple motorcycles I had a couple times each shortly after I sold the Dart. In fact I used the money I got from selling the Dart to buy my first bike down here.

The only other time I've been on a track since the mid '80s, was when I took our Mach 1 to the same track I ran on today. That was probably 5 years ago and I only ran 13.80.

 

[FROADER]

Awesomesauce, Rick!! You can definitely tell it's got a lot left to give.

Congrats on a successful first day with it.

 

[Scott B.]

I have a question - how do you break-in the engine? Obviously, you can't drive it around town, but don't you want some time and heating/cooling cycles on the engine before you run it at the track?

 

[Rick]

I have a question - how do you break-in the engine? Obviously, you can't drive it around town, but don't you want some time and heating/cooling cycles on the engine before you run it at the track?

I used high zinc break in oil for the first few starts. I got it up to temp and let it cool several times while doing the initial tuning.

A race motor uses a finer hone than a regular motor so very little break in is needed.

 

[RangerX]

Rick, can you explain a little about test runs at this (or any) track? It looks completely empty, so I figure it's not a race day. Is the track available to anyone for a fee, or do you "know someone"?

 

[Rick]

Funny you should ask. I looked into renting the track. It would have cost $1000 for a half a day. That included prepping the track with traction compound for the first 60 feet, ambulance crew and necessary track personnel.

That seemed like way to much, so I did the next best thing. I took a shot at running on the 2nd Sunday, that the track has been open this season. The track is open all year, but they only run Sundays in the winter months. They were open for test and tune and trophy racing, nothing big going on at all. Turned out I only had one car in front of me in the staging lanes for each run I made. Nice!! Might as well have been an empty track.

On test and tune days you can always ask for a "Bye" run which is what they call a single car run. I asked for Bye runs to keep myself and the other racers safe, just in case there was some kind of problem.

The track personnel couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. I had a ton of comments from the guys running the track about how nice the car was. My head got so big I could barely fit it in the helmet

 

[techieman33]

both local tracks here are the same, they have test and tune sessions, you pay your $20 to get in the gates then you can run as many passes as you can get in for the few hours they are open. Some days I've been I could only get a couple of passes since the track was so crowded, others there was zero wait and I could run again as soon as I got back to the staging area. Check your local tracks website, most of them should do something similar.

 

[BKennedy]

Rick. That car is totally awsome! I have always been a fan of Mopar, and that is everything it should be. Loud, mean and fast!

They have a hot rod night out here in Escondido on Friday's called Cruzin' Grand. They have a coolest sounding contest and people trailer their drag cars from all over. I think you would do pretty good. I friggin' love the sound of a high horse power big block.

 

[Rick]

Thanks Brian

 

[BKennedy]

I think the coolest thing about these type of projects is the car gets a new life. It started out as a pretty cool car in 1970, spent three decades getting abused and trashed, then gets completely reborn as a drag car. The car gets to live again.

 

[rookieshooter]

I agree, high 10s not a problem. Looked and sounded great. Love the wrinkle wall look on the still shots.
I noticed the hills in the distance and makes me wonder what elevation is the track in regards to jetting the carb?
I've heard that the desert cools off in the evening and may want to take that into account for the more dense air also if your running late in the day or night racing.
Just my .02s worth.

 

[Turdle]

Pure gratification is all I have to say.

Hell yeah.

 

[Rick]

I agree, high 10s not a problem. Looked and sounded great. Love the wrinkle wall look on the still shots.
I noticed the hills in the distance and makes me wonder what elevation is the track in regards to jetting the carb?
I've heard that the desert cools off in the evening and may want to take that into account for the more dense air also if your running late in the day or night racing.
Just my .02s worth.

The altitude at the track is about 1500ft. It's really a negligible amount. The NHRA does not have a "correction factor" for this track which means cars are expected to run very close to the same as they would at sea level.

 

[Rick]

 

[RangerX]

Did you go again? Or is that pic from the other weekend?

 

[Rick]

The other weekend. I was going through the photos and liked that shot of Char.