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]

Grrrrr

I pulled a real bonehead move. I just bought a new floor jack the other day. First time using it, the pad slipped off the K-frame and WHAM!!! Screwed my radiator

The only good news is that the radiator is now $20 less than it was when I first bought it a couple years ago. That was a shocker...

 

[IZwack]

high-clearance radiator - nice mod

 

[Rick]

At least scrap aluminum is worth something

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Does it leak? If not, it should still be okay.

 

[Rick]

I don't want to go to the track showing off my dumb ass mistake...

At least it's a relatively cheap radiator at $150.

 

[RockRanger]

And an easy fix as well.

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

I don't want to go to the track showing off my dumb ass mistake...

But it's okay to post it here


Seriously though, I can totally understand that. No sense in having a car that looks that good, just to pop the hood and have to explain it every time.

 

[Rick]

I'm among friends here

 

[Rick]

Did it! 10.87@119

Had problems keeping the revs low enough. Made just three passes and put it on the trailer. Prtty sure the torque converter needs to be tuned.

 

[gmanpaint]

Whoo Hoo!

Bet that felt great hitting those numbers after all the work & planning over the past 3 years.

Congrats Rick.

 

[Rick]

It sure did feel great and it felt a lot different than running an 11.5x last time out. It pulls real hard, trouble is it was over revving and I had to back out of it every time. Even on my best pass I had to back out to keep the revs down. I tested the converter when I got home by putting the tranny in third, holding the brake and punching the throttle for a second. It flashed to 7000 rpm which is more than the redline I intended of 6500.

It gets to 7000 too quick on the track and even got to 7500 once which is way too high for the combo. The torque converter is absolutely too loose, and needs to be adjusted by the manufacturer. So, out it comes and off it goes... This will set me back a few weeks, but when it comes back it should be ready to go!!

 

[Rick]

BTW, I did my first wheelies today too Felt great inside the car, and from what I was told it pulled the wheels about a foot. No pics today Forgot the camera and it was just Char and I who were out there

 

[Rick]

..

 

[RangerX]

Did it! 10.87@119

 

[Rick]

I was really hoping that I would be able to separate the transmission with the engine still in the car. It's not looking good I've got a steel tube encasing the brake line that runs behind the engine block and over the bellhousing area. It's required per NHRA rules. It's in the way of me getting to the bolts from the top. My tranny blanket is in the way of getting to the bolts with a long extension from the bottom.

I'm going to go at it again tomorrow. My plan is to tilt the engine back, remove the top bolts, set it back in place, then remove the easy to access bolts. Hopefully that will do it. Otherwise I have to disassemble the grill and core support again

 

[Rick]

Well, my plan worked. Tranny is out, engine is in. Since the torque converter is going to be gone at least 2 weeks I'm planning on pulling the engine so it will be easier to put it all back together.

Pulling the tranny alone didn't save me any time. It took about 5 to 5 1/2 hours Nothing is easy on this thing. It's all very tightly packed.

 

[Burns]

That is what I was afraid would happen. Its a lot of stuff packed into a small area.

How many times will this take to get it dialed in to the right spec's you want?

 

[FROADER]

When it's all good, it's time to get on the show "Pass Time!"

 

[Rick]

That is what I was afraid would happen. Its a lot of stuff packed into a small area.

How many times will this take to get it dialed in to the right spec's you want?

Who knows... All I know is that I'm very happy I got into the 10s after just two times out to the track.

I think that if the converter comes back setup properly it will be good to go. I'm looking forward to making a full pass with my foot down to the floor. Until I can do that I really have no idea what it's ultimately capable of. I also wouldn't have been able to run consistently having to let off to keep from over revving. This converter fix is really a big deal performance wise.

 

[Rick]

When it's all good, it's time to get on the show "Pass Time!"

Pass time or Pinks All Out. Either one would be fun