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.

 

[allmyEXes]

Fords are first on the list for me but I have always been a big fan of Mopars. Early '70s Dodge vans were my drivers for a while.
That is such a cool and can I say "old school" type of project. You young guys, you know who you are, the ones that are "barely legal", Pay attention! Muscle cars of this type are going to get to the point that one won't be able to build a vehicle of this kind anymore.
Great project Rick!

 

[Rick]

What a day...

Started off by picking up my driveshaft from Home - Precision Drivelines of Arizona . Got it home, slid it in and bolted it up, no problem. Next on my list was to fill everything with fluids, so I started with the overdrive unit. I used an oil can like this to fill the OD unit:

When I pulled the wand out of the unit I noticed that the tip had fallen off inside the case!! Well that put the brakes on everything. Out came the driveshaft and the OD unit. I made a call to Gear Vendors and they talked me through splitting the case and reassembling it. A few hours later it's all back together and I'm actually ahead of where I was yesterday so that's a win.

Old Murphy struck hard today, but I pushed through and got'er done.

 

[gmanpaint]

Momma said there will be days like this.

Some days motivation, beats perspiration. Some days, it's the other way around. Some days just need a chair, and a beer. Heck with the rest.

 

[Rick]

Today was the big day. Fired the new motor up for the first time and it sounds good! Only issue is that my electric fuel pump keep shutting down Actually it's not just the fuel pump it's the whole switch panel! I'm using a Switchpro digital switch panel. It works fine when the car is off, pump runs as long as I want. When I start the car the switch panel reboots itself. When it comes back on the fuel pump is off. It keeps rebooting, and won't stay on steady

I'm exhausted and start checking connections tomorrow, but I have a feeling it may be electrical interference from the MSD ignition.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Connect a capacitor onto the power leads near the digital switch panel or connect a DC - DC converter to supply power to the panel. It should reduce or eliminate the ripple on the supply line.

 

[Rick]

I bypassed the switch panel and the pump worked fine. I've already replaced the defective panel and all is well with that now. I just shipped the carburetor off to Pro Systems today so they can make the Dominator carb more streetable. It was previously optimized for wide open throttle operation, not part throttle cruising.

I built an exhaust for the car using 3" tubing and bullet mufflers. Way too loud for my "old" ears... I already ordered chambered mufflers to quiet it down a bit.

 

[donalds]

Pumpkin pull. Can't wait to see the times

 

[Rick]

It finally saw the light of day today...

 

[410Fortune]

wing windows!! Hooray!!
Looks ready to run, soooooooo ready

 

[Rick]

Success!!!

Took the car to the gas station and back home just now. It's running great and damn does it scoot!! On the way home I gave it a little gas. I don't think I even touched the secondaries. I've never driven something this quick on the road before. Totally different feeling than running it on the track. Can't wait until I can see what she'll do off the line

 

[gmanpaint]

Woo hoo! Nice!


Late night fishing, farm truck & Azn style?

 

[Rick]

Woo hoo! Nice!


Late night fishing, farm truck & Azn style?

No, my racing days are over. I'm only out for fun

 

[vroomzoomboom]

No, my racing days are over. I'm only out for fun

riiiiiiiiiiiiiite.
the first punk that revs it at a stop light is fair game. once a drag racer, always a drag racer.

 

[Rick]

riiiiiiiiiiiiiite.
the first punk that revs it at a stop light is fair game. once a drag racer, always a drag racer.

In the 7 years that I've been driving the '60 Dart that only happened once, and boy was it fun I don't think the kid knew what hit him. He probably just thought it was a loud old car. The red car isn't like that though. It's got a solid roller cam with .650 lift and it sounds radical as hell...

 

[410Fortune]

VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rick]

Console is nearly complete. I just need to add an arm rest.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It looks great! What kind of paint did you use?

 

[Rick]

It looks great! What kind of paint did you use?

Kirker single stage urethane. The entire box was skimmed with body filler then high build primer, and then paint. The inside was done with black flocking.

 

[gmanpaint]

That looks amazing! Wow, just wow! You got some skillz sir!

 

[Rick]