posted 01-26-2001 01:00 PM            

I was infected early with the Dart/slant 6 bug by my parents, who bought a '72 Dart Demon slant six the year I was born. They sold this car in 1982 when my mother inherited my great aunt's blue '68 Dart sedan with a 225. Luckily it was a North Carolina car, so it was rust free and had only 22k miles on it, including bulging original tires, hoses, etc... Thankfully, my parents immediately Ziebarted the car and maintained it well and it held up against the rust through 7 Wisconsin winters. I had wanted the car from the day it rolled into our driveway and my parents decided to sell it to me (builds character!) on my 16th birthday (1988) for $1200. The car was in great shape and after about six months, I began to work on it and modify it. Previously, I had not worked on cars. This car has become my lifelong experiment and project. I started out with gas shocks, 14" rallye wheels, and a glass pack, and moved on to major engine building, 8 3/4" axle, stall converter, sway bars.....

The car has served me extremely well, frequently hauling loads of 6 people and baggage on long trips, or over 1000 lbs of car parts across the country. It has only left me stranded ONCE in 13 years, when my distributor drive gear shredded near Baker, CA. I bought a new distributor in Baker the next morning and was on my way in 45 min.

My goal is to make this car superior in performance, gas mileage, braking, etc... to most new cars, even sports/performance cars. I intend to put in multi-point EFI, 11" front disc brakes (4-piston K-H) and an A500 automatic in the next few years. Possibly some fiberglass body parts too.

Currently, the car has:

- 180k miles on the body (original front end!)
- Front/rear sway bars and KYB gas-adjust shocks. Alignment is set for more pos caster and neg camber.
- 8 3/4" axle with 2.94's for highway, and 3.23's, 3.91's, 4.57's for track.
- A904 trans with 3000rpm stall converter
- 9" front drums/10" rears (upgrade to 11" front disc soon, have parts)
- 14X7" American Racing 5-slot aluminum wheels with 225-60/HR14 tires
- 225, 0.030" over, 10:1 compression, big valve/mildly ported/angle milled head, Carter/Edelbrock 500 carb (elec choke) on Offy 4bbl intake, 14" K&N filter, 0.490" MP cam, Cr/Mo custom pushrods, HV Melling oil pump, MP double roller t-chain, litewt mini starter, electric fan (no mechanical fan), MP 6X1 header into 2.5" single exhaust, MSD 6A box and coil triggered with recurved Chrysler electronic distributor, dropped-sump oil pan and pickup (2" for 2 extra quarts cap).
- redone '71 Dart split bench seats with head rests and added contours
- 10-disc CD changer and 4 speaker stereo
- Sun minitach on steering col. and 0-100 psi oil pressure gauge under dash
- Car was repainted the factory light metallic blue in 1990, fading now but body is straight.
- Weight is about 3300 lbs with 170 lb driver and 1/2 a tank.

The car gets about 19MPG on the highway, 14-17 in street/mixed driving. It'll spin the (wide) tires a bit with the highway gears and run a 16.0-16.2 in the 1/4, 0-60 in 8.2 sec in full street trim (2.94 gears). It'll also pull about 0.9G's in the corners yet is comfortable to cruise in. I've had it up to 120-125mph several times and it'll cruise at 100 no problem.

I'm running low on time, so I'll get to the '64 Dart 270 and try to post some pics later...

Cheers,

posted 01-26-2001 05:48 PM            

I bought this car in 1996, about 6 mo after moving to Pasadena, CA. The car was basically rust free, but had a blown engine. I picked it up for $400, then sold the 13" tires and radiator for $100 soon thereafter. It had 175k miles on it, and had recently had the entire front suspension and front a rear brakes rebuilt (new hard parts, drums, everything). It was a perfect project and I decided to restore the car. I had a fresh (10k miles) 225 and A904 that I had built for my '65 Dart 270 winter beater in WI, which I had parted out since it rusted out beyond reasonable repair. I began by gutting the interior, which had some funky hippie swirlie brushed paint job on the inner door panels. I then hopped in my '68 Dart (see above) and drove back to Madison, WI, picked up the complete 225 and 904, along with an air compressor, 2 wheels/tires, 2-8 3/4" center sections (3.23 and 4.57) and a bunch of other small parts. The '68 handled this 1200+ lbs load like a champ on the 2000 mile trip back to CA. I then threw these parts on the '64, installed the battery in the trunk, and installed an RCI bucket seat, and went racing...

In 1998, I had the car stripped to the bare metal and painted Emerald Green Pearl Metallic, a new Chrysler color used on Neons, trucks, etc... C.A.R.S. body shop in Pasadena did the body work and interior, engine bay, trunk, and exterior painting. I stripped all removable parts from the car except the engine and restored the trim, gaskets, door handles, etc... and reinstalled them.

The mechanicals look like this:

- 190k on the body
- Front sway bar, KYB shocks, Aligned for more pos caster/neg camber.
- 8 3/4" axle, 3.23's for highway, 3.91's or 4.57's for the track, all suregrip, HD rear leafs with PolyUrethane bushings.
- A904 trans with '71 V8 904 internals and 3600rpm stall converter built by Continental Converter (Inglewood, CA)
- 9" front/10" rear drums w/ adj proportioning valve ('68 has this valve too), (soon I'll go to 12" front disks)
- 14X7" Outlaw II style aluminum rims with 225-60/HR14's in front, 245-60/R14's rear.
- 1972 225, 0.060" over, 10.5:1 compression, similar mechanicals (starter, oil pump, oil pan, fan, pushrods) to '68 engine except this one was balanced (rotating assembly), has higher compr height pistons (MP 9:1), 0.540" custom cam, Clifford 4bbl intake with Holley Projection 670 CFM 2bbl throttle-body EFI, Ram Air (Air Inlet Systems) 14X4" K&N air filter housing sucking from front grill, Clifford street rod headers with dual 2" exhaust back to the axle, Jacobs energy team ignition box and ultra coil and wires triggered by Chrysler elec distributor, 3-core radiator from '64 Valiant wagon.
- Summit shift lite tach on dash
- no heater box or windshield wipers, battery in the trunk
- Summit oil press, water temp gauges under dash
- One RCI race seat for the driver, one on the passenger side rear for a passenger
- Never weighed it, but I guesstimate it's about 2900 lbs with driver and 1/2 tank, maybe less.

This car gets about 18-19MPG with 3.23 gears, aobut 20 with 2.94's at 75mph. Similar to the '68. Runs great on 92 octane (as does the '68), but gives a bit more power with 100 octane. My best times in the 1/4 are 14.3's @ 95-96 mph, 0-60 in 5.5 sec - traction limited. These were done with an Edelbrock 600 CFM 4 bbl instead of the more recent EFI. It will boil the tires for 20-30 ft with considerable ease. I haven't tested the cornering G's but I was able to whup a$$ on almost all of Shelby cobras, modified 5.0's, and GT350 Mustangs at a LA Shelby club road course event at Willow Springs raceway this fall. The car is smooth and stable up to 130mph - could go faster with 2.94 gears, but with 3.23's I didn't want to cruise at over 5800 rpm. This is a fully streetable car and is well behaved and idles well at 8-900 rpm. Of course, I'll have to install those wipers again when I move out of CA...

Pictures will follow sometime...

posted 03-14-2001 11:45 AM            

Thanks, I'm flattered. The MP cams are good, I believe, and you should go with the 0.528" cam to get close to my set up. Apparently Isky (Iskendarian) makes good high-lift cams for the slant six too.

With a 0.060" over motor, I think 1.82" int and 1.50" exh are about the biggest you can run without bore notching. Be careful about turning down valves since they are usually only hardened to 0.020" depth or so and you'll get down to soft metal if you cut them.

The Hotrod car ran 14.9 or so on motor, 13.5 on nitrous. They have been doing further tuning and they should be getting it quicker.

BTW, I took my '64 out last weekend with a "G Pro Performance Meter" and clocked in some 14.8's and a 14.6 with 3.23 gears, even with MAJOR tirespin - like 30-50 ft. It does 0-60 in 6.0 sec with moderate wheelspin - feathering the gas off the line. Need better tires!!! I'm pretty sure I can hit the 13's with 3.91 gears now - if I can hook up.

posted 03-14-2001 03:49 PM            

I have mixed, but overall positive, feelings about the Holley ProJection. It is the 670-2bbl version. The driveability is great, and I can tune it from inside the car while I'm driving. The idle quality is better and cold starting is much more regular and solid than with either a Holley or Edelbrock 600 w/elec choke. The throttle response is quick, but not quite as good as the Edelbrock 600. Overall power is better w/ the EFI and the gas mileage is a bit better (about 1MPG).
I have the older analog version, and my sense from others I've talked to is that the later digital style offers a wider range of tuning. It took me quite a while to get the tuning just right, but now it runs very well. It is actually designed for V8's so the spark input doesn't get the right number of trigger signals for the RPM's you are running, and you can tune it enough to get around that, but it takes some doing.

I definitely get more power with the EFI than with a well-tuned 600 carb because my traction problem went from moderate w/carb to extreme with the EFI and my recent tuning efforts. Another big bonus of the EFI is that you are immune to cornering forces causing fuel slosh in float bowls, so it's great for road racing.

If someone were to put this setup on, I'd be happy to give advice on tuning for max perf. and economy. Looks like there's a cheap one available on www.recycler.com, and $300 is good if it's in good shape and complete. I bought mine for $550 new in 1994.

Cheers,

posted 04-23-2001 12:26 PM            

1964 Dart 270
A-body Modified ('60-'76) Class - 3rd Place

Ahh, satisfaction in work well done...

Now I really need to post some pics.

posted 09-18-2001 02:07 AM            

This will be like that outmoded form of entertainment - a book - where you have to use your imagination...

About 6 months ago, I finished the front end on the '64 Dart 270, just before the Spring Fling Car Show. The main motivation here was BETTER BRAKING. In short, I did the 12" disc brake swap with the '73-'76 spindles and A-arms, AND the Wilwood calipers, while stiffening up the suspension and going to 15" wheels w/Z-rated tires in front. I think these mods helped me win the 3rd in A-body modified that day, along with a fresh buff and wax job. Not bad for a 4 door.

- Procured hot-tanked upper cont. arms and spindles at Fall Fling Car Show last year in Van Nuys - $120 total
- Installed MOOG offset upper control arm bushings for more positive caster/negative camber.
- Installed all new MOOG ball joints ('73-'76).
- 11.75" rotors from '78 Cordoba (on other cars too, cops!), only $55 each at local parts store. Uses same bearings/etc as late A-body.
- C-body 11/16" tie rods for stiffer steering linkage - $110 for all. All suspension parts from Allied Auto Supply in Pasadena, CA (626) 793-1893, an awesome place.
- Wilwood Billet Dynalite 4-piston calipers with polymatrix "D" pads, $120/ea for calipers, $40 for pads - from Summit Racing
- Goodridge stainless steel hoses, about $50/pr
- My wonderful welding fool friend Mike Roy and I MIG welded up some bulletproof front swaybar brackets out of the crappy ones that I got with the Addco 1 1/8" bar.
- Factory Chrysler 15X6.5" (or 7"??) steel wheels from Chrysler 5th Ave ($25/pr), and Yokohama AVS Intermediate 225/50ZR15 tires ($80/ea at America's Tire - a steal). Soon the wheels will be replaced with a set of 15X7" Aluminum Outlaw II type American Racing ($25 ea, Thanks Matt!).
- Aligned to 2.25 deg positive caster, 1 deg negative camber, 1/8" toe-in. I didn't go too nuts with camber and toe since I put a lot of street miles on this car (inner edge tire wear = bad). $50.
- Previously I had added a Summit (Wilwood) adjustable proportioning valve in the rear brake line, and I had to dial out a bit more of the rear brakes for even braking.
- Total cost was $1200.

The braking and handling are nothing short of breathtaking. A few times I have driven around for about an 30-60 min. doing successive hard stops (like 30-50 times) from 60-80 mph, and I never succeeded in getting these suckers to fade. It now does between 120-140 ft 60-0 stopping distance depending on road surface. I can EASILY lock up the tires at 100+ mph. With the improved alignment and Z-rated tires, I have added some g's to the turns as well. With a lightly used steering box (no sector play), this thing is tight. The next mods will be subframe connectors to stiffen the chassis.

I am looking forward to some road track time at the 1.9 mile "Streets of Willow" at Willow Springs Int'l raceway in two weeks with the LA Shelby Club. With all the mods since last year, I should be running several seconds faster.

I've also done some even more sweeping mods to the '68 Dart 270, just finished last week, and I am still fine tuning things. I'll get out a more detailed report on performance later, but here is the buildup in a big nutshell:

- 1993 or 1994 A500 (42RE) automatic transmission from Dodge pickup. I copied the homebuilt shift kit ($4 for springs from hardware store) in HP Mopar from a couple of years back and it shifts HARD. Cost - $140 from swap meet. Replaced front seal and filter (ALWAYS do this).
- SMR lockup convertor, stall is about 2200 rpm. They claimed 3000 behind a built V8, so I expected it to be more like 2500, so I'll have to decide what to do about that. Other than that it seems like a very well made unit. $480 with shipping. I will not skimp on convertors ever again.
- Cast iron adapter plate from '67 Dodge pickup with Slant Six and A727-A trans. $20 from swap meet.
- Relocated engine 1/2" forward by drilling out motor mounts and welding washers on - for more easy fit of trans bellhousing into car.
- Built new deep-sump oil pan, lowered pan and pickup 1.25" from stock '64 Dart pan, and shortened sump in the back to allow drag link clearance. Baffled on all sides for oil control in cornering, acceleration, braking. Ground clearance is close to stock. Thanks Mike Roy for TIG expertise.
- Fabricated new lower crossmember and used 4-bolt Chevy trans mount. Had a great friend (Thanks Mike Roy!) TIG weld all of this up to perfection.
- I cut about 1/2" out of upper crossmember just around the trans OD unit to allow decent driveshaft angle (trans not pointing down too much at the back). I love sawsalls. At this time, I didn't have time to weld in new supports, but I think there is enough "angle iron" left to hold 'er together. Really, I think I should cut a little more out and run a whole new x-member over the top with box tubing. Later. The driveshaft angle is not bad (maybe 2-3 degrees?) and I haven't noticed any vibrations yet.\
- OD and lockup operated (for now) with lighted jumbo rocker switches just above the ignition key under the dash. $8 with mount panel.
- Ran 5 ft. kickdown cable with high quality bicycle cable and housing and homespun brackets. $6.
- Shortened driveshaft (3" diam) at Cannon Engineering in North Hollywood to 45 1/4" (joint center-center) and used A727 slip yoke. Balanced to 4000 rpm, and they claim it's good to 7300 rpm. $100.
- Swapped axle gears to my tried-and-true (built in 1993) 3.91 sure grip unit in the ol' 8 3/4 axle.
- 2 Dutra Dual manifolds front and rear. Thanks Doug - they look fantastic.
- 2 X 2 1/4" head pipes into a 2 1/2" Y pipe and then 2 1/2" single pipe out the back with a Thrush Turbo - nice custom job done at Kartek in West LA. Plenty of flow for a Slant, and it sounds great without being loud. $350 for all.
- Rebuilt whole front suspension similar to '64 Dart, but with new lower control arm and strut rod (MOOG) bushings. Reused the almost-new A-body tie rods off of my '64 Dart.
- Installed 4-piston Kelsey-Hayes Dart brakes (to keep 4" bolt circle. I just have too many nice small-bolt wheels around. Used old junkyard rotors that are within spec, and got rebuilt Raybestos calipers/pads ($80/side from Allied).
- Again, had to dial out rear brakes a bit to maintain even brake bias.
- Now running 215/60HR-14 Falkens on the front on 14X7" Aluminum American Racing slots w/ 3.5" backspacing. No fender clearance problems even with wider-track disc brakes. Whew.

It is very reliable and leak free so far, and the OD/lockup are sweet on the highway. Even with 24.5" tires, I'm only running 3000 rpm at 82 mph. The brakes feel great too - goodbye 9" drums. It's a bit doggy off the line though because of the low-stall converter and my 2500+ rpm powerband. More performance reports to follow....

BTW, if anyone from the CA area wants to see the '64 Dart road race, just show up at the "Streets" track at Willow Springs I. R. (www.willowspringsraceway.com) the weekend of 9/29 and 9/30. It's $10 to enter the gates and it's fun to watch ALL the cars run.

Happy trails,

posted 09-18-2001 02:32 AM            

- Alignment (on '68) set to 3/4 deg negative camber, 2 deg positive caster, and 1/16" toe.
- Total cost for new suspension, disc brakes, OD trans,and full exhaust and manifolds was about $2200 - plus a Dartload (big trunk) of man hours.

Cheers,

posted 10-14-2001 01:43 PM         

Whew !

Wow !

Should've read this before sending you that note last night 10/13-14.

You still need more Positive CASTER....I think.

Just curious...why the highstall converters? Do they really help all that much on the road track? ( the ones with turns )

Seems to me, though I've never driven one in a Six...that you're adding a lot of slippage - or in my favorite term "wasted RPMs". You obviously know more about this than me - first hand. I will build a car, soon. Don't want to waste a penny...not many available. I always liked the way the STOCK converter JUMPS across the intersection. No muss, no fuss...just GONE.

Never left two 30 foot long stripes there though....so you guys must be onto something.

I've got a 91 Trans Am GTA...5 spd...as a surrogate Fun Car, for now. Only cost $2,500 from a co-worker....couldn't pass it up.

SO - I know what 14.4 seconds in the 1/4 feels like...with 3.42 gears. Too bad I can't let you try out the 245-50 x 16 Michelins...they stick like glue, brand new too. Wanna trade GTA for the 68? You'll get your T-5, and the Michelins too ( tires cost the previous owner 1,100 Georges)....as well as some really cool leather seats with electric adjustable side bolsters & lumbar support...and even a pretty cool rear spoiler...dual electric fans. Sell the roller cam 305 / TPI and body shell when you're done.

Just kiddin. We WILL be in touch. - Tom

posted 10-14-2001 02:01 PM         

A guy here in TX. did this to a 63 Dodge B-body. They cut approx. 20" slice out of the middle,starting at the door post....down through the rear doors. Then - added the remaining dogleg portion from rear doors ONTO the front doors...and used the rear door latch / frame / glass. Made his own vent windows to match the front A-pillars.

posted 10-16-2001 12:18 PM            

Thanks for the support. You're right, the converters are not good for the road course, but I just had it left in there from drag racing.

The camber/caster issue is familiar to me, but both my cars are also STREET cars, so for decent tire wear and driveability, I have stayed relatively modest on pos caster and neg camber. I'll play around with them later, but the car handles great already.

Actually, I believe that one thing helping me on the road course is that my wheelbase is slightly longer (111") than most cars, which makes it VERY predictable and easy to slide/drift/recover at high speeds. The Cobras are extremely squirrelly due to their very short wb and high unsprung weight/sprung weight ratio.

Take care,

posted 10-17-2001 08:57 PM            

Cheers,

posted 01-04-2002 03:46 PM            

Unfortunately, some bonehead backed into my driver's door the morning after these were taken. Of course it was a hit'n'run, so I'll have to foot the bill to fix it. Da bums...

Just a little reckless self promotion here.

Cheers,

posted 01-15-2002 04:54 PM            

How often do you guys get together over there. It would be neat to have a large get together in the LA area and maybe I could get some guys together in the Tucson Phoenix area to caravan over . That might be really cool.

posted 01-16-2002 08:38 AM            

Thanks for the interest. Yep, there were some dropped jaws in the ol' Shelby club after I ran. Dusted most of the Cobras and GT 350 Mustangs out there. I hope to run with them again on March 2/3 if I can spare the time before I move east.

Cheers,

posted 01-16-2002 06:14 PM            

PS: Looks like I know who to ask for info when converting to front disks on my 64 GT

posted 01-25-2002 04:10 PM            

Please forgive my omission there. I think I corrected that for my similar post on the ss.org site.

For everyone's info: On my '64 Dart, I mounted the Wilwood calipers for the 11.75" brakes using the billet steel adapters ($150) from AR Engineering (www.arengineering.com). Great stuff.

Keepin' the rubber side down...

posted 02-02-2002 04:41 AM            

- Reworked '64 Oil pan - dropped pan and pickup 3/4" and heavily baffled pan. Not fully tested through all cornering/braking manouvers, but oil pressure seems fine. Replaced rear main seal and finally got rid of my little leak.

- Reinstalled 3000 RPM stall converter. Other 3700 RPM unit was too high, especially for road racing. Feels much better, and it'll grab a good 2nd gear again.

- New reinforced flex plate (extra pads welded onto MP V8 unit with 7/16" TC holes, then drilled for 3/8" TC bolts).

If anyone's interested, I'm going road racing again on March 2/3 at the "Streets" of Willow Springs Int'l Raceway. Come and watch me trash 427 Cobras and GT 350 Mustangs...

Cheers,

posted 02-28-2002 02:11 AM            

0.920" torsion bars and new MOOG improved strut rod bushings. Lowered rear end another 1" using my adjustable front spring mount. Amazingly enough (at least to me), the car handles EVEN better now. I took the entire 110 freeway from downtown to Pasadena tonight at 80+ with very little effort. The ride is still quite smooth, and is crisp, but not harsh at all.

Gettin' pumped up for the road event at Willow Springs this weekend - hope some LA slanters can join me for the fun! Email me at - madsenl@its.caltech.edu if you want to come.

posted 12-12-2002 11:21 AM            

My summer in a nutshell:

- New SSR Integral 16X8 wheels (all 4), 17lbs each w/ centers (for '90s Mustang, from www.tirerack.com)
- 245/45ZR16 Yokohama AVS Intermediates
- Rear 11.25" discs from www.tsmmfg.com ('83 Lincoln rotors and '80 Monte Carlo calipers) w/ all stainless lines.
- New BBP axles from Moser
- New T5 Ford Racing trans (2.95, 1.98, 1.34, 1.00, 0.63 ratios) installed with 10" clutch, B&M Ripper shifter, and hydraulic throwout bearing
- Installed 3.91 center section (was in my '68 Dart)
- Aluminum driveshaft from www.dennysdriveshaft.com - 3.5" diam. 53.5" center-center length with 1330 solid-body joints
- Griffin aluminum radiator, 21" wide(universal-for Chevy, Summit racing) with stainless hoses

Only projects in the works are new exhaust and parking brake, and MegaSquirt EFI computer to replace junky Holley TBI computer on there now.

Track time:

- Had a great weekend at Streets of Willow 3/1/02 and Cyberann joined me there and got a ride around the track.

- Blew the minds of many Hot Rodders at Firebird (Bondurant) Raceway in Phoenix, AZ on 3/30/02. Was carrying 800+ lbs of cargo to move across the country. Arrived at track at 5AM, unpacked, raced, and packed up and drove the next 2000 miles to Chapel Hill, NC. Got "Pro Pick of the Day" award and small article in August 2002 Popular Hot Rodding magazine. Thanks Scott Parkhurst and Cameron Evans!

Recently...

Monday 12/9/02 was my first
track time with the '64 Dart on the East Coast. My wife Chris and I went up
to Virginia Int'l Raceway yesterday (only 50 min from here) for their
"Holiday Laps" charity event. Donated $20 of food to Salvation Army
and
got 1 hour of track time! It was supposed to be
just baby laps with a 60MPH limit pace car, but it was cold (40F) and
only die hards showed up. They let us run the whole 3.3mi course (3
long straights) and the pace car guy really let 'er rip so I had fun.
Got up to 115 MPH a couple of times on the straights by hanging back
from the other cars and opening it up - I think 125-130 would be
possible without anybody in front - whew. The new tires are far
better than the ones I pulled off, and we did amazingly well
considering the low temps
and some water on the track (they had 6" snow a few days before). Found out about the "Tar Heels Sports Car
Club" too (www.thscc.com) and I'm going to join up!

My wife Chris got a lap around the track and enjoyed it very much. It's a very scenic track, and the snow-covered landscape made it really cool looking. Met some nice
folks and found out about various local groups, so it was a great trip
overall.

Screeeeee....

posted 02-15-2003 07:26 PM            

'64 Dart

-Best 1/4 mile - 14.34 at 95 MPH
-Best time around "Streets" of Willow Springs Int'l Raceway - 1:24

With the new wheels/tires and rear discs, a little more formidable... :arrow:

Here's a shot of the '68 Dart at a Slant 6 race in N. Wilkesboro, NC. Got runner-up in Street Class (paid for my weekend!). Best 1/4 with the '68 was 15.91 with 904 auto/3000 stall and 2.94 gears (many moons ago..).

Cheers,

Lou

[This message has been edited by Dart270 (edited 02-15-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Dart270 (edited 02-15-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Dart270 (edited 02-15-2003).]