Hello all, My name is Chase, im a newbie here. I have never been a car buy, always a boat guy but i am attempting to restore my great grandfathers 1963 Dodge Dart. It has 46,000 original miles on it with a 225 Slant Six (even had the original window sticker in the glove box) and everything works. The car has been sitting in my grandfathers airplane hanger since the early 2000's. The car starts very easy but does not idle, bare with me guys, i know nothing about this car so here are my questions, What preparation / concerns should i have in getting the engine in running condition? Including the break system (breaks are very soft and do not work very well). My observation is all hoses and belts need to be replaced, freeze plugs, valve cover gaskets, oil pan gaskets, carb rebuild, spark plugs, transmission fluid change, oil change, oil filter, etc..
Does anyone have any opinions or advice they can give me to get this car on the road again?

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1963 Dodge Dart, 225 Slant 6 (46k original miles)

I recently came into a similar situation, got a 78 4dr Aspen with 68k original miles. Was basically used to get someone to church and back only then sat around for years. Can't say everything works but I use it to go to and from work 5 days a week. Here is a list of things I did, other board members will be able to give you some more insight.

Changed engine oil & filter
Change transmission fluid and filter (Automatic)
Greased all 4 front wheel bearings and replaced grease seals
Bled all brakes
Check power steering and brake fluid levels
Changed spark plugs and wires
Adjusted timing
Change differential oil
Replaced all emission and vacuum hoses
Rebuilt my carburetor.

You will need some type of documentation as well. Look for your factory service manual at rockauto.com or moparmanuals.com. Haynes really doesn't cut it, trust me. I don't know about Chilton but I personally wouldn't trust it after how my experience with Haynes was.

Then check the engine FAQs pinned post for some more info on your carb.

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1978 4 door Dodge Aspen, Super Six

Don't forget to set the lash: intake .010" and exhaust .020"

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Leela: 1970 Dart 225 CID
Coulmn Shift TorqueFlite
7 1/4" Axle 2.76 Gears

Go ahead and save that weird car, the sedan, the 6 cylinder, the C-Body. If you want a big block musclecar and that's all you care about, your missing the point.

What are your intentions for using the car? I ask because the stock 9" drum brakes are crap for a daily driver. Minimum would be inspecting all brake assemblies, hoses, lines (for heavy rust). I'd replumb the lines for a dual-circuit master cylinder, likely replace all hoses & wheel cylinders & worn parts- that's IF all I wanted was a weekend toy that seldom goes over 30.

At the other end of the braking spectrum is converting to front disc brakes, dual-circuit MC, a different rear axle with larger rear brakes & large bolt pattern wheels, bigger tires etc. Great for a daily driver in crowded traffic conditions or a general "performance" driver- but lots more $$ & time.

All your ideas are good ones. Old tires don't have to "look" bad before they fail. Inspect steering & suspension for worn parts.

Plug wires, cap, rotor, points/ condenser are considered to be part of a tune-up. (most folks consider some form of electronic igniton for a daily driver). Hopefully you don't have any rust problems in the gas tank- but I'd replace all rubber hoses at the tank, fuel pump, filter, etc.

Before you get too far into it, you might want to warm up the engine & perform a complete compression test on all cylinders- I know from experience that it stinks to do a bunch of work on a car only to find out that it has a weak cylinder & needs major eng repair in addition to whatever I just did.

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl