Thanks to all of you folks that have helped me get the Dart over the curb and burning gas. She went on a 240 mile round trip last week end to a car show, and delivered 21 mpg. Not bad as this car was more of a mess than I had thought when I dragged it 250 miles back home the first week of March.
The fun started when I arrived at my drive way in the dark that March night, 15 degrees out, and it would not start due to a dysfunctional electrical system. It is a wonder she didn't burn up on the trailer on the way home...
Luckily I was able to start the car the next morning after messing with the wiring under the dash, and drive it into the garage. That was the last time it ran until the middle of May.
First I repaired the wiring, gages, installed a relay system to operate the top's pump, and replaced fuse panel & most of the brass connectors. I replaced floor boards, spare tire well bottom, and patched several rusted out sections of the internal gutter system where the top connects to the body, and resealed all the seems. Than painted all the new metal. I replaced & repaired door hinges, realigned the windows so the doors would close as they were hitting together, replaced side glass sealing weatherstripping, repaired the top hydraulics, and reinstalled the top.
Next came the brakes. New parking brake cables, wheel cylinders, springs & adjusters, new flexible lines and flushing of the system.
The interior was removed, seat frames rebuilt & painted, three dash plastic panels removed repainted, heater box rebuilt & new core installed. The wipers got new gaskets & white grease, and a new glove box installed. The ignition switch was rekeyed to match the doors, and glove box rekeyed to match the trunk. The radio is still in New York being restored to its original factory fresh function.
I installed carpet underlay, and new carpet. Rebuilt the center consol as someone had beat the crap out of it trying to remove it sometime during the last forty years. The plastic panels in the rear seat area had several large age induced cracks that needed to be repaired, and the door panels were repaired.
The choke on the old Holley 4160 needed adjusting, as did the lifters & timing, and all new belts & hoses installed.
I installed K-member-to-torsion mount repair caps on both sides, replaced all the bushings in the front end & painted the front end parts, and replaced four shocks.
Did mention endless hours of cleaning, polishing & waxing?
Only the front end alignment, and pressing out of the lower control arm bushings were farmed out on this project. Thanks to all of you out there in slant land for guiding me during this project.
Next on the list is the removal of the reverse valve body presently haunting the 904, and a tail-shaft bushing replacement.
