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Project Overview:
Trying to name the most important part of a car is like trying to find the most important note in a melody. Trying to produce a well tuned car by collecting parts, even if they are high quality individually, without considering how well the parts function together is like attempting to write music by stringing random notes together. Even if the notes are played with perfect pitch, no amount of technical precision can overcome a poor arrangement. Similarly, a poorly chosen combination of modifications can result in a "bad" car being built from "good" parts. It is all too easy, especially with a car that has a large aftermarket, to add a careless combination of speed parts and come up with a chassis that handles worse than stock, or an engine that is neither happy at idle nor running flat-out.
Slanter chose to share the rebuild of his 1966 Dodge Dart. There are several features of this car which make it an attractive choice for a project car. Like many older American cars, it has an enormous supply of affordable aftermarket parts available off the shelf, and the large engine compartment and simple drivetrain makes it easy to add these modifications. Also, like many nearly stock non-muscle cars from the 60's, the Dart can use improvement in just about all areas of performance, from handling to horsepower. Furthermore, a low budget car enthusiast can pick up a similar car to this one for less than $1,000 in many parts of the country. While early Darts are somewhat less commonly modified than _67 and later ones, and sedans are admittedly much less popular than hardtops and convertibles, the modifications you will see in these articles can be done to many other cars from the same time period. Most of the articles will apply almost directly to almost any _63-_76 Dart, Valiant, Duster, or Demon, as well as _64-_69 Barracudas. Some information is likely to be even more general, applying to some extent to a wide variety of American and even many imported cars.
Install Articles
Swaybars
Brake Install
Planned Modifications and Upgrades:
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Suspension rebuild
Disc brake conversion
Rear end rebuild |
Digital guages
Wheels/tires
Engine rebuild/mods | |
