Dartgame

I expect you need to warm up the motor and then run the engine steady at about 2000 rpm for 20-30 minutes - drizzle in some sea foam into the carb every couple of minutes while doing this. U can use small amounts of water, carb cleaner, mystery oil, or transmission fluid and likely get the same results, depends on personal preference. It should clear out, unless you have cruddy fuel or a dirty fuel tank etc. I did this when I got the 52 running. It shot out incredible amounts of smoke and crap out the tail pipe - once that was done - she idled down beautifully and runs very nice since then.

For what it is worth I used AAJ brakes conversion stuff - front and rear disc brakes, and tandem master cyl bracket. Roger recommended using a corvette master cylinder , but I ended up using a master power brakes remote reservoir master cylinder due to floor clearance issues. Works perfect.

You can put in a pertronix unit as well in your distributor

Take a look at Mikes carburetor parts on line. Search for Holley 1904 parts air cleaner adapter. It converts the stock carter air horn to a single stud. I used one and bushed the adapter with a couple pieces of exhaust pipe to the right size opening for a mr gasket 6 inch 1 barrel air cleaner. Perfect solution. Some day when I put 2 carbs on I will get another set up like this.

Assume you installed the oil transfer pipe below the crankshaft - and have the pressure relief valve in place and functioning ?

If you need good 10" drums I have a set for sale. See for sale ads.

I had a sort of similar issue - shortly after I got the 52 running it just quit one day, and was terrible to start vs easy - it was the condenser - cheap Far East junk parts, (I had installed a new coil, condenser and points), and these are about all you can find these days in the part store. I opted to buy US made NOS replacement stuff at a swap meet. No problems since. If fuel is the issue, then Jersey Harold is right, it might also be a clogged fuel pickup in the tank, in line filter element or worn out fuel line hoses as suggested above.

My coupe was from out of state and the engine number was used for the vin. When I applied for the Illinois title the state requested an inspection. In order to get the the title the body number on the drivers door post was then used, instead of the engine number. Pain in the butt because I had to take it into the Secretary of State police for the inspection. At least they were fast and efficient in this instance. (Contrary to most of my experiences.)

I am sure others will chime in. I am certain there are other posts on this site covering this topic, it's been done a lot from I can tell. Butch's cool stuff sells kits for this. Do a search on the forums looking for your topic, something like small block Mopar swap would be a good place to start.

I have noted that some folks like to cut their coil springs on the front to lower their car. This is my first king pin front ended car - so my question is, if you lower the front end by cutting the coils, does the camber, caster or toe in/out change appreciably ? It would appear to me that the camber/caster do not but the toe does. Any thoughts you can share about this ?

I am going to give you my experiences with the Aerostar springs, which I just completed over the weekend. But first a background on my car. 52 Plymouth bus coupe. 15 x7 cop rims, 215 70 15 tires. No front sway bar, Monroe gas shocks all around. I started messing with the suspension by installing new ESPO 8 leaf springs. Originals were 7 leaf. I opted to leave the 8th leaf in place to see what the result would be. After install the rear sat a little higher than the front, maybe 1-2 inches. Car sat level before the new leaf springs. Upon test driving the front end became even more prone to sway and so on than before - I imagine the stiffer rear was putting more downforce on the front springs. Next step was to do the aerostar springs on the front. I have no experience with swapping coil springs. Every car I've messed with are 60 or 70's mopars with torsion bar front ends. So this was a little bit of a concern on my part as to what to expect. Well, I have to say swapping coil springs was one of the easiest things I've done so far on this car. Literally took 30 minutes to get a spring out. I chose to remove the lower control arm for cleaning and repainting. Just keep the the pivot bar in its original orientation if u do this. So as a result my swap instead of being a 2 hour job was 8 hours..but now I have nice clean front end parts ! After install the test drive exhibited a great improvement in ride, and handling. The car does not dive and sway is greatly reduced. As to ride height, the front end is now about 1 inch higher than it was after the new leaf springs were installed. Overall the car is back sitting dead level but maybe 1-1.5 inches taller than it was originally. Bottom line - for those of you considering the stock OEM style springs - Forget it. Buy the Aerostar springs, be happy, enjoy the vastly improved ride/handling, and put the 150-200 bucks you saved towards something else. Next, I plan on installing a sway bar. But that won't happen for a month or so. Relocating the upper front shock mount is on the list too. Now for a question - as I said, I have no experience with coil springs. I have heard that coil springs will "settle" meaning the front will drop a little after install. Can anyone tell me if that is a true statement, and if so, how much do they drop ? Is the settling something that is affected by driving or can it happen just by sitting still ?

To determine compression ratios you must measure the cyl head volume using a buret graduated in milliliters (cc's), you also need to take into account the cyl head gasket cc's and also the piston cc's at TDC and BDC. It then becomes a simple calculation. The stumbling block for most is getting a buret, not cheap.

Wow the repair works looks kind of rough. Hopefully you can get it to work. Note - if u use silicone sealant, allow 24 hrs for it cure before exposing it to coolant and pressure. Silicone cures with moisture, but if not cured before being put under stress it can and often will fail. There is a special grade of silicone for thermostat flanges - gray in color. I'd try that.

I had a similar issue after I got the 52 running. I had it idling in the garage showing a buddy how nice it ran, and then the engine just stopped running. Kind of embrassing.... I checked for spark and was getting some, but not consistent. Turned out the new condenser which had only 1 hour running time was bad. Pain in the butt because when swapping the condenser - at least on my car - the point adjustment goes out and you have to reset it. Once changed out all was well again. I have another dizzy which I am going to convert to pertronix and keep the point dist. as a back up.... Damn cheap parts these days....found an NOS condenser/points from a specialty parts vendor, which I will use if it comes down to it....

You might want to use some quad 0 steel wool to polish the mating/sealing surfaces and then use some Teflon pipe dope as suggested above. Be generous with the pipe dope and wipe off excess after tightening. I would also guard against coolant being on the surfaces while reinstalling.

Please be sure to check the water pump. I chased a cooling problem on one of my darts for several seasons. I finally checked the water pump impeller and it was loose on the shaft and free wheeled, it was smooth as a bearing, and made no noise while turning. This was a new pump, not rebuilt. Use a digital thermometer on the upper and lower radiator hoses. If you see a huge drop on the inlet side - probably the pump is bad.

Hi young Ed - I saw your rebuild of the fresh air versions of these heaters. The model 53 is the passenger side version in your write up. I don't have a picture handy.

Thanks for the recommendation. I plan on checking some local shops too.

Guess nobody has any ideas. I saw brass works has one advertised. Called them, they want $300 for a record of mine !! Ouch.

I decided to get one of these for my 52. I know it's not the original style, but I decided with the compact size and the fact that I will infrequently need heat or defrost - this unit should be adequate. I have searched high and low on the Internet on this site and others seeking a suitable retrofit or replacement type core for this thing. No dice. It would seem that recoring the original heater core is the only good option. I tested the original core and it has pins leaks in a bunch of places. I looked up and down at OEM current applications and none are the correct size. Anyone have some thoughts about what they did when they serviced their heater core ?

I'd set the timing as far advanced as possible without detonation. I found mine runs well with 7 degrees BTDC.

I bought one of those adapters from champion carburetor in Arlington Texas. There are practically no air cleaners with a 2 3/8 inch base, they are usually 2.5 inches. I cut some pieces of tailpipe and made spacers to bush a 2.5" opening air cleaner to the adapter, one ring fits so snug to the adapter there was no need to mechanically fasten it. The other I JB welded to the air cleaner base, it fit sung as well, but wanted to insure it would not move around. I could have welded it, but the metal on the base is really thin, I figured gluing would be okay. Works fine..

You could probably make one using some brass tubing or some steel tubing, like 5/16 or 1/4 depending on whats needed. Try using a drill bit to determine the size. Use the non cutting end of the bit and slip it into the hole. I'd bet its 5/16 or 1/4 ".

Earl - thanks for noting that, you are correct except that the remote master cylinder reservoir is mounted on the firewall higher than the calipers and the master cylinder itself, so no need for the residual valves. An advantage to the remote reservoir master cylinder.

Death bound - The master cylinder is mounted under the floor using one of AAJ's brackets. Fits like a glove in the space intended for it. Roger at AAJ recommended using a corvette master cylinder, but if I had it would have meant cutting a big hole in the floor because the reservoir would have protruded up thru the floor. Instead - The master power MC uses a remote reservoir that I mounted on the firewall. The cylinder portion fit neatly under the floor with no cutting required, just a little clearancing with a hammer and big drift on the bottom of the floor to allow the thing to fit right. Imagine a master cylinder without the cast iron reservoir on top, thats what this thing is. pflaming - I corrected the pedal issue by adjusting the brake pushrod length. It was too short to give the right amount of travel. I dont have drum brakes - discs on front and rear..I re-bled the entire system again this last weekend and its totally cleared of air. So do a little rev matching to shift it ? Although I did not drive it much before putting her away for the winter, I am favorably impressed with the way it drives. Steering is pretty fair, does not wander much at all, it needs the sway bar without a doubt. I put 215 70 15 BFG radial TA on her with the black walls out on 15" police wheels, they cleared the fenders and the car sits and looks right to me. No need for lowering. Bad thing I found was the right rear axle is slightly bent. The tire on that side wavers - I had her off the ground and ran the car with the engine driving the rear wheels. (yes I made damn sure it was not goin to move, the whole car was up on jackstands.) I guess I will be installing an explorer rear end next spring. Unless someone has a good axle shaft laying around for a 52 concord, haha.