Dartgame

Sorry for the late replies here. Since I last posted, I got the car out and drove it for the first time last weekend Nov 6th . I am pleasantly surprised at how well it runs. Not having a synchronized 1st gear is kind of a pain. It desperately needs a sway bar - I will be putting in one of those cherokee sway bars next spring. Brake pedal is a little low when you mash on the brakes, but I think I still have more air to bleed out. Good enough to drive to its storage spot for the winter. I ended up putting in a remote reservoir MC from master power brakes. I used all AAJ stuff, except for the MC - which Roger recommends using a corvette MC. No go, I would have had to cut a big darn hole in the floor for that thing to have worked. So the master power piece is the way to go, it fits without any cutting, a little judicious use of a hammer to create some clearance between it and the floor was all that was needed. Casper - Dart photos ? Jersey Harold - I cut slits through the headliner to gain access, my headliner is shot anyway, and is on the list for next year.

Aha !! thats what I needed to know. Now for the next question. I had my brother get me a spare IAT distibutor for my 52 ply from a junkyard 53 ply with an IAT. My intention is to convert the 53 dizzy to a pertronix ignition, and keep the 52 as a spare with points. The odd thing about this 53 distributor is that instead of a hole through the side for the primary lead, it has a large square block of rubber that seals the side of the distributor and the connection is made on the outside. I started to look around for a replacement for this rubber block, but this thing seems to be made of un-obtainium. Does anyone know a source for a replacement for this rubber piece or have a unique idea to fix the issue ?

Finished the rewiring project. That turned out to be more of a challenge than I had thought. Since the car was not originally set up with a fuse panel, we more or less re-engineered the wiring on the car. It took much more time than I thought it would. But in the end, the car now has 12 volt neg ground, a 94 amp altenator, turn signals, backup lights, and so on which it never had. One of the more difficult parts were the front parking lights. The car was not originally equipped with turn signals so the front parking lamps were single contact bayonet type bulbs. I looked high and low for some sort of easy solution, and in the end retro fitted some taillight sockets from a 70's dart - I tack welded them into the original brackets for the single filament bulb fixtures. They work great, and you almost might think I knew what I was doing ! Another bear was running the wires up the A pillar. It took alot of trial and error to get that one finished. Managed to do it without skinning any insulation. This whole deal was a process I had not done before so it was a learning curve. If I were to do one again, I'd bet it would go a lot faster. Since then I started the front disc brake conversion, and got the hard parts done, drilling and tapping the steering arms and the spindles. The caliper adapter plate fits perfectly and I am progressing to get the rotors installed. I've slowed down alot on this as I had hernia surgery about 2 weeks ago, but Im pretty happy with the disc conversion so far. I should get that completed over the next weekend. Next will be to move on to the rear brakes, lastly will be the master cylinder. Goal is to have the car driveable by October, so I can drive it a little and then put it away for the winter into dry storage.... Stay tuned......

I am interested in buying a spare distributor and was curious about fitment between the small 218/230 flat sixes and the larger desoto and chrysler flat sixes. For instance, can you swap a big six dizzy into a small block six ?

Thanks guys. Shes not driveable yet. Needs brakes and the rewire. Ill be doing the disc brake and tandem master cyl upgrade. As to the timing light I'll use a 12 volt power source. I have to say I am really impressed with how easy she starts up now. I was running her again today for a short while. Very good feeling to get this milestone passed. I'll comment periodically as we get more done. I figure you might be interested in the disc conversion and tandem upgrade. We'll be using an aftermarket wiring harness to do that part as well. Car is pretty simple so wiring should not be too difficult. Maybe the dash switches and gauges will be the most challenging. My brother and I will do the rewire first, as he is visiting from out of town for about 9-10days next week, and his strength lies in electronics. It may be a while before I do the brake as I have a minor surgery later in August that will slow progress for about 6 weeks. Oh well TMI maybe, thanks again.

After 6 weeks of cleaning/painting detailing the engine/the engine bay, front suspension and associated engine bolt ons, along with rebuilding the carb, the distributor, new plug wires, fuel pump, gas tank, oil & filter, plugs, radiator & hoses - etc etc. We spent about 20-25 minutes trying to start the 52 ply yesterday while twisting the dizzy one way or another and using ether. With a monstrous cloud of oily smoke enough to have simulated a destroyer laying down a smokescreen, she started. I was surprised the fire department did not show up there was so much smoke. We held her steady at about 2500 rpm for 10 minutes, still shooting out clouds of smoke, then she started to clear out. Temp came up to 180 & steady, oil pressure is 40 at idle, electric choke works, fuel guage, ammeter all work right, & she is darn near running perfectly. Previous owner said it had been 2 years since she last ran. I doubt it. Probably more like 5-10 years. Anyway, we shot a fair amount of sea foam down the carb to help clean out more crap in the combustion chamber, with even more crap shooting out the exhaust, and she's running like a champ, no weird noises, except for the valve train ticking which is out of adjustment. I chose not to adjust it until we got it running, I figured loose was better than too tight for an initial start up. Cold clearances are about 18 to 20 thousandths. For now it runs fine, I'll get to the valves after we redo the wiring harness. Insulation is crispy.... HOORAY ! Now for my question - I have a dial back timing light that operates off of 12 volts and an impulse from #1 plug wire. Will this work on a 6 volt battery ? Or should I just use a 12 volt source for the power and use the impulse from the #1 plug wire ? I think the later - sound right ?

Hi all - I was curious about the trim used on the 51 and 52 plymouth business coupe rear quarters. Are they the same length as on a 2 club coupe, 4 door or a wagon ? I am sure the fast backs are different from I have seen. Any help is appreciated. I need a new or good used fender spear for one of the quarters on my 52 bus coupe. Thanks

Hi All - Thanks - I'll look into the rustoleum product.

Hi - new guy here. I am resurrecting a 52 ply bus coupe and am about ready to install a new fuel tank. I have the correct 2 1/4 " fuel hose. The old clamps on the fuel hose are a much more positive clamping design vs the everyday stainless screw clamp I'd use on a heater or radiator hose. My question - when you replaced your tank did you reuse or buy a new version of the old style clamp or did you use a modern stainless screw clamp ? My old clamps cleaned up pretty well, and appear service-able. Thanks