Dartgame Posted September 2, 2015 Report Posted September 2, 2015 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...... Quote
JerseyHarold Posted September 2, 2015 Report Posted September 2, 2015 Did you install your wiring with the headliner in place or was it removed? Quote
Dartgame Posted November 10, 2015 Author Report Posted November 10, 2015 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. 1 Quote
deathbound Posted November 11, 2015 Report Posted November 11, 2015 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. Pics of the dual master install/location. I have an earlier car, just curious how you mounted it. Quote
pflaming Posted November 11, 2015 Report Posted November 11, 2015 Low pedal can mean brake shoes need adjusting. Great to hear you are on the street. 52 should be a nice driving car. 1st gear not synchronized? So rev the engine middle of the shift, get engine up to speed and 1st will easily and silently go in. Quote
Dartgame Posted November 17, 2015 Author Report Posted November 17, 2015 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. Quote
mopar_earl Posted November 17, 2015 Report Posted November 17, 2015 If your cailpers are at or below the master you will need 2 psi residual valves to keep the fluid from draining back. This will also give a higher pedal. Did you install these? You'd need one for the front circuit and one on the rear circuit. Earl Quote
Dartgame Posted November 17, 2015 Author Report Posted November 17, 2015 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. Quote
mopar_earl Posted November 18, 2015 Report Posted November 18, 2015 Yes, I did overlook that fact. Lol can't drain back when the reservoir is higher. Earl Quote
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