my 1962 dart project

[BeatersRus]

hi from western ny.
im trying to resurrect this 440 4 door sedan ive just rescued from a field,the paperwork shows last time onroad as 1982...needing a bit of advice.

it appears to be a 1965 383 motor and maybe? a 65 trans as well.
the block id is
A 383 with a maltese cross
12 142
R
casting number is 2468130-4
i cant find any info on the trans,so ive included pics of the cables? going into trans- front and rear.
the rearend has been swapped with something thats too narrow,but maybe same vintage.
looks to be an A-body? but its got nuts on the ends of axles.

the guy i got it from got it running once,at which point it drove itself backwards into his porch.
im gonna have some fun with the push button shifter im guessing.
ive already noticed neutral seems to be stuck inwards.

soo,im going for a daily driver beater,hence the handle and looking for advice.
what would you do with this car cheaply,to get some bang back in it.

seeing as this is a b body,will a 70 coronet 8-3/4 fit in there correctly?
can i use the leaf springs too?
will i be able to cam this up,and what convertor should i use w the trans?
if its a 65,can i even get a good vertor for it?
i have an offy high rise intake and some edelbrocks and a couple of the thermoquads.
worth using?
thanks in advance,for any help.

i do have a shot at a 75 cordoba/charger complete for parts,i was thinking the disc brakes and ? whatever else could be reused if those parts will interchange?
i saw someones reply where they said they used volare but not how they did it.

please see my wtb parts trim thread as well,if you have anything for this car
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopar...B-Exterior-Trim-for-1962-dodge-dart-440-sedan

at the end of the pics im including a shot of the rims i thought would look good on it,but the bolt pattern seems to be chevy.
anyone know what brand the mags are?
i looked on the back and didnt see any marks??

 

[badlite]

I would install 4 bbl carb, duel exhaust. I can't help you on rear, 62s had the narrowest from factory,a body used 7 1/4 rear, completely different. Transmission would be the same 62-64 65 has rear slip joint on drive shaft. It sounds like trans needs to have front cable adjusted. On front cable see the wheel with all the holes in it? remove bolt that goes though it, turn wheel counter clockwise several turns. Have someone push reverse button in and hold it bottomed out, while button is held in turn wheel clock wise until it contacts trans case, reinstall hold down bolt. You have just adjusted shift cable. This should take care of problem with button, if not pull cover off of buttons and reinstall buttons in shifter. The wheels are Raiders very early style of after market wheels.

 

[badlite]

That is a good looking car for a beater.

 

[BeatersRus]

That is a good looking car for a beater.

yeah i thought so too.
he wanted 1800 at first which i declined immediately and then lowballed him @ 800.
then i looked at the car,its got rust and carp patch panels on the floor,but..who cares,ill patch it right and then drive her.
we settled at 900,for the car,a gas powered air compressor,a set of Firestone wide ovals,a bunch of small engine stuff/rototillers etc etc,and a brand new edelbrock 1406 carb in the box.
i think we did all right

now i just need to find all the chrome and some wipers....
and TY also,for that info on the cable shifter,i talked to a fella today who was explaining that.
i have the offy intake,and the eddy carb and a motorcraft carb/big block and a thermocrud.
want to cam it up a bit and try to figure out the trans/convertor swap.

 

[BeatersRus]

update,i finally got the car running last nite briefly using a fill the carb method.
runs Very good actually,but
discovered rather quickly the gas tank was still hooked up/as suddenly the sweet odor of varnish from the 80-s flowed across my driveway.
narf!

still need advice on the transmission tho,do they make good convertors for a 65?
turns out i have a Torker intake to put on it.
so,what cam setup would be best for this?
keeping in mind this will be a street driver.

 

[abloch]

Converters are readily available for this trans. Pick your auto parts supplier. Summit, Mancini Racing, TCI

I would suggest http://www.bouchillonperformance.com/torqueflite_cable_kits if you are missing the kickdown linkage. I'm using it in my car and it works great and easy to set up.

If it's going to be a street driver, why don't you get it running and driving, see how you like it and then decide if it even needs to be modified.

Badlite's trans cable adjustment procedure should get you going. If you don't know already you'll need to release the parking lever by sliding it to the left to release the "stuck" neutral button. When the parking sprag is set (rear cable on transmission) it automatically locks the neutral button(push button assembly behind the dash).

Keep on asking and we'll keep answering.

 

[BeatersRus]

ok,sounds good and TY i was starting to wonder if my beater was offending peeps.
im ordering the intake gasket and going to tear the old intake off and see what the cam looks like.
then ill dig deeper.
im pretty sure the points are toast too,lotta popping at higher rpms,so pertronix is next.
might as well change the timing chain its prolly toast too,ive already got that on the way.
if this is a 9.2 comp 383,whats the best bang for the buck,considering i keep hearing about split pattern cams?
i dont want to do this over,id like to get it right the first time out.
what convertor Stall do you think will work the best?
the rear gear is a 355 ls.
tires are 15 by 245/60-15 and front 14 by 8 245 60 14
the car is uber light,i shut the trunk lid today and actually wondered how thin it is,it shut so quick and not heavy.
ive already seen some killer stuff on here,like guys using the heater vent for a gauge pod setup and so forth.

let it run for a while tonite,the radiators shot,and the thing drinks gas like its onna binge but it Lives!
ps,a coupla of my neighbors actually came out n watched and cheered too,nice to see support for the old girl.

btw its funny you should say bouchillion,as my other friend said the same thing today and warned me off the lokar setups.
he said the lokar was generic but the bouchillon was made for our cars?

 

[super-bee_ski]

Looking great!
Congrads on the 62.
Nice car.

 

[BeatersRus]

can anyone decode this fender tag?
ive went all over the net last nite,and couldnt make any sense of it.

top line only the A and the S are stamped
a-2 s-2
the bottom line reads
SO Number BDY Trim PNT
1002 0517 533 725 WW1P

thanks in advance for any help.

im thinking? it was a standard 318 dart 440 sedan?
that now has a 65 383 and trans.
still trying to track down former owners rumoured to have dragged it.

 

[BeatersRus]

could i possibly get some help here...?
i realize it isnt a hemi car..but...

 

[69Coronetrt]

Pre '65 tags are harder to decode as each plant coded options differently.
Lynch Road tags are different than Hamtramck tags and they are different than St. Louis tags and they are different than Newark tags, and so forth.

I'm just guessing...does the VIN start with 5322?

The bottom line is similar to all plants so....

SO Number BDY Trim PNT
1002 0517 533 725 WW1P

SO = Shipping order = Scheduled production date and body number.
1002 = scheduled production date of October (10) 2nd (02)
0517=rest of shipping order number.
You should find the SO number stamped on the body somewhere. check the radiator support.

BDY - body type = Dodge V8 (5), Dart 440 model (3), four door sedan (3)

TRIM = Interior trim code = cloth and vinyl bench seat(72); red and beige (5)

WW1 = exterior paint = Polar White (WW) the 1 tells us the car was all one color instead of the top and bottom painted different colors.

P = inner upper door frames painted red to match interior.

I know this isn't much but it's the best I can co right now.

 

[BeatersRus]

okay heres the pic of the vin tag too to figure out the starting point.
TY for the help.
i think its the original tag as the car was white and does have all red interior,including some odd rubber door trim with red cloth?

heres what i found while researching the 65 383 2 bbl motors.
my main problem there is its from 2010 and im hearing about split pattern cams and such,
so i Really need a good cam And torque convertor Recc. from now in 2015.

I have a solid 1965 383 2bbl engine. It is factory rated at 270hp and 390 ft.pounds of torque.
I plan on doing new rings/bearing and oil pump. Well that and a few good hop up bits :cheers:

Answer _
RustyRatRod
08-02-2010, 12:08 AM


I'm a huge fan of just a basic re-ring. Of course, that is as long as there is not a huge ridge at the top of the cylinders. Additionally, a good, crank grinding so the oil pressure will still be up high. Reason I like just a re-ring is two fold. First, it saves money. Secondly, it makes for a good loose short block. High performance engines will benefit from a loose bore in that it offers less friction, and allows the engine to run cooler. Nine times out of ten, if there's not a lot of ridge, there won't be any out of roundness, either. I've built a LOT of engines like this through the years and you know what? they held up better in most cases than the ones I spent big bucks on with all the machine work. DON'T skimp on the crankshaft, even if it's close. Get the crank clearances right. Run a stock volume oil pump. A high pressure or high volume will rob too much horse power. Assuming you have a decent set of heads, an EXCELLENT street camshaft is the Crane 643801. Here it is: http://www.summitracing.com/parts.aspx?sku=CRN-643801&part=CRN-643801&autoview=sku

Although it says not available there, call S&S cycles and see when it will be. they bought Crane Cams out and are still producing ALL of their inventory. That camshaft is probably one of the single BEST cams for the street you can buy. It may possibly even beat the MP cams and that's a tall order indeed. It only requires cheap single springs, too and you can retain the stock rocker setup. Also, since it has a wide lobe separation angle, it will work very well with factory HP exhaust manifolds. It will also keep cylinder pressure high with the stock compression ratio. If you decide to add headers, it will work well with those too. All I can say on the carb is one word. THERMOQUAD. Run a good dual plane intake. Only two that I know of that will accept a spread bore. the Edelbrock Performer, and the Offenhauser. Spend the extra money on the Offy. As for ignition, nobody does it like Mopar Performance. That's about all I got.