Hey guys, I'd like your opinions on a scheme I'm considering. Not a bad scheme, mind you, just one that would involve lots of juggling on my part.

Anyway, here it is: I just bought a '69 Dart with a slant and its accompanying wimpy rear-end, manual drums all around, and hubcapped small bolt wheels. Quite a change from the Celica GT-S I was driving before with four wheel discs and all that good stuff.

Now, I might have a chance to buy a '74 Dart with power disc brakes, an 8-3/4 rear, and big bolt all around with rallye wheels for $600. I haven't seen it but the body and interior are described as so-so. Would it be worth it to buy the car, tow it away (no engine or trans), strip those goodies off, and then sell what's left for whatever I can?

If the $600 is in your means & you want to upgrade your 69 dart to disc brakes & large bolt sytle -- then do it. Most likey it is a 8.25 rear & not a 8.75 rear -- either way it is stronger than the 7.25 in your car now.
Parting the 74 will return some $$-- especially if it has the spool style
v-8 K member-- Good luck

it sounds like a great donor car, but not worth $600 UNLESS the rear axle is an 8 3/4. like vdart said, it's probably an 8.25 which would work just fine. i think $300 would be the max i'd go.

-james

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$600 is the going price in Portland for a "beater project" grade car, anything old dodge and Plymouth is getting not so easy to find...(the average Dart for sale in Salem is now about $1200 as most are getting sent to the junkyard for crushing, just to 'get rid of that old car')

Someone could have started a drag project and found they didn't have the $$$ to spend on a mopar....so it may have an 8 3/4" (just crawl under and see if you have 10 bolts in the back plate= 8.25"...or 10 bolts in the front of the chunk=8.75")....

Given that parting everything down will give you most of the money back and the guy could get that much out of the car from Wildcat Auto Wrecking, try to talk him down to $400, but he may stand firm at $600...
(if you were to get those parts separate it's about $400 for an empty 8.75" rear axle and another $250 for the disc brakes at Wildcat....)


good luck,

-D.Idiot

Well, it turns out the rear end is actually an 8-1/4 and this is clearly stated in the ad. I just read it wrong. I drove my Dart home last night and man oh man, those manual drums SUCK! I think I'm going to have to do this.

Heck the 8.25" is OK too, I got two of them and they work just fine (and you can find sure grips fairly often in trucks, and gears are fairly cheap).

I haven't busted the one I got with the Hpak mill yet...

-D.idiot

Bought it.

Power disc brakes, 8.25 rearend, rebuilt front end, stiffer suspension, new shocks, rallye wheels with 60 series tires, chip-free windshield (current one isn't), side view mirror, driveshaft, clean passenger door (current one is bashed), better alternator, spool 318 K-member for a possible future swap, delivered to my garage for $600. Seems like a good deal to me. I'm hoping to get a couple hundred bucks back out of it when I'm done.

You could easily have spent $600 on the brakes alone. I think you made out well with that deal.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.