And want some advise. The car has been sitting for who knows how long,and I need to turn it into a daily driver(1976 Dodge Dart Sport Lite). The engine should be fine,and the carb was just rebuilt.

Future plans are to restore the front suspension: add a sway bar,new torsion bars, edelbrock shocks,and sub frame conn. I know I need to do the front and rear brakes/fluid exchange,and get new tires.

I am going to replace the fluid in the gear box(O.D) and rear end(any suggestions?

The car needs a new coil,should I go stock replacement, or.........?


What else?

Spark plugs(which)

Coolant flush/new thermostat? What temp thermostat should I get. It gets up to 120 in the summer and 25 in the winter(gotta love the Desert!)

??? ??? Any help would be great!

I would change every fluid in the car for sure. Tear the brakes all the way down & repack the front wheel bearings & go ahead & rebuild the calipers & wheel cylinders (or replace) and be sure to replace all the brakes rubber hoses ( going to the front calipers & the one to the rear end). Thermostat just a good quality 180 should do. Change the filter in the tranny if its a auto, they are paper and it gets restricktive from setting and will kill a trans. I would also repalce the fuel pump & water pump. The fuel pump can leak back into the engine and get the oil gased down from a dried out diaframe & eat the engine bearings out. There cheap so its good insurance for the engine and not being broke down latter.

You might even pull the gas tank out and clean it real good. If it has rusted or gunked up any it will trash your fuel system in no time (kill your carb). Take it out & put gravels or bolts & nuts in it with good cleaner and shake it around so the bolts (or what ever you use ) will knock any rust loose and clean it out. This could save a lot of problems latter ( if its that bad when you get it out) . Then flush the gas line and install new filter.


Spray a lot of penitrating lube on anything you are going to take loose for a few days. This will help with some stuck bolts and make the whole job easier.

Check the freeze plugs in the side of the block. If they are rusted (poke them with a screw driver ) replace them.


Jess

Thanks for the info The car has the A-833 O.D,and I am thinking of running a modern synthetic ATF in there(I saw this reccomended on moparts.com)

Should I replace the wheel bearings? How do I change freeze plugs?

What store do you reccomend to buy my parts? Is there a one stop shop,or will I have to look around?

Also whats a good spark plug gap? and what kind of oil should I use? I always heard that older gas engines like diesel oil???

What is the best kind of valve cove gasket: rubber or composite?

thanks

The Dart Lites are neat, and you can get some great MPGs with the 4-speed. The original fluid spec is ATF. It will be worth your money to buy RedLine MTL fluid for it.

Rear axle: A good quality synthetic 80w-140 should do nicely.

Tires: I absolutely love BFGoodrich's new Traction T/As.

Freeze plugs can be replaced with bolt-in types that you simply place into the holes and then tighten the centre bolt to expand them into a tight fit.

A 180° thermostat would be my choice. A 195° unit was original equipment, but the 180° unit will buy you margin for more spark advance without ping.

Spark plugs: NGK.

Coil: You may want to go for the HEI upgrade.

Spark plug wires: Magnecor!

And put a good set of headlamps in it

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Thanks,you rock Dan Where do I find magnacore wires?


What would be a better set of headlamps? I didnt know I could upgrade!
What kind of oil do you reccomend(which weight?) and how about a spark plug gap(May find this in the HEI article)?

Thanks again

The headlamp thing was a bit of shameless self-promotion, go see my site and shoot me an e-mail if you like. Stay away from the hyped-up and poorly-made Sylvania Silverstars and Wagner TruViews, for they are a waste of money.

Oil: 10w-30 is what I'd start out with, assuming the engine's in basically good condition. Pretty much any major brand will be just fine...it's all better than any oil five years ago, let alone 30 years ago! Use a quality filter (Purolator and Wix are my faves), avoid Fram.

Might want to do the Fuel line mod to improve cold and hot starting and idling.

Spark plug gap: I run 0.045" with the full HEI conversion including good plug wires and the special distributor rotor. Magnecor wires can be had directly from Magnecor.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

He pops up all over the web under varying pseudonymes........


(when did you get a ferrari? )


but he only seems to be grumpy here.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Collect the whole set! Some assembly required! Batteries not included! Limited time offer, while supplies last!
A ferrari? I didn't know I had one! Where's it parked?
You take that back, I am not grumpy!

Seriously, by comparison across the entire internet, on here I am always placid and calm. If you find where I've had to get loud with people elsewhere on the net, well done, but I ain't gonna show ya!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Ok I am going to buy some parts today! What auto store do you reccomend for things like:

Valve cover gasket
Thermostat
Parts for Fuel line mods
HEI conversion parts (where can I get the aluminum mounting plate?, and how did you guys mount the plate to the fender?)
Set of feeler guages to set the valves(how do I do this CORRECTLY?)
I also need a good timing light,but hopefully not too expensive,and how should I set the timing on my stock Dart Lite?


Thanks

Well I did the fuel line mod,now my car wont start It started right up and ran for 30 seconds,then died. Started it back up ran for 10 seconds,then dies. I am getting fuel and spark,what could be wrong?

It sounds like a fuel problem.

You said you were getting fuel, but how did you determine that?

1- Pump gas pedal while watching for a squirt of fuel in the carb.

2- Disconnect fuel line from carb, put it into a can and see if it is pumping while the engine is being cranked.

If both of these tests work OK, it is still possibly that you have a fuel problem. Many times with old cars the tank itself gets full of junk (rust, mostly). This will quickly plug the jets in the carb. The car will start because you pumped the gas, (and you'll see the squirt from the accelerator pump) but it will not run once that initial shot of gas is burned off.

If this has happened you'll have to take the carb apart (at least the fuel bowl on the carb) and clean it out.

Try replacing your fuel filter with one of the clear plastic ones (Don't leave it there long term, just as a test for a couple of days). See what accumulates in there. You may have to take the gas tank down and clean it, which is not that hard, but requires SEVERAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.

-Mac

I just had the same problem trying to get my Valiant to stay running. Try tightening up the screws on the carb a bit and the bolts on the base. Check the choke pull off. Also, make sure that all the vacuum lines are ok. I don't know if your fuel pump is original to the car but that too is an inexpensive replacement.

Russ

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1968 Valiant 100 4 door 225/6

Thanks for the suggestions guys! The fuel pump was replaced by the previous owner(dont know if I believe them!) I had a friend over and he said he saw fuel squirt in the carb,he may be blind WHen I got the car it had no fuel filter on it So mabey you are right about the gas being full of junk!

I'll see what I can do!

The clear filters are great for checking this... just don't leave them there permanantly (they can break).

You can also let the fuel pump into a clear bottle or into a can through a cheesecloth.

-Mac