Hey, don't dis the Acclaim, my mom had one!
I would love to have a convertable k-car too...Oh, and that is very cool looking dart 72Demon!
I love thoes cloth seats, they look way better than the vinyl.
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| 73 Dart 4-door daily driver https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34083 |
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| Author: | SlantSixDan [ Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:39 pm ] |
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Wrenching back on topic for a moment: 72Demon, that's a sharp-lookin' '73! Similar to my '71! |
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| Author: | dusterguy225 [ Tue Mar 03, 2009 7:44 pm ] |
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Hey, don't dis the Acclaim, my mom had one! I would love to have a convertable k-car too...Oh, and that is very cool looking dart 72Demon! I love thoes cloth seats, they look way better than the vinyl.
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| Author: | jason white [ Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:19 pm ] |
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your dart is very nice oh and Dan you are right about the spirit /acclaim they are extremely nice for front drivers I had a 95 spirit with the 2.5l |
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| Author: | 2 Darts [ Wed Mar 04, 2009 6:59 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Improving the Beast |
I liked the tail lights in the bumper of the 72 & 73 Dart sedans. However, having one dinky little light on the corner seemed a little cheesy. Taking a clue from the 60-65 Chevy Impala (and a few 61 & 62 Furys that inspired my modification), I replaced the factory backup light with another tail light. Since the housing for the tail light and backup light are different, I cut up two crudded up assemblies to create the structures necessary for the illumination characteristics to be the same for both lights on a side. I also need the lens as they are different on each side. <img src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2394554DSCN2102s.JPG" width="448" height="242"> The new 100k cp backup lights really light things up at night. However, everything gets dim when you put it in reverse with the high beams on. <img src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2394556Slant6tags.jpg" width="448" height="228"> The Classic Plate is a treat I gave the car for making it through inspection on the first shot. |
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| Author: | 2 Darts [ Sun Mar 08, 2009 5:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Improving the Beast Part 2 |
When I got the car, the exhaust system hung low. Given the poor quality of most surface streets at The Edge of the World, it wasn't long before the slight chuffing I heard originally, became a full fledged hiss. As I studied the underside of the car, I noticed that the system had been given an unhealthy dose of third world engineering to install a large diameter "turbo" muffler with no attempt to enlarge the diameter of the rest of the system. The muffler in this case was now leaking the length of the longitudinal seam and the outlet pipe was just sitting in the muffler; kinda/sorta. I took the opportunity to look at exhaust options. The stock exhaust manifold looked restrictive and an exhaust header looked expensive. Got a feeling there are a lot of freelance /6ers in the outback. Every Super Six car I could find had both intake and exhaust manifolds removed. There was no one I could find that made an out-of-the-box fit system like available for some of the V-8 cars. Over on the For A-bodies only site, there was a heated exchange going on about something called the PowerPipe. At the very least it looked like a good compromise between a header and a factory exhaust manifold. [img]<img%20src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2395625DSCN2120s.JPG"%20width="344"%20height="336">[/img] The company also makes a two piece unit that divides the cylinder bank in half. The PowerPipe SC is made to connect to the stock 2¼" Super Six exhaust. After consulting with my muffler shop in my barrio, I cut the exhaust pipe of one of the denuded Super Six cars at a point where the exhaust flow was perpendicular to the ground. I also bought a LH 2¼" tail pipe for a V-8 car. The muffler shop formed and installed a pipe to connect between a generic offset pipe "turbo" muffler and the Super Six piece I had obtained. I spent almost as much time waiting for them to fix the credit card machine as I did for the pipe. Since I had to remove the intake manifold anyway, I cleaned it up and gave it a fresh splash of paint. The second lower nut (from the front) was a lot more difficult to put back on than it was to get off. [img]<img%20src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2395626DSCN2132s.JPG"%20width="448"%20height="336">[/img][img]<img%20src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2395627DSCN2133s.JPG"%20width="448"%20height="336">[/img] The tone under acceleration is a little deeper than the old system. There's none of the pipe pinging I'm used to from a header and the car is nearly silent at idle. Throttle response seems a little better, but I have no instrumented tests to back up the claim. Once I think I have the carb set up right for this combination I'll check for top speed observed. |
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| Author: | SlantSixDan [ Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:16 pm ] |
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Ah, so the babble over the PowerPipe moved over to FABO, eh? And there was a debate 'cause the guy hawking this item still wouldn't or couldn't support his extravagant claims for improvement with any actual data, eh? Imagine my shock and surprise.  It probably works okay as an exhaust manifold, as long as it lasts, except for the lack of manifold heat. It is not better, it is not "almost a header" or anything like it. You can see the, erm, discussion we had on this board about the PP over here and here. If/when the PP fails, you can get decent-quality new real exhaust manifolds for just over $100, or for a performance upgrade get Dutra Duals. |
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| Author: | 2 Darts [ Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:38 pm ] |
| Post subject: | The Results |
I PM'd Dan to tell him I'm not trying to re-energize a debate or sell a product. I'm just trying to tell a story of what I'm doing to re-build a /6 car. There were two tests I could run that would tell me what benefit (if any) I could get from the changes I made. I ran the tests under conditions as close as I am able to duplicate e.g. same road, same direction, same weather, same driving techniques. Even the traffic I encountered was about the same. First test: How much faster will the car go? As measured by the same speedometer on the same piece of road, going the same direction, under the same weather conditions, the speedometer would previously read about 92 (average with a little needle bounce). After the change, the car moved to just under 100 (little needle bounce as well). Second test: How much better gas mileage will the car get? City MPG ruled out due to lack of control of traffic variable. Hwy MPG rose from 3 mpg to 28. Again everything I could think of was made the same as when I originally tested the car. These are not objective tests, but are similar to what anyone else could do short of a dynamometer, a closed road course, a drag strip, and a professional driver. Your results may vary. |
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| Author: | SlantSixDan [ Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:52 pm ] |
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Yeah, I didn't think you were trying to restart an old fire - just makin' sure readers too new to have seen the previous threads are aware of the scammy aspects of the "Powerpipe". Your improvements (with "Powerpipe" and a 2¼" exhaust) sound very much in line with what others have experienced by going from a stock small-diameter exhaust to a 2¼" system. |
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| Author: | 2 Darts [ Fri Jul 09, 2010 11:54 am ] |
| Post subject: | Improving the Best Part 3 |
Still not done. I had some clunking in the front end and a droopy butt on the car. It has taken a while to find time and money (so what else is new?) to make changes. Motivation to start on the rear was provided by a failed rear wheel bearing. Something about seeing smoke come out of the driver's side rear wheel is a bit unnerving. I replaced the rear springs with a set from McVeigh along with new bushings and shocks. I also replaced the 7¼ SBP axle with another that was set up for BBP. Going around to the front end, I did the full BBP disk brake swap in conjunction with replacing the joints and bushings. I swapped out the LCA so I could install the factory anti-roll bar. For the front end alignment, I had the stock camber setting decreased .25º and was able to get 2º positive caster out of the front end. These changes really sharpened turn-in and put a little bit of feeling in the power steering. I always liked the chrome road wheel from the B & C bodies. So I installed a set on the car. The tires are 205/60-15 Rikens. So far I have no objection to the combination. <img src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2450035IMG5050nr.JPG" width="448" height="299"> <img src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2450036IMG5046n.JPG" width="448" height="299"> <img src="http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/405/405744/folders/300006/2450037IMG5047n.JPG" width="448" height="299"> |
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| Author: | BUCKET 636 [ Tue Jul 13, 2010 1:20 pm ] |
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Sweet. 
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| Author: | mylittledart [ Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:36 am ] |
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were did you get those seat covers from? they look nice |
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| Author: | 2 Darts [ Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:17 am ] |
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Thanks, mylittledart. The seat covers came from SeatCovers Unlimited. They use a drawstring attachment as shipped. I wasn't happy with the fit originally, so I added a few strips of vinyl in a couple of places so I could hog ring it to the seat frame. While I had the seat apart, I also replaced the foam. Adding foam made installation a bit of a wrestling match at times, but the seat is a little more firm and has better shape as a result. |
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