Just starting out! where do i start?

[ky72dart]

Hello members!!! I just picked up a 72 dart swinger its bone stock with the slant 6 and cold air. My question after reading all the info in this great fourm is : If i want to start getting my car ready for a big block where do i start? building the horse power is no problem, Should i move the rear springs first, change the manual disc breaks, chase down a sure grip unit? Like i said any advice would be appreciated. I want a street/strip car with 11 ish times?   Thanks for any input!
                                                                                                                                                   Scott

[abodyjoe]

i think i would start with a disc brake swap..  then i would goto the rear suspension and do what you want to do with it..  then the motor and trans. but thats me..  everyone does it different..

[dartracer]

You have to be able to stop. All the horse power in the world is no good if you cant stop it. Make it safe then make the power.    Dave

[ky72dart]

Thanks joe! What are some of the disc brake set ups that make a good conversion?  the rear is pretty straight forward.  I am new to the mopar scene so where do i chase down parts and interchange info?

[abodyjoe]

easiest way to do it is swap the 73-up  a-body disc brake set up on it..  its a real easy swap..

[abodyjoe]

here is the tech page about it....     http://www.bigblockdart.com/techpages/dbconversion.shtml

[urchinhead]

I would advise you to map out the project well in advance, so that you only buy parts once. In essence, if you are going to swap in a bigger rear end, try to avoid spending money redoing the brakes in your stock rear. And if you are going to want four wheel discs, try not to spend any money on drum brake parts that you're going to toss later anyway. Its easy to keep upgrading as you go, but if you plan for the future, you'll save time and money. Bear in mind this is easier said then done, but most of us have been there. Its hard to stop once you get the ball rolling.

[ky72dart]

You guys are great !!! Thanks very much for all your input!!! Im gonna love this site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[smitty72]

sounds like the way to go start at the bottom (building a good base) and work up. plan out what you want and budget time and money accordingly. that way you dont have to do things 2 or 3 times

[CudaDon65]

Yes you will ! Good luck with your project.

[eldubb440]

robbing a bank is a good start 

[ky72dart]

believe me I know speed and saftey cost but they are worth it! I have also noticed mopar parts are a lil more pricey than the bowtie guys, but its is a MOPAR!
Again Thanks  Guys!!!

[b569rr]

Here's where I'm at in this order. Stucture and metal fabrication, rear suspension, front suspension, install engine and trans for mock up.

Have to do: Fabricate exhaust, roll bar with factory interior, engine bay plumbing.

Once it all fits, tear it down for body and paint, sent the engine and trans out for work, put it together.

All that's left to do is everything. 

Tom

[Jim_Lusk]

Decide how you want the car set up first. Obviously you want better brakes and all, but do you want the car to handle well enough to drive on the street comfortably or is it strictly for brag racing? Then look at what parts cost and map it out.

[fasttcars]

ya i agree with everyone here.....the biggest thing is find out the long term goal of the car...the big picture......how fast do you want it?....what do you want it to look like?[pro street,mod,old school,etc]...how much can you put into the car?[not just want]....so get the basic goals in your head that way..it makes it a lot easier 1.for us to help you  2.for you to spend your money most efficiently  3.to make it the coolest car around.....and most importantly have fun

[bassguy]

Boy I'm fairly new to this site and i was just snooping around on here. You guys are a big help. I'm doing a 68 dart right now. there is so much good stuff on here. Thanks.

[luke06]

you guys should also check out moparts.com there are some real mopar gurus on there too

[ky72dart]

 Thanks to all of you!!! I am going the y way of sleeper gran ma  green, black rims w/dog dish, and a !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ky72dart]

Hers what im workin with!

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[eldubb440]

you guys should also check out moparts.com there are some real mopar gurus on there too

 

[ky72dart]

DID I MISS SOMTHIN DUBB?

[eldubb440]

DID I MISS SOMTHIN DUBB?

just not a big moparts fan..... is all you need

[ky72dart]

       Thats cool .  I have been lookin on here and really, besides a few basic parts that i will want new. i really can find all i need for the Dart here on  . I am afraid that i might be going with a small block stroker, will i be kicked out of bbd???  I dont want the guys here too black ball me !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jim_Lusk]

Moparts is a different kind of group than here. We're all hot rodders, there's lots over there who aren't. The numbers thing is fine, but there's probably more technical expertise here just due to the nature of what we do. I frequent both places and know that if I have a technical question I ask it here...............

[ky72dart]

Thanks mr. Lusk    I can see that the guys here are very sharp and unlike the bowtie sporting people i have ran with, the mopar guys are alot more helpful. It feels like kinda havin that guru buddy come by the garage and helpin with a problem. only theres a whole darn lot of gurus in here!!!!

[eldubb440]

i might be going with a small block stroker, will i be kicked out of bbd???  I dont want the guys here too black ball me !!!!!!!!!!!!

i survived here with my AMC nonsense  .......but i am Mopar first, and have a garage full of bigblock stuff    i havent logged into moparts since i found  in my opinion,the only way to get blackballed is to do it to yourself. 

[ky72dart]

Well i believe your amx is one of the coolest cars ever made!!!! My buddy is one heck of an engine builder and he said with the parts he has he can build me a smokin 360 based small block!
I just dont know anyone around here that has any big block mopar cores. He also said that it would be less work and weight for my car to be a god handling street car

[Jim_Lusk]

I can dispel the handling myth in a hurry. We have autocrossed a big block 67 Barracuda with decent results. If we lacked anything, it was horsepower to run in the class we had to run in. Anybody who still believes you can't make a big block a-body handle has never tried and is still stuck in the 60s.

That said, big block or small block doesn't really matter. Just decide how you want the car set up.

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[ky72dart]

That is one awesome cuda!!!    HE said we could make a big block car handle but it would cost more! I have an idea of a plane jane green with a stance like the red car here. Kind of a trans am/ stock car look with out the meats hanging out the sides

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[ky72dart]

What do i need to set my car up to handle? because i live here in the twisty country roads of eastern ky

[CudaDon65]

Did you look at the alterkion suspension? I'm putting it on my 65 barracuda. It's some money but I was redoing the whole front end anyway. Take a look it's cool.. Top right (RMS) 

[Jim_Lusk]

It doesn't cost any more to make a big block car handle, the parts just need to be a little bigger. My son's Barracuda started with .990" torsion bars and a stock big block sway bar. The rear springs were home-cobbled up, but work. KYB shocks are at all four corners. The first upgrade was a larger front sway bar and a rear bar. Then we added 1.14" torsion bars. Soon after we lost a rod bearing and the car hasn't been raced since.

[Jim_Lusk]

I also recently added tubular upper control arms and F/M/J spindles. We have not driven the car with these parts yet.

[moparrr07]

first go read all of the tech pages, every single one of them, then go back and read them again, they will answer most of you questions

first you must do the suspention,

a stock style 10.8 disk brake setup is mandatory no matter what your goal is, mpbrakes can help you there, or you can spend a month trying to get the part together off of ebay

add a bigger set of torsion bars, how big is depending on what you want to do, .990 are about the lowest you can go with a bigblock to handle well, 1.14 will make it handle the best but you will feel every like crack in the road, so a smaller down to .990 for more ride comfort,

also you must have poly bushings, give it a firmer feel

good shocks at a 4 corners

but the thing that makes the biggest difference is tires, its about 50% of how well you can handle, notice jim's car has 4 slicks  if you want to keep it the sleeper look you, unfortunately, shouldnt go much over a stock tire size but go on tirerack.com and search around, a sticky tire makes all of the diference

this is all i have gotten to on my project so far but these mods make all of the difference

this page does a small sum up of everything: http://www.bigblockdart.com/techpages/tips.shtml

feel free to ask anything you want but try and do a quick search first using the search function because most stuff has already been wentover