The short summary: 451, ported iron heads, .654 Mini-Express cam (reground for .652, 272@.050), Lakewood, 4-speed, Centerforce DF, 8-3/4 (3.91), minitubs/relocated springs by previous owner, 295/50R15, dual 3" exhaust with X-pipe, fuel cell in trunk, homemade instrument cluster, Power Shot nitrous plate.
I bought the bare block in the '90's while going to school in Pittsburgh... got the engine together in '07, the stripped rolling shell in Minneapolis shortly thereafter. 21+ years later, including a couple of very bad attempts at painting it myself (and two years in paint jail), it's finally together and I'm in shakedown mode. Various leaks to fix, rear springs were too flat so I got new ones... hope to get the front end aligned in a week or two so I can start driving it on the road!
I don't plan to ever start with a bare shell again... had to make every single brake line and fuel line, design and make my own wiring harness nose to tail (and there are a LOT of wires even in a simple "vintage" Dart). Still beats paying a shop $50-100k... any fool can write checks but there is great satisfaction in doing it yourself
I bought the bare block in the '90's while going to school in Pittsburgh... got the engine together in '07, the stripped rolling shell in Minneapolis shortly thereafter. 21+ years later, including a couple of very bad attempts at painting it myself (and two years in paint jail), it's finally together and I'm in shakedown mode. Various leaks to fix, rear springs were too flat so I got new ones... hope to get the front end aligned in a week or two so I can start driving it on the road!
I don't plan to ever start with a bare shell again... had to make every single brake line and fuel line, design and make my own wiring harness nose to tail (and there are a LOT of wires even in a simple "vintage" Dart). Still beats paying a shop $50-100k... any fool can write checks but there is great satisfaction in doing it yourself