By David Belau

dartslantsix

I left off last time with a conundrum. There was a piece missing off my windshield pillar trim–how could I fix that? I have to give credit to my wife–she came up with a way to mold a new piece. Plaster of paris to the rescue!

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Custom Gauge Pods and Plastic Restoration, Part 2" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

In the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, the main character has a car that always gives him trouble when he tries to steal it. Its name is Eleanor. My Eleanor is the 1974 Dodge Dart. While I don’t make a habit of stealing cars, the 1974 Dart has given me plenty of trouble.

My first experience with a 1974 Dodge Dart was ten years ago. She came to me with knife stab holes in the hood where a ritual sacrifice had taken place. The previous owner had left some pictures of head wounds in the trunk. The car would die randomly and start randomly. This should have been a sign to me.

When my friend Art called me and said, “Hey I found a 1974 Dart for $100! Wanna help fix it up?” I should have warned him. I should have known better. After helping him, I now know without a doubt that all 1974 Darts are possessed.

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Continue reading "My Eleanor: the 1974 Dart" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

So my dad calls me up and says, “Hey-there’s a slant six on Craigslist with a 2bbl for $50. Do you want it?”

If this had been a movie, there would have been ominous music playing as I mulled over my decision. You the viewer would have known that something bad was about to happen, but I wouldn’t. You might have yelled at the screen saying, “Don’t do it!” or “It’s a trap!” But because it’s a movie, I’d make the stupid choice and seal my doom.

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Continue reading "My Super Six Conversion or How I Spent My Summer" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

So, I decided to do a little weekend project on the Slant Six. My dad picked up a 2bbl manifold and carburetor known as the “Super Six” package. I spent a couple nights rebuilding the carb and painting the manifold. After that I was ready to install it and fire up the car. It’s the kind of project that should only take a couple hours.

But the Gilligan complex overtook my car. What should have been a three hour tour turned into a never ending project from hell. I gingerly removed all the nuts holding the intake on and when I got to the last one, it gingerly broke off. That’s right, I broke off a stud down inside the head. At this moment, little horns grew out of my head and my eyes burned red. My voice dropped into a lower range than is humanly possible as a guttural growl emitted from my throat. My wife popped her head into the garage when she heard the noise, but she retreated when she smelled the burning sulfur and saw the savage beast under the hood of the Dart.

So tell me, have any of your projects not gone as planned? A full write up on my Super Six conversion, complete with colorful adjectives, is coming soon.

By David Belau

dartslantsix

If you followed my independent rear suspension build, you know that I wasn’t happy with how the brakes were working. I decided that what I needed was a smaller-bore master cylinder. This would provide more line pressure and enhanced braking power. Instead of going back to an original master cylinder with a smaller bore, I chose to install a late-model aluminum master. This one’s from an early Dakota, and offers a few advantages–it’s much lighter and it doesn’t leak like the old style.  So what does all this have to do with fabrication? The new cylinder uses 2 studs to mount, whereas the old one uses 4 studs. An adapter plate is needed. These are available from a number of vendors for about $40, but what fun is that? I’ve got more skills than money. Follow along as I make an adapter for about $6.

Continue reading "How to: Simple Adaptor-Plate Fabrication, or How to Save $34" »