Author Topic: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix  (Read 47597 times)

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Offline Polyhead

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1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« on: January 09, 2016, 03:37:00 PM »
Well, lets start by saying I have little in the way of common sense, or at the very least have no idea how to tell what's a good idea and what's a bad idea until I'm upside down and on fire.  So, with that in mind I've decided to give building a car to race on the salt an honest to god attempt.  This past summer was spent just getting the car cleaned up, and patching up the many many holes.  I have a rule book.  However the plan for the next couple of years is to run the car at the 130mph club and 150mph club events.  Money, build space, time, are all limiting factors and I don't see this car properly competing at SCTA or ECTA events for at least another 2 or 3 years.  That is unless there are people in the Portland Oregon area that want to help.  So, it comes down to sitting at home complaning about the things I don't have, or, find a class that it can run in with what I DO have.  I've chosen to persue the latter.

Anyway, this is how the car currently looks.

I've got a collection going over on google Images of work done thus far on the car.  Nothing to really get it specifically race ready, still in the stages of repairing 55 years of abuse on the streets.
https://goo.gl/photos/6c5jzkkv6MsCLtc17

No need to tell me how difficult it's going to be.  I get it.  I've got the rule book.  But I think by starting at the 130mph and 150mph club events I can be running the car and getting use to driving on loose surfaces at speed much much sooner than I will any other way.
« Last Edit: January 09, 2016, 03:40:08 PM by Polyhead »
Ben 'Polyhead' Smith
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Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2016, 03:45:27 PM »
EXNER MOPARS ARE THE COOLEST!  :cheers:
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline jacksoni

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2016, 04:05:48 PM »
Hey, the guys running the big Caddy at Wilmington are having fun. No reason you shouldn't join the club!
https://plus.google.com/photos/115248360774022016668/albums/6198947679277811825?sort=1  Photos in this link Gregg posted in the Wilmington September Photo thread.
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Offline Polyhead

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2016, 05:54:01 PM »
Hey, the guys running the big Caddy at Wilmington are having fun. No reason you shouldn't join the club!
https://plus.google.com/photos/115248360774022016668/albums/6198947679277811825?sort=1  Photos in this link Gregg posted in the Wilmington September Photo thread.

You know the thing is about this car, it's actually rather small, especially compared to that caddy!  The weight is around 3400lbs, 18ft long, but wide... REALLY wide, like 6.7ft.  We tried to put it on a car dolly back in July and she wouldn't fit!  I'm 6'2" and getting in and out of the car without banging my head on things is a chore... this is before the cage goes in!  I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do with my legs once that happens.  I'll have to put some hand holds somewhere around so that I can just swing through the opening like i'm monkey bars or some crap once all the door bars and crap are in.

That caddy is bad ass though.  The guy I bought this car from also has a '72 cadilac hearse that's for sale.  Maybe I should have got that instead.....
Ben 'Polyhead' Smith
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Offline Peter Jack

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2016, 05:58:52 PM »
I'm more intrigued by the motor home beside it!  :-D :-D :-D

Pete

Offline Polyhead

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2016, 08:26:49 PM »
I'm more intrigued by the motor home beside it!  :-D :-D :-D

Pete

Yeah that's my buddies actually.  I bought the car from him.  There is actually a really great story over on Barnfinds about his adventure in returning UV #307 home.
http://barnfinds.com/jays-1967-ultravan-adventure-part-1/

Very interesting coaches though.  I keep telling him he should get them to have a motorhome class and go set the record... at you know, like 50mph... because at altitude and with only a 190hp corvair engine, that's about all it's going to do.  The best bit of fun with that thing is tuning the ignition timing and carbs as you're going down the road.  Since the engine is under the bed in the back of the coach you can just flip the cover open and fiddle away.  That said... that big magnesium fan spinning away with the engine at  3000rpm (who knows how many at the fan I don't know what the drive ratio is at all) is a little bit intimidating at first.
Ben 'Polyhead' Smith
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Offline Speed Limit 1000

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #6 on: January 10, 2016, 01:40:32 PM »
What a fun read about the trip. It brings up memories of the 40 some years of road trips to Bonneville :-o You never know when your next problem will be or what you will have to overcome to fix it.
John Gowetski, red hat @ 221.183 MPH MSA Lakester, Bockscar #1000 60 ci normally aspirated w/N20

Offline mike f

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2016, 02:45:37 PM »
Hi to all:  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that Ultravan.  They are really cool and just yesterday a good friend of main saw his Ultravan drive out of his shop after working on it for 9 years.  There is a Ultravan club and they do get together.  I can't wait to show him this site, he's 76 years old and in poor health but I know he will get a kick out of it.  Thanks  Mike

Offline Polyhead

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #8 on: January 10, 2016, 03:02:40 PM »
Hi to all:  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that Ultravan.  They are really cool and just yesterday a good friend of main saw his Ultravan drive out of his shop after working on it for 9 years.  There is a Ultravan club and they do get together.  I can't wait to show him this site, he's 76 years old and in poor health but I know he will get a kick out of it.  Thanks  Mike

Well if he's in the club he'll know that UV.  It's owned by the son of a long time UV club member.
Ben 'Polyhead' Smith
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Offline Polyhead

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #9 on: January 10, 2016, 03:03:32 PM »
Very interesting coaches though.  I keep telling him he should get them to have a motorhome class and go set the record... at you know, like 50mph... because at altitude and with only a 190hp corvair engine, that's about all it's going to do.  The best bit of fun with that thing is tuning the ignition timing and carbs as you're going down the road.  Since the engine is under the bed in the back of the coach you can just flip the cover open and fiddle away.  That said... that big magnesium fan spinning away with the engine at  3000rpm (who knows how many at the fan I don't know what the drive ratio is at all) is a little bit intimidating at first.

Wow!    It has a Corvair turbo?    Those are the only ones rated at 190 bhp.

 :cheers:
Fordboy

No, I mis-spoke, I guess it's the 160hp?... I don't know, the one with 4 carburators from the factory.  Although two of the carb holes are blocked off and it now only runs on two...
Ben 'Polyhead' Smith
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Offline Polyhead

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2016, 03:10:44 PM »
What a fun read about the trip. It brings up memories of the 40 some years of road trips to Bonneville :-o You never know when your next problem will be or what you will have to overcome to fix it.


He is suppose to do a right up about the work he did getting it ready for burning man this year.  It made the trip just fine but, holy hell the things he found during preperation for that road trip.  Like, bent tie rod ends, worn out hiem joints (the entire front steering gear is heim joints), crushed U joints in the trans axle, bent axles, axles that were the wrong length... carbs that didn't work right.  Ugly stuff.
Ben 'Polyhead' Smith
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Offline V4F STR 60

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2016, 10:16:13 AM »
This was at El Mirage in November.  '55 Desoto with a Duramax.  Cool build, and you wouldn't know it from the exterior, but really well done.
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Offline panic

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2016, 11:38:57 AM »
63/64 turbos (Rajay "B") are 150hp
65/66 turbos (Rajay "F") are 180hp

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2016, 12:23:34 PM »
Suffice to say that we're looking at one desperately underpowered motor home.

Doesn't mean it's not very hip - but I recall touring the Black Hills in a VW Vanagon, 7 people on board.

You could count the guardrail posts as we slowly slinked by.

But back to the Dodge.

Am I to judge by your handle that we'll be seeing a Poly head Mopar under the hood? 

"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Rex Schimmer

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Re: 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2016, 06:11:16 PM »
If I remember from the foggy past your Dodge will not be the first one. I think that a fellow named Norm Thatcher ran one when it was new with maybe a 413 and ran over 180 and he might have come back with a 6-71 on it and gone faster. I am sure that some of the "old" guys that have been around for a while, Glen or Freud?? remember.

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