Archive for October, 2009

Dart Alignment

Oct 31st

I took the ’65 Dart in for an alignment to see if it would improve the steering. That thing is a little bit hard to steer especially when making 90 degree right or left turns. It is very easy to steer when driving backwards! So I took it down to a nearby alignment shop. They put it in the alignment bay and checked out the bushings and other parts. They came back to me saying that before they can align it, the lower control arm bushings need to be replaced because they are completely worn out. So now I am doing some research on getting polyurethane type bushings.

And check out this other car that I spotted near the alignment shop. Who are you gonna call???!

Bought W5 Heads & W7 Intake

Oct 29th

Posted by Marvin in General

3 comments

The same guy (Pete) who sold me his R1A race block also had a really nice set of W5 heads and W7 intake. Ryan Johnson at Shady Dell Speed Shop sold them to this guy. I asked Ryan about these and this is what he had to say about them:

“Those W5′s he has are KILLER….I forgot he even had them…. those have been angle milled to 16 degree, & have some of nicest port work I’ve seen. I did not port them, but I bought them from someone already done & sold them to Pete. They were done by a Nascar shop for a circle track motor & never used. The intake has about 100 hours in port work in it.

I do not remember in what state I sold the heads to Pete (this was at least 3 years ago) I think they were bare but do not remember. I believe all the machine work was done (valve job, drainbacks, surfacing etc) I may have set them up with valves & springs, but you’d have to ask him, as I don’t remember.

Those heads will support BIG power… I could make 720+ with them.”

Ryan has built dozens of W5 motors and if he is this enthusiastic about these heads then they must be really nice. Pete said that Ryan flowed the heads and they came out 339 at 0.700″ lift.

Here are some pictures:

Steering the Dart

Oct 28th

Posted by Marvin in General

No comments

The Dart is pretty hard to steer going forward. A lot harder to steer than my Duster. Both are manual steer cars. So I’m trying to figure out why the Dart is so hard to steer. Driving in reverse, the Dart is very easy to steer. It is only going forwards that steering is tough, and especially when making 90 degree turns. So I made a video of all the steering components to see if my buddy Andy can spot anything out of place. He ended up suggesting that I take it to an alignment shop.

Enjoy the music!