Mopar Muscle Association UK

i've owned my Dart Sport for 5 years now and thought i'd summarise the ongoing sage/project. this is very much a story of mopar ownership on a budget. No wallet waving here cos I there's only so much money i can justify.
After trying drag racing for the first time a couple of years back and managing a 14.4 at Shakey i decided that it was fun and I should head for the 13's.
Given that the vast majority of 'muscle cars' pushed through the quarter mile in 14/15 seconds i felt that 13 seconds would designate the Dart as a'fast' road car. This follows on from Kev and Farmer Ted ( on the old 'orange' MMA forum) discussing that 13s were definately respectable. The car only hits the strip theree times a year so a compromise is required.
Additionally, the car would only have bolt on parts, no fabrication or special machining. Just choose the right parts and stick them on, reliability is required!

The car came with a fading 318 so i purchased a stock 360 and rebuilt in 2005. Given the tight budget and my lack of knowledge I played safe and rebuilt the motor with lightweight pistons, comp cams extreme energy cam with modest duration and lift. A year later Neill and USAImports supplied me witha fully rebuilt set of heads with light porting and a sound valve job. Exhaust was TTI (quality stuff), manifolds were 340 HI PO cast affairs as i couldn't be bothered with the aggro of headers and at £600 a set for TTIs i couldnt justify it!

with the motor sorted and reliable it was time for the drivetrain.Last year Blue rebuilt me a bullit proof 727 with shift kit and pete sorted me a convertor that runs about 2,200rpm which was a big improvement over the stock item.
I picked up a cheap diff with 3.91s from 'Nana and went looking for 13.s!

No chance, as Blue suggested would happen, complete lack of traction, but I shaved off 2/10s and ran 14.2. The next 3/10 remained elusive.

...and so to the current situation. i pulled the motor a couple of months back and i'm fitting new brass core plugs, XE268 cam, lifters and correct valve springs. Gasket matched the inlet ports witha five quid drill attachment , new timing gear and an Edelbrock Air Gap inlet manifold.
Managed to find a set of MT Drag Radials on E bay which were the only set for sale and were a perefect match for the untubbed Dart wheelwells at 27" x 9". Cried myself to sleep last night after spending $588 on a powertrax Locker and a set of 3.55 gears. The 3.91s had to go as driving 250 miles to Shakey at 4,000rpm was doing my head in!

So, five years and ten grand i(ncluding purchase) later i've got a motor being built how i want it. People will doubtless walk straight past the less than perfect bodywork and admire that nice E body/charger/Mustang parked next to me.
I dont mind, it fits in my garage (just) and its not rare so i can treat it how i like. Wish me well for the 13.s forget to mention that i'm shifting manually with three on the tree

Disclaimer!
Sorry 'bout the spelling. Its beer o'clock

Good story mate. I hope you get the 13. It's all about budget my end too.

Yes, Pete. Good advice on the basics. I have a recurved dizzy and FBO sparks. The motor never pinks and the basic 600 Holley gives me fuel and never falters.
Gas shox front and back with mono-leaf springs. It really is a 'bolt on' car that will not set the Mopar world alight given how many serious motors there are in the club. But, the basic logic of my approach is sound.

Hopefully it'll all come together this year Miles, I can only admire your tenacity in chasing the 13's

A better shifter may help, floor type shift, quicker and safer...we are talking 10ths here
any weight removal off the front end...are you manual or power steering ?

Good luck for the 13s , would put $$$$ on you gettin there , keep @ it Miles.

Join the club , need balls to shift a 3 on tree. , unless RP.

Good read

3/10's = 300lbs weight to loose, preferable off the nose; or a fair bit more horsepower.

Stickier tyres may help, but they can also cause a low torque motor to bog, so may not be the big win you expect....

PS: Glad you were happy with the torque Convertor

Miles you need to get some fresh cool air under that hood to the carb ....might be able to help you there if you dont wanna cut the hood

Blimey, just checked the pics out again.

Serious glass fibre front bumper needed there