"The 'Double Dart' is Wayne's nickname for my car," says Kevin. "It seemed that everything was done twice. I got the hood and doors ready to put on the car and found better parts-done twice. I was putting the completely reassembled dash back in the car and put my thumb through the pad, right over the steering wheel. Took it out and had to re-do it. After installing the engine and tranny, on initial fire up the rear freeze plug leaked all over, so out they came. Had the rearend all done and when I drove it, my swap meet pumpkin seemed to whine just a little too loud. Redid that. Went to get my front end aligned and found out that my new lower ball joints were junk. Had to replace them. Those front end kits are cheap, but you get what you pay for."
Given that Kevin's experience is a good baseline for folks thinking about buying and restoring A-Body Mopars, we asked him what advice he would give to enthusiasts looking to try their hand at giving new life to these musclecar underdogs.
"Don't buy something that's missing pieces, is rusty, and the guy wants $500 for it," warns Kevin. "Especially in today's world, because it's so hard to find parts for them. And parts are so expensive. You're better off getting a complete car and paying the extra money with all the pieces like the air cleaner and exhaust manifolds, because when you get down to buying all of that stuff, it's going to cost you twice the money of the car."
Key Sources
Kevin spent a lot of dollars with Year One and Koller Dodge when it came to buying reproduction parts for his Dart Swinger.
Year One
Dept. MPRM
PO Box 129
Tucker, GA 30085
(800) YEAR-ONE
(800) 680-6806 FAX
www.yearone.com/
Koller Dodge
Dept. MPRM
1565 W. Ogden Ave
Naperville, IL 60540-3906
(630) 355-3411
(630) 355-3538 FAX
www.kollerdodge.com
Don't overlook local vendors simply because they are small or attend small area shows. Jimmy, from
Jack's Auto Parts
Dept. MPRM
272 Route 9
Howell, NJ 07731
(201) 431-8050
(201) 431-3105 FAX
Joel Cooper, from whom Kevin bought his car, is a big A-Body parts seller. When Kevin had trouble locating the front left side marker lens, Joel came through.
Joel Cooper
D.A.R.T.S.
Dept. MPRM
P.O. Box 9, Wethersfield
CT 06129-0009
(860) 257-8434 (8pm-10pm)
Jerry Schmit of Concours Creations performed his magic on Kevin's master cylinder cover and a few other knick-knacks. Kevin saw his work at Carlisle and in a few enthusiast magazines. "You can't ask for better quality than what that guy does," says Kevin.
Concours Creations
Dept. MPRM
615 Cypress Ave
Orange City, FL 32763
(904) 774-4686
Almost NOS came up with the much-needed date-coded hoses. Kevin says, "They'll call you back no matter what."
Almost NOS
Dept. MPRM
W28288 Scott Lane
Hartland, WI, 53029
(414) 538-1489
(920) 262-1818
"Tom at R/T Specialties in Arizona hooked me up with quite a few things-nuts and bolts, little clips and fasteners-which I think makes the biggest difference in a restoration."
R/T Specialties
Dept. MPRM
501 W. 8th Avenue#7
Mesa AZ 85210
(602) 827-0171
"Date-coded wires and other detail components were provided, in part, by Fellwocks of Indiana."
Ron Fellwocks
Fellwocks Auto Parts Restoration Inc.
Dept. MPRM
13101 Darmstadt Rd
Evansville, IN 47725
(812) 867-3658