Dodge

After the team’s original car for the 2012 BABE Rally (a 1964 Dodge Dart 270) met an untimely end after its first short drive a mere ten weeks before the Rally, the team was in dire straits. For the second Rally in a row, Miracle Mechanic and Honorary Third Horseman Paul Chambers (of Paul Chambers Mopar Restorations) stepped up and told us about another Dart he knew of sitting behind a barn in Lithonia.  We checked it out and, despite its rough appearance, thought it had potential. The 225 Slant 6 turned by hand, the automatic transmission shifted between gears and the car had many indications it had once been loved and well cared for: the dashboard was intact and the original floormats and trunk mat were in good condition. $300 and a tow later, and the car was in Paul’s yard awaiting its restoration to the road. The large dent in the rear passenger-side door and fine patina of oak sap and pollen accumulated over fifteen years sitting behind the barn were just part of the car’s character.

A new fuel system (tank, sender, lines, pump, pump and filter), brakes (master cylinder, four wheel cylinders, shoes all around, and a couple of brake lines) a new ignition system (coil, condenser, points, rotor, rotor, rotor, distributor, cap, plugs and wires). two carbeurator rebuilds, an aftermarket temperature gauge and a few dozen other little repairs later, and the car was ready to roll. Well, mostly. A few more things remain to be done that may or may not get done before the Rally:

• Repair fuel gauge
• Repair dash cluster lights
• Repair speedometer
• Repair windshield wiper motor
• Obtain spare tire (you try finding a 14″ rim with a 5×4 bolt pattern…)
• Tune carbeurator

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