The first time I saw the car, I was very impressed. Every morning he would come roaring into the parking lot giving the car all it had. I thought it was a nice display and was amazed that it only had a 6 cylinder engine. By March, his wife decided that he had one car too many, so the little Mopar was put on the block and with a little negotiation the car was mine! The very next thing that happened was that the place where I worked said that they were closing down! That really wasn't so bad since they gave a pretty good chunk of money as compensation, spring was here, and I had a car that really needed some care. With this unexpected time on my hands I really went through her, fixing everything I could.
I'm really fortunate in the fact that I live very close to one of the biggest Mopar salvage yards in the U.S. (they have probably 15 '69 Darts alone). Over the course of the summer I noticed that this car was really a people pleaser. It seemed like everywhere I would go someone was always telling me how nice she was. Half of them were one-time Dart owners themselves and had fond memories of their own ride. The only bad part was when they would say, "What does it have under the hood?" I would have to tell them it was a slant six, and I think that kind of let them down a little. I can understand that, but I still loved her! By the end of summer with a new paint job, shifter in the floor, seats bolted and straight, AND A LOT OF UNDERSTANDING FROM MY WIFE, my Dart was looking good! Then on the first weekend off from my new job, a bad thing happened--an exhaust valve broke in half and fell onto the piston, creating total destruction inside the slant six. So the car had to sit until I could find another powerplant.
I could have gotten another slant 6, but I decided that the car had to have a V-8--it was now or never! So I searched, but it seemed that most 340's I found were priced a little too high, or a bit too worn, and since my car was not a original 340 it would be too much to justify! The car sat from October to Febuary. Then I found a Coronet with a pretty decent 318 and a 727 tranny, and the price was definitely right! So, early one Saturday a friend towed me and my Dart 50 miles to another friend's shop; it felt good to get her out again even if I was being towed! Then, with some tire changing and some luck we towed the Coronet there, too (it hadn't been driven in over a year).
Before I removed the motor from the Coronet, I drained all of the fluids and disconnected all electrical wiring. I then had to strip the motor down to the waterpump on the front, remove the radiator, take out the driveshaft, unbolt the exhaust, and remove the distributor (plugging the hole with a rag). I left the air conditioning behind; by doing this I was able to remove motor and tranny as one! The car had to be raised 2 feet in front for this to work. By 6:00 PM, the 318/727 was hanging on the hoist. I then popped out the freeze plugs, took out the thermostat, and ran water through the block to remove any sediment. Then I fit in the new freeze plugs (brass),covered the carb and degreased the motor the best I could. The best part about the transplant was the K-member swap, because there was no swap! Thanks to some great minds at Schumacher Creative Services, the /6 K-member will work with their neat adapter/mounts. They just bolt on while you have the motor out! The only other thing I did was to use a 90 degree adapter for the oil filter to make oil filter changes easier. A new set of spark plugs and we were ready to go!
With a little effort the V-8 and tranny slid right into place. The new motor mounts were right where they needed to be so we bolted them down loosely for the time being. The original transmission's crossmember bolted right up. I used the Coronet's driveshaft, and even though it was a pretty tight fit, it did the job. The exhaust I used came off of a 1977 Roadrunner; it is just a single pipe, but it is 3 inches in diameter, which gives it a very healthy growl! I used the Coronet's radiator. (The slant 6 radiator is too small for V-8 cooling.) I tightened the motor mounts completely, and put on the harmonic balancer, pulley, fan and alternator. I also put in an all new carburetor, distributor, and set of plug wires. I then wired up the electronic ignition components, which was easy--the hardest part was trying to figure out where to put them. With some new oil, transmission fluid, and coolant, I was in business!
All in all, the swap wasn't too bad, although some things required a little persuasion. I spent a total of 50 hours doing all this, but some things in life are worth the effort! I'll never forget the sound of her rumbling to life again or how it felt to be out cruising the highways once more. I really enjoy my Dart, and it has definitely given me back all that I have put into it!