Finally I have knocked a few home projects out of the way and can start working on my Road Runner project-even if a little at the time :boogie: I've been watching and reading about other projects getting worked on and wondering if I was ever going to get time for mine. So here's the start of my thread. I bought my RR out of Yantis, Texas. On the bad side I was told it would barely run, wouldn't hold oil pressure, had a bad rear end, interior was shot, and the body had dents and rust. On the plus side, I was told it had been in the same family since new, had original paint, and still had the build sheet and most all the original parts. I saw a few pics of it when it was on EBAY but it didn't sell so I sent an email and a deal was made and shipped here to SC. First time I ever bought car that I didn't see first hand and paid for it without having it in my possession. If you recognise it let me know. I don't have much history on it other than the family owned bit. Since then I've been collecting parts to make the transformation. I want to get it running and driving good mechanically and safely as it is before I start any major work. Have done a little already and plan on getting some more out this weekend. I've read the opinions about others using a real RR for a clone but that's what I bought it for and going to do. Most likely will keep all the original stuff removed to stay with the car. Already have Ted's kit, Daytonalo's A-Pillars, Coronet hood and fenders, decals, and some misc. I can't afford a real one and have wanted one since high school in the 70's. This won't be an exact replication as I have some custom ideas about some things interior and paint wise. I hope to get the overall appearance right with a slight Nascar theme but all subject to change as it developes. I'll be asking for some help and also hope to offer some ideas of my own. I just pray my job situation survives the current economics, as it's been a little rough, so I can stay on it. Here's some of the before pics I'm starting with.
More pics and one of what I'm thinking of painting it in some variation or another.
looks pretty straight from the pictures :yesnod: ..sounds like a great project .... keep the pictures coming as & when :popcrn: :2thumbs:
Quotekeep the pictures coming
looks like a great project. :cheers:
it makes it a little easier if you start with a solid car .
it's good to see some new replica projects getting started . :2thumbs:
Slost Mags... :drool5: :drool5: :drool5: :drool5: :drool5:
Looks like a sweet project. :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
I'm all for using a real roadrunner. Saves a lot of time trying to locate the correct stuff such as the dash, taillights, etc. We've been trying to buy a real roadrunner here locally to build our clone instead of using the satellite. That's why we've been a little slow getting started on that project.
Can't wait until you get this one finished. :2thumbs:
:cheers: :popcrn: :2thumbs:
hey i'm in the same process myself. hopefully the hood as well as the kit from ted will be in this week. i'm going with a coronet r/t hood, i think that is going to look really good when its on. going to change up the painting a little. good luck with your clone, if you need some help on some parts let me know. steve
Thanks all :cheers: I was expecting more rust than it had. From what I've seen so far there is just a very small piece at one of the rear window corners and a small amount at the very bottom of the lower qtrs. The trunk, floors, doors, and under the hood I was pleasantly surprised to find very little. It had more dings and dents than I expected and I didn't know the front windshield was cracked pretty good but it doesn't appear to be leaking through. Already bought a new one. Sorry Wingy but I let the slots go with the 70 Challenger I sold to help pay for Ted's parts. I did keep the new 15" re-pop rallies from the Chally for it. Today I finished the brake installation-- new rotor/wheel hubs, wheel bearings, F&R flex brake lines, calipers, and pads. Gotta make sure it stops. Changed the carb, rubber fuel lines, and a new pump. Mice had eaten through some of the spark wires so I had replaced the bad ones and ordered a new set of Accels. Found a few weeks ago the oil pressure problem was from the oil screen clogged with broken plastic timing gear pieces and a bad sending unit. Put in a new melling oil pump and now have continuous good oil pressure :thumbs:. It also runs decent and quiet but needs a tuneup as it has a slight miss and skip but has no unusual internal noise. Just a little smoke. All that was a relief as now I feel I don't have major engine work to do. I have a potential deal on a 440-6 motor (a 73 non hp eng but complete from cleaner to tranny) so the 383 will do for now for driving I hope. Added a couple qts of tranny fluid and drove it up the street and back. Shifted fine and nothing drastic out the rear end so all is good for now. Battery went bad cranking it so tommorrow its back to the autoparts place for a battery, cap, plugs, points, rotor button, then for a better test drive :drive:.
Got a few more misc. things done with it enough to take it out on the road for higher speeds. Heard the noise what the previous owner said was occurring out the rear somewhere. Not a whine but more of a growling. Took the driveshaft off to check the universals only to find them very stiff or almost locked up. Didn't eliminate the noise but just moved it up about 8mph to 40 mph before I heard it again. Fades out when I let off the gas or apply brakes. I hope to pull out the axle assys. and the 3.55 suregrip to check it more. With it up on jacks and supported I can run it up to 60-70 and it makes no noise and runs smooth. Turning the chunk by hand when the shaft was off felt smooth too. Good thing is that the more I drive it or run it, the better the engine seems to be improving. I put a can of something called seafoam additive in the crankcase to clean it out some and must be working. Even the smoking is getting lighter. Anyway I posted a pic of the mufflers that are on it. Both are bent up exactly the same way and look like its supposed to be like that but I haven't figured out why.
Oldcarnut,
I hope that your finished product looks like the envisioned picture. That will be one unique and sharp looking 'bird! :drool5: Did you do that drawing?
Phil
Thanks, DS440 did it for me on the photoshop thread. I'm still thinkng about what to do for the interior but haven't put it all togethor yet. Mostly trying to get the car in dependable shape first then I'll start the conversion. I want to make a stand for the nose and get it assembled. A bunch of work to do came up for a rental property I have so it's slowing things down a bit. .
David
The absolute best modern seat to use is the Sebring convertible seat. It's a mopar product, relatively cheap, has the built in seatbelts and most are leather and have lumbar and power. We're thinking about using the Sebring convertible seats in our clone mainly for the comfort issue on long distance trips.
Can someone verify these measurements for me. I used Dave's template at PG to lay it out the holes for the qtrs. and compared it with the one TJ sent me and they are both off a litlle from each other and the studs but mainly in wing width of the gasket holes. When I placed the wing on to check the stud placements, it was off just a little as each stud was not always centered in each gasket hole but some closer to the edge. What size holes are drilled in the qtrs.? If they are the same size as the gasket holes then I think they'll fit ok with just a little rub on one side or another or should I leave the location as is and let the drilled holes maybe just remove a little gasket material to the side ?
I went ahead and tried the gaskets on the wing and they rub on the studs some but center up on the upright base. Looks like some of the studs aren't very straight so if the location is good then I'll just have offset the drilled holes a little to compensate for the stud angles.
It seemed to me your template was too close to the outside edge so I went and measured mine since I recently removed my wing and have yet to haul the hulk off to the body shop.
I was correct, My wing edge was 3/4" from the outside edge. The measurements to the rear look good!
Do you have the under wing supports yet? They will be the same size hole you need in the quarter. The original installers did a marginal job on my car as I had to fight :RantExplode: to get the wing off due to stud threads hanging on sheet metal. :flame:
Hope this helps!...................and its not too late! :smilielol:
For what it's worth, it's risky drilling any holes without checking with the wing fully assembled and set in place. I lay out a general location pattern like you're doing , then tape out the entire area. I then set the wing in place with someone's help and mark the locations using a fine tip marker. Each wing is a little diffferent. I always have to open up the holes in the gasket a little to make it fit correctly onto the base of the wing. The most important dimension is the distance from the rear edge of the wing to the rear of the quarter. The side edge dimension will rely on your wing. You can pull them in or out a little, but if you go too far, the wing won't sit flat on the quarter. Don't forget to put sealant (I use 3M black caulk strips) around the studs on top of the quarter and between the quarter and wing washer. Don't rely on the gasket to keep water out. Wish I was there to help out.
I don't remember the distance from the rear of the wing to the rear of the quarter. Dain bramage.
Thanks, I haven't drilled them yet. I can slide the 1/2" to about 3/4" and keep the rear 2" centerline if that's what your saying. The black pieces are the gaskets. I had a cut out piece of thick paper for the templet. I switched the L @ R sides for the gaskets and remeasured to 3/4 at the closet point. I mainly used those to make sure as a guide to have the wing going straight forward. Set the wing back up and it seemed to fit ok to the studs. I have the wing bolted tight together so the uprights don't flex in or out. The wing is a little awkward to handle like that for mounting by myself. Got the wife to help me set it up one time before she left to work. In the process she let it slip when started to lift :scared: but it fell on the studs and nothing was hurt. The wing washers haven't been drilled yet. I"ll mount those and drill them using the other holes. I won't get too uptight about the side dimension as long as the wing is bolted together and its the same both sides when I layout it out and its straight. The 3/4 seems to work out for guide purposes Thanks for the tips, David
I waited until I was satisfied with how the wing fit into the newly drilled holes and then removed the wing. I marked a centerline on the wing washer to show where it should align up under the quarter to the rear stud. After finding the right spot for it under the quarter, looking at the centerline through the rear hole. I then marked all of the holes on the wing washer. From start to finish, I installed the wing, the wing washers and the wing braces in about two hours. This is the fourth one that I've done now, so they're getting easier.
Can't wait to see pics. You're going to be so psyched when you stand back and look at that wing when it's all bolted down.
I'm going to back up a tad with a little update. I replaced the axle bearings/seals and the rearend noise has been fixed. The bearings that were in it were dry and had heat coloring. While I had the tires off I saw that I had 1 1/2" exhaust on one side and 2" on the other. Why someone did that I don't know. Also changed the left side to rh thds. Got it back on the road and the brakes just didn't feel right. The master cylinder would empty after a while so I pulled it off to find the brake booster full of brake fluid. The intake also had been sucking brake fluid down through the booster vacuum line. I'm hoping that's what some of the exhaust smoke and a couple other issues were from. Got a new mstr cyl. and booster to put on it but got fixated on the wing. The booster came in different than the oem (another thread) but I reckon I'll put it on later this weekend or so anyway so that's all the braking gone through except new steel lines. Here's a few pics of the wing build so far for those that may go through it later. The wing bolt holes from Janak are filled with alum and glass in the uprights and have to be drilled to size. If not carefull it's not too hard to get them off center. It make a difference on how level the center section is with the uprights. I took the lumps and filed them down first to get a good flat surface and a center. I stepped drilled them up to 7/16" checking both sides to make sure they were parallel to the center wing as I went. I thought the threads were supposed to be 7/16-20 but the center section had 7/16-14 thds cut in them. I drilled it to the right tap size for 7/16-20 and re-tapped them. After assy. everything came out real good. Layout for the qtr mounts were next. In addition to what was done earlier I ended up making a direct cardboard template of the bottom wing studs to get the drill holes right. It sure took me longer than 2 hours but it was a learning experience. I haven't done the qtr. wing washer under side but it sure was a rush to see a partial wing car in the garage :icon_smile_big: Someone had long time before I got put the wing emblem without the Superbird letters on roof panel. Must have been an omen of things to come :yesnod: Enough typing and need to get to the booster. Here's a couple pics of the wing before drilling.
A couple more of it bolted togethor after drilling and re-tapping the center section to 7/16-20
Wing just sitting unbolted :drool5:. Hope it looks right.
Now for a question. Is the trunk lid supposed to clear the wing like this? Everything was mounted using the location templates I got from Janak and Perf Graphics. I got the stops for the hinges to put on but I thought it because of the trunk lid contacting the wing and catching the fingers.
no--they clear like that. find someone around you with a Daytona, open the trunklid as far as you can with your arm under the wing and it'll be painfully obvious why they used stops. :lol:
AND DON'T LEAVE THE KEYS IN THE LOCK CYLINDER!!!!
I was just told a couple of days ago that the main reason for the stops was to keep the front of the deck lid from hitting the plug. I don't have that problem on my 69 for some reason. ;D
My wing clears with less than an inch of clearance. Looks like you did a good job there. :2thumbs:
the keys dont go in the deck lid on 70's.
I was always led to believe the reason for the stops was the wing/lid clearence, iv only recently heard about clearence around the window. it dosent look like it would make a difference, but then again the lid cleared the wing too in posted pic. :shruggy:
Quote from: FJ5WING on March 22, 2009, 05:32:03 PM
the keys dont go in the deck lid on 70's.
I was always led to believe the reason for the stops was the wing/lid clearence, iv only recently heard about clearence around the window. it dosent look like it would make a difference, but then again the lid cleared the wing too in posted pic. :shruggy:
i have nostops on my lid , have pintched my fingers a couple times between the lid and the wing ,now I hold the latch loop when opening it
Quote from: FJ5WING on March 22, 2009, 05:32:03 PM
the keys dont go in the deck lid on 70's.
I was always led to believe the reason for the stops was the wing/lid clearence, iv only recently heard about clearence around the window. it dosent look like it would make a difference, but then again the lid cleared the wing too in posted pic. :shruggy:
I guess that's why I never had a problem with the keys being left in on the 70. It would definitely be a problem on the 69's. If I ever forget to remove them, I better have an extra set because they're definitely going to be bent or broken. Not to mention the damage it will do to the wing.
Never thought about this, but would an original, un-altered deck lid hit the wing on a Daytona?
Would somebody who owns a SuperBird please open the trunk, take a picture of the open decklid/back window plug clearance, and post it up here? Yeah, I know I sold my last 'Bird 26 years ago, but I'm not kidding, without the stops, the deck lid will contact the plug, and something is getting damaged. :brickwall:
Quote from: learical1 on March 22, 2009, 09:12:46 PM
Would somebody who owns a SuperBird please open the trunk, take a picture of the open decklid/back window plug clearance, and post it up here? Yeah, I know I sold my last 'Bird 26 years ago, but I'm not kidding, without the stops, the deck lid will contact the plug, and something is getting damaged. :brickwall:
There's NO WAY THAT THE DECKLID WILL EVER HIT THE WINDOW PLUG WITH OR WITHOUT THE STOPS ON A SUPERBIRD!! The stops are there to keep your hands from getting wedged or smashed between the decklid and the wing as you open it. Ken
Not mine but a pic I saved from one from somewhere. Is this what your wanting?
I went and took some pics in three stages of opening the deck lid and it actually gets farther away from the plug as it opens.
(http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL419/1016826/14889686/359094240.jpg)
(http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL419/1016826/14889686/359094298.jpg)
(http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL419/1016826/14889686/359094350.jpg)
FJ5 WING has the right idea with his photos. Now, look at a fully opened 70 roadrunner deck lid from the same angle.
Here's mine wide open. Speaking of trunks, look what I have to pull out and sort through to get rid of in it :eek2:.
Cool ! Hang in there-and BE persistent ! What a lucky man you are ! The General Approves !!! :laugh: :scratchchin:
OK, now look at the last picture FJ5WING posted and the first of the two oldcarnut just posted. Tell me you wouldn't get two puncture wounds in the plug or two bent ears on the decklid without the stops!
Hey learical1, I did a little more investigation on this subject today at the shop. I took a measurement from my 70 GTX with the trunk opened and 1 from my Superbird . As far as I can tell without having an extra plug to lay in the GTX's opening or removing the stops from my bird, There's still 3/8" -1/2" clearance between the trunk corners and the plug. BUT it's defiantly closer that I thought. Ken
Glen Peters' Petty repliracer didn't have the stops--it was a real bird but was rusted badly and needed a TON of metal replaced. his didn't hit.
If Pettybird saw a stopless plugged 'Bird that cleared the plug, I'll stop spreading the rumor. Mind you, I'd like to see it for myself, but I'll quit passing possibly bad info as fact.
The stops were there ,they were just put in sideways instead of up and down .I have seen two of these . :Twocents: Rick
Quote from: talkiemopar on March 24, 2009, 08:21:22 AM
The stops were there ,they were just put in sideways instead of up and down .I have seen two of these . :Twocents: Rick
nice. did the stops do anything, or were they just there? like, did they stop, just further up, or were they in a position where they were useless?
The trunk lid went up till it hit the sideways stops and it was well past the wing .That is why we looked at it to start with . :popcrn: Rick
it's much better without stops, easy to get stuff in the trunk
The time has flown by since March when I last messed with the wing. I took it off to do some other things and clear the trunk and now it's 6 months later. During that time though I have replaced the gas tank, exhaust system, shocks, tranny seals, and some other mechanical things while trying to get some time in for it. Put the braces on this weekend. The wing washers were not smooth on the top so I laid out some filler (pic) on it then bolted it up to squeeze it to the qtr panel contour for a better fit. Didn't want it sticking to the qtr. so I put some alum foil on the qtr, a little grease on the threads, and it seemed to work pretty good. Took it back off to clean and trim it up and check the fit and it was a much more solid feeling. Took off the foil and then installed 1/4" dowels in the uprights for center stops and ran a cable through the wing.
The wing setup is really stiff. Doesn't flex at all when pulling on it. I'll take it down the highway later to see how it does.
Pulled up the carpet for a look. They're in good shape.
Had some fun driving around with just the wing and watching the expressions on people. Noticed the temps were starting to run higher so a new extreme service fan clutch was ordered as the original was going bad. While it was off I did the bypass rewiring of the headlights with the relays page 3 http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,168.40.html which led to just going to check the rest of the wires out. Out came the dash and heater box too http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,60777.0.html
Here's a few pics of the heater box redo before and after.
A couple more and while I was at it, I redid the controls and cables. The bright spot is from the camera flash.
:o Wow, great deatil work. How did you do the letters so perfect on the heater controls?
Quote from: 1969chargerrtse on September 13, 2009, 06:42:24 AM
:o Wow, great deatil work. How did you do the letters so perfect on the heater controls?
Thanks. On the Fan and Temp since they were worn some and more of a "fill in" instead of "raised" type I used a combination of a razor blade and a very small Jewelers thin blade screw driver to apply the paint. Took several times of applying, slight drying, wiping/trimming, and added a little more until I was satisfied. The control section I did with a small tight pointed artist brush from Walmart. Both the blades and pointed brush helped a lot to keep from running over the letter edges and I used a desk mounted magnifier glass to paint it under. The ole eyes aren't what they used to be. For such a small area to cover it took me awhile. When I convert the car to A/C next year I guess someone will be able to get a reconded heater system if they need one.
nice job!
The dash covers had the paint and chrome worn off and ratty so I couldn't let them go back on after the control was done. Sprayed it with the chrome paint first and then taped off for the black. Found a white paint marker that worked for the letters. I didn't redo the gauge faces as my intention is to have a custom dash and new gauges installed later. Sure was nice to have the dash lights, heater functions, and the headlights all working as they should. That headlight relay system really made an improvement. The severe duty fan clutch I installed also makes a big difference. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/parts/partsProduct.jsp?displayName=Fan+Clutch&itemId=118-0&navValue=15200118&parentId=52-0&productId=689588&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=689588_141091_3018_&filterByKeyWord=fanclutch&categoryNValue=15299999&isSearchByPartNumber=false&categoryDisplayName=ClimateControl&store=1006&skuDescription=Torqflo/FanClutch&fromWhere=&searchText=fanclutch&_requestid=1189741. It costs more but I can feel a lot more airflow coming from it.
Next is the front end rebuild and alignment. I also need the dimensions for the hood. How long are the sides and the center lengths of the hood to the extension joint cut? I've asked a couple people but haven't got any info. yet. I did have it once where someone sent it to me a good while back but it got lost somewhere in the computor abyss of missing files.
Looking good. :2thumbs:
Seeing all of that hard work makes me wonder if I'm ready to tackle our Superbird project.
:drool5: Nice work David... Looking really nice :2thumbs:
Quote from: hotrod98 on September 21, 2009, 07:17:49 AM
Looking good. :2thumbs:
Seeing all of that hard work makes me wonder if I'm ready to tackle our Superbird project.
I think with all the good stuff you've done already the Bird should be a piece of cake for ya :yesnod: All I've done so far has been the simple things and common mechanical. I believe I haven't started the hard work yet. Just have to find the time.
Quote from: Musicman on September 21, 2009, 07:44:10 AM
:drool5: Nice work David... Looking really nice :2thumbs:
Thanks Guys for the encouragement :cheers:,
Mike, I've been doing a lot of reorganizing/cleaning to the garage since your and Darrell's visit. Will start on the backyard garage soon. Should be putting all that 66-67 stuff on ebay hopefully next week or two so on your next tour down here you won't have to be steppin over car parts and junk strewn about :rotz:.
Time for an update. I started replacing most all the suspension. Only thing I was leaving was the pitman arm. Figured while I had all the fenders and stuff off I may as well pull the motor too so I could go ahead and drop the k member out for a good refreshing and make it easier to paint the engine bay. May pull the tranny tonight or in the morn. Here's a pic of it on a homemade roller stand I made from a wore out boat trailer while I'm working on it. While I'm down to this point, does anyone have any other recommendations to do that would help with the cloning part before the suspension goes back and engine and bay area redone. After this I wanted to start on the Coronet fenders. I'm also having a tough time deciding about what to do for the engine. While it's out it would make sense to refresh it also before installing back but it's running ok right now. Seems like it might would be more of a pain once the conversion parts were mounted and run a risk of damaging something to do it later. I may have mentioned it before but the other decision is whether to buy the 440 from a coworker to rebuild for it instead or just keep the numbers matching 383 and use it. The 440 motor is from a 72-73 New Yorker. He said the motor was running when pulled a good while back but smoked some. It should at least have the unleaded gas heads. Also included is a complete 6 bbl setup from breather to linkage and a 727 tranny all for $1500. Haven't seen it yet and not positive what year or tranny the 6 bbl setup was originally for. I already have 2 spare 727 trans I should clear out plus 2 833's so I don't need another. Cost to build the 383 or the 440 shouldn't vary that much but I don't know if I want to fight the carb setup as much as I hear complaints about them. Maybe I outta buy it and sell the 6 pack and tranny then store the original 70 RR 383 :shruggy:. Back to the cloning, anything I should do now that will help later? David
Quote from: moparstuart on March 24, 2009, 01:48:13 PM
it's much better without stops, easy to get stuff in the trunk
DOES ANYONE REPRODUCE THE TRUNK STOPS???
Janak sent me some with the kit. Doesn't look like much to them. I'll post a pic later. Getting ready to leave to take a look at the other engine setup.
Is this the piece? Maybe Ted will seell you a set.
Just got back from an afternoon cruise and scored a few goodies for the RR. A friend of mine owed me some trades for a rear chunk he got from me about 5 years ago and wanted to clear out some stuff he had stored for a while to settle up. I picked up 2 new exterior door handles, 4 new chrome arm rest bases, a new repro 5pc dash face set, 4 new window cranks, new wiring harness clips for the inner fenders, 3 good used armrests, and another piece of interior trim. I told the other guy I'd buy the 440 motor from him. It had everything so I won't have to hunt down brackets etc. Here's a couple pics of the 6 bbl set up that goes with it. I feel like I'd done alright today.
nice scores :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
I found out after looking at them closer holding them next to mine that the dash pieces were for 69 Charger/ B-Body. It was for a thumbwheel radio and had the flasher switch place which the 70 doesn't have. Also the front arm rest pads and bases were the long ones like the Charger had I think. Dang it, I wish I had paid more attention :scope:. Oh well, maybe I can trade them off. They came from PG Classic
I haven't added a progress update in a while so here's a couple of pics. Time has been limited to get things done but the engine bay is done for now. I finally got to media blasting and repainting the engine bay. Should be picking up the 440 and 6bbl setup in the next 2 weeks. Took the doors off and rebuild the hinges. For the front I have completely rebuilt/replaced the suspension along with getting new torsion bars to put in later. Got larger T-Bars and went with the larger C-body steering components plus reinforced the control arms Installed new SS brake lines and hardware from disc to disc. Refreshed the wiper motor and replaced the deteriorated wire insulation coming from the motor. Rebuilt the wiper pivots. Cleaned out and refurbished the steering box with new seals and o-rings then replaced the steering coupler. Pretty much have a brand new front end. I have been remaking most of the misc. brackets out of stainless so no more rusting there.
A couple more
:drool5: :drool5: :drool5: :drool5: :drool5: nice progress
looks realy nice. who is the guy making the steel trunk stops??
Nice work also like the mini inspiration superbird by the fender tag :icon_smile_big:
Quote from: superbirdtom on June 04, 2010, 11:05:47 AM
looks realy nice. who is the guy making the steel trunk stops??
They came from Janak. Look easy enough to make.
Quote from: nascarxx29 on June 04, 2010, 11:06:33 AM
Nice work also like the mini inspiration superbird by the fender tag :icon_smile_big:
I show it to friends that come by so I can tell them what eventually it's going to look close to being like :icon_smile_big:.
:popcrn:
For the past few months I've been working on the nose cone and thought it might be a good time for some updates. Hope it's not too boring but since I haven't seen them posted before at least from my searches, I'm going to start with how some of the raw fiberglass parts came in just for the new folks like I was. If thinking about building a clone, they can have an idea of what to expect to get involved with. These parts were from Janak so they may have some options or differences from other vendors. I also put things together my own way that may or may not meet approvals of other builders but may present some alternate ideas to work from.
I started with the buckets. Here's the shell and the sides. As you can see, everything has to be cut out. Not my original plan but ended up using an electric motor to work the lights so no need to cut out the vacuum pod area. It would be good to have an idea of how you're going to work your lights ahead of time and base your assembly on that premise. I was going to try a pneumatic cylinder and either the motor or cylinder would have used the same setup I had thought about. Notice most of the parts had a dimple or some kind of locating mark where holes got drilled or cut out based I reckon from the originals they were made from. But, that didn't necessarily mean that it would work exactly right there so some adjustments were always necessary. Behind the shell are the pivot adjusters
Here's one assembled. I chose to use bolts. Didn't care for pop rivets and wanted to have the option of easier disassembly later if needed and felt like the bolts would do a better job for long term. I bolted pretty much everything with stainless when I had them. One thing I over did was the one side with all the little bolts. Started cutting the holes before I realized the marks were actually from original spot welds but at least it'll hold good. On another note, I used a pneumatic die and pencil grinder with a sharp pointed bit to cut out most of the holes and shapes. Using a drill seemed to want to flake off or rough tear on the exit side of the cut. The grinder left everything smooth and went right through. I suppose a Dremel tool would work the same
After the whole headlight bucket assy was completed I found it a little tight fitting around headlight opening in the cone. If I had to do it again I think I would put the shell in place and using just a few predrilled bolt holes in the side pieces, bolt it togethor where it was going to sit then remove it for the rest of the bolts. Probably would have gave me an easier time that way making adjustments without the tight fit. Unlike the metal shell, there's no bending as it's very rigid with little flexing once fastened togethor.
Now for the headlamp holders and pivot assemblies. These took a little time. First the raw parts.
After the dust settled here's what I had. I made new springs and bought new lamp adjuster anchors.
Some mods to the anchor bases were needed because of the glass thickness. I also ended up going back to re-trim the adjuster openings closer to the mold marks.
I added some bracing on the backside to the pivit arm brackets and face. I didn't have a lot of faith in it as it was. After everything was put in place, it actually was pretty firm
All bolted together with the pivots in place. The pivots were made from something else I'll touch on later. The mounting tabs at the lamp recesses had very uneven surfaces and don't mount very flush. The black pieces sandwiched in between and squished out a little are where I put in some very firm foam type rubber to fill in any voids and give more contact surface when bolted together. Somewhere there I think is supposed to be the vacuum pod brackets but since I didn't need them maybe someone can add a pic of one.
From the front with the light bases installed
Now for my pivots. I wanted and needed to use something else different. I came across a new Bosch windshield wiper assembly that fit my purposes. The 12mm shaft was close to original size with serrations and threads on one end to hold my linkages and with a mounting bracket on the other. The housings had bearing bushings and seals for long lasting wear. I removed and cut back the housings and welded them to pivot adjusters I made from aluminum. Heres a shot of them before I whittled them down some. How they mounted can be seen in the previous photos. Time for a break. Will post more later tonight
Nice work :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
Thanks Nascar.
After I got the buckets together and bolted in the nose I worked on the Z Brackets and the fit in the nose support brackets. There was a lot of room for error to get the alignment off which would affect the other pieces attaching to them also. The Z brackets had marked places to cut slots and holes in them but the nose support brackets didn't have any which left me wondering just where or how far in to put place the brackets and the corresponding bolts holes. Mike (Dayclona) advised to make sure I left a gap between the top of the Z and the nosecone surface so that any future heat warpage or shrinking wouldn't distort the cone surface. He also hooked me up with the special thin head bolts :cheers: I'm glad he mentioned that because I hadn't thought about it occurring. I used some thick cardboard and foam rubber to maintain a gap. Long story short of trial and error, I ended up cutting and attaching the rest of the parts (latch tray and metal frame brackets) all together with the cone for a mock fit. After I thought it looked about right and with clearance, I drilled the lower support locations.
The first real assembly issue I ran into was that the Z Brackets did not fit flush against both the lower supports and the bucket sides. I had a big ΒΌ" gap between the Z side and lower support which would have caused twisting or stressing if bolted up tight. One side was off more than the other. It wasn't anything I had done but the location of the lower support was not in the right place. I think with the glass parts thickness stacking up and not being compensated for, it moves where the sides end up verses where it would be with stock thinner sheet metal. Other cloners mentioned they had this same problem with their fiberglass noses. A couple pics of the gaps. 1st pic shows one side gap. 2nd & 3rd shows the shims I made to make it even and use for extra supports to put on both sides of the brackets to stiffen things up and support. I did this to both sides and it made a big difference.
Nest thing I did to the Z Brackets for some strengthening was add some about 1/16 "stainless sheet metal to the insides. Also another view of the lower support bracing.
Well with everything bolted up and aligned, it was time to figure out the light movement. A friend of mine gave me an electric motor from an 86 Porsche 944. They used only one motor for both lights and also had springs on the linkages to overcome so I figured it would be plenty strong enough to work mine especially with the leverage I built in and no springs. I fabbed up the linkages I needed to join both together and made adjustments to get the stop positions good. The motor stops are set in the motor and nonadjustable so I had to build the linkages to do it. The motor also has a knob on the back for manual operation. I just got to find where I set it down. I'll access it through the bottom sheet metal if it fails one day. Here's a few pics of the linkage. Tested it out and it works great. Hopefully this weekend I can the light harness extension done and motor wired in to work off the switch. I posted this video on another thread but will have a better one when completed. Give it about 10secs to start showing the motor working
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkabXG8tDlQ
clever idea :yesnod: nice work :cheers:
:2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
:drool5: :drool5: :drool5: :drool5: very nice work
I really like the way you did the headlight motor...... Very smoooth operation. If I hadnt already set mine up for the factory stuff I would have likely been bugging you for stuff to do it that way. Great job!
Thanks all! Best benefit was since I made my own parts that the whole setup was cost free made from scrapped alum, donated rod ends and motor :icon_smile_big: I just hope it ends up working out on the long haul but I see no reason for it not too.
:2thumbs: :drool5: :cheers:
i've seen other electric lights but yours seem to go up and down effortlessly :2thumbs:
Dave, they work great, nice job. :cheers:
Im doing this can i copy ya?
Quote from: randr on October 11, 2010, 07:55:55 PM
Im doing this can i copy ya?
Sure why not :yesnod: Thats part of the benefit of sharing ideas. Have any detail questions feel free to send me a pm
David
Wow with all olur clones out there..pretty soon there will be more S birds than mustangs :smilielol:
Quote from: dreamcatcher on October 12, 2010, 07:32:50 AM
Wow with all olur clones out there..pretty soon there will be more S birds than mustangs :smilielol:
:smilielol: :smilielol: :smilielol:
Its been about 4 months since I last posted so a little progress report. Unfortunately it's just that-a little-as not much time has been available to do any work on it. My engine machine work has been completed and 90% of the parts delivered. My restored 6 pack carbs should be arriving in the next week or so and Jamey (RD) is finishing up my tranny. The Ebay fender I bought from someone in Ohio hopefully will be here in a few weeks when they come down for vacation at Hilton Head. I started fabbing up my stainless dash and nose trim. Posted the rough cut 11g. (1/8") pics so I could show a before and after when it's done. I have almost finished the glove box piece but it's currently on a trip to hopefully get autographed :icon_smile_cool: . After a seemingly long wait it seems like things are slowly coming back together around the same time. I started selling off some extra and non needed stuff on Ebay to generate some funding and made a good score on an old Cobra Accelerometer I had since a teen. Gonna post some wants for some more items I need and trades shortly in the classifieds like the new 69 dash pieces I can't use, a set of dog dishes, and some other things. My directions with this project has turned and twisted in its creation as I go so I guess I will not be able to call it a clone but maybe a custom tribute :lol:
it's like 10 degrees here and we're covered in snow, but if someone wants the wiper motor out of my 944 parts car they can have it for shipping cost (like $12). Just don't expect it anytime in the next week or two.
waitaminute... it's FREE but you have to fetch it at my national meet! :o
Quote from: pettybird on February 02, 2011, 11:16:07 PM
it's like 10 degrees here and we're covered in snow, but if someone wants the wiper motor out of my 944 parts car they can have it for shipping cost (like $12). Just don't expect it anytime in the next week or two.
Did you mean the headlights motor when you said wiper motor? Today we had 76* and it was nice outside :2thumbs:. Tomorrow its back to the 30 and 40's :'(.
Quote from: pettybird on February 02, 2011, 11:19:37 PM
waitaminute... it's FREE but you have to fetch it at my national meet! :o
I'll pick it up with my polara hub caps
Getting a little more done on the dash piece. Still collecting parts for the engine build. I've gone way past on my motor budget what I intended to do so I hope it turns out worth it.
I really like the stainless dash, it came out nice. :cheers:
Not trying to derail the thread, but a while back I had a bunch of issues with a GE refrigerator. It's one of the barn door models with the freezer on the bottom, & it's stainless. I had door alignment problems that was finally resolved by GE sending me doors & doors, & more doors, until a set finally fit. They didn't want the old doors back, so now I have like 6 extra doors.
I'm trying to remove the flat stainless face from the rest of the door without damage to salvage the large sheet to do the same thing, make a dash trim set. :lol:
If the one door is enough to make a dash set, & I don't ruin it, I'll be willing to send whoever else wants a door for just the shipping fees. It's already packed in a cardboard box. :Twocents:
I still have some surface finish sanding to do on it after I drill some more holes for the gage programmers, indicator lights, and countersinking the mount holes. I'm glad I bought the special clear coat paint to put on it as it will show up finger prints if I don't. The panel is 1/8" thick so I could weld on the backside parts. I had it cut out on a waterjet machine so if something ever happens to it at least I can get them to pop out another. Its amazing how fast them machines slice through it like butter. I have a lot of 304 stainless sheetmetal in the garage that I got for super cheap so that's why a lot of my misc. stuff is made from it instead of regular steel. My glove box piece is still out on the road to be signed. The radio plate will have to be done after I figure what kind of radio I buy for it. I had to send my piston rods back for reworking the resizing on them. Before he presses them on the new pistons again I told him I want to send the rotating assy off to be balanced. My goal this weekend is to get the dash plate finished, cam brgs pressed in the block, and get a wish list inventory on what else I need to buy to complete the engine build. First weekend in a while to be able to work on anything.
In for a trial fit and slipped right in after cuting in the bottom center steering wheel clearance.
:cheers: Looks cool, Dave.
Got my glove box pieces back tonight. Had a friend that services some of our equipment at the plant that was able to get Richard Petty's autograph on them for me. Dennis brought them to plant this evening for me and it made my night :yesnod: Been stoked up about since he said he might could get it done for me so if you ever read this Dennis a big thanks to ya :cheers:
Started readying my engine build after getting most of the parts in and machine work done. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,74470.0.html Hadn't really had much time to get anything else done on the car for awhile and watching some of ya'll make the progress your getting done just helps me get motivated. I'm going to experiment on another piece of steel with the clear coating an autograph before I do this one like I did the gauge panel. I'd go nuts if I made Petty's autograph deteriorate from it.
Nice job on the dash!
Hi all, it's been a while since I posted any updates and the reason is there hasn't really been much progress other than the dash. Engine parts delivered but its all been just sitting on the shelf for months. My mother got sick in Dec and then weak very quickly over several months starting from March and eventually it was all my dad could do to take care of her so we helped where we were able. She had to be hospitalised a few weeks ago then was finally diagnosed with Leukemia and too weak to get better. We took her home to spend her last days where on June 2nd she passed away. Although it was hard to see her in that way, I'm glad I was present when she took her last breath :'(. June 3rd would have been her 76th birthday. On top of that my dad got a call the next day that his sister 90yrs old had passed on also--a double whammy. I just let most of the car things drop the past months during that time frame to take care of more important stuff.
I was wondering if anyone lived in the Columbus, OH 43213 area? I bought a Coronet fender from a guy on Ebay who said he was coming on vacation nearby me in SC and if I could wait a month or so he would bring it too me in Feb. 100% feedback, conversation, an address and a phone number I thought it wouldn't be a big deal and would save some bucks on shipping so I paid him. In April I told him I needed to get it here and he said he would get shipping costs for me. That's the last responce I've been able to get from him. With the issues at home going on, time went by quick and I just didn't keep up with it like I should have. I don't want to feel like I got taken but the no responces have got me antsy. Ebay said it's too far back for them to do anything. Told me to write IC3.gov for help with it but I really want the fender instead. He owns a body shop and a 70 Superbee or RT. I thought he restored cars there too but not sure. Anyway if someone lives in that area nearby that wouldn't mine just driving by and checking the address out for me I'd appreciate it. Send me a pm. I may have some friends up the street that have visitors from Ohio that would bring it but if not I may have to pay someone to pick it and ship it to me. Thanks, David
sorry about your mom
oh noo sorry to hear about your mom
Thanks Guys!
I'm really wanting to get back to working the Bird soon. I've seen the other folks just making so much progress on theirs in a short time frame.
Quote from: oldcarnut on June 05, 2011, 10:21:59 PM
Hi all, it's been a while since I posted any updates and the reason is there hasn't really been much progress other than the dash. Engine parts delivered but its all been just sitting on the shelf for months. My mother got sick in Dec and then weak very quickly over several months starting from March and eventually it was all my dad could do to take care of her so we helped where we were able. She had to be hospitalised a few weeks ago then was finally diagnosed with Leukemia and too weak to get better. We took her home to spend her last days where on June 2nd she passed away. Although it was hard to see her in that way, I'm glad I was present when she took her last breath :'(. June 3rd would have been her 76th birthday. On top of that my dad got a call the next day that his sister 90yrs old had passed on also--a double whammy. I just let most of the car things drop the past months during that time frame to take care of more important stuff.
I was wondering if anyone lived in the Columbus, OH 43213 area? I bought a Coronet fender from a guy on Ebay who said he was coming on vacation nearby me in SC and if I could wait a month or so he would bring it too me in Feb. 100% feedback, conversation, an address and a phone number I thought it wouldn't be a big deal and would save some bucks on shipping so I paid him. In April I told him I needed to get it here and he said he would get shipping costs for me. That's the last responce I've been able to get from him. With the issues at home going on, time went by quick and I just didn't keep up with it like I should have. I don't want to feel like I got taken but the no responces have got me antsy. Ebay said it's too far back for them to do anything. Told me to write IC3.gov for help with it but I really want the fender instead. He owns a body shop and a 70 Superbee or RT. I thought he restored cars there too but not sure. Anyway if someone lives in that area nearby that wouldn't mine just driving by and checking the address out for me I'd appreciate it. Send me a pm. I may have some friends up the street that have visitors from Ohio that would bring it but if not I may have to pay someone to pick it and ship it to me. Thanks, David
whats his information...I live in marysville ohio which is just north of columbus...I have alot of mopar friends...we might be able to track them down..sorry about your mom also...
My mother and step father were murdered a couple years ago...i was restoring my challenger at the time and thank god i had that to fill my spare time. so sorry about your loss!
Quote from: randr on June 06, 2011, 06:16:02 PM
My mother and step father were murdered a couple years ago...i was restoring my challenger at the time and thank god i had that to fill my spare time. so sorry about your loss!
wow so sorry to hear that :rotz:
whats his information...I live in marysville ohio which is just north of columbus...I have alot of mopar friends...we might be able to track them down..sorry about your mom also...
[/quote]
Sent ya a pm
Quote from: randr on June 06, 2011, 06:16:02 PM
My mother and step father were murdered a couple years ago...i was restoring my challenger at the time and thank god i had that to fill my spare time. so sorry about your loss!
I'm also sorry to hear you had to go through that. I have a cousin in England that was just murdered a couple months ago and my Aunt and her family are going through a hard time with it.
thanks. My point was keep working on the project when you can. :)
Quote from: mpdlawdog on June 06, 2011, 12:15:21 PM
whats his information...I live in marysville ohio which is just north of columbus...I have alot of mopar friends...we might be able to track them down..sorry about your mom also...
I got a responce back. Sounds like he has got a lot of stuff going on too and short on time. "the fender is at a business address although I'm not using it except for storage. 112 E. main st. hebron ohio 43025. I would need a couple days notice to meet someone there. thx bill"
Is that address close local to anyone here? Marysville I think is over an hour one way and that's too much to inconvenience anyone that much. I'm going to have to arrange some shipping to pick it up but it might be easier if I could get somebody local closer that had room to pick it up that I could trust and be able to stay in contact with better for arrangements. If not I'll just contact a shipper and see what I can work out with him. Also anyone got any recommendations who to ship it with. I took a fender to the UPS place for an estimate to that address and they wanted something like $200 to ship :eek2:. I have some local freight lines I'm going to call. Thanks, David
Quote from: oldcarnut on June 12, 2011, 03:19:18 PM
Quote from: mpdlawdog on June 06, 2011, 12:15:21 PM
whats his information...I live in marysville ohio which is just north of columbus...I have alot of mopar friends...we might be able to track them down..sorry about your mom also...
I got a responce back. Sounds like he has got a lot of stuff going on too and short on time. "the fender is at a business address although I'm not using it except for storage. 112 E. main st. hebron ohio 43025. I would need a couple days notice to meet someone there. thx bill"
Is that address close local to anyone here? Marysville I think is over an hour one way and that's too much to inconvenience anyone that much. I'm going to have to arrange some shipping to pick it up but it might be easier if I could get somebody local closer that had room to pick it up that I could trust and be able to stay in contact with better for arrangements. If not I'll just contact a shipper and see what I can work out with him. Also anyone got any recommendations who to ship it with. I took a fender to the UPS place for an estimate to that address and they wanted something like $200 to ship :eek2:. I have some local freight lines I'm going to call. Thanks, David
I was just that way yesterday going to my inlaws house..I go 70 to 33 to athens ohio...let me know what you want to work out....I will help you out
Quote from: mpdlawdog on June 13, 2011, 08:56:14 AM
I was just that way yesterday going to my inlaws house..I go 70 to 33 to athens ohio...let me know what you want to work out....I will help you out
Sent ya pm. Thanks
Whats with the blue intake? Is that a 72 6 pack manifold?
That was how I bought it. Without taking the carbs off to re check I think it was a 69 1/2 alum intake or 70. Here it is redone after powder coating. I'm going to have to find the correct tranny linkage and cable now so I've been informed as my 383 linkage wont work right. I made my own fuel log out of stainless.
Oh ok j/w :D , sorry to hear about the tough time your having my condolences to your family , my uncle passed back in november under similar circumstances , its amazing how quickly it happens . Hope all is well and good luck on the project looks like she"ll be sweet :) -Matt
Quote from: oldcarnut on June 14, 2011, 01:41:25 PM
Quote from: mpdlawdog on June 13, 2011, 08:56:14 AM
I was just that way yesterday going to my inlaws house..I go 70 to 33 to athens ohio...let me know what you want to work out....I will help you out
Sent ya pm. Thanks
I gave you a call yesterday and left my number....I am leaving for vacation tomorrow...ask the guy if I could pick it up on thursday when I get back...Let me know... Dave
Hi Dave
I was off-line for quite a while with this road job and just started getting back to some of the forums and previous threads this month.
I was so sorry to hear of all your recent troubles and losses at home. It's good to see that you are back at it again with the car however, and that the work is once again progressing at your usual highly detailed pace.
Mike
Gonna finish this year out with a progress update which is basically not much progress since the last no progress :slap: Thanks to Dave (mpdlawdog) I did finally got my fender last week :2thumbs:. I did make some see through valve covers for the motor when it gets put together.
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,85589.0.html
I am thinking of getting the interior from Legendary while the sale is on and soliciting some opinions. I have an idea about getting the white bench seat covers and white door panels. Instead of just solid white, I'm contemplating having them do the accent stripe in as close to the paint blue as possible. I should be getting samples soon. Would be like the blk w/silver stripe only white w/blue. They said they would do it Its a toss up for the blk or wht headliner but will probably go blk with the carpet. Anyone seen this done before and how do you think it'll look with the blue accenting?
Most of the time I've either been working weekends or repairing the couple of rentals I have. One the tenants moved out and trashed it :flame: which took a while and now in the other he has moved out. I'm going to try and sell it so I have been getting it all up dated, repaired, and repainted. After my mother passed , and thanks all for condolences posted, we found out my father has some lung cancer so we try and help him out as much as we can since the chemo and radiation has him weak and tired.
Needed some distraction so I came to see where I left off on my last post only to see that I'm burying my father in the morning and still on the same page as when I had to bury my mother 10 months earlier. Not to get on a lecture stand but suffice enough to offer that if your smoking you will do yourself a favor by quitting if you can. My dad would be still around had he done so years ago. It was heart breaking to know that someone as independent as he was, feeling helpless needing almost care for everything his last few months of life. I made some stands to hold his Military Honors :patriot: shells for my brothers and sister. Since I was getting the service flag, I thought I'd make something for them to go with a flag of their own. The rental work was completed and now up for sale. I would have liked to have been able to complete my car for him to see while alive but I guess it just wasn't meant to be with so many obstacles in the way. You guys are still some inspiration watching how fast they are getting completed.
I did get my interior shipped and I liked how it turned out. Once the seats are finished at the upholstery shop I'll take some pics of it. My drink holders got done in this thread. Just worked on it during some slack time at work. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,88417.0.html
I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Quote from: mpdlawdog on April 07, 2012, 08:28:01 AM
I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
I couldnt have said it better.
Sorry to hear about your Dad there Dave. Both of my parents have moved on as well, so I know where your coming from. Life will be a little different for you now, but life remains... just keep moving forward as you always have. Your on your own now, but it's important to remember that you will never be alone. Mom & Pop live on still, in your heart, your mind, and your spirit. They are part of you know, and will always be there as you carve out your own trail in life.
Take care my friend
Mike
Thanks guys for the words. I'm hoping after getting through the probate system I can get back on the car. Here's a pic of the white door panels with the blue accent. Seats were done the same way
Bought a couple of H3 headrests from ebay to see about using them instead of the stock type. I'm 6'7" tall so they'll probably fit me better anyway plus it was a lot cheaper than buying repops and having to dye them the right shade. They'll be recovered in the same extra seat material I ordered with the rest of the interior. Hopefully they'll work out. I was thinking of getting them embroidered with the Plymouth word or one of the 2 emblems in the pic. I'm open to any other ideas for that too if someone has a thought.
Also sorry to hear about your losses. My prayers for the Lord's peace for you and your family.
Good luck on the car, the door panels look cool! It will get finished, all in due time.
Dave
Having Plymouth embroidered on the headrests shouldn't be a problem... The little emblems on the other hand :shruggy:
Myself, I don't see the headrests as being the place for this kind of work. The upper portion of the seat backs yes, but the headrests :shruggy: You never know, I could probably Photoshop something for you if you like.
Mike
Thanks Dave. Mike that would be cool if you have time. Somewhere in the house I have some roadrunner patches if I can find them to see what they would look like by themselves. Here's one from a Charger. Worst that can happen if they don't look right after its done I get them remade or go back to stock. I have plenty of material.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2006-Dodge-Charger-OEM-leather-seat-covers-w-R-T-headrest-embroidery-Lt-Grey-/170826520729?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item27c60dd899
Found out from the upholsterer I have to repair a broke spring and a couple other things. One of them is locating some better seat back emblems. Need at least 3. Can't find any repops so in lieu of making them, anybody got a source or have some good extras to sell?
I repaired the springs then got any rust off the seat frames, cleaned them up, and painted and back to the upholster. No responses or sources for the emblems so I made my own set out of stainless. I think they came out decent. Here's the result.
Outstanding job as usual Dave :2thumbs:
Thanks, forgot to mention the original one is in the center of pic
Quote from: Musicman on April 07, 2012, 10:24:06 AM
Sorry to hear about your Dad there Dave. Both of my parents have moved on as well, so I know where your coming from. Life will be a little different for you now, but life remains... just keep moving forward as you always have. Your on your own now, but it's important to remember that you will never be alone. Mom & Pop live on still, in your heart, your mind, and your spirit. They are part of you know, and will always be there as you carve out your own trail in life.
Take care my friend
Mike
That is so true,there is so much more to life than we know and be assured our loved ones are always with us and are aware of what we are doing. Peace man...
Thanks guys. Things are a lot different now in ways I wouldn't have thought. I needed a change of something and didn't know what it was and bought this 70 Chally today. Still question myself on the decision but it was good to go out for the drive and get out of the area for the day. Needs a little bit of wiring straightened out and some other things but figured it would be something I could drive around until I get the RR back on track. Got mixed feelings on the little rear window though. Looks good on the outside but small to see out back of from the inside. The wife likes it and may end up driving it more than me. I guess the SE options appeal to her. This car was across the street from where gymrat bought the two Superbirds in SC woods thread. Odd that the guy said he never knew or met Harry even though he had this Chally since 99 and lived right across the road but back a ways. Anyway it'll take my mind off things while I spend an hour or so a week to get it up in good shape and still be able to drive it at the same time. Here's after I got it home and before off the trailer. Except for mine having 440 six pack emblems and dark green interior its almost like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=8tn1_LqcAZc&feature=endscreen
nice looking e-body. pretty cool story about the location.
nice score great car , great color
Nice looking Challenger, Dave. :cheers:
I need to get back on track with my car projects, too. ::)
Have you ever bought something that circumstances almost fought you beforehand to not be able to get it? I had quite a few in trying to make this deal happen. Sometimes I think I should have listened to the signs that were presenting themselves that this Challenger should have gone to someone else. Maybe the powers that be were just trying to warn me and help me out but I was being persistently hard headed :slap: Anyway I'm not going to hijack my own thread on it and may start one in a different forum but the monkeyed up stuff I've found so far just on the wiring makes me wonder sometimes about the people that try to work on their or somebody Else's cars. Just one sample of something I found was house wiring used for the electric fuel pump which also has no regulator or return line and runs non stop in any key position. The wth list is growing and will eventually get fixed but use up more time than I thought before I drive it which I could have put towards the clone. There was no brake fluid in one half and almost empty in the other section of the master cylinder yet he took me for a test drive before loading it up at some pretty high speeds :eek2:. Ooh and no emergancy brake cables either. Ok that was two samples
just keep telling yourself that you love old cars over and over again.........it has worked for me so far.....the charger is still in the garage dispite all the problems.....the smile she puts on my face when i drive her doesnt hurt either! you will get the bugs worked out!
Got my seats back today along with the headrests. I made all new similar headrest hardware but with a little smaller dia hole for the headrest poles to give a good snug fit. Still undecided on whether to get them embroidered or not. The guy was supposed to make them removable and said he would redo it if I decided to pursue it. A good portion of the problems with the Chally has been taken care of to start driving it regular so I'm going to try and get back on the project.
looking great! glad to hear you have had some time to start back on it....and the challenger mess too!
Oh look kids.... Daddy bought two new sofas for the living room! :cheers:
Quote from: Musicman on July 26, 2012, 06:50:16 PM
Oh look kids.... Daddy bought two new sofas for the living room! :cheers:
Well you know a guy has to coordinate that decor stuff with the new headliner err ummm table top cover :smilielol:
I know a few guys around here (myself included) who have decorated their homes with various new & used car parts. :lol:
Almost another year gone by. I went by a car show Sat and talked with a guy that had a Bird clone he had just recently finished. Said he'd been on it for 7 years. Still wasn't totally completed yet but he was driven it. Got me motivated a little bit so I went home and everything else I needed to do got ignored and I messed with cleaning up the garage and working the project for the day. A few weeks back I installed the motor from the Chally shown earlier and the rebuilt tranny done a couple years ago but all the accessories, brackets, exhaust, etc. needed installed. The 440 that was in the Challenger is a fairly strong engine so I kept it to put in the Bird until I got the intended engine built. At least that would allow me to work on other things and get the new tranny and carbs running and set up to swap over when its done. Made the motor mount upgrade on new mounts before the install so hopefully no more separating. I sold the Challenger after putting in the 400 and transferring the bling to it. The ac stuff had to stay with it too but I did keep all the nice BPE mounts and pulleys after fabbing some others to replace them. I also kept the new 3 core radiator I was going to put on it. The hoses will be opposite now but at least the oil filter will be more accessible. So I got the rad, fan, and some other things put on Sat.. I was able to get the much bigger fan from the 75 Newport that the 400 came from to mount up with clearance. I'm hoping this will draw in more air. The new master cyl. put on a years(s) back had started leaking from sitting so I replaced it again. I want to run A/C but trying to decide to buy it now from auto classic air and go ahead and install it while the dash and nose is all off. Is anybody running their kit on their car? How's it working out for engine temps? Doesn't sound like much but I feel better about getting any work done on it at all. Just when I was beginning to see some time at the end of the tunnel, I have another renter skip out on me and mess the house up :brickwall: so before I go visit the England for a couple weeks next month I got to get it back in order/rented.
:coolgleamA: :2thumbs: :popcrn:
Looks great! Keep going.... :2thumbs:
I agree - keep going. ;) Lookin' good.
Love the idea of cutting the core support. I have wanted to do that sooooo many times. Glad someone did it. They should have came this way.
Dane
Looking good Dave! :2thumbs:
Quote from: Daytona Guy on May 29, 2013, 01:36:35 AM
Love the idea of cutting the core support. I have wanted to do that sooooo many times. Glad someone did it. They should have came this way.
Dane
I was wondering how long it would take to be noticed and brought up. I already can feel the :slap: from a few but it took a lot of talking myself into it and it sure made things so much easier since I usually don't have anyone around to help me. I'll post some pics later but I made some brackets to reattach and it didn't lose any rigidity or support from what I can see. I'll be swapping that motor out when the other gets built so it will come in use again. I guess I could have used the suspension route from underneath but I chose to do it this way.
I've swapped engines into two cars with the core support cut similar to yours, and there really is no easier way! makes for a quick and easy swap in or out - especially if your doing it alone! :2thumbs:
Well I have been cleaning up the dumping grounds that's occurred in my garage for last couple years with no attention/time available to give to it. Now getting back in the groove after being disgusted with what had become of my project (pic). Sent several loads of junk to the dump and a truck load of scrap metal turned in then I cleaned the RR off and tried to focus on what to do next. I'm planning on adding aftermarket AC to it later so I figured I'd use an AC dash frame and get it ready while putting the existing one back together stock and get the engine wired and cranked. Put a connection plug on the nose headlight wiring that will plug directly into the RR existing wiring for easy removal/install. Felt good to get a step forward on it again. Pics are the dash frame to use and the old one in the car currently before working on them. The new one will get changed to black and 70 dash plastic instead of the 69 pc's on it.
Hey, it's good hear that you are back it again Dave! Looking forward to the progress pic's. :cheers:
how did that fender work out? Good to see you getting back to the bird!
Hardest part is getting re started on a project that sits for a while. I have no doubt you will get back in to the full swing in no time. Everything looks great so far. :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
Quote from: mpdlawdog on November 06, 2014, 05:24:12 PM
how did that fender work out? Good to see you getting back to the bird!
Well its doing a great job leaning up against the engine from the RR :lol:
Quote from: Stevearino on November 06, 2014, 06:14:54 PM
Hardest part is getting re started on a project that sits for a while. I have no doubt you will get back in to the full swing in no time. Everything looks great so far. :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
Thanks guys. Whats going to be more harder is figuring out where I have put all the bolts etc that were removed so long ago and how it goes back together :scratchchin:
I had planned on building a extra dash to switch out but found out after some work was already accomplished the 69 frame wont work for the new 70 pads I bought :brickwall: Now I have a nice redone 69 with no place to go. Reckon I'll Ebay it off or something. Soo tonight I pulled the windshield and started removing the RR dash for rebuild. Kinda wanted to keep all the Burnt Orange pieces original but really what would be the point cause I'm not going to convert it back.
nice projet :cheers:
:cheers: :cheers: :popcrn:
Your right Dave, that fender is doing an outstanding job! :2thumbs:
:lol:
:2thumbs: :yesnod: :cheers: :popcrn:
Just a little update. About got the dash done. Refinished, new pads, brushed stainless faceplates and A/C vents cut and installed. Still have the center plate to do where the radio was and one more custom mod. Center A/C vents on hold for now. Radio is not going back in but will be mocking up a clock and charging ports for USB devices. Also working on a holder for the smartphone or gps.
Looks great Dave!
Lovin' that dash. :yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod:
Thanks guys Old Moparz that dash pad I got from you turned out great :2thumbs: only it's not green anymore
this beautifull
Quote from: oldcarnut on November 21, 2014, 02:57:39 PM
Thanks guys Old Moparz that dash pad I got from you turned out great :2thumbs: only it's not green anymore
:cheers: I was wondering if that was the same pad.
What did you specifically use to dye it? I have a blue one for my Satellite that's in nice shape but I need to redo the lower pads & will probably do all of them at the same time with the horn pad so they match. :shruggy:
I used SEM color coat Laudau Black 15013 Got a little camera flash on the pics
Wow!! :drool5:
Quote from: oldcarnut on November 21, 2014, 05:58:02 PM
I used SEM color coat Laudau Black 15013 Got a little camera flash on the pics
That looks really good, like a new pad. :2thumbs:
Thanks for letting me know. :cheers:
Your welcome. I appreciate you letting it go. Got my glove box liner from Classic today and what a piece of tore up junk it was. Called them up and sent some pics. I hope they do something about it. Can't believe they would even send it out to a customer. Ordered a cobalt blue auto meter clock for the center plate and will try to finish off the holes etc this weekend.
Dave,
The dash looks awesome! Nice job!
Center plate drilled for parts and sized to fit the other plates tonight. Clock due in Tues and chargers came in late this week. Below it looks rough but hopefully will finish up same as the others.
Clock finally came in yesterday. It's a fairly close match to the gauges. Made some bezels for the usb & 12V chargers I got off Ebay to also go with the others and bolted everything in. Different looking for sure but I'm satisfied with the appearance. I reckon I'll pull the wiring harness out the car and get them all connected next
:2thumbs:
Lookin good.
looks cool! :cheers:
:2thumbs: :coolgleamA:
Oh Yeah! :2thumbs:
:cheers:
Quote from: oldcarnut on November 28, 2014, 09:54:20 PM
Got my glove box liner from Classic today and what a piece of tore up junk it was. Called them up and sent some pics. I hope they do something about it. Can't believe they would even send it out to a customer.
Thanks and thought I'd update about the glove box liner. Classic did send me another after checking the pics I sent them so I'll say their customer service was great and had no problems fixing it. Didn't even want the first one back :2thumbs:. As for the liners they carry, they are not as nice. They're made by this company http://www.repops.com/ The folded bends rip the outside surfaces along the fold and whatever process used to do it tears the paper on the inside in various places. Both pieces I got were like that and according to the sales rep, that's just the way they get them. Sitting side by side against the R.E.M liner I already had but for a 69, it's no comparison. Sooo if I had to do it again, I wouldn't buy one from a vender that sold the RePops brand. They might be cheaper by a few dollars but lack in finish quality.
I bought a 70 318 Challenger SE a while back that had been cloned into a 440 RT. I kept the motor to use temporarily in my project until the new motor gets built. Besides being a pretty good performance built engine, it also had some nice aftermarket pulleys, ps, brackets, a/c, and electrical items. Later sold the Chally after swapping in a 400 and putting the a/c compressor back on the 400. I also had a brand new radiator I kept too. The water pump housing and radiator has the inlet/outlet hoses on the opposite sides of the 70 RR which was ok thinking I wouldn't have the lower hose blocking the oil filter so much and I had everything new to make the swap. Why waste it? Since the a/c compressor is gone with the chally, I made an idler pulley adapter setup this past weekend for the current pulley and belt configurations until I add the A/C to the clone. Just used a water pump bearing assy pressed into a machined stainless pipe and clamped into the bracket I fabbed up. Worked out good. Now I need to locate the upper hose to use and begin getting the rest of the engine ready to crank. Can't say I like the way that hose is routed though. The green bay has the compressor and hose in the Chally. The other is the motor in the RR with the pulley adapter and no hose. Just about ready to pull the trigger on getting a steel window plug from Donc1 because I'm using a real glass window and maybe the hood extension too.
Completed gutting the interior of the RR, took out any surface rust and began repainting. I removed the rear window and started cleaning out all the sealer and glued rubber from the channel. That was a time consumer and then moved on to taking out the qtr window assy's to replace broken rollers. Found out the lift arms were bent or bowed a good bit from someone in the past forcing the window to close or open. That was another tough job and a few cuts on the arm trying to get that out. Now debating whether to try and get some undamaged crank assy's or try and bend the twists out straight and less bow and hope it doesn't start binding up again. Also ordered the window plug minus the triangle indents and a steel hood extension from DonC1. Sent him a pattern of the real glass window I had just to make sure of the fit. Will have to figure what I'm going to do with Janek's plug, window, and triangle pieces after build. Wonder how much crank pressure it took to bend it that much in the pic?
Someone really really wanted to move that window up or down. That's crazy.
By the way.More pictures please. :yesnod: :yesnod:
Signed today for an auto-body repair and paint class. 8wks long, one day a week for $120 which included supplies. Pretty good deal at the trade school I thought and I could use some formal training since I never had any before. They will let you bring your parts or car to the class and work on your own things for training so I started modifying the fenders for the valance because the rest of the fenders needs work. Here's how I did the first one and with a little variation do the second. I bent a long piece of flat bar the shape contour of the whole valance. I also bent a short length for the cut off area. Just for comparison, I checked it against the other one and it was different so I will have to re-bend the bar to fit the second one when I'm done. After marking off the flange cut line, it got cut off. I trimmed off the small bent curve of one side and cut a line in the wheel well end then bent the tab so the flange would be able to fold at the line. The flat bar was clamped in place for the crease line and flange bending started with a wide vice grip sandwiching the short and long flat bar on either side. Finished it off with c-clamps and a little fine tuning with a hammer and dolly. The wheel well section will get welded so that the bent flange and well flange are joined even though the factory picture I referenced just showed an angle cut away from the well flange leaving it open. Fit it all up and seems to be ok but you can tell me what ya think. Did the original mod have anything between the valance and fender flanges when bolted together?
more
Difference between the two valance contours :shruggy:
I just wanted to say - I think you are doing a beautiful car! With the "fear" of driving an original matching numbers car - I'm becoming far more inclined to "do what makes you happy" and I simply love EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR CAR! Fantastic workmanship and just a beautiful eye.
If you ever get tired of it - I won't be! That's a promise!
Nice work. I would assume the difference between the two contours is due to making the molds from hand made superbird conversion parts??
Thanks for the kind words Rainbow4jd :cheers: It will be different for sure.
Quote from: Hemi Runner on February 23, 2015, 06:13:25 PM
Nice work. I would assume the difference between the two contours is due to making the molds from hand made Superbird conversion parts??
I don't why it was different but I'm glad I checked before cutting. How much difference was there with yours?
I don't have a valance yet so I didn't even worry about any differences. I will be making mine myself so I can make it to match any uneven contours. Mine won't look stock underneath as my valance will incorporate a tray under the dry sump pan to contain any mess in the event of bad stuff happening while on the track. It will be a 5 piece valance.
:2thumbs:
Got my notice from DonC1 today and my window plug and hood extension is done. I sent him a template cutout of my glass window and he made sure the fit was good to it. The pic with the paper cut out is during the build and the other as its finished. He made these out of 18g. Thanks Don :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
nice stuff
Awesome!!
Very nice!! I just sent him the funds to get started on my window plug :2thumbs:
Been taking a little time to get some interior metal cleaned up and coated. 1st is what I started with. Floor pan and roof was in very good shape to begin with. I cleaned off any scale, surface rust, and loose coating and then treated with rust-mort anything bare and the whole roof surface. After a good coating of paint, sealer ,and sound deader, I started apply this insulation. Got to find some floor plug replacementss before completing the floor. Is there any alternatives to those plastic plugs from the resto shops? Kind of expensive for plastic plugs I thought.
Roof
looks good :cheers: :cheers:
Good thread - only just spotted it, coming along well.
Man, that plug is nice
It is looking real good REAL good!
Starting to really shape up. :coolgleamA:
Did a little more sound deadening and insulation work. Since the fiberboard was shot and I got tired of fiberglass fibers getting over stuff, I ended up making my own. Used the old ones for a templates and got some black 1/4" foam board and a water heater blanket with foil on both sides. Once I foil taped the sides, it was all sealed up and no lose fibers. Also have enough to do the kicker panels and maybe some other stuff if needed a lot cheaper than if I ordered all repop. Also since I'll be adding Classic Air, I didn't need all the cutouts as the stock one had. I'm getting ready to order some seat belts. I'd like a few opinions on them. I posted for opinion here http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,117125.0.html but aint getting any. Not even from the haters lol. Anybody care to post one?
Time to start wiring up the new gauges into the original harness. Enlarged the diagram for better reading
Ahh! The simple old timey wiring diagram that the mentally challenged such as myself could follow. No integrated circuits or computers to deal with. Just some color coded wires wandering here and there ending up at light bulbs , switches and gauges. :yesnod: :yesnod:
Sound deadner looks good should make for a nice ride.
:coolgleamA: looking good :yesnod:
:popcrn: :popcrn:
Get that window plug installed or bring it over and weld it in mine!!
Quote from: Hemi Runner on April 07, 2015, 05:12:04 PM
Get that window plug installed or bring it over and weld it in mine!!
I need to check my FedEx tracking and see where that is. Should be in transit somewhere. I have my 3point retractable harnesses for both front and rear bench seats being set up to get made. Figures I may as well get that on the way too before the interior gets put in. I need to locate new inner fender splash shield seals.
Got a little spaghetti to digest for a while.
Its all wired. New gauges, LED lights, modern blade fuse box and chargers. Last thing left is to take care of the amp meter bypass wires and wait on rest of fuses to come in. Using the lighted when bad type so I can see which one is bad right away. Also made a chart of fuse number to circuit
Looks like this is not your first rodeo where wiring is concerned. :2thumbs:
Actually it was to this extent. I've replaced burnt wires and added a relay circuit but hadn't rewired a dash before. Each one of the gauges needed its own bat+ and switched acc 1amp circuits put in. Each gauge has adjustable warning set points that will flash amber and trigger a 12v output to a loud buzzer. One way or another I or somebody else driving shouldn't miss a failure alert :eek2:. I also had to put in current backflow diodes for each of the 12v warning outputs to the buzzer. I didn't have to do any harness splicing at all. Used bulb socket convertors for the lights and the existing oem sending wire signals (oil press, turn signals, lights; etc). Only thing cut was the fuse box terminal ends and joining the amp wires. The ac when added already has its own circuit ready for install using the oem heater/ac line. Sorta simple but time consuming. Looks a little messy but there is method to the madness
Yesterday I ordered the CAA a/c system. Decided to go ahead and install now while the dash was out to make it easy. For those running ac in their wing cars, got any extra advice install or other to head off problems later?
clever stuff :coolgleamA: :2thumbs: :cheers:
:cheers:
Wow! Glad to see she is still coming along!!
Quote from: mpdlawdog on June 12, 2015, 06:18:59 PM
Wow! Glad to see she is still coming along!!
It's been slow as a senior turtle and every time a opening for work happens the wife is wanting some home remodeling done :brickwall:
Quote from: oldcarnut on June 12, 2015, 06:45:46 PM
Quote from: mpdlawdog on June 12, 2015, 06:18:59 PM
Wow! Glad to see she is still coming along!!
It's been slow as a senior turtle and every time a opening for work happens the wife is wanting some home remodeling done :brickwall:
Speaking from experience having worked on a house for 19 years back in Jersey and then for the last 18 years here in North Carolina that never seems to end. Unfortunately for my wife I have neglected the house for the last 2 years while I have worked on my car. I will get back to it but for now it is all about the car. :icon_smile_big:
Quote from: oldcarnut on June 12, 2015, 06:45:46 PM
Quote from: mpdlawdog on June 12, 2015, 06:18:59 PM
Wow! Glad to see she is still coming along!!
It's been slow as a senior turtle and every time a opening for work happens the wife is wanting some home remodeling done :brickwall:
Yea but what you are doning is amazing! You could hire me to come down and do your house work to keep her happy....just want a ride in the car when it's done;). I know about time...finally got my challenger back on 4 tires..only been two years:(
I got the ac installed and the dash. Ended up cutting off the fuse box relay spaces for fit and trimming the glove box depth as it was bottoming out on the ac unit. Overall I'm happy with the way it turned out. Hoping to put the windshield in next to get it out of the upstairs room.
Nothing too exciting but cleaned up and changed the burnt orange steering column to black, installed it, and deciding on what I want to use for a steering wheel. My woodgrain wheel has seen better days and not to anxious to shell out $400 on a repop with shiny chrome instead of flat. I've been toying with this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/121662757634?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT which is actually from here. https://fssteeringwheels.com/ and deciding which half-wrap to go with. Watchya think? Anbody use this company? Installed the windshield today. I was glad my brother came over to help as it was pretty tough to get those upper corners in. At least that's one more big item I won't have to listen about "junking" up the room ::).
Nice. !
:2thumbs: Progress... it's a wonderful thing.
Steering wheel came in today. Mounted it and letting it set in for a bit to decide. The wheel part blends in ok I think but I may change the grip to black since there are many interchangeable grips to use with it. May also take the horn button and machine in the space for the RR decal and plastic cover. $131 to the door wasn't too bad. Gonna try and make a new engine harness this weekend and start cleaning up the engine bay to get it in order and rest of A/C installed. Motor hasn't run since I pulled it out of the Challenger several years ago and it would be nice for a change to move it around under power instead of pushing it.
Love that wheel. I works well with the dash. As you said I think you need to live with it for a bit to see if it is what you really want though. :2thumbs:
:cheers: :cheers: :popcrn:
WOW... I really like that wheel Dave! Good Choice! :2thumbs:
Just a little progress update. AC has been installed and blowing cold. Finished making the engine bay harness and some other upgrades to wiring for the 90 amp alternator. Have the temp motor installed completed, wired, and running. Got power to the dash and checked a few things out. I like the dash lighting. Kinda hard to get an exact color view pic because the camera wants to blur or change the tone a little but the pics are close. Next is to get the nosecone lighting and power headlight motor wired to the vehicle circuit along with installing the relays to keep the amp draw off the switches and dash circuits.
Lookin' really good!
Look'n real sharp brother :cheers:
Thanks! Wish I didn't have all those hoses but I rather stay cool in the summer :yesnod:.
I'm getting ready to put on the nose to start mocking up some thinks and got a question about the latch tray bracket to radiator support connection. I saw on originals where it was spot welded on about every 2 1/2". How did you others do yours? I was thinking of just drilling and bolting it on across from the bolts on the latch tray side. Any foreseeable problems or different recommendations?
Your not done with that yet ;)......looks great!!!!
Mounted the nose and wired in the lights and electric motor. Also made up the relays and fuse block for the front of the car for the lights, motor, and aux radiator fan to do the wiring upgrades. Headlight switch also triggers the doors up and down.
https://youtu.be/OSAbZ-h7a3k
https://youtu.be/5Hk9r9HrLSs
Nice design. I really like it. :2thumbs:
Fantastic. Simple and Elegant. Most importantly no vacuum line BS. :2thumbs:
The wife is starting to get antsy about the parts I have in the spare room over the garage because she wants to get it cleared up for Christmas and Thanksgiving family visitors to stay in. So I think I'll work on the window plug next. I have both steel and fiberglass pieces to work with. One will fit right in and the only thing I feel I have to worry about is after all the paint and body work is the flexing that everyone has said will start showing up cracks, outlines from heat between fiberglass and metal joint lines etc :shruggy: There won't be a vinyl top put on to hide it. Steel one on the other hand is going to require too much metal work, welding, and shaping to get the right contour and fit. Real glass window is going in but I think both will support the weight. I don't understand why the fiberglass install is supposed to give problems with issues showing up but the steel insert doesn't with all the filler it takes to make it look smooth and blend in. Same with hood extension but I've all but decided to use the fiberglass pc.
There are a bunch of epoxy products for fusing modern auto body panels together today. I have used some Fusor products to join dissimilar materials together in the past but it would be worth investigating if there are any specific products for mending fiberglass to metal at this time. I have been led to believe the cracking is a result of a differing rate of expansion between the metal and the glass but I don't know if that is true or if the products to bond these two properly were not available in the past.
Quote from: Stevearino on October 21, 2015, 04:30:13 PM
There are a bunch of epoxy products for fusing modern auto body panels together today. I have used some Fusor products to join dissimilar materials together in the past but it would be worth investigating if there are any specific products for mending fiberglass to metal at this time. I have been led to believe the cracking is a result of a differing rate of expansion between the metal and the glass but I don't know if that is true or if the products to bond these two properly were not available in the past.
seen several daytona clones crack , you can tell which ones are glass or steel when you come out in the morning at wing meets and check out the condensation and dews :icon_smile_big:
Quote from: moparstuart on October 21, 2015, 04:37:00 PM
Quote from: Stevearino on October 21, 2015, 04:30:13 PM
There are a bunch of epoxy products for fusing modern auto body panels together today. I have used some Fusor products to join dissimilar materials together in the past but it would be worth investigating if there are any specific products for mending fiberglass to metal at this time. I have been led to believe the cracking is a result of a differing rate of expansion between the metal and the glass but I don't know if that is true or if the products to bond these two properly were not available in the past.
seen several daytona clones crack , you can tell which ones are glass or steel when you come out in the morning at wing meets and check out the condensation and dews :icon_smile_big:
That's exactly what I've heard that both of ya have said. But why does a pile of bondo used on body panels not have the same effect?
Quote from: oldcarnut on October 21, 2015, 04:47:42 PM
Quote from: moparstuart on October 21, 2015, 04:37:00 PM
Quote from: Stevearino on October 21, 2015, 04:30:13 PM
There are a bunch of epoxy products for fusing modern auto body panels together today. I have used some Fusor products to join dissimilar materials together in the past but it would be worth investigating if there are any specific products for mending fiberglass to metal at this time. I have been led to believe the cracking is a result of a differing rate of expansion between the metal and the glass but I don't know if that is true or if the products to bond these two properly were not available in the past.
seen several daytona clones crack , you can tell which ones are glass or steel when you come out in the morning at wing meets and check out the condensation and dews :icon_smile_big:
That's exactly what I've heard that both of ya have said. But why does a pile of bondo used on body panels not have the same effect?
Depends on how deep the pile is. But what you have if you install the steel plug is a metal base and you are just covering over the imperfections in what should be a continuous weld. Basically the metal part is then just one piece. The problem with the glass to metal is how well the two are bonded together and again the differing rates of expansion with temperature changes. If not bonded sufficiently and completely the two dissimilar materials will pull apart at the bond. Not an expert on this but it might be possible once the glass plug is bonded in to cover the seam with some fiberglass cloth and resin then bondo. I don't know if that would be wise but it would span the joint the same way you would spackle a wallboard joint with mesh or paper tape to keep a crack appearing between wall panels in a house. :shruggy: Hopefully someone here has some experience with this and will weigh in.
Aren't some of those fiberglass body kits with the ground effects and wheel house extensions glassed to the metal body in some cases? :shruggy:
Quote from: Stevearino on October 21, 2015, 05:23:12 PM
Depends on how deep the pile is. But what you have if you install the steel plug is a metal base and you are just covering over the imperfections in what should be a continuous weld. Basically the metal part is then just one piece. Hopefully someone here has some experience with this and will weigh in.
Aren't some of those fiberglass body kits with the ground effects and wheel house extensions glassed to the metal body in some cases? :shruggy:
What you say makes sense but originally they were just spot welded on but I guess the vinyl top hid it. Picture is of the one Corndogs charger did.
I'm going to use the steel one if it kills me :icon_smile_blackeye: :flame: :brickwall: but that fiberglass one would come in real handy as a template to get the steel one correct. :icon_smile_wink:
Quote from: oldcarnut on October 21, 2015, 06:20:54 PM
Quote from: Stevearino on October 21, 2015, 05:23:12 PM
Depends on how deep the pile is. But what you have if you install the steel plug is a metal base and you are just covering over the imperfections in what should be a continuous weld. Basically the metal part is then just one piece. Hopefully someone here has some experience with this and will weigh in.
Aren't some of those fiberglass body kits with the ground effects and wheel house extensions glassed to the metal body in some cases? :shruggy:
What you say makes sense but originally they were just spot welded on but I guess the vinyl top hid it. Picture is of the one Corndogs charger did.
The vinyl roof definitely covered a multitude of sins. I always liked the look of the car without the vinyl roof because I liked the race car versions first and there were none with vinyl roofs. So yeah.
Quote from: Hemi Runner on October 21, 2015, 06:21:47 PM
I'm going to use the steel one if it kills me :icon_smile_blackeye: :flame: :brickwall: but that fiberglass one would come in real handy as a template to get the steel one correct. :icon_smile_wink:
That is a great idea . The main thing about the metal plug if it is a little off is that you have to make sure not only the perimeter fits well but that the window bed reasonably conforms to the shape of the glass. You don't want the glass to be teeter-tottering on the bed and put stress on any one point. Back when stock cars used real laminated glass windshields you had to make sure when you built the window bed that it fully supported the glass and there were no high points as they would break the glass once the car got to moving around. :Twocents:
My initial thoughts were to try and cut some wood blocks to the fiberglass shape and my window curve. Form the window curve first and then the steel body and see how it goes. Don cut the window to a templet of my glass so it should be good
Took a road trip to Tennessee and picked my rechromed bumper from tricity plating and see some fall colors. They do a nice job :2thumbs:
Quote from: oldcarnut on October 20, 2015, 01:15:57 AM
Mounted the nose and wired in the lights and electric motor. Also made up the relays and fuse block for the front of the car for the lights, motor, and aux radiator fan to do the wiring upgrades. Headlight switch also triggers the doors up and down.
https://youtu.be/OSAbZ-h7a3k
https://youtu.be/5Hk9r9HrLSs
:o clever stuff !! :yesnod: :cheers: :popcrn:
It's plug time. First is the steel and what work I have to do to make it fit. Second is the fiberglass and what it should fit like. 3rd is the blocks I made formed to the glass so I can start shaping the steel one first. Last is a little progress after some hammering and bending. It also helps to have Teds pc to compare it side by side
I got a chip put in the glass from a little flexing while handling it so much on and off the blocks and plug
Quote from: oldcarnut on October 15, 2015, 09:43:37 AM
I'm getting ready to put on the nose to start mocking up some thinks and got a question about the latch tray bracket to radiator support connection. I saw on originals where it was spot welded on about every 2 1/2". How did you others do yours? I was thinking of just drilling and bolting it on across from the bolts on the latch tray side. Any foreseeable problems or different recommendations?
I have 5, 1/4-20 bolts and nuts holding the bracket to the core support on my car. Over the past 20 years, it has crossed many a railroad track, speed bump and pot hole without any issues. I also have ac so the condenser lines come through the top of the latch tray on the passenger side.
Project looks great.
Quote from: oldcarnut on November 09, 2015, 10:06:41 PM
@%*&$23#% :brickwall: I got a chip put in the glass from a little flexing while handling it so much on and off the blocks and plug
Wow. Might want to tape up those edges with a couple of layers of masking tape while you are working it to the steel. :Twocents:
[/quote]
Wow. Might want to tape up those edges with a couple of layers of masking tape while you are working it to the steel. :Twocents:
[/quote]
Yep I have now right after seeing that. It happened while setting it on the wood though but I hope maybe a glass shop can work some magic on it.
Thought I'd crank it up and check the air flow through the nose opening. Seems to draw up pretty good to me considering there are no seals in place and no body panels in place. What you guys think?https://youtu.be/gqmBnq1n4zw (https://youtu.be/gqmBnq1n4zw)
This is the complete stock exhaust on it for now but it don't sound too bad for being quite and corking it up a little.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_iKIP96dF0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_iKIP96dF0)
Sounds great!! Looks like your getting close!!
:coolgleamA: good stuff :yesnod: :popcrn:
For anyone interested or know somebody that may be, I've put the steel plug and hood ext in the classifieds
New to this and a year too late, I'm guessing the window plug has been sold?
Quote from: Seabeckredneck on September 09, 2017, 04:10:06 AM
New to this and a year too late, I'm guessing the window plug has been sold?
Hi and yep it's gone. Pretty much had to give it away for somebody to take it and the hood extension. Janeks was a lot less work to install and I should have just stayed with it to start with. That steel piece was going to have way too much rework to fit. Looks like I also need to do some updating on this project also.
Thanks for the reply and I look forward to your updates. I'm learning a lot on here.
Keep posting and we'll keep reading...
Chris
I felt I should get an update done. So much has been happening around the home, time for the car gets pushed back and then difficult to remember what all I've completed. Went thru an ordeal on the tranny somebody on the forum built for me. Backed it out the driveway under its own power for the first since it was installed and it made some bad clunking and didn't have park. Discovered the parking pawl was left out when it got built so I had to relocate another and get it installed. Ended up with one just barely out enough that it didn't quite engage so one more time I put in another (the right one). Well at least it engaged in all gears now but when pulling forward into the garage or little tap of gas, still had a bad clunking and grind noise so again another drop of the valve body to see that the sun gear assy was way to loose like shims were missing or something not right. By now Im frustrated and have no faith in the rebuild I got done so I took the whole tranny to a local shop and had to pay for another rebuild. The 2nd builder showed me how much stuff was set up incorrect or missing with the first job that it would've grenade on me very soon. Anyway all my mechanical s, drive train, and suspension has all been replaced, beefed up, and ready to go. My fenders have been cut and modified so next was the rear plug. As mentioned earlier I kept Teds fg plug and used it. It has been paneled bonded in place and came out good. Still needs final bonded in but I was waiting until I welded in the sub frame connectors. I completed that yesterday. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,124863.0.html
(http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=124863.0;attach=262245)
(http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=124863.0;attach=264463)
(http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=124863.0;attach=264464)
(http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=124863.0;attach=264525)
Next was the hood mods. Kept Teds fg piece and panel bonded in place
Took all the window regulators out front and rear and completely rebuilt them. Ordered all new door fuzzies, weatherstripping, and window seals. While the glass was out, I had some ceramic tint applied. Also bought new chrome frame and vent window assys and buffed and polished all the stainless door trim. Had them stashed in the living room for a week or so much to the wife's dismay.
Looking good. :cheers:
Quote from: Daytona R/T SE on October 07, 2017, 07:29:25 AM
Looking good. :cheers:
Thanks, hopefully be able to load up some more tonight till I get caught up
Plans were to get the doors, jams, under hood with some paint. Removed all the old seam sealer in the rain gutters and resealed them and painted over.
Very Nice
Progress looks good.
Tough to tell from the photo, but did the glass tinter leave enough of an untinted edge around the back window to install the glass. That might be a big mistake to have the tint between the glass and the urethane.
Quote from: Swampwing2 on October 07, 2017, 07:44:35 PM
Progress looks good.
Tough to tell from the photo, but did the glass tinter leave enough of an untinted edge around the back window to install the glass. That might be a big mistake to have the tint between the glass and the urethane.
Yes its a little too close, maybe 1/4" - 3/8" around. I'll probably see how much is involved in trimming back some. I'm hoping to be making a one piece stainless trim for the whole window to cap it off with. Just figuring it out how I will attach it. Here's the pics of doors and panel color scheme. Ill be adding the rest of the cat whiskers, weatherstripping, and new trim later.
looking good :2thumbs: :coolgleamA: :popcrn:
Perfecte
Starting to get the front end fitted. How big of a gap is the usual along the fender and hood to nosecone?
Started installing some interior to see how it would coordinate togethor. A before and start of the after.
Very nice...not sure about the wheel though. Where you have no other wood in there it looks a little out of place to my eyes. Normally when you have a wooden wheel there is wood in the dash or doors to tie it all together. Just my POV of course. Love the seats and door cards though. :2thumbs:
I'm on the fence with the simulated wood in the wheel. Looks better in person without camera flash changing it some but the nice thing is that the wheel trim can be changed out with a multitude of styles and colors anytime for low cost.. I got woodgrain because the original woodgrain wheel in it. However, there was no other wood in dash for it either from the factory, just the wheel trim. Legendary made the color changes in stick design for me.
:2thumbs:
Perfect
That dang interior is gorgeous. You knocked it out of the park there. Door panels really pop. :coolgleamA:
(http://[)quote author=alfaitalia link=topic=53678.msg1622449#msg1622449 date=1509058010]
Very nice...not sure about the wheel though. Where you have no other wood in there it looks a little out of place to my eyes. Normally when you have a wooden wheel there is wood in the dash or doors to tie it all together. Just my POV of course. Love the seats and door cards though. :2thumbs:
[/quoted]
Decided to try a black vinyl grip insert (same wheel). I like the black better. Nice to be able to change out the inserts with just 6 bolts instead of buying a whole new steering wheel.
Very Nice! I like the black steering wheel better too. Looks great!
Yeah...much better black. Just my opinion of course!
Quote from: alfaitalia on November 05, 2017, 04:10:43 AM
Yeah...much better black. Just my opinion of course!
:iagree:
Headliner install is next on the agenda. I ordered some extra retainer clips today. I kept the liner stored rolled on a carpet tube past few years so no hard wrinkles to get out.
Wow, very nice!!
Those trim clips need to come out David. Check my thread, headliner starts on page 22. Make sure you put screws in every hole for mirror, visors, coat hanger clips, seat belt snap. That way you can easily locate them with a Phillips to make the hole and put the accessories back in.
Put in the rear 3-point shoulder seat belt harness conversion today in the back seat.
More belt
Good work s
Looking good! :2thumbs:
Looks great David! :2thumbs:
:2thumbs:
Front.
Been looking at my options for rear window trim. Some were here http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,19852.0.html (http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,19852.0.html). With $899 for AMD repops, I decided to try and make my own one piece stainless trim. I finished a template today of a one piece and after I finish getting it mapped out and converted onto a dxf file, I'm hoping to get a metal piece cut, refine it some, and see what I can come up with. Anybody else do something similar?
Got it traced and cut out. Trimmed it all out to fit and next to figure which way I'm going to use to clip it in hopefully using stock window trim clips
COOL! :yesnod:
Nice work on that stainless!! That's gonna look great!
Quote from: Hemi Runner on February 12, 2018, 08:37:32 AM
Nice work on that stainless!! That's gonna look great!
Thanks. Getting it buffed out to a mirror finish has been tough. It's some hard stuff. Trying to get all the scratches out, anything finer than 500 grit paper is futile for removing material.
Done with polishing. Not a 100% mirror but not too bad for now. In hindsight I would have been better selective of the 11g sheet to start off with. There's a lot of reflection from the garage in it.
That's sharp! Good job! Let me know when you're taking orders. :yesnod:
Perfect OCN... the trim ring looks great too ! :yesnod:
Quote from: Seabeckredneck on February 13, 2018, 07:15:15 PM
That's sharp! Good job! Let me know when you're taking orders. :yesnod:
we
I don't think I'll be making parts anytime soon as I have lot more work to be done on the project. It did cross my mind maybe for something later as an alternative for cloners since the options seem low for the trim. All I'd seen was black plastic trim, and $800+ for either one pc fiberglass or repop oem. Cost me $50 for this to get plotted out and cut. The rest was my time. I had plenty of stainless sheet metal at the house already to use. Last I checked however was stainless 11g was running $400-$500 for a 4 x 8 sheet . Maybe alum would be a cheaper choice and would be a heck of a lot easier to buff and shine up. Who knows, maybe one day :shruggy:
I understand the time constraints. and I can imagine the amount of time you have into your project, and it shows!
I don't know how to plot something to have it cut out like you did. Maybe I can make a template and start with that.
Keep up the good work. It's looking awesome!
"I don't know how to plot something to have it cut out like you did. Maybe I can make a template and start with that."
Check around your area to see if they have a machine or sheet metal shop with a water jet or cnc plasma cutter. Let me know if they do. The file I used should work in their machines. The templete and getting it plotted out for cutting was the most time consuming part other than polishing. I also did the grill pieces in steel same way.
I do have some shops in the area that I'm sure I could hire. What would you like for a copy of the files?
Thanks! :cheers:
Quote from: oldcarnut on February 16, 2018, 12:10:54 AM
"I don't know how to plot something to have it cut out like you did. Maybe I can make a template and start with that."
Check around your area to see if they have a machine or sheet metal shop with a water jet or cnc plasma cutter. Let me know if they do. The file I used should work in their machines. The templete and getting it plotted out for cutting was the most time consuming part other than polishing. I also did the grill pieces in steel same way.
I do work with an excellent machinist. I you want to sell a copy of the files I can beg and plead (maybe a bribery :cheers:would help) and he could cut them out for me. I can buff them in my shop.
Let me know what you think.
Chris in Seabeck
I haven't forgot. I just haven't been able to get the guy to email it to me after he said he would. I reckon I'm gonna have to drive by there one evening.
Cool,
let me now if there is anything I can do to help. I'm in Washington state if that helps somehow??? :shruggy:
For an update I've been driving it around town some to work out any issues coming up after getting the front end aligned. Before I started getting any outside body work done, I wanted all the bugs worked out since it's been years since it has been on the road. I have the rear trans seal leaking drips onto the H-pipe. Minor leak but starts smoking from the hot exhaust contact. Replaced the seal twice but no help. Reckon I'll swap out the driveshaft yoke next. Another issue is it wants to start running around 215-220 deg after about 5miles on the road. Idling it stays around 180 for long time. Fan sucks a rag against the screen and holds it no problem. I always heard they ran warm but I don't know what's normal. Dang DB starter which has little use on it keeps occasionally wanting to not crank until I wrap a pole or tire iron against the side of it. I guess maybe I got a bad one but I've had it too long to return it for another. Not sure if it's getting a heat sink or losing ground in it. Something else to pull off and see if I can check the solenoid out for problems. Other than that it's been fun looking at the stares and finger pointing as I drive it.
So beautifull man :popcrn:
Quote from: oldcarnut on April 07, 2018, 03:48:12 AM
I have the rear trans seal leaking drips onto the H-pipe. Minor leak but starts smoking from the hot exhaust contact. Replaced the seal twice but no help. Reckon I'll swap out the driveshaft yoke next.
Check the internal plug or cap in the driveshaft yoke, if it is not seal welded it will leak.
Ask me how I know. Best of luck, Vic
Just checking on your build. Mine has been on hold for a little while due to higher priorities. But I hope to get moving on it again soon.
I'm having the rear window plug being made now. I should be seeing that soon.
Have you had any luck with finding the templates for the trim pieces?
Quote from: Seabeckredneck on June 13, 2018, 09:18:10 PM
Just checking on your build. Mine has been on hold for a little while due to higher priorities. But I hope to get moving on it again soon.
I'm having the rear window plug being made now. I should be seeing that soon.
Have you had any luck with finding the templates for the trim pieces?
I've been working on a house to flip non stop last couple months so I've let a lot of stuff go including my car for now to get it done. I texted the guy last night again and got no response. At this point im not sure he is going to keep his promise to send it to me.
Ok, I understand. Thanks and good luck with the house.
I hope you get back to your car before long.