I figured I'd give it a shot at doing my own car refurb thread. I bought this car back in 2009 when our dollar was basically as good as the greenback. Prices were low, and our dollar was good. I managed to pick this car up off of eBay from, a seller who was honest, almost to a fault about the condition. It wasn't perfect, but it was a real, solid 1970 Charger! Being that it wasn't a numbers car, or even an R/T for that matter, I could treat it like a blank canvas, not having to worry about committing sacrilege on a car too nice to make my own. It was exactly what I wanted, well, minus the minor rust anyway.
I know the smart money is to buy one done, but honestly, I really bought this car for the journey. That being said, I wanted to do everything myself except body work, and of course the headliner... This car was a very solid example, with at least a 10 year old paint job, so it wasn't hiding any evils. The frame rails were perfect, crossmembers too. Floors were good with a dollar coin sized hole in the drivers floor. It had typical rust in the usual places, trunk floor was more patches than original. Fender and quarter lowers had second rate patches, but that was it. It had no rust around the rear window, or anywhere else for that matter. I bought it in Maryland, but I doubt it spent most of its life there.
The car was a solid 10 footer, easily solid enough to drive, which I did for the first year. In this time I really got familiar with the car, and what it would need. I managed to talk a life long family friend, who owns a well respected body shop, and a 68 Charger, into taking it on. He redid his Charger long before AMD was around, so mine was gonna be a piece of cake in comparison. I sent it to his shop, and started collecting sheetmetal.
Next post, I'll try to figure out how to post pics on here....
These are the small pics from the eBay add. This car had started life red, but somewhere along the way, it found it's way under a low quality Sublime paint job. At least it was year correct, right? It also came with a 1967 HP 440, 727, and an 8 3/4, a 4.10 Suregrip, longtube headers, and a highstall torque converter. It was mechanically solid, and a decent driver.
The rear window area was surprisingly rust free, and the correct high back 1970 buckets looked to have been redone at some point. The interior was complete, minus the carpet and headliner. Takes away the pain of tracking down all those little pieces later. Roof bows were in the trunk.
Brought it to the body shop, and put in an order for 2 full quarters(basically replaces half of the cars exterior metal with something that wont bubble in a year), and end caps, trunk floor and extensions, and outer wheel houses. I also grabbed trunk gutters just in case, as that would be all that's left after the full quarters came off. Rather than pay them to spend hours and hours on the 40 plus year old door skins, I grabbed those too.
Pic of the doors with new skins on, an original rust free skin is leaning on the wall in the background. Pics with the quarters off, and trunk floor going in. A great view of those perfectly solid inner rockers and rear window area.
Trunk floors and extensions in, and outer wheelhouses on.
Smoothed out trunk on. Quarter panels on. They said the AMD panels fit very well, with very little work. And man, do those body lines pop on the new door skins! I've heard they may not be completely accurate, but what they lose in accuracy, they make up for in crispness.
The quarters were also pretty straight, out of the box.
The 45 year old replacement fenders I bought were another story. I actually bought them from an Arizona car from a member on here. Thanks Joe! They were rust free, just not exactly straight.
Bolt on goodies, ready to get bolted onto the car for the final paint.
All blocked out, ready for paint. Finally!
Painted. I could have chosen any color, seeing as it was a total repaint, and the original color was red, not Sublime, but the color really grew on me!
Looking at these cars with the quarter panels removed reminds me of looking inside the human brain...
Hey, does your screen name mean King Brad in reverse?
Hahaha, yeah it does..... It's actually not as narcissistic as it seems. I copied my brothers lead(his was llibgnik) trying to get an email address to work years ago, after about a hundred attempts using combinations of my name, initials, dates, etc.
On the plus side, this user name is never taken, on any site, anywhere! lol
And how it sits today, exterior is assembled. Waiting on rear quarter covers(door panels) to be made by Legendary, and the upholstery guy to show up and install the headliner. New front and rear glass is in.
Great looking car, awesome color! :2thumbs:
Car look great. Good work!
was the car delivered with those side mirrors? if so its very rare
Nice! Its turning out beautiful!
That looks very good. Love the color.It turned out really nice. Ready for summer cruise this year :cheers: :drive:
Very nice! what size tires? :2thumbs:
Excellent pics and very nice work! Panel alignment looks great. :2thumbs:
Outstanding work!!
Nice job! :coolgleamA:
Looks good! :thumbs:
I love reading stories like this! Sweet car too!
Very nice! congrats!
Pat
Quote from: Tmb84 on January 20, 2017, 09:45:43 AM
was the car delivered with those side mirrors? if so its very rare
Well, they were on the car when I bought it. I assumed they were E-body mirrors, which I like and kept.
late build 70 chargers had them as option described as 71 model Mirrors, about 474 cars delivered from factory with it. i like them, option code G36
Quote from: Back N Black on January 20, 2017, 11:56:55 AM
Very nice! what size tires? :2thumbs:
IIRC, they are 245/60R15 up front and 275/60R15 out back.
And thanks for al the compliments guys. I appreciate it. I know a lot of guys on here can easily see that the mirrors are different, and the blacked out tail panel is a 69 thing, but that's the look I wanted, so that's what it got. I assume, that by my post, most gathered that I plan on doing my own thing, and having the car look factory-ish, and that's why no one has mentioned it. There will be many little tweaks I'll be doing to make the car my own, with the plan being that it will all look
right. Nothing jumping out as different, at least to non Gen 2 specialists.
Very nice, great job.
Do you happen to have any more shots of the rear, as if you're looking straight at it? I really like the blacked out tail panel.
Quote from: Tmb84 on January 20, 2017, 02:50:48 PM
late build 70 chargers had them as option described as 71 model Mirrors, about 60 cars delivered from factory with it. i like them
I couldn't tell you if it did. The build sheet has a 3 below the REMOTE MIRROR DEL section in GLASS - MIRRORS. And the VIN is 168009, and I haven't researched where that is in the build date. I decoded a bit of the broadcast sheet years ago, but since the car isn't a #'s or even very correct car, I've forgotten most of it. It's a shame, the broadcast sheet is in almost perfect condition on my car, where it doesn't matter....
Quote from: smithenhiven on January 20, 2017, 02:58:00 PM
Very nice, great job.
Do you happen to have any more shots of the rear, as if you're looking straight at it? I really like the blacked out tail panel.
Sorry, I don't at the moment, at least not since it's been painted anyway. Were you looking for some specific detail I could find? Or just want a better look at the finished product?
I was more curious about the finished product; the angle of that last pic on the prior page kinda shadows over red of tail lights, would be neat to see how it all comes together with the red tail lights more prominent. That's one thing I always liked about the 69's is the blacked out tail panel, neat to see that done on a 70.
Awesome color! Paint and body work looks excellent.
Congrats. :2thumbs:
Quote from: smithenhiven on January 20, 2017, 03:18:13 PM
I was more curious about the finished product; the angle of that last pic on the prior page kinda shadows over red of tail lights, would be neat to see how it all comes together with the red tail lights more prominent. That's one thing I always liked about the 69's is the blacked out tail panel, neat to see that done on a 70.
Here's a pic of the rear from when I bought the car. It came blacked out, which is where I got the idea. Also, the blacked out tail panel matches the carbon fiber tail light panel on my new Viper.
Also managed to resize a pic of when the car first arrived in my old garage years ago.
Nice Viper! I see a Maryland tag on the yellow super bee, is that where you bought your Charger?
Pat
Quote from: keepat on January 20, 2017, 04:57:57 PM
Nice Viper! I see a Maryland tag on the yellow super bee, is that where you bought your Charger?
Pat
Yup, bought the Charger off of a guy named Alex in Maryland. I didn't ask him where it came from before he got it though. He says he bought the Charger for parts, but when he got it, it was too nice to part out, so he sold it to me. Makes sense if that's true, as my car is really solid, and mechanically solid as well. Basically replaced a leaking steering box, and one rear wheel cylinder to make it 100% for an Out Of Province inspection, the most stringent inspection up here in Canada. Then I drove it for a year like that.
I still have the front disc conversion in boxes, for when the car comes home in the spring. And a 3.55 Suregrip center section to replace the 4.10 in there now. I also plan on an EFI system, with a Tanks Inc EFI tank. Still undecided on FITech or Holley Sniper. Seems to me, the Holley might have better support up here, north of the border. Then it's just little things to play with, which is the reason I bought the car, like a 67 arm rest on the console, maybe install another tail stripe, relay kit for the headlights, higher output alternator and upsized wiring, etc......
Seems like whoever did the mechanical upgrades knew what they were doing. It was an AC car, so it had a 26 inch radiator already(I think), but looks like HD leafs out back, custom made high capacity oil pan, long tube headers, electronic ignition, with one of those ridiculously big Accel super coils, lol. High stall torque converter, lumpy cam. Hot Rod cutting edge, circa 1990, I figure. :coolgleamA:
Love it!
:2thumbs:
TPR
:2thumbs: :coolgleamA: :cheers: :popcrn:
:2thumbs:.
The car looks amazing! Nice work! Looking forward to the rest of this thread. :yesnod:
COOL Stuff! :2thumbs:
Thanks for all the kind words guys, I appreciate it. I hope it moves forward in the next couple of months as quickly as it did in the last few.
I forgot to mention, the bumpers on it now are repro AMD jobbies, and the door handles are reproduction units as well. I hope the chrome lasts, as they sure are shiny now. I guess time will tell. All the window and gutter trim are original, which the body shop polished up and reinstalled. I decided to leave the wheel well moldings off, I think it looks better. My grille was actually in pretty good shape when I got the car, with just a couple crack on the perimeter. The shop repaired it, and repainted it. They also cleaned up the rear tail light lenses and sprayed clear on them. They look new now as well.
I think I'll hold onto the factory front bumper, in case the AMD unit doesn't pan out, I could always re-chrome it later. The rear bumper was tossed, as it was pretty bent up, as well as the front valence. Actually the front valence was the last piece of metal I was waiting on. The original looked good till they started cleaning it up for paint. Turns out it was pretty bent up, and already had some bondo in it. And of course, when I ordered it, I waited months for it on backorder..... I finally gave up and found an eBay seller with one in stock, and cancelled my local order. Then it went into paint.
very nice work
Hey... You guys ever heard of Speedcore? They are making CARBON FIBER fenders, bumpers, etc for 70 Chargers!
Prep work aside, is it me or do some colors just make the contours flow and lines pop so crisply? We're committed to keepin our B5 blue but I've always thought it'd have black primer beneath, in case the hue or tint factors into this. Guess I'm just surprised such a light color could turn out so well-defined. Beautiful.
Quote from: Kern Dog on January 27, 2017, 04:12:01 AM
Hey... You guys ever heard of Speedcore? They are making CARBON FIBER fenders, bumpers, etc for 70 Chargers!
Yeah, I emailed them about their bumpers actually, but they didn't get back to me with pricing, so I took that as a sign........ If their bumpers were close to the repops, I would have maybe gave them a try. *edit* Just saw the link in the Bullitt thread. They didn't have pricing up when I was shopping. I think those prices are very reasonable, you never know, I still might give those a try in the future!
Thanks again for the compliments. My rear panels shipped from Legendary yesterday, hope to have them in a week or so. That should be the last of the parts..... for now! lol
Just took delivery of the 3.55 Sure Grip 489 center section I bought a while ago. A friend delivered it from over 500 miles away. I must say the gears look good to me?
Took a few hours with scrapers, wire bushes, scotch-brite pads, and brake cleaner to get the years of sludge off of it, but it looks the part now. Coated it in zinc spray, then gloss gray. Looks pretty similar to the sand blasted and cleared center section in the Road Runner thread to me. I'm happy with it. And didn't think to take a before pic......
Is it new or a used one? Gear pattern looks okay from here!
Cone diff=NON rebuildable. I hope it performs well and that you didn't have to give too much for it.
Quote from: Kern Dog on February 04, 2017, 11:45:00 PM
Is it new or a used one? Gear pattern looks okay from here!
Cone diff=NON rebuildable. I hope it performs well and that you didn't have to give too much for it.
It was used. I paid $900 CDN, so like $18 US??? lol. But labor rates up here are killer, so paying for a gear swap would cost similar.....
Just thought I'd do a quick update. I decided to get the shop to repaint the V21 hood treatment, and add the tail strip back on the car before I get it. The delivery truck is tentatively scheduled to pick the car up on June 18th, so I should see the car a week after that. Of course that puts the car arriving while I'm over a thousands miles away, on a 1250 mile offroad motorcycle trek...... figures.
The last pic is my car between the shop owners 442 and his 68. The same 68 I looked at, and said make mine look like that.
looks damn good :popcrn:
Nice!!!
:cheers:
Looking great!
Car looks great ! :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA:
275/60/15's on back?
Quote from: crj1968 on June 10, 2017, 10:47:13 AM
Car looks great ! :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA: :coolgleamA:
275/60/15's on back?
IIRC, yes. But it's been a few years since I've had my eyes on her!
Well, it's finally home! After many years of sitting, job one is getting the oil and coolant swapped, and insurance appraisal so if the unthinkable happens, I actually get something out of it.
First pic is when it arrived, while I was doing an offroad motorcycle trip from Jarbridge Nevada to the Canadian border. Second is sitting on my lift awaiting some love.
I figured I might as well update my own thread with what I've done in the last couple weeks since getting the car home.
Replaced the speakers in the dash with two Focal 4" speakers where the original dash one was, and two Focal 5x7s in the rear deck lid. Those rears actually give a little mid bass.
Went through a bunch of wiring. Got the hidden headlights working like they should. Replaced the single "on accessory" aftermarket blade style fuse box the previous owner installed with two 6 circuit blocks. One on accessory, and one on constant power.
Dropped the oil and coplant to find out the chrome water neck the last guy installed was made in Taiwan and corroded to all hell inside, gumming up the Thermostat and probably the system. Driving it with a flush agent and water for a while, before putting coolant and water in for good.
Redid the Mopar aluminum valve covers for the third time to stop a major leak onto the drivers side header. Rubber gaskets. Leaked. Moroso blue gaskets. Leaked. Morose blue gaskets and a ton of black RTV. Sealed.
Greased the front end and u joints.
Now just waiting on parts for the drivers window slider on the front edge and 316 u joints to install the 3.55 center section with the larger yoke vs what's in there now.
It's great to something to fiddle with..
I too had a chrome thermostat housing, and it started leaking. Went back to factory.
Are your tires lettering green to match the paint or just off white. I can't tell cause I'm color deficient
And are your rims 15x7 all around? Or 15x8 in rear
Really like the build. Can't wait for efi stuff.
Luke
Quote from: lukedukem on July 14, 2017, 07:24:15 PM
I too had a chrome thermostat housing, and it started leaking. Went back to factory.
Are your tires lettering green to match the paint or just off white. I can't tell cause I'm color deficient
And are your rims 15x7 all around? Or 15x8 in rear
Really like the build. Can't wait for efi stuff.
Luke
Luckily, I just measured the rears today when I had one off looking at the axle preload adjustor. They're 8" with 275/60R15. Also the front tires are 255/60R15 and they look right.
The lettering is actually yellow. Old Nascar style Goodyear's. They're old but surprisingly not all cracked up yet. They haven't made those in years.
I've got a bunch of little things to finish up before I rip the whole fuel system out for EFI. But she'll get it eventually.
The chrome water necks always seem to leak after a short time. I'm about 100% sure that they are CHEAP Chinese pot metal that fatigues under the heat of the coolant. They develop an actual arch in the middle. I dressed one with a belt sander 2 different times before I tossed that Chinkenese piece of shit into the trash.
Love the look, beautiful car, definitely a lot of excellent work done :2thumbs:
Quote from: Kern Dog on July 14, 2017, 11:24:47 PM
The chrome water necks always seem to leak after a short time. I'm about 100% sure that they are CHEAP Chinese pot metal that fatigues under the heat of the coolant. They develop an actual arch in the middle. I dressed one with a belt sander 2 different times before I tossed that Chinkenese piece of shit into the trash.
Yeah, it sucks that so much is made in China these days. So much so, that you actually have to recalibrate yourself to it. I bought a MAC Tools electronic caliper set the other day, to replace a cheap one I have, and............ made in China. Not surprisingly, when the replacement non chrome water neck showed up....... Made in China. Hopefully it's that elusive good Chinese shit.
:coolgleamA: :2thumbs: looks good :yesnod: :cheers:
Looks awesome. Great job. :2thumbs:
Quote from: darbgnik on July 14, 2017, 05:54:07 PM
I figured I might as well update my own thread with what I've done in the last couple weeks since getting the car home.
Replaced the speakers in the dash with two Focal 4" speakers where the original dash one was, and two Focal 5x7s in the rear deck lid. Those rears actually give a little mid bass.
Went through a bunch of wiring. Got the hidden headlights working like they should. Replaced the single "on accessory" aftermarket blade style fuse box the previous owner installed with two 6 circuit blocks. One on accessory, and one on constant power.
Dropped the oil and coplant to find out the chrome water neck the last guy installed was made in Taiwan and corroded to all hell inside, gumming up the Thermostat and probably the system. Driving it with a flush agent and water for a while, before putting coolant and water in for good.
Redid the Mopar aluminum valve covers for the third time to stop a major leak onto the drivers side header. Rubber gaskets. Leaked. Moroso blue gaskets. Leaked. Morose blue gaskets and a ton of black RTV. Sealed.
Greased the front end and u joints.
Now just waiting on parts for the drivers window slider on the front edge and 316 u joints to install the 3.55 center section with the larger yoke vs what's in there now.
It's great to something to fiddle with..
I used Prestone coolant system flush on and old engine, followed the directions, and it seemed to work very good. After that I put in some fresh 50/50 and about 200 miles later my new water pump gave out and started spewing from the weep hole. This was a name brand aluminum water pump. Might just be a coincidence, but something to look out for.
You are making "Green" cool again. I like the look of the car with the wheels too, sort of a street brawler/nascar vibe.... :2thumbs:
Quote from: GreenMachine on July 16, 2017, 12:19:50 AM
Quote from: darbgnik on July 14, 2017, 05:54:07 PM
I figured I might as well update my own thread with what I've done in the last couple weeks since getting the car home.
Replaced the speakers in the dash with two Focal 4" speakers where the original dash one was, and two Focal 5x7s in the rear deck lid. Those rears actually give a little mid bass.
Went through a bunch of wiring. Got the hidden headlights working like they should. Replaced the single "on accessory" aftermarket blade style fuse box the previous owner installed with two 6 circuit blocks. One on accessory, and one on constant power.
Dropped the oil and coplant to find out the chrome water neck the last guy installed was made in Taiwan and corroded to all hell inside, gumming up the Thermostat and probably the system. Driving it with a flush agent and water for a while, before putting coolant and water in for good.
Redid the Mopar aluminum valve covers for the third time to stop a major leak onto the drivers side header. Rubber gaskets. Leaked. Moroso blue gaskets. Leaked. Morose blue gaskets and a ton of black RTV. Sealed.
Greased the front end and u joints.
Now just waiting on parts for the drivers window slider on the front edge and 316 u joints to install the 3.55 center section with the larger yoke vs what's in there now.
It's great to something to fiddle with..
I used Prestone coolant system flush on and old engine, followed the directions, and it seemed to work very good. After that I put in some fresh 50/50 and about 200 miles later my new water pump gave out and started spewing from the weep hole. This was a name brand aluminum water pump. Might just be a coincidence, but something to look out for.
Thanks for the experience. I'll keep an eye on it. But looking at the gunk on the old thermostat, I'm stuck flushing it anyways.
Quote from: Kern Dog on July 16, 2017, 12:29:52 AM
You are making "Green" cool again. I like the look of the car with the wheels too, sort of a street brawler/nascar vibe.... :2thumbs:
Yeah man. That's the same thought I have of how it turned out.
Those old 15s don't exactly handle turns or acceleration that well, but man, do they ever handle potholes! Lol.
Figured I'd post a few pics along with this and the last update.
Got the 4.10 third member swapped out to a 3.55 last night with the help of a buddy. Overall a pretty straight forward job really. Didn't even make that much of a mess cracking the case open. Seeing as I had to replace the rear u joint with a 316 instead of the combo that was on there, I replaced the front as well. I ordered a C clamp type ball joint press off of Amazon a couple days before, and it might have been the best hundred bucks I've ever spent. Pushed those old and new u joints like butter. The only shitty thing was that I chipped a tooth on the ring gear in old third member laying on the lift tray, rendering that whole unit basically a case and a sure grip. :brickwall:
What I will say is that I really like the improvement the 3.55's make. Sure, it neutered the car a little off the line, but I can actually cruise at 60 mph now without spinning the life out of the engine. Second and third gear actually make sense now for normal driving, without being too much of a dog.
Also posting the pics of the new Grant leather wrapped "Tuff like" steering wheel and custom plate for the two 4" speakers in the dash made of expanded ABS so it wont soften up like the last wooden plate I made.
:2thumbs:
Not much to report this week, save a new set of fan belts, no help from the parts counter in finding the correct ones. But I got to take her out and enjoy the old girl a bit last night. There's been a heat wave of sorts up here, well, hot for this far north anyways..... But makes for great evenings.
Surprisingly, my girlfriend actually loves being in this old, loud, squeaky dashed, dinosaur. I think she thinks it's as cool as I do.
Your profile says Alberta, but I could've swore the pic with your car at the shop was in Newfoundland. I saw a green '70 parked by it a few years back. Maybe I'm hallucinating.
This is a really interesting thread.Thank you for sharing your experience with us :2thumbs:
Quote from: imabozo on July 28, 2017, 12:05:34 PM
Your profile says Alberta, but I could've swore the pic with your car at the shop was in Newfoundland. I saw a green '70 parked by it a few years back. Maybe I'm hallucinating.
You're not hallucinating. The shop I used was a family friends. Cranfords Auto Body in Roaches Line.
Quote from: darbgnik on July 28, 2017, 09:27:56 PM
Quote from: imabozo on July 28, 2017, 12:05:34 PM
Your profile says Alberta, but I could've swore the pic with your car at the shop was in Newfoundland. I saw a green '70 parked by it a few years back. Maybe I'm hallucinating.
You're not hallucinating. The shop I used was a family friends. Cranfords Auto Body in Roaches Line.
Right on. I have a white '70 R/T in Bay Roberts. I few years ago I was driving Roaches Line and noticed the sublime green Charger in at Cranfords. I hit the brakes pretty hard and circled back for a look. Never saw anything for a few years till I saw your thread the other day. Small world.
Do you live around CBN?
Quote from: imabozo on July 30, 2017, 09:56:59 AM
Quote from: darbgnik on July 28, 2017, 09:27:56 PM
Quote from: imabozo on July 28, 2017, 12:05:34 PM
Your profile says Alberta, but I could've swore the pic with your car at the shop was in Newfoundland. I saw a green '70 parked by it a few years back. Maybe I'm hallucinating.
You're not hallucinating. The shop I used was a family friends. Cranfords Auto Body in Roaches Line.
Right on. I have a white '70 R/T in Bay Roberts. I few years ago I was driving Roaches Line and noticed the sublime green Charger in at Cranfords. I hit the brakes pretty hard and circled back for a look. Never saw anything for a few years till I saw your thread the other day. Small world.
Do you live around CBN?
I grew up in Clarke's Beach. Any pics of your white 70 on here?
Quote from: darbgnik on July 31, 2017, 02:24:17 AM
Quote from: imabozo on July 30, 2017, 09:56:59 AM
Quote from: darbgnik on July 28, 2017, 09:27:56 PM
Quote from: imabozo on July 28, 2017, 12:05:34 PM
Your profile says Alberta, but I could've swore the pic with your car at the shop was in Newfoundland. I saw a green '70 parked by it a few years back. Maybe I'm hallucinating.
You're not hallucinating. The shop I used was a family friends. Cranfords Auto Body in Roaches Line.
Right on. I have a white '70 R/T in Bay Roberts. I few years ago I was driving Roaches Line and noticed the sublime green Charger in at Cranfords. I hit the brakes pretty hard and circled back for a look. Never saw anything for a few years till I saw your thread the other day. Small world.
Do you live around CBN?
I grew up in Clarke's Beach. Any pics of your white 70 on here?
I'm from Labrador and moved down here 6 years ago. Bought the Charger shortly after I moved. I have a few posts on here.
I have never seen the 68 that's parked by your Charger, around here. Does it get out much? You should bring your car down to the Klondyke show on Sunday.
I love white on these cars. That 68 and the Olds in the picture with my car, are both owned by Mike, the owner of the body shop. That 68 was redone years ago, before they made any repop sheet metal for it. When I saw how well his turned out, and still looks, that's when I started trying to convince him to do mine. That and the fact that he was a long time friend of my father, meant I could trust it would get done and done right. My car gave his shop lots of attention when it was being worked on, but he says that's the last one he'll do. Doing a car like this gave him and his guys a feeling of accomplishment at every milestone, but it was just too big and too long of a process for his business model. They specialize in collision, which is in and out, with parts readily available.
As of June, this cars been home with me in Alberta, so it'd be a bit of a commute to the Klondike show......
Road trip! :yesnod:
Quote from: BDF on August 01, 2017, 09:30:47 PM
Road trip! :yesnod:
Well, I did put in those 3.55's...... that would help. lol
Well, not much has changed in the last little while, seeing as my garage is stacked up for winter like a closet in a spare room.
But I have accomplished a few things. I ordered a Nippodenso alternator per the upgrades sticky in the electrical section. Ended up buying some 1/4" gas nipples, hogging the inside out to 3/8 for a nice tight fit on the bolts, and cut them to the length needed. I packed up the old spacers with the old alternator. Bought a shorter belt, a Gates 7440, and ran a 8 gauge power wire to the starter solenoid to take most of the load. I ended up welding a turn stop onto a 5/16 nut, and used a 2" long bolt on the adjuster side, so it's still a one man job to tension it. Fired it up, and lo and behold, 14 volts at a low lopey idle, I'll call that a win. The belt definitely doesn't sit as low in the new pulley as the others, but it works.
I ordered a new(actually used, off of eBay) passenger side chrome strip that holds the door card at the top, below the upper door pad. When I removed the arm rest, to take the door card off, I noticed the door screws were mismatched and didn't hold the arm rest on that well. And since I had to pay for shipping, I also ordered new arm rest bases, along with the new armrest mounting screws. The chrome on the front arm rest bases was long gone, and had been painted silver somewhere along the line. It didn't look bad, but since they came off, they weren't going back on. Surprisingly, out of the 4 bolts I removed, only 1 was the proper size. The new screws managed to take all the play out of the arm rests. Also installed a set of door end seals, as one of them didn't survive the restoration.....
Rumour has it, Santa has hidden a Holley Sniper kit somewhere till Christmas, we'll see!
Not trying to be critical but why do both of you have the hood callouts placed at the edge of the scallops instead of in the middle as designed? Curious :shruggy:
How about a pic of the gears you removed? - If that chip is by the edge, and not where the ring gear contacts, it will likely be fine.
Quote from: Dodge Don on November 11, 2017, 08:35:29 AM
Not trying to be critical but why do both of you have the hood callouts placed at the edge of the scallops instead of in the middle as designed? Curious :shruggy:
To be honest with you, I've seen them both ways, and never did know which was correct, as the car was made 10 years before I was born. That being said, as my car is nowhere near correct, I prefer them there.
Quote from: Bronzedodge on November 11, 2017, 09:44:55 AM
How about a pic of the gears you removed? - If that chip is by the edge, and not where the ring gear contacts, it will likely be fine.
Here's a pic from when I pulled it. You can see its the outer edge in the middle of the ring gear. It could work fine I suppose, but being chipped, I'd never be able to sell it as a complete unit. But it's fine, it'll be a good spare I can build in the meantime, while using the other. If it had been perfect, I would have sold it off to save some garage space.
Well, it looks like I was good this year, or at least my girlfriend thought so.....
Found a Holley Sniper kit and fuel injection tank under the tree. :2thumbs:
She's a keeper! :yesnod:
Well, not much to report on the Charger these days, but I did manage to get the Holley Sniper EFI fuel tank assembled. As far as I can tell, it's a rebadged Tanks Inc setup, which is fine by me. Comes with the Walbro pump with hanger assembly, and fuel level sending unit. Plus new tank straps, and roll over valve/vent with a tee.
Putting it together isn't complicated at all, but it is a little time consuming, as you do all your own depth measurements, then check, re-check, cut, assemble, and check again. Couple things of note that the instructions didn't spell out is on the sending unit: The bolt holes in the sender flange and the sender hole in the tank it bolts into aren't equally spaced, so it has to be clocked a certain way. And the sender itself can be calibrated for the high(Full)OHM value by adjusting the stop the rod sits against with a pair of pliers. Then readjusting the rod length again as per their instructions. The values out of the box were pretty dead-on as delivered though.
great looking build,look forward to tracking your progress with the Holley kit :2thumbs: :popcrn:
did you install the tank in the car? do the fuel lines clear the floor?
thanks
Quote from: komninon on January 13, 2018, 07:10:57 PM
did you install the tank in the car? do the fuel lines clear the floor?
thanks
I haven't installed it in the car yet, and most likely won't until spring. Right now the garage is packed tight with all my summer-only vehicles, with my Viper parked above it on the lift...... But there is a decent sized recess that the sender and fuel lines sit in, and the fittings on the fuel hanger are at a 90 degree angle, so I don't anticipate any problems with line fitment.
These winter months I'm mostly just a parts collector. But the one good thing about installing in the spring is the instant gratification of driving afterwards, as opposed to installing it all and then staring at it, not even being able to drive for the EFI to self tune.
ok thank you
Quote from: darbgnik on January 13, 2018, 07:34:29 PM
Quote from: komninon on January 13, 2018, 07:10:57 PM
did you install the tank in the car? do the fuel lines clear the floor?
thanks
There is a decent sized recess that the sender and fuel lines sit in, and the fittings on the fuel hanger are at a 90 degree angle, so I don't anticipate any problems with line fitment.
I installed the Tanks inc. on my 70 R/T (Yes, same tank), it fit's perfectly. My only word of caution, Install the fuel lines first and make pigtails for the sending unit and fuel pump. I made pigtails with connectors so if I ever have to drop the tank again.
Quote from: Derwud on January 15, 2018, 08:20:18 AM
I installed the Tanks inc. on my 70 R/T (Yes, same tank), it fit's perfectly. My only word of caution, Install the fuel lines first and make pigtails for the sending unit and fuel pump. I made pigtails with connectors so if I ever have to drop the tank again.
Thanks for the words of wisdom, from experience. I was thinking of doing the same thing. I'm going to run the power for the fuel pump inside the car to follow the factory sender wiring. And put an inline connector on both, then leave the grounds long enough to attach to ground, after the tank is in place.
OK, this was so cool I had to share it. A friend of mine, who lives thousands of miles from me stumbled across this story in a botched google search. This is a story written by a kid who got a first job at the body shop my Charger was restored at. He got the year wrong, as the shop owners car was a 68, but still..... I like the fact that my car seemed to inspire him.
Actually, I like that a lot:
steemit.com/cars/@rwilliamson/cranfords-auto-body (ftp://steemit.com/cars/@rwilliamson/cranfords-auto-body)
Quote from: komninon on January 13, 2018, 07:10:57 PM
did you install the tank in the car? do the fuel lines clear the floor?
thanks
Well I finally got around to the EFI install. And to answer your question, the soft lines fit, mostly....
I tyrapped the soft lines to the factory hard line for now, and they are not visible below the pinch weld, but they are side by side, not top over bottom. There really isn't that much room behind the pinch weld. And there isn't enough room for two soft lines through the torsion bar crossmember.
Wiring was straight forward. The only Holley Sniper wire that seems on the short side is the O2 sensor wire. It fits now as I have it run above the transmission, but it wasn't long enough for the route I would have liked, over under the brake booster away from the headers.
My car still has the ballast resistor in it. And even though I wired the start wire through a diode to the load side of the ballast resistor, as well as the primary side, the split second it takes to cycle the ignition from start to run will kick it off, forcing a reboot. For now I jumper the primary side of the ballast resistor off the battery during crank, and fires like a dream. I ordered a time delay off relay for this issue.
Once the system figures it's life out, it really is a great piece. The engine now revs so quickly in neutral I get belt squeal... lol. No more vapor lock. No more cranking when it's been sitting for weeks. Once second flick starts. My kit came missing the flash drive for the handheld, as well as the throttle pin that will work for both the throttle cable and kickdown linkage. So I drove without the kickdown today, I ordered the pin.
Just caught up on your thread. Beautiful car, and great work.
David
Just a little update. For some reason, my diode across the ballast resistor started working flawlessly??? Dunno why exactly, but the car starts up every time, no problem now.
I also received the longer Holley throttle stud, as well as factory kickdown return and throttle return springs from Megaparts. Got it all rigged up, and seemingly working smoothly, but I need to wait for the monsoon rains we've been having here to get the car out to test the function. I've included a pic of the linkage for the experts to pick apart, or comment on.
Well, now that the weather is getting nicer up north here finally, I've turned my attention back to the charger. Not too much to report, but I was digging around the garage and noticed a set of dual electric fans I had new in the box laying on the shelf. Couldn't remember for the life of me why I had them, but I pulled them out of the box to inspect. Surprisingly, the tape measure said they fit the 26" rad in the Charger perfectly! And since I went EFI last year, the Sniper has a high and low fan output already, which basically sealed the deal.
From the decision to switch to electric fans, things spiraled out of control a little.... When I measured the rad, I noticed it was wet in a few places, so... new aluminum "stock looking" radiator got ordered. Since the fans only get triggered by the EFI, and I still needed to mount relay, it gave me the idea to put the headlights on relays straight off of the battery at the same time, as well as finally install a relay so the switched power to the EFI actually gets clean power, instead of powering directly off each side of the ballast resistor.. So that's a total of 5 relays, two negative triggered off of switched power, two positive triggered off of constant power, and one triggered off both sides of the ballast resistor. Some amazon digging produced a 6 position relay/fuse box, that looked the right size, that came complete with all the terminals. Perfect. But now I need to order relays and a Molex crimper.....
It's still a work in progress, but here's how it sits so far. Relay box pinned and wired, ready to be tied into the car. I honestly think it looks at home there. I have no intention of hiding it away, and it's a perfectly serviceable location.
Very nice!
You will be very happy with all of those upgrades. Dependability is my #1 goal, because that makes me that much more likely to jump in it and drive it! Looking good :2thumbs:
Well, as with everything I do with this car, I take one step forward, one step back. Better than two steps back I suppose.....
I fabbed up some brackets out of aluminum stock to attach to the aluminum radiator, I sanded and painted them then attached the fans with them. I was sure proud of them too..... till they didn't fit. :brickwall: Turns out, those funny shapes in the fan shroud attachment plates were there for a reason. In the second pic you can see the shape of the factory tabs above my brackets, I had to cut and shape my brackets on the driver's side to clear the battery brace. On the passenger side, I had to cut the bracket short, and fab a rabbit ear out of 1.5" wide 1/8" steel stock. Then welded a top lock nut onto the metal piece, to use as a clamp, basically sandwiching the remaining flange of the lower radiator between the rabbit ear, and the bottom fans mount, which I had to turn downwards till the rad was in place, then clocked it into position, and clamped it with the ear. (No pics of this, as I got excited when my second attempt worked!)
In the second last pic, you can see a brand new shiny 5/16 compression fitting on the tranny cooler line, damn thing was frozen on, and was twisting the line out of shape. A few spins of a tubing cutter and that problem was over, with a straight enough tube, to join onto..... Good enough for now, as I think a Silver sport A41 is in this cars future.
Last pic is the relay box, all wired into the car. Two relays for the fans, high and low, kicked by the EFI. Tested and worked flawless. The two relays for the high and low beams are out, as now I need to change the headlight motor relay, as the relays interfere with it's operation. The last relay, and most surprising benefit, was the switched power for the EFI itself, triggered off both sides of the ballast resistor with a diode. The Sniper controller was always a little glitchy, but now with a clean power source, it has been flawless in it's operation, that was a win!
I also feel pretty good about the fan feeds, as they're only 3 feet from the battery. I also have the power feed to the battery upgraded, as well as inside the car, so electrically, the battery is similar to the alternator. No ammeter function anymore.
Nice work!
:coolgleamA: :2thumbs: :popcrn:
Thanks guys! Like everything else I put my hands on, I'll be chasing little leaks for the next few drives. Haha. But it works great. Still haven used the high fan yet, but should be good.
How do you like that alternator? Is that Denso high output?
Quote from: Kern Dog on March 26, 2019, 10:59:18 PM
How do you like that alternator? Is that Denso high output?
IIRC its a 90A Nippodenso from a 1990-ish 318 Ram? I liked it a lot, when I first installed it. Got 14 volts at idle.... That being said, yesterdays test drive of the new cooling upgrades revealed 12.5 volts at idle(without the fans on, no change when they were) and jumps of up to as high as 18 volts when I hit the accelerator, then a settle back of 14.4 after letting off. So I have a Mopar electronic regulator on it's way from Amazon. From the reading I've done, it's the one to buy. We shall see, and I'll report back. I'm guessing the new alternator and increased loads were too much for the original regulator that's been on the firewall since I purchased the car.
I did notice that the V grooves in the new alternator are not as deep as the grooves in all the other pulleys, but it does work.
Pretty sure this is the one I bought, looks just like it, at least:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3468045&cc=1084777
Thank you. Mine works fine but I'm going to be adding an all electric aftermarket A/C kit and I was concerned about the charging rate of the classic style. I'll stick with the stock one unless it can't keep up. It should....They did in 1970, right? I don't have a ghetto blasting stereo or any other non stock electrical demands.
Quote from: Kern Dog on March 27, 2019, 05:40:37 PM
Thank you. Mine works fine but I'm going to be adding an all electric aftermarket A/C kit and I was concerned about the charging rate of the classic style. I'll stick with the stock one unless it can't keep up. It should....They did in 1970, right? I don't have a ghetto blasting stereo or any other non stock electrical demands.
All electric? As in non belt driven compressor??
Sorry, maybe a dumb question, but are fans blowing towards the radiator :shruggy: or block. :scratchchin:
Quote from: ACUDANUT on March 27, 2019, 08:45:28 PM
Sorry, maybe a dumb question, but are fans blowing towards the radiator :shruggy: or block. :scratchchin:
No such thing as a dumb question. They are puller fans. They are sealed to the rad and pull cool air through the rad towards the engine. Pullers are supposed to work much better than a pusher mounted on the front of the rad.
Looks great! Nice and clean :2thumbs:
Quote from: Kern Dog on March 27, 2019, 05:40:37 PM
Thank you. Mine works fine but I'm going to be adding an all electric aftermarket A/C kit and I was concerned about the charging rate of the classic style. I'll stick with the stock one unless it can't keep up. It should....They did in 1970, right? I don't have a ghetto blasting stereo or any other non stock electrical demands.
So I just installed the new Mopar P4529794 vintage looking electronic voltage regulator, and that cured up my voltage issue. A steady 14.4-14.6 at 950 RPM idle and at higher RPM. It is worth noting however that with the idle turned down to 800 RPM, the idle voltage is right at 13. A trade I'm willing to make for that nice low lumpy idle. :coolgleamA:
Upon inspection, the existing regulator that came with the car, was one of those chrome jobbies, they just it painted black. Link to the one I bought below:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00EE59HZQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I just completed the headlight relay upgrade. I previously had the high and low beams on relays, in the new relay box I built and installed. But, with the relays in the circuit instead of the lights themselves, the low beams would come on and the door motor would snap open, as soon as the key was turned on, without the lights being switched on.
Turns out, that the factory headlight motor relay, doesn't have it's own ground, and grounded through the headlights, according to a member on here. So tonight I installed a modern relay(with a ground wire) in place of the existing relay, and it now all works. Doors open and close, high and low beams work, through the relays, just using the factory wiring as a switching circuit. Bright lights at night for the win! :coolgleamA:
Well, decided to use Summits new free shipping to Canada deal to order a set of Wheel Vintiques 15 by 10 Chrysler reproduction steelie wheels for the rear of the car.
I know the fitment and backspacing depends on the car, but it looks like the 5.5" backspacing on the 15 by 10 inch wheels fits on my car.
Hopefully I can manage to get a set of tires spooned on in these trying times. I have a set of 28x12R15 Mickey Thompson S/R rears and 26x10R15 fronts waiting. Hope it fits like it looks to.
Looks like it's going to be close eh?
Quote from: kent on April 18, 2020, 06:28:54 PM
Looks like it's going to be close eh?
It fits! Almost looks like overkill. By the way,
Intimid8 finally pushed me over the edge to grab 15 by 10 rear wheels, with the pics and specs on his car.
I'll have to wait for the next nice day to pull it out of the garage for better pics, as well as test the fronts for rubbing, but it looks like they're all good.
:coolgleamA: :2thumbs: :popcrn:
Looking good. :2thumbs:
She's full! :cheers:
Love me some steelies!!! :2thumbs:
Another update. I finally got around to installing the old Right Stuff Detailing front disc brake setup, I bought over 10 years ago. Suffice it to say, I have learned a few things in the intervening years, and would do things differently today. Like buy the works from Cass at Dr. Diff, for starters.
Anyways, I hodgepodged it all together from multiple sources over the years to include:
Right Stuff 11" disc brake kit(as mentioned)
MBM Bendix style dual diaphragm booster from Pirate Jack
Centric 130.63055 Master cylinder from Rock Auto
Dr Diff repro proportioning valve(looks same as drum/drum distribution valve
All new Right Stuff brake lines from Dr Diff
Braided stainless front and rear flex lines from Dr Diff.
New wheel cylinders from Dr Diff.
QA1 Upper control arms
Moog tie rod ends with sleeves, camber bolts, and lower ball joints from Rock Auto(while I'm there)
These days, I know that all can be had from Dr Diff, and in 11.75" instead of11", and better quality, but whatever...
I will say the Right Stuff brake lines are OK. Not great, but OK. The bends aren't as sharp as the originals, nor are they 100% accurate. They do work though......
The Right Stuff knuckles, rotors, and hardware are also OK. The bearings are made in Asia. The slotted washer and castle nut provided in the kit to hold the rotor don't fit as well as the 50 year old parts on the car...... The slotted washer was a little too large, preventing the dust cover from staying on. And the castle nut was too thin for the ridges to actually capture the cotter pin. So I used the old slotted washer, nut and captive cover. The splash guards required filing to fit, which was easy.
The QA1 control arms went in easy, as well as the ball joints and tie rods, but one camber bolt eccentric needed some filing for it to fit itself on the bolt.
The worst of it was the booster mounting. Described in the next post.
I will also say I made a lucky discovery: I fully removed the bleeder screws in both new wheel cylinders in preparation for a little gravity bleeding, when I noticed in one of them, the inner hole didn't line up with the center bore hole. That probably would have took me a long time to figure out by myself why it wasn't working, if I didn't fully remove them. These were made in USA cylinder too..... These were also made of un-drillium as well! I tried to drill the hole out to the center bore with jobber bits and cobalt bits, and no dice. I ended up taking it over to a friends shop who has a big drill press and carbide bits, as it was after hours when I figured this out. After running around under the car for a while chasing down leaks, I think I'm ready for a maiden voyage, if it ever stops raining.
The worst of it was the booster mounting. I had read that if your car has power brakes, the linkage and stiffener plate can be reused, which I did, however the stiffener plate required a lot more work than I had been told. I knew that you had to open up the hole where the linkage goes through, as the repro has a larger bore. What I didn't know, was that the mounting studs on the new booster didn't match the older booster: width wise they were the same, but top to bottom, the new booster mounting studs were at least 1/2" closer together(I can't remember exactly). This required drilling new upper mounting holes in the stiffener plate and firewall, as well as elongating the lower elongated holes higher, as well as many attempts at the linkage hole......... this was the worst part of the whole operation. I did it with the stiffener plate still in the car, with a drill and a die grinder, so all the layers of metal would be done at once.
Shown in red in the pic is what I ended up doing.
So you used your original mounting plate? And the booster was different. Too bad. Love it when they say simple bolt up. I have yet to install mine from Nat Moparts. They said a simple bolt up. Hope Scott is correct.
Quote from: kent on May 20, 2020, 05:12:00 AM
So you used your original mounting plate? And the booster was different. Too bad. Love it when they say simple bolt up. I have yet to install mine from Nat Moparts. They said a simple bolt up. Hope Scott is correct.
Yessir. Maybe it matches manual plates? But it certainly didn't match my original power drum stiffener plate. So the linkage opening had to be opened up, as well as new mounting holes drilled. I left the stiffener plate on the car for this, but it seemed like I was doing the same mods to the firewall, as the stiffener plate.
Manual and boosted plates differ but what you have isn't a 70 B Body unit per-say. If it works it's all good right! :2thumbs:
Another little update.
After replacing everything brake related, save the rear drums themselves, and taking the car for a test drive, I soon discovered that the booster was only effective for the first brake application, then less so after that. So, out comes the vacuum gauge finally. I knew it would be low vacuum seeing as the car came with an old Mopar purple cam, but I was surprised to find it with 3 inches. Multiple timing movements left me with 7 inches....... still not ideal.
Phase 2 of brake upgrade commenced. I bought a GM branded Hella vacuum pump, the same one used on Cadillac CTS's and Volvo turbo cars, for their vacuum brake boosters. It's a modern, read quiet, rotary style pump, as opposed to the old noisy piston style pumps. I already had a relay box in the car, so I used the last available relay spot, the 6th, and wired in a vacuum switch made for brake vacuum pump actuation so that the vacuum pump was only on when needed. I then welded up a bracket to hang the rubber mounted pump under the battery tray out of sight. I put a check valve just before the vacuum pump, so the vacuum wouldn't leave the circuit, and installed a tee in the vacuum line from the manifold. Now it gets two separate feeds for vacuum, with a check valve at the pump and motor. So if the vacuum motor quits, it still gets the paltry motor vacuum. Conversely, if the engine dies, it will still have effective braking till the battery drains.
I must say, with the vacuum pump installed the brakes got downright touchy. In a good way. In a modern car way. Just touchy in comparison to how they'd always been in this car.
Parts list:
1 - ACDelco 20804130 GM Original Equipment Power Brake Booster Pump
2 - 3/8" aluminum check valves off of Amazon
10' - 3/8" fuel line(I bought vacuum line, but the fuel line was considerably thinner, thus better looking)
1 - 3/8" plastic vacuum tee
1 - vacuum switch similar to this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078T5NL4S/ref=twister_B07PKLX241?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
8 - small hose clamps
In the pics you can see the pump and bracket I made(just mocked up on the bench), a partial view of the pump, check valve, and pressure switch hidden under the battery tray, and the finished product, with the new vacuum line coming from under the battery tray, and teeing into the brake booster. Also in that pic is the relay box, with the relay for the vacuum pump now wired in.
You write very well. It is obvious that you paid attention in school. :2thumbs:
The proportioning valve looks the same to me as the ones used in the Disc brake 1973-76 A body cars that served as brake donors for so many cars.
The drum-drum distribution blocks I've seen are about 2/3 the size and rectangular, not irregular in shape like yours. Some have called these prop valves the "Texas" valve for the shape sort of mimics the state in shape.
Quote from: Kern Dog on June 28, 2020, 12:20:34 PM
You write very well. It is obvious that you paid attention in school. :2thumbs:
The proportioning valve looks the same to me as the ones used in the Disc brake 1973-76 A body cars that served as brake donors for so many cars.
The drum-drum distribution blocks I've seen are about 2/3 the size and rectangular, not irregular in shape like yours. Some have called these prop valves the "Texas" valve for the shape sort of mimics the state in shape.
Yes, what I meant was that the brake lines installed in the same locations as the drum/drum, on this prop valve. It does look like the A body unit.