72 Challenger R/T/A

[dodgechargerfan]

For strength, they do a great job.

For looks, they blow.

69X9X9 put in a ton of hours trying to make them look half decent. He did a great job, too.
I'm going to be doing some more to them, because I'm fussy. He got the hard work done - which is exactly what I wanted him to do for me.

 

[gomopar440]

I went ahead and got the EZ-21 wiring harness kit and it should be getting to Mark by the end of the week (along with everything else I ordered this month).

The postman must hate me by now...:bwuhaha:

 

[gomopar440]

For strength, they do a great job.

For looks, they blow.

Works for me



If anyone is looking at my torque boxes it'll probably be because I ran them over [smilie=f:

 

[1966D100]

The postman must hate me by now...:bwuhaha:

Sounds like the UPS guy who always shows up at my parents house deleivering parts for me and my dads business. "What the hell are you guys building in there?!!!" :bwuhaha:

 

[dodgechargerfan]

Works for me



If anyone is looking at my torque boxes it'll probably be because I ran them over [smilie=f:[/quote]

I think torque boxes aren't as much of a concern in terms of looks. The frame rails are a different story as they are designed to fit OVER what's left of the existing rail as opposed to replacing it... That, and the 10th grade welding job makes them look like butt.

 

[gomopar440]

Luckily, most of my frame rails appear to be fine. I'd use some better ones off an original car before trying to cap them.

That, and the 10th grade welding job makes them look like butt.

Whenever the supply of original parts dries up, that'll probably be lookin like pretty nice lookin butt.:bwuhaha:

 

[gomopar440]

Ok everyone, just a reminder I'll be in PA from 23-30 May(about a week from now). :giggedy:

Anyone that wants to stop by and see the progress or lend a hand is welcome to come on over. PM me for directions on how to get there.:bravo:

 

[gomopar440]

The parts from Mancini Racing (all 5 boxes) arrived at Mark's place today. The torque boxes and wiring harness should both arrive by Friday at the latest. Even if they don't get there in time for some reason, I'll still have more than enough stuff to keep me busy with all the new suspension parts. :dance:

 

[dodgechargerfan]

Luckily my frame rails appear to be fine. I'd use some better ones off an original car before trying to cap them.



Whenever the supply of original parts dries up, that'll probably be lookin like pretty nice lookin butt.:bwuhaha:

True enough. I can't really complain. They do exactly what they say they will do.
I had never seen one of their pieces up close before and I guess I had different expectations.

Bottom line though - the car is back together and has good strong rails...
and now, it'll get undercoated instead of shiny paint..

 

[BB71Challenger]

Hey I will be sending him some frame rails lol. I have never had the pleasure of cutting the ass end off of a car before and it is nothing I want to do again anytime soon :toot: I cut the end off a 70 Challenger with the bumper still on it Hey Paul, dont laugh when you see my cutting abilities :shifty:

 

[XLR8R]

Yup, I think DCF hit it on the head...I am sure they are strong, I was just expecting something far more attractive and finished. I have heard lots of good, so maybe mine where just the dogs of the bunch that day, who knows?

 

[Dr.Jass]

I dealt with them way back in the Year One days--they brought down a way-cool '70 Charger to show me their products. Yeah, they're obvious under the car, but unless you're a mirror-under-the-car show guy, who cares? A little undercoating goes a long way to hide them.

I was never under the impression they were in it for aesthetics--they're more concerned about strength and keeping cars with rotten frame sections on the road and out of the crusher. That's an honorable goal in my book.

 

[XLR8R]

Yep, I suppose I coulda bought a bucket or two and hid em reallll good...

 

[gomopar440]

Miss me? Try working on your aim...

The day began with the seemingly ritualistic task of inventorying all the parts I had ordered. So far so good.

I started out working on the headers I got from Nodda. I was able to fix the port gasket surface problem with an angle grinder and a flat hand file. They look fine and shouldn't give me any problems now. The old exhaust manifolds came off ok with the exception of a stud that broke off when I tried to remove it on the passenger side head. I need to get some header bolts before I can mount them up permenently. The passenger side looks like either I'll have to make a sharp 90 turn back to clear the idler arm or drop it straight down and go between the centerlink and K-frame. Dunno yet? I may have to use a remote mount oil filter setup if I do turn the exhaust pipe straight back though. Anyone had any luck with those remote adapter thingys?

Next we were working on the trunk drop offs. I got them prepped so Mark could just weld them in place. The driver side drop off is now fully welded to the trunk floor and tail panel. The other one will get put on after we start working on the pass side mini-tub job.

Mark welded the left inner fender braces back in place and reinforced the tack welds that were put on earlier. So far so good here. Tomorrow the driver side quarter panel and the outer wheel house will finally be going on.

BTW: The quarter panel on the driver side had already been trimmed just above the mid body line. I would have needed it to still be full size to be able to pull the quarter panel out the extra 1" for tire clearance. Maybe next time...

Mark had to take off for church so I kept on working on the engine bay. I removed the old, tiny, tired, falling apart, wouldn't keep a 2.2 from overheating radiator and stuck a huge newer one out of a Dodge van in it's place. The radiator opening in the support actually covers about 1.5"-2" on each side of the core. The mounting flanges fit against the rad support nice and close so I just drilled two holes on each side and used some self tapping screws to secure it in place. The radiator hoses line up perfectly but the upper hose had been trimmed back at some point and won't reach as a result. I'll need to get a new one of those. The lower rad hose fits fine. The trans cooler lines use a barb type fitting instead of a screw in flare type like the old one. I can just cut the ends off the lines and use some short pieces of rubber hose and some clamps to connect them. Simple enough.

The mini alternator was next on the list and it looks like it was fairly simple to mount up. I just had to move the spacers around to get the pullys to line up. Does any one here know if the 2 extra big ground wires are needed or can I just toss em?

Well, that concludes today's episode of "As The Wrench Turns". Tune in tomorrow when the batteries for the digi-cam are charged and I can actually take some pics of all the new progress so far.

EDIT: Added some radiator pics

 

[a12bee]

I used a remote on my volare for a while, it worked but there are better alternatives like the 90 degree or stub filter. As it turned out a normal filter worked (for me) anyway and the remote was more hassle than it was worth.

 

[gomopar440]

Even the 90 degree might be in the way of where the exhaust would need to go. Even if it wasn't, the pipe still would be VERY close to the oil filter. NOT GOOD...

Here's some pics of the headers on the engine. I tried to get some header bolts today but they were too big. At least they fit on Mark's Mustang since he's putting on headers soon too.

 

[Da-ho]

Small blocks get 5/16 but I like a stud at the front and back for alignment. Hope you make them work.:helpme:

 

[gomopar440]

It was a good day in the shop today. We finally got the driver side outer wheel house and quarter panel welded in place. We even got a little bit of a head start on cutting the pass side wheel house out so we can finish moving it inboard tomorrow.

First we got the outer wheel house trimmed at the edges to fit and lined it up and clamped it solid. Mark welded it up solid and then we got started on the quarter panel. We had to jockey it around a bunch since the repops we got are not stamped real good. We had to just pick where we wanted it to fit the best and then persuade it (ie: BFH) everwhere else. Once we had it where it was going to be, we used some 1/2" tape on the inside lip of the wheel well to mark where we would trim it back too. These quarter panels lips are as much as 1.5" wide at the arches:wtf: . After that was done we put it back in place and then scribed the outer wheel house to match the now thinner quarter panel wheel opening lip. Then we put the electric shears to it and trimmed it to match. Before we started welding the quarter panel in place we mixed up some acid etching primer on most of the bare metal. If we didn't do it now we wouldn't be able to get to the metal that needed it once the quarter panel was welded in. Now all we had left to do on the driver side was finish welding the quarter panel in place. After I helped hold it in place and Mark got it tacked, I went to work grinding the welds on the front floors while Mark finished up the welding. After he was all done with that I started grinding the welds on the quarter panel while Mark was spraying more acid etching primer. Pretty much everything that was bare metal now has a coat of the primer except for the bottom of the trunk and passenger compartment floors.

I wanted to get more pics but the new batteries were still in the charger and the old ones only held out for a few shots. I'll get some more pics tomorrow. Most of these pics are probably duplicates but I'm too tired to double check which are which right now.

 

[1966D100]

:clap: wayta go man!! Nice to see the car is filling out. Who knows, if i can get IRS on my D100, i might have to challege you to a auto cross event LOL, you'd win with that torque though.....and your vehicle isn't built like a tank like mine

 

[a12bee]

I just looked in my garage for remote but it's not here, next time I go over to the folks I'll look there and if I find it you're more than welcome to it. You ain't gonna need it tomorrow are ya?