Rusty's not very quiet cuda progress

Nor sure, I can't think of a reason for it not big enough for the hemi hood?

There's a pretty good gap between the pad & the metal, I'd have to try & catch some of the pad itself & keep it all down together.
 
That doesn't look big enough for anything but to me it looks like about a 4" hole. Could be bigger could be smallr, hard to tell without a reference.

Yeah I meant tape it to the back of the pad. I'd put the tape on fully covering the hole and then some, then stick the other part in and press it all together.
 
As usual the old Rusty one doesn't make anything easy, got one shackle in pretty easy, the other side I couldn't get the bar on, jacked either side up & down & all around & it would not line up.
I stuck the nuts on to hold it & moved to the front, I had already mounted the brackets to the body, I get one side all lined up & then realize you can't put the bolt in!!!!!!!!!
Soooooooooooo off came the brackets, stuck em on the spring & started maneuvering the mess into place, after a few tries I had it lined up nice & got really lucky, yanked the jack forward & it popped right in, started the nuts & hit the other side, more ups & downs & did the same thing, this side went in just enough to grab a couple of bolts, got em started & pulled that side in.
Back to the bar, a couple more ups & downs on each jack & I finally got that lined up.
Shocks were not too bad.
The sway bar links were a battle, with the new bushings & it being angled a bit it was a bear getting it squeezed down to get the nuts on, I jacked the rear up to the point it was lifting the car off the jack stands, at that point it was now or never finally got the top nut on the passenger side & went over to the last one on the drivers, finally found a way to get it squeezed enough to start it.
Snugged everything down , fixed a mistake I made on the brake lines (hose pointing in the wrong direction) & called it a day.
Now I have to clip the hose to the body & hook up that line, put the E-brake cables back & stick in the drive shaft.
Rear should be done then, I have to do the ball joint boots AGAIN & then I can drop the car on its wheels & let everything settle, then it's torque everything down!

Look Ma no jacks! 20231204_160754.jpg20231204_160817.jpg
 
Oh I decided on that door gap, I'm not messing with it anymore, once I get the front end torqued down I can start putting the sheet metal & grille work in on the front end!
 
I LIKE rally wheels, wish they were 15" but I will settle for the scaled down look!
most of the pit marks will be covered by the nice shinny new rings! 20231205_134255.jpgSo I finished off the rear brake lines & put the e-brake cables back together, tightened them up till I couldn't turn the wheels by hand, may need a bit more but I think I have to adjust the brakes first, I'm at a slight drag turning by hand.
rear ready to hit the ground. 20231205_153705.jpgStarting to look like a car back there. 20231205_153735.jpg20231205_153818.jpgHad enough time to start on the front ball joint boots, so far the lowers & all the
small ones look good?
but I may have put the wrong one on, I was thinking the short fat one went on the uppers. 20231205_154244.jpg
Quite a difference in size compared to what came with the kit!

I had them laying on the ground & grabbed the wrong one when I was applying the grease & didn't notice till I was cleaning up.

Does it matter?
Should I change it it's just snugged down at this point? 20231205_154506.jpg20231205_155142.jpg
 
Going back to the plating: It might be worth your while to call around to places further away. I don't know what North Star charges, but they were a big outfit prior to the LKQ buyout and they weren't expensive. Inflation is certainly a factor, of course.

It's not just the EPA that's made chrome plating expensive. Chrome simply isn't "a thing" anymore. Go down to the nearest new-car dealership and pick whatever model you please. I'll bet you can count the chrome exterior parts on one hand. Demand goes down, supply goes down, price goes up. Sell less bumpers, the cost of the ones you do sell have to go up to maintain the bottom line. Now it's a specialty thing, which it wasn't in the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, collision shops depended on places like North Star--who had locations all over WI but their plating shop was always in MN. One of the platers in the thread I linked on the H.A.M.B. was quick to dismiss the EPA and nasty chemicals as the main cause of price increases. He's not doing dozens of bumpers a day anymore.

"Show chrome" isn't the big deal some people seem to think it is, or platers make it out to be. The only difference between production (also called "flash" or "nickel") chrome--which is what the factory used, along with what's on reproductions--is that "show" chrome has a layer of copper between the nickel and the chromium. Yes, it looks very nice but it's not technically restoration correct. It's not as noticeable on bumpers, but show-chromed items like horn rings, shifter handles, console plates, etc. lose sharpness and detail in the process. Hurst shifter handles in particular look puffy or soft around the lettering and, in the case of Pistol Grips, the sharp corners.

There's a place in Menasha, WI called The Chrome Shop. They do restoration-grade flash chroming, which is less expensive than show chrome and restoration-correct. It might be worth checking them out.
 
So your photo shows L-R: the boot that you thought should go on, the one that you put on, and the original one?

It looks to me that the main difference between the two new ones is the hole for the stud to pass through. That should tell you which one is right for your car.

Where did you end up getting those? I need at least one for an UBJ and one for a tie rod.
 
Got the boots & the grease at summit.
Don't know where they are but stuff comes quick & usually with free shipping.
That's why I will probably buy the bumper there, shipping on that will be bad.

Yes that's the line up.
it seemed to go on the shaft well & snug fit at the top.
Lowers are not coming apart, well at least not now. I guess I'll test fit the shorter one on the other side when I do that side & see what it looks like.
Pretty sure the order was for 2 uppers & 2 lowers?
 
Jass, I called a penn. shop (K&L plating) today but they closed already (3:30) I'll try again tomorrow & check yours out, shippings gonna be crazy on that trip.
 
I just checked one of the sets of ball joints I have for my Challengers. The lower has a slightly-larger diameter at the base of the stud than the upper, so if I had to guess I'd say you inadvertently got it right. 😄
 
sometimes you get lucky!

Got my headliner guy coming next week to check out my lumpy carpet, he has a steamer, but is not sure if mine can be smoothed out???
Gonna call legendary & see who makes there's, he seems to think ACC has bought out a lot of the competition!

He liked the Masked back one, but no one as of yet mentions that?
 
Prothane, PTP-19-1819-BL
I have no idea what the BL meant, they had same looking ones without the BL for the same price?

they might be made by the same place?
 
RUSTY Cuda said:
Prothane, PTP-19-1819-BL
I have no idea what the BL meant, they had same looking ones without the BL for the same price?

they might be made by the same place?
Click to expand...
Jass beat me to it on BL meaning Black

Summit is out and Jeg's doesn't carry them. Haven't looked further than that.

I need tierod boots too, and Prothane doesn't have those at Summit at all. All my signs are pointing toward buying Energy Suspension. I still need about $75 more to get free shipping. I should buy Gina a Christmas gift :D
 
K, P&L doesn't do chrome, the girl gave my Librandi's plating, phone quote 800 a pop & 150 for a guard.
Looks like a repop for the front, back I'll decide later, if I'm happy with the final results!
 
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