Introducing "Project K-Rod" - and where I've been lately...

[ViperMan]

This is really a restoration project, but it's not an e-body, so I didn't post it there.  I'll let the moderators decide if it can live there or not. 

I've been a member of CC.C and EBO since late 2006 or so, after I bought a 1973 Barracuda.  I decided to part ways with it in 2009 as the frame and a good chunk of her sheet metal was rotting away, and I had no time, money, or location to do anything about it.  I had a 2000 Viper by then, so at least I was still part of the Mopar family...

I almost bought a 'Cuda in 2017, but it turned out to be not quite what I wanted.  That however cleared up space and funding when a weird bug of inspiration hit me later that year and I decided I wanted to build a "big boy toy."

See, I've always fancied myself a low-key inventor.  I love to build things.  I'm still known around Pittsburgh for my "ViperBox" - a children's 16V electric ride-on car that I cut in half and turned into the most bad-ass, beer-serving jockey box folks had ever seen...  ...or heard...    Later on I built a beautiful homebrew serving system out of a 8.8 cu.ft. deep freezer that could function to ferment, clear, serve, and even bottle my homebrewed beer.

But I felt it was time for something more mature - something that could be more "for the masses," and not just beer-related.

And that's when I found this - my 1956 Dodge Coronet 2-door hard-top sedan.

Some folks here might remember the story - with the help of the EBO member map, I found a member nearby the seller who was able to look the car over and give me a favorable report.  And so she came home in October of 2017.

We moved in April of 2018, so I knew there wouldn't be much going on until after the move.  But once we got settled, I quickly jumped in to get her ready for Carlisle.  The car didn't have a headliner when I bought it - just some ancient, sagging fiberboard and a mess of white duct tape failing to hold it against the underside of the roof.  She had all the pieces thoguh - the boughs were in place, and the perimeter trim was still holding the tattered remains of the original headliner in its teeth.  So I set about cleaning out the old, removing the light bit of surface rust from the metal, and installing a new headliner.  That went pretty well, so with that finished I then hurried to install new Savini Black DiForza 20" directional wheels and tires.  I had to go through a few different spacers and hand-cut studs before they fit just right.  The last wheel was mounted 2 days before we departed for Carlisle!

After Carlisle of 2018, I started to form the rest of the strategy for what I came to call "Project K-Rod" - 'K' for my last name, as my goal was to make this something of a family project.  That after all was the reason for buying a 4-seater; so that the whole family could hop in for cruises, car shows, dinner outings, etc.  I had always loved the look of the "lead sled" cars - low and sleek, while still being curvy and massive in presence.  Dodges aren't really known for pulling off this look, so I was going to have to get creative...

I knew it'd be easiest to work the underpinnings before worrying about paint and body.  So first would come an air-ride suspension, with enough suspension travel to set her on the frame rails.  After that I'd upgrade the tired 270ci small block V8 with something newer - perhaps a heavily-worked 340 or even a hefty 440 engine.  I still haven't ruled out a modern Hemi from the SRT group, but I haven't decided yet.  Somewhere in there I'd upgrade to power disc brakes and maybe power steering.  There'd also be modern comforts like a stereo (the car was originally a radio-delete model) and maybe air-conditioning.  The last challenge before paint would be a modest 2" chop to the roof, with a custom front windshield at the least.  I'd also modify the front end, though at the time I wasn't sure exactly how, and I'd remove some of the chrome - leaving just enough to maintain that vintage character.  After that, an eye-catching 2-tone paint job would be applied.

With this "figured out," I set about late last summer to purchase air-bags.  A quick look under the frame however made me realize how difficult that would be.  The Coronet's springs sat in tight holes within the frame's cross-member, leaving no clearance for air bags.  I took to the internet and quickly learned my first step would be the hardest of them all...  I was going to have to cut the frame and weld in a brand new front stub.  All this on roughly 2 hours-worth of welding "experience"...  There weren't many options for a '56 Dodge, so when I learned that FatMan Fabrications - outside of Charlotte, NC - had already designed an independent front-suspension (IFS) solution for the '55-'56 Dodges, it was kinduva no-brainer.  It also wouldn't be cheap...  On the plus side however, they had options to provide a complete hub-to-hub solution, with power disc brakes, power steering, air bags, shocks, control arms, and everything in between.  I knew there was no way I'd be able to "figure that all out" on my own for less than the price of their complete kit.  So I started saving, and this past January, the work began...

Tearing down the front end was easier than I thought - only the bolts holding the lower valiance to the fenders snapped, and they're easy to replace.  In just one weekend I had the engine fully exposed.  That would come out a week-or-so later, and just a few hours after that I had stripped the front end down to the frame.  I took dozens of measurements, using a plumbob to mark locations on the floor.  Several photographs (and a few yet-to-be-posted video documentaries) later, and I cut the frame off the front of the car.  I was nearly sick to my stomach that day!

But before I could dwell on it too much, I was lining up the new, shiney front stub to the original frame rails.  And then I was welding in the gussets (with my new, Miller 215 MIG welder), and then I was checking measurements, and next thing I knew I was welding on the new frame.  I was fabricating brackets for extra strength, applying some "personal touches" and test-fitting suspension parts and sending things off for powder coating and... ...well it's been a pretty crazy couple of months!!!

So here's where I'm at so far:

Frame: purchased and fully welded, gusseted and bracketed, cleaned and painted.
Control Arms: powder coated, installed
Brakes: calipers powder coated, custom painted with "Coronet" livery and mounted to spindles.  Brake hose brackets welded to frame.  Master cylinder purchased, test-fit against frame - just needs a custom-built mounting plate to seal up the firewall.  Brake line & fittings purchased, tube flaring/bending/straightening tools all purchased and ready to go.
Front Air bags: bags, fittings & air lines installed.  Air control module purchased, waiting for final shipment.  "E-level" sensors need to be sorted out and installed.
Hubs: temporarily installed without grease - need to check tire-to-fender fitment and determine if spacers needed - spacers and different threaded studs will need purchased.
Steering: rack purchased and installed.  Steering hoses purchased and ready.  Pump needs purchased, bracket needs fabricated, but first v-belt solution needs to be figured out.  New tilt steering column has been purchased along with u-joints and linkages - awaiting delivery.  New steering wheel waiting for installation.
Engine: adapters to mount the original engine were model and made using a 3D printer to check measurements.  3D pieces were then traced on steel, cut out and welded up.  Fitment confirmed against base measurements.  Oil pan won't fit on new frame - being shipped out (today, in fact) for custom modification to a rear-sump system.  New water pump, distributor, coil and other various tune-up parts will be installed prior to engine re-installation.  Trans gasket will be replaced as well (was leaking.)
Rear axle - air bags and brackets for behind-axle air ride installation purchased and delivered.  Shocks will need relocated to make room for air bags.  Original axle and brakes will be retained for now; leaf springs will be modified (all but one leaf removed) to maintain axle location.  Upgrade to 9" rear with disc brakes and triangular four-link linkage will occur at a later time.

I hope to reinstall the engine within the next 2-3 weeks.  With that in place I can finalize installation of the master cylinder and brake lines, as well as the steering column.  At some point I'll have to rewire the engine bay and significant portions of the dash - I haven't really started that process yet.  From there it'll be running all the air-lines and wires to the air-control unit (which will sit in the trunk,) and finally re-installing all the sheet-metal before finally putting her back on her wheels.


IF I'm lucky, and can get enough done in time, I'll be towing her to Carlisle again with a new attitude and I'm hoping an incredible ride quality!!  She's definitely consuming a lot of my time though which is why I haven't been super active here (or any other forums, for that matter!)

So there is #ProjectKRod.  If you're a Facebook user, you can search for #ProjectKRod to see more photos.  I've also been shooting videos here and there to start a YouTube channel, but I haven't had free time to get the videos edited and uploaded.  HOPEFULLY I can do that before Carlisle...


Lastly, I commissioned our good friend Dan Zimmerman to create a rendering for me of the final "vision" for the car.  I really couldn't be happier with it.  I still have a long road ahead, but with my plan to do the build in "phases", between which I return her to a driveable state, should mean that the project never gets old, or forgotten, and never becomes "too far gone" to finish.

Now for pics!  I'll add them in the order of the story, as told so far!!  Enjoy!

[ViperMan]

 

[anlauto]

Interesting project 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Cool project, around my area all these got swept up by a broom cause they rotted out so bad. Keep the updates coming !

[Cuda Cody]

   Can't wait to see it in person one day.     Very cool project.   

[ViperMan]

  Can't wait to see it in person one day.     Very cool project.   

According to the counter up above, you'll hopefully get to see it in about 100 days!!! 

[MEK-Dangerous]

Jeff,

  To be honest with you, it looked great last year. I loved the matte black paint and those wheels you added.

But... You have a vision of what you want this car to be, so I'm pulling for you to pull it off.

  Good luck buddy! I would help you if you hadn't moved South.

[ViperMan]

Jeff,

  To be honest with you, it looked great last year. I loved the matte black paint and those wheels you added.

But... You have a vision of what you want this car to be, so I'm pulling for you to pull it off.

  Good luck buddy! I would help you if you hadn't moved South.

I'll be back up North looong before this car is completely finished. 

[jimynick]

That's nice work Jeff and congrats on getting so far along! I blew up the pic of the engine and see that it's the real old Red Ram type with the deeply scalloped valve covers. The engine I got for my 58 Dodge was out of a 56 Plymouth and was a 303, but it was the more common poly with the less scalloped covers. Are you going to rod the engine and if so, how? Either way, 56's were some of my favourites and I'm keen to see where you take the old gal! 

[ViperMan]

Hey Jimmy!  Thanks!!  I don't plan on keeping the engine indefinitely but for now it'll stay in there. Part of me wants to find a 50's or 60's HEMI to build up but I really haven't decided yet.  I've got some time to sort that out! 

[ViperMan]

K-Rod is coming along!!

I'd have the engine back in it if RockAuto didn't lose a shipment containing my oil pan gasket...

I had rough-set the engine without the oil pan when I realized that the rotating assembly missed the frame and steering rack by less than 1/4".  But I had a company called Kevko modify my oil pan and gave me everything I needed to build a sump pick-up and dipstick fitting.  I also notched the frame to help clear the lower end of the engine and then built 1/2" risers to improve clearance at the steering rack.  Once the engine gets in I can clear some space in the garage to start tearing out the rear axle and get my rear air bags sorted out and installed. Looks like I'll be building a new cross-member into the frame to mount the new bags.  Then I'll start tackling wiring!!!

[ViperMan]

The rest of the air system is going in pretty well - air tank is loosely mounted and the front leveling sensors have been installed!!

Oh and those brake lines I was asking for advice building - those are 100% finished.

[Cuda Cody]

     

[Spikedog08]

That's looking great Viperboy!  Nice job!   

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Looks like things are coming along nicely !