Posting this up to keep sort of a running record of this project, plus I know you guys/gals like pics.
First things first, this is NOT a restoration. This car is waaay too garbage to be worth restoring. Metalwise, all it needs is everything behind the firewall. It would have made a great parts car for someone with a clean shell, but it seemed like a shame being a real R/T and all. So, I decided to just fix the structure quick and dirty to make it safe enough to be a fun driver.
Some background:
Bought in April-ish 2016, stuffed in storage until February 2017. Progress didn't really happen until winter 2017/18 through present.
Some pics from the previous owner to start with:
First thing I did was yank out the seats, rear panels, old carpet, and headliner. It used to be home for squirrels, by the time I was done vacuuming there was rust cloud in the garage. Next, the trunk was unbolted, fuel tank dropped, brake & fuel lines removed, rear bumper dropped, and side markers removed.
Next came ripping, drilling, cutting, and grinding out the old trunk. The rear rails were getting replaced, but I wanted to use the old ones as a guide to fit up the new trunk pan.
Next came dropping the rear suspension. There is a humorous story about that debacle in the 'what I did with my e-body today' thread. Long story short, I drilled and hacked out the old rails leaving the rear seat pan as a guide for the new rails. Through a lot of planning, measuring, and clamping I welded in the new rails, new trunk, and rear cross member.
Next, the interior cross braces were drilled out, and the old rear seat pan hacked away. Lots of grinding and welding later, and the rear seat pan was installed, followed by the original cross braces. This is how the car sets as of yesterday.
That is a project !!
if you are going this far with it anyway why not restore it , is the drivetrain original ?
Kinda sucks just breezing through all the work that was done, can't communicate all the hours of prep, and battle to make this stuff happen. I didn't just blindly sock new metal to unprepped rusty metal.
Next to do, rockers. Then front floor, then, outer wheelhouses, quarters, trunk gutters, trunk drop offs, etc.
Picked up a really nice roof chopped off a '70 that was hit in the rear for $200. Saving that one for another winter, the goal this year is to just put it back on the road.
I should mention that the car did run and move under its own power when I bought it. The brakes were even working. The front frame and torsion bar mount are good shape. The engine is not original, its a '77 400.
Still left to buy: front floor pan, outer rockers, maybe a passenger door, and outer wheelhouses. Already have the rest.
Quote from: Chryco Psycho on May 30, 2018, 07:09:08 AM
That is a project !!
if you are going this far with it anyway why not restore it , is the drivetrain original ?
That's a fair question. To do the car "right" absolutely everything would have to be blasted or dipped and I'm sure 75% of the metal would have to be replaced. Many of the parts are good enough for a driver but not nice enough for a restoration (fenders, glass, thin areas around hood hinges, damaged trim, etc). Doing it this way, I can just fix the rear structure, put it right back together again and enjoy the car... in theory. I wasn't even going to fix the roof until seeing the cheap one at the swap meet.
It was a 383 car, a 400 is in it now, unsure about the trans.
In all likelihood, I'll end up getting attached to the car and tear it down to make it pretty some day. For now... its put it together fast and drive!
I would have been to afraid to put it on jack stands with that much rust.
Sometimes cars shouldn't be show cars. Fix it drive the doors off it.
Quote from: 72 Challenger on May 30, 2018, 07:40:55 AM
I would have been to afraid to put it on jack stands with that much rust.
Sometimes cars shouldn't be show cars. Fix it drive the doors off it.
Exactly!!
:clapping: '71 R/T is way up on my favorite list. Glad to see it is being put back on the road instead of sent to crusher. 8)
I'm glad to see you are working on it rather then just stripping it or letting it go.
You are doing some nice metal work on that Challenger.
:wrenching:
Nice to see you saving it. It's great to see cars getting resurrected that once would have been good only for parts.
Great progress so far.
What are you going to make it into? A 383? Stroker 400? What color? What transmission.
Looks like one on the fenders is off a 70
:takealook: I spy two "notches"
Quote from: 6bblgt on June 01, 2018, 11:54:46 PM
:takealook: I spy two "notches"
OK - I see it now. Fender emblem in the wrong spot
Wrong paint dabs on the diff, incorrect texture on the primer, I could go on and on :D.
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on June 02, 2018, 08:10:10 AM
Wrong paint dabs on the diff, incorrect texture on the primer, I could go on and on :D.
LOL :crazytalk:
Quote from: Morty426 on June 01, 2018, 10:18:35 PM
Great progress so far.
What are you going to make it into? A 383? Stroker 400? What color? What transmission.
Looks like one on the fenders is off a 70
Since the 400 already ran, I'm going to leave it in there and add bolt-ons.
As it sits: '77 400, stock 452's, likely 7.2:1 compression, smashed hooker headers, Edelbrock TM6
Planned part: Recently rebuilt 915's, .020 head gaskets, 7.8-8.0 CR, Used Flowtech headers, Used Summit 6401 cam+lifters, Reuse the Edelbrock TM6, Rebuilt Holley 3310-2 (750cfm vac sec), new timing set, cheap summit filter assembly, + any required new gaskets/bolts.
If I find out the 400 is hurt, or the bores are garbage, I'll take a chance on a motorhome 440 and just add the same parts (except the intake).
The quarter skins I bought just aren't going to cut it, its going to need full quarters eventually. What brand has the least amount of rework?
Also, I noticed the new trunk pan is a bit different from the original (maybe shock access holes), any other differences I might have to worry about? I welded the original fuel tank mounts to the new trunk and they seemed to fit okay.
:popcorn:
Quote from: Flatdad on June 14, 2018, 11:45:19 AM
The quarter skins I bought just aren't going to cut it, its going to need full quarters eventually. What brand has the least amount of rework?
Also, I noticed the new trunk pan is a bit different from the original (maybe shock access holes), any other differences I might have to worry about? I welded the original fuel tank mounts to the new trunk and they seemed to fit okay.
AMD is probably the best bet
Trunks changed in very late 71 for the shock access hole. Side access (easier) started around May or June
I agree: AMD for full quarters. When you tack them on check for valance, gas filler, trunk and door fit no matter which ones you buy.
More "progress"
The original spare tire mount wasn't very nice shape, but good enough for a driver. I wire wheeled it off as best I could, ran a tap over the threads, sprayed it with rustoleum rusty metal primer, and MIG'd it to the new pan.
I needed to reattach the trunk latch bracket to the new pan. The bracket was rough shape where it had rusted free from the original trunk, so I made a repair brace and screwed it to the new pan to test the latch location. The lid latched fine, but the brace and bracket still need welded. Side braces will be added later as well.
Maybe look into a gas kit for your mig welder? :alan2cents: It's a lot less work with the gas kit.
My brother was up this weekend. On a whim we decided to hang a quarter skin.
While removing the old quarter, we ran into brazing and rivets. Yup, this quarter's been replaced before. Looks like it used to be nos, too bad its junk now. We clamped the new skin in place and test fitted the rear bumper. Surprisingly the fit was good, though, I can already tell the rear valance fitment is going to be work.
So you might wonder, why use the skins if I'm doing quarters later? I'd like to do full quarters at the same time as the new roof, but I'm not doing the roof for possibly another year or two. Want to enjoy it on the road for a while first.
Save the old quarter so you know where the side scoop goes. DAMHIK
Well.... I caved.
Full AMD quarters showed up on Friday along with outer wheelhouses. I just couldn't stomach the thought of welding the skins to the rusty metal at the top of the quarter.
I spent most of the weekend trying to rebuild the passenger rocker and lower door jam, but all I got done was removing the old rusty bits and making a brace.
Progress was slowed substantially when my spot weld cutter broke. Had to resort to hacking with the cutoff wheel, tin snips, vice grips, and pry-bars. Rough going but the bad stuff has to come out!
Here's some pics of my butchery, look away if you have a weak stomach. :barf:
Well, hope one day to see your RT on the road, You sure have a lot of will power. Thanks for the pictures too. I lived in portage Indiana back in the old days, when all these cars were new. That was the good old days, Also life is still good today. fun fun :cheers:
Never say never, anything is possible!!!
Here ya go!
Wow didn't know you started with :unbelievable: that HP! Hope it goes well flatdad gook luck on it :bigthumb:
Could anybody school me on the difference between a '70 and a '71 fender? At Norwalk this weekend I bought a passenger fender because it was cheap and mine's rotted out on the top-front area.
The guy wrote '71 on the fender, but I noticed some bondo worms roughly in the 'challenger' badge area. Unsure of whether those holes were from a dent puller or a badge. If it turns out to be a '70 fender, will my '71 parts still fit properly?
(Holy Crap HP_Cuda! I thought mine was a tough start, nice work!)
Yes, they'll fit. The biggest difference is at the front of the fender on the inner structure there will be a large cutout on the 71 fender whereas the 70 should not have that cutout. The cutout is to fit 72 and later grille and was just an early change.
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on July 30, 2018, 08:05:45 AM
Yes, they'll fit. The biggest difference is at the front of the fender on the inner structure there will be a large cutout on the 71 fender whereas the 70 should not have that cutout. The cutout is to fit 72 and later grille and was just an early change.
Wow! It amazes me what some of you people know. That's why this forum is so good.
Small update, At the nationals this year I scored some nick-knack items:
kick panels, my originals had speaker holes cut out
floor brights/dims switch
battery hold down + hooks
coil mount
I decided I'd wasted enough time fiddling around trying to make rocker patch pieces and finally ordered an AMD passenger rocker, and passenger rear door jam. When the box showed up, the rocker was dented and the door jam was for the wrong side! :tired:
Anyway, the new rocker piece is sectioned and ready to be prepped to weld into place. If I ever get around to fixing this doggone rocker, I'll post up some pics for you guys/gals.
I need one or both of these (see pic) anybody know what to call it and where I can get one? it holds the quarter window track and it bolts to the top of the rear rocker.
Quote from: YYZ on July 30, 2018, 07:52:55 PM
Quote from: Flatdad on July 30, 2018, 08:01:57 AM
Could anybody school me on the difference between a '70 and a '71 fender? At Norwalk this weekend I bought a passenger fender because it was cheap and mine's rotted out on the top-front area.
The guy wrote '71 on the fender, but I noticed some bondo worms roughly in the 'challenger' badge area. Unsure of whether those holes were from a dent puller or a badge. If it turns out to be a '70 fender, will my '71 parts still fit properly?
(Holy Crap HP_Cuda! I thought mine was a tough start, nice work!)
Per @RUNCHARGER (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/runcharger_192) it will absolutely fit. However, do compare the location of the hood adjustment bumper with the other fender. On later fenders the location changed and you'll have an odd-looking mismatch in the engine compartment. Later fenders also have an oval slot on that same section -- it all depends on how particular you want to get (either weld it up, or drill out the other side to match, or just ignore it!)
And the 70 fender will have holes for the "Challenger" emblem and the "R/T" emblem if an R/T without Longitudinal Stripe
Quote from: Flatdad on September 07, 2018, 12:08:33 PM
Small update, At the nationals this year I scored some nick-knack items:
kick panels, my originals had speaker holes cut out
floor brights/dims switch
battery hold down + hooks
coil mount
I decided I'd wasted enough time fiddling around trying to make rocker patch pieces and finally ordered an AMD passenger rocker, and passenger rear door jam. When the box showed up, the rocker was dented and the door jam was for the wrong side! :tired:
Anyway, the new rocker piece is sectioned and ready to be prepped to weld into place. If I ever get around to fixing this doggone rocker, I'll post up some pics for you guys/gals.
I need one or both of these (see pic) anybody know what to call it and where I can get one? it holds the quarter window track and it bolts to the top of the rear rocker.
You need one side or both sides? I bet I can hook you up. Just PM me.
Pics of my old kick panels for PLUM72, if ya want these freebies let me know.
Great to see pix of the progress :twothumbsup:
DAMN... :unbelievable: :worship: :woohoo:
Update, the project is not dead. The battery for my digital camera is refusing to take a charge, a new girlfriend has taken up most of my freetime, and I'm lucky to get a couple hours a week to focus on projects like this.
I've welded in the new rocker repair section, fixed the inner structure above it, and have started to repair the door jam 'foot'. My brother and dad came over a couple nights and we removed the rest of the quarter panel up to the roof seam, and removed the rear deck filler panel.
Next we fitted the new AMD quarter, Goodmark deck filler, Goodmark trunk dropoff, and AMD trunk gutter. It all fit pretty well considering how many major structural items had been replaced. Last night, my brother worked on the tail panel corner while I ground welds and made patch pieces for the door jam.
By far the biggest improvement was kicking that Chinese MIG welder to the curb and buying a new Hobart 140. Its saving soooo much time and frustration. I'm stupid for not getting a good welder earlier.
Here's a 'Before' picture of the rocker splice section:
He double check your deck filler. I have seen repos that are way to long. The one I had fit OVER an BOS piece I have.
Bad ass project going on here. I actually like the idea of making it a solid driver and getting it back on the road opposed to restoration. I have a 70 non RT Challenger as bad as this one that I was working on (until my adhd kicked in). I truly can appreciate the work involved here! It's a battle removing every bolt and most break off.
Quote from: Morty426 on December 19, 2018, 02:56:13 PM
He double check your deck filler. I have seen repos that are way to long. The one I had fit OVER an BOS piece I have.
Do you remember what brand your repro filler panel was? Mine is from Goodmark, my quarter and trunk gutter is from AMD. While test fitting the original trunk lid, I did notice the gap had opened up substantially on the side with the new panels. Maybe my filler panel is the culprit.
I received a package in the mail yesterday, a used Performer 383 intake. I plan on replacing the TM6 single plane with it. The center divider is milled out though. Not sure if I should try to add it back in or not...
Quote from: Flatdad on December 20, 2018, 05:04:58 AM
Quote from: Morty426 on December 19, 2018, 02:56:13 PM
He double check your deck filler. I have seen repos that are way to long. The one I had fit OVER an BOS piece I have.
Do you remember what brand your repro filler panel was? Mine is from Goodmark, my quarter and trunk gutter is from AMD. While test fitting the original trunk lid, I did notice the gap had opened up substantially on the side with the new panels. Maybe my filler panel is the culprit.
I'm 99% sure it's a Goodmark piece. I measured it and it's 56 1/2" across. The NOS filler measures 56 1/4".
So see what you have
wow, that is an awesome build, I won't know where to begin... :worship:
Hi Flatdad,
I just spotted you post now. Great work you are doing! I am fully onboard with your plans to put it on the road. I wanted to restore mine originally but time and money both helped me make the choice to get it running and on the road instead (not there yet). The alternative was looking like 10 plus years.
Many would disagree but I think we are doing these cars a favor just making them usable again. Arguably it makes them a more likely to be fully restored at some point in the future as well.
If you havn't already, take a look at my thread when you get a moment, lots of similarities.
Dan
Again, apologies for lacking pictures.
First off, a HUGE THANKS to Morty426, he found my window brackets I was needing. THEN, he clued me in on a width discrepancy in my Goodmark deck filler panel. I definitely have an extra 1/4" or so that needs addressed.
Update: I had a rare weekend to myself and spent most of it in the garage. I had the welder humming and the heat rolling!
The repair work doesn't look like a whole lot, but it was time consuming for sure. I made about 7 different small patch pieces for the rear door jam and FINALLY got it pieced back together. The door closes like it should, and the new quarter lines up. A BIG win. I can't wait to post before and after shots.
The passenger trunk drop off and rear cross-member extension was clamped in for the umpteenth time. I reshaped the rear flange to meet the tail panel, marked and drilled spot-weld holes for all the pieces, then prepped and primed. Time consuming steps that will never show, but had to be done.
The last couple things that were done involved starting on the outer wheel-house & making a plan for replacing the roof. Not looking forward to these, but they gotta be done.
Here's an old pic so there's something to look at:
I love reading through threads like this. You guys that do this to what most people would call a junker is amazing.
A lot time, money, skill and love of Mopars! :twothumbsup:
I love doing that kind of stuff. With so many items reproduced, there are almost no cars that can't be saved. What kills them is when you have a car that needs all new metal but the seller thinks it's worth 30k. Obviously those cars won't get restored simply because the initial sale can't happen.
Wow this thread really fell by the wayside. I've been pretty excited about my junk Hemi build lately, & other priorities of life have taken attention away from this project.
It isn't a dead project though! I socked new metal into the passenger outer wheelhouse, and it needs just 4 small spots fixed or addressed before I can call it good. I think the next step for this car should be resizing that deck filler to take out the extra 1/4 inch. Then maybe I can finally weld in the trunk drop-off extension on that side!
A couple weeks back I spied front floor pans for sale on ebay $252 so I grabbed them too.
Quote from: Flatdad on April 23, 2019, 07:03:56 AM
Wow this thread really fell by the wayside. I've been pretty excited about my junk Hemi build lately, & other priorities of life have taken attention away from this project.
It isn't a dead project though! I socked new metal into the passenger outer wheelhouse, and it needs just 4 small spots fixed or addressed before I can call it good. I think the next step for this car should be resizing that deck filler to take out the extra 1/4 inch. Then maybe I can finally weld in the trunk drop-off extension on that side!
A couple weeks back I spied front floor pans for sale on ebay $252 so I grabbed them too.
Let's see some more pics! That should reignite the thread.
The Performer 383 is not nearly as bad as the Performer 440 , the stock intake makes a lot more power than the 440 perf
Anyway anything you can do to increase airflow in the Performer 383 will help , of course if you can find a low deck Holley Street Dominator intake it will make a lot better power
I tried to buy a cheap digital camera over my lunch hour yesterday, but I couldn't find a sales associate to take my money! Oh, well. I hope to get a camera sooner rather than later so all of you can share in my butchery adventures!
Last night, I decided I would work on the car no matter what. I figured, there just isn't going to be time for me to work on it unless I burn some midnight oil. So, at about 10pm, I chugged myself full of caffeine drinks, cranked up the radio until it was blaring loud, and attacked the car!
I wired rust, threw sparks, cut steel, & set the undercoating on fire a few times.
What did it accomplish? A few patch pieces fitted & mostly welded on my passenger outer wheelhouse. To look at it, it doesn't look like much, but it sure was time consuming. Had to call it quits at 2am for safety sake.
Progress is Progress!
Sounds great. Looking forward to seeing some pics!
Depending on the location, I will sometimes apply a coating to encapsulate any remaining rust residue like Rust Stop from KBS coatings. Unless you sandblast, it can be hard to get every last speck of old corrosion off and this process is a good way to create a strong barrier. It can be sanded afterward along with other repairs and covered with a good epoxy primer before final body work and top coats. I did this after stripping off a roof skin. The roof bracing will never be accessible again with the new skin and headliner in so I wanted to give as much protection as I could even though it was an extra step.
I tried out my new camera today, & promptly found out it only stores two pictures without an SD card. Anyway, last night I re-organized the garage and managed to find time to work on the Challenger.
The center deck filler brace looked kinda thin, so I went on a fact finding mission with the wire wheel. It was more holes than steel, in the bottom 'trough' area, so I fabbed up a patch piece. The upper part of the passenger quarter that we cut off was still good factory steel, I lopped off a hunk & went to work. It didn't turn out too bad & it fit great. I was able to chop out the tab for the trunk spring with a BMF hammer & a sharp, cold chisel.
Monster Mopar Swap Meet was this weekend, I bought parts!
1 full set of window felts/fuzzies $25
1 passenger door $50
The door isn't rusted through anywhere, but it does have a couple complex dents to deal with.
Progress!
You sure scored on the window felts. Those are around $160 for a new set. I need to find some for my doors but hesitant to spend that much on a car I'm gonna try to sell.
Depends on what brand they are....
I only need door felts (panel and door so 4 total). I'd buy a set if they were under $75. Are there any out there?
I got the Camera up & running, so I ran around the farm trying it out on stuff.
Here is the welded in deck filler brace, the door I bought at Monster Mopar last weekend, & the fender I bought there last year:
Some wheelhouse patches:
Rocker before, during, & after:
All that rocker repair work still needs ground and painted, but its solid! Gonna have to burn some midnight oil again to make progress on the floors next...
Impressive patch and welding work! Looking good
:wrenching:
Looking like some permanent knot tying is in my near future. With that in mind, I've gotten motivated again to "finish" what I've started with this project since my days of being a free-range hooligan are numbered.
Here's what I've done 'n did lately, split into three posts:
I absolutely could not get the driver's quarter window loose, so, I ended up just hacking a hole in the quarter panel to access the sliding mechanism and got it working again. That quarter's coming off anyway.
Hacking the quarter revealed thick bondo cakes and brazing. I was happy to see the brazing instead of spot welds because it will make removing the quarter much easier. Next, I set about removing the weather stripping, window trim, & drip rail trim.
Holy carp those trim screws in the roof frame were tough SOB's!
It didn't take long to strip the phillips heads on a couple of them, but I learned a neat trick with a hammer & cold chisel that got them to loosen up.
Next I worked on removing the left side quarter window assembly. Despite having done it once before, and all the screws/nuts loosening easily, I struggled mightily with it, but got it out.
I then reasoned that, for structural reasons, I'd better repair the rocker before removing the full quarter.
So, last night before bed, I attacked the lower front quarter section below the body line, removing a sizeable chunk to access the rear rocker and survey the damage. I was pleased, disappointed, & perplexed at what I saw.
Had some frustrating good news. months earlier, summit had sent me the drivers side rear door jam instead of the passenger side like I'd ordered. So I just patched the passenger side using the driver's side piece as a mirror imaged pattern. I saved it instead of returning it, thinking the driver's side would be just as rotten and I'd use it anyway... NOPE. The lower rear rocker is sure-nuff just as rotten but that daggone door jam piece is perfect. Guess I've got some AMD sheet metal to sell later. On a happier note, it looks like I can get away with having only bought one rocker patch panel too.
I intend to grab pics of the carnage and post them tomorrow. In the mean time, here's my brother & cousin pulling up to the start line at muncie dragway:
Well crap, grabbed some pics & they suck! Maybe my lens is dirty... here they are, as promised:
The added brace is preparation for my rocker "repairs".
Awesome , you are making a lot of good progress :twothumbsup:
Great work so far! That is a big project. Would intimidate most people. Looking forward to seeing your progress with it.
This is awesome. I wish I had the skills and patience for it.
Sunday night & Last night I attacked the driver's rear rocker. I scavenged what was left of the AMD passenger rocker to make a patch panel on the driver's rear. The rusty bits were cut away & the spot welds ground off to make way for the new piece before I went to bed.
I hit a crossroads last night of deciding just how far to go with this 'rebuild'. The driver's side front rocker is not good. Buying new metal for that would mean also replacing the next piece beside it, & the next one to that, etc.
Since this was/is supposed to be a low budget rebuild, & I want to be able to enjoy the car before I'm two hundred years old, I'm going to draw the line here. No new metal pieces will be bought for this car. If anything structural needs addressed up in the front (and there is) then I'll just patch it quick 'n ugly with the scrap steel I have left & leave it at that. The roof & floor are already big jobs!
The bad bits removed, & the intended patch...
A little easier to see...
Great work man! Looks as rusty as mine, maybe even a tad worse!
Wow. Read thru most of thread. Huge undertaking there. Congrats on the progress. Will follow now for the finish.
Worked on the car from about 11pm til almost 2am last night. Between tonight & a similar late night thrash last week, I got the rocker patch tweaked, fitted, & welded in. I didn't get a picture last night because I was tired & frankly kind of embarrassed of how the repair looked. Oh well, I'll post a pic later of my hack-jobbery anyway. They can't all be pretty repairs... at least its progress. On the bright side, its 2020 & I'm still motivated to get this car running!
Here's an old "before" picture of the rocker along with the next part of the project getting tackled... the FLOORS!
OOOH yeah, look at that firewall! That rust was hiding under the last bits of carpet left in the car. Bummer I was thinking the firewall was in decent shape, but its toast.
I've removed the passenger floor now & test fitted the new floor section, but forgot to take a pick like a dummy! The front frame under the rusty passenger floor is rock solid! :banana:
...with the exception of the torque box (i think its called a torque box) but it looks like an easy patch.
Since the drivetrain isn't coming out of the car for a while, I won't plan on patching the firewall or trans tunnel permanently until that happens. For a quick band-aid, I'll probably just rivet some steel over those holes until the engine someday gets pulled.
As I said back on Nov 27th, this is supposed to be a low budget rebuild, & I'm sticking to it. No more new metal is to be bought.
...and here is a pic of the floor patch just laying in place before work began. Sherman piece, it actually fits pretty darn good.
Panel marked, drilled, weld through primed...
The original under-seat supports welded on the bottom of the panel, & I brush painted the underside black out of a can I had sitting around.
The frame rails and surrounding areas were prepped and weld-thru primed, I also had to patch those outer seat brackets on the top side.
I didn't grab a pic, but I painted the insides & outsides of the front frame rails with heavy duty "chassis black" to curb any future rot.
The torque box needs fixed, but I'll probably just 'hack-job' patch it later.
The passenger floor is ready to weld in, just gotta get it done.
Over the weekend I finished spot welding in the passenger floor pan, and fitted up the rear passenger footwell/pan. The Goodmark pan needed a little grinding on the seat belt mount to sit flush to the rocker, nothing the good old angle grinder couldn't handle. I sunk it in place with self-tapping screws and made my spot weld hole marks. I got bored with the passenger floor(s) and worked on the driver's side yesternight. I ripped and ground all spot welds from the seat mounting brackets & sure enough they'll need some work too. Should go faster since I've done it once already though.
Getting this car going by summertime is looking more & more realistic every time I work on it, which is exciting!
I popped more spot welds loose on the driver's floor last night. My implements of destruction were tin snips, a tire iron to pry with, and shear force of will. I did try grinding a few spot welds, but hated the noise and sparks. Ripping the spot welds apart with the tire iron was just as fast, maybe even faster. I got about halfway through when my cousin invited me over for nachos, beverages, and a movie. Pretty hard to turn that down, lol.
A while back, I picked up a cheap Dana 60 that had been narrowed to E-body width, with spring perches welded on as well. Since it wasn't originally for a car, there is no provision to add a pinion snubber, has anyone come up with a good way to add one?
Back on Sunday night I started to feel a bit iffy, which morphed into being sick most of the week. I stayed away from people, bundled up and worked on the car as best I could over the course of the week.
I got the driver's floor all the way out, hit any weld slivers left behind with the grinder, wire wheeled the loose rust, and test fitted the new driver's floor. I test fitted the remaining floor pieces too & it looked great. I noticed some frame rot at the rear of the driver's rail. I decided a small patch would take care of it as the rest of the rail was solid otherwise.
Last night, I loaded up a good bit of parts for the Indy Swap meet. I'll be selling extra '71 Challenger parts, most of it one-year-only stuff.
My viscous fan got lost or stolen from me. There's no other place it should be except the garage, but it isn't there. I live out in the sticks & nobody goes in the garage except other family members to borrow tools. It really took the wind out of my sails for working on the project, but I finally forced myself to work on the car last night.
I patched the rear seat mount that welds to the rocker & welded the inner seat brackets to the bottom of the new floor pan. I also welded a brace onto the torque box up front. The new floor pan has been trimmed and fitted, I traced all the areas where it contacted the frame & rockers, marked it off for spot welds, & drilled all the holes. Next, is painting the panel bottom & painting the frame rails before welding in the new floor.
I'm terrible
I have a perfectly capable camera & I didn't take pics. While stuck at home over the weekend, bored out of my mind, I kicked the radio on and worked on the car some more.
On Friday night, I painted the bottom of the new driver's floor pan & painted the exposed frame rails on that side too. When the paint had dried on the rails I went back with a grinder & bared the metal wherever a spot weld was to be made.
On Saturday, I set the floor in place one last time & started sinking it down with self-tapping sheetmetal screws so it would be tight to the rails. If it still wasn't tight to the rails, I'd hit it with a hammer. If there was still a small gap, then I leaned on it hard with a hammer handle while tacking it in place. Alternating every other spot weld hole, I welded up about 40 spot welds (out of 56 I think) before calling it quits. I broke the rules, headed to my cousin's place & enjoyed beverages until 5:30am.
I got up Sunday morning a few hours later and wandered back into the garage. I welded most of the remaining spot welds and moved onto fitting up the rear footwells. They almost fit but not quite. I was fresh out of patience so I beat the b'jesus out of them with a hammer until they fit where they were supposed to. I sunk them in place with the rest of my self tapping screws before running out ambition.
The floors are really close to being done!
I feel like I owe you guys a picture, so here is one of my favorite pictures of a '71 in action:
Found some pictures of the driver's side, after tearing out most of the floor. Oooh yeah, look at that rocker rot! I'll be dealing with that after the floors are "done".
Thank goodness I'm not making it pretty, just making it safe enough to drive.
Short Update
The floor is welded in solid, & the welds are ground. I would call it 'done' accept the front half is still in bare steel & the rot on the firewall + trans tunnel still needs addressed. Last week my brother came over & helped me take off the driver's door & hinges. He ended up rebuilding the hinges for me, which was really cool.
Last night, I wire wheeled the heck out of the driver's rocker front & door jam. After some exploratory cutting in the rusted area I made a plan for the patch before calling it quits for the night.
Pitchers...
The Dodge has floors again!
:banana: :banana: :banana:
I still need to brush paint 'em black & address the firewall rot though.
Last night, I trimmed out a patch piece from my leftover AMD passenger rocker & socked it in on the driver's side. I'd intended just to tack it in first, but got carried away. There's still plenty more to address here, but its a start! Geez, I just realized that I bought this thing 4 years ago April 2016! Its high time this project made it out of the garage!
Hopefully these pic's show up in a decent order...
This week I finished the driver's front rocker repair. I made patches from the old quarter panel I'd chopped off the passenger side whilst making jokes about using the whole 'buffalo' to my brother.
Anywhere I could find pinholes, I drilled out larger to expose the thicker metal, then made the tiniest little patch to weld in. It was a tedious process, & I used a lot of wire!
The grinder made short work of my weld globs & now it looks good as used!
Making great progress for sure, there won't be an area you haven't touched by the time you're done. :twothumbsup:
Nice work. It takes a lot of patience to do what you're doing.
When I saw your comment about it being 4 years since you bought your car, I had to chuckle a little as I'm approaching year 8 on my car and didn't have any significant body work to do like what you're facing. I guess we all try to make progress where and how we can.
Love this thread and you are doing great work. Keep the pics coming. I am in a similar situation with my Roadrunner and I am following your progress closely. I'm working on the same areas right now, wheelwells and the ends of the rockers. Luckily my Challenger body work is good and I just have other issues to deal with there. Show us more, you are inspiring me to keep going.
Thanks guys, its motivating to know that folks actually read some of these posts.
I should stress again that this is definitely, definitely not a restoration. I just want to fix the structural integrity enough to drive it safely. If I were to restore it properly, every single panel would need replaced. It was that bad.
WhiskeyRebel, I've got a road runner m'self, a '70. I love the short nose, long deck, bare bones styling!
Dakota, Maybe I can make ya chuckle a little more, I bought my road runner project 12 years ago today and it still isn't finished! Though in my defense I just can't bring myself to tear it down again to paint over the primer. Its too fun to just drive 'em!
Update, haven't done much with the car this month, mostly I've spent time with folks & worked on the pickup.
A couple days back, I cleaned out the interior of the car, roughed up the surfaces with a scotchbrite pad, vacuumed it out, & brush painted 'er black. Looks too nice for the car.
Pictures tomorrow, forgot my camera today
My brother came for a visit after a looong stretch of being cooped up. We made the most of it:
We played basketball, rode dirtbikes, fished, watched a movie, shot some neat guns with friends, shot clays another day, fixed my pickup truck, went for a long motorcycle ride, got my road runner out of the barn for morning coffee, drove my cousin's new jeep project, and... worked on the Challenger!
We mounted the driver's door on the rebuilt hinges & tore the driver's quarter off the challenger & mocked up all the rear sheetmetal on the car!
It looks pretty cool, hopefully I can show you guys tomorrow!
Quote from: Flatdad on May 26, 2020, 08:15:42 AM
My brother came for a visit after a looong stretch of being cooped up. We made the most of it:
We played basketball, rode dirtbikes, fished, watched a movie, shot some neat guns with friends, shot clays another day, fixed my pickup truck, went for a long motorcycle ride, got my road runner out of the barn for morning coffee, drove my cousin's new jeep project, and... worked on the Challenger!
What'd you do after lunch ? :D :haha:
Pics of the new old door, quarter hacked off initially, and some mocked up sheetmetal :banana:
Has it really been a month!?
Well, since my last post, I did a couple things here and there.
I fiberglass matted the firewall and trans tunnel rust holes to temporarily finish off the floors until the drivetrain gets removed down the road.
The outer wheelhouse was just too rotten to patch so I hacked the old one out & screwed the new Goodmark one in place to test fit, the new quarter actually fits over it pretty nicely! The attaching roof structure definitely needs work.
Lastly, I mounted up the rear bumper and rear valance again, & it looks like the fit between everything is going to be pretty good (thank god).
Over this last month I've spent so much time catching up with friends & family there's scarcely been a day for myself, thus the car project hasn't moved much. It has been good to step away for a little while though.
After another hiatus, I attacked the car again.
The new driver's outer wheelhouse got cut, fitted, trimmed, prepped, & finally welded in permanently. The attaching roof structure was so rotten that I just chopped it all away and made new patch pieces that were welded in on Saturday. I didn't bother to grind the welds since the area is hidden... but if I'm honest, I was just lazy.
Sunday I battled the rear cross-member extensions and trimmed/hammered the trunk drop-offs in preparation for final install.
I've officially burned through about 2 rolls of .030" flux core MIG wire on this car! It finally feels like I'm doing more additive repairs rather than just chopping the bad stuff away. The day for doing the full roof replacement looms ever closer...
Posting to keep a log of what I did recently, I've had the driver's quarter on and off the car too many times to count trying to get it into perfect position. The new wheelhouse was just holding the quarter too low, and out a little too far. I got out the 'big body hammer' (2lb sledge) and made the wheelhouse lip more 'cooperative', the quarter fits much better now. :bigthumb:
The tail-panel was severely rotten where the trunk gutter attaches and the edge where the quarter attaches. The past two nights, I've fixed up those areas with patch pieces. Lately, I've made my patches from chunks of the old factory quarter we chopped off the car. Maybe its my imagination, but it seems to weld to the other factory sheetmetal better.
Thanks for the update!
Keep at'er. Hard to keep motivated sometimes but it will start looking more like a complete car soon.
I use original metal for patches when I can. I don't think it's your imagination, the original metal seems to be better quality.
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on September 16, 2020, 06:34:30 AM
I use original metal for patches when I can. I don't think it's your imagination, the original metal seems to be better quality.
:iagree:
Quote from: JS29 on September 16, 2020, 09:39:49 AM
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on September 16, 2020, 06:34:30 AM
I use original metal for patches when I can. I don't think it's your imagination, the original metal seems to be better quality.
:iagree:
:iagree: X2
Is anybody gonna tattle on me if I put some '70 reinforcing brackets behind my rear valance, it just seems so flimsy back there... :vipermanhiding: thinking I might place an order.
I spent a few hours in the garage last night. I'd love to report big progress, but all I did was weld a tiny patch, fill a few pinholes, & adjust the quarter panel fitment about 3 more times.
I swear, with all the test fitting, you have to build these cars ten times just to build 'em once, lol.
At minimum 10 times each piece...
You are getting there.
I was all excited about finding my camera & posting some project pic's this morning...
All that was on it was my brother staging his Belvedere II at Muncie Dragway, pretty cool but not what I had in mind, lol.
Last week I welded in the driver's rear crossmember extension & over the course of the last two nights I welded in the driver's side trunk extension. Next, I intend to weld in the same parts on the passenger side. Onward & upward!
Awesome post. I wished I had the skill set to do what you are doing. Best of all you are saving another one.
The world will be a better place with another 71 R/T 383 4spd roaming the streets.
Been a while, I've worked on the car quite a bit week to week. Both rear cross-member extensions & trunk extensions are welded in permanently.
After at least ten more tries at getting my quarters to fit nicely I gave in & had to cut+reposition the wheelhouse lips. Also, cutting the formed corners of the new quarter panels was a HUGE help as well.
The overlapping edges of the quarter over the trunk gutters had to be trimmed quite a bit to get everything to cooperate. They are looking much better.
Through some miracle, the rear valance matches the lower quarter panel & makes a tight seam. I must have done something right. :banana:
As much as I'd love to say that I'm done fitting the quarters... I'm not. :tired: Its more like 70-80% done. I've lost count of the test fits... around 30 I bet.
Last night, I needed to make some VISIBLE progress to stay motivated. I ripped off the old vinyl top & got the windshield cut out. I'll have to have a buddy help me lift it off the car though.
I've got 4 cars & 4 bikes ranging from 1942 to 2020, & this is the only dang project that hasn't ran this year. Since the engine, trans, & rad are all still intact, I'm thinking about firing it up just for the accomplishment.
I got the windshield stowed in the house and pulled off a windshield wiper arm and the cowl grates (cowl vents?).
I cranked up the shop vac, and started vacuuming out the cowl. There really isn't a cowl floor in there anymore... its just rust and holes. :Thud: The upper cowl panel is junk too, but I was hoping to use the one from the extra roof I bought. Its got some rust around the master cylinder area though. Addressing the extensive firewall rust isn't going to be fun.
I enjoy reading these type posts. Wish I was talented enough rebuild a car from scrap.. Keep up the good work and pics.. Look forward to seeing the finished car!!
My brother visited and we had a pretty good Thanksgiving. Between all the activities, we managed to find some time to work on the car, & what a big day it was!
We rolled the axle & springs under the car & mounted it all up with some new shackle bushings. Then I pulled all 6 jackstands + 2 support blocks, & set the car down on its own four tires for the first time in a couple years. After rolling the car in & out of the garage & bouncing the suspension, we put a level on it...
Everything checked out square & level, and the doors open & close easily! :banana:
Its been a journey to get to this point & there is still a mountain of work ahead. Finding out I did OK on all that rear structural replacement was such a relief & a moment of encouragement.
Quote from: CNUMB on November 19, 2020, 06:40:48 AM
I enjoy reading these type posts. Wish I was talented enough rebuild a car from scrap.. Keep up the good work and pics.. Look forward to seeing the finished car!!
I sure wouldn't say its talent, more like stubborn optimism & delusion, but thank you for the words of encouragement CNUMB! It keeps me motivated knowing that other folks read these posts.
My brother texted me last night a 30% discount code for Yearone. I priced out a rallye dash wiring harness, front light harness, & rear light harness. Even though the discount code negated the free shipping, it was still a savings of about $250. I pulled the trigger & they're on their way.
Add another $730.85 to the running total! :bricks:
Update: Over the holidays my brother visited & we worked on the car. We removed the rallye dash assembly using the thread: 'Dash removal in the words of Alan' as a guide. :thankyou: No real surprises except the wiring harness was mighty crispy.
Next, I wanted to get the fenders off to make way for the roof swap, firewall repairs, & cowl repairs. That meant removing the front valance, bumper, & grill. Surprisingly the valance bolts were the only ones that gave us any grief.
None of the bolts twisted off, not even the lower fender bolts. Maybe the biggest surprise was the condition of the front of the rockers. They were certainly pitted and surface rusted, but not a hole in sight! :Thud:
Outside of those items, I've just been methodically disassembling parts from the front of the car. I should be finishing quarter fitment details, but they've been such a PITA that I'd rather work on something easier for a bit.
That's all for now, I owe you guys some pictures soon!
:needphotos:
Updating to keep a running record of what's been done
The quarters fit, finally. I had to cut every formed flange corner to get them to flex properly to fit & the aftermarket deck filler had to be slightly narrowed. Now the quarters match the door profiles, have good gaps at the trunk, & play nicely with the rear valance.
That's a win.
Last night, I repaired the outer wheelhouse that was cut up to fit the quarter. It just needs ground & painted.
The next goal is stripping more from the front end & prepping the new roof for the swap. The engine has to come out to fix the firewall, but I'm actually looking forward to cleaning it up & adding some performance goodies. Bodywork is for the birds, but I'd do engine stuff all day!
Just found this thread - your starting car is in about the same shape mine is/was. I am commenting here so I can come back and red it through in detail. But also so I can say - from what I have already seen. GREAT work. I KNOW how much work it is, and am actually doing an entire series on mine on youtube to share with people what it takes to do this kind of work.... I am doing mine in a similar manner to ours - - as a driver - with one exception. I am fabricating a lot of the stuff rather than buying parts - because I am just that crazy. Actually I love making stuff out of metal - its my escape from the world - so... why not.
Anyway, I will be back when i have time to drink all this in. But from what i have seen so far. MOST EXCELLENT!!!!!! :banana:
Thanks man! Just looked up your Youtube channel, love watching people's build videos & I plan on watching through yours as well.
Thanks!!!! I love making stuff and its a FUN project!!!! Hope you enjoy the channel!!!
Quote from: Flatdad on March 04, 2021, 07:53:55 AM
Thanks man! Just looked up your Youtube channel, love watching people's build videos & I plan on watching through yours as well.
I just read through the thread. Yep - I can relate to all you are doing. My oproject it just as bad. :D You're making great progress. Keep after it!!! I love what you are doing here!!!!
I binge watched Mike's Challenger build videos & got fired up to work on my project more
Thursday:
Stitch welded the wheelhouse lip, ground, primed
Friday:
I stripped the external engine/accessories to get ready to pull the drivetrain & called my brother to help
Saturday:
We dropped transmission & yanked the engine. The only real surprise was seeing just how comparatively solid the front of the car is compared to what the rest was! It should only need minimal patching & a good cleaning.
The 400 had a '75 vin & the 727 had a '77 vin. Not a single bolt twisted off & all the fluids seemed to be topped up & clean! :banana: ...at least until I spilled most of it on the ground, lol.
Sunday... we rested, & fixed the door on my old Power Ram.
Quote from: Flatdad on March 08, 2021, 04:49:06 AM
I binge watched Mike's Challenger build videos & got fired up to work on my project more
Thursday:
Stitch welded the wheelhouse lip, ground, primed
Friday:
I stripped the external engine/accessories to get ready to pull the drivetrain & called my brother to help
Saturday:
We dropped transmission & yanked the engine. The only real surprise was seeing just how comparatively solid the front of the car is compared to what the rest was! It should only need minimal patching & a good cleaning.
The 400 had a '75 vin & the 727 had a '77 vin. Not a single bolt twisted off & all the fluids seemed to be topped up & clean! :banana: ...at least until I spilled most of it on the ground, lol.
Sunday... we rested, & fixed the door on my old Power Ram.
That's AWESOME! Glad my channel got you motivated!!!!!! :D
Sounds like great progress! Cant wait for pics.
8) 8) 8)
Last night, was a night. I wish I could have filmed what was done. Not because it was good, not to impress, but because so little was accomplished. In just under two hours, I managed to remove 6 screws that mount the sunvisors.
It started simply enough, an innocent Phillip's head screw driver. I pushed, I twisted, a head began to strip. Then a screw driver with a wrench was employed, but screws refused to yield. An impact driver & hammer were pressed into service, I was getting serious. 4 screws gave in, one each side refused to budge. "A two pound sledge should save the day... nope!" Then a full size sledge hammer is surely the way. It took a cold-chisel, struck in rage, to free the fasteners from their rusty cage.
All this, while the final mouse-nest stronghold in the car is raining down from the last scraps of headliner into my eyes, with the dust settling in the ever-failing magnetic LED shop-light.
:Thud:
Quote from: Flatdad on March 09, 2021, 06:24:07 AM
Last night, was a night. I wish I could have filmed what was done. Not because it was good, not to impress, but because so little was accomplished. In just under two hours, I managed to remove 6 screws that mount the sunvisors.
It started simply enough, an innocent Phillip's head screw driver. I pushed, I twisted, a head began to strip. Then a screw driver with a wrench was employed, but screws refused to yield. An impact driver & hammer were pressed into service, I was getting serious. 4 screws gave in, one each side refused to budge. "A two pound sledge should save the day... nope!" Then a full size sledge hammer is surely the way. It took a cold-chisel, struck in rage, to free the fasteners from their rusty cage.
All this, while the final mouse-nest stronghold in the car is raining down from the last scraps of headliner into my eyes, with the dust settling in the ever-failing magnetic LED shop-light.
:Thud:
I literally laughed out loud at your descriptive message. I can SO Relate LOL :unbelievable: :D :))
Last night went much smoother. I stripped parts from the engine bay & firewall mostly. Horns, heater box, vent boxes, wiring, ignition parts. None of the fasteners really fought back, the undercoating did its job. The heater box appears to be in good serviceable condition & the core still holds coolant.
This weekend, I stripped the front brake hard lines, distribution block, master cylinder, pedal assembly, wiper linkage, & E-brake assembly. Not much left to take out.
Shoulder belts are out along with retaining clips & headliner bows. I also finally took off the passenger door panel which revealed the beautiful GB5 blue original to my car, in unsullied, un-sunbaked condition. I was dead-set on painting the car black... but 'dat blue though... :thinking:
There is nothing left to remove for the major surgery ahead, its time to do the roof!!!
I pushed the car out to clean the grease off the K frame & managed to take some pictures of stuff...
Here's a little taste of what it took to get the quarters to fit properly.
Several cuts in that upper flange to get it to match the upper door, & some nasty fitment work to get the wheelhouse to play nicely. That's just how it goes with aftermarket sheetmetal though.
These areas need repair:
Been working on the passenger front rocker & the panel above it (kick panel? Interior webbing panel??) After an aggressive wire-wheel inspection, there was quite a bit of swiss cheese. Since then, I've chopped and ground most of it out in preparation for a patch.
Thinking I'm going to have to put the car outside for a while to have room to prep the "new" roof. Installation will need to happen outside too, we'll probably use the the backhoe bucket to lower it on.
A far cry from the little bit of structural repair I intended to do "just to drive it" back when I bought the car almost 5 years ago.
Planning out the chassis bracing... likely using 2x4's
Well I spent most of Sunday & Monday night burning my lungs out with welding smoke. I relented on my pledge to not buy any more new metal for this project by buying a 4x4 sheet of 18 gauge. Was just sick & tired of scrounging for steel to do my repairs.
$37 more spent, & well worth it so far.
The passenger front rocker is patched back together. Quick & ugly, yet, painted & hidden.
I've been jamming pretty hard lately to get this car back on the road, by the time April 14th comes around, I'll have owned the car 5 years :Thud:
Where would I be without delusional optimism, lol!
My brother came to visit, so we worked on the 400 a bit. I thought it was a '77 but its actually a '75.
We took off the water pump, timing cover, heads, & cam. Surprisingly, the deck clearance was less than expected.
.1045 Driver's Bank
.095 Passenger Bank
Since the CH on stock 400 pistons is 1.830", that means the deck height is the nominal 9.98" on the driver's bank, and a short 9.9705" on the passenger side. The stamp pads showed no evidence of having been disturbed by decking.
Yesterday, we "ported" the fresh machined 915 heads. Really all we did was clean up the areas under the valves, breaking any sharp edges & stayed away from the short-side radius since we're not experts by any stretch of the imagination, lol!
Out of curiosity, I cc'd one chamber each on the 915's & was disappointed to see 82cc on one & 80.5cc on the other! My steel shim gaskets from the dealership measure out to .015" thick.
With the small chambers on the tall side of the block & large chambers on the short side, static compression will work out to 8.47:1 & 8.53:1.
Not bad for a stock short-block 400!
I am at a disadvantage on the forum as I am rarely on my computer and always on my phone. But I wanted to see how you were coming along. If you followed my channel you know that I TOO have been jammin in the shop. But I wanted to get here and catch up on your project. You are making PROGRESS.
Looking GREAT!!!!!!!
Nothing outstanding to report, I've been busy working on other people's projects.
My eldest brother & I took the 915 heads back apart & put on stiffer springs, I also cleaned up & primed various exterior engine parts & ordered some things. New exterior balance flexplate, new valley pan gasket, new valve cover gaskets.
This weekend, I took a long look at a used '17 Challenger ScatPack with a 6spd... I daydreamed about selling off all my old junk to buy it until I saw the price: $40K! Maybe fiddling with my old cars isn't so bad.
Baby steps
This weekend I worked on valve covers. I believe they are original to the car even though the 383 is long gone. Upon stripping away the rust and remnants of orange paint, I found two rust pinholes. A hold-down bolt had also fatigue-cracked one valve cover at the rail. Aside from the holes, a couple dents need knocked out. The insides were such a greasy mess, I spent several hours on Saturday scrubbing them with gas until I was loopy.
Sunday, my brother came to visit. We drove the old distributor-oil pump drive bushing out of the block and installed a new one. Progress has been slow, as I've been focused on making more room in the garage. I made a painful decision to sell ALL but one of my motorcycles/dirtbikes & at least one daily driver. I don't need the money, but I value the extra space freed up and the time taken up from extra maintenance.
Keep working on it and don't give up! Some of the best times I have ever had was working on old cars with my dad, brother, cousins etc.! Some great stories too!
Thanks for the encouragement! The last couple weekends have been engine work.
I knocked out the dents in the valve covers, welded up the holes, and shot primer on 'em.
The intake got scrubbed down & painted next. 3 coats Aluminum Cast Coat + 3 coats of clear.
I didn't like how stiff the new valve springs felt on the heads so I swapped 'em for the third time now. :Thud: The 915's are now wearing the stock springs, retainers, & locks from the 452's that came off the 400 in the first place. They're pretty weak, but at least the used cam & lifters have a fighting chance.
There seemed to be a lot of mismatched fasteners so I dug through all my spares to make complete sets, mostly for the valve covers.
I finally took the old oil pan off & spent a few hours cleaning off grease, oil, & rust. A couple dents had to be knocked out, but its primed & ready for installation. Surprisingly, the drain plug was stripped. Luckily I had an old motorhome oil pan laying around that could donate its drain plug. I might sneak my spare windage tray into the installation if I can come up with another gasket.
The water pump housing got a fresh gasket & old pump. I plunked a new 180 degree thermostat into place & torqued it to spec.
That's all for now, not much left before the 400 can go back together.
Last night we stabbed the new-used cam in with plenty of goo on the lobes, and slid the also-used lifters into their bores with some 30wt. The galley plugs got fresh sealer and installed. Last, I copper coated the head gaskets before we torqued the heads down.
Everything is painted now & 90% assembled. The oil pump was leaky so I grabbed a spare off the shelf from my old 440.
I was missing an oil pump gasket so I cracked open an ancient Direct Connection gasket set for a 426 Hemi & robbed one outa' there.
It just needs the valley pan, intake, & oil then its ready to drop in. If the used cam + lifters survive the break-in I'll blow some cash on a decent dual snorkel and pie tin.
Good grief is it October!? Where did the time go this year?
The 400 is fully assembled and painted, months ago. Since the last update, I drove my poor leaky road runner over to the garage and pushed the '71 outside and tarp'd it. The road runner is apart in the garage, as it needs the 727 swapped. So, the Challenger is in limbo unless I want to work on it outside. Poor thing.
Back in July, I bought myself a spankin' new dual-sport dirtbike and have scarcely been on 4-wheels since. I've been getting the itch to work on the car(s) again though, so hopefully I can post up some meaningful progress again soon.
Nice work . It's nice to follow a build like this . I find it's lets. Me appreciate all the hard work that goes into these cars .cheers :australia:
With a big hand from my dad and brothers, we got the road runner put back together and out of the garage. The Challenger is back inside, and out of the weather. I did a little busy work like filling pinholes and grinding welds. Yesterday, my middle brother helped me get the donor roof setup on some sawbucks to start prepping it for the swap. One step forward.
I cleaned out the windshield channel corners on the donor roof and found plenty of rust and holes, but nothing I'd call a deal-breaker. Over Christmas, we flipped the donor roof over and went to work removing chunks that wouldn't get used in the graft. My brother worked on removing what was left of the old quarter pieces and I removed remnants of the aprons up front.
Both the upper firewall panel and lower/inner firewall panel need a LOT of work, but its nothing compared to the rotten pieces on the car now. Since new firewall panels would be close to $800 for me after tax, I'm going to try and repair them.
I tried my best to repair the firewall+cowl on the new donor, but it was too far gone. I gave in and ordered a new firewall and upper cowl that I'm picking up at the Indy Swap Meet.
In the mean time, I re-repaired the front floor area of the car. Previously, I had fiberglassed over the rotten bellhousing area, but I decided that was a little too hack-job... even for me. I made a dedicated patch and hand formed it with a flange and all. Some of the shoddy floor spot welds got tuned up at the same time.
I'm currently working in the engine bay patching up the fender aprons. One rotten section above the passenger shock tower is fixed, probably four areas to go.
It was a productive weekend!
The rear of the passenger apron was rusted out, I made a patch with the necessary bends and melted it in. The passenger hood hinge mounting area was completely shot, It's a miracle it was still attached! I ended up making a 5x5 patch + a new backing plate with tabs similar to the factory and reused the threaded bit retained by the tabs. It ended up looking pretty nice, so I'm just going to duplicate it on the other side. Last thing I did was straighten the upper rad support and worked on the lower a bit with various hammers.
The welds still need ground, my least favorite part... :barf:
Both hood hinge areas are patched, welded, and ground. There's still a rusty area on the front of the passenger side, and a spot on the rear of the driver's side. My brother grabbed a bunch of scrap square tubing from his work and brought it over for me to use as bracing for the roof swap and firewall work.
I've had a 26" radiator core support piece laying around for a couple years, and yesterday I just decided to go for it. I drilled out the the old 22" bit and fitted up the new one with sheetmetal screws. Everything appears to be square, but I need to compare some measurements.
:needphotos: :D
Quote from: anlauto on February 28, 2022, 04:57:08 AM
:needphotos: :D
True, I'm on a mission to change that this week. I'm still rocking a flip phone, so any pictures need to be done with a dedicated camera and I broke the one I had a while back. Maybe I looked at it too hard, lol!
I did manage to find some old 'before' pictures of the rusty aprons, hopefully they'll suffice until I can snap some 'afters'. :takepicture:
Friday at the Indy swap I picked up my new firewall and cowl, saving about $250 between shipping and the show discount. I also grabbed an underhood plastic clip kit for $10, and a metal brace I was missing for $5.
I was busy most of Saturday & Sunday, but managed to find time to prep the radiator support piece and spot weld it in. The fender apron still needs patched where it meets the support though.
Man, posting by phone is a pain. I figure this picture will convey the most information. After fixing the front door pillars with grafts from the new roof, I'm working on the rear sail panel webbing and structure. My brother helped me do one test fit so far, and the new roof is going to fit like a glove. :slapme5:
Wow! Most " ambitious " back from the dead I've seen yet! :clapping:
Yup, nice to see another one fixed :worship:
Where the pillars meet the door posts on the donor roof, has been a real eye opener. I figured the donor pillar/posts would be rust free... as they looked rust free from the outside.
Spoiler; it was not.
After separating the roof pillar flanges from the door pillar, I discovered deep corrosion was already starting that would have been holes in no time, despite looking clean as a pin on the outside. It really makes me wonder now about all those restored (or racecar) e-bodies that have never been apart this deep.
Quote from: Flatdad on November 14, 2022, 05:03:28 AM
Where the pillars meet the door posts on the donor roof, has been a real eye opener. I figured the donor pillar/posts would be rust free... as they looked rust free from the outside.
Spoiler; it was not.
After separating the roof pillar flanges from the door pillar, I discovered deep corrosion was already starting that would have been holes in no time, despite looking clean as a pin on the outside. It really makes me wonder now about all those restored (or racecar) e-bodies that have never been apart this deep.
I always look forward to updates on this thread.
Would be great to see some pics of what you described above. :cheers: :popcorn:
:popcorn:
Just went through this whole thread and am doing all I can to NOT check out the YouTube channel mentioned earlier until the weekend! Great thread, awesome work!
Quote from: Flatdad on November 12, 2022, 09:11:33 AM
Man, posting by phone is a pain. I figure this picture will convey the most information. After fixing the front door pillars with grafts from the new roof, I'm working on the rear sail panel webbing and structure. My brother helped me do one test fit so far, and the new roof is going to fit like a glove. :slapme5:
Holy crap!
Gonna watch this. I'm impressed FlatDad. :bigthumb:
Ok, I went poking around the roof post base and... I found exactly what you'd expect, holes. After cutting out most of the base, I stabbed around on the wheelhouse top with a pick and picked out more holes of course. The Webbing behind the angled bit of roof post was bad too. Five layered patch pieces later and a shellacking with various sealers and chassis paints and it's now solid. Ugly, but solid. The angled pillar piece will be added after the roof graft is attached.
Next, I moved on to the window rail and corner. One patch welded in up high, one due in the corner. Then it's on to the driver's side roof pillar.
It was a semi-productive holiday. The middle brother and I re-set the roof on the car along with the dutchman panel. Then we added the quarters, firewall, upper cowl and a fender. Then we set the rear glass in to verify the roof positioning. Everything is looking ship shape and square, thank goodness!
Since then, I haven't done much except tune up older weld repairs, patch some cosmetic areas, hunt for pinholes, and some basic rust prevention. Busy, tedious work that takes time.
1/4 year update I guess. The roof is welded to the car. :Thud:
A couple hiccups along the way, I found an 1/8" discrepancy on the distance between door to quarter pillars, with the passenger side being longer on my chassis. The new roof measured perfectly square, so I had to find a way around that.
Then, when I first welded the roof on, I did one rear pillar first and rechecked quarter fitment. The quarters were nearly impossible to install. Confused, I measured over and over, and determined I'd managed to weld the rear pillar too low. With a heavy heart, I cut it apart again. I added some material to correct the issue, and pushed forward from there.
I hope to weld in the new firewall and cowl next. Posting on here reminds me to get moving quicker on this project as it is just supposed to be a rebuild, not a restoration. In a couple days it will be 7 years and counting on this "just get it done quick and safe enough to drive" project. :bricks:
I just read my own post on 'reply #5' from 2018... :rofl:
In retrospect, I think my fate was sealed on getting too deep into this car when I bought the roof graft. That being said, no regrets. I'm still passionate about getting this thing rolling someday, and hoping to get a big chunk done this weekend.
Over the last couple weeks I've been goofing around with my old Scrambler, time to get back to the car.
obligatory picture tax:
Quarters weren't playing nice with the rear valance, discovered interference with Goodmark trunk extension flanges. I ended up cutting the flanges off the the back edges of the extensions which allowed the valance to fit properly with the quarters.
I took my old road runner to Muncie Dragway last night for test and tune. I've struggled with fuel delivery issues and awful vibrations for YEARS on this car. A new set of 235/60-15 radials and an electric fuel pump+regulator+return line seem to have solved those problems, FINALLY. It ran a new best of 12.69 at 111mph, fighting for traction on those scrawny radials.
The firewall is fully welded. It took every clamp to close the gap between the floor flange and firewall flange, but it's tight now. I'm in the middle of grinding all the spot welds, then it's on to the upper cowl. The cowl seems to be fitting much nicer now that the firewall is in tight, thank goodness.
I had an awful time connecting the firewall to the floor pan as well. Seems to be a common issue from other folks I've talked with. I just finished the cowl installation on mine and it went pretty good.
Found some pictures from a couple weeks ago, I am not a skilled photographer, lol
This weekend, I finished grinding all the firewall welds and got the upper cowl all drilled. I hit a stopping point when I realized the inner cowl needs painted body color before welding the cowl on. I'm sure nobody would give a darn if it was black, but I kind of want to try out my local paint supplier to see how good they are at matching 1971 B5. The inner cowl would be a good test area.
The car was on the back burner for a couple weeks. I was doing an oil change on the daily and discovered the front crossmember was dangerously rotten. So, I pressed the winter beater truck into service and promptly sprung a coolant leak from a bellhousing freeze plug. :barf:
Now that the daily drivers are sorta' sorted out, I'm getting back to work on the '71. The right front rocker panel is the last area of major rust. The lower pinchweld had a random rusted out area mid-way back that was easy enough to patch and then I moved on to the fender mounting area and front cap. Investigation with the wire wheel confirmed, Swiss cheese. After getting the old rocker end cap off, I flattened out the rusted piece and worked on fabbing up a replacement. The rocker front itself is going to take quite a bit of rebuilding, then the torque box will be next.
to post pictures , click on at the bottom of the window where it says
" click or drag files here to attach them"
Quote from: Brads70 on November 17, 2023, 10:52:38 AMto post pictures , click on at the bottom of the window where it says
" click or drag files here to attach them"
I figured out that the panel for adding files and pictures isn't available in "quick reply" mode, only in "reply" mode, which is why I wasn't seeing it. Then I had to learn how to jump through the hoops of resizing images :brainiac:
Got 'em posted finally!
Anyhoo, I didn't get anything done on the car Saturday, as a buddy invited me to go watch Notre Dame stomp Wake. Sunday I got all the rocker patch pieces cut, formed, and mostly fitted (except the torque box). Pretty much just have to prep 'em and weld them in.
Since the last post, I patched up all the holes and welded on all the fabbed pieces for the rocker, rocker pinch weld, and torque box. Felt like it took about 100 years to grind everything. I also cleaned up the donor braces from the 70 roof and welded them on the A-pillar/firewall/door post. After cleaning up those welds, I hosed everything down with brown primer.
I can't wait to get the cowl and quarters welded on, so I can take out all that intrusive bracing.
A few weeks of work represented in three pictures. This rust was hidden by body filler. I had to hand fabricate a lot of little complex pieces and it was a pain in the butt, but it's all steel now.
I get to do this all over again on the passenger side too! April 16 is officially year number 8 with this car, where did the time go? :happybday:
Glad to see you are still at it. :twothumbsup: After eight years, lesser people would have thrown in the towel already.
Repair looks good. Manageable pieces at a time.