Hello everyone!
I acquired this car about five years ago and am now getting to the point that I would like to document the restoration of the car. I figure this would be the best spot to do it. This is my first E-body (I have mainly owned B-Bodies) and it has been a steep learning curve for me but I am starting to get it figured out. I am sure that you folks will keep me straight! Some of you may have seen this car floating around on the Internet over the past 10 years or so. I first remember hearing about it years ago and thought "What a cool car!" Little did I know that several years later I would own it. It basically took everything I had to get it. I had to trade a car, plus cash, plus parts to get it. Sometimes I think I was crazy but it was probably the only way I was every going to get my hands on a real Hemi E-body.
As the title says, this is the '70 Hemi Challenger campaigned by Lee Cameron of Sacramento, CA on '70 and '71. I have a bunch of photos/history of the car which I will put here for everyone to check out. I have basically zero information on the car from '72-'76. It ended up at Dick Landy's shop where they did a bunch of work to it and then sent it to a customer in Hawaii. There is a picture of it in street trim in front of Landy's shop (in '77) in Geoff Stunkard's book titled "Landy's Dodges".
I still don't know which direction I am heading with it. I highly doubt that I will ever do a 100% stock restoration. I definitely appreciate those restorations but it really isn't my thing. I am definitely a "period correct" "Day Two" type of person. Maybe even a '70's style Street Machine. Who knows.... Anyways, I hope you enjoy the photos.
Stan
Here's a few more:
Stan
Here's the receipts from Dick Landy Industries as well as an article from '77 (although the article from '77 doesn't seem to be super accurate in describing the car).
Stan
Quote from: Cuda Cody on January 05, 2018, 02:21:31 PM
What a super cool car!!! :inlove: Does @RzeroB (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/rzerob_126) know about this car? He's a wealth of knowledge.
Hello Cody! I am not for sure if he know about the car or not. I really haven't spoken to too many folks about the car but I figured here would be the place to get information from the "masters"!
Stan
What a piece of history. :perfect10:
Here are a few photos from when it was discovered in Hawaii and when I picked it up in Missouri.
Stan
Here is some build sheet and fender tag info. As you can see, the Hawaii salt air did not treat the fender tags well but they are very legible. Somehow, a major portion of the build sheet actually survived! Thanks to Cody and everyone that put the Build Sheet Decoder together! What a very cool tool!
Stan
The amount of history you have with the car is amazing. That is about as cool of a project that anyone could ever hope for. :wowzers:
Random photos:
Stan
Quote from: Cuda Cody on January 05, 2018, 02:49:06 PM
The amount of history you have with the car is amazing. That is about as cool of a project that anyone could ever hope for. :wowzers:
Believe it or not, when I got the car I didn't know too much about the history of it but over the past few years I have been piecing it together. It is pretty cool! I really can't believe that it is actually sitting in my garage..... I can't wait to bang gears in it!
Stan
The Hemi and aluminum K-Heads actually cleaned up pretty good! Definitely a good block. A very stout engine for "back in the day". Kieth Black stroker crank, solid roller cam, aluminum rods, etc.
Stan
I have a ton more pictures of the car that I have taken over the past few years. I have done a lot of work to it..... I will post more tomorrow.
Stan
Wow! :wowzers: What a piece of Mopar history! Sure would be cool to return it to race trim!
Thank you for sharing with us. :worship:
This will be fantastic to watch. :banana:
HemiStan is a man after my own heart..... A 426 Hemi sittin in the living room !! :bradsthumb:
Great history and car you have !
Welcome to the site !
What an amazing car , story & history . Great that you have all of the pictures too
in picture 13-6 it really looks like it needs hood pins !!
Looks like an 8 3/4 diff was strong enough to run 10.90 with auto trans.
Great history !!! :burnout: Are we looking at the original block ? I don't see a VIN. Do you have a pic of top pad and bottom rear flange ? :wowzers:
Welcome to the forum and I love your car. I bought that Super Stock Mag back in the day as well as the other one when it was in Hawaii. I dreamed of owning it when looking at both those mags way back when.
Wow! What an amazing car and history behind it.
The stories it must have if this car could talk would be a helluva story.
That is a very cool car! I would restore it back to the drag race car in its glory days!
AWESOME! :wrenching: looks like you have a bit of work to do ..... keep the pictures coming!
:welcome: And WOW!!!!!! :perfect10:
Great to have you onboard! Super neat car!
for what my little voice is worth, I would restore it to the trim immediately following the work at Landy's shop. Since he is such a famous molar icon, which adds to the cool factor of this car, and the documentation you have of his work is so extensive that it should be "simple" (using those words carefully here lol) to recreate.
The value of this car in my eyes in race trim in both it's historical value and monetary value. Cool factor is undeniable. Whatever you do I can guarantee you the entirety of this forum is glad to see it saved.
i'm all for factory originality but this is not the time or the car!
just to throw my bias out there, I absolutely love documented former race cars, light weight cars etc... even the ugly A990's.
Thanks for all the comments everyone! It has definitely been a major project to say the least..... I am going to spend a couple of hours posting more pictures today to get everyone up to speed on the current status of the project. I am normally in the garage working but it is 19 degrees here in Virginia today so I think I will just sit here in the warmth and post pictures....
I can just about guarantee that I will never put the car back to 100% assembly-line stock configuration. The next caretaker can do that down the road if they choose, but not me. I do intend to bring the body/metal back to factory configuration. The body has had a lot of modifications (some decent, some absolutely crude....) done to it over the years that I want to bring back to factory. I will most likely do a "Day Two" restoration or maybe even a late '70's style Street Machine. Either way, it will have an 18 spline four speed and Dana installed.
I do know this: I don't think I will ever try and bring back an ex-race to semi-stock street trim again. I have spent several years gathering the correct parts and repairing all of the drilled holes, hammered sheet metal for clearance, etc. But it will be worth it in the end.
Stan
Yes: I thought it was really neat as the Swift Dodge with the custom faded paint etc. but I wouldn't put the auto in it. I think your idea is perfect, sheetmetal back to factory and then day 2 paint and performance mods.
Here is the Build Sheet Decoder (Thanks again to Cody and all of the folks here at E-Bodies.org!!) I had uploaded this file earlier as a single PDF file but I scanned each page in as a photo so it appears in the thread.
Since this car was sold in California, it does not have the chrome exhaust tips originally. I intend to keep it that way. As you can see, it didn't have too many options. No radio, no stripe, manual drum brakes, manual steering, no console, etc. But, it has a Hemi and a four speed and that is all that really matters to me....
Stan
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on January 06, 2018, 08:16:31 AM
Yes: I thought it was really neat as the Swift Dodge with the custom faded paint etc. but I wouldn't put the auto in it. I think your idea is perfect, sheetmetal back to factory and then day 2 paint and performance mods.
Sheldon, as you know, I like to drive my cars and this one will be no different. It will have a pretty stout stroked Hemi, cam, headers, etc. but it will all look "period correct". I have a very nice (maybe NOS) "Rat Roaster" Intake as well as a very nice, uncut, vintage Weiand tunnel ram. It will definitely be getting one or the other....
Stan
Stan: I bet you will alternate the intakes and I know you will tune them to run correctly too.
So, here's how the story begins...... Back in February of 2013, I saw the Challenger come available on eBay. I don't recall what the opening bid was or what the reserve was, but I do know it was high. Much higher than anything I could afford. But..... it was cool and I kept checking out the auction as the days progressed. I finally sent the owner an email inquiring if he would be open to some sort of trade. He stated he was and from there we worked out a deal. As I said at the beginning of this thread, it took everything I had to get this car; including probably my most favorite car I have ever owned. But, I had Hemi Challenger fever bad and I had to have it.......
So, in early March my buddy and I loaded up the truck and trailer and headed out to Missouri. We drove 19 hours straight to get there and picked the car up the next day. Out of respect for the privacy of the fellow I picked the car up from, I won't mention his name or where he lives; but he probably had the most impressive private car collection I had ever seen. It was amazing. As you can see, the Challenger was parked next to another one of his project cars. Very cool. We took our time getting back to Virginia and then pushed the Challenger into my small garage. We had a few cold beverages and then we called it a day. I was amazed that I had a Hemi Challenger in my garage!
The next morning I went out to my garage and opened the door. I will honestly say, the excitement had worn off..... Where my beautiful '68 GTX had been parked for several years, was now sitting a very derelict '70 Challenger.... I ended up pulling the engine and transmission out of the Challenger that weekend but that was it. I was actually a bit depressed. I didn't have a running/driving muscle car to go bang some gears in anymore and I was in this car deep...... I had put all of my chips into this gamble and I was wondering if I was going to be able to make this work.... I didn't work again on the car for nearly a year... I had another project car that I had bought a few years earlier so I needed to finish that one first anyways.
Stan
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on January 06, 2018, 09:00:50 AM
Stan: I bet you will alternate the intakes and I know you will tune them to run correctly too.
You pretty much read my mind!
Stan
For about 8 months, I just looked at it and shook my head. Some days, I didn't even want to look at it. But... After I quit feeling sorry for myself, I decided I needed to make some progress on the car. This car had been driven HARD....... It had some rust issues from the Hawaii salt air and it had some issues from being a race car. It was difficult for me to decide how I wanted to get started with it. After taking some measurements, it looked the the unibody was slightly tweaked from the years of racing.
I have got kind of an interesting garage set-up. When I moved hear about 15 years ago, the house had a detached 20'x17' garage (unfinished on the inside). I ended up building a 20'x20' addition on to the side of the existing garage which I finished off on the inside. So basically, I have a garage that is divided in two. One is a clean side for painting, etc; the other side for dirty work.
On the small side, I built a 16'x4' wooden frame table. Using a laser level, I leveled the entire table to less than a .060". Yes, it took me a while but I needed a level surface to build this car correctly. My wife and I lifted the car up on the table to see how tweaked the car was. Hmmmm........ Not great......
I figured that I really needed to replace the entire floor pan and trunk pan. What hadn't been beat with a hammer/cut with torches for clearance for frame connectors, had been rusted from years of water running into the car. So, I drilled out a lot of spot welds and removed the floor and truck pan.
And guess what??.... After doing that, the car sat perfectly level on the frame table! Finally, a "win"!
At this point, I now had a completely dissembled car that was basically immovable. I did not want to weld the new floor pan and trunk pan into the car until I had cleaned/painted the inside of the frame rails, torque boxes, etc. So, I pulled out my portable media blaster and proceeded to blast the insides of the frame rails with it...... In my garage..... If you have never done that, it is dirty...... I think that I still have media in every crevice and corner of that garage. But it had to be done! I carefully cut out the frame connectors, cleaned/painted the insides of the frame rails and torques boxes, and welded in the trunk floor. All while it was sitting on my "frame table" (I didn't weld the floor pan until about a year or so later). I periodically checked all of my measurements against a frame chart and what is in the Factory Service Manual (which I believe allows up 1/4" tolerance between measurement points). I ensured that every one of my measurements to was within 1/16". This car is straight. Probably better than when it left the factory.
Stan
Quote from: GY3R/T on January 05, 2018, 07:07:30 PM
Great history !!! :burnout: Are we looking at the original block ? I don't see a VIN. Do you have a pic of top pad and bottom rear flange ? :wowzers:
This is definitely not the original block. I am willing to bet that this block came from Dick Landy's shop as an "over the counter" piece. Even though it has an early 1970 casting date (prior to the build date of this car), it still isnt reallly "correct. I don't beleive that any '70-'71Hemi cars came with blocks that were cast in '70. I think they were still using up inventory with '69 castings. I will get some more pictures of the block next time I am out in the garage.
Stan
As you can imagine, my welding skills were put to the test with this car! I can't even begin to count up the number of hours I have in cutting, fitting, welding, and grinding on this car..... Either way, it was good practice. My goal was to correctly repair every bit of rust and whatever had been hacked up while saving as much original sheet metal as possible. Not an easy task..... Sometimes I think I was crazy but someone had to do it.
This car had some rust issues in the cowl and windshield corners. The next several photos will kind of give you an idea of what I did for about a year....
Stan
More.....
Windshield corners....
Driver's side windshield corner...
More fabrication and welding.
Repair of a hole in the RH frame rail where they had ran a 1/2" fuel line. I don't have a photo handy but I of course ended up cleaning up the weld and drilling the correct hole back in it.
One thing I found kind of interesting as I was posting these photos was seeing all of the vice grips, cut-off wheels, grinders, etc that was laying on the garage floor as I was taking the photos. Any of you that have done any work like this know that it is a very tedious and dirty process.
These photos aren't necessarily in 100% chronological order. These photos probably span over two years of work....
At about this time, I needed to take a break. I pushed the car out under the shed behind my garage, covered it up, and it sat there for close to a year. I didn't even want to look at it! I had already dumped a fair amount of money into it and I knew I had a long way to go. I had gathered up the correct 1970 seats, an uncut '69 B-body Dana, an 18 spline with shifter, some cool wheels for the front, the entire correct dash frame, pad, and gauge cluster, etc. As you all know, '70 E-body stuff is not cheap... I was learning....
Stan
Okay, I'm late to the party, welcome Stan, here's my two cents worth.... :alan2cents:
Car needs to be restored back to it's original state B5 in and out....."day two" mods to the engine for sure, and a set of Aluminum slots polished all around with (important part) PolyGlas Goodyears....F60's on the front and G's out back.....or even 14" on the front and 15" on the back to really give it a correct big&little look :unbelievable: One step further to represent it's past may be a tasteful simple bolt in roll bar....
I certainly would do a colour change of any sort.....
....as for the restoration, you should start by stripping and blasting the car completely before you start welding in small patches everywhere :alan2cents:
Awesome car ! :burnout:
Fast forward 10 months or so..... I am ready to get back at it! At this stage I knew I was going to be able to finish this project (I really had no other choice; I had put everything I had into this car......). I pushed it back into the garage and put it up on some heavy duty jack stands that I had previously leveled up. The car was pretty solid now and I figured I didn't need the frame table any longer but I still wanted to have the car bare (no suspension) and perfectly level before I welded in the floor pans. I used AMD floor pans which are pretty good. One thing I didn't like was that there were some minor incorrect details. I ended up removing the original seat belt mounting brackets, etc. and welded them onto the AMD floor pans prior to installation. I think it just gives it a cleaner, more factory correct look. Details matter....
Around that time, my wife got me a nice rotisserie for Christmas which just BARELY fit in the garage. But it did! (Yes, my wife is pretty cool!) I put the car on the rotisserie and started to attack the bottom as well.
I know that you are all asking the question: What about all of the holes drilled in the radiator support and RH inner fender??!! Well, I did what any sane person would do. I welded... every... single... one... of them up...
More photos... As you can see, they cut right through some if the numbers on the radiator support. In addition to that, it looks like they took a grinder and just randomly grinded the entire radiator support. Either way, I did what could be done and documented it.
Stan
Quote from: anlauto on January 06, 2018, 11:51:04 AM
Okay, I'm late to the party, welcome Stan, here's my two cents worth.... :alan2cents:
Car needs to be restored back to it's original state B5 in and out....."day two" mods to the engine for sure, and a set of Aluminum slots polished all around with (important part) PolyGlas Goodyears....F60's on the front and G's out back.....or even 14" on the front and 15" on the back to really give it a correct big&little look :unbelievable: One step further to represent it's past may be a tasteful simple bolt in roll bar....
I certainly would do a colour change of any sort.....
....as for the restoration, you should start by stripping and blasting the car completely before you start welding in small patches everywhere :alan2cents:
Awesome car ! :burnout:
We are definitely on the same sheet of music! It will have aluminum slots and bias plys!
I am also with you about the blasting part. As I mentioned earlier, I have a small portable blaster that I used to blast/clean any portion of the car that would be non-accessible once the welding was done. Frame rails, inside the cowl where the lower corners of the windshield meets, etc. I blasted and painted all of those areas prior to welding in the patches. I eventually got the entire car blasted and put the entire thing in PPG epoxy primer. I don't think there will ever be another rust issue with this car.
Stan
Here's my "Day Two" V code six pack Cuda....
This summer I replaced the dutchman panel, repaired the package tray area, and basically rebuilt the entire rear tail light area. As you probably noticed, at some point they "upgraded" the car with a '71 grill and tail lights. They used a hacksaw, metal shears, and a hammer to "modify" the tail light area. In keeping with the theme of repair versus replace, I spent about two weeks repairing it. I am pretty happy with it! I also test fit the quarters and did any tweaking that I needed to prior to sending the car out to get media blasted.
Stan
You're making great progress on it. :bravo: Looking good.
I got the car media blasted about a month ago and immediately cleaned it and put it all in PPG epoxy primer.
On a side note: One gallon of PPG epoxy primer plus catalyst cost me $426 (and some change). Coincidence.... I think not....
So, here is where we are at. The car is now on the "clean" side of the garage. I have it set up on some leveled jack stands and the drivers quarter is about 90% finished. The RH quarter is test fit and ready for welding. As soon as it warms up a bit, I will weld it up. I like having the garage doors open for ventilation while welding.
I went through the 18 spline a couple of weeks ago and it is ready to go! I have purchased all of the brakes, wheel cylinders, suspension components, steering components, the "956" radiator has been re-cored, etc. I have a list of big items that I will pick up at Carlisle this year to save on shipping costs (fuel tank, brake and fuel lines, grill, flywheel, etc.).
I have a loooong ways to go but it is happening! My random, made-up, self-imposed goal is to be banging gears by summer 2019..... I will keep this thread updated!!
Stan
Last February I was watching some YouTube videos and came across this. I took a screen shot of it so you can see what video it is from and at what time during the video. Dallas, 1970. There is about a 2-3 second clip of the car heating up the slicks. I like it! Doing what it was meant to do!
Stan
Quote from: anlauto on January 06, 2018, 12:20:43 PM
Here's my "Day Two" V code six pack Cuda....
I have ALWAYS liked that car! "Day Two" is where it's at!!!
Stan
I see on the broadcast sheet decode, you ran it thru back in May '17 :lurking: thanks for joining & adding your story here :twothumbsup:
I guess the cold weather is good for something ..... "WE" get to come along for the ride! :burnout:
Awesome car Stan! And thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Your car will look killer when it's all done, so keep up the great work and perseverance!
- Wade
Quote from: 6bblgt on January 06, 2018, 01:33:48 PM
I see on the broadcast sheet decode, you ran it thru back in May '17 :lurking: thanks for joining & adding your story here :twothumbsup:
I guess the cold weather is good for something ..... "WE" get to come along for the ride! :burnout:
I super appreciate the work that all of you all put into that Build Sheet Decoder! I cannot imagine the number of hours that it took to put that together.
Here are some pictures of the K-Frame. Unfortunately. they cut it up pretty good. There is a part of me that wants to "restore" this K-frame.... As you can see from the previous posts, I have no problem firing up the welder!
The numbers on the K-Frame are "1330 1" with a "76" coin.
Stan
K-Frame made and/or stamped 3 days before SPD.
As 6bblgt has shown us a few times, these cars can be built weeks before or after their scheduled build date. So it's completely possible that it was the original. But you never know with old race cars.
Quote from: GY3R/T on January 06, 2018, 04:00:54 PM
K-Frame made and/or stamped 3 days before SPD.
Quote from: Cuda Cody on January 06, 2018, 04:18:26 PM
As 6bblgt has shown us a few times, these cars can be built weeks before or after their scheduled build date. So it's completely possible that it was the original. But you never know with old race cars.
Quote from: GY3R/T on January 06, 2018, 04:00:54 PM
K-Frame made and/or stamped 3 days before SPD.
Yep...Knew that. :cheers: And i beleive it is the original K-Frame. :alan2cents:
Great work! I bet you can sleep better now with the knowledge you actually have something. I know the dejected feeling, when I bought my Hemi Cuda it was a real letdown as I had wanted one for 20 years and it turned out to be a bit of a mess everywhere under the paint.
What an awesome car & build , I will be following this for sure !!
Quote from: HemiStan on January 06, 2018, 10:06:10 AM
Quote from: GY3R/T on January 05, 2018, 07:07:30 PM
Great history !!! :burnout: Are we looking at the original block ? I don't see a VIN. Do you have a pic of top pad and bottom rear flange ? :wowzers:
This is definitely not the original block. I am willing to bet that this block came from Dick Landy's shop as an "over the counter" piece. Even though it has an early 1970 casting date (prior to the build date of this car), it still isnt reallly "correct. I don't beleive that any '70-'71Hemi cars came with blocks that were cast in '70. I think they were still using up inventory with '69 castings. I will get some more pictures of the block next time I am out in the garage.
Stan
In 1970, Hemi blocks castings were used in 1971 Mopars.
Many of the first 71' Hemi's came with an over stamp on the carbs with a
MHere is a quote from Scott Harms to me that he e-mailed to me years ago...
The first letter "M" = "modified" The second letter "L" is the original assembly date (L=November) 1969 assembly date. 4745S is the correct part# used in 1970 for rear Hemi carbs but this all goes out the window when the "M" was added after the chokes were swapped and the carb was then used as a 1971 application. The automatic choke was removed and the manual choke linkage was added.
So from what I have learned is 70 castings were still being used into 71'.1971 they were running out of correct date stamped carbs in the early part of the year.
That is why they had the M stamp.
These are what I have on mine.
My block is stamped 2/70.
That being said, I do not believe many 69' castings (if at any at all) were being pushed thru into mid 70' or 71'.
not real sure what carb stamped/restamped date codes have to do with block casting dates, :dunno:
but most '70 & '71 factory installed HEMI engines I've seen have 1969 casting dates
Quote from: 6bblgt on January 06, 2018, 08:30:25 PM
not real sure what carb stamped/restamped date codes have to do with block casting dates, :dunno:
but most '70 & '71 factory installed HEMI engines I've seen have 1969 casting dates
Production on blocks stopped in 1970...
Willem Weertman wrote, "There had to be ... [a] decision whether or not to continue with that level of engineering work, or we should say 'the Hemi has done its job, let's discontinue it now, we don't want it to ever get a flavor of being a mild-mannered engine.'
So, in 1970, we said, 'let's stop production.'" Was that blocks or was that and/or assembly?
:welcome: from Tennessee and great to see you got your dream car. I saved and brought back a 70 R/T Challenger drag about 10 years ago that raced from 1971. Mine didn't have the history your's has though, I like the 2nd day direction you're going with keep us posted :burnout:
I believe that is in reference to continuing to offer a factory installed watered down HEMI complying with emission requirements & the engineering cost involved
Chrysler continued to produce & sell stock/replacement type HEMI blocks & components at least until the mid-'70s
Quote from: 6bblgt on January 07, 2018, 11:22:33 AM
I believe that is in reference to continuing to offer a factory installed watered down HEMI complying with emission requirements & the engineering cost involved
Chrysler continued to produce & sell stock/replacement type HEMI blocks & components at least until the mid-'70s
Well if that's the case, then wouldn't it make sense they made them as well in 70'?
Wouldn't make sense they just stopped casting after 69' then re started 1 or 2 years later.
They just left the same casting numbers year after year? Then stamped date on them later?
They weren't selling as many Hemi cars as they hoped. So they had a bunch of blocks cast that they had to use up. That's why there were blocks cast in 68 going into 71 cars. When stock got low they started casting again, that's my guess anyway.
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on January 07, 2018, 03:23:57 PM
They weren't selling as many Hemi cars as they hoped. So they had a bunch of blocks cast that they had to use up. That's why there were blocks cast in 68 going into 71 cars. When stock got low they started casting again, that's my guess anyway.
69' was the best selling year for Hemi's.
More cars had em than any other year. Right?
I'm too lazy to look at the figures but 66 was a popular year as well. No matter, they cast more blocks in 68 than they used in 68, a lot more.
426 Hemi blocks were cast in large runs for cost efficiency. Just not as many made it to production like 318 , 340 , 440 etc. Remember.... To opt for the 426 Hemi, set you back about half the cost of a new car ! (back then).
Hey Stan welcome!
1. I did see your Challenger on Ebay and I really drooled at the possibility of owning it but thought it was over priced so I really never seriously entertained it.
2. I really think its a very unique car with a great history.
3. Day 2 is a great idea, its my personal favorite.
4. I remember seeing your GTX resto on another Mopar site and I have to say that you definitely have the talent to do this car justice
5. Your Super Bee resto was great to watch.
Congrats on buying your dream car buddy, you will not regret it.
Glad to see you here Stan...it is a super site !!!
was great seeeing your amazing 66 Hemi last year at Carlisle, and at the rate you are moving
you'll likely be stopping around with this Hemi Challenger at Carlisle 2018. :worship:
Quote from: wingcarenvy on January 07, 2018, 07:12:27 PM
Hey Stan welcome!
1. I did see your Challenger on Ebay and I really drooled at the possibility of owning it but thought it was over priced so I really never seriously entertained it.
2. I really think its a very unique car with a great history.
3. Day 2 is a great idea, its my personal favorite.
4. I remember seeing your GTX resto on another Mopar site and I have to say that you definitely have the talent to do this car justice
5. Your Super Bee resto was great to watch.
Congrats on buying your dream car buddy, you will not regret it.
wingcarenvy,
Thanks for the kind words! I have definitely been busy in the garage for the past few years..... I really need to take a break! But I always keep telling myself... Just one more...
Stan
Quote from: mccannix on January 30, 2018, 06:48:23 AM
Glad to see you here Stan...it is a super site !!!
was great seeeing your amazing 66 Hemi last year at Carlisle, and at the rate you are moving
you'll likely be stopping around with this Hemi Challenger at Carlisle 2018. :worship:
Terry,
I have been driving the wheels off of the '66! My folks came down for Christmas so my Dad and I took the car out just about every day while they were here. Open headers and slicks on the street..... We even did a few "John Force" style burnouts for some folks at some traffic lights a few times. There were a couple of days when I cut our joy rides little short because I knew if we stayed out any longer, I was going to get in trouble....
The thought did cross my mind to get the Challenger to Carlisle in primer but I don't think I am going to do that. I really want this thing shiny and I don't have enough time or money to make that happen before July. But if I didn't have the '66, I probably would thrash on this car to get it together....
Stan
So, I have been working on these quarters for the past month.... But, I finally got them to where I was happy with them (which was not easy...) I finished the hours and hours of fitting and welding a few days ago and shot some primer on them yesterday. I think that I will now put a rear axle under it (temporarily) so I can move it over to the side of the garage. As you can see, I am very limited on space and I need to take advantage of all of the space I can. Up next is all of the major body work on the quarter seams, apply seam sealer, and probably block the car once or twice. I did get a chance to shoot some paint on the K-member yesterday as well. While my folks were down for Christmas, I took the 18 spline apart, inspected everything, changed out a stop-ring, and put it all back together. It should be good to go.
Stan, would you share more pics of your -67? Looks so cool!!
That's looking good. That 66 is neat too.
Here's a quick video of the '66 that I took on the day after Christmas while my folks were down from upstate NY. Dad is driving in this video. It was cold out that day.... Like 36 degrees... But not too cold to cruise around all day with the windows rolled down being super cool! Dad and I definitely put a few miles on the car that week! And definitely left lots of burnt rubber on the road....
I put that car together right before Carlisle last year. 487 ci Hemi, solid roller cam, twin disc clutch, open headers, slicks, "slick shift" four speed, etc. What is very cool is that it is all "original" and date coded. Carbs, intake, heads, block, transmission, Dana, two build sheets, nice fender tag, etc. It is a very "hot" street car. I drive it alot. I drive it to work which is about 50 minutes one way. Open headers and all.....
I have a few videos on YouTube. None of them are very great but just some quick cell phone videos.
Stan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDs2ocmZAcY
I have done a little bit of work on the Challenger but not too much. I needed to take a break. And my bank account needed to take a break..... I did get the Dana cleaned up and put back under it. As I was cleaning up the vintage SS springs, I noticed some of the 1971 tangerine/orange paint scheme remaining on them. Very cool.
I quickly polished up a set of 15x8.5 M/T ET wheels and mounted up a set of used slicks just have something shiny to look at. I will probably not end up using these wheels (unilug) but the cost was right for mock-up purposes (zero $).
I also pulled out the '70 block and '65 A990 aluminum heads that came from Dick Landy Industries. I am still deciding what direction I am going with the car but it will be heavy duty.
Stan
Just one comment.... :drooling:
Great stuff: the tunnel ram and 4 speed just look right together.
Your 66 looks tough as nails too! Love it! You seem to be a bit of a Hemi guy? LOL :clapping:
Thanks for sharing the video, 66 looks great!
I can't believe it has been nearly a year since I updated this...... It has been a busy year. But I have been making progress! I am officially in the mock-up stage. I am test fitting EVERY part before I blow it all apart and start block sanding it. My goal was to paint it this Spring but I don't think my work schedule will allow it. Work has been crazy.... Hopefully I can paint it in the Fall and start the assembly process.
My folks were down from NY for Christmas this week so I literally had my Mom, Dad, Wife and Son use a rope like a set of workhorses to pull the Challenger out of the garage for a few photos. I wasn't pulling because someone had to steer the front tires...... I wish I had taken a few photos of that.... Thank you everyone! As you can see, the '66 Hemi has been replaced with a '69 model. Super fun!!!......
Here is where we are at:
Front and rear suspension/steering is completely rebuilt and ready to go. Transmission is ready to go. Radiator is re-cored and ready to go. Dash pad is ready to go.
Hood hinges have been rebuilt (Thanks Rick Kreuziger!!) What an amazing job! I can't believe how much better they work! A special thanks goes out to member Dakota for providing the hood hinge springs (free of charge!). I owe him a beverage!
I also want to thank Jon Soullier at Roseville for really outstanding customer service. I highly recommend them!!
Stan
I like the slicks & the slots !!
Hemi looks killer of course !!
Great looking 69 too :bigthumb:
Dang that looks good. What colour scheme are you going with?
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on December 28, 2018, 05:53:39 PM
Dang that looks good. What colour scheme are you going with?
I was just going to asked the same thing....original blue or the race car robes ?
Happy New Year everyone!
I am pretty sure it will be going back to B5 blue. A few years ago I thought I might put it back to the race paint style but I have decided against it. I really plan on driving this car a lot. I am ready to do sone road trips!
I am debating on whether or not to put a white stripe along the side...... It was a stripe delete car but I do like the stripe....... I still have some time to think about it.
Everything looks good on the fit up. I lusted after that car with it's race colours. I can understand living with it would be a different deal though.
Happy New Year everyone!
I know that it has been a loooong time since I have updated this thread but I have actually been making progress! Work has been crazy this year. I am pretty sure that I have spent over 200 days away from home this year. Crazy....
Anyways, mock-up is in full swing. Trim is getting installed, Hemi, 18 spline, and Dana are mocked up. I am currently working on the dash, door and quarter window regulators and glass, steering column, etc.
Here are a few photos I took yesterday morning.
Sweet !! Great to see some progress :bigthumb:
As a transplant to Sacrmamento, that is a cool car. Well, it's cool even if I wasn't living here. Great story and great find.
Personally, I kinda dig that swift dodge racing scheme. With it's history, I'd do that. Talk about High Impact. LOL
Very cool to see the progress. I'm in the Sacramento area and bought parts from Swift Dodge in my younger years. I think I still have a Direct Connection parts book with a picture or two of the car in it.
Quote from: E74cuda on January 03, 2020, 08:58:45 AM
Very cool to see the progress. I'm in the Sacramento area and bought parts from Swift Dodge in my younger years. I think I still have a Direct Connection parts book with a picture or two of the car in it.
E74cuda! I just re-read your post (work has been crazy....). That would be extremely cool if you had a parts books with photos of the car! I would love to see that!
I have come across a few more photos of the car on the internet over the past year. I will post them shortly!
Stan
Some more "Back in the Day" photos...
I remember a '71 cuda, driven by Jim Luscotoff. He came up to me, in Sac, about 40+ years ago, to talk to me about my car. Apparently, he did some work on it, for the previous owner. I'd like to talk to him now, to see if he has any recollections, about my car's early years. I think he still campaigns a SS Mustang.
Quote from: floorit426 on January 23, 2020, 04:04:55 PM
I remember a '71 cuda, driven by Jim Luscotoff. He came up to me, in Sac, about 40+ years ago, to talk to me about my car. Apparently, he did some work on it, for the previous owner. I'd like to talk to him now, to see if he has any recollections, about my car's early years. I think he still campaigns a SS Mustang.
floorit426,
That us pretty cool! I tried to look up some contact information for Jim a few years ago unsuccessfully. I think he had an automotive shop in Sacramento but the number I had was out of service. If you happen to cross paths with him, I would love to talk with him!
Stan
Hi Stan,
Are you talking about Jim the guy who helped my grandpa Lee with the car?
My Dad, a couple of Uncles are still in the Sacramento area, maybe they know or have some ideas.
let me know - my email jason.reo@gmail.com
:wave: Welcome to the site Jason !!
Cool to have some family history on the Challenger !
HemiStan
Quote from: Jason Cameron on August 04, 2020, 09:09:52 AM
Hi Stan,
Are you talking about Jim the guy who helped my grandpa Lee with the car?
My Dad, a couple of Uncles are still in the Sacramento area, maybe they know or have some ideas.
let me know - my email jason.reo@gmail.com
Hello Jason! I will be sending you an email shortly!! Very cool! I wold love to gather as much info as possible and talk to anyone who may have memories of the car.
A weird coincidence occurred very early this morning. Through a random post on FB regarding your Grandfather's '67 WO Race Hemi Coronet, I got into a conversation with Jim's son! Apparently, he and Jim are restoring that car! I am going to reach to him as well this week and see where they are progress wise. It would be amazing to get both cars (and everyone else!) together once they are finished!
Thanks again for reaching out on this site!
Stan
@Jason Cameron (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/jason-cameron_8204)
Good afternoon again everyone! I just had an EXCELLENT telephone call with Jason! I think that we will be adding more info to this story soon....
Stan
Spoke with my Dad (Curt Cameron) who is going to do a little looking around to see what he has on the Challenger. He should be reaching out to you Stan - probably in a week or so. I am also going to look through my storage - I think I have a few things. Will circle back with you soon.
Jason Cameron
Thanks - fun to see the car.
Wife and I are looking to get something sooner than later.
There is a 72 challenger down the street from me.
Jason Cameron
So.... Has it really been nearly THREE years since I posted an update?? I guess it has... BUT! I am making progress!
Right about the last time I posted, I received a new military assignment (my last one!) and my wife and I packed our stuff up and moved to our "forever" home. We built a new shop and and I was getting ready to hit the Challenger hard and cross the finish line. Then.... I bought another car and threw a wrench in the plan. I sold that car last Fall and finally got back to work on the Challenger.
Block sand, block sand, and then block sand some more......
Yesterday I finally got a chance to shoot some B5 on it.
Stan
Here's a few photos.
A few more.
So where are you at with the "direction" of the project ? Have you decided how you'll finish the car ? Stock ? Day two ? Race car ?
give us an update :popcorn:
Totally Day 2. Aluminum slots, bias ply tires, headers, etc. Nothing that couldn't be changed back to OEM if someone wanted to go that route in the future. I am not going back to a race car. I just sold a factory lightweight race car. It was fun but really impractical for anything.
That's going to look totally COOL :drooling: :twothumbsup: :twothumbsup:
Excellent job on the metal fab! Car is looking great :twothumbsup:
Looking good Stan...glad to know you are getting back to it.
Happy to know that that rallye dash and heater box that have been collecting dust since 2016
are finally going to be put to use.