70 Challenger Convert - IT'S HOME!

[71383bee]

I am just catching up on forums and emails after being laid up for a week, and am excited to hear you bought the car!  My car was the best money I ever spent in my life and I hope you will feel that way too with yours! 
Sad it's coming up on winter and springs a long way off, but that will give you time to clean up and fix a few things so you can hit the road running in 2021!  Can't wait to see it then.

Thanks!  I'm looking forward to getting the cars together at the next show. Hopefully Chicagoland Mopar Connection would be willing to have a show or two next year. If Morris and Carlisle can do it I'd like to think they can figure it out.

My wife and I are looking forward to driving them to a show together. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JH27N0B]

I've only seen the FK5 R/T vert twice and met the owner and his wife once, at the Rolling Meadows cruise night.  They must not get it out much, but if I see them in spring I'll see if can get contact info so I can encourage them to attend an event you are at so we can get 3 together!
I would hope CMC will have the Fox Lake and Belvedere shows in '21, and the spring show which was going to be at Cozzis in Downers Grove.
Whereabouts in the Chicago area are you? I'm in the northwest burbs and was a regular at the Rolling Meadows, Mt Prospect, Lombard and Skokie cruises, and will be again in 2021 if they resume. I was hitting the Sunday Addison cruise this year since it was one of the only ones not cancelled!

[71383bee]

I drove the 73 a fair bit this year but not to any cruises or shows unfortunately.  We were scheduled to go to the nats but they canceled a week out from the show.

I'm in Libertyville. We occasionally would hit car fun on 21and the mundelein show.  The others I hate to admit I'm not all up to speed on. A lot depends on whether we have all of the kids. We have 4 young ones between my wife and I and that takes some strategery! 

The Fox Lake show is always a definite for us and we make the Belvedere show typically.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[71383bee]

Well...IT'S HOME!

My wife and I had a very pleasant weekend.  We drove out last friday with a uhaul car hauler and took possession of her.  Had a nice but chilly 40 mile cruise in her to get to know her.  The previous owner was gracious enough to allow us to store it in his garage for one more night and we spent the night at a lovely cottage on his property.  The next morning we loaded her up and pulled her to Milwaukee. There we unloaded her and my wife ogled it while I dropped the trailer.  I then drove her 50 miles home and shoehorned her into the garage with her new sister! 

Everything went well.  Trailering went well.  Big Plug to the 2017 Honda Pilot!  It hauled her with ease!  Held steady at speed on the highway and plenty of power to get her over Wisconsin's foothills on the western side of the state. 

The car...IT has definitely met expectations.  It's a bit worn and needs some TLC but nothing major.  The 318 starts and holds an idle nicely.  Handling is as expected for a non-R/T 318 challenger.  Highway cruising is very pleasant with the 2.76 gearing!  Top operates great and is in great shape.  We did experience a miss when driving it the first night coming home from the restaurant.  It still was fairly cold yet and I suspect she wasn't fully warmed up yet.  I plan on converting from points to an electronic ignition setup so I'm not too worried.  It regained itself after about 2-3 minutes.   

The most immediate needs are in the doors and the older wiring.  The hinges need rebuilding and the lock knobs are inoperable.  My wife said as she followed that weird things were happening with the taillights and turns signals which I suspect are related to poor grounding and older wiring & bulbs.  The fuel gauge is inop and it appears to be a problem for some time in the receipts.  I will tackle whether it's the sending unit, wiring, or the gauge.  All easy to do items in my opinion. 

Engine Bay needs some work.  Needs correct hoses, cables, and a correct air cleaner.  I know the 70 340 AC's are a fortune.  I'll have to settle for a 72/73 340 air cleaner I have for now!  Bay needs a good cleaning and the motor needs a paint job on the top.  Intake is the 318/360 Eddy performer with an edelbrock performer 4Bbl.  I have receipts for its install in 2012.  A tune up is in order but everything works as it should.  The hood hinges could use a rebuild.

Exterior wise the car is in really good shape.  The argent grill is dirty and has some engine bay overspray on it but in good shape.  There are a few cracked segments of the eggcrate but overall its in great shape.  The V5X belt molding has been covered with a thick stick on white molding which probably help minimize door dings. 

Focus for next year is to get the wiring updated, hinges repaired, gauges working, and likely convert it to ECU. 

All in all we are very happy!  The car fits nicely in the garage and my 73 enjoys the company! 


 

[anlauto]

AWESOME, Congrats

[JH27N0B]

Very cool!  COngrats!

[70rag383]

Nice looking convertible! Congrats!

[RUNCHARGER]

Nice to have it tucked away before winter. Glad it went well.

[ledphoot]

What a score on a great ride Congratulations!!!