1972 Challenger - Bringing it Back to Life!

[EBody_or_Nobody]

Finally got around to starting a thread to document the restoration progress for my '72 Challenger. It started life as a triple black base car. I plan on someday restoring it to its former TX9 glory, but will live with the FC7 for now. Plans are to swap out the 1968 or 1969 318 currently in it for a mildly built 340 or 360 depending on availability of reasonably priced donor engines and parts. The car was stored for 8 or 9 years after being purchased in Florida and transported to the New England by the previous owner. However, the former owner neglected to drain the coolant and gas, so there was plenty of corrosion in the coolant passages and radiator (see intake photo) and about 5 gallons of varnish in the gas tank that was originally 10 gallons of gas. Overall, the car is very solid and I'm looking forward to having it on the road in 2021. Thanks for following!

[EBody_or_Nobody]

I had started working on the Challenger here and there in 2017 when I bought it, but had to take some long breaks due to work. Got a lot done in 2019 and got it running finally. Purred like a throaty kitten after I adjusted the timing, idle, and bleed screws on the cleaned and rebuilt carb, but the oil light came on after it was running for about 15 minutes. Not sure yet what's going on with that. And before anyone asks, I went through all of the usual steps in reviving the engine (mystery oil in each cylinder, turn engine by hand several times, drain and replace old engine oil and filter, crank engine by hand and then with starter without coil connected, flushed out coolant passages and radiator, etc.).

Other things I've done between 2017 and 2020: replaced wiring harnesses throughout, installed new carpeting, rebuilt and restored dash and gauges, rebuilt heater box, replaced fuel tank, fuel lines, and fuel pump due to age, corrosion, and varnish buildup. The car came with a lot of extra parts when I bought it, so I've also swapped in the replacement aluminum radiator (the original was leaking or course) and installed a new water pump (also was leaking but it was expected). Finally, I tried my hand at refinishing all if the interior panels with SEM products and the results were excellent! I highly recommend SEM's line of vinyl/plastic paints, preps, and adhesion promotion products.