70 Challenger going Plum Crazy

[Dakota]

Last thought for the day is a validation of why @Chryco Psycho recommends disconnecting the power steering belt during initial engine startup.   I haven't started my engine yet, but after I poured what was left of a bottle of power steering fluid into my pump, it all leaked out onto the floor over the course of a day or two.  That would've been pain to deal with had it happened during the first run of the motor since it was rebuilt.

Speaking of which, I have a little more work to do on the vent system and also some electrical connections around the steering column, then I think it'll be time to see if this puppy will actually start.  Hopefully, this will be in the next week or two.   

[Chryco Psycho]

Experience teaches you things if you pay attn !!
Glad to help , I hope the break in goes smoothly !!

[RUNCHARGER]

I've heard of guys bumping the PS control valve changing an engine and having the pump overheat while the PS box goes to full lock while breaking in the camshaft.

[Dakota]

   She's running!   Started on the first try.   Oil and temp and charging system and the even the fuel gauge seemed to work OK.   There is still  lots to do still but this was an awesome day.   I think my wife was as excited as I was, but in her case it probably had more to do with the likelihood that there will be fewer parts stacked up around the house now that I know the motor works.   

I'm grateful for all the help I've received from folks on this forum to finally reach this milestone.   The last time the motor ran was in 2013.

[Chryco Psycho]

Awesome 
lad my advice was a benefit 

[Dakota]

Gotta laugh.   My wife was talking with a friend of hers on the phone while in the room directly above our garage.   The friend:  "What's that rumbling sound I hear?   Is there a thunderstorm near you?"   Wife:  "No, that's just the Challenger starting up."

I've not completed a project car before but I believe most of what follows is typical of what happens when you bring an old car back to life.

Set timing on the engine so it's at 34* total as Chryco Psycho had recommended to me which includes having the distributor advance locked at 18*.    Shut the engine off and the restarted it - she fired right up after cranking for about  1/2 second.   Awesome!     While adjusting the timing, I got a harsh reminder about keeping my hands away from the plug wires while leaning against the car in shorts as I got a pretty good shock.   There's also a small leak of radiator fluid at the thermostat housing that will need to be dealt with soon.

I've been working my way through the different components and systems on the car to make sure everything is working before putting the interior back in.   A couple of issues were centered on the firewall electrical connections.   There was a small piece of foam that was interfering with getting the harness connections to fully seat.   Once it was removed, most everything started working.

I'll have to do some troubleshooting on the power supply to the stereo.   The stereo will work if directly wired to the fuse panel, but not from the dash harness connection.   

With the exception of the tach added to my non-Rallye dash, all of the lights (including the dash dimmer), flashers and gauges appear to be working correctly.

Connected the vacuum line for the rebuilt heater & A/C box to the intake manifold and cycled through the push buttons while the engine was running.   It looks like all of the vent doors and such are working correctly.

Cycled the wiper motor (linkage not connected yet).   It ran and then parked when shut off - a good sign.

I'm going to leave the A/C system for next year.

Overall, working steadily on the car for the last couple of days has been pretty enjoyable.

[RUNCHARGER]

That sounds like it is coming along well.

[Skid Row]

  Congratulations on your "Start-Up" I sure hope to join first start in 2020 group.

[Dakota]

My my wife and I just returned from Texas (our oldest son got married!).   Since we live in NY, hat means we get to self quarantine for 2 weeks.  So far, I've spent most of it working on the Challenger, so it's not been terrible, but this is one of those stories where someone could justifiably question my sanity. 

I have been fighting a leak at my thermostat housing.   Couldn't get torque on one side because the threads stripped (it's the original manifold), so I took it apart to put in a helicoil.   Put it back together and then the other side stripped.   Back apart, another helicoil.   Did I mention I have to drain the radiator every time?  So I put it back together again, but it leaked AGAIN because the gasket was torn around a bolt hole.  Turns out the aftermarket housing I'm using has holes a little narrower than the stock gasket.   Since we're quarantined, I can't run to AutoZone for yet another gasket, so I cut one out of some material I had on the shelf.  Actually turned out pretty well.  Put it in, all proud of myself, then saw the thermostat sitting on my workbench.   Fortunately, the gasket sealant I was using hadn't set yet so I could pull it apart without tearing the gasket. 

I'm hopefully done chasing this leak.  Frustrating, yes... but there are a lot worse ways to spend my day. 

[Dakota]

The FiTech throttle body has a small lever near its base which hits the mounting flange on my stock intake manifold.  To fix this, a spacer was added which lead to issues with the throttle cable linkage.  Rather than buy the Lokar throttle bracket and throttle cable that fix this, the old bracket was cut up and reworked so the stock cable mount could still be used.   

At some point in the future, I may move the cable clamp vertical piece towards the rear about 1/4" or thereabouts so I'm not clamping to the end of the cable, but this works nicely. 

[Dakota]

Carpet and back seat are in thanks to a big assist from my wife.   Yeah, the image below is like a picture of a panther at midnight, but I'm happy with it.

Based on what I saw on YouTube, I used an old Weller soldering iron to melt the bolt holes through the carpet.   It worked really well, especially since the barrel is nearly the same diameter as the hole openings.   

Single blade razors worked best for trimming the carpet compared to a utility knife, except the single blades get dull pretty quickly.

I used 3M 77 Adhesive to glue down the carpet in several spots, mostly on the back piece.  As I saw with my seat foams, the 3M is far superior to Gorilla spray adhesive in terms of holding strength.

The rear seat bottom didn't initially fit right.   It turned out that one of the wire loops on the bottom of the frame was bent. All better now.   

[Dakota]

Found the source of the leak around the thermostat housing.   There was a crack in the housing.  I'm guessing that this was caused by me waiting too long to apply final torque after using a lot of Permatex on the joint. 

I originally chose to use this housing because it fit under the stock a/c compressor and provided a spot to drill and tap for installing a coolant temperature sensor for the FiTech unit.  This style lacks any ridge on the end to help keep the radiator hose in place. Before buying another one, I read a review on Summit from someone that got 2nd degree burns when their hose blew off while tuning their engine.  Not good.  Now going back to a stock housing.

The wire for the coolant temp sensor provided by FiTech isn't long enough to reach one of the drain plug locations on the block, but Summit sells a pigtail that will serve as an extension.   It looks like I can get a 1/4" NPT coolant temp sensor from a local auto store to fit the drain hole (the sensor that comes with the FiTech is 3/8" NPT).  I'll post part details once they're installed and verified to be working.

[RUNCHARGER]

Good catch on the leak. I suppose you could glue the rad hose onto a new one like that but I still wouldn't trust it, that neck is pretty short as well.

[Dakota]

On the ground for the first time in 6+ years.  Lots of little things to do before I try to roll it, but that moment is getting closer.   

Funny how the car seems so low to the ground now. 

Note the @BIGSHCLUNK memorial noggin protectors on the corners of the hood.  With the car off the jack stands, those edges are just at the right height to slice my head open as I walk by if I'm not paying attention.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

I appreciate the memorial..... but I'm not 100% dead yet.... 


    


good idea...