71 'Cuda restoration

[Shane Kelley]

TTI actually makes headers for that steering box. They modified the front tube on the drivers side. They sold me the the left header when I added the Borgeson box the the Hemi Challenger. Old header on the left and new replacement header on the right with a close up in the second pic.  Worked like champ and cleared the box "just barley"

[Tunis]

 @Shane Kelley that makes me wish that I hadn't bought my headers back in 2014... Glad that they added those however. Are they available in all sizes they offer?

[Shane Kelley]

@Shane Kelley that makes me wish that I hadn't bought my headers back in 2014... Glad that they added those however. Are they available in all sizes they offer?

I'm not sure about the different sizes. But TTI was very aware of the issue and remedy. I actually called them before installing the box and I'm glad I did or I would have had your situation. 

[Tunis]

Putting the header debacle behind me and moving on..

Tank being prepared for installation. I'm using a floatless sender on this build.



And as with most things, the stuff that I buy isn't compatible with the car.. I had to use a 90 deg elbow to clear the rear crossmember 





In hindsight, I should have used at least twice as long hoses as that would have eased the installation.

And installed


Onward to some other random parts. This time the rallye light bar.


It works!


Painted the grille inserts


And installed


Got some parts back from Stephan Fournier. They look and work fantastic!


Let's build something else.


The rear is going to be a 67 B-Body Dana with a spring relocation kit.




Sent it out for blasting and powder coating.


Tried to make a tool to spread the housing. It ended up being much too weak. I ended up with much thicker material before it worked.


Dana hardware installed


And finished.


What is summarized in only a few photos here is the work of several months. I just couldn't get the correct pattern on the gears. Such a frustrating and tedious job.

[Tunis]

Firewall insulation done



And heater box installed


Headliner with visors and rear view mirror installed. I still need to stretch it in the rear as there are some small wrinkles left.


more to come...

[Tunis]

When it comes to the gauge cluster, I wanted to use a stock-appearing cluster. I will make a 100% stock looking cluster in the future but with electronic gagues. I don't like the look of the Dakota digitals speedometer. But I'm not there yet. So instead I will use a cluster build I started almost 10 years ago to use on my old 70 that I never completed back then.

I will be running with Automotive gauges as most senders are non-stock on this build.





Using an aluminum backing plate and American walnut veneer









Shaping up, but still much more work and many hours left to go.



Wiring done.



Finished it of with a 3D-printed border.



A photo of the complete setup coming soon. I'm 95% happy with the result. I rushed it slightly as time is in short supply in my life and I want to get the car on the road.

[Tunis]

If it hasn't been obvious by now, I like my car to appear stock (as far as possible).

This is the FAST XFI harnesses for injectors and main harness. Nothing stock looking there..







Injector harness wrapped in vinyl, like the stock harnesses. Still no way around the fact that the connectors are modern. 



Main harness wrapped in vinyl. Added wires for communication between the XFI and MSD 6AL2, feed wire for the fuel pump, speedometer sender wires and some other wires that I needed.



Next up is the engine bay progression.

[Tunis]

Brake line and wiper motor installed



Master cylinder and brake booster



Horns and main light harness in place





and finally where it is today waiting for the engine.



Dash is visible in the photo as well and here from another angle

[usraptor]

Wow!  What can I say but very impressive work and attention to detail!  Outstanding job!

[YellowThumper]

A lot of great detail there.
Thanks for the update.
I am with you on maintaining the stockish look.
Made a similar guage setup and will be doing the same "wood" treatment to minimize the different look.
There is a small swatch of the woodgrain on left side.

[nsmall]

Very good job.  You are making great progress.  ITs awesome seeing your project as I can only imagine what it takes to get parts in Sweden. 

[Tunis]

Thank you guys for the kind word! 

@YellowThumper looking good! Staying with the factory theme/look is, in my opinion, the only way to go on a build like this. Swapping in a 392 or something else modern with some modernized suspension, then you can get creative with the interior as well. But that's just what I think. To each their own.

@nsmall yes, getting parts is the biggest hassle. Either you plan ahead, by months, and save on shipping and have the parts when you need them, or you do the opposite. I'm in the latter category  Too much $ is being spent on shipping now. But I don't know these cars to the extent that I know what parts are needed next. Tiny screws and small brackets are a big mystery up until the point where I needed them yesterday. 

[nsmall]

Yep they are money pits and planning ahead does help cut down the costs.

[Tunis]

Moving along. I had two whole days without the wife and kids    and I didn't sit down.

I needed to finish up some details I had pushed forward on the engine. I still have a few things to solve, but I will get them at a later stage. First up was the fuel pressure regulator and MAP sensor. I mounted them on a small bracket on the intake behind the rear throttle body. I hope it works like this. Fingers crossed.



I didn't realize how close this ended up being to the firewall until the engine was in.. But I got lucky and it all fits.

My original plan was to prepare everything for the engine install on day one without the family and then install on day two. So I made a test lift of the car on the afternoon day one.



This was probably the most nervous moment so far. My engine hoist was not sitting entirely level and I added some weight on one side as a precaution (a battery and a bottle of TIG gas). 
The hoist crane and the whole car was very easy to rock from side to side and with a pounding heart I decided that I didn't want to do this again the day after. So I pumped up the car some more and pushed the engine in there.



And then started to lower the car on top. I learned a few things in the process that I would have spotted immediately had I approached this on a full stomach and more relaxed way.
1. On an E-body the shift linkage goes through the cross member (embarrassed emoji here) I had to pause the install to remove those.
2. The battery tray hits the Hemi valve covers. Again, had to pause and remove the tray.
3. There is basically 3/8" clearance between the engine and shock towers in total. It is important to align everything. Again had to do a lot of back/forwards and side to side adjustments.

But finally after a few hours of cursing and knuckle bruising it was in there and what a feeling that was!



Only mishaps was as small scratch where the oil dipstick tube caught the left shock tower and a paint chip where my fuel line hit the cylinder head. Easy fix.
I had also forgot that the calipers should be in the front on an E-body.
I spent day two switching the steering knuckles, torquing the front suspension components and making small adjustments to everything. Several electrical connectors to connect and nicely tuck away the wiring remains. I also have to sort out the air temp sensor placement. I think I will place it in the base plate between the throttle bodies unless there is a good reason not to?

More to come.

[RUNCHARGER]

Looks nice! I think we've all did the caliper mess up at one time or another. I usually throw a moving blanket over the engine on the install.