Go Mango Boys Project Car

[GoMangoBoys]

March 2021 Pedal assembly installed

[GoMangoBoys]

March 2021  The previous person had replaced the trunk pan.  The gas tank fill pipe hole was in the wrong place.  Had to rework that.

[GoMangoBoys]

March 2021 Heater box restoration.  I bought the gasket kit from Detroit Muscle Technologies. It was great.  One of the biggest problems that we had was the heater core replacement.  We went thru several that were made poorly and did not fit.  In the end, I did have to make a slight modification to the one that I used.

[Challenger in NC]

 

[340Challman]

I'm about to start this on my heater box. Any words of wisdom you learned? Who did you get the heater core from? Do you have any other recommendations for a better core that maybe you found out about after the fact?

Yours looks like it turned out great. I'm hoping for the same result. 

[GoMangoBoys]

@340Challman  I do not recall where I bought the one that worked.  I know I bought one from Rock Auto and I am pretty sure it was the first one that was bad.  As far as words of wisdom, take pictures as you're taking it apart.  I had to do some head scratching as I tried to put it back together.  I also bought a replacement motor from Stephan Fournier.  I do not recall if he is a forum member or if someone on here told me about him.  I can provide contact info if it is needed.

[anlauto]

Stephan Fournier is now retired.

I believe Bob at Glen-Ray radiators also rebuilds factory heater cores at a reasonable price

[340Challman]

I believe Bob at Glen-Ray radiators also rebuilds factory heater cores at a reasonable price

I replaced mine probably 30 years ago and it let go on the floor after about a month. So, I bypassed it and it has been that way ever since. Will be nice to have it working properly again. Not that I will be driving it much in the cold, but there could be a few times. 

[GoMangoBoys]

April 2021  Heater and pedals installed

[GoMangoBoys]

April / May 2021  Steering column rebuild.  The steering column was in bad shape.  Thankfully, Cuda Cody did some awesome videos that are on this site.  Without those videos, I am certain that my effort to rebuild the column would have been a failure, or at least would have had some setbacks.  Instead, the column rebuild was an easy success.  Thank you @Cuda Cody for investing the time to make these videos.

[GoMangoBoys]

June 2021  Grill restoration.  The grill needed a lot of work.  The egg crate portion had been previously painted black and red pinstripe was added.   The egg crate part was a lot of work to clean up.  I used paint stripper twice, then lacquer thinner, then acid wire wheel cleaner.  Each time I used a tooth brush in and out of each  square multiple times on all four sides. HOURS spent on this. I originally bought the Argent paint for the surround then discovered that the R/T grill should have a black surround instead of argent.  The anodized part that goes between the grill and the bumper is supposed to be unpainted, anodized aluminum close to the bumper. Ours was pretty beat up there, so I just painted it black all the way to the edge.  I bought the proper rivets to reassemble it.  Mike Ross had the proper rivet gun for them, so I took it to him to help me put it back together.  He pointed out that I was missing the center support bracket.  I made some effort to buy one, but was unable to.  I went to Mike's place where he had a complete grill assembly on the shelf.  I was able to copy the bracket using a piece of manila folder. I used that template to then reproduce a bracket of my own.  The first bracket picture shown here is the one on Mike's grill.  The rest are mine.

[larry4406]

Nice bracket reproduction!

Mike Ross continues to shine.

[dodj]

I'm about to start this on my heater box. Any words of wisdom you learned? Who did you get the heater core from? Do you have any other recommendations for a better core that maybe you found out about after the fact?

Yours looks like it turned out great. I'm hoping for the same result. 

FYI....I used an aluminium replacement core from Spectra. The first one I got was poorly welded, the second was much better and fit about 90%. Had to be tweaked a bit for the tubes to fit through the housing

[anlauto]

Shouldn't this be "Plum Crazy Boys Project Car"    Great job on the grill, great job on everything so far 

[RUNCHARGER]

Great work and results on this car. It's been fun for us watching. Of course I would be the guy to colour change an FC7 car to orange so I can understand that too. Project cars can seem like they'll never end and it sure is fun to admire the finished product and look back at the challenges they can bring.