73' chally 340 4 speed resto

[74chall]

Well now that the cuda is at the body shop and almost painted.. I went to my dads house and picked up our 1973 challenger 340/4 speed car.it is an original fe5 red with white top white gut and white side pinstripe. I bought the car in 2002  from a guy that did foreclousres/cleanouts.He found it in a decrepid garage in newark nj area.  When we got it it had a 360 that didnt run,  buckets of nuts in bolts in the interior , a broken steering column, rotted floor pans, pictures of someones girlfriend ,and to top it off a kitchen spoon with a big ol' burnt spot on the underside 

Brought it home, put a carb ,radiator,hoses,tune up. got it running.. We cleaned the interior up cheaply,and put in a new headliner. The floors were non exsistent so we put new floor pans in also. I actually drove it to school my whole high school year.  After 2003 i took it off the road and pulled the driveline/interior.Thought i was going to start redoing the car... But by that time i had my blue challenger in my sig on the road and painted, so i foucsed on building that up and doing other things in life when your 17 years old.

So there the car sat outside so almost 7 years until this weeked, when i dragged it out and brought it over to my house. The car sports all original body panels.. the lower quaters need to be done, need new fenders,and the cowl...oooooo the cowl is so rusted. I cut it open maybe 3 years ago and got discouraged.  So we evaluated the rust last week and just so happened to be coupman (Rene) on the site was selling a piece of firewall that will help me get rid of the rot. 

Heres some pics from today.... I didnt get any tare down pics.. I painted the floors yesterday,and removed the windshield,dash,heater box,pedals,wiperlinakge etc. Just waiting on the firewall to get here so i can start patching...

[74chall]

We are going to make it a T/A Clone. White,black gut,black vynil roof. 340/4spd. should be fun!
No rush right now,just want to get the firewall fixed and seal the bottom of the car. The outdoor elements have taken its toll on the old girl so i just want to preserve it until i have the funds to buy parts for the car.

[74chall]

Had sometime today so i worked on the front lower windshield to cowl. This is the part that the lower window moulding covers which the wipers recess onto. Looks like maybe a bunch of leaves /pineneedles got stuck under it at one point and moisture got trapped and rotted it out. I cut it out,fabbed a patch and welded it in. Took a few hours but i think it came out good. Just need to get some roloc disc so i can finish it off before filler.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Nick,

  You sure aren't afraid of projects, are you?  Good luck with it.   

[Rare_T_A]

All I can say is 

[coupman35]

So that the project cool ,look like the piece you got from me will help you .IT looking good your like me you love doing that stuff .good luck keep posting .

[74chall]

got a section of the donor firewall tacked in. Still have a alot to do but its good to see progress. Still have to fab a few sections and then weld in another donor section in the top corner. Rust bullet should be here thursday...Firewall should be complete this weekend

[coupman35]

Looks like you got the parts that going to look good and like you said it save you lot of work keep it up .

[Street_Challenged73]

It's cool to see you back at this project, Nick.   I'm sure it will eventually look just as nice as the '74 when you're finished with it.

[74chall]

Thanks guys! Yea Rene, the parts arrived quickly and in good shape.Appreciate the donor pieces.
I welded in the section. Still got more to do. Tommrow i am going to try and weld in the other donor section in the top driver corner.

[74chall]

fixed a few more spots and coated with rustbullet. Have to do body work now , then weld the top of the cowl back on.