70 Hemi Road Runner Street Monster build

[70chall440]

So, I have been working on the spare tire elimination and about have it done. It was quite a bit of work but I am very happy with the results. The picture of the oval hole is the access hole for the taillight wiring, there was a small round hole there but the other side is opened up so you can reach up in there.

[70chall440]

Work continues.

[YellowThumper]

 

[70chall440]

Thanks. I finished that part up today.

[70chall440]

Still working on the wagon, got the spare tire elimination done and then onto the foot well section. This is the most challenging part because it is a big round tub and trying to get the edges to align so that it doesn't look like a hack job is a bit of a *****. It is coming along but is slow moving, lots of tack welds slowly closing up the seam.

[redo1973]

Very creative use of the grinding wheel jig

[70chall440]

LOL yeah they came in handy.

[mrob]

Really like this build, it's different.

Would you mind explaining how you make the divots (ribs) in the flat sheet metal panels? Do you have some sort of dies to make the divots?

Thanks

[70chall440]

No problem, those "ribs" are made in a bead roller, however its worth noting that prior to bead rolling the panel it must be pre-stretched which can be done either on a plensihing hammer or an English wheel. I use an English wheel with a high crown die. Failure to to pre-stretch the metal will result in a very warped and distorted panel that will probably be unusable. I am by no means a metal master or expert, but I have learned a few things the hard way and this is one of them. The deeper the bead the more stretching you have to do before hand, once you start putting in the bead you are pretty committed although you could beat it out and try again to a degree.

[APXPRED8OR]

During my search it came down to two cars, the other was a road runner (actually a Satellite) looking at these pics I am not so certain about my choice now, she is tough already, can't wait to see the end result!

[70chall440]

Yeah the 70 RR is awesome looking car, definitely my favorite B body. I have had a few 2nd Gen Chargers bad in the day and I like them but you can't touch them these days plus I truly like the RR better. Second to that would be a 70 Charger.

[70chall440]

So obviously its been a little while since I updated this and my efforts on the wagon. Well, I got the floor sorted out (mostly), then I had to make some seat plates because the owner installed a bench seat and mounted it rearward saying that he needed the seat back. I then moved onto the fuel filler tube, it has a seal underneath the car which was toast and installed incorrectly, I believe the left rear was hit once and whoever repaired it was in a hurry. Fortunately the back of this car although a 69 is the same as a 66-67 B body or close. I am now waiting on some parts for that. I mounted the tank and figured out where the return line needed to be, then removed it. I welded a -6 AN weld on bung to a piece of 18 gauge sheet metal and then welded (TIG) that to the tank. I did the same thing for the vent except I used a -10 AN fitting. After that, I moved on to the fuel sending unit; I will be installing a Walbro 255 pump on the end of the pickup tube so I needed a way to get the wires out of the sending unit and this (the picture) is what I came up with. I am using 2 crush grommets with 10-32 studs. I will also smear a little RTV around the bottom "just in case". Tomorrow I will be installing the pump and then hopefully putting it all together (pump/sending unit into the tank.

We are going to install sub frame connectors as well into this car. Somebody else put a floor into it but did not do a very good job, it looks good from the top but they didn't spot weld it alot to the various areas that should have it. I will be welding as much as I can but I need this car done and gone at some point so I can get back to my RR.

['Cuda Hunter]

Looking great!  This things gonna rock!

[70chall440]

Thanks, I think it is going to be a pretty neat wagon for sure. I worked on the sending unit some more, installed the  hard line adapter and went to install/attach the fuel pump. The plan was simple enough, cut off the pickup tube and then bead the tube so that the fuel line will not come off and assemble the pump to the line. The "beading" is done with a tool specifically made to do just that, the one I have is from Earls and is specific to 3/8 tubing, unfortunately I did not read the fine print for the tool because as it turns out, it is only for aluminum and perhaps mild steel (I have a SS sending unit/pickup tube). First issue is that it did not make a been high enough to secure the fuel line, secondly is that the tool was destroyed in the process (the 3 little ball bearings fell out). So, I ordered a new one ($45) and while doing so discovered its limitation, however I found another tool designed for the aircraft industry that is much more HD so I ordered that (~$200). Once I get that in I will finish the sending unit. In the mean time I am working on making the throttle body fuel delivery system.

[70chall440]

Been working on the fuel lines, I bought some Nicopp tubing (nickle copper) off Amazon, it looks nice but cannot be bent into a tight 90 without filling it with something which isn't an option for the full length of the car so I ordered some mild steel line. I was able however to use this line for the EFI 6 pack feed system which I think turned out pretty nice.