Author Topic: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye  (Read 197024 times)

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #315 on: May 08, 2012 - 12:12:27 PM »
The dealer is still around.  The salesman that sold the car to my dad originally is now the owner.   I'm going to try and get some pictures of him and my dad together with the car once it's done.




Offline ChallengerHK

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #316 on: May 08, 2012 - 12:20:51 PM »
 :thumbsup:


"She'll make point five past light speed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, and I've made a lot of special modifications myself."

- Han Solo, Star Wars

Advice Thread - Taking Pictures Of Cars

Offline joelson6

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #317 on: May 09, 2012 - 10:02:18 PM »
The dealer is still around.  The salesman that sold the car to my dad originally is now the owner.   I'm going to try and get some pictures of him and my dad together with the car once it's done.


that would be awesome  :2thumbs:

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #318 on: May 10, 2012 - 09:34:49 PM »
I got the steering column done tonight.  The ICCA fastener guide really comes in handy.  I was missing the crush can nut.  I removed it a long time ago and misplaced it.  I looked it up in the guide, drove over to my parents house and started looking through my dad's bolt bins.  I found it within 5 minutes.

The rebuild went well.  It's not very complicated.  I just disassembled everything and bead blasted the upper parts.  I hand sanded the tube since it wouldn't fit in the blast cabinet.  I painted most of the pieces with SEM Trim BLack.  The ignition key light, upper and lower mounts and the lower steering shaft got painted with gloss black Rustoleum. 

Before...


After...


Steering coupler and shaft before...


Steering coupler and shaft after...

Offline usraptr

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #319 on: May 10, 2012 - 10:12:55 PM »
Very nice!  Well Done :2thumbs:
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda.  Matching numbers 440 U Code, 4 speed pistol grip, Rallye dash, AM 8 Track, Shaker hood, 15 inch rallye wheels, Dana 60 4.10, Super Track Pak.  One of 134 - 440 "U" coupes codes built in 1970 and one of 100 - 440 Super Track Paks built in 1970.

Restoration pictures at:  http://spanks4thememory.smugmug.com/Cars/70-Cuda/7240639_M24oi#465274575_2MBqW
(Edited 8-1-17)

"usraptr" = United States raptor - bird of prey = United States Bald Eagle.  FYI, somebody else thought of it first so I had to drop the "O" in raptor.

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #320 on: May 18, 2012 - 07:22:39 PM »
Today I took the day off.  The family and I went for a little drive and took the radiator to "Radiator Master" in northern Iowa.  They are going to do a recore on the original rad.  They were very reasonable and I should be able to pick it up in a couple weeks.

I got the alternator back from Jim Ridge on Wednesday.  It looks great.  The original alternator was long gone.  I grabbed a square back alt from a junkyard and put a few pieces in it but wan't pleased with how it looked.  It had a 1976 casting date on it too.  I was at my father-in-laws house a few years ago when he mensioned he had a couple Chrysler alternators buried on a shelf somewhere.  After digging them out, I realised that one of them was a square back and had a casting date of Sept 72. :faint:  How did I get that lucky?  Anyway, here are some before and after pics of it.

 








Offline usraptr

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #321 on: May 21, 2012 - 06:33:24 PM »
Very nice.  Mind if I ask how much they charge to do that?
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda.  Matching numbers 440 U Code, 4 speed pistol grip, Rallye dash, AM 8 Track, Shaker hood, 15 inch rallye wheels, Dana 60 4.10, Super Track Pak.  One of 134 - 440 "U" coupes codes built in 1970 and one of 100 - 440 Super Track Paks built in 1970.

Restoration pictures at:  http://spanks4thememory.smugmug.com/Cars/70-Cuda/7240639_M24oi#465274575_2MBqW
(Edited 8-1-17)

"usraptr" = United States raptor - bird of prey = United States Bald Eagle.  FYI, somebody else thought of it first so I had to drop the "O" in raptor.

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #322 on: May 21, 2012 - 08:52:52 PM »
It's not cheap but it's one of the first things you see when you open the hood.  I'm glad I sent it in when I did.  It looks like the price just went up. 

http://www.dixierestorationparts.com/services.html
« Last Edit: May 21, 2012 - 08:55:33 PM by burdar »

Offline Grec

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #323 on: May 22, 2012 - 01:21:34 PM »
Great work, as usual.

Noticed you went black on the steering shaft and coupler. Mine had been replaced at some point when power steering was zapped and my coupler was natural steel. (So if the beautiful NOS coupler I have ready to install :-)

Black is correct for these parts? The whole thing was assembled and then sprayed gloss black? Packed-coupler, seal and all?
1973 Challenger Rallye
- 440 Six Pack
- A833 4 Speed, 18 Spline
- FE5 Rallye Red on Black

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #324 on: May 22, 2012 - 02:26:23 PM »
Check out this link...Most of the pictures are of a 1970 but they still apply.
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=A12&Number=3836766&fpart=&PHPSESSID=

The couplers were packed and assembled before the paint was applied.  In the link you can see that the amount of black paint varied.  Some were painted farther up the shaft then others.  I painted mine so it was black all the way up into the lower seal.  Some might not have had paint up that far.

The paint that was still on the shaft was very fragile.  Just trying to clean off the grime, I would go down to bare metal.  I could just barely make out some yellow paint on one side of the coupler.  It went up fairly high...higher then the pics in the link.  I just took some yellow Testors paint and applied the mark with one quick stroke.  I didn't see any paint on the original roll pin so I think the mark was applied like I have it.  It was impossible to make out exactly.

I bought a MP coupler kit but ruined the orange rubber seal when trying to crimp the coupler back together.  I had to reuse the original seal. 

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #325 on: May 24, 2012 - 11:06:23 PM »
I'm getting a little burned out.  I havn't done anything on the car in a week.  Hopefully getting the engine in the car will give me a little more motivation.  It's basicaly ready to go in.  The only thing not installed is the fuel pump to carb lines and the filter.  Fine Lines didn't list a 73 318 in their cataloge.  I ended up sending the original lines to them to use for a pattern. 

I don't have the original starter restored yet so I have a mini on there for now.  I know the belts aren't correct as well as the plug wires.  There will be a few things to work on down the road but overall I'm pretty happy with how it looks. 

pictures aren't very good sorry...







Offline NCtrueconservative

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #326 on: May 24, 2012 - 11:08:38 PM »
what brand of paint did you use on the engine? Looks good  :wow:
1973 Dodge Challenger Rallye (pictured), 340, Slap Stick

1998 Dodge Ram, 5.2, Black, tinted windows, dual exhaust, blackout headlights, tailights

Offline GranCuda1970

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #327 on: May 24, 2012 - 11:10:13 PM »
Superb craftsmanship! That engine looks sparkling new!!

Offline burdar

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #328 on: May 24, 2012 - 11:29:23 PM »
Quote
what brand of paint did you use on the engine?

plasti-kote Chrysler Blue #232

Offline 73RallyeChallenger

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Re: Restoration of an origonal owner 73 Challenger Rallye
« Reply #329 on: May 25, 2012 - 07:27:26 AM »
Very nice Darren! Looking at your photos, I just realized I forgot to paint my carb air heater shield, darn!
73 Triple Black 340 Challenger
70 Plum Crazy T/A Challenger - work in progress (AGAR)