'70 Challenger build

[Tonefiend]

I thought it was about time to start a thread to document my '70 Challenger project.

First off this is a long term project.  I don't have the funds or time to knock this one out, so it will be a rolling project.  The end results are starting to come into focus.  I have a 340 motor to build for it, so I am thinking it will be an A66 code tribute done up like an old school T/A racer.  Specs will be a mildly built 340, 4bbl, 4 speed plum crazy, t/a spoiler front and back and a shaker hood.  I have an R/T hood that will go on in the meantime, but I woud like to  eventually put a shaker on it.   

The car is an original Ca. car.  To my knowledge it has always been here.  It was built here in Ca. with a 318 904 trans, column shift, green paint.  The fender tags, plates and assorted parts dissapeared when the car was panted. 

It came my way August '09 via a trade.  Long story short the car was purchased in '01 sent off to the body shop for some paint in '01.  They did a less than perfect job,  then it sat until early '09. In July I was sent pictures of the car that were taken back in '06.

 

 The owner started to work on the car in early '09 replacing the gas tank, and rear end.  He put about 20 miles on the car during his ownership since the car was in such disrepair.  He put it in this repair shop to have some basic work done to get it running but they screwed it up even worse.  It ended up being there for around 4 months.  I found it there in August '09 in this condition.

As always i am open to comments and suggestions.  Also thanks to everyone for the help! 

To see the pics in full size and more check them out here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/72593510@N00/sets/72157623078168198/

The story goes the owner that had it painted originally had it done in Viper Red then changed his mind.  To the best of my knowledge this color is Prowler Purple.  The original color was green.

 

Above is a pic of the new tank.  The sending unit was not changed and it was completely rusted out.  The new axle is also shown.  The pinon nut, axle nut, and disc brake conversion were improperly installed so I drove the car about 100 miles and the rear end came apart destroying everything. 

[Tonefiend]

Picture of the underside as it sat in the shop August '09


Here are some shots of the engine.  Everythng was shot from the battery, water pump, thermostat, carb, distributor, cap, rotor, plugs gapped .015 off, sludgy oil, rusty coolant, cracked hoses, worn out belts, screwed up valve cover breathers, leaky valve covers, wrong ballast resistor, bad leaking fuel filter, corroded sending unit, rusty fuel lines etc.... The entire engine was covered in grease and grime.  The car actually ran until the rear end grenaded, it overheated and ran out of gas all at the same time. 

[Tonefiend]

December 2009.  The car is jacked up over at my folks house. I'm working on the dirt and lucky it only rained once or twice while the car was up ibn the air.  I replaced the center section with a used 489 I got off Craigslist.  3.55 gears limited slip.  I also replaced the seals, packed the bearings, and properly installed the locking pawl, and re installed the SSBC brake conversion properly. 






By this tme I had cleaned up the engine a bit and got it in running order. 

[Tonefiend]

March 2008 I had it cleaned up a bit and was working on allot of the smaller issues.  My goal is to get everything fixed to 100%.  There are a million small issues. 







This is after I had rebuilt the carb due to some issues it was having.  I eventually replaced it which didn't help.  The problem ended up being water in the gas due to a leaking fuel filler tube and fli top cap which I have since rebuilt.

[Challenger III]

Looking good! Keep up the good work! 

[Tonefiend]

Thanks!  I will keep posting pics and updates as I work on the car.  It will be slow as my budget and space are limited.

If anyone has a any comments on the car or sees anything in the underside or engine pics I probably don't know about, I'd love to hear about it.

I'm thinking about changing the color to plum crazy.  I have been going over colors for the last 6 months and it was not a consideration. The other day it just clicked.   I will shoot and detail the engine bay when I swap out the motor and rebuild the front end.  Then do rest at a later date. 

[Challenger III]

You'll probably get a bunch of opinions... do what you think you'll like the best. I think the color you have now is great (wouldn't change it if it were mine). Although I love all the cars on this board with the factory colors, mine will be unique. 

[ShelbyDogg]

Yummy,  An A/C car.     I would work on getting the Rallye hood on and painted to match. You will be so happy that you did.     Rethink the shaker hood.  After working on my friends shaker car, I decided that I will never own one if I can help it. Those are a lot of work. 

Looks like a very nice car, keep us posted.

[Tonefiend]

Thanks guys.  Yeah the color looks good  on the car. It will look much better with the R/T hood and ralley wheels. That is the plan for now. I need to get some of that color matched the best they can, then I'll get the hood on and shoot it.  IMHO that hood kills the looks of the car.  Maybe if it had somthign under the hood, but it doesn't.

When I pull the engine I am debating what to do. The paint looks good, but won't win any shows, they cut some corners on it.  Maybe I will leave it for now.  The engine bay needs a sand and polish I may just do that and continue to get it mechanically 100% and built to withstand a stout 340. 

Now once I go with ralley wheels and the R/T hood I am thinking front spoiler.  What if any stripes do I use?

[ShelbyDogg]

You already have the rear spoiler so you have to get the front spoiler. If your have the rallye hood,  you should put on the hood blackout. If you do that, then you should put on the black 70 longtitudinal stripes. My 2cents.

[_Russ_]

You already have the rear spoiler so you have to get the front spoiler. If your have the rallye hood,  you should put on the hood blackout. If you do that, then you should put on the black 70 longtitudinal stripes. My 2cents.

Yeah I agree with that. Would look nice ... but ... to flip it on it's head, do the hood blackout & stripes in a custom colour. Not black. Go the monochromatic look and get them in a slightly darker shade of your body paint colour.

Subtle, but sexy!

[Tonefiend]

Yeah I agree with that. Would look nice ... but ... to flip it on it's head, do the hood blackout & stripes in a custom colour. Not black. Go the monochromatic look and get them in a slightly darker shade of your body paint colour.

Subtle, but sexy!

I like that idea! 

I also like the ralley hood blackout. Are you talking about blacking out the whole hood?  Because that would be easier to do -vs- trying to match that purple color.  Its a single stage with metallic.

The last owner told me the body shop lost the AC parts.  I need to test the heater core to see if thats ok, then I can fix the on/off lever and get that hooked back up when I paint the radiator and replace the hoses.

[Tonefiend]

A little photochop action.  I chopped the scoop, blacked out the grille, added the front hood trim piece, wider tires, stock car style rims, side stripe, and yellow headlights.  In real life I have the front hood trim, and side marker light.

Now imagine it with a ralley hood, or shaker.  If I were to do a shaker I am considering a faux shaker where the trim ring mounting bolts are extended and the shaker cowl is bolted to the hood. 

I have a repop ralley hood and original inserts. 


 

[ShelbyDogg]

I also like the ralley hood blackout. Are you talking about blacking out the whole hood?

No, not T/A style, just the blackout that R/T hoods had.  There are shops out there that can match your paint and blend it in so that you can't see the difference.

[mopar12372]

like the car , your doing a great job.