73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!

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    Author Topic: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!  (Read 29223 times)

    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #30 on: May 19, 2013 - 06:50:46 AM »
    It's been an interesting month since I last posted,
    - I've pulled small chunks of synchronizer strut out of my A-230 transmission
    - Discovered my clutch plate was as smooth as a pane of glass and that the transmission bearing retainer was an inch shorter than it's supposed to be!
    - The old copper radiator is out, new aluminium unit in with dual 14" fans, it'll be a while before I over heat.
    - Installed auto meter mechanical water temp and oil pressure gauges, so now I'll know in advance before I over heat. I'm still deciding on where to mount them without altering the stock gauge configuration. The current plan is to move the fresh air vent toggles and hang the gauges in their place.
    - On the floor pan, rust converter, rust guard and some places will be seeing the rough side of a 13000rpm wire wheel!

    That's probably everything. I also bought some T/a style eye brow spoilers

    I'm also considering buying a temperature adjustable fan controller. So the fans turn on to 50% at a specified temp, probably 180 and at 100% at another specified temp which will probably 200.

    Chunks: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/32Chunks_zps1b7b12f7.jpg.html?sort=6&o=6
    Worn Side Clutch: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/30WornSide_zps3c8c3622.jpg.html?sort=6&o=8
    Bearing Retainer: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/31Retainer_zps6806d0af.jpg.html?sort=6&o=7
    The Fans: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/34TheFans_zps2b27dc97.jpg.html?sort=6&o=0
    Gauge Positions: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/39GaugePositions_zps56654764.jpg.html?sort=6&o=3
    Rust Converter: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/37RustConverter_zps3c0f6f36.jpg.html?sort=6&o=5
    Rust Guard: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/38RustGaurd_zpsdc8c9d89.jpg.html?sort=6&o=3
    Front Passenger Pan: http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/36FrontPassengerPan_zpsc431debe.jpg.html?sort=6&o=4
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #31 on: May 19, 2013 - 09:15:23 AM »
    A friend got hold of some of my car photos and emailed me this. It was captioned 'spot the difference'!
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #32 on: May 21, 2013 - 09:35:08 AM »
    In a months time I'll will have finished my exams and I'll have a 5 week break where I'll pick up as many shifts as work will give me. In those 5 weeks I plan to get all of the the work done to get my car registered and this is the list so far:
    1.   Horn- mount and wire
    2.   Radiator fans -wire
    3.   Demister - wire Done
    4.   Window wipers - wire Done
    5.   Window sprayer - wire Done
    6.   Reverse lights - wire
    7.   Brake adjuster cover - fabricate and mount
    8.   Indicator wiring - fix
    9.   Sway bars - mount and weld
    10. Dash wiring - finish
    11. Transmission stuff - whatever it requires
    12. Rusted section floor- replace
    13. Front passenger floor - wire wheel, paint
    14. Get it weighed
    15. Engineers report
    16. Exhaust baffles - for the pits
    17. REGISTER - if all goes to plan

    That seems very manageable assuming that the transmission and wiring work out nicely.
    « Last Edit: June 30, 2013 - 01:05:35 AM by Tonker1 »
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #33 on: June 30, 2013 - 01:16:25 AM »
    Working through my list, pulled removed the front and rear sway bars in preparation for install the new Hotchkis components. Took a bit of persuasion, but it was nothing that an angle grinder couldn’t resolve.

    On the driver side rear sway bar chassis mount the metal looked at bit fragile when I pulled the sway off. I gave it a good poke and well to summarise, I’m now crying some big man tears!

    I would like to repair the damage to the chassis myself, but my welding skill is not enough to justify chassis work. I'll have to outsource.

    « Last Edit: June 30, 2013 - 01:24:23 AM by Tonker1 »
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    Offline jimynick

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #34 on: July 02, 2013 - 11:31:21 PM »
    If it was you who welded in the patches in the rear floor, you're good to go on that rail. It's not much thicker (18ga.) and you'll have to weld some nuts in the patch for the sway mount, I think. Go at least 2' past the hole into good metal and that grinder with a slitter wheel on it should cut a nice square hole for your patch. The repair isn't in a crucial area, just keep an eye on the gas tank when either welding OR grinding. Good luck  :2cents:
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #35 on: July 04, 2013 - 09:43:39 AM »
    Quote from: jimynick on July 02, 2013 - 11:31:21 PM
    If it was you who welded in the patches in the rear floor, you're good to go on that rail.

    I wish those were my welds. I weld as regularly as I can, unfortunately the learning process is not immediate, it will be a while before I can do that.


    I've decided to modify the harness the front exterior lights. First off, modern relays for my Philips 100%+ xtreme vision bulbs, to get the maximum road illumination. The headlight section of the wiring diagram is from Google images. I'll use a 60 Amp solid state relay for the high beams with a 40 amp fuse, for the low beams a 30 Amp relay with an in built fuse and 8 gauge wire all round.


    The indicator/ marker/ park lights diagram is of my own creation. The simple goal is to make the front side markers function as indicators as well. This way others drivers have more warning before I claim a portion of their lane!

    I'm planning on using h1157 50/15 Watt globes, similar to the ones in the link below
    http://www.amazon.com/HALOGEN-BULB-12V-50-15W/dp/B002CYVETS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372944418&sr=8-2&keywords=h1157
    They should be slender enough to fit into the marker light lens with requiring shaving away too much material from the lens.

    From there I'll extend the bulb socket/lens mount interface to make room for the longer bulb and assemble some kind of attaching system for the socket so it can be removed to change bulbs later.

    My only concern for this plan is heat. The bulb will be surrounded entirely by plastic without any metal interfaces to dissipate heat. The intermittent flashes from the 50W indicator filament will not be a problem but, continual exposure to the 15 Watt filament when the marker lights are active might present a problem. I'll have a think about that
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #36 on: July 08, 2013 - 02:19:11 AM »
    My American Powertrain TKO 600 arrived today, 2 months ahead of schedule! Fed Ex upgrade shipping to Air Express for free. I'm fairly stoked.

    I've performed the first round of checks, all gears shift correctly and the input shaft rotates freely when spun by hand. I'm getting ready to dial my new Quicktime Bell.

    I'll post some progress photos later.
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #37 on: July 08, 2013 - 04:30:06 AM »
    Here are a couple shots so far!

    I hit a roadblock on dialling the bell. The rubber seal from sump is sticking out about 3/8" to 1/2" as in the bottom two photos. It is preventing me from fitting the scatter shield.
    Can I cut that rubber back or will I damage the integrity of the seal?
    My logic is that if it's sticking out, it's excess and as such it's open game for my knife, but I though I should check first!

    This is a list of the components I ordered; it's essentially everything between the engine block and the diff.
    • 2 295.00 Ford TKO 600, 2.87 1st, 0.64 5th
    • 1 200.00 Pro fit kit which includes:
                       Streamlined main case
                       ProShift3 shifter mech
                       Drive Shaft slip yoke
                       Bolt in cross member
                       Isolator Mount
                       Pilot bearing (this is an actual bearing as opposed to a bushing, photo bellow)
                       3.5" Seamless Drive shaft
                       Release Bearing
                       Reverse light harness
                       Tunnel patch, comes with a massive template
                       24 customer service line access
    •    559.00 Quick Time 26071 Bell Housing
    •    229.00 American Powertrain Science Friction Flywheel
    •    307.00 American Powertrain Science Friction Clutch Kit, including:
                      10.5" Kevlar disc
                      10.75" diaphragm pressure plate
                       I plan to upgrade to a 10.75" disc later on
    •    559.00 American Powertrain Hydromax hydraulic clutch actuator system
    •    895.00 International shipping
    •                 Also, all required mounting hardware was included with the relevent components

    Total $6 516.00. As part of my order I received various discounts for volume, I have not included those as that will be situation dependent and at the digression of American Powertrain


    I found that American Powertrain had excellent over the phone customer service and replied rapidly to emails. I'm yet to try the 24h service line as I'm have not required it so far, but I'll be interested to see in action.

    Installing a 5 spd has been a serious consideration since I first read about Jamie Passon's A-855 in June 2011 copy of 'Mopar Action' magazine. I was going to wait until the A-855 had been released for a significant amount of time such that car magazines and forum members had reviewed it. That way I could consider all of the options in terms of supply companies. Unfortunately my 3 spd died a couple months ago and the A- 855 has yet to be released, so it was ruled out as an option. Being honest, I would have rather weighted a while financially before I made the order, but simply put I'm not giving up driving my car, so I picked up some extra shifts at work and made it happen.

    I did also consider a 4 spd, but that 0.64 5th gear ratio and American Powertrain's company motto 'More Gears More Fun' had me sold on a 5 spd and the TKO 600 was the best choice.
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #38 on: July 16, 2013 - 01:15:21 AM »
    The Bell housing is now dialled in. With the stock pins the overall offset was 0.009" vertically and 0.005" horizontally. This means the offset to the centre of the crank is 0.0045" vertically and 0.0025" horizontally. This is within the recommend tolerance of 0.005". Even though the stock pins where correctly dialled I've purchased new Lakewood 0 offset dowels. The stock dowels barely stuck through the scatter shield, the Lakewoods are twice as long as stock and are a few thousands wider, so they will provide far superior support for the bell.

    On the driver's side of the block, pulling the dowel was simple, pound hammer and a spare bolt. The passenger side not so easy. I ended up pulling the oil filter, 90 degree filter elbow and exhaust manifold. Even with the extra clearance hammering wasn't enough. I ended up using 8mm drill, slightly smaller in dia than the dowel and drilling most of the way through. This reduced the friction between the block and the dowel and the dowel came out with some solid thumps.

    Dowel on the left was the awkward one, centre is stock and undamaged, right new Lakewood 0 offset.

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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #39 on: July 28, 2013 - 07:56:13 AM »
    Today I finished soldering the wiring harness for the front clip. The test fit was successful so now all the marker and indicator lights function correctly. My plan to wire the front marker lights so they function both a marker and an indicator was also successful!

    I'm having problems making the link function. To see the video of the marker / indicator in action copy the whole link into the search bar, sorry.
    http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Tonker1/media/Marker_Indicator_zps12b354c4.mp4.html?filters[user]=130696210&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0


    Aside from working on the transmission the next job will be to finish the interior lights and then put the dash back together.
    « Last Edit: July 28, 2013 - 08:09:23 AM by Tonker1 »
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    Offline johns cuda shop

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #40 on: July 28, 2013 - 09:08:33 AM »
    I like how the headlight wiring install went. The wiring diagram is very informative .  You might have to do a little fitting to the tunnel for the tremec 5 speed trans. Welding is a skill ,you dont pick it up overnite so you did the best think and farmed it out. Looks great , keep up the good work..   :bigsmile:
    « Last Edit: July 28, 2013 - 09:14:31 AM by johns cuda shop »
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    71 Cuda Gen III Aluminum 426 Hemi T56 6 speed 4.10 8.75 Modified & Lowered RMS coilover suspension Wilwood discs

    Offline Jamiez

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #41 on: July 28, 2013 - 09:15:51 AM »
    http://i1161.photobucket.com/albums/q514/Tonker1/Marker_Indicator_zps12b354c4.mp4


    Link fixed :)
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #42 on: July 29, 2013 - 01:29:59 AM »
    Quote from: Jamiez on July 28, 2013 - 09:15:51 AM
    Link fixed :)

    Cheers!

    Quote from: johns cuda shop on July 28, 2013 - 09:08:33 AM
    I like how the headlight wiring install went. The wiring diagram is very informative .  You might have to do a little fitting to the tunnel for the tremec 5 speed trans. Welding is a skill ,you dont pick it up overnite so you did the best think and farmed it out. Looks great , keep up the good work..   :bigsmile:

    Thanks. The TKO 600 kit comes with a tunnel diagram and patch. The idea is to stick the diagram into place and cut out the outlined section of tunnel, then cut a section from the oversized patch to replace the removed steel. I'm glad that the patch is oversized as the cut section of the diagram did not provide enough clearance for the trans. I needed to cut an additional 1/2"-1" in all directions for proper fitment.

    I have actually been having trouble aligning the transmission. It is dialled in correctly, its just that the output end of the transmission sits 3/8"-1/2" to the passenger side of the centre of the drive train. If you have any ideas/ suggestions please take a look at the thread I made relating to this topic. http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=94167.msg926349#msg926349
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #43 on: September 19, 2013 - 09:22:01 AM »
    The Plan for the weekend.
    - Replace old motor mounts with new Schumacher Poly Locks and brackets: http://www.engine-swaps.com/Pages/ProductsType/PolyLoc.html#head2
    - Mount TKO 600 and finalise position
    - Mount and test indicator marker lights
    - Change headlight terminals, test lights
    - Remove rusted section of floor
    - Install new Muncie Rock Crusher, 800hp clutch system and order drive shaft for my brothers 67 Camaro
    - Sunday night..... success Beer!

    This is the finished combined marker indicator unit. The new 50/15W bulb is taller than the stock bulb, so the bulb socket was extended out 1" with a 1" PVC female-female coupler
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    Offline Tonker1

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    Re: 73 Challenger, part time project, full time lifestyle!
    « Reply #44 on: September 30, 2013 - 06:15:52 AM »
    New motor mounts are in. They look so much better than the old ones, but again I would hope so because they were far more expensive than the options on summit racing. Personally I'm glad that I went with the Magnum Poly Locks, they are obviously a superior product and I've never felt comfortable using 8 dollar Chinese mounts to hold the engine in place.
    http://www.engine-swaps.com/Pages/ProductsType/PolyLoc.html#head2

    Currently the engine is sitting at an angle of about 5 degrees down, that will be tended to. The trans will have to be pulled out and some more material shaved off the shifter tower so I can put some shims under the isolator.
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