NorCal 73 Challenger

[7212Mopar]

I will get some pictures later tonight when I get home. The pictures I have now don't show the modification I made.

[7212Mopar]

Car looks great, nice job on the suspension rebuild.

This past week, I was thinking of building an engine/trans dolly similar to the piece you built. It looks like you connected two furniture dollies together which is the route I was considering. I'd like to mount the engine, K-frame and trans as one unit so that it can eventually be slid underneath the car. How did you end up supporting the K-frame on your piece? The unit from US CarTool is nice but cant justify $400 for it when I have so many other expenses with the car.

I added the rods with washers to elevate and balance the K frame slightly. I assume will need some blocking to support the trans.

[Challenger in NC]

I added the rods with washers to elevate and balance the K frame slightly. I assume will need some blocking to support the trans.

Nice job.

[7212Mopar]

Engine and trans are still at the builder. Sonic testing and magnaflux of the block both checked out good. He is working on the block this week so hopefully will find out how much is needed to bore out and the final displacement.

Been keeping myself busy working the underside of the car. Previous owner lives in the farm country and he has a dirt road from the street leading to his house. Although he only driven the car about 7000 miles in the ten years he had the car, there is still a lot of mud built up on the underside. I got most of the stuffs removed now so tomorrow will finish removing the fuel and brake lines and then power wash the muds off.

Upon close inspection, all underside sheet metal and frame rails are in great shape. I can still see the factory paint at the trans tunnel and at the top side of the fuel tank. The car's odometer reads a little under 61,000 miles and it is possible that it has not yet turn over.

I bought a chassis coating kit from Summit and will refresh the underside to preserve the sheet metal. It will not be factory correct but is something that I can do by myself. Engine bay is factory painted and mostly ok. I will touch up with paint only and no black out for me.

[7212Mopar]

Also been working on other stuffs while waiting for engine and trans. I did the rear sway bar bracket modification other reading some prior posting on site. The mod added 3/16" to the height due to the additional bracket that I added so hopefully sway bar will still mount ok. I drilled and threaded the brackets for 7/16" studs (bolts with heads cut off) and then welded the back side. The welds were then grind down flat. It should still be ok because the studs were about 3/32" down when I welded them. Also the studs are still threaded in the brackets.

Rear end housing is cleaned. Need to clean up the axles. Bearings seems fine and not loose. The 3.23 sure grip looks like in good shape. Need to decide on the rear disc setup before assembly.

[7212Mopar]

Got a few more things done. Added a leaf taken from old springs to the Mopar XHD springs I have. Will see how it looks when put back together. Also installed the steering shaft bearing many on here had done. It feels good and no wobble, highly recommended. The Borgeson box had arrived and mocked up on the k frame. The angle of the box is really aim toward the driver side. It got me concern a little but looks like it was designed like that after some reading over the internet. I also bought the RPM coating for bare metal. It is easy to use but have to wait if it really works. Also got the Dr. Diff 11.7" rear disc brakes installed. I like the look of it going with the YO Rallye. Still waiting for the brake lines and the front brakes to show up. The front setup is the one I worry about because of the diameter clearance is tight, finger crossed. No news from the engine builder. Likely busy at work this time of the year. I do have a few months before the Mopar show in June. I still have to paint the bottom of the car before putting things back on the car.

[7212Mopar]

Finally finish refreshing the underside of my car. There were lots of caked on mud and I had to power wash with hot water twice. There were some minor surface rust and were brush cleaned and then  rust encapsulated. I ended up using a combination of brushed on coating and then finish with spray on undercoating (6 cans) where there were undercoating from factory originally. The original undercoating was mostly in good shape with just a few chips but need to be brighten up. This turned out to be a messy job working and painting on your back. The whole thing took a few weekends to get this done and ruined my eyeglasses in the process. It is also difficult to get it off your face. I recommend a full head mask in addition to the respirator if anyone is thinking about this. Next week I will move on to taking out the master cylinder and booster to make ready for the hydroboost system. The engine compartment will also need some paint touch up. After that I should be able to start reassembly like installing fuel and brake lines, gas tank and rear differential. Engine and trans might be at least another month out. Engine builders are busy like crazy this time of the year.

[7212Mopar]

My engine is being assembled. Here are a few I received last week. Can't wait to see the dyno video

[YellowThumper]

 

[7212Mopar]

Got news today that the engine is done. Builder said it runs strong, easy to start. Video sounds awesome. Dyno numbers came slightly under target at 491 HP and 528 TQ. I have no compliant and quite delighted to see this part done. Engine is painted HEMI Orange which I prefer over the Blue. Trans will be done this week so probably both get ship  sometime next week. Rear end, brake line, fuel line and gas tank installed. Still got a few things under the hood and front brakes, hydroboost, steering, upper control arms to install. Very busy at work and hard to find enough time to work on the car. Likely will not make the annual Mopar show in June.

[7212Mopar]

Here is the video to the dyno run. I like the sound. Wonder how it ends up sounding with the TTI headers and 2.5" X pipe exhaust system. Both are 5 weeks out.

https://youtu.be/InAXR7aZQ0w

[YellowThumper]

  

[gleasmja]

I know that dyno room!   Great guys up there.  IMM

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[7212Mopar]

My TTI coated headers and exhaust system arrived today. My last set of headers (Headman uncoated) was purchased back in 1980. The TTI is so much better. All the welds are nice and smooth and the flanges are straight as an arrow. The exhaust pipes are nicely done as well. Even the rear hangers have all the sharp edges grind down. This is what I call superior craftsmanship. I have not seen this level of work in a product for a very long time. You can tell someone really spent the time to put it all together. This is my impression going through the stuff in the boxes and just want to share my experience. I better be extra careful not to damage anything when I install this. If their exhaust tips is not so expensive, I would get from them too. The tips I got elsewhere I am not impress at all. Will see how it looks when I put it together.

[7212Mopar]

Got a few more things done. Installed aftermarket stereo with front and back speakers. Fab front speaker mounts out of large washers for the tweeters. Clean up under dash wiring and remove car alarm installed by previous owner. Did the bypass to amp meter. Managed to scratch the wood grain of the instrument panel again and require more repair.

I tried to mount the engine over the k frame tonight but failed. It is getting late and I gave up, needing rest for the long week ahead. I  am using an Milodon road race pan and both sides hit the k frame brackets for the motor mounts. The oil pan was designed to clear that but because of the variation in K frame tolerances, mine did not clear. More grinding surgery and paint will be needed before second attempt.