Tolley's 1970 Charger

June 09, 2018

Charger at the body shop

A little later than I thought, but finally an update.

Mopar Ed was very busy so it has taken longer than he planned to get a space for my car in his shop.

However Friday was the day, and I was able to get my Charger down to his shop (about 1 1/4 hours from my house).

Not sure how long it will take to get the bodywork and paint done but if it is done in the next 3 weeks I'll be really happy.

I was able to take one of my suction pullers to the worst part of the dent and it sprang back surprisingly well, but still requires attention to get the door back to being perfect. But it was less embarrassing when driving past someone who happened to be looking.

Here is "Mopar Ed" himself after having taken a look at the work he has before him.

So long for now Charger, I'll see you again soon!

Stay tuned for another update hopefully soon, - Completion!

September 14, 2014

Final details

Working through the final details. All four tires are on. Went with Master Craft Avenger G/T's because they were the least expensive tire I could find and they still seem to get great reviews. Bought them from Summit with no shipping, no oversize fees, no tax :) Saved about $300 over going with BFG's (which I hope to do down the road - but I could not swing it right now)

My wheels are Mopar 15 x 7.5" "cop" wheels that came on the Dodge Diplomats and Plymouth Grand Fury law enforcement cars in the 80's. The front tires are size P245/60R15 and the rears are P275/60R15's.

Got my stainless hubcaps polished and detailed with new red "circles" etc.

Some time ago I modified a jack to look original so my trunk would look right. Just to be clear, I will never use it, so safety is not a concern. In fact even if it was an actual factory jack, I would be crazy to risk the chrome on the bumpers, and the stability of the car. Those old jacks are pretty scary even when everything is right.

Here is the thread for that over at the '70 Charger Registry forum - Click Here

Well I finally got around to stripping it and painting it, then got it put in today.

A small step, but a fun one :)

A close up

Everything at home looking correct :)

Very soon, I hope to be driving on the roads and attending car shows!

June 08, 2014

DRIVING my Charger out into the sun!

For the first time in more than 10 years I drove my Charger today. It still needs shocks, tires, insurance etc so I did not go far, but far enough to get my Charger out into the sun for a round of nice pictures. Thanks to my wife for taking the video and photos, and my son for spotting for me.

Into the sunshine!

Down the driveway

If you like, join me on a quick walk around my Charger.

The to-do list is getting shorter and shorter, and my Charger is getting closer to being ready to take to it's first car show, probably in October.

March 10, 2014

Radiator is in !

Yay! a big piece of the puzzle went into place today!

I got my radiator! It looks great, it fit perfectly, including the shroud. I ordered a U.S. Radiators brand 22" 4 core high efficiency copper / brass radiator with OEM style shroud. I bought it from Mopar Ed at themoparshop.com. It dropped right in the shroud fit perfectly and there was plenty of clearance between the fan & shroud, and the fan clutch and radiator face.

With the shroud

I had my son help me so that nothing went wrong.

In place and topped off with a reproduction style 16lb radiator cap.

February 19, 2014

IT IS ALIVE!!!!

At long last my Charger has roared to life!

I do not yet have a radiator, and my exhaust is still just the manifolds, so I had to keep it short, but man was it nice!

Hurray!!!

February 01, 2014

Finally some progress!

Been quite a while since I had any progress to report. I would not be surprised if some of you may have thought I sold my Charger or something!

I had to work out some issues with some items I bought back in December, and then once I did get all that ironed out, it has been hard finding time when I also had the energy to work on my Charger.

But seeing the progress a buddy over at the 1970 Charger Registry has been making on his Charger recently prompted me to get my self out into the garage.

This same buddy from the 1970 Charger Registry very graciously hooked my up with a fan clutch and I got my fan powder coated. I bought a kit from 440 Source to get all the front end engine stuff at once back in December. I have been slowly accumulating things like 11/32 vacuum / PVC line, positive battery cable, reproduction spark plug wires, power steering pressure and return lines and other stuff.

So today I put it all together. I put the power steering together with the cooler, all the lines etc. Put the alternator on and hooked up the wiring, mounted the pulleys, belts and fan. Ran the new plug wires and PVC/ booster lines.

This is where I am for now... (Waiting for a radiator to fall from the heavens!)

I might have time to poke around under the car tomorrow, Starter, drive line, pinion snubber, and rubber fuel line segments are ready to go in. We'll see....

October 15, 2013

Exhaust manifolds are on!

I had some time this evening and put the manifolds and spark plug wire holders on. Now I can start sorting out the pulleys and brackets for the front, and get the drive line ready to go in.

Everything came out very nicely I think.

October 09, 2013

H.P. manifolds with cermaic coating

So I got these back from the blasting and coating shop today. They did very fast and apparently very good work. I highly recommend these guys Eastwood Sandblasting and Powder Coating.

They used a no glass ceramic coating that appears to very nicely mimic clean cast iron. It is supposed to easily withstand 1,800 degrees.

Now want to get them on my Charger's engine.

Check back soon for pictures of them installed.

October 03, 2013

Exhaust manifolds

Well, finally a long awaited piece of the puzzle has now been procured. I have been wanting a correct style set of HP exhaust manifolds for a long - long time. Mopar Ed of The Mopar Shop.com (AKA E-Body Parts & Restoration) helped me out big time.

I will be getting these ceramic coated in a cast iron color within the next week, then they will go on. The coating is supposedly guaranteed to not change at all at 1,800 degrees.

Check back soon!

September 12, 2013

Problem solved

OK, so after some other work my son and I had to do, I decided it was time to pull the CH4B and lay it right next to a stock '69 intake I had.

There was not much difference! (about what I had read online, less than 1/2"). So I tried the stock manifold with my carburetor and air cleaner, the hood was still hitting something, so then out comes the hood insulation pad. Still hitting something.

Then I started searching for something that would indicate to me exactly where the contact was. I looked for some soft clay, but the clay my daughter has is really stiff. My son tries pieces of blue masking tape sticky side up, but no go. Then I get a great idea. Hot-Dog buns! They will leave a record of being smashed cut etc and not make a big mess. So I put hot dog buns on the air cleaner housing, I try to close the hood, still there is contact somewhere, then I try the same thing with the carburetor on, but no air cleaner, going nice and slow, I am still coming in contact with something... My son then spots it looking through the grill, the hood is barely contacting the wiper motor in the back. We make some adjustments to the hood (VERY slight I must say) and then everything is OK. Put the air cleaner back on, the hood closes and no squished buns.

Next, I put the aluminum intake back on, carburetor, air cleaner hot dog buns, the hood closes no squished buns.

So, all along a tiny hood misalignment was causing some very minor contact with the wiper motor. When the air cleaner was off and I knew I had tons of room I'd just shut the hood quickly and never noticed the issue. Then when I was being super cautious I would notice the contact and stop.

It never was the air cleaner! So now I'll change the intake gasket, bolt the CH4B back on, and move forward again. Happy ending to a weird story! Thank you Lord!

I was finally able to add a picture this is what our troubleshooting looked like!

Stay tuned!

August 17, 2013

Drive train day!

OK, I just got back in the house (7 PM ) after being in the garage since about 9 AM. My son, one of his friends and I managed to get a few things done on my Charger.

First we rolled the Charger back, removed the hood, jacked it up, and put the transmission in.

Next we filled the engine with 6 qts of oil and some zinc additive, then we primed the oiling system.

Next we grabbed the engine, got it off the stand, and put the flex-plate on.

Then it was time to put the engine in! YAY!

Engine in, and bolted to the transmission, NOTE here, we dropped the transmission back a bit to help get the engine on its mounts.

I spent a while hooking things up underneath, installing the transmission cooler lines, flex plate bolts etc.

Then I installed the new distributor, routed some of the wires, and put the new carburetor on. The carburetor is an 800 CFM Edelbrock Thunder AVS series with electric choke option.

Then the final touch. (- or so I thought)

The problem is, it seems the CH4B may be too tall (something is too tall anyhow) I thought it was supposed to be fine (everything I read online said so...) but I can't close the hood because it contacts the air cleaner. At this point, I am thinking I may have to go back to a stock cast iron intake. However I am going to study the problem, and see if I can find an answer first...

Great day, but it ended a bit differently than I expected. I am very thankful that my prayers were answered, and we did the entire job without scratching any part of the Charger, and that we were able to get the hood alignment perfect again when we put it back on. Thank you Jesus!

Stay tuned!

August 16, 2013

727 Transmission overhaul

Tonight my son and I completed a project we began a week ago (I had to wait for some parts to arrive)

We overhauled the 727 transmission for my Charger. I used red Alto clutches, with Kolene steels, new red Alto front band and a Kevlar rear band, a street Hemi torque converter from PTC (2,800-3,000 stall) and all new seals and bushings etc. And a new poly-loc rear mount.

Tomorrow should be a great day, the drive train should go back in my Charger!

July 28, 2013

Father's Day present and parts gathering

This year for Father's day my family bought me a set of tomato red 440 call outs for the hood of my Charger from Performance Car Graphics- thank you guys!

Finally had some time, and my son and I went out to put them on. It actually went really well, we spent a few moments cleaning the hood, and measuring everything. Sometimes you see these numbers (or the HEMI letters) put off to the side of the hood more. The correct placement is centered. The fine folks at Performance Car Graphics included a print of the factory guide for placement. It seems obscure at first, but after carefully studying it, we were confident about the placement of my numbers.

Here was the hood just prior to installation

Here are my son and I completing the layout process, which again was easy once we knew where they were supposed to go.

And here is the final product. It took less than an hour start to finish. It was fun, easy, and I think it looks great!

Also, I finally have all the pieces to rebuild my 727 transmission, the torque converter has been ordered from Performance Torque Converters (PTC) It is their copy of the HD 11' street Hemi converter with a stall of about 2,800 - 3,000 RPM., My 800 CFM Edelbrock Thunder AVS carburator should be headed this way tomorrow, I have the sending units for the engine, and a line on a set of original HP exhaust manifolds from Mopar Ed A few other odds and ends are trickling in, so fairly soon, the engine and transmission should be sitting in the car! Stay tuned...

March 17, 2013

Final engine assembly!

Well, I believe everything is right and torqued and and all the pieces are as correct as my son and I can get them to be, so it was finally time to prime and paint the engine!

I used Duplicolor Chrysler Hemi orange, on top of Duplicolor gray engine primer. then once the orange was done I used Duplicolor clear engine paint on everything to help with durability, and ease of cleaning the engine in the future.
I bought all from a local auto parts store. It took four cans of the orange to get the coverage I was after, but one can of primer, and one can of clear were plenty.

Now I will start cleaning, checking, and painting all my brackets and pulleys Stay tuned!

March 14, 2013

More Engine Assembly

A few more pieces on... Everything is "permanently" attached except the valve covers which are just on for the picture.

Factory windage tray, new 440 source pickup (which I had to heat and bend just a little to clear the windage tray, and have adequate pan clearance still).

This is the 440 Source 6 Qt. Hemi oil pan for Mopar B/E bodied muscle cars. it has it's own baffles inside too. It looks like a nice pan to me, it fit perfectly and you can't beat the price...

Here it is turned back over, now the intake manifold, and the items that attach to it, as well as the timing chain cover are back home where they belong.

I hope to finish assembly and paint it sometime in the next week... Stay tuned!

March 06, 2013

Engine Assembly continued

Well, I got my heads back from the shop and I have managed to squeeze a little engine assembly time between all the other things I've had going.

Here are a few pics, not done yet, but it looks good to me!

The 440Source Stealth aluminum heads going on...

All the valve train parts are new, and lubed with ZDDP zinc laden assembly lube to keep them safe.

Hopefully it will not be too much longer before I am done and the whole thing gets painted Orange!

February 06, 2013

Engine progress ahead!

OK, the stalemate between my budget and my engine has ended for now, so here is the rest of my engine!

From 440 source
440 Source Stealth aluminum heads
ARP head bolt set
Fel Pro head gaskets
Comp cams 10 deg locks and retainers
6 qt reproduction Hemi style pan
new 3/8 deep pan pick up tube
Melling HV oil pump
New dip stick and tube
New heater hose nipples
New SFI approved flex plate

From Summit
Lunati 60303 cam and lifter set
Summit true roller 3 bolt timing chain set
Carter 4845 fuel pump
Milodon high volume aluminum water pump
ARP flex plate bolts
ARP assembly lube
Mopar performance oil pump priming shaft
Milodon hardened oil pump drive shaft
Summit camshaft degree wheel
Felpro intake gasket set ( FEL-1215 with heat crossover blocked)
Mr. Gasket engine gasket kit
Extra Felpro oil pan gasket

I had some items arrived after I took the picture above, this is the rest.

From Mopar Ed at The Mopar Shop
Reproduction negative battery cable
Correct type PCV valve, and grommet
Correct type breather grommet

Items from other sources
Reproduction vapor separator
New Elgin rocker arms and shafts
Throttle return spring bracket
Mancini racing chromoly HD push rods

A huge thank you to all those who have helped guide my parts selection. I will soon have the heads looked over (the valves) and change out the locks - retainers, then I will start carefully bolting things together!

stay tuned...

December 19, 2012

Brake booster and Steering wheel

Some more progress while I wait for the rest of my engine money...

I got one of my Bendix boosters rebuilt by Booster Dewey In Portland Oregon, it arrived in great shape yesterday...

I got it installed today... Should be bleeding it soon, and begin tidying up the engine bay.

As much as I was stoked to have an original steering wheel that was in such perfect shape for my Charger, it turns out it wasn't for my Charger! (It will however be a beautiful addition to my son's '67 Satellite) So I ordered a new reproduction one from PG Classics, it arrived today and I put it on. Much better, now I have a textured wheel and I can't see my turn signal switch anymore.

This is the wheel I took out today, the wheel is for a '67-'69 with my '70 center put on it.

This is the correct wheel which I installed today also.

I'll keep working on my windshield trim too, it is getting close.

December 14, 2012

The last glass - Windshield installation

Well, once my electrical systems check was completed successfully I started planning to get my windshield installed.

I arranged to once again have a local businessman, George Sgambellone, owner and operator of Mariposa Auto Trim, about installing my windshield (he came to my house and installed my vinyl top and let me help and learn). He was willing to come to my house and put the windshield in, showing me step-by-step how he was doing everything. The job went very smoothly, took an hour, maybe less, and once again, his rates were EXTREMELY reasonable. I have again decided to place an image of his business card here at the end of this post in case any people in my area need this sort of work done. I highly recommend George.

Here are a progression of pictures from the windshield installation. The first image shows George and myself working together putting the gasket in , then the progress forward.

Yay! The glass is complete -The car wlll be much easier to keep clean inside now!

I have begun the process of cleaning and straightening the stainless steel windshield moldings and hope to finish polishing them and get them installed over the next week.

Here is a well deserved plug for George and Mariposa Auto Trim

December 11, 2012

CH4B Intake manifold

One more piece of the puzzle! I have been trying to buy a CH4B manifold for over a year and a half. I have been continually out-bid on Ebay, or too late finding them in the classifieds. But finally I found a nice one with a buy it now / best offer option. They accepted my offer and it arrived today!

This one had already been painted Mopar High Performance orange, which is fine because I was going to do that anyway. As is frequently done by restorers using this manifold, the Edelbrock logo and Mopar part numbers have been removed also which helps with the stock look.

In case you are no familiar with te Edelbrock CH4B it is a very good performing, basically stock profile aluminum intake manifold made back in the 70's by Edelbrock and sold through Mopar dealers. It is still a top performing dual plane intake manifold, (if not the top performing dual plane) and will guarantee my dual snorkel air cleaner will easily clear the hood.

If you'd like to read more about why this is the intake I was looking for you might enjoy this Mopar Muscle article.

Early Christmas for my Charger!

November 08, 2012

Engine back home!

On Sept 7th, my engine looked like this,

Today it looked like THIS!

The engine shop (Valley Balancing in Ceres, CA) called and told me all that I wanted them to do was done. They did all the machining on the block and heads, balanced everything, assembled the rotating assembly, and wrapped it up for me.

We got it all home safely and put on the engine stand.

Hopefully when I get my tax return I can buy the cam, lifters, push rods, rocker arms, springs etc, the timing chain, oil pump and drive shaft, oil pan, pick-up etc.

Meanwhile it will stay safe, dry, and bagged in my garage.

Since I have not completed my engine entirely, and some people have had questions, I thought I would list what I have had done thus far.

1. Hot tank block
2. Magnuflux block
3. Touch-up Valve Job - both heads (new stainless valves, hardened exhaust seats, and new guides done recently)
4. True the engine block deck surface
5. Grind crank mains and rods .010
6. Re-size rods
7. Bore & hone cylinders .030 with torque plate
8. Balance all internals
9. R&R cam bearings - new Clevite bearings
10. Tap all bolt holes
11. New ARP rod bolts
12. New ARP main bolts
13. New forged TRW/sealed power pistons
14. New Mahle rings
15. New Clevite main and rod bearings
16. Line bore hone all 5 mains
17. Resurface heads
18. Assemble lower end
19. New main seal and housing
20. Machine heads for positive type valve seals
21. New positive type valve stem seals
22. New oil pump drive bushing
23. Install new brass freeze plugs

The valve stem seal mod was recommended by the shop because it they were worried that I might have run into some issues with my cam. I'd never heard of it, but it wasn't too expensive so I went for it.

Final compression is expected to be between 9.5 an 10:1

Next step is to get the cam and valve train parts together, but that may be waiting until February.

October 30, 2012

Electrical test video

Well, while I wait for the engine to progress further, I have been playing with my wiring harness. After having to fix one wire I had reversed (which caused the passenger front marker lights not to work), everything seems to be going according to plan.

My son and I made a short (2 1/2 minute) video of my Charger's "First light" it was a happy moment!

Here's the link.
70 Charger Electrical system first test

I was using my battery charger to provide the power, but it did the job.

Pardon the mess in the garage. I've had precious little time to work on my Charger, and even less to clean up.

Enjoy!

October 01, 2012

Bumper and Grill where they belong!

At long last, my bumper has returned from the chrome shop, it cost me extra and took 11 months, but I finally got it back, and it does look very good.

Rather than give you carpal tunnel scrolling down through all the pictures, I put together this slide show detailing the assembly and installation sequence.

The grill is a nice original one that I restored some years ago, the bumper and bumpettes are newly re-chromed originals, the rubber strips on the bumperettes are new reproduction ones I bought several years ago.

The images below are generally in order, and clicking on any of them will yield a larger image if you need more detail.

September 22, 2012

Brake lines, wheel well details

Well, while I am waiting for a few other things to fall into place, I made some time to square away my Charger's brake lines.

My Charger originally had 10" manual drums on all 4 corners. Even when I was young and fairly reckless, those were barely adequate for safety (especially when you decide to use that 440!)

So as detailed some time ago in this blog, I upgraded the brakes to the large 12" rotor set up using the large Chrylser Cordoba rotors, and the required longer caliper mounting brackets. These parts are mounted to a pair of '73-'76 A-Body spindles.

As most folks know, converting to disc brakes, and doing right requires more than simply bolting on discs. I located the correct proportioning valve for a disc brake equipped '70 Charger, which thankfully was the same as the early '70's disc brake equipped Dodge Darts. In addition the master cylinder adn booster are different for disc brake cars. Since mine was a manual brake car before I needed to install the correct re-enforcement plate and brake linkage pieces inside too.

The using new bulk steel seamless brake line, and the proper double flaring tools, I created my new brake lines following the original contours as closely as possible.I even transferred the factory spiral armor to the new lines. I used new fittings where ever the old ones were chewed up. Then put it all together.

In order to help me know where to put the lines going to the master cylinder I temporarily mounted an un-restored but correct master cylinder and booster set-up I got from a '69 Charger with disc brakes years ago.

Here are some pictures of the project.

One thing I did while I was working on this area of the car is replaced the weatherstripping inside the front and rear wheel well ares, added some under body coating to the wheel wells.

Also after doing a lot of reading I discovered that the spindles were reverse-able left and right. Even though the 73-76 Dart I took the spindles from had the calipers on the front, there were some advantages to swapping the spindles and mounting the calipers on the rear. The main reason I chose to do this was that the rubber hoses I had bought fit better with the calipers on the rear, other things I read suggested that the extra clearance between the caliper and the sway bar and strut bars was a good thing.

So in these pictures everything is in its new position.

Driver's side

Passenger side...

Stay tuned, I have information that my front bumper may be returned to me soon, and my engine parts are at the machine shop being perfected, so check back soon for more!

August 02, 2012

Interior progress (finally!)

Well, I finally have some progress to report. Now that I have found a satisfactory solution to my door panel Charger script dilemma,( I found a guy who makes self adhesive Charger scripts in custom sizes on Ebay) At long last I could install the front door panels, trim, and hardware.

My son and I did both doors in an evening.

This was our starting point...

Then we sealed the door off factory style with barrier plastic held in place by a thin string of butyl tape I had left over after doing the rear window installation.

The the door panel trim, new Legendary Interiors door panels, arm rest bases, arm rests, inside door handles, and window cranks were installed. (everything but the trim itself was new).

Here is the completed door, the upper door pads are exceptionally nice used ones I bought last year. I treated them to a couple coats of correct Charcoal interior paint from Herb's Parts.

Here is a close-up of the rather nice Charger Script I had made to the same size as the hard to find original pieces.

Both sides are looking sharp as a tack now.

Here is a view of the completed interior,

April 19, 2012

Interior progress

It has been a while since I was able to spend much time on my Charger but finally I have something to report.

Once I was finally happy with the adjustments of the side glass, I was able to begin installing the interior items that have been boxed up for many years now.

The following pictures reveal the fun as it happened!

First the insides had to be sealed with a plastic barrier material.

Then the restored upper door pads, and the new Legendary lower door panels could go on.

Then at long last the seat!

And all the rest too.

And a couple of over all views...

Next I will install a couple more small items, and the door panels themselves. Check back soon!

March 10, 2012

Side glass going in

My vent window glass showed up at my house Wednesday, so this weekend I was able to start putting the side glass in m Charger.

Got the passenger side vent window frame assembled into the re-chromed part. (I did the driver's side some months ago before I knew my glass was badly scratched) Here the pieces are being "peened" together.

Installed the new vent window glass into the channel pieces using inner tube as the gasket... It trims up very nicely and really holds on the the glass well.

After this the rubber gets trimmed very closely with a new razor blade, and it looks really good. Then the vent windows get installed into the vent window frames. Then it is time to put the rest together.

At the front edge of the door glass there is a fairly expensive (like $45 each) piece of molded plastic covered in felt. There are a pair of plastic guides that go at the top and the bottom of the door glass through holes in the door glass. The plastic guides go inside the outer edge of the felt covered plastic. The "problem" is the holes are not in the felt covered plastic. So to make a clean hole that would not "spread" and wreck my new piece, I melted a clean hole in just the right spot with my soldering iron.

Once these are all together the assembly starts to take shape...

With the help of my son and nephew, we installed the side glass in both doors. After a couple hours of adjustments, I am happy with the results thus far. Once I am totally sure that I do not want to change anything with the adjustments, I will be able to continue the interior re-assembly.

In making the adjustments I found a good summary in the book Project Charger on pages 136-137. If you are restoring a Mopar, especially a Charger, I highly recommend this book.

March 04, 2012

New glass going in - part 1

Well even though a week ago it was snowing here, today it was in the low 70's and sunny. Great weather for the butyl tape to work, so my son, my nephew and I put the new AMD rear glass in my Charger.

Here I am putting down the 5/16" tape.

Here is the glass in, trim on. The lower passenger side corner really gave me a hard time, had to work the piece over some, but after sufficient frustration leading to prayer, and hard work, I got it on OK. (Thank you Lord!)

I like that the glass has the Pentastar logo on it, I think that is a nice touch.

I put the new quarter window glass in too. It seems pretty good, but one of the holes (passenger side) seemed to be a little off so I had to modify the bushing that goes around the bolt. The driver's side was fine though. I'll know more about how well it fits when I have the door glass in and try to get everything adjusted. About a week ago Mopar Ed told me that the vent glass (which AMD forgot to put in the box) was on its way. So maybe soon I can get the door glass in.

Keep checking back!

February 25, 2012

Box-O-Glass!

Well after being on back ordered for a while due to the windshield being out of stock. Today I was able to go pick-up my new Charger glass!

A very large, very well packed box full of reproduction goodness was waiting for me a Mopar Ed's when I got there.

The glass looks great, soon I'll see how it fits. One unfortunate thing though, it appears AMD forgot to put the vent windows in the box, so they will have to come separately.

I hope to be installing the rear glass and quarter windows very soon.

Stay tuned...

February 03, 2012

It's all in the details

Well, while I am waiting for my glass to arrive (should be not more than a couple of weeks now), I have been keeping busy assembling a collection of fairly "correct" appointments for my Charger's firewall. I got a great deal on a Mopar reproduction voltage regulator, I reconditioned an original type ballast resistor I had, I did the same with the starter solenoid, and restored my windshield washer nozzles and hoses (installed after this picture was taken) I located original type bolts for each and put them on for this picture.

Nothing too exciting, but still, some progress.

December 03, 2011

Fuel tank and lines are in!

Today, my son and I also put in the new Fuel tank, a new 3/8" sending unit (with 1/4" vapor return fitting) we will mate this to the new reproduction steel fuel lines and clips he and I installed earlier this week. (again new 3/8 feed with a 1/4 return)

Here's the tank with pads, sending unit, and new fuel fill seal installed.

And here it is all tightened down in its permanent home!

More to come.

Front Bumper Parts ready

Well, I had a chance to get a few things done today.

Finished sand blasting the metal parts that surround the grille, then got them primed, and painted. Now when I get time, I can reassemble the grill, bumper etc, and install them!

Here they are after being primed, and painted...

Looking forward to finishing the front!

November 26, 2011

Hit a snag!

Well, it happens to everyone from time to time, now it is my turn (again)...

After cleaning my various windows really well this weekend, I realized that I am in dire need of replacement glass. My door glass, and rear window especially are scratched beyond belief! I guess all those years driving it, I never noticed (or cared)? Heck back then if my car had glass I thought I was "good to go!"

What that means is the glass installation will not happen right away, the newly chromed vent window frames and such will have to stay packed away, and the re-assembly of my interior will be on hold too. This is because I need to have the side glass all in and adjusted prior to putting the door panels on, and the rear door panels have to be on prior to the installation of the rear seat.

... Oh well, something else to save up for. I'll have to find other things to do on my Charger for a while. That should not be too hard!

November 08, 2011

Headlight door motor ready

Now that I am getting closer to installing my grille, I blasted, restored, and rebuilt my headlight door motor. The gear, and internal plastic parts are all new from The Headlight Motor Man (Great stuff by the way). I appears to work very well!

Hopefully soon I'll have my refurbished motor back in its natural environment!

November 02, 2011

Re-Chromed Rear bumper - On!

Well, my son and I have found time to install the new wheel lip mouldings, and to re-assemble and install the re-chromed rear bumper.

I blasted the bumper brackets and hardware, shot them with self-etching primer, painted all satin black and put it together with new bumper bolts, and my brand new but several years old," Mopar or No Car" Charger script license plate frame I bought from Mopar Collector's Guide.

Here's a preview; my wife took a picture for me this afternoon while I was at work...

Stick around, more on the way!

October 28, 2011

Some progress

OK, things have been pretty quiet on my restoration for over a month, maybe closer to two. However, as my overtime pay has arrived and has now been put to work for me parts are starting to roll in.

Some folks have been asking, so I thought I's share the current status.
I will have pictures soon, especially when things start to go together, but, here is a list of what I have been able to acquire for my Charger...

Re-Chromed front bumper - got it!
Re-Chromed front bumperettes - got them!.
Re-Chromed rear bumper - got it!
Re-chromed rear bumperettes - got them!
Re-chromed vent window frames and smaller vent window parts (latches etc) - got them!
New bumper bolt kit - got it!
New shifter knob - got it!
New Wheel lip mouldings - got them!
New fuel tank - got it!
New 3/8 fuel line - got it!
New 1/4 fuel return line - got it!
New sending unit - got it!
New fuel line clip kit - got it!

Can't wait to get everything put on. That means I get to finish putting in the side glass, them complete the interior, I get to install bumpers and that means un-boxing my grille! I am getting excited!

Pictures coming "soon" (probably a bit at a time over the next 60 days or so) Please stay tuned!

August 23, 2011

Carpet, console, and front seats

Well, Finally getting some time to start putting a few more things together.

I got the tailight and dash wiring all in and connected. Using my little "jump-start" box, I was able to make all the lights tun on, which was fun and gratifying!

With the wiring in I was able to proceed with completing the installation of sound deadener on the floor pan, and move on to the carpet. With help from my buddies at the 70 Charger Registry forum, the carpet install went pretty smoothly.

Here's the carpet in, with the console in position.

Before installing the driver's side front seat, I installed the steering column and steering wheel, since having the seat out made rolling around on the floor of the Charger much easier.

Steering column, and wheel are in and connected. Front seats are in! I have not sat in my Charger since 2004, happy days!

The rear seat is waiting until all my side glass is in, which is waiting on rechroming my vent window frame parts (hopefully in October) Once all the glass is in, and is adjusted correctly, then the door panels will go on, and the rear seat will go in.

July 26, 2011

Dash installation

After completing the restoration and assembly of the dash, it was time to install it in my Charger. The dash pad was new from PG Classics, as was the radio bezel. The radio knobs are mint originals. I repainted the other dash bezels by hand. Everything was screwed together and ready to go.

I rolled the car outside to give us plenty of room to work. My wife took the overhead shots from the garage roof!

This is me with my son (taller) and my nephew, working together to mount the dash in the car. The dash is large and relatively heavy, and you certainly don't want to scratch anything, so having some extra hands is a really good idea. My nephew had wanted to be a part of this part of the project, so we chose an evening when he was over to make use of his willing assistance.

Mission accomplished!

July 23, 2011

Dash and trim progress

Finally had a moment to upload some photos of some recent progress.

First, my son and I have been working in our "extra" time to finish the dash assembly, here are some pictures.

First, dash overall. new PG Classics dash pad, new PG Classics radio bezel purchased from Mopar Ed, gauges and heater controls restored with Performance Car Graphics kit, everything else was restored and hand painted by me.

A close-up of the instrument panel area

Side view

Next, emboldened by Murray's success on his tail light panel, I tried to restore my own. I started over three times before I ended up with the look I was after. Found the "chrome" paint I liked best, painted the black first, then masked off all but the shiny strip with super detail 3m 1/2" wide precision tape.

The 500 emblem I restored, the Charger emblem is new from AMD via Mopar Ed.

Here are some over all pics for effect.

More to come. Stay tuned

June 11, 2011

Fuel cap Father's Day!

A lot of things have been coming together for my Charger lately.In addition to the smoking deal on an NOS antenna base mentioned in the previous post, my order from Mopar Ed came in this week, which consisted of my new PG Classics dash pad, radio bezel, and a pair of nicer quarter windows, a set of '70 AM radio knobs.

Today while we were down in Mopar Ed's office picking up my parts, my wife and kids announced that Ed had a Father's Day surprise for me, and that she and my kids had all chipped in to buy it for me. Then Ed handed me a box containing this (which I promptly installed when I got home)

All I can do is thank Jesus for such a wonderful week, and a wonderful family!

Now I have all the needed pieces, and as soon as I get time, I can complete the assembly of my dash and get it in.

The beautiful fuel cap assembly pictured above attaches through the quarter panel and associated gaskets into the fuel filler tube, so it was necessary to refurbish the filler tube and install the trunk gasket for it at the same time as I installed the fuel cap.

June 10, 2011

Filling in holes

Recently my family and I attended the Fremont Mopar Alley Mopar Rally car show, and I met a really nice guy and his wife who own a beautiful '69 Charger. While talking with them, I found out that they had some leftovers from restoring their car. One of those items was a NOS antenna base, nut, and bezel. He made me an extremely good deal, so I purchased it. My son, my nephew and I installed it in the car and routed the antenna coax. It looks really good, just like it's supposed to, and gives a finished look to the fender.

My friend and regular parts supplier, Mopar Ed, gave me an excellent deal on a pair of used quarter windows that were in considerably better shape than my originals. My son and I had previously installed all the hardware, so it was a simple matter for my nephew Jordan and I to install and adjust the windows themselves. It sure is fun, seeing some of the big holes start to be filled on my Charger.

June 03, 2011

A long-awaited day

A bit more progress to report. A long awaited day.

My son and I installed the new matte black tail-stripe from Performance Car Graphics.

Weather was iffy, so we just pulled it out enough to photograph the stripe work.

Tail stripe, passenger side:

Deck lid with tail stripe:

Tail stripe, driver's side close-up

Tail stripe, driver's side looking backward

I had to re-order a driver's side section, when I put it on at first I messed up badly. The other two pieces went on fine (tried different method) PCG will sell individual parts. So when it arrived, we put it on slowly and gradually, and it went fine. Looks even better in person, if I do say so myself.

Tolley

June 02, 2011

Headliner complete

A bit more tweaking and time have helped my headliner a lot. I have the rest of the seat belt retainers, the visors changed to black (used to be tan) and installed, the mirror that a fellow Charger owner hooked me up with restored and installed.

I am really pleased with the way the headliner is looking now. I learned a lot, and praise Jesus for the patience and His nudge in the right direction when I wasn't sure what to do.

Here are some pictures.

Sun visors and mirror:

Sun visors:

Headliner looking better:

Headliner sail panel area, driver's side:

Headliner sail panel area, passenger side:

May 15, 2011

Decals

One of the steps I have been very excited to be able to perform was purchasing and installing the various authentic reproduction decals that go around the car. I purchased most of the decals from Performance Car Graphics, and I have to say the quality and service were outstanding. I ordered my reproduction VIN decal from ECS Automotive Concepts , and my dealings with them could not have been better. They were fantastic and fast. I also purchased from Performance Car Graphics a matte black tail stripe and air cleaner decal, which have not yet been installed.

Headlight door motor decal

Antifreeze decal

Emissions decal

Tire inflation decal

VIN decal

Jack instructions

Headliner installation!

After reading everything I could find on the subject for months, thinking, and praying about it, I decided to attempt to install my own headliner. I'm sure my upholstery guy would have done a fantastic job for not too much money, but I really wanted to try it to see what it was all about. My son and I worked on this for three nights, and so far I am happy with the results. The headliner is in, the accessories are going on, I have worked the majority of the wrinkles out, and everything I read says it will only get better with time (and some attention from a steam tool of some kind).

The following pictures are taken in order over the course of those three days.

May 07, 2011

Heater box rebuilt and installed

One of the things that needed to happen inside the car before the dash and some other things could go in was that I needed to thoroughly go through my heater box and get it installed. I ordered a complete seal and gasket kit from Restorations By Rick, and it was excellent. Everything fit perfectly, and the instructions left very little to the imagination. My son and I stripped all the parts, sanded, painted, replaced the heater core with a new one, and replaced all the seals using the kit. Once this was complete, we reinstalled the heater box and driver's side vent assembly, which we had also cleaned and detailed. Although we repainted all the metal parts, you may notice that the original Mopar part number stamp is still visible on the front panel. Since that spot was in good shape, I covered it with clear tape, used a razor knife to outline it, and then repainted the front panel. When I pulled the tape off, the effect was pretty good.

heater box rebuilt, front

heater box rebuilt, rear

driver's vent installed

heater box, installed

April 15, 2011

Some progress to report

I have not had a lot of time to work on my Charger lately. I've been working on a lot of other things instead. But I have had a few moments now and then to get a few fun things done on the Charger. I installed my new reproduction fender-to-bumper seals; I installed a new PG Classics driver's side remote mirror (which seems very nice); and I blasted and detailed my wiper motor and voltage regulator bracket and got them painted and installed.

Fender gasket, driver's side:

Fender gasket, passenger side:

Mirror:

Firewall with details:

February 21, 2011

Trim and detail work

Work has been continuing full-speed on my Charger. The sorts of detail work that make up the phase I'm in right now require a large number of hours for a relatively small difference on the car, but I realize that attention to these details will add up to a terrific final product. The most time-consuming part of the project in this phase was straightening, sanding, and polishing the stainless steel trim that surrounds the border of the vinyl top. The materials I had read online gave tips for smoothing out dents, then sanding the pieces with progressively finer grits of sandpaper, and then buffing the pieces, all prior to installation. I am still learning, but so far I am happy with the results.

I have also been polishing the plastic lenses and have been able to now install a number of them. The firewall is also coming together nicely, with the brake pedal assembly and wiper pivots rebuilt and detailed. Next should be the heater box.

This morning my wife asked me to push the car outside the garage so that she could take a fresh round of pictures. Here are some shots that show what I've been doing lately on the Charger.

February 06, 2011

Vinyl Top

One of the things I have really been looking forward to is getting my new Legendary black vinyl top installed on the Charger. I contacted a local businessman, George Sgambellone, owner and operator of Mariposa Auto Trim, about installing my top. He was willing to come to my house and put the top on, showing me step-by-step how he was doing everything. The top looks outstanding, took only a few hours, and his rates were EXTREMELY reasonable. I have decided to place an image of his business card here in this post in case any people in my area need this sort of work done. I highly recommend George.

Here are a progression of pictures from the vinyl top installation. The first image shows George and myself working together. The next set are of the top after it was installed and the car was still outside. Then a couple detail shots after the car was safely back in the garage. I was very happy to finally be able to install the new Charger logos that my wife and kids got me for Christmas, and the new check moldings. As soon as I have the rest of the stainless trim polished, I will install that, hopefully over the next few weeks.

I did also install all of the windshield molding clips for the windshield and rear window.

January 23, 2011

Front valance and blackening

Didn't have much time this week to work on the car until today, but my son and I did reinstall the front valance and mask everything off, carefully, to black out the area behind the grill and bumper. Also, I wanted to see what my new parking light lenses would look like installed, so we put those together and installed them with new hardware in the valance. I think it all came out well and looks really cool.

January 17, 2011

Reassembly begins

It is wonderful to finally be at the reassembly stage. Boxes, envelopes, containers of new and restored parts, will now be freed from their captivity to adorn my Charger.

The very first part I installed on my newly repainted Charger was the passenger side fender emblem, the symbol of Mopar, the pentastar.

Next I installed my new reproduction outside door handles, to encourage people to not put their hands all over the paint when they want to open the door and look inside. They sure look nice to me.

Here's a shot under the hood, with new weatherstripping, bumpers, and hood insulation, with new clips.

With help from my brother-in-law, son, and nephew, we jacked up the assembled K-member and bolted the front suspension in. I installed the .96-inch torsion bars with new seals and clips, and began to assemble the brakes. These are 11.75-inch Cordoba brakes, and will do the job very nicely, I'm sure. The rotors are used, but have been turned. All other parts, including bearings, seals, calipers, and hardware are all new.

After installing the front suspension, my son and nephew were itching to put something else on the car, so I let them install the new body plugs.

I really appreciated the use of Mopar Ed's dollies for the front end of my car, and wanted to free them up to return to him as soon as possible. The most fun way to do that was to get the car sitting on its tires again. I remounted my old BFGs on the newly painted rims, and installed them with new chrome lug nuts. At some future time, I will install the stainless steel red-line dog-dish hubcaps, to see if I like that look as much as I think I will. I really like the look of the car sitting on its tires. To me it looks more like a car than a "project" this way. I think this combination looks really sharp, and is the look I have been hoping to achieve.