Chris' 1968 Charger Upgrades 6/13 Bunch of updates, done uploading

[Chris 69]

Next was passenger's side. Same steps as driver's side, so I'll just post photos without descriptions.

[Chris 69]

Passenger side welded in.

[Chris 69]

Next was torque boxes.

Painted insides first.

[MxRacer855]

Looks great! Keep 'em coming!

[Chris 69]

Looks great! Keep 'em coming!

Will do. Sill got about 90 photos to post....

[Chris 69]

Started with installation of the driver's rear torque box.

A little massaging of the torque box was required with the 4" angle grinder, but nothing major. Used a bottle jack to hold in place, then welded it in.

[Chris 69]

Passenger rear.

[Chris 69]

Driver front.

[Chris 69]

Passenger front.

[Chris 69]

Then painted connectors and torque boxes with black Rustoleum.

Note the e-brake cable. My "temporary" fix is to route the cable through fuel hose so it doesn't rub the connector. Hopefully this won't be the permanent solution...

[Chris 69]

After driving the car for a while, the stock radiator started leaking. When I bought the car, it had a 22" 2-core. I had it re-cored to a 3-core back in 2006.

This time decided to go Aluminum. After alot of research, and coordination with DC.com members, decided to go with a Champion 26" 3-core radiator. The following photos detail installation.

[Chris 69]

Here's the stock (I think) 22" radiator.

[Chris 69]

Radiator removed. The opening is set up for a 22", so it will need to be modified for the new 26" radiator.

[Chris 69]

Here's the 26" Champion radiator. Very impressed with the quality, and the price. It was about $250 with shipping.

[Chris 69]

Next was pre-fitting the aluminum radiator to determine where to modify the support and to determine any conflicts.

Had one conflict on the passenger side with a "bump" in the support. Decided to leave the bump and make brackets to offset the radiator toward the motor slightly.

[Chris 69]

Next was modifying the support to accept the 26" radiator.

1. Bolted the radiator to the existing holes on the driver's side.
2. Marked the passengers side.
3. Drilled holes for radiator in passenger side.
4. Covered motor and grille.
5. Cut the support with my pneumatic cutoff.
6. Cleaned up the cut with my 4" angle grinder and Dremel.
7. Cleaned up the mess from the pneumatic lubrication oil and grinding.
8. Painted with white Rustoleum (off my shelf again).

[Chris 69]

 

[Chris 69]

Next was to make the offset brackets. The two issues were the "bump" mentioned earlier, and my radiator support not being straight. Therefore the radiator would not have a flat surface to mount flush against.

Decided to make these "brackets" which are 1/8" steel bar stock with a couple holes drilled in them. These would give two benfits:

1. Offset the radiator to clear the "bump".
2. Give the radiator a flat surface for mounting.

Of course, I ran out of white paint, so one was painted black.

[Chris 69]

Here's the radiator installed. Installed the offset brackets, but also used some Grade 8 washers to shim the brackets so the radiator sits straight.

[Chris 69]

 

[Chris 69]

It clears the "bump"!!!

[Chris 69]

Here's the "rag test". Thank you Bryan (A383Wing) for the suggestion.

At Idle, without a fan shroud, there is enough pressure to hold the rag against the radiator.

I've driven the car a few times on 85 degree days, and the three-core aluminum radiator is keeping temps around 170 degrees. No need for a fan shroud, yet, we'll see when outside temps get to 100+.

So far so good!

[Chris 69]

One issue I've had ever since the car had the 383, and now the 440, is the oil filter rubbing against the lower radiator hose. The aluminum radiator lower hose connection is slightly more towards the passenger side, making the fit even tighter.

Not to mention the mess on the K-frame every time I change the oil.

Now it's time to relocate the oil filter.

[Chris 69]

After thinking about where to mount the oil filter, decided to make a bracket that would mount to the two holes the currently hold the vacuum reservoir. This way no new holes would need to be drilled anywhere in the car.

Here's the vacuum can installed and removed. Also removed the power steering pump for access.

Tried to remove the battery tray, but the bolts are so corroded/rusted, couldn't them out. Oh well, that's a task for another day...

[Chris 69]

Here's where I want the oil filter to sit, over the hole in the K-frame. That way it's easy access, and no mess on the car when the filter is removed.

Note the existing oil filter location's tight fit with the lower radiator hose.