RamZCharger's 68 6.4 Hemi Restomod

[RamZCharger]

Thanks everyone.

And many thanks to Talbott Enterprises – my builders.  For one reason or another shops fell through and I was very close to shipping my car 800 miles to a resto place I have a familial relationship with in the middle of the great US of A.  But Mike and Jimmy at Talbott Enterprises actually "wanted" to tackle my project - what a revelation.  They are located in Waller, TX (good to keep my Charger in my home country – Ha!)  and have been building these fantastic machines for over 35 years.  They pretty much do it all, engine and mechanical upgrades to custom stereos, or a full project like mine.  They are building my Charger exactly like I want and are right there with me in terms of the direction I am taking the car.  Their suggestions and initiative have been instrumental and I am completely at ease, just anxious as any one of us would be to finally get my car on the road.  Hat tip to Mike P. and Jimmy Talbott.  

[RamZCharger]

Brakes are from Dr. Diff, Cass is great to work with.  I have kept him on the phone longer than he would appreciate I am sure but never got the sense he didn't have the time.  I purchased his front disc brake kit upgraded with 11.75" drilled, slotted, and plated rotors, the calipers are GM.  It is my understanding this is the largest OEM-style brake package that fits 15" wheels.  I also got his rear disc brake kit upgraded with drilled, slotted, and plated rotors, and billet brackets.  The rotors are 10.7", and uses Cobra calipers.  This set-up allows for a parking brake, so I procured this through him too.  The master cylinder assembly is aluminum 15/16" bore and is non-assisted.  I have other vehicles that are manual and they have good feel to me, perhaps at some future time I'll consider a booster.   I also got a new pair of forged steel disc knuckles and an adjustable push rod.  Dr. Diff packages all of this in pre-paid postal boxes, the kind where you can cram any amount of weight into the pre-determined size box.  This is a little goofy, but I suppose it cuts shipping cost and everything arrived in good order.

So what does all this stuff look like and how was the install . . . below is the master cylinder installed and plumbed.  The proportioning valve is just under the MC.  I dig the custom lines, this type of detail is where it's at.  All with the master went as expected.

[RamZCharger]

The front brakes also installed pretty much as expected, no issues.  In these pictures you will get a good view of the Hotchkis upper control arm, nice.  You may notice my Bilstein shocks have dust covers, I like it this way.  And all lug threads are righty-tighty.  The Magnum 500s clear no problem.

[RamZCharger]

The rear brakes had a minor issue in that the rear caliper billet mounting bracket hit the rotors.  They had to be ground down for proper clearance.  No problem with wheels clearing here either.

[RamZCharger]

Now this is interesting and something I had not considered, with subframe connectors there is no pass through provision for the parking brake cable.  Builder Mike cut holes and ran a stainless steel tube through the subframe, and then ran the cable through that so for the most part the parking brake is functioning like the original engineers had planned.  Tricky.  Full stop.

[six-tee-nine]

Yes, I also modded mine that Way.

[Charger-Bodie]

Yes, I also modded mine that Way.

Yep me too.... A few times now.

[RamZCharger]

In a prior post I discussed how I am cooling the beast that lives within my engine compartment, now let's turn to cooling me.  This starts with insulation, and more insulation, specifically Ballistic Hollow Point.  I let builder Mike (yes that is his title) just run with this as it all seems six and ½ dozen of another.  He prefers Hushmat for ease of installation but he got cross with that local vendor so we went with Ballistic for my car.  This stuff is odor free, acts as sound suppression, and will keep me cooler in the summers and warmer in the winters.  As far as installation goes, Mike does prefer Hushmat and will most likely return to them as a customer, I think insulation properties are equal and differences are more a matter of how easy the stuff goes down.  I have heard where guys are getting very good results with duct seam insulation you can get at big box home stores, but for my car this is designed for autos.  Say ballistic insulation installation five times fast.  

Ballistic insulation installed and seams sealed up:

[RamZCharger]

Don't forget the doors . . .  This will make the biggest difference in reducing those annoying rattles.  It will also make the door feel and sound less tinny when opening and closing, thunk.  Also has properties that help with stereo sound, more on the stereo stuff later.

[RamZCharger]

Don't forget the quarters . . .  Both quarters were replaced and the welds are left raw.  Builder Mike brushed off the welds and then primed and added undercoat to protect the new panels.  Nice to have someone looking out for you.

[RamZCharger]

The AC system is courtesy of Classic Air.  Not quite the perfect fit system for our Chargers because we are routing all the lines stealthy (a perfect fit for me), but I am certainly utilizing the controls for a 68 – 70 b-body.  They finish off the dash nicely, everything looks new.  The upholstery up front is actually original and in good condition.  My original vents were also in decent shape, but we utilized the vents that come with the Classic kit so all the hoses attach without modifying.  Below you will see the controls and vents installed, the new center duct and adapters for the side vents, and the vent adapters installed from behind with wiring ready to go for the courtesy light.

[RamZCharger]

The AC box is a compact powerful unit.  Custom aluminum (I can never spell "aluminum" correctly without first saying with a British accent) spacers are used to mount just off the firewall.  Instead of connecting hoses through the smooth firewall we are routing out the side to keep it all hidden.  Through Summit I purchased a billet bulkhead hose connector.  There is enough room to keep an OEM type glove box liner.

[RamZCharger]

The hard lines for the compressor are custom bent so we can route unconventionally.  The AC and heater lines are ran under the passenger fender for hookup with the installed bulkhead connector.  With the fender on a view from the inside shows there is lots of room to run hoses, the inner fender brace is not even a bother.  A clean engine bay is one of builder Mike's signatures and with this set up we are well on our way.  I love the unpainted stainless fasters.  Cheers Mike P.

[RamZCharger]

Quite possibly the biggest milestone in any build, in a word:

HEMI!

The engine install is always a bit nerve wracking and this case is no exception.  You think everything is covered, you think you have planned for contingencies, and then the parade of horribles commences.  Ok, a bit of hyperbole but you all know with these builds it's not just a car.

The oil filter in the stock location sits on the k-member so the filter adapter is blocked off and AN fittings are installed for custom lines that will be run to a remote filter.  The HEMI block off plate was supplied from Modern Muscle, as well as the engine.  When installing from above and not dropping the body over the engine the intake manifold is removed because the lift points are underneath.  The motor is wedged in there now – time to celebrate . . .  er, maybe not.

[RamZCharger]

The factory heater hose is cut under the intake and fittings installed allowing for AN fittings to be used with braided stainless lines.  The alternator installs from the passenger side, and fits, however if you ever need to remove it you would have to lift the motor.  So we notched the frame for more alternator room and now there is clearance to remove the alternator if necessary at some point.  The frame in the picture still needs to be smoothed and cleaned up.

[RamZCharger]

Now to the intake manifold, oh the horror.

The intake hits the firewall and we are off a good 1 ½".

[RamZCharger]

What to do?  I considered a 6.1 intake but have you guys seen what those run for?  If we pull the engine to modify the firewall we are now looking at big $ that is in the supercharger range . . . so what is actually going on?  Dave at Modern Muscle suggested removing the Short Runner Valve (SRV) actuator.  The SRV actuator diverts air through either the "long" or "short" path in the plenum from the throttle body to the lower intake manifold.  For extreme high HP demands the short runner valve opens shortening the high velocity air path into the intake, enhancing high speed power.  OK, does removal solve our clearance issue . . .  yes.  The actuator is about 2 ¼".

[RamZCharger]

Per Dave at Modern Muscle their '71 Challenger does have the actuator installed but it is not functional, they use the intake locked in the long runner mode.  There is no going flat at higher RPMs and the ported throttle body will add overall power, and the motor really shines when it comes to drivability with a manual transmission.  Goes to the old adage you shop for horse power, you buy for torque.  Also even in the long runner position the 6.4 manifold out performs a stock 5.7 Eagle intake.  So Mike P built a block off plate and we are in business, not bankruptcy.

[RamZCharger]

The intake is on!  No small miracle.  The fuel lines are at 90 degrees so it will fit under the factory 392 covers without cutting.  The motor is coming together finally and I am breathing a little easier.

[RamZCharger]

Shifting will be accomplished with a Keisler TKO 600 5-speed rated for 600 HP and 600 TQ.  Gear ratios are 2.87, 1.89, 1.34, 1.0, 0.64.  A good friend with this same transmission has issues shifting above 6,000 RPMs, which is a common issue with this tranny.  For good measure I upgraded the synchronizer blocking ring to carbon fiber, which will not only allow for shifts north of 6 grand, but will reduce lower RPM shift effort for faster shifts.  This upgrade is probably more ego than anything else but it certainly is good for peace of mind.  I went with the entire Keisler kit which includes:  small block bellhousing, billet steel flywheel, clutch kit, pedals, drive shaft (er, maybe not), and associated hardware.

[RamZCharger]

Install was uneventful compared to the engine.  Generally things lined up and not a lot of transmission tunnel modification was required.  I will need an offset shift lever bracket to ensure the lever is appropriately spaced in the console.  More on that later.

[RamZCharger]

The transmission cross member supplied by Keisler is okay, it arrived in a gold color so we painted it black, because cool.  The shims and mounting hardware are junk.  We replaced those with a urethane locking mount and shims to get the correct height.

[RamZCharger]

The clutch reservoir with the kit is also junk.  It is plastic and does not deserve any screen time, no pictures for you.  I replaced it with a billet Wilwood reservoir that you can get at Summit, product number 260-12697.  This is a fine piece.  Ring Brothers also make a very nice billet clutch reservoir in natural or black anodized.  I prefer the Wilwood for aesthetics only, no branding on the cap.  Natural billet and black are a nice combination . . .  There is a decent picture of it a few posts prior and below.  I wish there was a similar upgrade available for the stock power steering reservoir – if any of you know of something please let me know.

My wiper motor is a good working 3-speed, but these things are ugly.  Even the refinished ones are big and clunky and not very nice to look at. With the type of registration I have I will need to pass a safety inspection, so I need working wipers.  To satisfy I am wiring up the motor, but am chucking it in the trunk for when I need it.  Mike P built a slick aluminum block off plate, a much nicer aesthetic.  Form over function when I want it, and function over form when I am caught in weather.

[RamZCharger]

My Exhaust is semi-custom stainless.  As discussed in a prior post I ordered TTI headers raw in case modification would be necessary, it is not.  The fit is good, they tuck in decent and I have no complaints.  After initial mock-up they were sent out to Jet-hot and I chose a satin ceramic finish.

[RamZCharger]

I had to order new gaskets as the originals were damaged during test fittings, and TTI advised me to order through Mancini.  I got those guys on the phone and asked for TTI 6.4 gaskets, which they promptly sent out, and they promptly did not fit.  This is very strange, you will have to order the 6.1 square hole gaskets, not the round 6.4.  Mancini was very cool with the return and quick ship of the correct ones, but begs the question what are the 6.4 TTI header gaskets used on?