Pic of new Smith Bros. Push-Bar & Fi-Tech Fuel Injection:

[Captain D]

Hi all,

I finally got around to snappin' some pics. Recently, I just installed this: my new Fuel Injection kit from Fi-Tech and a Smith Bros. wide-bar. As for the installation: I kept 'getting on the horn' to make sure that I didn't need anything else to install this Smith Bros. piece (welding supplemental mounting brackets, etc.). But, every time that I spoke with the Smith Bros. and folks on the various forums about this specific bar to those who have it, everyone kept saying 'all you need is: the two small bolts on the license plate bracket to secure it from slightly shifting / rubbing the front bumper and the two large bolts underneath using the factory holes on the frame.' So, I said 'alright then' and went and did it. For the factory holes on the frame, they take a 5/8" drill bit in order to punch through the opposite side of the frame and 'legs' of the push-bar itself. Once we got everything all measured, it came down to lining stuff up and balancing it all due to the weight of the bar. Overall, it turned out pretty good and seems to be very solid. Btw, the K&N air filter has since been been re-charged and some better detailing was done under the hood, lol.

As a side note, if I ever take this new bar off and on again, it will be a lot easier since all of the holes are now drilled (whew, thank goodness for that seeing how it took us about 2.5 hours to do the work). But, I absolutely love this wide bar in both its size and installation going underneath of the car. The bar itself came with some form of 'textured' pitted-like finish on the metal. So, I had it primed + powder-coated and it seemed to make it A LOT smoother in appearance. I was also a little worried that the sheer weight of this piece would cause the front-end of my car to sag some. Fortunately, it still retains its original front-end height...

They're not the greatest pics, but I was able to snap them real quick before it got too late. Thanks for checkin' em' out...
Aaron

[69wannabe]

Love the push bar!!! How are you liking the Fi Tech set up? I actually was going to mount my command center there but my windshield washer tank was there so I wound up mounting it on the front side of the radiator support and I was thinking that the air coming through the grille would help keep it cool too...

[rebby]

Push bar looks great. I went with a narrow aluminum one for mine but I've always liked the look of the wide bar too.

[flyinlow]

Car looks good!

Does the FiTech run well with the RPM intake?

Been waiting six weeks for Jegs to get one.  Got the fuel center installed.

[Captain D]

Thanks for the reply & compliments! The fuel command center looks a little bigger in the pic than it actually is - I just got right on top of it since it was rather tight back in the corner of my garage from where I took the pic  . As for the differences between the carb vs, EFI, it only takes one crank instead of often times 2-3 when cold outside and you don't have to worry about numerous cranks, in general. No matter how best I thought I got my old carb tuned / balanced, sometimes it embarrassingly took more than once to try and start it depending on outside temps, humidity, and so on. One turn and your done. As for the accelerator pedal, it just seemed a tad stiffer initially (being so new), but I got used to it in a day or two. One thing that I did notice was that the car warms up a lot faster and it has better acceleration properties overall. Although I haven't tested it a 'whole' lot so far due to the weather as we enter into springtime, I've heard from other folks that it gets better fuel economy, as well. When I had the car out today, I actually shut it down a few times and each time I re-started it - there were no issues whatsoever...fired right up. I normally wait a quick second til' you hear a click, then simply turn the key.

I've heard that these kits can go on any intake, so for those thinking about going for one - so far I like it. Hope that this helps answers some questions! As for the push-bar, I believe the first pic in this thread is the bar after powder-coating (you may be able to tell from the 1rst pic that it is glossier and smoother) and the 2nd pic below it is just before the powder-coating. As a side note, this ol' Charger was pretty rough when we brought it home...parts everywhere, a tree growing up through the middle, and local folks kept telling me after looking at it that "it'll never see the road" and "glad that it's not my car," etc. It feels good having rescued it like an old dog from the pound to have a 2nd chance at life and prove those people wrong.  

Attached is a pic of my dash. The cell phone wasn't the greatest, so I apologize for the lack of clarity. Since this pic was taken, I swapped out the roll-bar padding for more TV series accurate material (the closed cell Armaflex). Also, as you can see in the pics, I went with the white gauge inserts (vs. the standard black). But, everything else is 'stock' inside the cab of the car (minus the roll-bar itself). At the time when I was working on my gauge cluster, the white gauges just seemed to 'compliment' the shifter on the steering column since the letters and numbers on the steering column are black with a white background as well. With that being said, both the white gauges and white background / black letters and numbers on the steering column go together in my opinion. If I was designing this aspect back in 68' / 69,' this is what I would have suggested,  .

Thanks again for lookin,'
Aaron

[myk]

Kudos to you for proving the naysayers wrong. 

I love your dash.  Is it just the stock gauges or are they modified internally for accuracy? 

[keith88]

I have the narrow push bar by smith brothers they are a nice piece , i also have the white face gauges they look nice.

[tan top]

 

[Captain D]

Thanks again for the chats and encouragement on the car  ,

As for the gauges, yes the white gauge faces are 100% like the original factory styled black colored facings - but simply done in white instead. I snapped a quick pic with my cell phone to show them a little closer (again, please excuse the poor quality as I know I need to upgrade,  ). As you may see, the white 'background' of the gauges with black lettering matches the same combo on the shifter of the steering column (white background with black lettering). They seem to go together like 'peas and carrots.' Keith88 - my compliments your push-bar as well my friend! I used to have the same model on mine and it was certainly easier / lighter when installing and uninstalling, lol.

Thanks again gents for checkin' out the pics,
Aaron 

[myk]

Looks great.  As for your phone, I don't upgrade because it means less money for Charger parts lol...

[Captain D]

That's a big 10-4! I feel the same way - I get the girlfriend's 'hand-me-down' phones that she changes out every year. Even though these phones aren't the newest and latest, they're essentially 'new' to me, lol...

[rebby]

Here is a quick cell phone snap of my narrow aluminum bar.

[69wannabe]

Look's great guy's!!! 

[Captain D]

Hi there Curt,

Is that my old narrow push-bar, lol? Lookin' good brother! That push-bar was a quality piece indeed - it was used in a lot of car shows, parades, and even went to Cooter's grand opening in Sperryville, Va. this time last year. I was sorry to see it go, but I can see that it went to a good home (and good ol' car), my friend. Enjoy and congrats on your new ride! Please continue to snap more pics of your Charger (interior, etc.) as things progress...
Best wishes,
Aaron

[rebby]

Hi there Curt,

Is that my old narrow push-bar, lol? Lookin' good brother! That push-bar was a quality piece indeed - it was used in a lot of car shows, parades, and even went to Cooter's grand opening in Sperryville, Va. this time last year. I was sorry to see it go, but I can see that it went to a good home (and good ol' car), my friend. Enjoy and congrats on your new ride! Please continue to snap more pics of your Charger (interior, etc.) as things progress...
Best wishes,
Aaron

Yep, that would be yours. Thanks again! I love how lightweight the aluminum bar is.

I have a few small projects to finish up yet this spring, then a wash/wax, and finally a great deal of pictures inside and out. I took a few pics during the rapid build process (not nearly enough) but never did do a build thread so I'll get that sorted out with a few pics from along the way and a bunch of recent pics.

[JR]

General Lee's aren't my thing, but man that is a clean 69. Nice work!