ChgrSteve67 Charger Rebuild

[ChgrSteve67]

Saturday I get to begin the engine rebuild of my 1967 Charger

Last year my cousin and I replaced and / or rebuilt the following.
[Changed the rear end from a 2.71 open to a 3.55 sure grip - Leaf Springs and Shackles - Drive Line and U Joints - Brakes - Transmission
clutch package - bell housing - Carb - fuel pump - battery and cables - alternator and brackets - pulleys - electronic ignition - rear tail lights
rear wireing harness - carpet and sound deadner]

Saturday my Uncle and I are going to take her apart and install a few more items.
Engine will be rebuilt and balanced - New Radiator, water pump & hoses - Hurst Shifter - Edelbroch Performer 383 Intake Manifold
Dynomax Ceramic Coated Headers - MOPAR Valve Covers - Mopar purple shaft cam - Clutch Inspection Cover
Painless Wiring Harnesses (Engine compartment and Dash) - Custom Exhaust System with Racing Cut outs
New fuel hoses for gas tank & door hinges. I may even replace the mirror on the drivers door.

I should have it all back together and back on the road by the end of September.  

My wife will be the biggest obstacle since she is in charge of the honey do list and gets mad when I don't work on it.  

I am leaving my spare digital camera with the car so I can take pictures as it progresses.  

Its only supose to by 97 degrees Saturday so it should be a very enjoyable working enviroment.

Below are a few pictures to hold you over until some WIP (work in progress) pictures are taken.

[cudaken]

 Have some fun and lie to the wife. Mine thinks a blowen 440 cost $3500.00. With some luck mine should be ruuning when you take yours apart.

      Cuda Ken

PS, we need to talk about yout wheels.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Good luck!

I like those Hopster rims!

[ChgrSteve67]

When I did the brake conversion from drum to disk the 14 inch rims that were on the car didn't fit any more. (They were after market crap anyways)

The AR Hopsters match the shape of the nose of the front fender.
And my wife liked them which counts for a lot since they were an unexpected purchace.
And we all know if mamma isn't happy ...  No one is happy!

[Silver R/T]

sounds like a plan, stick to it

[Goldfinger71]

Keep us posted! .......The Hoopsters really look nice on your car! 

[1968 Charger B5]

def keep us posted, good luck

[41husk]

good luck, the key is keeping your wife distracted.

[cudaken]

 Still looks good, but every one know my taste.

Sound like you have a fun month coming.

                  Cuda Ken

[MoparYoungGun]

Good luck and keep us posted!

[ChgrSteve67]

Here we go.

Got my charger over to my Uncles house about 8:30 A.M. and found his garage full.
I also found out I took a digital camera with no media. CRAP!

So here are some pictures after we called it quits for the day.
106 outside and 95 in the garage was a little much to continue working.

Good news is the motor and trany is out of the car and no one got hurt!
Only the exhaust didn't want to come out. Nothing that a Reciprocating Saw, torch and breaker bar can't solve.

Took the doors and the hood off to make access a little easier.
Here are some pictures from today.
Tomarrow will be the tear down of the motor and a little cleanup.

Picture 1 is the Big Red Beast.
Picture 2 is my 383 and trany
Picture 3 is my pile of new parts
Picture 4 is me.

[martinihenry]

I have that same problem here in Sacramento, but it seems to be the opposite for me...when it's 95 outside, it's 110 in my garage. Must get around to insulating and sheetrocking the ceiling one of these days.

Good luck on the rebuild, you've got a nice looking ride to start with, so it should be that much nicer with a fresh mill between the fenders!

Jason

[cudaken]

 I like my garage cool, has AC.

Look's like you are on your way.

Do have one question? Why did you pull the door's to make it easyer to pull the engine?

                          Cuda Ken

A little tip as well. Hook up all the wiring and other part's to the engine on the stand, then drop in. You will have plenty of room to clear when going back in.

                               

[dkn1997]

you look too clean to have just pulled a motor and tranny!!!!!!!

[Telvis]

What happened to your doors?

[cudaken]

 Humm, maybe he know's something I do not? As far as looking that clean, well I did after I pulled mine. Also have a 200 gallon tub of Goop

I would like to know why he pulled the doors. Must be a stick thing, another plus for a 727!

                       Cuda Ken

[ChgrSteve67]

The work is being done at my Uncles house across town, I changed my clothes so my wife would let me in her car.

I took the doors off of the car for several reasons...
1. I'm going to replace the door hinges.
2. I'm going to replace the engine and dash wiring harness and it will be easier to get through the firewall with the doors out of the way.
3. Getting the car in and out of the garage, its easier to maneuver the car with the doors out of the way.

Today was another hot ass day 103 outside and 95 in the garage plus running a pressure washer that cooks the water up to 200 degrees.

Got the rest of the motor apart, looks good.
Spark plugs were a nice brown color not black,
No shavings in the pan.
Cam and lifters looked good (there getting replace anyway so it doesn't really mater.
I found that one head bolt is broken and one exhaust manifold stud is broken.

I don't think this is the original engine in the car.
I took pictures of the numbers on the sides of the block and need to do a little research.

Drivers side of the block towards the front is 9*9*6
Drivers side of the block towards the back is 2468130*11 under that number is LL

I'm beat time to eat.

Here are some more pictures

[warlock]

That casting number is used for 59 - 71 383 blocks. The rest I don't know.

[ChgrSteve67]

Just droped the engine off at the machine shop. Should get it back Wednesday of next week.

[martinihenry]

Just out of curiosity, since I see you're in Elk Grove, who did you choose as a machine shop? I took mine to Smeding Performance in Rancho Cordova. They did nice work, but their estimate of how long it would take was off by about two months.

I might be rebuilding the engine in my Ramcharger pretty soon, would like to have a little better turnaround time.

Jason

[ChgrSteve67]

I took mine to
Bokan Brothers Engine Rbldrs
(916) 451-6541
4101 Franklin Blvd (about 1/4 mile from 12th and franklin just off of hwy 99)
Sacramento, CA
Hours are 8am to 5pm closed 12 to 1pm for lunch.

My cousin owned a 4x4 shop and recommended them to me.
Price was not cheep $1,500.00 to rebuild the motor and $225.00 to have it balanced.
If you are going to have your engine balanced you will need to take your flywheel and balancer with you.
They will also install a different cam if you want.

They operate from a 65,000 square foot warehouse in South Sacramento,
selling vehicle engines from 1949 to the present.
The machine shop and building is nice, not a Sh** hole.

I wish they had a web site but they don't.

Two months is outrageous, I would not have waited unless it was being done for free.

[derailed]

What happened to your doors?

Hes goin for the Tommy Boy look

[cudaken]

 What is the date casting on the 383, driver side. That will give you a better idea if it is the right 383. They did not stamp the vin on the block on the engine till 1969. On DFS68 Charger part of the vin was on the back top of the block by the oil pressuer out lets. Right on the lip where the block bolts to the bell housing.

OK, I now understand the Tommy Boy look. Knew it had nothing to do with pulling the 383.

Are you going to paint the bat while the 383 is out? Now would be the time and really help you good looking Charger. Your uncle garage sort of look's like it has been painted in before. If he does not paint, fly my happy butt down, give me a places to sleep and cheap beer to drink and I have it done in 2 day's. Not kidding either. Have paint gun will travel for Cam 2! 

                       Cuda Ken

[ChgrSteve67]

Take 2.
I submitted my reply with a picture that was too big and lost it all.

The date casting on the side of the block is weird, I've uploaded a photo.
The block is a E383 (1969) not my original block  
I'm not surprised that it isn't original. I saved this car from an individual that had a substance problem and was drag racing it on the street.
I bought it for $1000 in 1986 drove it for 1 year and parked it because of the California smog laws.
5 years ago I retrieved it from storage and began rebuilding it.

This car has many issues that I'm in the process of rectifying, lets put it this way....
There is a whole in the bottom of the speedometer where someone has fiddled with the mileage, this theme is pretty much carried throughout the car.
Steel braided hoses (gone), an air compresser used as a engine pulley (gone), 2.71 gears in the rear end (gone), broken bell housing (replaced) and the list goes on.
I knew the car had and exhaust leak because I could smell it, found most of the nuts missing from the left exhaust manifold and found a broken head bolt after tearing down the motor. I think you get the picture now.

While the engine is at the machine shop deconstruction continues. We (my Uncle and I) are removing the two remaining wiring harnesses and anything else connected in the engine compartment so we can repaint it while the engine is out. I'm also going to get some 3M undercarriage coating and clean then coat the area that the drive train covers.
When re-assembly of the drive train is complete I'm going to be taking the old gal to a metal fabricator 2 hours north to have the sub frames connected together making the body more ridgit. And a few more custom touches that you will have to wait to see.  

Thanks for the offer to run the gun but I think I have that covered. Your are right on the garage having had a few cars painted in it. I helped my Uncle build this garage about 25 years ago. It is big enough to park 2 cement trucks in side by side. It has a few hoists in the ceiling that we have used to lift 27 foot boats up off of their trailers (trailer repair), frame straightener anchors in the floor, a fully filtered ventilated exhaust system to reduce paint spray, plenty of lights mounted in the walls to prevent shadows while painting, a gas heater that can heat the garage up to 90 so we could paint in the winter time and a swamp cooler to bring down the temp in the summer. We haven't used the garage as a paint booth for a long time so it will take some time to clean it up before doing any quality painting.

BTW: Life is too short to drink cheep beer. However I can understand that sometimes sacrifices have to be made to do what you love.

When this phase is complete (can't afford to do it all at once) I will still need to rebuild the front end and then mechanical repair will be complete.
Then it will be onto Chrome repair, body repair, paint, dash & interior. I have a long way to go.  

I had a 440 I purchased 10 years ago to transplant into my Charger however my Uncle blew up the motor in his motor home so guess where the 440 went.
Thats OK I don't mind having a 383 in her, I will still be able to roast the tires off of her and eat ricers for breakfast.

                                     Steve

[Brock Samson]