MOPAR JOHNS EK2 SUPERBIRD RESTORATION!!

[Mopar John]

                                                                                                     FRONT SUSPENSION!
I can't believe how long it took me to get this segment together!
There are a bunch of parts involved in this assembly. Earlier I posted on the bare K member.
Now it's time for the upper and lower control arms, ball joints, tie rod assembly, brakes, shocks and gearbox.
This first batch of pictures starts out with the lower control arm pivots.
The first picture is of the unrestored lower control arm pivots with the old inner sleeves removed.
The second picture is of the lower control arm pivots cleaned up.
The last picture is of the lower control arm pivots restored and the NOS bushings part number 1858024 installed.
The correct bushings have the part number molded into the end of the rubber.
MJ

[hemi68charger]

 

My cup of tea !! Front suspension............

[Mopar John]

                                                               

My cup of tea !! Front suspension............

Troy,
Lots more to come in this segment!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                                  FRONT SUSPENSION PART 2!
In this batch we continue on with the lower control arms!
The first picture shows the lower control arms prepped already and the pivot assemblies pressed in.
The second picture shows the lower control arms prepped for the special coating.
The last picture in this batch shows the lower control arms now coated looking factory fresh!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                                        FRONT SUSPENSION PART 3!
In this batch of pictures I show the lower control arm assemblies ready to go!
The torsion bar adjusters and the NOS lower bump stops part number 2535027 are installed.
A lot of time and work for these important and highly visable parts!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                                            FRONT SUSPENSION PART 4!
In this batch of pictures I show the prep work on the NOS lower ball joints.
They had some flash rust from all these years of storage.
The first picture is of the left side lower ball joint prepped for bead blasting.
The second picture is the same view of the right side.
The last picture in this batch shows the right side now blasted.
The next step would be to coat and attach to the lower control arms.
MJ

[hemi68charger]

John, are you going to put the paint markings on the adjustment anchors? Not sure if '70 had them, but I know in '68, there was a blue paint daub on the driver's side and orange on the passenger side..

[Mopar John]

John, are you going to put the paint markings on the adjustment anchors? Not sure if '70 had them, but I know in '68, there was a blue paint daub on the driver's side and orange on the passenger side..

Troy,
All the paint markings were done later after assembly.
Thanks!

[hemi68charger]

John, are you going to put the paint markings on the adjustment anchors? Not sure if '70 had them, but I know in '68, there was a blue paint daub on the driver's side and orange on the passenger side..

Troy,
All the paint markings were done later after assembly.
Thanks!

I thought the markings on the lower control arms were to give the assembly line worker an indication which side it went to during the assembly, no? If not, and you know why, can you elaborate?  Thanks.. 

[Mopar John]

                                                                    FRONT SUSPENSION PART 5!
Here I show some items related to the tie rod assembly.
The first picture is a pair of NOS blue paint daub tie rod ends part number 3420154/5.
Notice that this is the original type with the grease fittings.
The second picture is a set of NOS tie rod seals part number 2835896.
The third picture is of the idler arm before prep.
The last picture in this batch is of the idler arm bead blasting.
MJ

[Mopar John]

John, are you going to put the paint markings on the adjustment anchors? Not sure if '70 had them, but I know in '68, there was a blue paint daub on the driver's side and orange on the passenger side..

Troy,
All the paint markings were done later after assembly.
Thanks!

I thought the markings on the lower control arms were to give the assembly line worker an indication which side it went to during the assembly, no? If not, and you know why, can you elaborate?  Thanks.. 

Troy,
My comment about the paint markings after assembly was at the restoration shop not the factory.
You are right in that a lot of the paint markings were for identification on the assembly lines.
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                              FRONT SUSPENSION PART 6!
In this batch of pictures I will share items related to the upper control arms.
The first picture is of the upper control arms before restoration with the wrong poly bushings installed a few years earlier.
The second picture shows one of the NOS upper ball joints part number 2298534.
The third picture shows a restored upper control arm with the ball joint installed.
The two NOS upper control arm bushings part number 2071204 are shown and ready to be installed.
The last picture shows my leftover NOS upper control arm cam package part number 2084920.
I had to buy NOS parts all over and whenever I could find them!
Finding complete sets of correct NOS is almost impossible now days! ENJOY!
MJ

[hemi68charger]

.... My comment about the paint markings after assembly was at the restoration shop not the factory.
...
MJ

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, ok....... 

[Mopar John]

                                                       FRONT SUSPENSION PART 7!
Next up are the front disc brake dust shields.
The first two pictures show the original shields blasted and ready for primer.
These are usually bent up and hard to find in decent shape.
The last picture shows the dust shields now in primer.
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                FRONT SUSPENSION PART 8!
Here we move on to the original front disc brake rotors.
The first picture shows one of the rotors before on the outside.
The second picture is of the same rotor on the inside.
The third picture shows the same rotor after restoration on the outside.
The last picture is of the rotor after restoration on the inside.
What a big difference they made on these parts!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                                        FRONT SUSPENSION PART 9!
Here are a couple of items that will be added near the end of the assembly process.
The first picture is of the power steering gearbox cleaned up.
The second picture is of the power steering gearbox painted and ready to install.
The third picture is of an original 1969 Oriflow front shock bead blasted.
The last picture shows both shocks with some glazing putty for surface pitting after all these years!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                            FRONT SUSPENSION FINAL!!!!
We'll here is where it all comes together!
The first picture is of the front suspension assembled rear view.
The second picture is of the front suspension assembled front view. WOW!
Another milestone in the restoration process!
Next up will be the detailing of the engine assembly!
MJ

[hemi68charger]

Thanks John !!! I undoubtedly will be reviewing this thread over and over again during the restoration of my Superbird..... 

PS: you have another picture of the tierod ends in which you mentioned the grease fitting zerts? I can barely make them out and was curious on their structure/design..

[Mopar John]

Thanks John !!! I undoubtedly will be reviewing this thread over and over again during the restoration of my Superbird..... 

PS: you have another picture of the tierod ends in which you mentioned the grease fitting zerts? I can barely make them out and was curious on their structure/design..

Troy,
It's funny that you mention the grease fittings!
Recently I made a trade for a set of original grease fittings for this restoration.
They are very hard to find and I used all I had on our Daytona.
The picture above with the NOS upper ball joint shows an unbroken grease fitting the best.
They were like a normal fitting but looked like someone took a hacksaw to them and put a groove all the way around.
The tale that I've been told is that after the new car was serviced the ends were to be broken off.
I have heard several reasons for this like the owner would have to pay the dealer to grease the car?
I have attached a picture of a tierod end with an original fitting that has been broken off.
From that you can tell where the break off spot would be in an original fitting.
I hope this helps?
MJ

[tan top]

 

[hemi68charger]

I hope this helps?
MJ

Sure thing.. I appreciate it.... Will look to see if mine are still there. Don't think the front suspension has ever been rebuilt. But, that's not to say the fittings weren't replaced for normal maintenance...

[Mopar John]

                                                                                 ENGINE ASSEMBLY!
With the front suspension complete and the transmission restored the only item left to assemble it all was the engine.
This first batch of pictures show some of the items that were used on the engine.
The first picture is a set of 8 NOS Champion J11Y sparkplugs with Mopar part number 2642913 on them!
The second picture is of the original starter being freshened up as it was rebuilt a few years before.
Notice the 47th week 1969 date code on the barrel.
The last picture is of the NOS oil dip stick tube part number 3462419.
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                          ENGINE ASSEMBLY PART 2!
In this batch of pictures you will see the engine assembly as it was just before paint.
You will notice more NOS parts such as the water pump, negative battery cable and valve cover grommets!
I show a front view then rear view and finally from the passengers side! WOW!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                                      ENGINE ASSEMBLY PART 3!
This batch of pictures is made up of only two!
It shows the now painted engine assembly from the passengers side and drivers side.
This paint is a special formula that Troy has developed over the years to mimic the factory color!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                                 ENGINE ASSEMBLY PART 4!
Here are a few pictures of items to be added to the engine after paint.
The first picture is of prep work on the original oil breather.
The second and third pictures are of the NOS vapor separator part number 2525254.
MJ