Her name's Lucy. . . Project 74SE Updated February 18th****START UP VIDEO

[SG1022]

Around February my engine builder came up to my house to pick up my 904 for a rebuild, and shift kit. As we were looking at the huge rust problems of my old 73, he told me about a friend of his who was selling a 74. This car had next to no rust, already had a black interior, and could be had for cheap. Turns out he also does body work and paint. I worked out a deal for him to do the bodywork, and paint, and for my engine builder to install the motor so I could drive the car home.

A few weeks ago the deal went south, and I ended up picking it up as-is last weekend.  

But I was just glad to get it home.  

A little about the car; It's a 74SE car. It had been stored in a heated gymnasium , used for storing old cars, from around 1980-2008.  It's originally a 318/AC car, I believe. The previous owner had wanted to restore it, so he sprayed huge patches of primer on it to "prevent rust" even though there was no rust on the beautiful (factory?) gloss black.    

The interior is also black, and really dirty! Other than that, the seats look pretty good.  No rips, no tear, and no holes. The headliner is falling down, but I have a new one in a box.  The carpet wasn't salvageable, and I ripped it out. \



Here's some of the build pictures.

Before:










Paint:





Here's the car before I started working on it:





Removing the interior, and cleaning the trunk





I found three build sheets in the car. One under the front seats, one under the back, and one behind the back. I guess I only got pictures of two.




Any Idea what I should do to these seats, that wouldn't require recovering them?



There were wires running into the front  bench seat. Are these heaters? Are they factory?  

[Nacho-RT74]

they are seat sensors for the seatbelt warning system

[SG1022]

As you can see there's a dent/scratch right infront of the driver's door.    He said he will fix it next time I have it down there. It happened before I got the car.

The paint job isn't too good, but I LOVE the paint. This color looks great.  

I'm currently driving bean harvesters. Leaving for work at 5:30a.m., and getting back around 8:00-8:30p.m. Since I have hardly any I'm taking it in to a local shop here(Owner is a mopar guy) on Friday, and he will be getting it running for me.

While it's in the shop I will be cleaning up the seats, and repainting the plastic interior. Any opinions on what to use to clean the seats?

Yesterday I had the interior completely stripped out, and cleaned the car out. The floor and trunk pans are really solid!(Pictures later). There's rust starting to form in the grooves of the pans. Any tips on what to do to clean off the glue/fuzz from the factory floor installation?  

I am also looking to paint the chrome trim. Windows, grill, etc. Any advice on a paint/process to use on them?

[SG1022]

they are seat sensors for the seatbelt warning system

Those strips running under the springs, with wires attached to them?

[Nacho-RT74]

yes

[SG1022]

Lots of updates to report!

The car is now at Greg's Automotive in Mt. Angel, Oregon. The engine is installed, and cranking, but we have no spark. There are some wires cut on the wire harness. After we repair those, and hook up the radiator hoses she should be good to go!   

Special thanks to MoparStuart, I ordered a 24 inch three row from him, great service! 

While the car has been there, I have been working on other odds and ends; window louvers, grill, interior panels, etc.

As another VERY exciting note; I hooked up the battery for the first time in 30 years! I hooked the battery up, turned the key, and lights came on! It was so incredible to see light shining through the dust-covered gauges. 

As of right now, about half of the outside lights are missing/broken, but the parking lights did come on, and I did get to hear the AM radio crack.  Over all it was a pretty great day.


Tomorrow I am heading down there to strip, and paint the floor pans, replace lights, replace fuses, and put back on the newly painted window louvers/interior panels.


.... pictures to follow.

[SG1022]

Updated engine bay pic


Window louver before picture


Window louver after picture(Will post tomorrow)

Grill before pictures




Grill after pictures


Mocked up in place


Interior panels before picture


Interior panel after picture


Grill installed, and parking light on!!!


Dash lights on. 

[41husk]

Looks like Lucy is comming along and after harvest you should have more time for her.  If your like me when you have time you don't have money and when you have money you don't have time

[Bob T]

Looking good, coming along nicely. Will be pretty sharp when its done 

[Finn]

More pictures!

[TK73]

FUN!!

Put the SE vinyl top on, the gill windows look retarded without vinyl...

[nvrbdn]

 

[67440chrg]

Its looking good you should be cruising in spring. Keep up the good work.

[SG1022]

Window louvers installed


Floorpan before picture


Floorpan coated with,  permatex "rust treatment." (After wirebrushed that is.


Floor pan coated with Herculiner. It doesn't look too good(better in person), but it should get the job done.


Rear lights on!!!!!!!!

[c1971ace]

i have that exact steering wheel complete for sale in the for sale section if your interested

[SG1022]

Over the past few days I wirebrushed the floorpan, permatex'd it, and coated it with herculiner like I did the floorpan. When I finished that, I took off all the remaining chrome trim(to be repainted).

Then On Thursday, I got to hear the car run!   

While the new fuel pump(electric) is hooked up, we don't have the fuel lines in. We were able to run it for about 15 seconds or so, but for some reason my iPhone only captured 4 seconds. I will try and get the video on as soon as possible. It's a little loud. 


Trunk pan before picture


Trunk pan coated in treatment


Trunk pan finished in bedliner

[SG1022]

Well, this video isn't much, but at least I  got to hear it. I will try and film a proper test run soon.

[jaak]

  Looks great! I really like painted bumpers on a 3rd gen!
Keep up the good work,
Jason

[SG1022]

Thanks for all the positive comments, guys!

[SG1022]

Radiator brackets made


Radiator installed

[SG1022]

I did a few hours of work in the shop today. I got all of the windows clean. They were COVERED in overspray, and filth.  It's pretty amazing how clean windows can make a car look so much better. following that, I installed all of the trim I painted black with SEM paint.  It looks a helluva lot better than the old chrome.  And finally, I turned down the torsion bars. When I got the car, it was sitting almost as high as they would go, with the front end sitting higher than the rear. 

[chargermike]

please no more chargers named LUCY. seems like every one names there car lucy. whats up with that. lol

[SG1022]

repainted the tail light lens housings(after the bumper to do it   ), and painted chrome trim black.

All of the chrome trim is now painted with SEM black, except for trim behind the front bumper, that should be getting painted soon.

[SG1022]

Put some new, temporary, wheels and tires on it. 

It looks much better with some decent sized tires on it.



I am having trouble putting the door trim pieces on. Are the trim pieces supposed to drop down over the door's metal edge, or is it supposed to sit ontop of it? Also, Most of my screw holes are covered up by my window glass.     Any way around that? And to top things off, the last screw in the trim(towards the hood) won't thread in.

[74Rallye]

Wow, She sure looks better than my ex-wife Lucy. Very nice!

[purplechargerguy]

    The problem with the glass covering some of the screw holes can be solved by removing the rubber bumper in the bottom of the door. This lets the glass drop down just far enough to put the screws in.  Nice looking car you have there.   

[SG1022]

Thanks. Any idea on how that trim piece fits?

[purplechargerguy]

Are you talking about the piece on top of the door outside of the glass? or something else?

[SG1022]

Yep, that one.

[purplechargerguy]

     Here is a couple of pictures.  It basically just sits on the top of the door but takes a little fiddling to get to line up... then install the weatherstripping and and attach it with the screws.  Kind of a pain in the butt.. just exercise some patience and it will come out fine.

[SG1022]

Ahhhh, Thanks! I wasn't sure if it was supposed to drop down over the door. 

Now it's time to get some weatherstripping. . .   

[SG1022]

Got the gas tank acid dipped, and blasted.


Before:


After:

[SG1022]

I just ordered a bunch of new parts today. Hopefully all I need to finish the car.

Parts list includes:
-Full Mandrel Bent 3 inch Exhaust
-Electronic Cut outs
-2x Flowmaster 40 series Mufflers
-Grant Steering Wheel
-Hurst Quarterstick Shifter
-Hemi Sending Unit
-Halo Light Conversion kit
-2x Aircraft Style Plum Crazy Seat Belts
-Anodized Purple Coolant Catch Can
-Steering Wheel Adapter
-Mopar Horn Button
-Gas Tank Filler Neck Grommet
-Trunk Lock
-Exhaust Gaskets

I am also doing a full audio system. You can view the build here;http://www.caraudio.com/forums/general-discussion/531513-1974-dodge-charger-alpine-infinity-kicker.html#post7860147

[E5 Charger]

Wow the gas tank looks great! How bad was the inside and did the acid dip clean it all out? I'm sure this is cheaper than buying a new one, since the 74 tanks are so expensive.

[SG1022]

Wow the gas tank looks great! How bad was the inside and did the acid dip clean it all out? I'm sure this is cheaper than buying a new one, since the 74 tanks are so expensive.

Thanks! It wasn't bad at all. It cost me 150$ to get it dipped/cleaned. The place by me also solders or fills holes in the tank. If there's just a few they do it for free, if there's a bunch they have to charge you for it. I got lucky, and it didn't have any.


I have been making some progress. Got the seats cleaned up, and test fitting the shifter for placement today. *Notice the new Grant wheel with Mopar horn button. 

[nvrbdn]

gas tank turned out nice. the car is lookin great.

[Hemidog]

The car looks good!  Keep up the good progress.

[SG1022]

Thanks guys!

Got a TON of work done today. The girlfriend came to the shop with me today, and spend some quality time with a bottle of simple green, bundle of towels, and my car's interior.  The dash was covered in dust, bugs, and dirt. It's now spotless, and ready for driving. 

Meanwhile I cleaned off the corrosion, and painted the steering column, installed the trunk weatherstripping, wired up the LED HALOs for my lights, and got the trunk latch, and lock working, and painted the exteriod door trim that follows the roof line.

I bought the headlights off Ebay. It was a, "drop in coversion" from 5 3/4 sealed beams to H4s with HALOS. 

First off; the back end of the lights don't fit through the headlight buckets. I had to use a grinder and expand the bucket a small amount (rear)opening so the back ends of the lamps would fit through it. Then there was the fact that H4s are dual filament, and the two lights on the front of my car are 2 prong, where as the outside two are 3 prong. I had to buy two new 3 prong plugs, but on the plus side, I will have 4 high AND 4 low beam lights. 

To top things all off, the diameter of the headlights are JUST bigger than what is needed for them to fit inside the trim rings. Long story short, I had to ditch the trim rings, and urethane glue them into the headlight buckets.  I guess that is all to be expected from a 100$ ebay special.

Here are the lights(wired in series). I wired the HALO component of the lights to a toggle switch that will most likely go on the underside of the dash. I will post pictures of the installed headlights tomorrow night.


Hurst installed. 


Having a trunk that shuts, instead of spring back open? It's a beautiful thing.

[Finn]

Nice, I'd like to see some pics of those headlights in the car.

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Clean up those reverse lenses!  If those are bright white, they'll really compliment the new paint.

[SG1022]

Clean up those reverse lenses!  If those are bright white, they'll really compliment the new paint.

I'm not sure how! I scrubbed them, but it did nothing. Did the yellowing spread through the plastic, or can it be resurfaced with some sanding?


I'll post pictures tonight, Finn. 

One problem I am having, is with the mouldings that go around the headlight. They are hardened, and are now to small to fit over them. The grill looks kind of off with out those in there. 

[Hemidog]

If you're talking about the headlight rings, I had the same problem (think I have the same headlights as you too)
I had to open the rings up in their welds, set them on the headlights, and glue them back together.

[SG1022]

If you're talking about the headlight rings, I had the same problem (think I have the same headlights as you too)
I had to open the rings up in their welds, set them on the headlights, and glue them back together.

Yep, I should of done that, and probably still will. Did you wire your car so all 4 headlights are dual filament bulbs?

[Hemidog]

If you're talking about the headlight rings, I had the same problem (think I have the same headlights as you too)
I had to open the rings up in their welds, set them on the headlights, and glue them back together.

Yep, I should of done that, and probably still will. Did you wire your car so all 4 headlights are dual filament bulbs?

No, I kinda like the two headlight look, so the inner headlights are still just high beams.

[SG1022]

And here is the picture of the HALOs.

[Finn]

Sweeeett!

[SG1022]

Got her started up for the first time with exhaust and all! On the other hand, I am having trans problems, and it isn't moving.  

http://www.facebook.com/v/322111611173633

I also finished sound deadening the whole car, and installed the carpet.

[SG1022]

[billschroeder5842]

For the trans, try pulling the pan, cleaning it and install a new filter. The 727 is reasonably forgiving and new fluids and filters can solve a lot.

Are you planning on adding the vinyl top to complement the louvres?

Keep going! you are doing great!

[Finn]

Lookin' good!

[SG1022]

For the trans, try pulling the pan, cleaning it and install a new filter. The 727 is reasonably forgiving and new fluids and filters can solve a lot.

Are you planning on adding the vinyl top to complement the louvres?

Keep going! you are doing great!

Well, I payed a guy for a rebuild for a stage-two shift kit, so I am going to let him try and take care of it first. He is bringing me a new trans on wednesday.

I think I am going to leave the vinyl top off for now.

Lookin' good!

Thanks man! I can't wait to actually drive the damn thing.

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Clean up those reverse lenses!  If those are bright white, they'll really compliment the new paint.

I'm not sure how! I scrubbed them, but it did nothing. Did the yellowing spread through the plastic, or can it be resurfaced with some sanding?

TK73 got his lenses looking new, check it out, pgs 4-5:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,82517.100.html