Got a project 70, now the fun/pain begins

[toocheaptosmoke]

Driveshaft came in, gotta give Denny's props.  The welds and the overall fit and finish look excellent.  It's the 3.5" HD model, should be good for 500+ hp I think they said.  Maybe should build the 318 to match the driveshaft... 





Since none of the driveshaft components were on sale and the mopar stuff was, of course, more expensive.  I requested to at least get a couple extra stickers, because as we all know, free stickers can be the deal maker/breaker. 







Gave the motor a blood transfusion.  Nothing but the best for this beast, Wolf's Head oil with a Wix filter. 








The oil pump drive gear was a pain to remove, but finally got it out.  Made a priming tool from a screwdriver with a socket jammed on the end. 







Then had spaghetti for dinner,

[nvrbdn]

making progress.

[Baldwinvette77]

Thats one wicked shaft, be sure to use plenty of lube when you slide it into the tranny's rearend 

[70 sublime]

Thats one wicked shaft, be sure to use plenty of lube when you slide it into the tranny's rearend 

If you saw that phrase anywhere else it just might mean something totaly different

[Baldwinvette77]

Thats one wicked shaft, be sure to use plenty of lube when you slide it into the tranny's rearend 

If you saw that phrase anywhere else it just might mean something totaly different

Get your mind out of the gutter, what are you 8 years old? 

[toocheaptosmoke]

I don't even have a response... 

[fy469rtse]

  I like watching this build , good work going here

[toocheaptosmoke]

Hit another speed bump when it came to the power steering line.  I got one from a '73 with the saginaw pump, but I guess the saginaw pumps changed the output fitting sometime in the past 40 years...   The junkyard pump came with half a line








So, a little Dice-n-Splice later, and it might work.  Hopefully...








The cheap POS motor mounts had weld on the inside of the captive nuts, had to cut them off. 








In case anybody was wondering, no, a dust cover from an automatic is not a direct bolt in.







Got the rear brake lines situated,







And last but not least, my new hurst clone shifter came in.  The cool factor of the car just went up a few notches!    Hurst T handle shifter, grant steering wheel, just need to find a footprint gas pedal to top things off! 







Stick looks a bit long, *insert joke here* but actually fits the car pretty well I think.  Maybe I'm just used to driving trucks?  Gonna feel like an Ed Roth character.

[Baldwinvette77]

Stick looks a bit long, *Thats what she said  * but actually fits the car pretty well I think.  Maybe I'm just used to driving trucks?  Gonna feel like an Ed Roth character.
Stick looks a bit long, *should make for a wild ride  * but actually fits the car pretty well I think.  Maybe I'm just used to driving trucks?  Gonna feel like an Ed Roth character.
Stick looks a bit long, *should try working the shaft to circulate the gear lube  * but actually fits the car pretty well I think.  Maybe I'm just used to driving trucks?  Gonna feel like an Ed Roth character.
Stick looks a bit long, *could use a little spit and polish before you slam it * but actually fits the car pretty well I think.  Maybe I'm just used to driving trucks?  Gonna feel like an Ed Roth character.

Thats all i can think of, Thank me later, also seriously that interior is starting to kick ass, just need some sheet metal door panels and diamond plate floor mats  

[toocheaptosmoke]

Stick looks a bit long, *If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I'd still be broke...* but actually fits the car pretty well I think.  Maybe I'm just used to driving trucks?  Gonna feel like an Ed Roth character.

Don't be so hard on yourself. 




Diamond plate, now there's an idea.    Wish I could find some door panels done up in '70's shag carpet or pleated vinyl. 

[Baldwinvette77]

Stick looks a bit long, *If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I'd still be broke...* but actually fits the car pretty well I think.  Maybe I'm just used to driving trucks?  Gonna feel like an Ed Roth character.

Don't be so hard on yourself.  




Diamond plate, now there's an idea.    Wish I could find some door panels done up in '70's shag carpet or pleated vinyl.  

ofcourse i'd still be broke i am building a mopar you know, things aint cheap 

sounds like you need to raid garbage day for an old sofa, cut it up, and viola door panels  

[toocheaptosmoke]

Tried to fire the motor up tonight, but no juice to the plugs.      Tried a different coil, still no fire.  Must be a DOA control module, had planned on keeping a spare to replace the chinese POS but I thought it would at least run for a little while. 

[Baldwinvette77]

Did you try working the shaft?

[toocheaptosmoke]

Tested the resistance of the main coil and the pickup coil, both in spec.   Got a new module, which I kind of planned on getting anyways, new one is ac delco.  Installed it, still no fire!    Then tried checking the AC voltage from the pickup while the motor was cranking, and it failed that test.  So, now have one of those on order...  Gonna send a letter to Procomp.    




On a brighter note, I heard about this swap meet over in Carlisle, probably stop out on Saturday to see if there's any deals.  Love me a good swap meet.    Got a list of used stuff I still need:

-the whole rear seat
-2 speed wiper switch
- gas cap trim ring/bezel, pitted, nasty looking, and cheap
- windshield wiper arms
- windshield washer spray nozzles
- inside rearview mirror
- one front/side marker light for '70 (drivers side)
- possibly some lower door panels, armrests, just need to be in one piece, not show quality.  Would even consider GREEN colored ones.  
-trailer hitch (I'm serious)
-another couple of retro styled wheels wouldn't hurt
-bolt for the brake pushrod

[Baldwinvette77]

Tested the resistance of the main coil and the pickup coil, both in spec.   Got a new module, which I kind of planned on getting anyways, new one is ac delco.  Installed it, still no fire!    Then tried checking the AC voltage from the pickup while the motor was cranking, and it failed that test.  So, now have one of those on order...  Gonna send a letter to Procomp.   




On a brighter note, I heard about this swap meet over in Carlisle, probably stop out on Saturday to see if there's any deals.  Love me a good swap meet.    Got a list of used stuff I still need:

-the whole rear seat
-2 speed wiper switch
- gas cap trim ring/bezel, pitted, nasty looking, and cheap
- windshield wiper arms
- windshield washer spray nozzles
- inside rearview mirror
- one front/side marker light for '70 (drivers side)
- possibly some lower door panels, armrests, just need to be in one piece, not show quality.  Would even consider GREEN colored ones. 
-trailer hitch (I'm serious)
-another couple of retro styled wheels wouldn't hurt

sounds like a sexy list of crap  my list is far longer but im slowy crossing things off, not because i find them, simply because i convince myself its not necessary  , i was thinking of putting a trailer hitch on mine simply so it would leave a wicked gash in any poor sap i back into at parking lots, oh and who knows i might even use it 

[toocheaptosmoke]

I hear ya, have had a never ending list for almost a year now.    But it's always good when you can cross things off the list because you built them from scratch instead of buying.    I definitely plan on using the hitch, wiring in a flat four pigtail when I do the tail lights. 

[Baldwinvette77]

I hear ya, have had a never ending list for almost a year now.    But it's always good when you can cross things off the list because you built them from scratch instead of buying.    I definitely plan on using the hitch, wiring in a flat four pigtail when I do the tail lights. 

yup, i never would have guessed i would be able to cross off "quarter panel skins" because i was going to build them from scrap, felt awesome 

ohyeah, for reference are those shock mount plates under the 8.8 stock b-body pieces? how do they fit? also what are they typically called, i have heard maybe 7 different names for them in the past 12 hours 

[toocheaptosmoke]

They are the stock parts, not sure what the technical name is?   They actually fit like crap, the 8.8 has extra thick tubes that need "special" u bolts, 3.25" I think.  Had to enlarge the holes on the shock mounts, and even grind notches in the axle tubes to get things to fit.  But other than that, it was a direct bolt in. 

[Baldwinvette77]

They are the stock parts, not sure what the technical name is?   They actually fit like crap, the 8.8 has extra thick tubes that need "special" u bolts, 3.25" I think.  Had to enlarge the holes on the shock mounts, and even grind notches in the axle tubes to get things to fit.  But other than that, it was a direct bolt in. 

NICE!!!... now where in the hell am i going to find them? 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Carlisle freebie!  If anyone can use this portion of '68 (I think) grille, I'll bring it out on saturday and you can have it.  It's pretty rough, but maybe somebody can use it to fix theirs.

[toocheaptosmoke]

Made it out to carlisle and back, couldn't believe how much stuff was out there!  It was an expensive day, not even including the crap I bought.   Was looking at about a 450 mile round trip, so it was time to put the old dodge into hyper-miling mode.   I'm not a tree hugger, but trying to improve mileage is always fun.  The truck is not what you would normally think of as being good on gas.  1996 ram 2500 4x4, 318, 5 speed, 231,xxx miles.  The best it ever got was 22 mpg many years ago, before the ethanol gas.  Currently I'm trying some mods to improve the mileage and get back into the 20's.  I've confirmed odometer with GPS, and fill up at the same spot at the same gas station to keep consistent records. 


Taping the grille and front fog light holes shut to cut down on air resistance.  Future plans would be a removable air dam under the bumper like the new trucks have, and maybe a tonneau cover/shell sort of thing.








Unhooked the intake tube for a "hot air intake," not so good for power but supposed to help with efficiency.  There are arguments for both sides of this, because the cold air make more power and in theory the motor works easier.   Have to try both and see.





Also pumped up the tires to 65 psi.   Unfortunately, the trip had some detours to avoid turnpike fees and road closures due to accidents, so there were way too many mountainous roads traveled.  Can't get that great of mileage when you have to drop into 3rd to make it up some hills.     Made it to Carlisle and back on one tank of gas, and got an average of 19.2 mpg. 

[Baldwinvette77]

neat i guess, but the real question is what did you score and where are the pictures? 

[toocheaptosmoke]

neat i guess, but the real question is what did you score and where are the pictures? 

Yeah, got a little sidetracked there...      Will get the rest of the stuff posted tonight.

[Baldwinvette77]

Still waiting 

[toocheaptosmoke]

OK, so the biggest item I drug home was a rear seat, which I needed because I didn't have one...  Found this seat which was in pretty nice shape, and the price seemed decent.  Only problem was it's from a 1970 roadrunner, and from talking to a couple people at the swap there was supposed to be some type of difference between plymouths and dodges.  But, no one knew what or how different they were...  I bummed a smart phone and tried to google the difference but no dice.   So, I figured "how different can they be?"  and forked out 80 big ones.








Just need to find some pictures of a dodge seat frame and start hacking.  I was holding my breath until I got home, but the seats fit like a glove, they just don't "snap" into place. 







Next big item was door panels, as the 2-1/2 door panels I had were trashed.  Looks like we'll be pimping at least a partially white interior. 








Gas cap bezel for 5 bucks







Then a whole bunch of little parts and a few tools.  I kind of adopted the carpet-bomb technique to shopping for parts, if it looked like it might fit and was cheap, I bought it.  Ended up with some duplicate parts, also ended up with parts I thought were duplicates but ended up being different.     What can I say, I'm a sucker for $1.00 tables.