Got a project 70, now the fun/pain begins

[Baldwinvette77]

so whats the choice for paint? black, grey or red primer? 

[toocheaptosmoke]

so whats the choice for paint? black, grey or red primer? 

Atm, all of the above. 



Have kind of stalled out a bit, right before the finish line.  Had to build doors for our barn, and been working out of town a bit.    But, I have been able to test the car out on the road, errr, I mean I thought about testing the car out on the back roads.    Still needs inspected and an alignment.  Probably also get an A/F ratio gauge  to aid in tuning the carb, it's actually running half decent for a buick 350 carb, but still needs quite a bit of tuning.  Even running a bit unhealthy we were still able to re-surface the tires a little bit. 

Got the Vintage Air gen ii heater, looks like it is going to save a whole lot of headaches vs. trying to get the original working. 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Still haven't been able to get this thing inspected yet...   

Got the heater in for now, so far am really happy with it, so much of an easier install than trying to get the old one into shape. 








Did some more alignment on the front end, handling was a bit darty.  Found that I didn't have enough toe-in, after making some adjustments it drives much better now.  Still need to adjust the camber, as I have about 2 degrees on each side, don't want to wear out my new-used $30 tires. 



Not sure if I mentioned it yet, but I got a new fuel pump.  A Carter p4070 made in USA one, which is built like a tank compared to the old one.  It's a bit loud and heavy, but I have a lot more confidence in it. 


The carburation has been a bit off, I think the primary circuit is a bit on the lean side.  Idles alright and never has a bog, but when you dog it in a low gear it surges slightly, and the engine seems to warm up to operating temperature really fast.  Also diesels on after you shut it off, so must be getting hot spots on the carbon buildup.   I wanted to try jets a couple sizes up, but nobody local carries Q-jet jets...    So, had a couple smaller jets from a parts carb that I drilled out to .075" which is just the size I was going to try.     Need to go out on a road test in the morning to see if it helps.




Also got to say thanks again to Jason for the hookup on seatbelts, can't wait to get the rear seat in. 

[Baldwinvette77]

Whats that warning sticker say? 

[Tilar]

Whats that warning sticker say? 

Looks like it says "Warning, Antifreeze must be used in heater system", But I could be wrong..

[six-tee-nine]

Thats what it says...

[toocheaptosmoke]

IT'S FINALLY INSPECTED!!!!!!    When I pulled into the inspection place the guy just stared at the car like it was on fire or something.  I got out, and the first thing he said is "This ain't gonna pass..."   I was like whoa whoa, it looks a lot worse than it really is.    Everything underneath is either brand new rebuilt.  Finally convinced them to take a look at it, and after a long round of checking the car over, the guy pretty much said he couldn't believe it, but it's all solid.   

Think I finally decided on a "stage 1" color for the car, you know that green that everybody hates?     The rear quarter panels and roof are just begging for it, now I just need to find a similar green in spray bomb or cheap enamel.    It won't be the final color for the car, but it just needs something other than primer right now to keep the rust at bay. 

[JB400]

    If you think the inspector gave you trouble, just wait until the cops take notice of it.

[Baldwinvette77]

pretty awesome that you can actually drive it    , but green??    i was hoping you'd go for a matte beater look, but whatever 

[toocheaptosmoke]

pretty awesome that you can actually drive it    , but green??    i was hoping you'd go for a matte beater look, but whatever 

Oh don't worry, you might not be disappointed.   Think green paint that's been around for a couple decades.




Any bets on how long until I get pulled over? 

[Baldwinvette77]

i'll give you a week, but to be fair, it may just be from a cop wanting to ask if its for sale 

[toocheaptosmoke]

I gotta say, so far the rolling POS look has been surprisingly low key.   Have not have any inquiries about whether it's for sale, or even questions in general about the car yet.   



The quadrajet is definitely being a learning experience.  The engine continues to exhibit what feels like a lean tune one the primaries, when under load there is some hesitation and some surging.   I've finally got some different primary metering rods along with a jet assortment to further tune the carb.  Probably break down and get an actual wideband O2 sensor and A/F gauge. 










Put in the door rests, so my elbow has somewhere to live.








Passenger mirror is just a flat mirror, and pretty much useless.  Stuck on a trucker spot, doesn't quite fit, but 100x better than before.







The open cowl vents have been driving me crazy, creating a hurricane inside while driving.  Cut some blocking plates from tin, then some insulation tape, and a couple of custom made S-hangers to bolt them to the vents.

[Baldwinvette77]

wind noise you say? i need to fill those in then 

and really, no comments at all, was expecting about a thousand "yeehaws" or, "gonna paint it orange?"'s

[tsmithae]

Keep on keepin' on!

[toocheaptosmoke]

Hooray for changing jets when it's below freezing and dark outside!!!










So as I'm putting the last parts of the carb back together, my magnetic tray must have transferred just enough magnetism to the secondary needles to grab a tiny little machine screw and drop it onto my foot then bounce off to oblivion.   

As I was beginning the re-enactment of "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" I took a picture of the area where I dropped the screw.  I knew I was in for a hunt...  After at least 20 minutes with a flashlight and magnet I finally found that damn screw!





THIS is what pissed me off though, it's the picture I took at the beginning of the hunt.  Can you find the screw?  The flash illuminated the area better than I could with a flashlight, and it was at just the right angle I guess.  Would have been real nice to just move that leaf and pick it up right off the bat.  I must have disturbed the rocks and that's when it fell all the way down into the dirt. 

[JB400]

I found it right off the bat.  What's your excuse?

[Fred]

That was easier than spot the cat. Spotted it right off.,  Mind you, the mention of a leaf was probably a good clue.

[Baldwinvette77]

i found it too, maybe you should stop drinking so much when working on the car 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Maybe I should have been drinking... 



Started work on sealing up some of the air leaks in the car.  This was a pretty big problem, as I could smell exhaust entering the car.  I think the main source for this was coming from the trunk area.  Whoever replaced the trunk floor and quarter skins didn't seal the gap between them.  And there was also gaps around the rear quarter valance/whatever.    Got a tube of seam sealer and went to town.






The gap along the side of the trunk extensions was too big for sealant, so I put in some air conditioning window strip for now.  Have to do something better in the future.






Then I finally installed the rear trunk lock, no more opening it with a screwdriver. 






Which reminds me, I need to find a good vintage type keychain for this rig.  Any ideas?

[JB400]

http://stores.racetrackstyle.com/-strse-116/1968-Dodge-Charger-key/Detail.bok

[Fred]

Hey, that's cool. I might just look into that myself. 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Well, I was out of town for a couple weeks for work and after I got back the salt started getting put down on the roads...    So, time to clean out a spot in the barn and park it along with my Jeep for the winter.  The necessary cold weather wrenching really sucks the fun out of things, so probably won't do a whole lot until spring time.  Wish I had a heated garage.      

[Baldwinvette77]

Looks better  ... well, it doesnt look worse.... 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Since it's the off-season for wrenching, decided it was time to compile a "cheat sheet" for the car.  If you put too much faith in your memory you will eventually forget what parts are on your car when it comes time for replacements.   For example, the bastardized rear disc brake conversion on my Jeep uses a '69 corvette MC, GM half ton truck brake hoses, nissan 300zx rear calipers, and geo tracker rotors.  Got to keep a record of what's what in case you're broke down somewhere and need parts.


Here's the list so far of parts not correct:

-'73 charger steering gear box + pitman arm
-E body steering components
-'97 ram 318 engine
-'96 van power steering pump
-'01 dakota v6 transmission
-custom driveshaft with 1350 front and 1310 rear u joints (need to double check those)
-'99 ford explorer axle
-circa '79 GM HEI ignition
-'78 dodge 150 truck master cylinder
-'79 buick 350 carburetor
-th400 tranny mount
-carter p4070 fuel pump




One part that I'm still trying to find a good cross reference vehicle for is the front disc brake conversion.  I got the Right Stuff kit, 10.75 rotors I think, just the standard kit.  Are the rotors and calipers the same that would have been used in the traditional junkyard type swap from later A/B bodies?  Just trying to find "a car" to give the auto parts store when I need pads. 

[Baldwinvette77]

Since it's the off-season for wrenching, decided it was time to compile a "cheat sheet" for the car.  If you put too much faith in your memory you will eventually forget what parts are on your car when it comes time for replacements.   For example, the bastardized rear disc brake conversion on my Jeep uses a '69 corvette MC, GM half ton truck brake hoses, nissan 300zx rear calipers, and geo tracker rotors.  Got to keep a record of what's what in case you're broke down somewhere and need parts.


Here's the list so far of parts not correct:

-'73 charger steering gear box + pitman arm
-E body steering components
-'97 ram 318 engine
-'96 van power steering pump
-'01 dakota v6 transmission
-custom driveshaft with 1350 front and 1310 rear u joints (need to double check those)
-'99 ford explorer axle
-circa '79 GM HEI ignition
-'78 dodge 150 truck master cylinder
-'79 buick 350 carburetor
-th400 tranny mount
-carter p4070 fuel pump




One part that I'm still trying to find a good cross reference vehicle for is the front disc brake conversion.  I got the Right Stuff kit, 10.75 rotors I think, just the standard kit.  Are the rotors and calipers the same that would have been used in the traditional junkyard type swap from later A/B bodies?  Just trying to find "a car" to give the auto parts store when I need pads. 

you'd be surprised at what works for brakes, the rear rotors on my right stuff ford 9"  conversion kit are almost exact copies of front 65-82 corvette rotors, they even have the holes for the rivets