What have you done with your Charger lately?

[Musicman]

I mounted the body on the Rotisserie this morning, lifted it about 6" off the jack stands and gave it a quick test to check for center. The cars still full of junk inside and out at the moment, including the gas tank with gas still in it, so needless to say I couldn't roll it over on its side just yet.   

CG must be pretty close however, because it rolled effortlessly.

[AKcharger]

I installed a new battery in my '72 and started them both and let them run for 10 mins or so...then covered them up and lock the garage

Them open roads is waitin' for ya...

We move down full-time in April...will drive them more then,  

[myk]

Ha!  I finally got those stubborn rear Hotchkis/Fox shocks in!  All it took were bigger tools and some lube that I didn't have, the sad tale of my life...  

Special thanks to 1974dodgecharger and WHITE AND RED 69 for suggestions on how to get those bastards on finally!  Question: does anyone know how tight the sway bar mounting brackets, pieces and all that stuff should be torqued down to?  They're all moving parts so they shouldn't be that tight, but obviously we don't want them falling off mid-flight.

Oh and now the car talks to me.  Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak

[fy469rtse]

You will have to go back over it Myk , and lube everything , sway bar is the culprit, did you lube it or do it up dry,
Posted a photo also on my build with that boss chin spoiler on

[myk]

You will have to go back over it Myk , and lube everything , sway bar is the culprit, did you lube it or do it up dry,
Posted a photo also on my build with that boss chin spoiler on

I had both sway bars on and it wasn't squeaking a few days ago; maybe one of the fittings needs more grease after some miles being put on it.  BTW did you send me an email about your spoiler-install?  I'll check that out ASAP....

[Charger4404spd]

What have I done lately? Well besides working on the stroker motor, I pulled the Dana, cleaned, repainted, installed new seals and bearings, installed new springs, bushings and shocks. All my new brake hardware will be here tomorrow.

[XH29N0G]

I mounted the body on the Rotisserie this morning, lifted it about 6" off the jack stands and gave it a quick test to check for center. The cars still full of junk inside and out at the moment, including the gas tank with gas still in it, so needless to say I couldn't roll it over on its side just yet.  :lol
CG must be pretty close however, because it rolled effortlessly.
...

How are you planning on emptying the gas tank? 

[Musicman]

How are you planning on emptying the gas tank? 

One match ought'a do it 

Siphon pump, drop & drain.

[6pkrtse]

We finally got up in the 40's last Friday & I went out & started mine for the first time all winter. Man, what a long, cold, snowy winter it has been. 8' more fresh inches of snow yesterday. I have never wanted to get the Charger back out for spring as bad as I do this year. It sounded awesome. Forgot how much I missed that V8 sound after driving my 4 cyl Neon & V10 Ram all winter.

[moparsr2fast]

  Picked up an upgraded trans rebuild kit, and a Sonnax shift kit for the 727

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Drink beer and stare at it in the garage  cmon SUMMER!!!

[ottawamerc]

Well I have been continuing the installation of my USCartool frame connectors in my 71 and I have been very careful of any grinding or sand blasting to make Damn sure that I would not leave any marks on my flawless paint job. I was on my final stitch weld just under where the drivers seat would be located when I happened to notice thru one of the floor drain plug holes (which I had removed all of) a fire inside my car , it was about 1' high and growing! I jumped up and found that somehow the rear section of carpet that I had removed and flipped over the tunnel had caught fire I tried my best to stomp it out with my bare hands but after quickly realizing that wasnt going to work and all the melting plastic was causing many 2nd degree burns to my hands I had to abandon my poor car and find something to try to extinguish it. A bucket was found and I filled it with 5 cups of water which seemed like eternity I then ran back and tossed it on the fire and attacked it with my hands again. Thanks God it was barely enough water to knock down the flames to a manageable state. In my haste of running for the water I tripped over my mig welder and the argon gas bottle "JUST" missed my rear quarter panel but didnt miss the ground and smashed my regulator, then since I was in abit of a hurry when I opened the drivers door again it hit my hoist and put a dime sized dent in the door!!! Well the bright side of this story is that I was going to replace that carpet anyways, other than the dent the car is fine! although I might have to change the head liner again.

All the blisters on my hand remind me of how close I came to losing my car, my shop and all the contents. Thing is too that once I settled down and took stock of what just happened I realized that in the back seat was my fire extinguisher for the car, I completely forgot it was there

More good news "they are in" now I need to weld in the torque boxes

Scott

[JB400]

Sorry to hear that misadventure happened   But, now you know why it's best to remove the interior.  Lesson learned   2nd degree burns are not fun.  Been there, done that

[XH29N0G]

That is scary.  Sorry to hear of it, and at the same time, glad it was not worse.

[71charger_fan]

Axles are out for the installation of a new Dr. Diff center section. Cardboard box holds my new fuel tank. New inner fender panels are ordered.

[myk]

Well I have been continuing the installation of my USCartool frame connectors in my 71 and I have been very careful of any grinding or sand blasting to make Damn sure that I would not leave any marks on my flawless paint job. I was on my final stitch weld just under where the drivers seat would be located when I happened to notice thru one of the floor drain plug holes (which I had removed all of) a fire inside my car , it was about 1' high and growing! I jumped up and found that somehow the rear section of carpet that I had removed and flipped over the tunnel had caught fire I tried my best to stomp it out with my bare hands but after quickly realizing that wasnt going to work and all the melting plastic was causing many 2nd degree burns to my hands I had to abandon my poor car and find something to try to extinguish it. A bucket was found and I filled it with 5 cups of water which seemed like eternity I then ran back and tossed it on the fire and attacked it with my hands again. Thanks God it was barely enough water to knock down the flames to a manageable state. In my haste of running for the water I tripped over my mig welder and the argon gas bottle "JUST" missed my rear quarter panel but didnt miss the ground and smashed my regulator, then since I was in abit of a hurry when I opened the drivers door again it hit my hoist and put a dime sized dent in the door!!! Well the bright side of this story is that I was going to replace that carpet anyways, other than the dent the car is fine! although I might have to change the head liner again.

All the blisters on my hand remind me of how close I came to losing my car, my shop and all the contents. Thing is too that once I settled down and took stock of what just happened I realized that in the back seat was my fire extinguisher for the car, I completely forgot it was there

More good news "they are in" now I need to weld in the torque boxes

Scott

Sweet Lord man.  I'm glad you and your machine are relatively alright.  Kudos to you and your welding skills, that's very impressive to me.

Meanwhile, with the Hotchkis shocks and front/rear swaybars in I've been taking the LONG way home at night, throwing the car into as many curves on my local roads that I can think of.  I hate to use a worn cliche but...it's like a totally different car; why didn't I do this 20 years ago?   The question I have now is this: how much more of a difference will the aftermarket UCA's, T-bars, springs and steering/strut rods make?   Will I start to get diminishing returns as I buy those parts, or will the Charger start pulling moves that will make my Mustang and Firebird blush? 

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Holy shit Scott! Scary

[JamieZ]

Weather was nice so I went outside and fired up the Charger.  It's still trapped by melting snow, mud, and salty roads, but it was nice to hear it run.  Seemed to run a little smoother now that the headlight vacuum hoses have been removed.

[charger496]

Myk, sounds like we have similar setups. With the stock UCAs, I could never get enough caster. The right side couldn't even get past .5 degrees. Now with the tubulars, it has about 3.5 degrees on each side. It eliminated the front tire scrubbing when I would stomp it from low speeds, like when it grabs for a second right before the back end breaks loose. It feels flatter around high and low speed turns. I'm going faster around the highway cloverleaf I use everyday, too.

[myk]

Interesting.  What other suspension 'mods do you have?

[charger496]

   Myk, I've got the tubular uppers, polyurethane bushings everywhere, a 1 1/4" firm feel sway bar, 11/16 C-body seamless tie rods and sleeves, firm feel level 2 power steering box, 11" SSBC slotted discs (no power booster), frame connectors from Competition Engineering.  Out back are the factory leafs (leaves?!) with a pretty thick leaf added almost from eye to eye, newish rubber bushings that need to be replaced with poly, a 3/4" hellwig sway bar with factory 11" drums which I'd like to upgrade, but absolutely not with green bearings. Most rear disc kits require green bearings, and I drive around lots of corners. Oh, and 17x8 & 17x9's with sticky but cheap sumitomo tires. It's really a ton of fun to drive fast.

[don duick]

removed bumble bee stripes starting a DMCL Clone

[myk]

   Myk, I've got the tubular uppers, polyurethane bushings everywhere, a 1 1/4" firm feel sway bar, 11/16 C-body seamless tie rods and sleeves, firm feel level 2 power steering box, 11" SSBC slotted discs (no power booster), frame connectors from Competition Engineering.  Out back are the factory leafs (leaves?!) with a pretty thick leaf added almost from eye to eye, newish rubber bushings that need to be replaced with poly, a 3/4" hellwig sway bar with factory 11" drums which I'd like to upgrade, but absolutely not with green bearings. Most rear disc kits require green bearings, and I drive around lots of corners. Oh, and 17x8 & 17x9's with sticky but cheap sumitomo tires. It's really a ton of fun to drive fast.

I'm not quite at your level yet.  All I have are the Hotchkis front and rear sway's and their shocks.  My next step will be the Hotchkis UCA's, strut/steering rods, torsion bars, and the LCA stiffening plates.  Once the wallet recovers, either a Borgeson or a Firm Feel Stage 2 box, and then rear springs...

[Ghoste]

Don, thats awesome!!

[ottawamerc]

Finnished the welding of all the torque boxes and frame connectors and gladly have to report that there were no more near disasters, it actually went very well. I will post some pics of the completed work soon The first thing I noticed is that when I lifted the car back up on the hoist I can now open the doors, there is minimal to no flex now . Now I'm reinstalling the new carpet and the rest of the interior, very happy to have this project done..

Scott