What have you done with your Charger lately?

[Fred]

Boredom got to me so I installed a hood release cable.

[myk]

I like it!

[Fred]

Thankyou, me too.

[JB400]

What cable did you end up using?

[Fred]

Aussie Ford Falcon XF model (84-93). Length was spot on.

[JamieZ]

Yesterday I put my repaired floor jack to use and did the alignment. Caster, Camber, Toe all set.  I torqued all the lug nuts, paying special attention to the driver's rear where I replaced the studs.
Today, I checked everything and actually pulled the car out of the garage.  I took it for a quick rip around the block and did the brake bedding procedure.  It runs, turns, and even stops! 
Here's a grainy security photo of it returning home:


The idle speed is set too high, I'm not sure if it's not dropping out of the high idle circuit or if the curb idle is just set too high.  Just the typical carb adjusting stuff.   The speedo needle is all over the place, and the cable is brand new.  I'll have to double check that I didn't burn, but it's probably the speedo head that will need attention next year. The steering box leaks (especially when you jack the car up in the front).  And I'll need to torque the rear lugs a few more times.  But hey it's roadworthy again...just in time for winter.

[Godsmack635]

driving it

][URL

that front spoiler is killer.  i ordered mine from Spoilers by Randy but its not as pronounced as yours.  I tried using an aftermarket '69 Camaro spoiler but it was made out of ABS and it cracked once I had it installed. 

[JamieZ]

Turns out the idle issue, was actually the throttle cable.  It was set too short. A quick adjustment and both circuits work correctly. Once that was fixed, I pulled it out of the garage, gave it a quick wash and then moved it to winter storage.

[fy469rtse]

How did the wheel alignment come up Jamie, have done very similar, once it gets to shop for professional one ,
Will be interesting to see how close I got ?

[JamieZ]

My issues with he alignment were twofold:
First, the alignment tool I had was a little light on instructions.  When you put the level on the bracket, the way you put it on matters.  Wrong direction reads the wrong angle.  The same thing with the direction you turn the wheel to read caster.  Turn it the wrong way and you get the wrong sign.   I did a bunch of quick tests to figure it all out.

Second, when I replaced the UCA bracket on the driver's side.  I may have shifted it slightly to the front of the car.  This made it extremely difficult to get the desired caster with the stock UCAs.  However the adjustable PST UCA's eliminated this problem (allowing me to correct my mistake).  The down side is you have to undo an end, turn the heim joint, and then reassemble it.  The process can be very time consuming if you don't know what you are shooting for.  I ended up hanging a plumb bob from the bracket in the top of the fender and measuring from the UCA grease fitting to the plumb bob.  A little bit of math and some guesstimates and I was close enough to use the stock adjusters after 2 tries.

Now that it's all done, the alignment seems good.  It runs straight and turns well.  I don't plan on tracking it or anything like that, so it should be good for my needs.  Tire wear will tell the final story but it will have to wait until next year

[Lord Warlock]

finally got the brakes done on the charger.  30 years without brakes, and finally finished the update this week when my dad stopped over for a short visit, and we spent the afternoon bleeding the brakes on all four wheels.  The car will likely see road time again in 2015.  I can't wait. Also filled it with gas, and priming the gas lines to the fuel pump.  

**an update, after sitting overnight, I found that the master cylinder appears to be leaking where it attaches to the air tank on the firewall, front brake reservoir was draining slow. 

[fy469rtse]

Jamie I've done the same, but going to put it in for wheel alignment , mine was just to stop tyre wear to get there
I don't think we will get it close enough compared to the professionals

[JamieZ]

Performed the final step of it's winterization.  Put some staybil in the tank along with about 12 gallons of gas (it now reads nearly full) and ran it up to temp and let it idle for 5 minutes.  I've had good luck doing this with my challenger so hopefully the charger is the same.

Here it is put away for winter:

[fy469rtse]

Fired mine up today for he first time, bit hard on your own ,
A lot of things to watch , good friends but useless with cars , ? So no one to call ,
Started up fine with initial 18 degrees , bit of a pop out back
Got it warmed up , started to check timing , couldn't find the sweet spot , popping got worse
Once warm , knew I was going to have check re do lash, solid roller, was doing it by the chart, realised I had 6 & 8 plug leads back to front, ran much better with leads sorted out, did timing again , whilst running filled the remaining fluid to trans , watching for leaks ,
Strangest things , had trouble with factory gauges, couldn't get any function out of them , so starting car up relying on aftermarket gauges only ,  charger speciality s circuit board with built in voltage reg reducer,
quick toe in rough wheel alignment , opened garage door , took it for a spin
Halfway through multiple circuits of block , gauges suddenly all came life , only one that doesn't work and was because there was only a small amount of fuel , you guessed it , those dreaded fuel senders
505 stroker , victor heads , solid roller street grind , new life for this car after decades of being ignored stored away
I asked my daughter to film it and show me how to post attach link for a film ,
So will do this shortly guys , feels like a lot of power   
Good day , a lot of things went well,

[timmycharger]

Fired mine up today for he first time, bit hard on your own ,
A lot of things to watch , good friends but useless with cars , ? So no one to call ,
Started up fine with initial 18 degrees , bit of a pop out back
Got it warmed up , started to check timing , couldn't find the sweet spot , popping got worse
Once warm , knew I was going to have check re do lash, solid roller, was doing it by the chart, realised I had 6 & 8 plug leads back to front, ran much better with leads sorted out, did timing again , whilst running filled the remaining fluid to trans , watching for leaks ,
Strangest things , had trouble with factory gauges, couldn't get any function out of them , so starting car up relying on aftermarket gauges only ,  charger speciality s circuit board with built in voltage reg reducer,
quick toe in rough wheel alignment , opened garage door , took it for a spin
Halfway through multiple circuits of block , gauges suddenly all came life , only one that doesn't work and was because there was only a small amount of fuel , you guessed it , those dreaded fuel senders
505 stroker , victor heads , solid roller street grind , new life for this car after decades of being ignored stored away
I asked my daughter to film it and show me how to post attach link for a film ,
So will do this shortly guys , feels like a lot of power   
Good day , a lot of things went well,

Outstanding! Look forward to the vid 

[comet_666]

Finally stripped engine down.

[Lord Warlock]

Removed master cylinder, will have to wait till next week to see if it can be rebuilt or not.  Seals must have gone bad inside.  Topped off the radiator with antifreeze, added oil, and generally getting ready to start it again as soon as MC is back on.  Will have to re-bleed the brakes but can probably do that again with extra labor that will be home for the holidays. 

[fy469rtse]

Lord warlock , get them to sleeve it , stainless, back so stock kit seals fit , will never let you down again

[JamieZ]

I got this boat anchor with the car.


It spins free and I tested the clutch with a spare battery and it engages (and then the whole thing spins).  So I guess I found my winter project....

[toocheaptosmoke]

Fired it up yesterday to charge the battery a bit, glasspacks sounded good.    Also threw some mouse poison on the floorboards to hopefully keep the rodents at bay, probably won't do much on it until the weather warms up.

[Lord Warlock]

Kept the original MC to have rebuilt later, got a replacement online, not a perfect match for the original, its a little wider than the original was, looks fine installed but real mopar enthusiasts would be able to tell its not an original MC.  I was able to bleed the MC and install it fairly quickly I still have to bleed the brakes at each wheel though.  Now I just have to get two more plug wires and I should be able to start it up again.  

[Ghoste]

I have one of those anchors too Jamiez, it came with a 440 I picked up recently and I was going to sell it but then I started thinking what if I do a DMCL clone one day so now mine really is an anchor for the time being. 

[JamieZ]

Unseasonably warm weather continued so I installed the splash shields I got from DMT.


Those clips can be a pain to push in....

[Bob T]

Hey FY469, pleased for you man, get that vid up eh, keen for a look 

[GordonGriggs]

Nothing, I have not even taken it out of the box.