Run on HeavyFuel (Resto)

[HeavyFuel]

Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

You will be kicking yourself for a long time to come if you don't fix the damage properly.  Your car is mint, it's worth the extra time to do it right.

I hear ya on the trunk lid damage...that's gonna get nicely repaired and the whole lid resprayed.  But the little ding in the blackout area I think I can live with.  Who knows what the future brings for the car....it will be accumulating imperfections here and there all over, from over-use, I hope! 

[Cooter]

Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

Sh*t, some folks round these parts would call yours a '100 point' resto. Our "Driver" cars never get THAT detailed. Everything under the bottom thta's wornout gets replaced and very few with all that detail painting, we just shoot it with undercoating and let it go. But, your Charger does look the part of trailer queen right now though.

[Dino]

Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

You will be kicking yourself for a long time to come if you don't fix the damage properly.  Your car is mint, it's worth the extra time to do it right.

I hear ya on the trunk lid damage...that's gonna get nicely repaired and the whole lid resprayed.  But the little ding in the blackout area I think I can live with.  Who knows what the future brings for the car....it will be accumulating imperfections here and there all over, from over-use, I hope! 

Yes!  Let the chips and nicks be from use, mine's pretty much covered in little nicks, especially the front, but then again I do drive the pants off of that thing!

[HeavyFuel]

Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

Sh*t, some folks round these parts would call yours a '100 point' resto. Our "Driver" cars never get THAT detailed. Everything under the bottom thta's wornout gets replaced and very few with all that detail painting, we just shoot it with undercoating and let it go. But, your Charger does look the part of trailer queen right now though.

A simple case of having the car completely apart for body and paint, and the old "I can't put this crappy thing back on" syndrome kicked in.  I've always been a craftsman, and cleaning and restoring the individual parts that make the whole was enjoyable for me.  Frustrating, many times, but satisfying.

It'll most likely never see a trailer as long as it can move under it's own power.  I feel the car isn't over restored....just brought back close to where it was back in '68.

[Charger-Bodie]

There is nothing wrong with building a trailer queen......... As long as never haul it around and drive the heck out of it. Just because someone plans to drive and enjoy a car is no reason to do a "half fast" job on a resto . It only takes a small amount more effort to do the job above and beyond.

[Baldwinvette77]

Look at it this way, it's the first of many dents and scratches it will get over the course of its second life  , well in all seriousness, if it was my car, i would keep the damage, but then again im a deranged psychopath, however i've never met anyone with a 100 point restored car that doesnt have a scratch or dent on it, or something cracked or missing, its expected with a piece of machinery  and you really will need to get used to it if you are going to use it as a driver, if i had a nickel for every scratch, dent, crack, tear and peel my driver has gotten since i "finished" it 

[Paul G]

They will all eventually get nicked and scratched one way or another. Some are easy to fix some not so much. What really ticks me off are the ones I do to it myself.  And there have been many over the years.

[HeavyFuel]

I went through all of the boxes, bins and shelves in the garage and there's 3 things left to put on the car.      3

Radio antennae, windshield wiper arms, plastic shield by starter area.

All fluids (minus coolant) are in.

Brakes: DOT 5.   Brakes bled  (be sure to do the bench bleed first.....learned that the hard way)
Trans: Lucas Semi-Synthetic Dexron/Merc compatable.  Put 2 qts in the converter before assy, added 5 more for now...will top it off later.  No leaks on the floor yet

The oil has been in the engine since the rebuild and never been fired......5 years ago.  Probably gonna change that out to Shell Rotella with Lucas break-in additive (zinc) for the cam break-in.

Hooked up the Group 27 battery last nite......performed an electronic function check (minus the starter).  The only thing that didn't work was the map light under the dash.....most likely just a bad bulb.  No gas in the tank yet, so just assuming the repo sensor will work.

Just need to pick up some fuel for the tank and carb, go through the whole engine oil bath process, add coolant, cross my fingers and light that baby.  

Like my bro said...."Up to this point, it's been just a big art project."  

[Dino]

Now all you have to do is expect every little thing to go wrong.  Some things will, but most won't, so you'll remember this as a positive experience.   

[HeavyFuel]

Now all you have to do is expect every little thing to go wrong.  Some things will, but most won't, so you'll remember this as a positive experience.   

I'm used to things going wrong.....seems to be the M.O. on this baby.

As long as the motor doesn't grenade or melt, everything after that is bonus.

[Back N Black]

There is nothing wrong with building a trailer queen......... As long as never haul it around and drive the heck out of it. Just because someone plans to drive and enjoy a car is no reason to do a "half fast" job on a resto . It only takes a small amount more effort to do the job above and beyond.

+1

[Baldwinvette77]

There is nothing wrong with building a trailer queen......... As long as never haul it around and drive the heck out of it. Just because someone plans to drive and enjoy a car is no reason to do a "half fast" job on a resto . It only takes a small amount more effort to do the job above and beyond.

+1

I defiantly agree with the concept, however just about every 100 point car i see gets driven gently and has very few miles put on it 

[HeavyFuel]

Everythings ready.......    ......just waiting on my brother to get time in his schedule...... 


Hmmmm.  Never thought I'd get the point of looking for something to do to the car to kill time.   


   Anyone close by? 

[68CoronetRT]

Nice thread!! Just read through it all. Lov'in all the pics!!

Cant wait for some video and/or more pics!!

[tan top]

 nice job   

[HeavyFuel]

A few buddies and I performed the cam break in on Saturday morning.  By all accounts, things went very well.  

This is on a rebuilt motor, stock specs, never been run.  MP electronic ignition (I swapped out the "race" mechanical advance springs from the kit with the stock distrib. springs, but used everything else that came with kit).  Electronic voltage regulator.    

Cam break- in sequence of events:

1. A few weeks ago I pulled the intake and valley pan, re-applied thick green assy lube to the cam.  Inspection the next day revealed that the assy lube had all run off.  Probably a wasted effort, I re-installed the valley and intake.  At this time I also removed all of the spark plugs and used a plastic syringe to squirt a small amount of tranny fluid into each cylinder, let it creep for a few days, then hand turned the crank 2 rotations.

Saturday:

2. Put fuel into the gas tank, added coolant and double checked all fluid levels.

3. Pulled distributor and primed the engine with oil using drill, while cranking over the engine via the crank bolt = 2 rotations. The spark plugs were loose to make the turning easier, and were then tightened, plug wires re-attached.

4. Re-inserted the oil pump intermediate, lined up its slot parallel with the cam.  I slobbered some green assy lube on the threads.

5. The distributor was re-installed, noting where the rotor was pointing,  the cap replaced and wire sequence double checked.

6. One carb bowl was filled with fuel through the vent, and we disconnected the fuel line at the pump, then pressurized the tank (blew into it).  This filled the gas line with fuel.  Re-connected fuel line at the pump.

7. Hooked up timing light. Placed 2' x 2' fan in front of car, since we're inside a garage (open doors) with not much air movement.

8.  LIGHT THAT BABY!  She wanted to pop off from the first touch of the key....but not quite start.  We held the choke closed, adjusted the mixture screw a little, after a couple tries she started up.  Feathered the throttle a little, set the timing quick, then up to 2K rpm for 20 minutes.

It smoked like crazy....    ..this had me a little worried, but it was all clear by the end of the 20 minutes.   A little bit of lifter noise for about the first 30 seconds, then all quiet (relatively!)

Small gas leak where the little hard line attaches to the pump.  Tightened up with wrench...done.

OKAY... this thing is starting to throw off some HEAT!  I knew it was going to get hot.....but damn.  Was the timing advanced enough?    I didn't want to drop it down to idle to check, so it would just have to run as is.  

What's that smell....something burning?   I quick look under the car and sure enough, a flat piece of cardboard had curled up from the heat and was against the exhaust....and was smoldering.  We pulled that out, and it was actually on fire at that point.   We had a good laugh.    

AT THIS POINT we talked about getting out the marshmallows and hot dogs to hold over the engine.  The 20 mins couldn't elapse soon enough for me.  

9.  I revved it up to about 3K every couple minutes to promote lifter rotation, and we added coolant as needed.  Installed cap.

10.  20 MINUTES OVER.  Reduce rpm to idle, drop tranny into neutral to fill converter the rest of the way (I had added a couple quarts before installation).  Pump brakes a few times and roll this 'oven on wheels' out into the driveway.

11.  Power steering didn't seem to be working....checked the fluid level; it was low (some had moved from reservoir to gear during engine run).  Added fluid, worked fine.  

12.  Pulled back into garage to check tranny fluid on the level.  Added a couple quarts.....good to go.

13. Running a little rough, but not bad, hesitates on quick throttle.  Rechecked timing...it needed more advance, that smoothed things out, good throttle response.    

14.  Backed her into the driveway again, and shut it off.  Total run time....probably about 30 minutes.   Time off my life from the stress....?

15. We went into the garage and celebrated a little bit...      ..had a beer and let the stress subside a little bit. Then we decided to take it around the neighborhood.  I was curious how it would restart.  Didn't have to touch the throttle; she popped off at the touch of the key.   Nice.  

16. The test drive around my neighborhood was uneventful...if you don't count the sha-wing!.  The brakes held pretty well, although I need to adjust the pedal travel via the booster pushrod at the MC.  The steering felt decent considering that I did a camber adjust with a bubble level and toe in with a string.

17. Back in the driveway we did a recheck under the hood, no major leaks anywhere, and only a couple minor ones (shaft of power steering reservoir, forward line of brake MC).

Just about everything on the car works well right out of the shoot, enough so that I felt confident to drive it across town to my brothers place yesterday and put it up on his car hoist to check torque on a few things.  I took the interstate on the way home and the car drove decently.  The car drives nice and runs well.....pretty friggin' hot though.  I'm guessing that will calm down as the engine loosens up.

All gauges work, radio, lights.  One brake light harness contact needed a little tweaking, and now it works.  I started it probably 10 times over the weekend, every time it popped right off by touching the key.  The engine and exhaust sound good....some pretty noticable drone at about 2.5K rpm.

It seems like all the prep and careful work was paid off....or maybe I just got lucky.

Sorry for the long post....if you hung in there and read down this far.   I'll post some pics and video soon.

[charge69]

Awesome work and a great "light-off" for your Charger!  You are going to be cruising around in it in no time!

[cdr]

very glad for you,great story.

[firefighter3931]

Nice work HF....sounds like everything went very well. 

I told ya that fan was a good idea....and yes they do throw off some heat during the break-in 

That exhaust smoke was just the lube you dumped into the sparkplug holes burning off 

I wouldn't say you were lucky...well prepared is more like it 



Ron

[tan top]

   great stuff 

[Bob T]

Good result, great news!
Guess you'll be filling it up to put a tank through 
And good write up on the sequence, somebody'll use if for their startup.

[HeavyFuel]

Thanks, guys.

Took her out again tonight.....everything working fine....still running hot.   It'll take a while to build up some confidence, I think.....pretty nervous behind the wheel.

Should the rpm be around 3300 at 70 mph?  That seems high to me.  I'm running tires that are close to stock, right around 26.5 " dia.  

[HeavyFuel]

I've taken her out every night this week, varying between highway and city, trying to get a good engine break in.  So far, so good......motor still has a little stumble off a stoplight if I give it too much.  Gonna try to find a good carb guy to help me with that.

Dash lights are quite dim at night.....gonna try the thumb wheel bypass that some have done.  

My vinyl is coming unstuck and wrinkles in one spot.  That's kind frustrating, and not too sure what to do about that. Probably wait and see if it spreads tot he rest of the roof and go from there.  


A few pics as promised.


1)  The pipes get hot.

2-3)  My brothers Prowler.

4)  First fuel tank fill.   (The gas gauge seems to be off a little.   )    91 octane is the best I can get around here...seems to work fine.  I wonder how these babys ran on 98  

[HeavyFuel]

Like the street sign?

[fy469rtse]

 :popcrn:been watching this thread from the beginning, great work , loved all your preparation to all parts of the build , like Ron said well prepared , not luck, by the way beautiful car , great work , congratulations on you hard work,