MAD 1974 DODGE CHARGER SE 400 (BUILD)

[brigond]

Wow! This is very interesting   I think the pooch is liking the quarter treatments too.

[MAD]

Got the new wheels and tires today.. Time to mount the 1" wheel spacers/adapters and see how they line up with my mock widebody template

[MAD]

So it lines up perfectly..

[Baldwinvette77]

Mmmmmm 

[MAD]

Finished the lower section on the quarter panel. and i dont know what you guys think but i think this is gonna be the most bad ass 74 charger out there.

[MAD]

Looks like it should look like this.

[MAD]

Without widebody..
started cleaning the carb tonight too. cant wait to hear this monster rumble.

[RallyeMike]

Definitely a heck of a lot more work than a mini-tub job! Its going to be challenging making the transition to the doors and quarter tops look good - but then all wide body conversions don't seem to be able to pull it off with perfection.

[Baldwinvette77]

You have rusty quarters anyway, so why not, go for it 

[cudaken]

First MAD, I like your dog!

OK, my  worth. Not crazy about the wide body, but if you can pull it off right I may like it.

Tires, if you are going to widen the body, get some real meats under the car. Move the springs inboard and run 15 inch or wider tires. Make sure there is a reason to go to all the trouble of making a wider Charger. All B Bodies I have worked with can hold a 12 inch tire with right back spacing for the wheels or moving the springs in.

With just the 12 inch tires and the wheel spacers, your car going to look like it is straddling a mud hole so it does not get the tires muddy.

With say 18 inch wide tires from the rear with the springs moved in, it would look like a nasty ass I need traction machine.  Other wise, why make the Charger wider? 

With you loving Hot Wheels as a kid, if you figured out the scale, tires would be wider than 12 inches.

If you are going to start the 400, you might want to read my post about my 68 Road Runner. Like a idiot I let her sit for 8 years with out starting her! 

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,101965.0.html

My taste?
Stock looking body
Factory wheels or Cagier SS (no bigger than 15 inch wheels, I am old)
Stock Interior
Under the hood or hanging out of the hood?  Anything goes as long as it is Mopar.

Good luck with the Charger.

Cuda Ken

[Indygenerallee]

I appreciate your wanting the widebody but unless you have a English wheel to make the correct contours in the panels I personally think it will turn out looking like poop  with any Charger the quarters are so massive and to make it look right your gonna have to have the lines perfect on those quarters, I understand the enthusiasm but I urge you to think about the massive amount of work that the quarter panel mods are gonna take. either way best of luck!! 

[JB400]

Have you got the other side mocked up yet?

[Stevearino]

Got  to  agree with Cudaken on getting some wide skins back there if you are going to go through the trouble to widen the quarters make it count. Indygeneralee is right about the compound shapes of the quarters. If you can score two sets of stock or aftermarket quarter skins you can probably cut them in half and section them back together with some overlap and get the size and shape you desire without having to start from scratch with flat sheetmetal. That is unless you are up for the challenge.

[71green go]

All proper wide bodies I seen modify the doors also to taper the body out to the quarters....
Not feeling the love of the wide body...and as Cuda ken states...the wheels need to be brought under the car more...
Good luck and I will follow along

[cudaken]

I was thinking about how to do the quarters while I was at work today. I will post more details and pictures later. Might look pretty interesting if I am thinking right.

Still needs nasty meats!

By the way, Steve knows his stuff! I  when I look at his work! I a fair body person my self.

Cuda Ken 

[MAD]

Agree with getting two quarters and sectioning them. Although if i was going that route i will just replace the quarters to stock condition. I Love fabricating and im pretty confident that I will be able to construct this out out sheet metal by way of welding a 3/16" medal rod skeleton to start and shapping by skins ontop of that 3D surface.

Got the motor running yesterday! what an exciting day hearing the car crumble. Waiting for my Gas conversion kit to come in for my MIG welder then i can get started welding the skeleton and raising the stock wheel well and securing the unibody together.

[Stevearino]

Bottom line is it is all about the fun of bringing your vision to life.  Will be watching.

[MAD]

Fun is an understatement IM HAVING THE TIME OF MY FREAKEN LIFE

So after starting the car yesterday (WITH A SCREW DRIVER) the car was hot wired originally because the previous owner couldnt find the keys.
The owner found the keys before i picked it up along with a spare and trunk keys etc..

My problem currently is that yesterday i didnt have power to the ignition or interior acc. So i was to excited to hear it so i just jumped it as he did.

Today i looked under the dash and re-conected the plug to the column as it was un-attached.

put the key in and no power nothing?
-Could it be my fusible link?
-is there suppose to be something plugged into the BATT/ACC slot on the fuse block?

any help would be great.

[MAD]

got under the dash and found the fuse box, not sure if something is supposed to be connected to BATT/ACC?

[MAD]

-Re-conected the main plug, not sure if the blue plug above needs connecting? cant find a Male end to connect it too?
-Gonna check for power to the fuseble link tomorrow not sure if its bad?

[MAD]

After doing some reading i know i need to make sure my ammeter is connected and not corroded or burnt.
Still need to know what plugs into BATT/ACC if anything.
Thanks guys

[RallyeMike]

For lack of starting from the ignition switch, two common culprits are 1) bad Nuetral Safety switch or wiring, 2) bad ignition relay. You can jump the relay with a screw driver to test it (relay is in 2nd pic above - turn key to ON, drop screw driver to connect the two exposed bare metal terminals on the realy . If the car cranks - relay is bad).

The ACC and BATT plugs on the main block are spares for aftermarket additons. Nothing plugs in there.

[MAD]

Thanks RalleyMike, so your saying if i CAN start it with a screwdriver while key is in ON position that my rellay is bad?

[MAD]

Need a break from electrical, I remeberd guys were finding the build sheets under the back seat and i thought hmmmm i wonder if mine is there..
Sure enough IT WAS!!!

[MAD]

Its brittle but gonna protect it and decode everything on it!