Timmycharger's 68 Resto

[Charger_Fan]

Congrats on getting it finished up, it looks great!

[timmycharger]

Thank you  Can't wait to give it a good cleaning and detail and take some pics outside! 

[CDN72SE]

Lookin' good definitely need some more pictures. 

[timmycharger]

Thanks! Took it for a spin to talk to the alignment shop. Its going in next week, I got it pretty close with string and an angle finder but I want to try it on the highway 

Took a few pics of it with the hood on it, still needs to be adjusted side to side but its pretty close.

[tan top]

  looks awesome 

[funknut]

Car turned out amazing.  Color is perfect!

[Charger_Fan]

Fan-freaking-tastic!!

Thanks so much for taking us all along in your journey. It's kind of amazing that those jerks at PB waited until you were 95% done to pull the plug on your pics, along with everyone else worldwide. You sir, have great timing! LOL!! 

[CDN72SE]

Perfect!

[timmycharger]

Guys thank you, I appreciate all the support and advice given by folks on this forum, as we all know it's easy to get off track on getting them done. Of course I am already planning a better engine for this car in the next few years. We need a new kitchen first


I plan on going back and fixing some of these pics, so pissed.

Im stumped on my engine noise, it's not the rockers lifters or pushrods which I ruled out after months of screwing around. Plenty of power, good oil pressure, no smoke at all, oil change a few months ago no metal sgavings.  Im just going with it.  Up to 90 miles on it so far, just got an inspection sticker so she's completely legal.

Gas sending unit is shit, says 1/4 all the time, got gas yesterday and it filled all the way to the cap with 7 gallons so I don't know what is going on. Time to pull it out after I burn some fuel down.

Here are a couple vids

https://youtu.be/rVV5UJvTOGEt


https://youtu.be/lhPXQ0CUESs

[Midnight_Rider]

I plan on going back and fixing some of these pics, so pissed.

Yeah, Photobucket really broke the web with that policy change. Lots of stuff gone in one fell swoop.

Anyway, just wanted to say -- nice job / nice car!

[timmycharger]

Long time no post here, I have been slowly fixing the pics that were screwed by Photobucket and finally got them repaired. 

Here are a couple of pics from when I last posted. I have done a few things to the car since then including fixing my rear main seal leak and changing my Moroso 7 qt pan in favor of a hemi 6 qt pan. I also welded on a skid plate while I was at it.

I also installed the pistol grip shifter on my existing hurst mechanism that I got from Brewers. My hand position in relation to the dash in 1st and 3rd isn't to bad so I am going to try it out.

[timmycharger]

 

[Lennard]

Beautiful

[CDN72SE]

Love this car!

[komninon]

looks amazing!!!!!

where did you  get the new oil pan? do you have a part #?
any clearance issues with k member?
thanks George

[timmycharger]

Thank you guys!  


George, I bought the pan from a member here but I know he got it from Mancini Racing.  They have nice pan and pickup combos.  Good luck..

[Charger-Bodie]

Awesome!!!

[komninon]

ok thanks

[General_01]

Looks fantastic!!!!

[timmycharger]

Ever since the engine refresh (bearings, rings, heads, gaskets, etc) I have had an annoying noise (see vids below) and after changing out rockers, lifters, pushrods, nothing changed.  I have since put about 550 miles on this engine which ran strong, had good oil pressure and no smoke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSS5oCcsRaQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFh6mxFDMrE

Yesterday I did a compression test which I should have done straight away but regardless I did it.  I got the engine to temp, then proceeded to remove all the plugs but it took forever to do the driver's side as the headers were hot and by the time I got to the passenger side, it cooled off so I don't know if that effected the test results. Also, I read after that I was supposed to have the carb butterfly open but I forgot that as well.  

The results on the drivers side were around 155 for each cylinder but on the pass side, I was getting close to 190 on that bank except for cylinder 8 where I got 0 PSI.  The spark plugs on all the other cylinders look the same, light cocoa color, except for number 8 that was shiny new.

So looks to me like I have been driving on 7 cyl since I fired it up a few years ago. Not good, that noise was probably that dead cylinder and who knows what is going on there. I will have to do a leak down test and possibly pull the head.

The fun never ends!!

[Dino]

Hey at least you narrowed it down! I'm confident you'll have it fixed in no time.   

[JB400]

Bent valve probably

[chargervert]

Take the rocker arms off that side,and re do the compression test. If you have compression after that,then the issue is in the rocker, push rods, or camshaft.  If you still have no compression after removing the rockers, then it may be a valve or ring issue.

[timmycharger]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I must have hurt it at startup since I had these plugs in the engine for about 545 out of the 550 miles on it and the #8 one looks brand new still.


going to post a separate thread on the engine as I have some questions.

[timmycharger]

Long time since last posting on this thread, I am finally able to drive it around again after wrenching on the engine for a few months. 

Sorry for the long story, but it was quite an adventure. 

After removing the rocker covers and using a remote start, I found a wiped cam lobe and lifter, it was pretty far gone.  This was my Mopar 284/484 purple shaft cam and lifter set from prior to my restoration that I just put back in the motor after a re bearing and re ring.

I pulled the pan, cut the oil filter and didn't see any shavings or anything nasty so I ended up swapping out the cam with a Lunati 60303 cam and lifter set along with their double valve springs that they recommend.   This process took me close to 2 months to finish as I do not have a lot of time this time of year with the kids activities and house projects.  Swapping out valve springs on an engine that is in the car has to be one of the most tedious tasks I can think of and I had to do it twice since I had to put in the inner spring after breaking in the cam. What a nightmare that was, glad it is over.   I swapped out my roller rockers for a set of stock stamped ones that I set up with custom pushrods from Smith Bros.

I then had to deal with a leaky thermostat housing, a leaking oil pan gasket and then for 2 weeks, fighting rocker cover gasket leaks.  The thermostat housing was a quick fix, the pan was as well, I went with a Summit Brand 1 piece windage tray/plastic type gasket that sealed nicely so far.   The rocker covers were a mess, they are 40 year old Direct Connection chrome ones and after years of taking them off and on, the gasket surface was no longer flat.  After a body hammer and dolly, I got them flat but still couldn't get them to seal with Felpro rubber/fiber gaskets so I tried $40 Moroso blue ones that sealed for a while then leaked once the car was warm.  I ended up with good ol Felpro cork gaskets sprayed with hi tack and they now are dry as a bone.


After all that time and effort, that annoying tick is still there but the rest of the engine is quieter and it is much smoother at idle.  I even have power brakes that work properly!  I only took it for a quick spin for fresh gas but this cam is much nicer to drive than the 484, feels much stronger on the bottom end and pulls like a freight train.  I also went up 2 jet sizes on all 3 carbs while I had it all apart.  I'll just have to live with the noise in the engine until my next 440 is built, Ill try not to blow it up but can't promise anything 

Now that it is ready to drive again, its about 50 degrees in MA right now and rainy