Bull's 68 Charger restoration thread

[bakerhillpins]

Very nice work..  

It looks like you undercoated the shock mount crossmember, are you going to have to scrape it down to get a good mating surface where they attach?

Was the old undercoating just cleaned up (loose removed and dirt/grime removed) and then shot over top? Some seem to spend lots of time scraping all the old off, wondering why you chose one over the other?

[bull]

I might scrape some of the undercoating off the spots where the shocks mount up but I don't know that it will get in the way much or create a problem if I don't. I figured it would be easier to scrape it later than attempt to guess where the bolt heads and/or washers would be since I don't have that hardware yet.

A lot of the old undercoating was cleaned and scraped to get the loose stuff off and all of it was power washed. After that I hit it with a wire wheel on a cordless drill. I didn't go nuts scraping the old stuff off because I figured that if it stayed put for 43 years, and continued to stay put after I brushed it, poked at it and power washed it, it will be fine. When I applied the undercoating I just made sure the bare spots were covered good and that the oringinal undercoating went from brown to black.

[FLG]

Looking good.

I plan on doing the same job with mine, leave the old stuff thats good but give the whole thing a respray.

[bull]

Here's my attempt at replicating the sloppy markings on the diff. Close enough I guess. :

[resq302]

Nice.  Almost dead on!

[bull]

Thanks, but I didn't realize how screwy that X looked until now. About the only thing that looks pretty much dead-on is the O. Oh well, I'm not changing it. It is what it is.

[resq302]

Remember, they were put on by people who did it quick and fast.  They were not worried about consistancy other than being functional and correct.  Some of the inspections I have found on my charger look like a 2 yr old did it!

[472 R/T SE]

So, seeings how we live in the rain capital of America, do you plan on driving it any long distances.

I didn't realize you were going to this extreme, looking good my friend.   

[bull]

So, seeings how we live in the rain capital of America, do you plan on driving it any long distances.

I didn't realize you were going to this extreme, looking good my friend.  

Not really sure what my plans are but I like to keep my options open. I wouldn't mind doing a road trip to northeast Oregon some June for the big car show in my home town.

http://www.oregonmountaincruise.com/

Thanks for the compliment. I had no idea I would be going to this extreme either.

[TUFCAT]

So, seeings how we live in the rain capital of America, do you plan on driving it any long distances.

I didn't realize you were going to this extreme, looking good my friend.   

Not really sure what my plans are but I like to keep my options open. I wouldn't mind doing a road trip to northeast Oregon some June for the big car show in my home town.

Thanks for the compliment. I had no idea I would be going to this extreme either.

For the record, I had no idea you were going to this extreme either. It's been a long journey.... I'm glad you're doing this level of restoration. The car is definately rare and worthy of your efforts! 

[bull]

Thanks, Tuffy.

I've finally got the rear end, brakes and leaf springs ready to install...

[Musicman]

Wow... where the heck have I been, I just found this thread today.

Great work Bull 
Looking forward to more progress shots.

[A383Wing]

Wow... where the heck have I been, I just found this thread today.

nobody sent you the memo, huh? 

[Musicman]

nobody sent you the memo, huh? 

Apparently not 

[bull]

nobody sent you the memo, huh?  

Apparently not  

I didn't get the memo to send you a memo.

Did this whole task and only smashed my thumb once while putting the straps on the springs. Lucky for me (I guess) I did it with a dead blow hammer. Still hurt and I spilled some blood.

Then I decided to take the wheels and drums back off and take a closer look at the wheel cylinders. Found sludge and rust in them so they got replaced.

[bull]

Installed the rear end last night and fnished bolting the shackles down tonight.

Also decided to go with Speed Bleeders so I'm waiting for four of those things to arrive. http://www.speedbleeder.com/

[bill440rt]

Looking REALLY good, Curtis!! 

[Charger-Bodie]

You will be very proud of yourself when you drive this beauty. Looks great!

[Musicman]

Moving right along Curtis

I like the Speed Bleeders... great idea... I didn't know they made them, Thanks! I'll have to pick up a few sets of those myself.
The only fly in the ointment would be air leaking back through the external threads, which is usually the downfall of the small hand held vacuum systems, causing you to tape the threads for a good seal in some cases. It looks as though they are using a nylock or similar coating on the threads to prevent this which is good. Of course, it would most likely be Non-Issue in this case anyway however, but it's still good to see that they actually thought about it first.

Mike
(I got the memo this time)

[skip68]

Nice work Curtis.        

[greenpigs]

Even Bull's jackstands are mint!

Nice to see progress.

[bull]

Even Bull's jackstands are mint!

Yea, Harbor Freight specials. The only reason I bought them was to get the car high enough to do the engine/trans. install from below but it turns out I needed them for this to install the assembly from the side (since I didn't feel like opening the garage door). I have a total of 8 jack stands now, which is about twice as many as I have room for.

I went to install the shocks today and discovered that the Edelbrock shocks from Summit didn't come with any cup washers and I can't find any old ones, if it ever had them. So now I have to buy them from Megaparts and wait... again.

BTW, according to my local Dodge dealer these cup washers have apparently been discontinued so you'd better grab them if you need them while you can. I saw them on Ebay for $30 but Megaparts still lists them at $12 for the set with nuts. http://www.megapartsusa.com/proddetail.asp?prod=199%2DDR015

[bull]

Moving right along Curtis

I like the Speed Bleeders... great idea... I didn't know they made them, Thanks! I'll have to pick up a few sets of those myself.
The only fly in the ointment would be air leaking back through the external threads, which is usually the downfall of the small hand held vacuum systems, causing you to tape the threads for a good seal in some cases. It looks as though they are using a nylock or similar coating on the threads to prevent this which is good. Of course, it would most likely be Non-Issue in this case anyway however, but it's still good to see that they actually thought about it first.

Mike
(I got the memo this time)

They claim that they should not leak around the threads. And of course there's always the chance that the check valve could fail, which is kind of a frightening thought, but they really can't fail once they've been properly seated, just like the ordinary bleeders. Hopefully they are worth the potential pitfalls because they're kind of spendy at $7 each. I bought all four from the same guy on Ebay so I could get a deal on shipping. Just be sure you know what size you need. I was going to order my set based on what they should be but then discovered the Chinese wheel cylinders I just got for the rear have a metric size bleeder.

[Musicman]

Just be sure you know what size you need.

No problem, I have more than a couple of sets of thread gauges kick'n around.

$7 each... wow , that is kind'a pricey... I guess I'll have to wait for that big Black Friday Sale

[BigBlackDodge]

Awesome!


Needs two more doors to make it right....................



BBD