Got another 69!

[Dino]

I had been without mopar for a littl eover a year so it was time for a new toy!

It was a 318 car with 904 and console shifter.  White hat special with light package, a/c and tinted windows.  Power steering and brakes and that's pretty much it.  It was F8 with green interior and apparently a white top. V1W

Pics and short vid here:  http://s1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb477/Dino-69/1969%20Dodge%20Charger/

Car was dusty, it looks better in person.

The original engine and trans are long gone and it now has the entire drivetrain from a 1970 squad car.  440HP cop motor with edelbrock performer intake and carb with electric choke (no idea what cfm) and headers.  Also has electronic ignition and now has a 727, rebuild 5K and 2K miles ago respectively.  Cam is a purple cam with .474 lift. (quoting previous owner, this is Chinese to me).  It has a 8 3/4 rear with 3.91 gears (non sg) and even has the extra half leaf spring.  It has a 1 1/8" torsion bar on the front and comes with a rear torsion bar, not yet installed.  It's now white with black top and it's all in fair shape.  The previous previous owner badly repaired the trunk floor but at least made it functional.  It will be replaced eventually.  Got some bubbling on lower quarters and rockers but nothing I can't fix and nothing that needs fixing right away, I want to enjoy this car a bit first.  Frame and floors are solid.

Interior is all stock and shows its age but again I can definitely live with it for a long time to come!

The a/c was disconnected who knows when (all parts are present) but the compressor is still hooked up so I need to take the belts off until everything goes back in.  Heater valve thingy didn't work so owner took it off, no air and no heat!  Not sure if this is someting that needs replacing or fixing but I'll worry about that when it gets cold.   

It comes with a spare grill (damaged ceter section), a cast iron intake and thermoquad carb and a wilwood front disc brake kit minus master cylinder or proportioning valve(I think I need those).  It's the kit that bolts to your existing spindles.  Would my original master work?

I'm buying 2.94 gears this weekend because this will be a cruiser and there's not much cruising involved with 3.91's!  Wheels are 14"  Tires likely 235/60 or in that range.

I do need some help....

I have several things I want to tackle and since it's different subjects I hope this is the best place to post.  Forgive me moderators if I was wrong.

First of all it tends to be difficult to hot start, not always but sometimes you need to floor it to fire up.  I understand there's a carb gasket I can buy to prevent the fuel from vaporizing?  What else would be helpful?  Electric fuel pump?  Which one?

I also need to fix the leaky ds header while I'm at it.  It's loud up front.  Also loud in the rear but that's a good thing 

As far as the rest of the engine goes, it runs really smooth so all I want to do is general checkup as it has only done those 5K miles in the last 20 years.  I would like to clean it up, and replace oil and filter.  For a cruiser 440 which is recommended?  Valvoline 20-50 full synth ok?

What all do I need to swap the rear end gears?  Which oil?  Do I need grease?  A torque wrench?  Never done this before.  Troy already told me which seals and gaskets to get...and to eat my wheaties before I start!

What else....ah yes the backup light fuse blows when you turn on the radio.  I'll stick my head under the dash to see what's going on but if anyone has any ideas why it would do that, I'd love to hear it.     It's only an am but still want it to work without setting my toy on fire.

Apart from that I need to replace a few light bulbs and I should be good to go but I'm sure I'm missing a lot of things.

Before you would put this old thing on the road, what would you check or replace?

Thanks for any help!

[rt green]

congrats on the car. you'll have to pull axles to pull the diff center section out. axle seals and i would think about some green bearings to make things simple

[RallyeMike]

Congrats!

1. In general look at all lubrication: Trans and diff too. Change it if it looks worn and dirty. You have no idea how long it's been in there. Fluids are the lifeblood.
2. Same thing for radiator. Flush it out and put new anti-freeze in it. Old anti-freeze = loss of protection against corrosion.
3. Oil weight depends on your location and use. I typicall like 10-40W for non-race cars. Don't assume sythetic is best. If you have a flat tap cam, you need the correct additives becasue oil properties have changed. Research this before you drive the car much.
4. I would also go with a new fuel filter too for the same reason. You dont know know how long it has been there.
5.Check and lube front wheel bearings and rear axles bearings and peak at the brakes while you are there. Any leaky cylynders? Forget green bearings ! They are niether simpler or better. Axle adjustment on the Timkens is not rocket science.
6. Check the brake fluid. If its really dirty, change it.
7. Get on a creeper and check ball joints, tie rods, and steering components as well as U-joints.
8. Chekc all light functions (brake lights and blinkers)

Seems like a lot of stuff, but you will make your car last longer and you'll feel more confident driving it, plus you will have an idea of what you need to do for future maintenance schedule.


Last: I always have to pop out the back seat and look for treasures and change!

[tan top]

    looks good 

[XS29LA47V21]

Last: I always have to pop out the back seat and look for treasures and change!

[/quote]
   I have not done that since the last Charger I bought 

[Rolling_Thunder]

reminds me of my 68 -  white, black top, and green interior with a 318/904              nice car

[Dino]

Thank guys, I'm really happy with the great white.    

Mike thanks for all that info!  I never even though about the radiator!

I will take your advice and check all that can be checked and take my time doing it.  You're absolutely right, I do want a car I can rely on and feel good about, not something that makes me nervous when I get too far from home!

I could drop it off at a garage and have a mechanic do all that stuff but it will take all the fun out of it, I want to do as much as I can myself and learn in the process.  It'll make it much more satisfying in the long run I think.

While I check and replace things I am going to try and clean up the engine bay a little.  I don't know what color the car will end up in so I won't be doing any painting just yet but maybe I can clean the block and make the wires look a bit more decent.  I hate seeing a messy engine bay.  Washer squirter doesn't work so I need to fix that.  Is there a way to clean up the ageing washer bottle to a little less yellow and more white or is this just how it'll remain no matter what?

Pretty soon there will be plenty questions from me in the engine section of the board I think. 

As fasr as the gear swap goes, if I have the gasket and seals I should be good to go.  I have a few jacks and stands but will likely have to get a torque wrench unless I can just do it by feel.  What oil is recommended for these things?  Oh and what grease is best for the bearings?

Come to think of it, is there a place where I can find all the info such as which oils to use, which light bulbs and all that stuff for these cars?  I could probably find a user manual on ebay but not sure if all that info is in there.

Sorry for all the questions but there's a lot of them!

[hemi68charger]

Good for you Dino.................. Enjoy !!!!   

[Troy]

You know, the repro washer bottles come in white or "yellowed" so you can have new stuff that looks old...

All the specs are in the service manual. I got mine from Bishko: http://www.autobooksbishko.com/

Gear oil is 80W90 and comes in a squirt bottle (you need 2 at least). You don't need the one that has friction modifier in it but it won't hurt if it's all you can find. I'm not sure how to grease the bearings once they are installed (definitely won't be easy if unless you remove the axle completely). I couldn't find the Mopar specific grease at any of my local stores and I refuse to purchase anything from a dealer so I just bought the "compatible" version.

Troy

[Dino]

Ah yes I forgot you could buy the 'aged' bottle.  I'd like to get it back to white if I can but if not then so be it.  This car has a lot of potential and has a ton of original parts so I want to keep as much as possible.

These shop manuals are getting pricey!  I wonder if I should just get the cd as it makes it a bit easier to use seeig I can print off what I need and not mess up the book with my greasy fingers.
Does anyone have a copy they don't use anymore before I go buy one?

2 squirt bottles, got it!  I don't think I want to remove the entire axle so I'll see what I can do.  I'm hoping that the gear swap won't be too much of a headache....