1971 Charger - My First Project Car!

[Ex_Birdgunner]

Yee Haw! I finally got my first project car and it's a '71 Charger!

Car came with a non-running 318, Auto transmission column shift with bench seat.

I picked it up on Wednesday and can't wait to get into it. The car looks pretty complete minus the Radiator and ignition keys so those are the top priority to replace. I just ordered replacement lock cylinders for the ignition, doors, and trunk that all use just one key. Now to locate a cheap radiator!

My plan is to get it running and driving then start restoring it bit by bit with the end-state goal of turning it into either a Super Bee clone or an R/T-SE clone, HEMI Orange with full Black Vinyl top.

I'm only considering the Super Bee clone because the car has several hornets nests throughout. I'll add pics of those later.

Meanwhile, here's some pics from the Craigslist ad and when I picked it up.

I'll be posting as often as I can during the process to keep you all up to date.

Thanks,

Denis

 

[Ron 73]

You have a start to a great car there, that was one on my list to get and who knows, may be able to some day, i love the side view of these cars, sleek as they come in the newer generation Chargers!!! Good luck and have fun, keep us posted....

 

[belvedere 67]

Car looks bad ***...good luck with it.

 

[charger360]

nice looking car. great platform to start with!

 

[747mopar]

Very nice looking score!

 

[BigBlock61]

Great looking project, I've always loved that body style.

 

[Ex_Birdgunner]

Thanks everyone! I like this body style too. To me the car looks fast just sitting there.

I will have the upcoming week off so I'm excited to start working on it.

Denis

 

[tqfastfish]

great looking car, always loved the body style, good luck!

 

[roadrunnerman]

Good car. that has a lot of potential to make it whatever you want to make it.

 

[Ex_Birdgunner]

Small update. I got the ignition and trunk lock cylinders changed out. Now I am just waiting parts to start working on the engine and hopefully get it running.

In the meantime I got a line on a Big Block K-Member with Disc Brakes from a late 70s Imperial for $75. The seller comfirmed that the K-Member won't work but the brakes should. Can anyone comfirm for me that I can in fact use these brakes?

Here are some pics of the lock set and steering column as I did the change out. I also took the oportunity to photograph the odometer. It reads 09632 miles so I guess the car can have either 109632 or 209632 or even 309632 miles. The plate on the front was tabbed in 90s.

 

[1971 plymouth roadrunner]

First thing I would do is replace the dash with a rally cluster

 

[kiwigtx]

That is a great looking first time project car. Appears to be a solid car with no major work needed. Good luck with the restoration. :headbang:

 

[mopar12372]

if the car has a v8 k member you dont need a k member . brakes should work .

 

[Ex_Birdgunner]

First thing I would do is replace the dash with a rally cluster

That is in my plans! Right now my cash is going towards getting the car running and driving. Once that is achieved I plan to start upgrading.

That is a great looking first time project car. Appears to be a solid car with no major work needed. Good luck with the restoration. :headbang:

Thanks!

if the car has a v8 k member you dont need a k member . brakes should work .

That's what I figured. But after posting my question I priced out the cost of the used brakes and what it will cost to get rotors, pads etc. The price worked out to be close to getting an actual conversion kit so I will wait and concentrate on other things for now.

Cheers,

Denis

 

[Ex_Birdgunner]

Quick question. Since I plan to one day upgrade to a 440 should I get a 26" Radiator or will the 22" rad that is supposed to go in the car be good enough? If I should go with the 26" rad is there brackets or something that will help make it fit?

Thanks

Denis

 

[Ex_Birdgunner]

Quick Update!

So I bought a new fuel filter and bypassed the gas tank by running 6 feet of fuel line hose to a gas can and tried starting the car. It ran on its own for about 3 seconds! Won't stay running though and backfired once and smoke came out of the top of the carburator.

Could this be a timing issue or something with the carburator itself?

I'm almost there. Hopefully I can get it running good soon.

Merry Christmas,

Denis

 

[RJS]

Do you have the can high enough for a good gravity feed?
Ron

 

[Ex_Birdgunner]

Do you have the can high enough for a good gravity feed?
Ron

No I had it on the floor. I'll try putting it on a table beside the fender.

Denis

 

[Ex_Birdgunner]

OK, I tried again with the gas can on a table and it worked better. The engine ran a couple of seconds longer but as I was getting out of the car the idle slowed down and died with a loud backfire from the exhaust. I also noticed some fuel on the intake manifold at the bottom of the carburetor on both sides. Should I go ahead and rebuild it using this? http://www.autozone.com/fuel-delive...rger/1971/8-cylinders-g-5-2l-2bl/3543_0_1879/

Will that help the problem?

The only other thing I can think of is timming.

Thanks,
Denis

 

[Ron 73]

Not to be a emergency care type of guy but you are playing with some dangerous details with this, a right back fire and enough of gas floating around in the air you may be looking for another Mopar, or home... I seriously would wait until you get things hooked up right and it would help figure out your problem at the same time..