68 Charger R/T Clone refurb

[funknut]

Here is a pic of the window whiskers, old vs. new. The 2nd clip is forward about 1/4" vs. the original. In the pic the top clips are lined up, it just looks a bit funny because of the angle of the camera. I've decided to just open the hole a little with the die grinder.

 

[Brian Mc]

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/...o8aBefC2G0evVXeWI51GxB28Yt5QYqn2GfZQ&usqp=CAc

I have had great luck with Raptor liner. In pickup beds and Jeep tubs.

 

[funknut]

Finished the sound deadening in the main cabin except for the firewall. I need to locate the heater unit mounting points before I load it up with Dynamat. Same for the MSD box, which I plan to mount behind or below the glove box, depending on room. I’m working towards a test fit of the dash to see where everything will end up going. Hopefully I can get the dash in there in the next couple days.

In order to get the dash in and do the final fit up of the heater, I installed the wiper linkage and while I was there I installed the throttle pedal bracket.

Driver’s side quarter window regulator is in. That one fought me way more than the passenger side, but it’s in and seems to be operating pretty smoothly. I’m short one small bolt on the driver’s side, I need to check my surplus bucket to see if I have a spare. I still need to install the glass but the tricky part’s over.

I greased up the driver and passenger window regulators and that seemed to help a small bit. I’m sure I’m way overdue for new window track guides, but that will have to wait.

When I bought the seats from a 2012 Mustang the guy really wanted to unload a bunch of stuff, so for a few bucks more he threw in the rear seats, which I don’t need, and the rear seat belt tensioners and anchors. I forgot about all that until I saw another build thread (thanks @Jarven1977!) use repurposed Mercedes c-class shoulder belts in the back. I started test fitting one of the tensioners and it should be pretty straightforward to mount in the package tray. I wasn’t able to get any good pics yet, but will later this week for sure.

Lastly, the bedliner kit arrived, and to my surprise it included a schutz gun to apply it with. I was planning to roll it on since I don’t have a lift and you can’t really paint upside down with a siphon gun, but now I’m wondering if I can get the car outside on the driveway and lift the front end with the hoist as I did to remove the k-member, maybe I can angle it up enough to be able to spray it. I don’t need to do the entire underside, I was planning to coat it from the firewall pinch seam to about where the driveshaft meets the rear end. Might work, I may roll it out of the garage tomorrow and give it a try.

 

[funknut]

Installed the dash! It will probably have to come out again, but I think I've found a spot for the heater centered over the trans tunnel, which leaves plenty of space for the MSD box to mount either on the firewall or underside of the cowl.

 

[funknut]

The rear package tray is looking a little worse for the wear, so I looked at replacements, and the cost of shipping makes them a bit unreasonable. Instead, I picked up a 1/8" sheet of hardboard for $8 and set to making my own. I should be able to reclaim the vinyl accent pieces and reuse those.

I will install speakers in the rear package tray, and want to have some reliefs cut out to allow the sound through. My daughter and I kicked around some ideas and came up with using the fratzog symbol in a repeating pattern. She sketched it up the pattern on the iPad. It may need some tweaking as it may be too delicate. Not sure, or may have to back it with some mesh.

We'll decide on what size we want to use, print out a stencil, lay it over the speaker openings and probably manually cut them out. There's a makerspace nearby that has a laser cutter, but that may be a bit more overhead than we need.

Probably a lot of work for something that few people will see or even notice, but it will be a fun project.

 

[daytona kid]

You may already have done this but I've heard that you should sand the spots to bare metal where the dash mounts on the sides to help with grounding it for the electrics. I did on mine, all works well.

 

[hunt2elk]

You may already have done this but I've heard that you should sand the spots to bare metal where the dash mounts on the sides to help with grounding it for the electrics. I did on mine, all works well.

I've also been running an additional #10 wire from the battery to the dash frame just for extra insurance. Good grounds seem to be a common problem on these cars as time takes its toll on them.

 

[funknut]

Great suggestion! With all the electrical gremlins I’ve dealt with that sounds like a really smart idea.

 

[funknut]

Weather has been pretty crummy, so I've been avoiding the garage. Weather should clear up tomorrow enough to get the underside painted. That would be a big milestone and is really one of the last big hurdles to finally getting it assembled.

I did have a chance to mount the pass fender (picked up a couple dings for my effort, too ) and finalized the location of the heater box. It wasn't super easy to mount the heater over the trans tunnel and get it to clear the wiper linkage, but with some 3/4" spacers I can get enough clearance. Ordered a bunch of hose bends and fittings to mount the heater control valve under the dash and tidy up the install.

I did some tests cutting out the hardboard for the package tray using a Dremel and some hand tools and wasn't able to get a decent result, so I changed directions a bit and will see about 3D printing some covers. Here's my first attempt. It's in the ballpark but the modeling tool only seems to do low-poly ovals. I'll find a better tool and make a smoother version.

 

[funknut]

Well, it was one of those days where not much seemed to go right... I pulled the car out of the garage to apply the bedliner, up on cribs in the driveway, scuff and degrease, getting all set up to do the undercoat. Mixed up the stuff and it seemed like I was going to be in for a long day. Way too thin to be able to apply to the underside of the car without it running all over. I gave it a shot and was able to brush it into some of the crevices easy enough, but it was streaking badly and no way 2 coats would provide full coverage. I fought with that for another 30 mins before it was beyond clear I was not going to be able to accomplish my goal.

So, tossed that in the bin and found 2.5 rattle cans of Summit Racing Chassis Enamel and got back to work. I was able to cover everything that needed to be covered (bare welds, e-coat panels, etc.) in 2 substantial coats. It's not what I envisioned, but it'll be plenty good to get me down the road for a few years, plus it's easy to touch up if I get any dings or rock chips.

I did have some success bonding the mounting studs for the heater unit and MSD box. I cut out cardboard templates with the mounting locations cut out, pushed the studs through those, applied the panel bond, set them in place and taped them to hold them steady. Hopefully no surprises when I remove the tape tomorrow!

 

[nchrome]

l'm confused her funknut are you gluing those to the firewall? If so what ya going to do when while your going down the road and your heater falls to the floor on your passenger feet. Sorry l would just drill the holes and have it mounted to the firewall. As farr as your undercoating l found some over at menards and it is working great for meonly 3.99 a can and it covers really good and is rubberized. Now the pictures posted here shows where l used it on some seams under the car l did how ever covered the whole underside of the car plus the inner fender panels

 

[1 Wild R/T]

l'm confused her funknut are you gluing those to the firewall? If so what ya going to do when while your going down the road and your heater falls to the floor on your passenger feet. Sorry l would just drill the holes and have it mounted to the firewall. As farr as your undercoating l found some over at menards and it is working great for meonly 3.99 a can and it covers really good and is rubberized. Now the pictures posted here shows where l used it on some seams under the car l did how ever covered the whole underside of the car plus the inner fender panelsView attachment 950785 View attachment 950786 View attachment 950784

Panel bonding adhesive is used to glue roofs & quarter panels on modern cars, I don't see a problem...

 

[funknut]

Thanks guys. I used 3M panel bonding adhesive which is good for over 3500 psi and the studs I used for the heater have over a 1 sqin base so I shouldn’t have a problem as long as my prep was good enough.

I did it more as an experiment to see if it would work. I’m not sure why I fussed so much about a few holes in the firewall, and in the end it wasn’t terribly cheap either, but it was a learning experience.

here’s a pic of the heater and MSD box mocked into place while I’m trying to figure out plumbing and wiring.

if the heater falls off at least I’ll know exactly where to put the bolt holes!

The rubberized undercoating sounds interesting I will give it a look.

 

[funknut]

I've been working on some fiddly details in the last few days. Got the heat barrier insulation installed and put in the carpet. The carpet is really nice quality, I got the mass backed ACC version and it looks and feels great. Plenty of extra, and it will go up the firewall quite a ways. Plumbed in the heater control valve, just waiting on a longer aluminum line to finish up the other heater port.

Also installed and adjusted the rear window glass. Regulators were already in, so it should have been a straightforward operation. I broke 2 of the bolts taking it apart as they were frozen in the frames, and the replacement bolts I bought (can't remember from where) were quite a bit shorter and wouldn't grab in the frame. Used a mix of old and salvaged bolts to make it work. I did put some neoprene fender washers on the front and back sides of the glass so hopefully they will help with any vibration.

The American Autowire harness has a connector for the console which supplies constant power, switched 12v and ground that I will wire to the MSD box, then I only need to feed 3 wires in to the engine bay for the coil and distributor signal.

Next step is to start cutting the carpet to fit! I feel like I have a lot of interdependent pieces here that I have to juggle. I have to locate, drill holes for, and install the gas pedal, install the dash to mount the steering column so I can trim the carpet correctly so I can start the wiring!

I've been avoiding cutting the carpet as I know it's a one-shot deal, but I think it's time.

 

[Pistol Pete]

Looking good funk !

Pro tip - use a soldering iron to make the holes in the carpet for the seat studs.

 

[funknut]

Not a ton of progress lately, but did get the carpet installed and trimmed to fit, mounted the MSD box and heater for hopefully the last time. I ended up buying one of the VintageAir u-bend tubes, they are thin-wall aluminum. It was pretty easy to work with, and I was able to shape it to fit by hand. Both hoses will go through the stock 'pig nose' location. It looks a little cock-eyed now but I will get some p-clamps on there and straighten it out some.

The dash is in again and I'm starting to route the wiring to the rear of the car. The American Autowire kit continues to impress me. The connectors are really robust and modular so that if a lamp socket breaks it's just a matter of getting a replacement socket/pigtail.

Jobs for this week are to finish the rear body harness, drill the firewall for the bulkhead connector (which I'm really procrastinating) and finally split the engine and trans to get the trans off to the shop for a hopefully quick once-over.

 

[funknut]

Finished wiring the rear lights and speakers, installed the headlight dimmer switch and reinstalled the steering column.

The steering column will have to come out again to fit the Borgeson steering u-joint.

I also got the last couple torque converter bolts removed so I can finally split the engine and trans and get the trans off for a refresh.

Jobs for this week are to get the new fuel line in and brake lines and booster/MC.

Hard to believe, but I’m really not that far from putting the engine back in the car!

 

[funknut]

Trans is ready to go to the shop Monday along with the new cast trans pan and torque converter.

While removing it I found one of the cooler lines was smashed up against the shift cable putting lateral pressure on the line and fitting. Wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if that’s where the leak was coming from.

Not much else in the way of progress the last week. The weather has been great, so a lot of outdoor time with the family has taken priority.

 

[funknut]

Trans shop called and said the 727 was pretty well beat. The place mostly does late-model work but there's one guy that's got a dedicated following of vintage car owners and does a fair few older transmissions. He suggested a mostly stock build, but could go a bit more wild if I wanted. I'll talk to him next week and we'll finalize the plan.

Trans should be done in a week or two.

I spent today installing the fuel line. I ordered nickel-copper 3/8 tube from inline tube. It's quality stuff and very easy to work with. I ran it along the inside of the frame rail and frame connector. I started out installing with rivet nuts and p-clips, but my chinesium rivet nut tool broke the mandrel in half on the 4th rivet nut. Finished up just drilling holes in the frame connector and using the original spring clips. Most of a day wasted because of cheap tools. I should have known better, but it was hard to justify $200 for a pro-quality unit.

 

[funknut]

My replacement mandrel for the rivet nut tool should arrive today so I can get some other items in the engine bay addressed.
Last night I started installing the rear disc brakes. The right side fought me a bit, but after some fiddling I was able to get everything installed except the lines. I need to decide if I’m going to run new hard lines directly to the caliper or use a flex hose on the end of the current line.