'69 charger r/t-se: Building my dream car

[kb67mopar]

I think something with a battered weathered Fratzog slightly on fire but maybe with a set of angry eyes built in...

 

[BigBlock61]

I'm still waiting on Props Rustbelt Restorations sticker to come out.

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Speedy i cant say about stickers, but those shinny new headers sounds like a cool deal! i imagine ancy your getting, but your heading in the right direction to some real time fun, ill bet on that! We all wonder if the time will come where were cruising not building, sometimes detours can be interesting to ive found out, clears my mind lol...

Hey thanks for the encouragement Ron :icon_thumleft: I'm definitely taking the long road but I'm having a pretty good time working on everything, and just keeping the goal in sight and staying the course. I'll get there eventually and it'll be a smokeshow when I do lol

We used to have a big bloodshot eye with EyeBall Engineering around it. Always thought it would make a cool sticker.

haha that's a pretty good one, "Eyeball Engineering and Butt Dyno" ? lol

I think something with a battered weathered Fratzog slightly on fire but maybe with a set of angry eyes built in...

digging the fratzog idea, it'd be a little more unique than all the pentastar type designs out there

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I'm still waiting on Props Rustbelt Restorations sticker to come out.

Lol! Now we're talking, but does my jalopy still apply if it's from the rustbelt but had way less rust than a lot of your guys' resurrections?

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

The $65 junkyard mini-starter has landed! Not the most gorgeous starter out there but it cleaned up pretty nice and seemed like it'll fit just fine when I mocked it up to my spare trans.







So now I get to try and pull my Hedmans out in one piece and Mike should be by on Sunday to help get the Doug's installed if all goes according to plan. Should be a fun weekend

 

[747mopar]

Looks just like my Summit mini starter, what is it off of?

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Man I didn't even think to check Summit, how much was their starter? And mine was supposed to be off of a mid-late 90's 318 or 360 durango but I guess because of interchange the tag on mine was marked '00 Ram, everything fit right on my spare trans so hopefully it all works out haha

 

[747mopar]

Good to know, I can't remember how much it was but it was out of the scratch and dent sale haha what can I say "I'm cheap". I'm pretty sure it was a Summit brand though and looked just like that.

 

[conv67bdere]

So now I get to try and pull my Hedmans out in one piece and Mike should be by on Sunday to help get the Doug's installed if all goes according to plan. Should be a fun weekend

Sure hope you don't get all mixed up and have Doug help you install the Mike's . . . Then it will be a fun weekend . . . ( smile )

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Well great, another delay. Turns out Napa can't get me a new set of Remflex header gaskets til tuesday. But in usual Charger fashion I knew it had to throw me some kind of curveball haha. Ah well

 

[Ron 73]

Sounds like my luck with Auto zoned out Speed! Ah, You'll get it, its the weekend man, lay back and enjoy!!!

[video=youtube;oUuSvJhZXfQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUuSvJhZXfQ[/video]

 

[kb67mopar]

Just a quick note about the starters...pretty much all small block starters are the same. The 3.9, 318, and 360 starters are all mini starters and will all bolt in the same place. I put a 3.9 v6 1997 starter up to my 5.7 hemi and it fit and started the engine fine...traded that to Kahn. I already had a new starter from a 04 Ram application. So just about every junkyard starter from 1993-2003 should work. Some differences in locations of the solenoid and electrical connections. Also one bolt difference between the 97 and 04...i think the top bolt on one was a through bolt with a nut while the other was threaded...both bolted up just fine.

 

[747mopar]

Just a quick note about the starters...pretty much all small block starters are the same. The 3.9, 318, and 360 starters are all mini starters and will all bolt in the same place. I put a 3.9 v6 1997 starter up to my 5.7 hemi and it fit and started the engine fine...traded that to Kahn. I already had a new starter from a 04 Ram application. So just about every junkyard starter from 1993-2003 should work. Some differences in locations of the solenoid and electrical connections. Also one bolt difference between the 97 and 04...i think the top bolt on one was a through bolt with a nut while the other was threaded...both bolted up just fine.

Thanks for the info.

 

[tallhair]

Just caught up on your thread Speedy.

Good times and I'm looking forward to seeing that boosted Chevelle vid

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Alright guys time for a little update I guess! Finally have everything I need to swap the headers and starter on the Charger, just need another pair of hands to be present before I go crawling around under a jacked up engine lol. Two primaries were clearanced for the steering box already (which I probably would've had to do anyway) but otherwise they're pretty nice headers! Excited to get them in this week



Been keeping busy on the Chevelle front, too, starting with the trademark butt-ugly chebby firewall haha. Removed all components and wiring, and scraped the gooped-on sealer out of the seam that runs straight through the middle of the firewall. Even though this is a full-frame car and this spot probably sees little to no flex, I decided to reinforce it with sections of about 4 inches of weld spaced every 6 or so inches where I plan on skimming with filler (All-metal will go in the slightly deeper parts of the seam first). Also welded up all the random unnecessary holes





And ground the welds down


Also took the time to disassemble my uca's/spindles/brakes and give everything a good dose of brake cleaner ahead of some paint. Going to shoot the control arms with jet black chassis saver, spindles probably cast iron like I did with the Charger, and I'm thinking red calipers (rest of the car will be flat black with black Bassett nascar wheels, it's got 4-wheel-disc so I thought some red calipers peeking through might fit pretty well :shruggy: )





And maybe you guys remember the rollbar I bought a while back that had been pulled from a '69 Roadrunner? Well I decided against using it on the Charger because I wanted to have a little closer fit to the body, so it's been gathering dust against the wall for a couple months. The lightbulb went off and I tried out a test fit on the Chevelle. The bar fits perfect with a 3" gap to the door panel on either side that I could live with (since I don't have a back seat anyway), and the sides of the bar somehow ended up perfectly positioned over each frame rail lol. Looks like the body swap will be a little more fun than expected!







And last but not least, here's a little project you guys might like a little more than the chevy talk haha- DIY powdercoating. I got thinking about what I wanted to do about the finish on my ancient $40 double pumper, since I have a rebuild kit and new Quick Fuel metering blocks on the way that might look a little out of place between all the "patina." I was pretty well decided on black (no surprise there) but the powdercoaters I use don't do carbs, supposedly due to the time it takes taping them off. Enter the $65 Harbor Freight powdercoating kit lol



I had a little black and decker toaster oven onhand I figured would be big enough for a carb body, and can heat up to 450 degrees, so "what the hell" right? As a test piece I started with an accelerator pump bracket; gave it a quick sandblasting, 10 minute 400 degree pre-bake (even though there probably wasn't much porosity in this piece), a wipedown with denatured alcohol, and it was ready for powder. Rigged up a little A-frame to hang the bracket from in the oven, clipped the hot lead to the copper wire it was hanging from, and dusted it with a powder until it was covered and opaque-looking. Into the oven at 450 degrees until it glossed/glazed over, then down to 400 degrees for another 15 minutes, and this is the finished product. I'm no Cudachick, but not bad for a $65 kit, not even a dent on my $4 can of powder, and a household toaster oven you can find on craigslist for $20 all day long haha





So now I'll be doing the float bowls, main body, and throttle plate once my hight temp silicone plugs and tape get here. Pretty fun project so far!
ccasion14:

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Thanks for the info.

x2, thanks kb!

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Just caught up on your thread Speedy.

Good times and I'm looking forward to seeing that boosted Chevelle vid

Hey thanks, good to see ya back around compadre! Was wondering where you've been, hope you've been living up the summer on a warm sandy beach somewhere haha
ccasion14:

 

[conv67bdere]

Hey Speedy . . . that looks great ! ! ! Nice progress on the cars too . . . nice to get an objective review on any H-F tools . . . and the outcome looks pretty darn good too ! ! !

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Hey Speedy . . . that looks great ! ! ! Nice progress on the cars too . . . nice to get an objective review on any H-F tools . . . and the outcome looks pretty darn good too ! ! !

Thanks Kahn! And yeah I usually have low expectations from some HF products but in this case I was pretty excited to be proven wrong haha the finish is awesome and I've dropped it a couple times/ tried to scratch it and it never chipped. Makes me want a full size kitchen oven to coat some bigger parts haha

 

[747mopar]

Nice headers.........................Sure would be nice to see ya put them on the CHARGER soon. You know I'm going to keep busting your balls until you get back on the Charger don't ya???? LOL

 

[CHARGERSTEVEN]

N WE ALL SHOULD THIS YOUNGER GENERATION HE MUST BE IN LOVE:love4:

 

[kb67mopar]

Thanks Kahn! And yeah I usually have low expectations from some HF products but in this case I was pretty excited to be proven wrong haha the finish is awesome and I've dropped it a couple times/ tried to scratch it and it never chipped. Makes me want a full size kitchen oven to coat some bigger parts haha

Every now and then they have a diamond in the rough. My engine crane came from there, my engine stand, my sand blaster....all of those have worked exactly up to expectations if not exceeding. I generally refrain from buying electronics from there...some chicago pneumatic stuff which has been just fine.

 

[Ron 73]

I have a lot of reservations with HF myself but i to have found exceptions that im glad i have! Im glad you brought it up, I like the powder coating idea, one to think over for small stuff anyway! You have a way in making things look great in whatever way you do them.... Curious....