71 Charger Superbee Tribute/Restomod Build

[70chall440]

As I am disassembling these steering columns I think I have enough to build what I am after so I don't have to spend $1100 on an Ididit (would not consider a Flaming River)

 

[70chall440]

So here are 3 columns disassembled, 71 Charger floor shift, 71 Charger AT tilt and a 70 something C body Tilt with AT and cruise. Out of this will come a floor shift tilt column for my car

 

[70chall440]

I have been working on the column as well as mocking up the Vintage air.

Here is the shift housing where I closed off the hole that was left. I am using a product from Muggy Weld designed for pot metal, it works very well and allows you to fill pot metal with a propane torch.

 

[70chall440]

Assembling the column (I have to wait for a new bolt return spring which was broken).

 

[70chall440]

Also mocked up the Vintage Air. I bought the 71 E body lines but I am not really liking their placement, I am going to look at options here.

 

[70chall440]

After looking at this AC system I think I am going to run the lines under the fender. It will take a bit more work but I think it will be cleaner in the end (actually my Buddy @Crash520 prodded me into it).

 

[furious70]

Fwiw my brother's 70 charger has the AC lines in the fender to clean it up

 

[70chall440]

Thanks, I have decided that this is the way I am going.

FWIW the vintage air kit for the G2 Charger routes the lines under the fender.

 

[70chall440]

I had to close up the cowl vent on the passenger side so I flipped the car over on the rotisserie and gained access. I made a plate out of some 18g galvanized sheet metal and then sealed it up with some closed cell foam. The screws are #10 stainless. I did have to fix that one corner so I cut it out and welded in some 18g sheet metal, coated both sides for good measure.

 

[ckessel]

It's nice having metal forming machines handy. Used my shrinker/stretcher last week. Soon will use it again plus the bead roller and English wheel. Need to make pieces for the passenger compartment floor. Good place to get reacquainted with them. Its been 6+ years since I used them.

 

[70chall440]

Yeah I do love having tools/machines. I use my bead roller a fair bit but not really the plenishing hammer or English wheel all that much. I do use my sheet metal brakes quite a bit for making brackets and such. Using those machines is an art form/skill unto themselves and I really respect those who really know how to make intricate panels using them.

It is definitely nice to have all of the tools you need.

 

[70chall440]

I've been working on the sliders, I thought long and hard about them and how best to install them. Basically it came down to 3 options,

1. Weld them in
2. Bolt them in
3. Make an adapter, weld it in and bolt the sliders to that

I went with option 3.... I used 3/8 plate for the adapters. Turns out the holes in the sliders are not uniform side to side, each as a long side and a short side (long is .929 from center and the short is .785) not that I think it makes a lot of difference as the distances are small.

 

[70chall440]

I am making some progress

 

[70chall440]

So I got the leafs in and the rearend housing. I bought some Assassin traction bars bc I like the way they look (yes its vanity) and figured they couldn't hurt. Well despite their website saying that they function on multi leaf systems, they fail to mention that the front pivot device has to be mounted on a single leaf.

Unfortunately I modified my leaf springs attempting to emulate the XD or Hotchkiss springs and 2 leaf's run almost to the eyelet so the Assassin bars will not fit without adapting them and after looking at what I have going on, I will just use them on my 70 Roadrunner or maybe my 68 Cuda.

 

[70chall440]

So I moved on to the Hellwig sway bar. It is good quality and way bigger than the stock one. According to the instructions you can mount the bar forward or rearward (meaning the arms) and I think they are better in the forward position but haven't committed just yet.

 

[ckessel]

I mounted my Hellwig unit facing forward too. Used a couple of universal shock studs with one part cut off and then welded to a piece of 1/4" material.

 

[70chall440]

I mounted my Hellwig unit facing forward too. Used a couple of universal shock studs with one part cut off and then welded to a piece of 1/4" material.

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Awesome information, I truly appreciate it.

 

[70chall440]

If I may ask what tilt columns are you attempting to fit??

@JG71B since you asked about the tilt column way back when I thought I would provide some details about where I ended up and how I got there.

As I stated here, I started off with a 71 B body tilt column that was pretty beat and a 70 something C body tilt column that was really nice. Each had its pros and cons and since I am running a Borgeson box I didn't car about the stock connection to the box.

The 71 B body column would be a bolt in however as most know these were all AT on the column, additionally they have the gear indication on the column so trying to make one of these slick for a floor shifted car could be a bit of a challenge. Also the column I have was missing some parts/pieces as someone had been inside of it getting rid of the locking component and in the process had forgot a few screws/parts.

The C body column was VERY nice and in good order. The advantage of the C body column is that the gear indicator is not on the column but in the dash so this isn't something you have to deal with. The main problem with the C body column is the way it mounts in the car, specifically under the dash. The A/B/E body columns have a mounting/support plate under the column whereas the C body columns are on top of the column.

Now you could probably relocate the mounting points and get any B body column mounting/support plate and get it to work but you would need to completely disassemble it, cut out the mounting plates (or just make/install some new ones in the right location).

In the end I used the B body main tube, shaft and mounting plate and the C body housings and internals. I replaced the ignition tumbler and switch with a new one and am still using the factory turn signal switch as it appears to be in good condition.

The C body column had cruise which I am not using and both columns use a Delco Remy ignition switch that mounts to the side of the main tube albeit in different positions. For those who are not aware, I believe that GM built all Mopar tilt columns starting in 1970 and I can attest that both tilt columns I have are definitely GM design/origin. I am not positive but I suspect that you could get a GM tilt column from say a 70's Caprice and it would be the same except for the ignition tumbler.

 

[70chall440]

So I have run into an obstacle where in I do not have the correct dash to firewall/cowl mounting bracket, so I am going to be sourcing one of those before I can proceed.

I did manage to get my sway bar sorted out and my 3rd member installed so I have that going for me... LOL I did make up a gear ratio tag just for fun.

 

[ckessel]

On mine, once I had the mounting figured out with the angle of the dangle etc, I welded the bar mount brackets to the diff.