Hawk-Rod: The Restoration

[eldubb440]

looking good Hawk.......... im gonna bring you your air grabber door and battery tray maybe next weekend....... i got a lot going on, but will try to make time to pop in on you

 

[MoparMitch]

Simply Awesome Hawk !!!

 

[HawkRod]

So I got a proper, factory brake booster. Now it all fits like it should! Work this weekend has been slow going due to the cold (13F this AM), but little by little, and with lots of hot beverages, I'm getting it done.

The master cylinder brake lines needed some significant adjustment, but the brake system is in now. Except for bleeding the master cylinder and brakes later, it is all done! None of the brake lines touch or rub where they shouldn't, so I think we will be in good shape here.

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I also got the gaskets for the hood mounted turn signals, so I mounted that unit on the car. To the best of my knowledge, my car did not come with hood mounted turn signals, but I really like them so they were added to the build!
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So to add to the brake line work I did earlier today, I also finished routing and mocking up my A/C lines. Everything is now figured out, except I have to "mock install" the K-member/engine one more time so I can mark and cut a couple of the A/C hoses to the exact length they need to be. I am happy that I managed to get the dryer mounted in front of the radiator, so you won't see it in the engine compartment.

Here is a picture looking in from the front of the car - sorry, a bit fuzzy, but here you can see several of the lines. Yes, it is a bit busy, but it all fits neatly and will be hidden from view once the lower and upper grill get mounted. The only bad part is that the one port on the suction hose (with the red cap) will be a bit hard to get to. Hopefully it will still be able to be used OK.


Here is a shot of the same area from lower down. The liquid hose that runs from the dryer (exiting on right) to the firewall goes through the radiator support as shown here. This is a hole that I had to enlarge to make this work. The hose exiting the condenser on the bottom goes to the inlet of the dryer.


In this shot you can see where the hose from the A/C compressor comes through the lower radiator support. This suction hose is the one with the red cap in the first picture. This routes through an existing hole in the radiator support, although I had to enlarge it a bit.


Here are the two lines that run from the fire wall for the A/C. The smaller liquid hose runs through the upper hole in the radiator support. The big suction hose goes to the low mounted A/C compressor. Besides these two hoses and the compressor, there is nothing else A/C related in the engine compartment. This is about as hidden as I can make this A/C system!


Here are the hoses in the engine compartment from the side. You can see where they pass through the engine compartment. The two hoses the cross in this picture both get routed to the A/C compressor. These are the ones I need to cut to exact length to fit them properly - to do this, I need to "mock install" the engine one last time...


Now I just need to touch up paint the holes so they don't rust. I am now REALLY CLOSE to being able to install both the K-member assembly as well as the dash. Progress!!!!:toothy10:

 

[monroegtx]

Looking very tidy and neat Hawk. Good work.

 

[Propwash]

Freaking awesome! Thanks for posting. Looks real nice and cleanly done. I would love to do that upgrade someday.

 

[snakeyes]

looking very nice you have been busy since my last visit to the site .

 

[CoronetDarter]

Gorgeous. And the new brake booster was definitely the way to go.

 

[HawkRod]

A/C Lines Mocked up

OK, I "mock installed" the engine (hopefully) for the last time. The A/C lines were cut to size, and I verified the O2 sensor wiring and length.

Here is a shot of the lines from the front - I removed the alternator to make it easier to see and work with the lines.


Here are the lines from the side. The hose that goes from the compressor through the lower hole in the radiator support will be fastened up to the top of the frame rail. This gives it a "comfortable" bend. I believe all lines have enough slop to allow for engine movement too.


...And, we always need to add a little "bling" to keep dressing up the car too! :clap:


Now I can have the A/C hoses crimped by an A/C place (I don't have the tool), and then we are pretty much ready to install the engine. Sweet!

 

[Brandy]

Wow! Looking very nice and a ton of progress. I wonder though if it's possible to run the a/c hoses through the inner fender wall back by the firewall and along the top of the wheel well underneath and back in through the inner fender in front of the radiator support? Put rubber grommets in the holes. Even add a channel under there to run them in so stones etc don't damage them? I like what you have done and it looks sweet! Just thinking for mine in the future.

 

[HawkRod]

Wow! Looking very nice and a ton of progress. I wonder though if it's possible to run the a/c hoses through the inner fender wall back by the firewall and along the top of the wheel well underneath and back in through the inner fender in front of the radiator support? Put rubber grommets in the holes. Even add a channel under there to run them in so stones etc don't damage them? I like what you have done and it looks sweet! Just thinking for mine in the future.

Yes, it is possible to run the lines like you stated. The ultimate way to hide the A/C would be with a custom heater box that had the A/C connections exit in the inner fender area rather than exiting in the engine compartment. The problem is that even if you do that, you still have two A/C lines need to go to the compressor which is in the engine compartment. There is no way around that. The small liquid line COULD have been run outside the inner fender, but then I would have to cut a hole in the inner fender and I felt that wasn't worth it for only one line. In the end, I decided to run them like in the pictures above since those lines, at least at a glance, look like the normal heater hoses.

Thanks for the tips regarding the hoses. Yes, I will put rubber grommets in the metal holes to protect the lines - that is in the plan! I had not thought about adding a channel. Both hoses are probably high enough to avoid too much road debris, and the rubber is tough as hell! Having said that, maybe a channel (if it were painted green) could further hide the hose. Hmmm, you got me thinking. I'll get it all together and then see how it looks and decide from there. Thanks for the thoughts!

 

[Ron 73]

Envy bug biting hard man, that is some neatly done work and looks great!!!
She sure looks different then when you got her, I bet you are in a hurry for summer and at the same time enjoying getting ready, I sure know i would!!!

 

[HawkRod]

Envy bug biting hard man, that is some neatly done work and looks great!!!
She sure looks different then when you got her, I bet you are in a hurry for summer and at the same time enjoying getting ready, I sure know i would!!!

Thanks! She DOES look a lot different than when I got her, and yours will be there too. But we both have the same requirement to get the cars done: One step at a time - I'm just a couple of steps ahead of you!

Hawk

 

[NZ 70 RR]

Sure is looking great there Hawk.

 

[Ron 73]

Thanks! She DOES look a lot different than when I got her, and yours will be there too. But we both have the same requirement to get the cars done: One step at a time - I'm just a couple of steps ahead of you!

Hawk

Cough, cough, A couple steps ahead! oh my, oh myyyy lol, Thanks Hawk, inspiration, we all need it and heck your right you are only a couple steps ahead, of course some can take BIG steps...

 

[HawkRod]

Wiper Motor!!!

This isn't the greatest picture - for some reason it came out a bit blurry (LOL, probably because I was shivering my a$$ off outside ;-)

The wiper motor is in!!! It looks great - Thanks again Kim from Passion4Mopars!

Hopefully by the end of the weekend I can have the dash installed!

 

[Rodney]

The brake booster looks good.
where did you get it?
how much $$?
I am considering doing power on my 70 4 dr sedan
were you able to return the wrong one?

 

[HawkRod]

The brake booster looks good.
where did you get it?
how much $$?
I am considering doing power on my 70 4 dr sedan
were you able to return the wrong one?

I found it on-line from a company called Mopar Parts US. It cost $325. I wasn't real happy with Mopar Parts US because the box was poorly packed and protected. The shipping company indicated that they had received it damaged, and it looked like it had been used as a bowling ball at some point. Overall, the booster was OK, but there were a couple of small chips from the shipping. Per se, abuse during shipping is not their fault, but poorly packaging/protecting the booster is. The second reason I am annoyed with them is I wrote them an email explaining my concerns. I didn't hear a word back.

As far as my other booster: No, I am not able to return that. I bought it as part of a large kit to convert from drum brakes to power brakes. Overall, the kit has been fine, but I just didn't like the brake booster styling. It will work fine, so I will sell it to someone who may want it but isn't concerned with having an original style unit.

 

[747mopar]

Looking SEXY Hsorman! Man your doing one hell of a job, keep up the good work.

 

[tallhair]

Everything is just fantastic Hawk .. I am always prepared to wipe off the drool every time I check in to see your progress.

If it's possible I'm more and more impressed with each visit ! You are doing a top notch job with a car / color I love anyway

 

[HawkRod]

Everything is just fantastic Hawk .. I am always prepared to wipe off the drool every time I check in to see your progress.

If it's possible I'm more and more impressed with each visit ! You are doing a top notch job with a car / color I love anyway

Wow, thanks! Don't worry, the car has some crusty parts too, but hopefully it should be able to sit in a car show and not be too out of place.

You may get a chance to see the car in person. At the moment our cross country drive plans have us going through St. Louis, so if you are around early/mid September maybe I can buy you a beer and drool on yours too!

Hawk