Lookie what $5000 buys you....

[Hosehead]

I bent an axle seal while installing it. Left side is in though. Not able to finish yet.

View attachment 935316 View attachment 935317
The 3rd member is a '741 unit but I'm okay with that. All the 8 3/4" 3rd members are plenty durable.

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It is a clutch type Sure Grip 3.23 gear.

View attachment 935321

The car will likely get the original 383 back in along with an automatic. I'll have to tear down the 383 to see if it needs a full rebuild or if I can get by with a dingle ball hone and new rings. It is so tempting to go full bore and order a 4.25 stroker kit but I am trying to keep this car a lower cost, reliable and fun project. It is not intended to be a supercar by any means, just a fun cruiser that handles and stops well and can peel out when I want.

I just caught up on this thread. You're a madman!! Looking good Kern!

 

[Kern Dog]

Next weekend was supposed to be Spring Fling in Southern CA. (Thanks, China.)
I really look forward to the show every year. I had a "wish list" of parts to buy for this car. Swap meets are a lot of fun for me.

 

[Kern Dog]

Rear brakes are in. They are a simple and effective set of 10" drums from a 1986 Chrysler Fifth Avenue.

1WildR/T was right....The mount that I thought might have been for a left exhaust pipe was actually a retainer boss for the RH parking brake cable:

 

[Kern Dog]

I was tempted to cut out these dang wheelhouse bulges and patch in rounded sections to avoid tire clearance problems like I have had in my red car....

What better time than when the car has crappy paint? The welding I'll be doing can't damage the paint if the paint already sucks!
The same bulges in my red car:

I have thought of using a panel bonding adhesive on the red car to avoid the risk of damaging the paint. Maybe after practicing on Jigsaw, I might find that I can do it without any damage. Currently, I get tire rub with a full tank of gas and a passenger of average weight.

 

[Kern Dog]

I installed a disc/drum proportioning valve from a 1973-76 A body car.

Somehow in a moment of incredible foresight, I saved the firewall mounted front brake line from a '68 Satellite that I parted out in 2013. This Charger had no front brake lines, no wiring, no anything on the firewall.
The front to rear hard line ended about a foot from the proportioning valve so I made a short section to bridge the gap.

 

[Kern Dog]

My plans for the car are not set in stone. I'm not a purist and I'm not a Dave Kindig/Chip Foose type either. My red car is a fun Resto-mod sort of car that would never be competitive at a big car show. I'm fine with that since it performs far better than a stock R/T would anyway. I clearly remember though the fun I had in it before I took it down for body and paint. The freedom of not caring about scratching the paint is very liberating.
I am very tempted to get "Jigsaw" functional and comfortable without immediately doing the bodywork and paint.
Anyone that has seen YouTube videos with Chris Birdsong (Junkerup) knows that he takes his cars out and has fun with them. Dirt roads, road trips, autocross....Rain and snow too. Why not do the same here?
I am at a temporary standstill until I get some parts. The Van Nuys Spring Fling was going to be my shopping spree!Gas tank, trunk floor, fuel lines, gas cap, maybe a rear window too. Since the show was cancelled, I decided to work on the axle and brakes.
I broke my brake flaring tool today so I ordered a nice one from Eastwood. That may take a week or more to arrive. I need new calipers and brake hoses, wheel bearing and seals too.
In the meantime, I got the parking brake working. This is huge....Now I can store it outside if need be and it won't require a rock to keep from rollin' !

I test fitted a 12" slotted rotor on the front. I'm going to use 2.75" single piston calipers spec'd for an 80s Fifth Avenue. Cheap and reliable.

 

[Kern Dog]

Next up is a bit of Joe Dirt.....
Awhile back, the guy that sold me this car GAVE me a set of U G L Y wheels he pulled off of his Dakota.

A set of 5 15x8 wheels with 3 decent tires sized 255-60-15. I like the size and width but the style of these wheels are hideous!

Okay, suddenly they don't look so bad....

The wheels have about 3 1/2" of backspacing so they ride the edge of the fender pretty close. I put the rear tires I had on these wheels, they are 255-70-15.

 

[Kern Dog]

I may not keep this setup in place....who knows. It was simply a free mock up of stuff I had laying around.
I do like the look of these cars with wide tires on them.
The NASCAR look was what I aimed for with the red car:

I will likely go with a similar look with this car.

 

[chargervert]

What about making panels that screw or rivet in place with a gasket in the wheel wells on the red car. They could be welded on at a later date if you ever redo the body on the car.

 

[Kern Dog]

Here are a few pictures from a thread posted elsewhere.

You can see how the wheel tub does not go straight up from the quarter panel. It seems really stupid that they were designed this way.

This is how they all should be!
I'm not cutting off the quarter panels to do this but I could probably do something to improve matters.

 

[Demonic]

Doesn't some of that bulge in the wheelhouse provide clearance for the window or regulator mechanism?

 

[chargervert]

Here are a few pictures from a thread posted elsewhere.

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You can see how the wheel tub does not go straight up from the quarter panel. It seems really stupid that they were designed this way.

View attachment 941252

This is how they all should be!
I'm not cutting off the quarter panels to do this but I could probably do something to improve matters.

He should make those outer wheel houses,and sell them,I need about 5 pairs of them myself!

 

[chargervert]

Chrysler took the standard B body wheel houses and widened them for the Charger model. They should have designed a whole new part for the Charger.

 

[Bighouse]

I wonder if those outer wheel wells are hand formed or cut from one available for some other car? I see the indentation on the front to match the car, but that could be done easily to another part.

Come to think of it, a lot of inner wheel wells have that shape. I'm in the middle of doing the rear metal on mine and this is a great idea.

 

[Kern Dog]

Chrysler took the standard B body wheel houses and widened them for the Charger model. They should have designed a whole new part for the Charger.

It looks as if they took the wheel tub from the 66-67 Coronet/Belvedere and added to it.
It isn't like I plan to run a 14 inch wide tire while lowering the car 5 inches but it would be great to be able to have a wide stance and not get tire contact if I want to have a couple of passengers in the car.

 

[Kern Dog]

Doesn't some of that bulge in the wheelhouse provide clearance for the window or regulator mechanism?

It might. You are referring to the round indentation, right?

 

[Demonic]

Yup. It might be fine, not sure. Other glass or car lines have stuff like that for clearance.

 

[Kern Dog]

I've been curious about the front wheel bearings.
The factory service manual states the following:

I looked at a few spare rotors that I had and the CUP, a part that I have always called a RACE, is about 1/4" below the edge of the hub like here:

It had me wondering...There is a hard ridge inside about 3/8" to 1/2" deeper but that seems way too deep for the bearing to sit.
This is how it sat with the race 1/4" below the edge:

I tapped it in a little more than put the grease seal on it.

 

[Kern Dog]

The left rotor had a decent inner race so I just greased the bearings and put it together. Looking at the reveal of the caliper bracket, I may have accidently got it right. On both sides, the rotor sticks past the caliper bracket by about 3/16".

 

[Kern Dog]

The master cylinder is a 15/16" unit from Dr Diff. The car had no firewall reinforcement plate so I scrounged through the stash and found one that will work. I cut a thick paper gasket to place between the firewall and the brace.
The lines are in and the MC has fluid. I bench bled it and it is now ready to bleed on the car.