Lookie what $5000 buys you....

[Kern Dog]

Fresh from the attic where they have been since November 2015.

They almost look like human bodies without legs.

They still look decent.

Not perfect though. The outer edge of the drivers seat is squished in.

Maybe it will pop out when in the car and the sun? It was folded with the back facing down on the seat bottom for years.

Maybe some massaging once they are warmed up a bit? The seat backs are good.

It looks like I was smart enough to keep the hardware with the seats.

The buckets will sit lower than the bench. Before, my eye line was in the upper third of the windshield. It should be toward the middle once these are in.

 

[Kern Dog]

I figured to test fit the seats to see what I learn. I checked the red car and saw that the right seat outer track also sits 6 5/8” in from the pinch weld.

The holes were the same spacing as the seat track.

On the inside track….

I went to draw a circle around the track mounting bolts.

Not needed! Here is LUCKY again.

The floor pans have dimples in them where the track mounts will sit. Some of you probably knew that but it is news to me. Pretty cool that they had them there but only drilled them when bucket seats were specified.

 

[Kern Dog]

I welded up the holes I won’t need.

The supports were tacked in a few spots. They don’t need to be fully welded. They are just tack welded on a few spots in the red car.

For the first time in my almost 5 years of ownership, I can drive the car without fuzz and fluff blowing around and without springs poking me in the back.

The way this car looks, putting in nice seats sort of makes me think of a homeless guy that brushed his teeth but still looks bad everywhere else.

I don’t mind though. I’m often amazed at how a car like this resonates with other car guys.

I may even keep the steelies for awhile.

 

[Ceedawg]

I am too. I still am.
I asked the guy at the shop what specifically was wrong and he just said “it was broke”. He laughed and didn’t elaborate further. I told him I do most of my own work and like to know what breaks and what has to be fixed. He just said…”We went through and fixed what was broke and it is like new again”.
It reminded me of those TV ads in the 70s at the Chinese laundry where the customer was amazed they got the stains out and the clerks always said…
Ancient Chinese Secret when it was Calgon, some super detergent.
What was that guy afraid of?
Back at home…

View attachment 1667617

He did have it apart. Somehow it gained a few miles.

View attachment 1667618

I polished up the plastic cover.

View attachment 1667622

View attachment 1667623

This stuff is good.

View attachment 1667624

View attachment 1667625

Check the spring on the silver cover on back, they’ll get dirty in the bushings. Use some dry lube and rotate the needle some let it bounce, the magnet moves the needle, faster it goes the more mph

 

[GrabberOrange69]

That’s good work. Money and time spent on the cockpit is better than time and money spent on the exterior for looks.

I love this car!

 

[Chargerjase]

It sure resonates with me KD. I also love this car. The steelies suit jigsaw perfectly.

 

[Kern Dog]

I will need better tires. These tires were new when gas was under $1.75 a gallon.

The rear seat is ratty.

I've had it out for years...I replaced the center of the trunk floor and had it out to avoid catching it on fire from a random spark. I may reinstall it just to block off the trunk and to reduce noise. I do plan to recover it to match the front seats in the red car....

The rear seat in the red car is the same color as these buckets:

The idea was to swap. I'd have the orange seat recovered to match the front SRT4 seats in the red car and then use the charcoal seat set in Jigsaw.

 

[Kern Dog]

The dirt-baggery continues….
Part of the reason for swapping to these buckets is to make this car a bit more comfortable for road use. I spared ALL expenses to do it too. Used everything. Mismatched, dirty and warped but mostly complete.

Green door panels on the left from the Red car. (Ginger used to be F8)

Orange panels on the right.

The console is a spare I had. It has cracks but for this car, it blends in. I just rested the console on the hump to hide the holes in the carpet that were made to clear the shifter and console brackets.

Overall, it is quieter. These seats are a lot more comfy that the ratty bench seat.
What is next? Who knows.

 

[GrabberOrange69]

Your interior diversity is commendable, sir!

 

[Kern Dog]

Ha! Thank you, Grabber.
If this was my only classic, I'd take a different path with it.
I have a shiny one so it is fun to throw together this one with no worry about it being less than pretty!

 

[Ceedawg]

The dirt-baggery continues….
Part of the reason for swapping to these buckets is to make this car a bit more comfortable for road use. I spared ALL expenses to do it too. Used everything. Mismatched, dirty and warped but mostly complete.

View attachment 1668246
View attachment 1668249

Green door panels on the left from the Red car. (Ginger used to be F8)

Orange panels on the right.

View attachment 1668247

View attachment 1668251

The console is a spare I had. It has cracks but for this car, it blends in. I just rested the console on the hump to hide the holes in the carpet that were made to clear the shifter and console brackets.

View attachment 1668252

Overall, it is quieter. These seats are a lot more comfy that the ratty bench seat.
What is next? Who knows.

Great, just drive it, still cool. Some might complain tell ‘em to move along down the line it ain’t theirs

 

[hanks73340]

Awesome work KD!

 

[Phantomx]

I could have saved you the time, effort, and worry of making it too nice by swapping you my nice black 70 bench for those buckets. Woulda been a bolt-in affair and kept the car more “correct”. Per the usual, you did it the hard way ;)
Travis..

 

[Phantomx]

When commercial speedo did mine, they said the little bushings and pieces inside the whirling part were sometimes hard to come up with for the older stuff. Dunno if it’s better or worse now a days.
Travis..

 

[Kern Dog]

I could have saved you the time, effort, and worry of making it too nice by swapping you my nice black 70 bench for those buckets. Woulda been a bolt-in affair and kept the car more “correct”. Per the usual, you did it the hard way ;)
Travis..

Ha ha...Yeah, sure....
There is a member here that advertised a set of recovered '70 Charger bucket seats for some obscene price, something like $3600.
I understand their rarity but scalpers piss off everyone.

 

[Ceedawg]

Ha ha...Yeah, sure....
There is a member here that advertised a set of recovered '70 Charger bucket seats for some obscene price, something like $3600.
I understand their rarity but scalpers piss off everyone.

It’s like Carlisle, sellers want $50 but put $500 on it then get dickered down to $200 and the buyer thinks they got a deal! If all walk away then price drops fast especially on Sat night.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have to really restrain myself to keep from blowing up at those people.

 

[Phantomx]

I certainly wouldn’t spend 3600 on a pair of stock buckets. In fact, I have a nice set of neon buckets which may find their way in place of my bench. They aren’t from an ACR or anything, but they should be better than the Sapporo/challenger seats my bro put in his 68 sport satellite back in the day.
Travis..

 

[Kern Dog]

The last high price for 1970 seats I saw was $1200 a couple years ago.
I see guys trying to scalp people for ‘70 fenders too.
Yes, I know that they are not being reproduced and that they are one year only. It just digs at me when people push too damned hard to squeeze every last nickle from a deal.
I’ve always tried to be fair with what I buy and sell. I can only hope these greedy types someday find themselves in dire need of help and nobody steps in to lend a hand. Karma really should apply in cases like that.
Back on point:
This car hasn’t been aligned since I’ve owned it. September will be 5 years.
When I got it, the front structure was crushed, twisted and sort of pulled out. I did replace the entire front structure with a stub from a 1970 Satellite.
No special tools. No jigs, no lasers. I followed advice given by FBBO member @eldubb440 and let the fenders and hood tell me when it is ready to weld. He said once the panel gaps are right, the structure is where it needs to be. It seemed so simple.
He was right.
Again, I’ve never had this car aligned but it tracks straight. It handles great, no pulling to either side at any time.
When I reassemble a front end, I set the upper control arm bolts the same way. Front most gets set OUT to the fender.
Right front.

Left front.

The rear bolts get set IN toward the engine. Right rear.

Tough to get this shot but left rear.

The steering wheel gets centered and the tie rods adjusted.
That is it.
Did I get lucky or is it really that easy?
I was impressed that I was able to replace the entire front structure and using bonehead logic, the car drives great.
I do plan to do a real alignment once my stuff arrives. I have some alignment tools on order.

 

[eldubb440]

The last high price for 1970 seats I saw was $1200 a couple years ago.
I see guys trying to scalp people for ‘70 fenders too.
Yes, I know that they are not being reproduced and that they are one year only. It just digs at me when people push too damned hard to squeeze every last nickle from a deal.
I’ve always tried to be fair with what I buy and sell. I can only hope these greedy types someday find themselves in dire need of help and nobody steps in to lend a hand. Karma really should apply in cases like that.
Back on point:
This car hasn’t been aligned since I’ve owned it. September will be 5 years.
When I got it, the front structure was crushed, twisted and sort of pulled out. I did replace the entire front structure with a stub from a 1970 Satellite.
No special tools. No jigs, no lasers. I followed advice given by FBBO member @eldubb440 and let the fenders and hood tell me when it is ready to weld. He said once the panel gaps are right, the structure is where it needs to be. It seemed so simple.
He was right.
Again, I’ve never had this car aligned but it tracks straight. It handles great, no pulling to either side at any time.
When I reassemble a front end, I set the upper control arm bolts the same way. Front most gets set OUT to the fender.
Right front.
View attachment 1670378

Left front.

View attachment 1670379

The rear bolts get set IN toward the engine. Right rear.

View attachment 1670380

Tough to get this shot but left rear.

View attachment 1670381

The steering wheel gets centered and the tie rods adjusted.
That is it.
Did I get lucky or is it really that easy?
I was impressed that I was able to replace the entire front structure and using bonehead logic, the car drives great.
I do plan to do a real alignment once my stuff arrives. I have some alignment tools on order.

you ever compare camber side to side hillbilly style??