My 70 SE 500 Charger Rebuild

[Duran75]

Rebuilding the Brake Pedal.

 

[moparedtn]

Mercy, you do nice work!
(I'd have Wilwoods on the front end of Fred right now, if not for the interference of their hubs' cap
with Magnum 500 wheels....sigh).

 

[Duran75]

Mercy, you do nice work!
(I'd have Wilwoods on the front end of Fred right now, if not for the interference of their hubs' cap
with Magnum 500 wheels....sigh).

Thank you for the compliment!!

I wasn’t sure about the Willwood brakes at first. Once I completed the install, I’m glad I did!!

 

[Duran75]

Front brake lines…

 

[Kern Dog]

Looks clean.
KYB shocks though?

With your attention to detail, I'm sure you'll find them to be below your standards.

 

[Duran75]

Looks clean.
KYB shocks though?

View attachment 1271433

With your attention to detail, I'm sure you'll find them to be below your standards.

What’s your story on the KYB shocks?

 

[Kern Dog]

With your thread being in the "Resto-Mods and Pro Touring forum", the theme leans toward handling and improved performance over stock.
KYBs are a substandard shock for a performance build. If you have stock leafs and torsion bars, a small front sway bar and skinny tires, the KYBs might be okay. They are a poor choice for a car with stiffer suspension.
The KYBs that are painted white are the worst. They are a digressive design where the further they travel, the softer they react. This is the opposite of a "progressive" design where they are soft at first but firm up as they travel further.
This makes them harsh on rough roads and undesirable for performance builds.
It looks like you're doing a nice, clean build. The KYBs are the Harbor Freight of shocks. Bilstein, Koni. Fox, Viking, even something as mild as a Monroe would be a better choice.
Good luck.

 

[Duran75]

With your thread being in the "Resto-Mods and Pro Touring forum", the theme leans toward handling and improved performance over stock.
KYBs are a substandard shock for a performance build. If you have stock leafs and torsion bars, a small front sway bar and skinny tires, the KYBs might be okay. They are a poor choice for a car with stiffer suspension.
The KYBs that are painted white are the worst. They are a digressive design where the further they travel, the softer they react. This is the opposite of a "progressive" design where they are soft at first but firm up as they travel further.
This makes them harsh on rough roads and undesirable for performance builds.
It looks like you're doing a nice, clean build. The KYBs are the Harbor Freight of shocks. Bilstein, Koni. Fox, Viking, even something as mild as a Monroe would be a better choice.
Good luck.

thank you for your insight!

 

[Duran75]

Just about done with the brakes…. Need to plumb the calipers and bleed the system.

 

[Duran75]

With your thread being in the "Resto-Mods and Pro Touring forum", the theme leans toward handling and improved performance over stock.
KYBs are a substandard shock for a performance build. If you have stock leafs and torsion bars, a small front sway bar and skinny tires, the KYBs might be okay. They are a poor choice for a car with stiffer suspension.
The KYBs that are painted white are the worst. They are a digressive design where the further they travel, the softer they react. This is the opposite of a "progressive" design where they are soft at first but firm up as they travel further.
This makes them harsh on rough roads and undesirable for performance builds.
It looks like you're doing a nice, clean build. The KYBs are the Harbor Freight of shocks. Bilstein, Koni. Fox, Viking, even something as mild as a Monroe would be a better choice.
Good luck.

After reading all the KYB comments and other members KYB negative experiences with the shocks. I purchased Bilstein’s shock package. Again thank you for your insight!!

Now for anybody who has a complete stock suspension, I have a new set of KYB Gas Shocks for sale.

 

[Kern Dog]

I had KYB shocks on a few cars when I was short on cash.
I even had them on THIS car....

I had 1.0" torsion bars and Hemi/440 4 speed leaf springs so it was sprung a bit stiffer than stock. It rode sort of rough and wasn't too smooth on rough roads. I read for years that KYBs were too harsh for stiffer springs so I started looking around at other options. Bilstein was a reputable name so I bought a set from Firm Feel. I installed them along with even bigger torsion bars.....1.15" from Bergman Auto Craft. As unusual as it may seem, the car rides smoother and handles better than it did before.
The Bilsteins soak up small bumps but get progressively firmer the further the shock moves. The KYB "Gas-A-Just" shocks are the opposite. They are really stiff from a rest and get softer as they go through their range of travel. I don't understand the reasoning for this design....it defies common sense to me.

 

[hunt2elk]

View attachment 1271872
After reading all the KYB comments and other members KYB negative experiences with the shocks. I purchased Bilstein’s shock package. Again thank you for your insight!!

Now for anybody who has a complete stock suspension, I have a new set of KYB Gas Shocks for sale.

Good choice going with the Bilsteins. Are you aware that PST will give you a 10% discount if you mention that you are a member here?

 

[Duran75]

Good choice going with the Bilsteins. Are you aware that PST will give you a 10% discount if you mention that you are a member here?

PST refund me the 10% discount today. Thanks!!

 

[Duran75]

I had KYB shocks on a few cars when I was short on cash.
I even had them on THIS car....

View attachment 1271894

I had 1.0" torsion bars and Hemi/440 4 speed leaf springs so it was sprung a bit stiffer than stock. It rode sort of rough and wasn't too smooth on rough roads. I read for years that KYBs were too harsh for stiffer springs so I started looking around at other options. Bilstein was a reputable name so I bought a set from Firm Feel. I installed them along with even bigger torsion bars.....1.15" from Bergman Auto Craft. As unusual as it may seem, the car rides smoother and handles better than it did before.
The Bilsteins soak up small bumps but get progressively firmer the further the shock moves. The KYB "Gas-A-Just" shocks are the opposite. They are really stiff from a rest and get softer as they go through their range of travel. I don't understand the reasoning for this design....it defies common sense to me.

I received the Bilstein shocks today. The front shocks did not come with Dust covers…. I checked PST catalog, the catalog doesn’t have catalog number for the front dust cover. The rear shocks have covers. So did you just Mount the fronts with no covers?

 

[ckessel]

Hit an off road shop and see if you can get some boots for them.

 

[hunt2elk]

I received the Bilstein shocks today. The front shocks did not come with Dust covers…. I checked PST catalog, the catalog doesn’t have catalog number for the front dust cover. The rear shocks have covers. So did you just Mount the fronts with no covers?View attachment 1276841

Seems odd to me as well, but Bilstein claims they are not needed. I have 3 sets of their shocks and the fronts look just like yours.

 

[Duran75]

Hit an off road shop and see if you can get some boots for them.

Ok…. Will do!! Thanks

 

[Duran75]

Seems odd to me as well, but Bilstein claims they are not needed. I have 3 sets of their shocks and the fronts look just like yours.

Thank you for the feedback!!

 

[Cory M]

View attachment 1252410 View attachment 1252413 View attachment 1252412 View attachment 1252411 Truck Area

Are you doing the matte black on the taillight panel?

 

[Duran75]

Are you doing the matte black on the taillight panel?

Are you doing the matte black on the taillight panel?

No…. I have the Tail Light Trim panel with Charger 500 Emblem to install. I need to buff it out and touch up the black trim before I install it.