Whatta pair o' comparos! Stellar creative/innovative wheel resto, Steve! (…And, economical, too!)

…And, cheap/dangerous attempt-at-a-part vs. gennie original! (I can hear SCTV's Count Floyd now! "Ooh… Scary!)

Well, I'm sending wishes to one & all on the Forum for a Happy Thanksgiving. Be well. Stay safe.

Happy TurkeyDay to you too, Bob

Got the new igntion switch/harness back in. I also swapped back the reproduction key switch with the original key switch as well. 1970 used a brushed finish on the key bezel. No one reproduces it and they just tell you to swap it for the 71 to 74 chrome bezeled unit. No thanks. Also, the darn key required a tug of war to get it to come out every time. Even after I ran the key through the wire brush several times. That can get pretty annoying when the key-in buzzer is going non-stop.

I then reassembled the column and installed the steering wheel. All nice and new looking.

Oh, and it even starts with the key now. Like it's supposed to.

All the dash lights and gauge lights work.

Things still on the list: The gas gauge is still reading empty even though I ran a ground wire, aligator clipped from the tank to the frame, and the fog lights aren't getting power. Gotta install the windshield and align the front end (doing that myself with the contraption I bought). Oh, and seats would be nice. I pulled a calf muscle pressing the clutch in while sitting flat on the floor.

I am loving every post!!!

This car is going to be amazing!!!

Ryan W31

Nice work. As I get older, I’ve become downright disgusted with the quality of repop/modern “old car parts” in general. Just today I bought some 50 year old 1157 bulbs on eBay because the Sylvania replacements have shorter pins that don’t engage properly in the sockets. I’d rather look a little harder for old stock, which is still quite easy to find, and rarely more expensive than the junk you find at auto zone.

The Boy and I installed the windshield today.

I had him watch around 30 seconds (about as mush as either of us could tolerate) of a Graveyard Cars episode where they had a couple glass guys install the windshield on a 71 Limelight Green 'cuda (and randomly dubbed in a 70 Challenger install during the scene for no apparent reason other than it was also Limelight).

We then wandered out to the garage, stuck the four suction cups on the glass and plunked it in place. I had already placed the 5/16" butyl tape in place last night. It all went in uneventfully.

It took a few hours for the weight of the glass to gradually settle down and seal all the way around. I had to stick in the rubber blocks as well as some wooden shims to keep it fromm drooping down but it seems to be holding now.

The AMD glass is nice and thick, like an original windshield. It even has a Chrysler logo in the center like the originals do.

Sorry for the blurry photo. I did some black friday shopping today for new phones for the wife and the boy. So I can get one of their more modern hand-me-downs when they come in.

I also installed my old set of wooden pistol grips that were previously on my orange 1971 Six Barrel 'cuda ragtop in 1985, and then on the red 70 Hemi Charger R/T-SE in 1990. When I sold that car in 2013, they went into a box in the closet. I bought them at the 1985 Mopar Nationals back in the day. Some eccentric dude from Colorado hand-made them out of Cocobolo wood with some crazy wood-working duplicating lathe. I have an extra unfinished set that still needs final sanding.

I bet those don't rattle in 2nd gear at 3500 RPM ;)

The trick is to put a couple dabs of RTV on the chrome before you sandwich the grips to the handle.

I remember that buzz/rattle from the old days! And when the top bezel would get loose, it would add a nice ensemble tone to the jiggly sound of the loose plastic grips.

Ahhhhh, the memories are rushing back now.

More finagling around today. I stripped all the upholstery off the rear bench seat cushions. Now there's a few hundred broken hog rings flung all over the basement. That was some nasty foam, burlap and stuffing there. And lots of mouse poops. I was surrounded by all three of cats at one point or another during the afternoon while they supervised my work. I guess they smell the mice residue.

I ordered the full rear bench installation kit from Legendary. Thay had it in stock and it is supposed to ship out monday. Sure is expesnive but it does have all the needed material: raw cotten, burlap, muslin, foam, etc., in one kit. They were having a 20% off sale today, too.

I tried to get the fuel gauge to work. The gauge itself works. When I pulled the blue lead wire off the sending unit and grounded it, the gauge immediately moved toward full. So it looks like a bad sending unit. I ordered another one from Rockauto and it should be here next week. Of course I had filled the tank completely already so I will have to siphon it all back out again and then loosen one muffler to get to the side mounted sending unit.

She actually moved under her own power today! I wanted to get her out of the garage so I could sweep the place out. She hasn't moved from that spot since arrival in August. I grabbed a milk crate from the garage and started her up and away we went...20 feet or so out into the driveway. I just let her idle while I cleaned and swept the floor. I started around noon.

I then pulled her straight back in and started on doing the front end alignment. I had already set the torsion bar ride height a couple weeks ago and constantly rechecked it after adding the battery and filling the gas tank, and hopping in and out of the car to do the carpets and dash. So it was pretty well jounced by this weekend. Measured at the fender edge, in line with the center cap of the wheel, the height was 25-3/4" tall at LF, RF, and RR. LR was 26" tall.

It took most of the afternoon since I was using a race car alignment gauge with built-in levels. And you have to zero the bubble level for the floor's angle in case it isn't level (most floors are not), for each side before to attaching it to the car.

It took quite a bit of practice but once I got the hang of it it is rather easy (on anything but a Mopar with upper control arm cams). GM style suspension with shims would be much easier.

A bias ply tire, manual steering equipped Mopar uses different specs than one with power steering. From the 1970 service manual they recommend 1/2 degree positive camber left and 1/4 degree positive camber right, and then for caster: zero to 1/2 degree negative. Remember this is for bias tire, not radials. It was really a wrestling match with those cams. You have to loosen the retaining bolt just enough to let it rotate but if you loosen it too much, the cam overrides the retaining tabs and you're a goner. I overloosened one side and partially bent the tabs that guide the pass side rear cam into an arc. I had to pull the entire upper control arm back out and hammer the tab back into place. I then reset the entire passenger side again. The whole cam adjustment recipe is like operating a WWII tank. You have a wrench on both cams. If you move both cams the same direction, you adjust the camber. If you move one cam away and one toward you, you adjust caster. You do the camber first...and then hope you dont mess it up by doing the caster. With these weird manual steering specs, it was really touchy since it was at the absolute limit of the cam travel to try to get the negative caster without throwing off the camber. And then to top it all off you have to torque the retaining nuts...without moving the same cams out of place.

I was able to finish around dinner time.

Tomorrow I will set the toe and make sure the steering wheel is still straight.

Used to do drag car alignments at home using such tools. Slip plates were made of 1/4 steel on the floor with an aluminum plate on top, and grease between the two to allow the suspension to remain in a relaxed state. Worked out quite well.

Actually, I just used several sheets of really slippery, thick, polyethylene plastic. I cut them into 12" squares and placed them on top of each other, under the front tires. It's like having the front wheels on ice. I can turn the wheels with one hand! Who needs power steering!

----Wow, Steve! You are getting close. Such a good looking Mopar.....Bill S

Here's the alignment contraption in action. You do camber first. You have to zero the level on the garage floor rght next to the wheel so it zero's out to the floor's angle. There was probably a 1 or 2 degree angle to the floor toward the left side of the garage. So I had to readjust it when I went to the other side of the car.

The reading on the ground is zero (I put the edge of the bubble just below the zero line so It's easier to see). And once it is clamped to the wheel it reads the true reading of 1/4 degree positive for the passenger side.

Caster is measured by attaching the contraption to the wheel and then turning the wheel outwards 15 degrees. By design, the end of the bubble level has a 15 cut to the fore and aft of the end of the level. So you just turn the wheel til it approximates that mark. Then you zero the right side of the bubble gauge. Once you zero it, you then turn the wheel inward to the other 15 degree mark and see what it reads.

Here it reads about 1/2 degree negative caster. (It was kind of hard to get the photo angle right so it looks like 1/4 in the photo).

Finally I did the toe today. I tried two measurement versions to see if they match up. (They did). I used the old Manco Wheel Alignment tool. You set it behind the front wheels and zero the gauge. You them move it to the front of the front wheels and read what it says. Though the initial reading was about 16 on the scale, which reads in 1/32nds, When I tried my other method, it showed a difference of 1-1/2 inches between the rear measurement and the front.

My second method is to take a metal straight edge, hold it tight agains the tire and trace a chalk line along the straight edge. You do that to both wheels. Then simply measure the distance under the car from one line to the other. Subtract them from each other and you get the amount of toe-in or toe-out. I had 71-1/2" behind the wheel and 70" in front.

So I adjusted the tie rods to move the passenger side wheel out (which was noticeable turned in) and wound up with a measurement difference of 1/16" which is the spec. After I adjusted the wheels, I made new chalk marks and verified the Manco gauge results.

I then bolted the old driver's seat in place and took her out for her maiden voyage! I was able to see the odometer roll from 76,999 to 77,000 miles! I drove a couple miles and the alignment worked out nicely. No pulling or drifting. With the tall, bias ply tires, the car is really easy to steer with the slightly negative caster, even at low speeds.

I then backed her into the garage. I still have to adjust the tie rods to get the steering wheel centered. The center spoke is currently in the 4:30 position and needs to be moved to 6:00. It was getting dark so I will save that for another day.

We need video confirmation! Great progress.

I have yet to figure out how to directly post a video here without a youtube account or something like it.

I've spent the last few days doing the upholstery on the rear seats. (Can't do anything else greasy since that white upholstery is unforgiving to dirty hands). I stripped both top and bottom frames to the bare metal, hosed them down and then sprayed them with phosphoric acid to kill the surface rust. After that I let it all dry a few days, rinsed them off and once they dried, painted them with black Rustoleum.

(Actuallly I figured it was time to bring them in after the wife said "What the heck do you think the neighbors are thinking? That we threw out a couple of old box springs in the front yard to rust away? What are we: Jersey Rednecks???? Get those damn things...yada, yada, yada...out to the curb with the rest of the garbage...yada, yada".

So by then the installation kit had arrived so it was time to tackle the project.

The foam on the bottom and the cotton padding on the top cushion were all mouse-ified and needed to be tossed. I took a lot of photos of the disassembly and kept them handy. But the most handy tool was the video that Legendary did on their youtube channel that showed the step by step process for installing all the burlap, muslin, foam and cotton layers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUo_...yAutoInteriors

They sell a installation kit that has more than enough stuff to do the rear seats. In fact about three times as much cotton as I needed - an entire bale from what it looks like.

Anyway, 300 hog rings later, and half a dozen puncture holes in my fingers, here is how it turned out.

P.S. Although the photo makes it look like the back cushion is brighter than the other white pieces, that is just the way the light is hitting it. They all match in real life.

Wow! Fantastic job, Steve! Beautiful result! Kudos ('Cudas?) to you!

Cudos! Beautiful.

Thanks!

I just finished up getting the bottom spoke of the steering wheel in the correct six o'clock position and setting the toe....17 times. How do I know it was 17 times? The road I use to test the wheel position and jounce the suspension is exactly 1/2 mile up and a 1/2 mile back. And the odometer is 17 miles higher now. This took about six hours to get it perfect. I'm exhausted.

I did notice that the transmission pops out of first and second gear under coast condtions so I am assuming it needs synchros. It's the original born-with transmission. Dave told me it probably needs some freshening up. So this winter I will probably pull it and bring it to the Lee Myles shop in Union NJ, that has done my other transmissions.

I got something done today!

I was under the dash, cursing and bending and getting stuck trying to install the repaired speedometer cable. The original had the little white tab broken off, where it engages the back of the speedometer. So I was all ready to install the new one and had the old one half fed over the clutch/brake pedal bracketry when I noticed that the ferrule that attaches to the transmission on the new cable was several sizes too small. The factory used a 1" nut to attach the cable end to the tail shaft. The replacement had a 3/4" round ferrule. So I ended up pulling the white plastic ends off of both the original and the new cable, and swapping them. I used the heat gun to soften the old cable to allow the new white end to slide on and it seems to have worked. Well it is installed anyway, it will have to wait til tomorrow to see if the speedometer works without bouncing like before from being halfway attached but not clipped in. Oh, and did I mention that there is a firewall grommet with a 3/8" hole that the cable has to go through? Mind you, one end of the cable has the aforementioned 1" nut that certainly isn't going through the 3/8" hole and the other end is an only slight slimmer 3/4" white plastic connector. The grommet must be installed during the assembly of the cable at the factory but I ended up soaking the grommet in boiling water and then using a couple tiny screw drivers to help persuade it over the white plastic end. It worked. Yeah, I know, I should have slipped the grommet on when the white ends were off...

While I was trapped under the dash and couldn't get out, I decided to make my time productive and check out why the road lamps were't working. My hunch was right - the very expensive original toggle switch was not doing anything other than making the click noise from physically moving on and off. No power was getting through. So I pulled the switch out and tested it with a ground and a test light. No test light illumination in either position. I then bent the four little tabs over and opened the back up. I found the problem. The dielectric grease had turned to fossilized amber inside and no electrons were getting through it. So I gently ran the contacts against my wire wheel, threw a couple drops of oil in there and tested it again. Eureka! I then hooked it back up and the driving lamps now work! Yay!

The next project was gathering all the parts for the steering column lockout system that was unique to 1970 Mopar four-speeds, and extra unique to small block cars. When working as designed, it requires the car to be parked with the shifter in reverse, and then locks it there when the ignition key is removed. All these parts were usually tossed in the trash can the moment someone tried to install headers on a car. Luckily the car had 95% of the parts intact (Thanks Dave). The only pieces missing were a couple of plastic bushings for the cross bar and a unique double-headed shifter linkage swivel that the lockout engagement rod attaches to on the reverse lever. I actually found them both on ebay - the Hurst rebuilder guy sells the swivel and the bushing from a Mopar supplier. Here's a photo of the swivel and the linkage:

More electrical progress. Mopars seem to be notorious for tail light issues with bad grounds. If you dont grind the heck out of the mounting area that the potmetal tail light housings mate up with, you risk intermittent light issues and backfeeding through the harness. Symptoms are cascading lights (alternating bulbs activating in a sequence) when you hit the brakes or the reverse lamps glowing dimly when the parking lights go on.

This car had no working license plate light, left rear marker light, and the dimly lit back-up lights glowing when the parking lights were on. If you use an alligator clip and wire to ground, they work fine as a test.

So the choice is pulling everything apart and gouging through new paint or the logical solution of just making some small jumper ground wires. So I got some spare 16 gauge wire and eyelet ends. I ran one from the side marker housing to the tail lamp housings and then to a prexisting screw behind the trunk latch bracing. None of it is visible to the prying eye. As for the license plate light, I had to pull the small potmetal housing out, and grind the area where the socket snaps into the housing. The galvanized coating and old finish just wouldn't let the grounding work. Once I did that, we had all the lights working as they should.

The crazy thing is that the factory uses a separate, designated ground wire for the headlight harness and front, grill mounted turn signals that screws to the radiator support but never bothered to do the same for the tail light harness.

Next fix, is doing the same jumper wire deal for the dash housing because the instrument panel lamps seem to pop the 3-amp "LPS" fuse intermittently. Cudas and Challengers used the gauge pod mounting screws and the little metal tabs under specific screw locations to be the grounds. If one of those tabs is gone, like on the switch pod that houses the headlamp switch, you get the grounding issue problem.

Back from the frozen garage. It's snowing at the moment.

It took a while, but I got the fuel sender out of the tank without having to remove the tank.

First I siphoned most of the gas out.

The sender on an E-body is on the drivers side of the tank but everything is in the way. I disconnected the left muffler from the hanger under the trunk (after wrapping the exhaust tip in a towel so it wouldn't scratch the valance paint). Once the muffler was hanging about an inch lower, I was able to get to the heat shield that is above it. Once that heat shield was out it gave me a couple inches of room to work alongside the tank. Using a brass drift to avoid sparks, I was able to tap the collar off the sender and then do the obligatory "bent nail puzzle" removal sequence trying to get the sender out of the tank with the exhaust still alongside it. Of course the brass float goes in the opposite direction of the pickup sock, making it an expert level puzzle scenario. Eventually I was able to finagle the thing out from there without removing the muffler or the tank. And as you may recall from previous episodes, the tank can't come out without removing the rear vlance which in no way shape or form or coming off that car without scratching all sorts of other painted parts.

Once I got it out, I tested the original 1970 sender and as predicted, it is inert. So the removal was necessary.

Installing the new sender was just as much fun to maneuver back into the tank with the adjacent muffler in place. I got the sender lead back on, along with the ground strap and low and behold, it actually worked! I put all the gas back in and she now reads 3/4 full. That's all for today from snowy Joysey.

I can relate to this: "While I was trapped under the dash and couldn't get out,..."

Sometimes I think I am going to have to wait for Sherri to come retrieve me.

Kind of like: "I've fallen and I can't get up."

----I feel your pain, Lynn and Steve, as I have been under the dash in my 67 ac Vette replacing the radio speaker. Spent about 5 hours today which is just about my limit, most of it on my back after removing both seats to have room for my ancient body. I'm about a third of the way done. Knew it would be a biotch! Anybody who has been and under in a midyear Corvette's dash knows the pain I am in.....Bill S

Add roll bars to that situation and then you know how I feel when I have to get under my dash. Seat removal is required for anything more than a fuse change.

I hate to one up you Bill but.............C3 with A/C. I'll pay someone stupid money on one of those. Especially a roadster!

I finished polishing up windshield stainless moldings today after sanding them over the past few weeks -using the sisal, then spiral wheel, then flappy wheel with the various compounds. Then I used blue painters tape to outline the entire painted border around the glass and marked the location of each clip with a sharpie. Then came the fingernail biting suspense of getting the moldings engaged without cracking the glass. I used a small rubber mallet and gently but firmly whapped the marked locations. It worked without issue.

I then tried to install the wiper blades but it seems I must have installed the wiper articulating arms backwards because it tried to go toward the cowl when starting. Luckily I didn't install the arms before I tested them. That's the next project.

I was right. I had the rectangular arm that attaches to the motor, on upside down.

I guess I could have kept the arm in its present position and turned the car upside down but it was easier this way: I switched the arm so it was pointing north instead of south when in the parked position and the wipers work correctly now.

I love simple solutions to stupid mistakes. :-)

Good thing you tested it before you put the arms on. How much damage would that have caused?

It has stops built in to the cowl molding so it wouldnt move past the initial bump downwards.

Hello, all!

I thought that everyone might be able to use some Christmas/Holiday cheer during this “challenging” year, so I’m sendin’ a little internal Chrysler wizardry yer way! (Hey! Hey!) ’Tis a December ’69-issued Dodge Division Christmasy card, featuring the “Star” of their lineup: the all-new ’70 Challenger R/T!!! Woohoo!

As you can see, ’tis a drop-top, with (the rare/controversial) shaker hood, and, sadly, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, & Blitzen sitting, forlorn, in the used car lot, along with Santa’s classic sleigh & accompanying note! (No Rudolph in sight!)

(I must credit my good friend (and, mega-MoPar fan) Rodney Eckinger for contributing this rare card to my classic Chrysler literature collection. Sadly, I don’t have a current phone for Rodney (of Elizabethtown, PA.), as his home phone, I recently found, is no longer valid, so if anyone knows him, and/or, how to get in touch with him, that would be great!)

I’m sending everyone greetings for a good/safe/enjoyable holiday!

…And, since this is my first foray into "uploading an image territory," perhaps someone can correct, or, tell me how to correct, the topsy-turvy image(s), so it won't continue to occur. Any & all assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

All the best,
Bob

PS As a final note, although this was printed in mod-a-go-go 1969, as you can plainly see from the aesthetic of those wonderful Dodge Division guys, they clearly appear to be stuck in a 1959 time warp!

…And, I know, it ain’t a ‘Cuda, but it is an E-Body, a ’70, shaker-hooded, a drop-top, and, most importantly, the only known rendering (to my knowledge) of Santa in a Chally! Wheee!

I rotated them for you Bob.

By the way, Bob, Rodney shows up as an active account on Facebook still in same town. (I know how you loathe that creation). I sent him a message for you. I'll see if he contacts me.

I've spent the past week slowly assembling the front seats. It takes a lot of patience and hand strength to do all the pulling, hog ring plier-ing of around 800 hog rings (including 100 or so "duds" that had to be cut and removed), repositioning and strategically inserting of extra cotton material to get them to look correct over the original foam cushions. (the reproduction foam is not close enough to the original shape to spend the $300 on). A little more massaging with the heat gun should get the last of the wrinkles smoothed out. I have to do that on a separate day to make sure my hands are surgically clean. That is a "right out of the morning shower" sparkling clean, kind of job. If you have one speck of dirt on your hand, it will get on the white vinyl.

So here they are. Before and after...

I am currently working on the seat tracks, one of which self-destructed when I racked it too far forward. It threw the ball bearings out into low earth orbit. Luckily I had one left and was able to measure it at .310 (which is BTW, the same size as a 32 calibre shotgun pellet!). I was able to go to my local Home Depot and match it up to the .310 (5/16) ball bearings they sell individualy at .94 cents. Otherwise, I would have had to buy a can of 1000 of them from Amazon for $16. But then what the heck would I have done with all the leftovers? Hmmmm. Reminds me of that scene with Flounder from Animal House; "May I have 10,000 marbles please?"

Looks great. I had to replace the foam in my seats 2 years ago because the original foam finally started turning to crumbs. Every time I got out of the car it looked like someone had been eating crackers in the back seat and got crumbs all over the floor.