The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Found how to resize pics so thought I'd share this one, taken about 3 weeks ago at my work.
Nicest its looked so far, actually think I'm getting there

Rockin stuff mate

actually think I'm getting there

I think you are there!! Looks good Adrian.

It looks very nice mate.

There is a yellow 340 up here near me that has not been used for years. It's not as nice as yours though.

Just managed to upload these pics of the shell and motor about a week after we got it in Carsons workshop. Shame I did'nt photograph it before blasting and red oxiding, but we were too enthusiastic to think that rationally
The shell and everything else that I could wave in front of the sand blast nozzle got a thorough thrashing. Soon found any weak spots thats for sure! Eveything was going swimmingly until the nice foreign couple who ran the post office behind the yard came round to complain we'd filled their house with silica sand
The pic that shows the wings and deck lid resting against the wall give a good idea of the finish on the car. The oxide was a special primer/filler that was mixed 2/1 and gave a really good protective coat to the freshly ravaged steel. You can see that the shell was pretty much torn down to bare, only the dash stayed in because the blaster turned up a day early and would'nt wait while we removed it, a mate of ours as well
We winched the nose into the air and blasted all the floor, wheel arch inners, even masked off the motor with silcone and hard rubber pads and blasted that, come out really nice, see the core plug die in the process.
More to come soon

Very nice, Adrian!!! Love that colour!!! Rallye gill's and strobe stripes, would look pretty good on your car!!!

Thanks Pat, I even had a set of gills and plastic fins but my painter lost 'em when he moved workshops
I found the pics of the car as it got paint and some partial assy, see what you think............................

Some more when the car moved to a new home. The trunk still isn't painted, a lot of trim and stuff is still missing, the interior is mostly there and the glass is still to be fitted.It was a least starting to look like a car at this point, probably around 1990/1.
I had converted it to a 4 speed from the orig Torqueflite and started ffitting the fuel lines, the loom and pulled the motor apart for a freshen up. Never bothered to do anything to it in the end, new gaskets, cleaned the heads and inspected the crank and rings and that was it. Should've done it at that point cos it bent a couple of pushrods, burned an exhaust valve seat and made two main bearings look like the bottom of a copper saucepan

Wow, looks awesome. So great to see them saved and preserved instead of crushed.

Looks like a 440 in there? I have been working on my 1972, 440 for 5 years, it's encouraging to see yours.

Keep the pictures coming! Black interior?

- Rich

Hi Rich
Car came with the 440 alteady in it, had reen installed in the States before being shipped to England in '76.
Interior is black but really all needs replacing when time and funds allow, thanks to the chickens that once called it their home, I am not joking, it was stored on a poultry farm for a dozen years

Lets see some pictures of your car, everybody is interested in everyone elses after all, no matter what stage its at now or once was

Been out fir a pleasant little tinkle around Buckinghamshire this afternoon in the lovely spring sun and thought I'd share these pics I took while destroying Tesco's property (tarmac)
First of our spring shows in a couple of weeks at Billing in Northamptonshire, looking forward to the whole summer scene now, makes a big difference when you've eventually got a reliable car

I love it Adrian! I cant wait to get started on mine! The more I look at the 72-74's,,the more I really like em! I bet it's a sweet cruiser and still has plenty of power to get you in trouble

Thanks Eddie .........actually its not a very nice cruiser, more a bruiser, all lurching and squealing and bellowing from one junction to the next, but I love it
Just got hold of a T/A scoop from a racer in our club, so I need to get a flat glass hood now to go with it, don't really want to chop up the original one. Sits well now all that Hotchkis stuff is under there, may drop the front an inch

Adrian Worman wrote:Thanks Eddie .........actually its not a very nice cruiser, more a bruiser, all lurching and squealing and bellowing from one junction to the next, but I love it
Just got hold of a T/A scoop from a racer in our club, so I need to get a flat glass hood now to go with it, don't really want to chop up the original one. Sits well now all that Hotchkis stuff is under there, may drop the front an inch

Can you tell me the wheel and tire size?? I also like the unique exhaust you have! Mine has the Steel "Raisin Bran" Hood on it. "two scoops" But, I absolutely LOVE the Trans Am T/A 1970 Challenger Hood! As a matter of fact, I have NO idea if my 500 LowDeck with a Victor Single plane will clear it or not? And if it doesnt would the T/A re-pop hood fit that combo? Time will tell, I also wouldnt cut an original Rallye, steel, Chrysler hood. A re-pop no problem,, I also think any hoodscoop other than the factory MoPar offerings looks 'cheesy' on these E-Bodies. Let's see,,,, the options are T/A,,,,Rallye,,,Shaker(No Way) and a flat hood but I need clearance...

Those rims are nothin' special Eddie, just some really nice original Magnum 500's in 15X7 with modern 225/60 tyre on front and 235/60 out back. Tried to keep tyre size to a minimum while still using a modern sport compound cos the car sits a bit low and I did'nt want any interference issues in the arches, especially during cornering. Look nice tho', just love Magnums, might progress to some 17" versions a bit later.
You are dead on the money regarding the hood scoops........any thing other than a version of the original Mopar designs just don't work on Mopars, except putting scoops on years that they were'nt available, like a T/A hood for a '72 . Same goes for graphics, as long as it was the same shape as the original I think its acceptable. At the end of the day if YOU think its cool then its ok
There will be a ton of clearance with that scoop, I measured it at 3" inside and my factory flat hood clears aftermarket air cleaner, carb spacer etc.
The exhaust tips? Just some stainless sport trims with a 2.5" inlet I got from a local Euro outlet, the reason they fit nice is cos I modified a plain rear valance, instead of an R/T type panel. Just makes it that little bit different, pleased you like it
What do you reckon for a front spoiler? A one piece moulding would be my choice to match a T/A deck spoiler, then a T/A graphic for the body but with a custom engine size decal........... in your case can you imagine folks reaction when you show 'em a "500 T/A" ....cool stuff mate

Thanks Adrian, I have an original set of 14" Magnums that came with my 1970, but those are way too small for my planned brake upgrades. I think I like Dave R's wheels for an 'aftermarket' type of wheel but Old school Rally's are my favorite factory wheel. I also have a set of 15" Cop Car MoPar wheels that will go on the 73 until I get it roadworthy, then the suspension/brake upgrades will follow. I, as you, dont want to compromise any cornering abilities with the car so I'll have to get in more detail with you, Drew, Dave ect for advice on that stuff. I cant seem to pry myself from the XV Motorsports site, and I already have their Frame connectors in mind along with some chassis re-inforcements from ART,(torque boxes). As for the front spoiler. I have been looking at Pat's 73 340 Rally car and he put the chin spoliers on a couple years ago. It looks MoPar righteous!! But I saw and rode in person in Drew's 70 Challenger and he hand fabbed a gorgeous full front spolier on his machine and it looks factory and I'm sure is functional as we were driving past 100 MPH thru heavy traffic and it was stable as a rock.. The body colour will have some bearing and a black car kinda hides the noticable effect. My car being white, any spoilers are gonna have to look cool too! The front T/A chins, and the 71 Pedastel 'Go-Wing' rear in flat black are what I envision on mine with 17X8 Wheels and ?? Rubber.

I know what you mean about the XV products, some fabulous stuff, I also love what they did to that yellow Challenger with the full suspension pack and black wheels. The Hotchkis site is my own personal Jesus and I can't stop wetting myself over the Challenger that they used for autocrossing, looks super tough with the T/A side stripes. My next efforts are directed toward the transmission and the brakes, can't wait to get a decent box to replace my dying 23 spline horsepower robber and a sweet Centerforce clutch pack. What flywheel will you use Ed? Decided between Keisler and Passon? I have'nt

Yes, I decided on the Keisler RS-600 which is set to debut this summer for the E-Bodies. The Flywheel will have to be a 130 tooth Internal balance 10.5 " from what I understand my discussion with Shafi Keisler. They dont make a dual 10.5/11.0 bell anymore,,just the 130 tooth 10.5 deal. I have a McCleod Street Twin in my 1970 and love it. I would like to use the same set-up for the 73. The reason I chose the Keisler over the Passon is for a few things. I like the RS with the internal rail shift opposed to the archaic shift levers, the RS has internals that are designed for high-RPM shifting with little effort. The RS is an updated version of the TKO with some internal changes and the case is a bit more streamlined alowing for better fitment and overall is state of the art for manual gear boxes and is proven in years of installs in some very high powered cars and roadracers. The Keisler is also complete with engineered parts that work together as a team. The Passon would be excellent for a person wanting the stock look, but have an overdrive 5th gear. I dont think you can go wrong with either but I think for what I want to do the New RS Keisler-600 Complete Kit would be the better choice. My invoice is 3789.00 minus the clutch and footpedal assembly. All told about 5,000--turn key.

I'll wait till I see you install that unit before I order, but I'm with you I think on the choice. I need to fit a new clutch cos my Borg Beck type is too heavy, don't have the overcentre spring, and it slips with the torque the motor puts out now, can feel it when I'm on it, ok on progressive throttle but useless on a quick stamp of the foot. Gonna stick a Zoom or Centerforce unit and decent surfaced flywheel in it next couple of weeks.

No overcenterspring,,It sounds like you have a diaphragm style clutch. I like those types and the McLeod is of this type. The old school Borg&Beck finger style clutches must use that heavy spring. I also like the Twin-Disc design which will hold up fine with up to 800 Ft. Lbs. These 'Twin-Disc clutches are pricey, but they last much longer than the traditional single disc type and wont slip.

No its definately a Borg and Beck style cover, I remember bolting it in .........never had the spring, not entirely sure I even have the right pedal assy, but I made it work, fabbed my own Z-bar and made up the rest with Mopar spares over the years as and when they came available.
Do the Keisler boxes depend on you using one type of flywheel, or will they fit all ring teeth counts and diameters? If thats the case I'll invest in a good set up, maybe a twin plate kit, can still bolt the modern trans up to that later on
Bit of a result on the T/A hood topic, a mate of mine has come up with a fibreglass buck/mould for a flat hood, will be perfect for laying my own scooped hood, can lay in as much strengthening and mounting posts as I like

Adrian Worman wrote:No its definately a Borg and Beck style cover, I remember bolting it in .........never had the spring, not entirely sure I even have the right pedal assy, but I made it work, fabbed my own Z-bar and made up the rest with Mopar spares over the years as and when they came available.
Do the Keisler boxes depend on you using one type of flywheel, or will they fit all ring teeth counts and diameters? If thats the case I'll invest in a good set up, maybe a twin plate kit, can still bolt the modern trans up to that later on
Bit of a result on the T/A hood topic, a mate of mine has come up with a fibreglass buck/mould for a flat hood, will be perfect for laying my own scooped hood, can lay in as much strengthening and mounting posts as I like

As far as which type of flywheel Adrian,,I'm pretty sure it's the 10.5 inch 130 tooth unit. Since they discontinued the dual 130/143 tooth bellhousing with dual starter locations I'm pretty sure the 11" 143 tooth flywheel will be too big. Shame, I have a New CenterForce Billet Steel, SFI 143 tooth, 6 bolt internal balance wheel that I cant sell for 1/2 of what I paid for it! (350.00) and only used it 8 runs on the dyno. Mancini wont take it back,,I tried But before you buy ANYTHING please E-mail Keisler and ask them too! I could be wrong. The part that confuses me is they use a 11" 26 splined MoPar/Ford clutch disc. If you can post a pic of the hood when you get it done,,I would love to see it! Thanks

After my success at the drags a couple weeks back I thought I'd shove this 850 Speed Demon on.....,,,
Fired up and idled instantly, set the 4 corner idle mixture up, 14.7-8 straight away, lovely
........can't wait to TREAD ON IT

Awesome!