The Dodge Challenger Message Board

We picked up this 73 Challenger from the original owner here in texas a few months back, I have been quizzing my wife to find out how she wants this thing brought back to it's former glory....So far it's getting silver interior, new dash,.. we rebuilt the 360 (he blew the 340) with new components and a Hughes thumpy cam..the floor boards and trunk are in great condition...we are stripping the chrome and what-not from it to send the chassis to the body man...I'm not a good body repairman...at all....so here it is...any suggestions would be helpful....OH...the rubber bumpers are staying..she likes them...Landis

Nice find there, so this is going to be your wifes car. Thats cool. I am trying to convince my wife that she should have a Challenger or at least a Mopar of some sort. She wants a Mustang . I am still trying to turn her around.

Ohh,... Nice project you got there! (I would remove the rubber bumpers and pherhaps let the bodyman of yours weld the bolt holes and... re chrome or paint them...?) Keep the pic´s coming, looks interesting

redgum78 wrote:Nice find there, so this is going to be your wifes car. Thats cool. I am trying to convince my wife that she should have a Challenger or at least a Mopar of some sort. She wants a Mustang . I am still trying to turn her around.

Well, she was driving a 11 second Mustang back and forth to work for about a year but always wanted another Challenger. we found this one for her...I got something for me but it's for strictly off road..L
http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll19 ... 000850.jpg

Jimiboy wrote:Ohh,... Nice project you got there! (I would remove the rubber bumpers and pherhaps let the bodyman of yours weld the bolt holes and... re chrome or paint them...?) Keep the pic´s coming, looks interesting

That's just why I put it in the first post....it won't happen...the woman wants what she wants.. we are going to keep a project log and will update...she's torn between keeping the blue or going Flat black paint and clearcoat, but she'll figure it out,.....Landis

I like it!! I like it, a lot!!! Nice project! It's always nice to see some later E-Body projects.

Thanks. it's gotten to darn cold here to stay in the garage to long, so I think I will just stay in with a fire today,..thanks for the input. Any other ideas are welcome, is there a company that sells stainless screws for this thing?,...that seems to be the biggest thing is taking out all the rusted screws..real pain.....L

patrick wrote:I like it!! I like it, a lot!!! Nice project! It's always nice to see some later E-Body projects.

With you there Pat , I reckon it looks well cool in that really faded pale blue and primer, sort of reminds me of a pair of bleached and worn out jeans, I like it

I like it because, it reminds me of my old 73' 340 Cuda'. Petty Blue. Oh, the primer takes me back,too! LOL!

Year Onee sells screws, I believe http://www.yearone.com Your best bet for parts is to pick up a copy of Mopar Collectors Guide. MCG is a monthly magazine available in bookstores etc. http://www.moparcollectorsguide.com. It has Mopar articles and a huge parts/cars/etc classifieds


You don't happen to have a Pirate or other build thread on the buggy do you?

R/T Specialties sells a huge variety of fasteners. Definatly check them out. Since these cars aren't usually driven in bad weather any more, I don't see the need for stainless hardware. The excetion being brake/fuel lines and gas tank straps.

Most of your fasteners can be reused. It does take some extra time, but the money savings is substantial. If money isn't a concern, by all means, save yourself the hastle and buy new fasteners. For me, money is a big issue. This is what I did...

Using a combination of EvapoRust, a Harbor Freight parts tumbler and a small bead blasting cabinet, I cleaned up all the origonal fasteners that were reusable. The parts that were origonally clear zinc plated were sent out to be replated.( a big bucket of fasteners and small brackets cost a total of $40)

Then I bought a black oxide kit from Caswell Plating so I could replicate the phosphate(dark gray) color of the other fasteners. The kit(black oxide concentrate and sealer) was less than $50 to my door. I'd say I was able to reuse about 90% of my origonal hardware and saved a lot of money. It did take quite a bit of work cleaning up everything though.

As far as YearOne is concerned, they are great for people outside the US because you have "one stop shopping". There are many other companies out there and they all have better prices/shipping costs.IMO Here is a small list of companies that I've used that you should check out.

R/TSpecialties
BE&A
Dales Cuda Shop
Dante's Parts
Metro Parts
Herb's Parts
amhightechauto

Check out Jules Daddio for your wiper motor restoration and or latch restoration. Scott Smith for carb restoration and Booster Dewey for your brake booster needs. Dixie Restoration Parts is also a good soarce for OE correct parts. They also restore alternators and starters to OE condition.

Good luck with the car!!!

fal308 wrote:You don't happen to have a Pirate or other build thread on the buggy do you?

Not yet..I'm going this week to finish, or try to finish most of the buggie...will post on Pirate then..."brutal" is our screen name.. thanks for the links..

Here's a link to what I have on the buggy so far...L
http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll19 ... nt/buggie/

burdar wrote:R/T Specialties sells a huge variety of fasteners. Definatly check them out. Since these cars aren't usually driven in bad weather any more, I don't see the need for stainless hardware. The excetion being brake/fuel lines and gas tank straps.

Most of your fasteners can be reused. It does take some extra time, but the money savings is substantial. If money isn't a concern, by all means, save yourself the hastle and buy new fasteners. For me, money is a big issue. This is what I did...

Using a combination of EvapoRust, a Harbor Freight parts tumbler and a small bead blasting cabinet, I cleaned up all the origonal fasteners that were reusable. The parts that were origonally clear zinc plated were sent out to be replated.( a big bucket of fasteners and small brackets cost a total of $40)

Then I bought a black oxide kit from Caswell Plating so I could replicate the phosphate(dark gray) color of the other fasteners. The kit(black oxide concentrate and sealer) was less than $50 to my door. I'd say I was able to reuse about 90% of my origonal hardware and saved a lot of money. It did take quite a bit of work cleaning up everything though.

As far as YearOne is concerned, they are great for people outside the US because you have "one stop shopping". There are many other companies out there and they all have better prices/shipping costs.IMO Here is a small list of companies that I've used that you should check out.

R/TSpecialties
BE&A
Dales Cuda Shop
Dante's Parts
Metro Parts
Herb's Parts
amhightechauto

Check out Jules Daddio for your wiper motor restoration and or latch restoration. Scott Smith for carb restoration and Booster Dewey for your brake booster needs. Dixie Restoration Parts is also a good soarce for OE correct parts. They also restore alternators and starters to OE condition.

Good luck with the car!!!

Thank you for the great info....like most of us, money is always a issue, but I'm looking at time savings, so with that in mind and the fact that the old fasteners are crap and busted when I pulled most off, we need to add the cost of new ones to the build budget..the other parts work great and will look new when re-installed...with a rattle can paint....after all I am a cheap bastard....great links thanks again...L