An Intro and a 73 Challenger • The Dodge Challenger Message Board

by **Jono** » 20 Dec 2003 15:49

Hello Everyone. First off, my thanks to our host, Dave R. Your web page has been an invaluable source of information for me. A little bit about myself........I’ve been a motor head most of my life, all 48 years of it, and have owned various neat cars.

1962 MG Midget
1966 Olds Cutlass 330
1967 MGB
1967 Corvette
1968 Corvette
1988 Supercharged MR2
1999 M3

I now own the 1973 Challenger you see here. I don’t know much about the car........It’s a great story. I decided I wanted a Challenger or a Cuda and the hunt was on. I spent a lot of time researching these cars, thanks again Dave, and literally stumbled across this car. I wanted a numbers matching car, which this is not.

Let me back up a moment, My name id Jon and I live in Oklahoma City, for those of you unfamiliar with Oklahoma City...............................Oklahoma City is the Cultural Center of the Universe........Yeeee Haaaa! Just wanted to clear that up.

Back to my story...........The car was located fairly close to where I live, which means it was in the middle of no-where. I called the number and a guy answered and immediately put the hard sell on me................I wasn’t very interested until he started his tale of woe...............His impending divorce from....................wife number Three!

I drove out to his place to look at the car. What impressed me the most was the condition of the body, it is rock solid. We went for a test drive, and the car drove good.........I didn’t run the car hard I was just listening for unusual noises.

He where sitting in front of his house talking about the car when this woman drove up to his house got out of the truck and walked into the house. The guy looked at me kinda sheepishly and explained it was his new girlfriend that had just moved in...........

To make a long story short..............we struck a deal I was happy with.............I think he was just relieved to get his hands on some cash................

And that’s how I acquired this Challenger. It’s a 1973 car that came with the 318 engine. The car now has a 440 in it. The car has PS, PB front disc, A/C, which all work. The rear end is a 3:55 and it has a 727 transmission in it.

All I know about the engine is that it was manufactured in 1971, it has a Comp Cam (224/230, .3180/.3200) in it, an Edelbrock 440 Performer intake, and Edelbrock 750 cfm carburetor....................as far as the internals of the engine, your guess is as good as mine.

As best I can tell the guy I bought this car from bought the car from the original builder of the car..............And I also suspect that car changed hands due to financial hardship.

Since I’ve owned the car I’ve rebuilt the front end, installed a police spec power steering gear box, and new tires and wheels. The car needs more work...........I’ll eventually get to it...............

by **dave-r** » 20 Dec 2003 20:45

Wow. Very sharp car. Thanks for showing us that. And welcome to the board! :wink:

I see you have fitted (Autometer?) performance gauges to your standard dash. They fit well. Someone was asking about wether he could do that or not. Now who was it?....

by **Jono** » 30 Apr 2004 18:20

Well………….I thought I’d provide an update. I said there was a lot of work to be done to my car. The engine is complete. Here it is on the dyno and I’ve attached a graph of the results. Max horsepower was 483 @ 5600 rpm and max torque was 518 ft-lbs @ 4600. When I get time I’ll post a list of the parts used. A lot of off the shelf stuff combined with a great machine shop. The car’s transmission has been rebuilt. Still have the rear end and a complete TTI exhaust system to install. Did some painting as well.

by **insuranceguy** » 30 Apr 2004 20:09

That dyno is a "Yeeee Haaaa!" if I ever have seen one. It is great to see a late model challenger with the balls they should of had from the factory! Good job!

Todd

by **Jono** » 23 Jun 2004 12:11

I'll post the parts used soon, however, I wanted to post some pics.....

The first is the way the car looked when I bought it. And some new pictures of the engine compartment.

The main problem I need to solve is the brakes. At high speeds when I slam on the brakes the rear of the car get extremely light and swings hard to the right. It can be scary. I think it may be thje proportioning valve. The brake system fluid was incredibly filthy when I bought the car. I had it flushed but..............So I am going to investigate adjustment first and then.....well we shall see. I looked through the brake board but didn't find anything. I'll post my solution, when I get one.

by **Jono** » 23 Jun 2004 12:42

Here's the one I meant to put in........................

by **insuranceguy** » 23 Jun 2004 16:55

http://www.ssbrakes.com/products/detail ... &year=1972

Works for 73 & 74 as well!

Todd

by **dave-r** » 23 Jun 2004 20:59

Sounds like the Master Cylinder may be gone. An adjustable rear proportioning valve is always a good idea to get the front/rear balance right.

by **Jono** » 17 Apr 2005 15:55

I feel like my Challenger is a money pit. I still have some detail work to do..........but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Many thanks to Dave for this site..........what a resource. I found myself more than once running upstairs to comb through this web site looking for answers to my problems. Where to start?

Brakes. As I had posted before my car was unsafe when braking at high speed. Part of my problem was the proportioning valve was shot........the other was an old tired brake system. New rotors, calipers, drums, brake lines and adjustable proportioning valve set it all to rights. I can haul the car down from over 110 mph very safely.

Electrical. My car hadn’t been hacked up as badly as others, however it wasn’t good. Auto-meter gauges had been wired in......An old sound system with two amps had been wired in and the real problem was..................an Amp gauge. Yes I had a short and yes it fried some of my wiring. I went to Mad Electrical and got the details to delete the amp gauge and rewire a volt meter in to the panel. I still have some electrical gremlins to chase down, but the major problem has been fixed. When something doesn’t work.......make sure it has a proper ground.

Engine. I spent a lot of money on my engine. More than was necessary. I had the engine rebuilt at a great machine shop and quality machining was performed, however, these guys specialize in Chebbies. My car just wasn’t performing like it had 480 ponies under the hood. Look at my HP/Torque curve. Notice how max HP isn’t reached until 5600 rpm? That was my problem. I had a MSD ignition and distributor installed. The advance in the distributor is controlled by two springs.........the two heaviest springs are installed at the factory. I wasn’t getting max advance until 5500 rpm. I installed the two lightest springs in the distributor........I now get max advance at 3000 rpm. It’s unbelievable the difference in performance.

Interior. I had the seats recovered......it’s amazing how new seat padding can change the ride of the car. I put in new carpeting.....and I screwed up the area near the shifter........but looking at other cars, I’m not the only one. I put in new window seals.....what a pain in the ass. The repros have you try to use pop rivets to hold the seals in place. It doesn’t work. I ended up using silicon.

I bought another project. The body is in great shape........however, it needs a suspension, engine, trans, and rear end. I’m putting a 383 in it, replacing the push button transmission with a big block version. 3:55 sure grip rear end. Front disk brakes. New master cylinder and brakes lines............Paint and interior will come next year.

by **dave-r** » 17 Apr 2005 16:44

Jono wrote:Many thanks to Dave for this site..........what a resource.

Thanks but I am not the only one to thank. It is you guys telling us about what you have found yourselves in practice that makes this site a good resource.

I put in new carpeting.....and I screwed up the area near the shifter........but looking at other cars, I’m not the only one.

I bet that is the bit drivers side of the centre console? :wink:

I have a new carpet to fit when my car gets back from paint and I am determined to get that bit right!

Any ideas how to go about it if you were doing it again?

by **Jono** » 17 Apr 2005 18:36

When I put my carpet in I pulled the shift bar that connects the shifter to the actual shift linkage.

I laid the carpet down and just cut a hole to get the shifter through.

I thought I was doing all the right things and it looked pretty good. However, the carpet just didn’t seem to fit on the driver’s side and I kept cutting. The shifter and shift assembly is off-set towards the driver. You have that big square panel you need to just clear around. I over compensated.

If I had it to do over again...........I think my approach was good, my execution wasn’t. Patience young weed-hopper.

Just cut a little.........you can always cut a little more......

by **Jono** » 20 Oct 2005 12:34

I should put this in the "Other Mopar Photos", however, I just like piling on this thread. I'm almost done with the mechanics on the Fury. All rebuilt suspension, new springs, new TTI exhaust system, new front disc brake system, Firm Feel Stage III power steering box, new 3:55 rear, new transmission. I want to try and button this up in the next 30 days or so......before and after photos of the engine compartment.....an old 318 poly and the new 383, KB 10:1 pistons. The 383 is a HP block cast on 12/11/1963.

by **Brant** » 21 Oct 2005 13:23

I love your car. Sounds like you made a lot of right decisions – your car looks awesome! I'd like to see how it performs as I'm really only firmiliar with a small block. Your stance looks real nice. I like that you restored you rimblow with black – looks more aggressive and matches the look.

It's funny about the distributer cause I did the same thing – I figured I could get away with running it the way it came for a while but I quickly learned I needed to swith those springs for good reason. Never bored with these cars! :roll:

by **Jon** » 22 Oct 2005 14:17

How do you like the Police spec power steering unit and where did you get it?

Thanks

Jon

by **Jono** » 24 Oct 2005 12:58

Jon;

I really like it. Chrysler has a tendency to over boost the power steering.

Firm Feel out of Washington has provided all the suspension parts for my Challenger and Fury. They’re not cheap; however, Dick and Dennis are very customer friendly.

http://www.firmfeel.com/

I put the stage II power steering gear box in my Challenger. It’s built on the old police car specs. It’s tight and there’s no slop in the steering gear. My advice is that if you decide to put one in make sure the front end is either rebuilt or in really good shape…….otherwise you’re wasting your money ($299.00 plus core charge). I just installed a stage III power steering gear box in my Fury, I’m anxious to see how it performs.

I can't recommend thier T/A style rear sway bar enough.

I’d talk to Dick or Dennis, either can help you out……………