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It is nice seeing these F-Bodies restored and customized, they are all too often overlooked. Keep it up guys!
The shots before the fun began.... This was the day after I purchased her off eBay. It wasn't long before the straight six and 904 transmission were pulled and a 360 Panther Crate motor with a custom built 727 transmission installed.
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UPDATE: 5/14/2008 -- This a listing of the major highlights that will occur over the next several months. The goal is to have the R/T ready for the Summit Racing Mopar show in Ohio.
Keep an eye on this site for updates, she will be heading to the body shop as soon as Brian can fit me in.
BODY
* Weld in all body emblem holes
* Weld in rear side markers
* Remove and weld in the antenna on the front fender
* Custom fabricate fiberglass front and rear bumpers, pulling them in closer to the body
* Replace existing grill with an SRT8 black honeycomb grill
* All existing aluminum trim will be either painted or powder coated black
* A flip-top gas cap will be added to the upper fender, and the existing filler site will be welded in
* Body paint scheme will be off white on the body, fender spoilers, wheel spoilers, rear side window vents and bumpers, then flat black on the hood, rear wing, and side mirrors
OTHER
* A billet battery mount was purchased for the relocated battery (RedTop)
* A Zex NOS system will be installed
* The NOS purge line will be fabricated into the back of the hood, or on the cowl plate
* An eight point roll cage will be installed
* Mini tubs will be cut in to allow for a larger wheel/tire combo
* An aluminum engine shroud will fabricated working around the Shaker scoop
* Install the traction bars
* Begin the finish work on the interior and trunk
* Have the 1/4 inch aluminum dash fabricated for the autometer gauges
* Stereo, amplifiers, sub, and speaker install
The "organized" mess........ All parts in a pile after they were removed off and out of the car. I took plenty of photos so when I pull everything back together, I will know where they go. Small parts and nuts, bolts, screws, etc. were placed in zip-lock bags and clearly labled.
These are the 73 Duster fiberglass bumpers which will be modified to fit the R/T.
Above is a picture of the Zex 10 pound Nitrous system and the billet Optima RedTop battery hold down and cut off for the trunk.
The upper dash was pulled out, taken apart, and color changed from tan to black. I did the color change with Duplicolor vinyl paint, and the metal portion was painted with a textured flat black.
I have the fiberglass front fender vent on the body to show roughly where it is going, I think it will look better around two inches or so higher. They will be worked down so that the inlet opening will be ~ 3/4 inch away from the fender and more flush with the body.
The vents, once they are pulled in closer to the body will look at home with the factory fiberglass side window louvers.
I'm considering going with an eight Point Roll cage instead of the four point for this application with swing out bars. I'll keep it black so it flows better with the interior.
All lights, markers, interior trim, and the grill were also removed. I was lucky, since there is no rust on the car, everthing came out easily.
The two tone black & tan front buckets turned out nice. All the trim and hardware was taken off, cleaned, and painted black. The Iggee covers will tighten up even further once I get them in the sun; right now, the covers are too cold to work the small wrinkles on the side bolsters out.
I installed the Iggee covers on the factory leather buckets and back seat. The bottom rear seat cover was sent back to Iggee, it was a bit too tight. The other pieces had a nice fit. They are also making a custom cover for the center console lid.
The upper dash and pad were also pulled -- the plan is to make an aluminum cluster face similar to the set-up in the StalkerVette.
I trimed down a Chevelle SS gauge pod for the center console. The original plan was to glass it in, but I thought it would be better to keep it modular and as a bolt in.
An aluminum plate was fabricated for the shifter, NOS arming switch, purge button, and two auxiliary switches.
The above pictures show the center console test fit in the car.
The factory gas filler neck is going to be relocated, then a "Flip Top" fuel cap will be installed higher on the drivers side rear quarter panel.
After getting her up on jack stands, I was ready to tear into it!
The R/T chin spoiler had good alignment out of the box.... But I will make a center brace to prevent tearing the fiberglass attachment points to the fender flares.
The wheel flares were attached with sheet metal screws.
I removed the aluminum trim around the rear side windows to make room for the louvers (this was the first test fit). They will be permanently attached with 3M double sided body/trim tape once they are painted.
On the rear decklid, I plan to label it "Custom R/T" similar to the way the Challengers and Cuda's did (like the above photo).
I ordered the "70 Cuda'Go-Wing" from First Place Auto Products instead of going with the OEM duck tail spoiler which came on the R/T package. They are an awesome company to deal with, and highly recommended.
The Go Wing is more period correct with the shaker scoop, and the quality of the spoiler from FPA is awesome!
I like the "Old Scool" stance. With a taller rear tire and the air shocks, I will be able to fine tune the rake. If we mini tub, I would like to shove some 295mm wide and 30 inches tall under the rear...
After more than an hour, and a bunch of Bandaides, I was able to remove all emblems and the side molding. Now to find a solvent strong enough to remove the molding tape. This stuff was hard as a rock!
After measuring a dozen times before drilling the hood, the stainless pins were easy to install.
Starting with the drivers side fender, the plan was to work around the car one panel at a time taking everything down for paint. But since the panels were in such good shape, I decided to simply knock them down, no need going down to metal.
Sanding everything down under the hood before prime had to be the worst -- that easily took all day to get in all the recessed areas.
I had to do some glass work on the shaker trim ring. On a Cuda', the center of the hood has a ridge, and the R/T has a flat hood. So I ground down the high relief and glassed it smooth.
The shaker scoop was sanded down before filling the imperfections in the fiberglass, prime, then coating it with a Rust-Oleum black/gray hammer coat finish. To get the look I wanted, I color sanded three coats with 1500 grit wet paper.
The above test fit and clearance pictures do not show the subtle texture to the scoop.
I found a reproduction inner hood "SHAKER" decal similar to the one above.
Aluminum mesh from Summit were glassed into the scoop opennings.
The "360-FOUR BARREL" emblems for the sides of the shaker were purchased off E-Bay.
Then, to filter the air, I modifed the base so it will work with the above 14 inch high-flow washable filter and lid. This baby is going to breath deep!
I glassed the two piece off-set 4 barrel Shaker base together and coated it with a rubber based texture coating.
The internal weather seal is a reproduction piece.
For the shaker scoop inner hood weather stip, I customized a Dodge 72 door seal. This was much better than shelling out $150+ for the OEM reproduction seal.
The entire body was scuff sanded down with the exception of the plastic parts. There are only two small surface rust spots smaller than a dime.
The body is in great shape with zero bondo/repair and only a couple shallow door dings to be repaired (six total).
Here are a couple pictures after we hung the sidepipes.
After some minor fab work, the Challenger SureGrip posi rear is in, once I get the sway bar installed, everything will be cleaned up and painted high gloss black; the leaf springs will be sanded down and coated a textured flat black.
I want to get the body modifications and paint finished before I start the underbody detailing.
The factory bumpers will be repalaced with fiberglass 1973 Duster front and rear bumpers, identical to the pieces on the above images.
The wheel choice will be one of the above, American Racing Rebel or TorqueThrust II's, or a custom offset old school Centerline Traditional, Legend, or Champ 500.
After much deliberation, I decided to stick with the 727 block and upgrade the the existing 904 transmission to a 727 unit. That transmission will be better suited for this application. Sooner or later, the 904 would give up the ghost.
We had to check out the fit of the Edelbrock RPM Performer Air-Gap intake, that is one sweet piece of hardware! You may have noticed too that all the bolts are ARP 12 point black oxide chromemoly.
The brackets and pulley set from BPE are a perfect fit, as is the alignment. Check out the location and fit of the new 7312 compressor.
The engine spool mount conversion kit for the SuperSix to the 360 fromSchumacher Creative Services is awesome. This kit permited us to utilize the existing K-member and the power steering unit.
The shop did a clearance test with the new spool mounts, everything looked good. So now the engine, tranny, and headers are in place.
Out with the old 904, in with the new.... A 727 transmission was custom built to handle the new crate engine.
DYNOTECH is amazing! In one day, they cut a new drive shaft and installed a high performance yoke for the 727 (the old 904 yoke will not work with the new transmission). www.dynotechengineering.com
X = Part in the garage or item completed
O = Part is on order / waiting for delivery
-- = Still looking for the item / still needs to be completed
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BODY
X ..... ShowCar Mopar Shaker scoop
X ..... Spectre Locking hood pins.....4261
X ..... ShowCar Adapter ring & base plate
X ..... ShowCar R/T One piece rear spoiler
X ..... ShowCar R/T Three piece nose spoiler
X ..... ShowCar R/T Window louvers (vertical pair)
X ..... ShowCar R/T Six piece stoneguard flairset
X ..... Factory OEM Aluminum Sport Side Mirrors
X ..... Replace gas cap with billet aluminum gas door
-- ..... Custom made mesh blacked out front grill, similar to new Dodge 300SRT
-- ..... Recessed fiberglass front and rear bumpers
X ..... Remove rubber bumper guards
X ..... Shave all badges and door trim
-- ..... Body color paint bumpers
X ..... DEI plate bolts
-- ..... External antenna deleted, move to interior
X ..... Remove front plate bracket
X ..... Mustang scoop vents
X ..... NOS Window channel weatherstripping.....WX-134
X ..... NOS Weather strip/door seals.....1AWSR00070
X ..... NOS Mopar "Shaker" and 360 engine decal kit
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ENGINE
X ..... Jasper 375HP Performance 360 Panther Long block.....MPR360375
X ..... Schumacher engine spool conversion kit.....A73LA6
X ..... Holley 750 square bore four barrel.....HLY-65-4779
X ..... Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap Intake.....EDL-7576
X ..... ARP Engine Bolt kit.....ARP-544-9801
X ..... Mancini Racing Power Steering bracket.....MREPS004
X ..... Mancini Racing Alternator bracket.....MRE6651
X ..... Mopar Performance mini starter.....DCC-5249644AB
X ..... Mopar Performance chrome valve covers
X ..... Aluminum radiator recovery tank
X ..... Mopar Performance crank bolt
X ..... Mopar Performance 80 gph mechanical fuel pump.....SUM-250014-1
X ..... Mopar Performance external balanced dampener.....SUM-C4278
X ..... Summit Racing battery relocation kit.....SUM-G1200A
X ..... 1A Auto Composite radiator.....1ARAD00230
X ..... Mopar Performance Oil Pump Driveshaft and Distributor Gear Set.....DCC-3690715
X ..... Mopar Performance center sump oil pan.....DCC-5249059
X ..... Trans-Dapt Performance Oil Sandwich Adapter.....TRD-1313
X ..... Summit aluminum shroud and 14" electric fan.....SUM-381012
X ..... Trans-Dapt Performance Chrome Water Neck.....TRD-4987
X ..... Choke cable.....SUM-G1300
X ..... Fuel line.....SUM-G3100
X ..... Valve cover grommet set.....MOR-68775
X ..... PVC grommet set.....MOR-68770
X ..... Bouchillion Performance Engineering Pulley set.....BPE40027C
X ..... Bouchillion Performance Engineering AC Brackets.....BPE4730
X ..... Bouchillion Performance Engineering 7312 Compressor.....BPE7312
X ..... Bouchillion Performance Engineering Alternator Pulley.....BPE4020
X ..... Bouchillion Performance Engineering AC Drier.....BPE6660
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TRANSMISSION
X ..... 727 Mopar Torqueflite
X ..... Lokar 727 kickdown cable.....LOK-KD-2727U
X ..... Lokar 727 cable bracket and spring.....LOK-SRK-4000
X ..... B&M 727 Flexplate.....BMM-10236
X ..... Hughes Performance 727 Torqueflite locking dipstick and tube.....HUP-HU1235
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IGNITION
X ..... MSD ProBillet Distributor.....MSD-8534
X ..... MSD 6AL Ignition.....MSD-6420
X ..... MSD Blaster 2 Coil.....MSD-8202
X ..... MSD 8.5mm Wires.....MSD-32749
X ..... Mopar Performance chrome distributor hold-down clamp.....DCC-4349278
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EXHAUST
X ..... Patriot 4-to-1 glass pack side pipes.....PTE-H1165
X ..... Hedman long tube headers.....HED-78050
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INTERIOR
X ..... Hurst V-Matic 2 rachet shifter custom mounted in center console.....HUU-3838515
X ..... Autometer mini gauges custom mounted in center console
X ..... Super Pack gauge cluster
X ..... Autometer Speedometer and Tach
X ..... Grant 860 steering wheel.....GRT-860
-- ..... Power locks/windows
-- ..... Window tint
X ..... MOMO Billet racing pedals
X ..... Black NOS floor mats
X ..... Custom R/T horn emblem
x ..... NOS black carpet for rear shelf and side of console
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STEREO
-- ..... Pioneer HU
X ..... MTX Thunder amplifier
X ..... Alpine V12 amplifier
-- ..... Pioneer component 6" door speakers
-- ..... Custom door pods
X ..... Pioneer 6x9 rear speakers
-- ..... MTX 1F capacitor
X ..... Steet wire installation kit for amplifiers
X ..... Polk DX 10" sub in Q-Box
-- ..... Custom rack for amplifier and capacitor
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WHEEL/SUSPENSION
-- ..... Wheels????????????
X ..... KYB shocks
X ..... R/T 3:21 Sure-grip posi rearend
X ..... R/T rear swaybar
X ..... Competition Engineering traction bars
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