prorac1
Well-Known Member
And here's our finished radio project. A few small changes to the face and a little clean up and it looks totally natural. Thanks. Eric and Jason.
Father, Son, and Grand Father project. 1963 Valiant
- Thread starter prorac1
- Start date
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Dave1967
Cuda crazy
Very cool guys.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Time for another update. We decided to turn our attention towards the front suspension. Once we tore everything apart, we decided to pull the K member also and completely rebuild and refinish everything. This project is snowballing. LOL
We are also integrating 74 Dodge Challenger disk brakes on the front to go along with the new ball joints, tie rod ends, v8 centerlink, idler arm, and bushings.
More work will be done tonite after jason gets out of school. I'll update our progress. Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
More suspension and steering pics.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Keith Mopar
Mopar Nut
Great progress, that radio idea is fantastic.
Looking good!
I am impressed that you have your son properly dressed and using safety PPE in all the pictures, that is most likely the most important lesson.
I am impressed that you have your son properly dressed and using safety PPE in all the pictures, that is most likely the most important lesson.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Thank you. Now if only I could remember to wear them myself. Lol.
I just read through the thread and realized I have a lot of pictures of Dad and Jason, but because I'm the one taking the pictures, I'm not in any of them. Lol
It's ok. I'm an ugly dude. Lol
Thanks again for reading. Jason really enjoys reading your comments and encouragement. Eric and Jason
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Thanks. And best of all it was completely free!
My uncle had a lime green 1973 318 scamp years ago, and he kept the radio out of it when he sold it.
So yet another family connection.
Thanks again for reading. Eric and Jason
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Me Dad and Jason got a lot of work done on the car today.
We got the upper control arm bushings pressed in, and the upper ball joints threaded in. I forgot how much fun THOSE can be to get threaded straight. Lol.
We got the lower control arm bushings in along with the restored torsion bar adjustment hardware.
We also got the lower ball joints and restored backing plates attached to the spindles from the 1974 Dodge Challenger for the disk brake swap.
We also did some more cleaning in the wheel wells in preparation for primer and paint. But I'll detail that in the next post. Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
We have also been working on cleaning the wheel wells in preparation for primer and paint.
We are painting the wheelwells body color (red).
We never intended to paint them, but, jason was in the wheelwell knocking off some of the loose undercoating so that we could shoot some fresh black in there, when he showed me shiny silver factory paint hiding underneath.
So he scraped some more, and some more. Than grabbed the de scaler and went to town. And between him and grandpa they got it to the point you see above.
Just a little more cleaning and it should be ready for primer on Tuesday and paint on Wednesday. Time permitting.
Than hopefully Sunday we can reinstall the K member and steering, suspension and brakes. It's going to look awesome! Jason is super excited at how well all the individual parts came out finish wise, and can't wait to see it all come together. Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
IMHO , the best part is he is learning.....not about cleaning parts, but how simple the entire chassis is and how everything works. Before it is over he will have a major in caster, camber, and toe in......with perhaps a minor in bump steer and ackerman.
outstanding!
outstanding!
prorac1
Well-Known Member
You are absolutely right Denny! He has been learning so much, espically in the last 6 months. He's getting really excited, and actually becoming a really good wrench in the process. Me and his grandfather are very proud!
Dartn440
Well-Known Member
I’ll tell you it’s great. I like the PPE. Took the 6year old to the shop the other day and he had a blast just hanging out. Was a great time together. I just liked having him out there...learning, no learning. Fun for us both.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
That's the best part of this whole project. Three generations working on the same project.
In the same barn that me and Dad originally restored my car 25 years ago. We are noticing that our skill sets are much much more broad than they were 25 years ago. Lol.
We are having a lot of fun working together on this project. We've discovered a lot about early a bodies, and a lot about our selves.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Some more updates.
We got the wheel wells cleaned and primed.
After they dried, we scuffed them down, blew them off and got them ready for paint.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
And these pictures are after we got the front frame rails, and wheel wells painted and the k member reinstalled. It's turning out really well.
Sunday we assemble our restored and waiting steering, suspension and disk brake parts.
Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
Sunday we assemble our restored and waiting steering, suspension and disk brake parts.
Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Worked on getting the majority of the front suspension and steering together today. The urathane lower control arm bushings, strut rod bushings, and torsion bar boots fought us a bit, but nothing we couldn't handle. We got the lower control arm bushings pulled most of the way in where they need to be.
We plan on finishing the front end work on Wednesday. On to the pictures!!!
We plan on finishing the front end work on Wednesday. On to the pictures!!!
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Not a lot to report today. We got the tie rod sleeves repainted and installed and got our bearings and seals sorted out for the rotors.
Also cleaned up the rusty crusty battery tray and got that coated in rust restorer.
Tomorrow is planned to be a crankin day progress wise. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
Also cleaned up the rusty crusty battery tray and got that coated in rust restorer.
Tomorrow is planned to be a crankin day progress wise. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
Beautiful work fellas. I happen to have a thing for red myself. Nearly 7 years on our project, still with things to do. You guys are moving along at an awesome pace!
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Thank you DD. Your build was a source of inspiration to us. And that's kinda the stance we're going for also. Lol
prorac1
Well-Known Member
We're feeling pretty accomplished today. After having everything fight us it seemed, the steering, brakes, and suspension up front are pretty much wrapped up.
We had to modify the urathane strut rod bushings to prevent them from pushing the urathane lower control arm bushings out. So we ended up pulling the torsion bars BACK out, in order to remove the strut rods, in order to modify the bushings and spacer which were to thick.
Than we assembled the front brakes, which was pretty uneventful for a change.
It was good to see it back on its wheels again.
Now, onto the engine and transmission!!!!
Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
We had to modify the urathane strut rod bushings to prevent them from pushing the urathane lower control arm bushings out. So we ended up pulling the torsion bars BACK out, in order to remove the strut rods, in order to modify the bushings and spacer which were to thick.
Than we assembled the front brakes, which was pretty uneventful for a change.
It was good to see it back on its wheels again.
Now, onto the engine and transmission!!!!
Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Well, I had to work a 13 hour day today, but Jason is on Christmas break, so him and grandpa started tearing down the 318.
I posted in the small block section reguarding a mis matched piston, and many members were quick to jump in and confirm that it appears to be a service replacement piston. Likely installed under warranty at the dealer.
Other than a lot of carbon, the engine cleaned up really well.
We still need to block off the air tube ports below each exhaust port because our 1964-1966 exhaust manifolds don't cover them.
Also, we're going to remove the valve springs, clean up the parts, do a few hand laps to confirm valve seat concentricity, and install new valve seals.
Than we're going to slather everything in assembly lube, oil up the cylinders, install a new oil pump and timing chain, and paint it up to make it pretty.
Jason is getting super excited as the car is coming together. And is really excited to get his hands into the engine.
Thank you for reading. Eric and Jason.
I posted in the small block section reguarding a mis matched piston, and many members were quick to jump in and confirm that it appears to be a service replacement piston. Likely installed under warranty at the dealer.
Other than a lot of carbon, the engine cleaned up really well.
We still need to block off the air tube ports below each exhaust port because our 1964-1966 exhaust manifolds don't cover them.
Also, we're going to remove the valve springs, clean up the parts, do a few hand laps to confirm valve seat concentricity, and install new valve seals.
Than we're going to slather everything in assembly lube, oil up the cylinders, install a new oil pump and timing chain, and paint it up to make it pretty.
Jason is getting super excited as the car is coming together. And is really excited to get his hands into the engine.
Thank you for reading. Eric and Jason.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Not a lot to report lately. The holidays went well, and now we're ready to get back to business.
Parts came in today. Here's some of the Booty!
Cam, lifters, valve springs, adjustable timing set, oil pump, and pickup.
Just waiting on the gasket set and a few other odds and ends.
Time to measure and setup/shim valve spring height, and teach Dad and Jason how to degree a cam.
Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
Parts came in today. Here's some of the Booty!
Cam, lifters, valve springs, adjustable timing set, oil pump, and pickup.
Just waiting on the gasket set and a few other odds and ends.
Time to measure and setup/shim valve spring height, and teach Dad and Jason how to degree a cam.
Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
prorac1
Well-Known Member
Cam card
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