Project Midnight Swinger

[MidnightSwinger]

Got a surprise in the mail today. @PST came through with the 16:1 manual steering box and a FABO member discount. Pulled the power box(almost brand new) and took some size comparison photos. Going to scrub and paint the K member before installing the manual box. Hit a snag with the u-joint style steering coupler. The one I ordered is way to small on the box side, it won’t slip on the PST manual box or the Cardone power steering box. Back to the drawing board on that.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Got the K frame cut for the Schumacher mounts. Also cut an access hole for the #6 spark plug. Tomorrow I am going to scrub the K frame and paint it.

 

[QKFSH67]

Rite on.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

With the mount installed

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Got some cleaning done today. Most impressive was the transmission cross member, removed an honest 2 lbs of sludge from inside. My thought while I was doing it was, Man they really should have drilled a drain hole, I guess I will have to. By the time I was done I noticed that there is a drain hole, and it was so gunked up full of grease I couldn’t see it!

 

[Gearhed73]

Going back with factory colors on the engine?

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Going back with factory colors on the engine?

It’s a real HP so the factory color is HEMI orange. I believe the valve covers are the correct shade, not sure about the block. Either way I’ve got some Hemi Orange in a can to touch up any missing paint before I install it.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

With the mount installed

View attachment 1715983411

Oh man, it’s always a party when the work light comes out! I love burning the midnight oil, great work!

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Oh man, it’s always a party when the work light comes out! I love burning the midnight oil, great work!

My $5 harbor freight light is one of the best tools I own! It is brighter than it has any reason to be, and it’s so damn hot it will heat the garage in the winter.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Well that was a lot of work. I should have bought 1 more can of paint I think, and I might still add another coat of clear. But at least the car is all one color now. 2 cans of primer, 3 cans of paint and 2 cans of gloss clear. Total cost was $75 for paint/primer and I already had the tape and paper.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

It’ll all be worth it when your engine is sitting in there, and everything looks nice. It’ll be like opening a treasure chest!

 

[MidnightSwinger]

It’ll all be worth it when your engine is sitting in there, and everything looks nice. It’ll be like opening a treasure chest!

It looks way better, and I think the 383 will draw attention away from the imperfections.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

I picked up some used MT drag radials for a great deal. They will be going on black powder coated cop car wheels with original dog dishes. It’s only a 235/60 but it’s a huge improvement over the 215/70r14 on there now.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Getting some painting done. Cold, wet weather ahead so the painting projects are on the top of the list. Got the fender braces sanded down 60-80-100-150-220 grit just because it was easy. Painted them with SEM trim paint, which is a great product and looks amazing.Transmission cross member is done in chassis black.

 

[Gearhed73]

Great process

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Dash and I’m done. This was the definition of quick and dirty, up close it’s not as pretty as in the pictures, but when is it ever?

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Time for the shock plates. First some soap and water, then a generous coating and keeping an eye on it to prevent it from drying.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

The rust remover worked pretty good, only had to do some light brushing and sanding.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Was walking up to the garage after taking the trash out, just looked too bad *** not to snap a picture. Soon.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Steering box is in and transmission mount installed.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

I couldn’t wait any longer. It is just set in there for now, I need to adjust it before I tighten all the bolts, but it looks good. I also need to get the Hedman hedders fit, so not quite there but the motor is finally off the pallet. I am happy.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

A little more work on the steering column conversion. A socket to show the size of the pile of aluminum shavings. Time to epoxy the holes and use filler to smooth the whole thing over.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Got the exhaust studs out without breaking them. Made in USA champions! One is even mopar branded.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Two kids birthdays and a host of Doctors appointments for the new baby has eaten up a lot of my time lately.

I’m not able to get all my painting projects done before the weather change. Hopefully we get a few low humidity days where I can paint some small parts in the garage but the rest will have to wait for next spring.

I’m really close to being able to fire this thing up, just need to do a little adjusting on the K frame and the motor is in. Gotta clean up the wiring harness and reinstall it. Fit the headers, then it’s just the usual stuff, fuel, coolant, spark and go!

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Thanks to @GTX JOHN for the gauge bezel. So far I just peeled the trippy sticker off and just blasted this thing with hot tap water. Next step is brake fluid, and then oven cleaner as a last resort. My plan is to paint it flat black and use a silver paint pen for the highlights, no more wood grain. If it looks good I’ll strip the radio bezel and glove box door trim and paint them the same way. The color theme of the car is black and silver so I think it will look sharp.