I decided to bring this thread back from the dead. The last time the Challenger saw the light of day was in October 2013. For the last year and a half it's been under a car cover in a heated shop. After getting it running in the fall of 2012, life got in the way of fixing some bugs and enjoying it. I needed a break, so it was parked. Now it's time to fix the bugs and make it a reliable car. For some reason, storage was not kind to the car. The engine compartment looks awful and some suspension parts have a light coating of surface rust on them. It will need a lot of work. I'll post pictures of the problem areas in the coming weeks.

Here it is with the cover off after sleeping for and year and a half.


It's dusty but the paint still looks good.


I've had the resto battery sitting in the corner of my garage this entire time with a $10 Harbor Freight "tender" on it. I didn't know if it would still be usable or not. After setting the battery in place the engine cranked over strong. Those "tenders" must do their job. After a couple squirts of gas down the carb, the engine fired right off. While the engine was warming up I installed the battery hold down hardware. After the car was off the jack stands, I spent the next 1/2 hour/45 minutes maneuvering the car out of the shop. I had to squeeze it between the shop door and my cousin's camper. I don't think I had 2" clearance per side. Eventually, I got it out without scratching anything. I don't want to do that again though.

Rain showers were supposed to develop in the afternoon so I wanted to get home before the weather got bad. All was good until I got about a 1/2 hour from home when the rain hit. On the bright side, I got a chance to test out the wipers. Also, no water found its way into the interior or into the trunk so that's good. The car is very dirty now though. It will need its first hand washing very shortly. So, while it needs a lot of work, it's safely at home in the garage...with some company.