I started this post on another site and just moved it so I had to do a little editing to make it flow better, so please bear with me

I'm in the process of getting a 1974 Challenger back on the road after 10 or so years of neglect including sitting nearly under water for 3 days after Hurricane Floyd in 98 (?). My dad got it in 75 when it was 6 months old. I was 20 then. 3 years ago my folks moved here to Omaha from NC and Dad and I were planning to restore it together but he was struck down with health ailments and died in January of cancer. I'm trying to finish the job with the guidance of his spirit First job was to repair the rust hole in the gas tank. Won't run well when it won't hold gas LOL. Tank is done and reinstalled. Next; brakes. Then body work. I had to strip the ragged vinyl top to slow down the rust around front and rear glass. I’m at work right now and most of my pictures are at home or on the other site, but here’s what it looked like when we got it “home.”
Stay tuned for updates

Good luck Scott Carl. My dad bought my '71 RR for a project to restore with us kids. Years gone by and my dad felt that he couldn't do things anymore. So for Xmas of '06, I got it for my present. We've had it for 23yrs now. I'm taking on the task of doing it but in the spirit of what we talked to dad as to what and how far to go with the restoration.

P.S I'm originally from Omaha(AKA the big "O"). I remember as a kid going to Baxter Dodge with my dad to look at the cars there.

Looks like a fun project i love these posts so i will be checking in here often!

Steve

Stuff I've done:

Patched and sealed the tank with POR15


Da brakes. I didn't turn the drums or rotors. They weren't that bad.

Stuff I need to do just for starters. There's much, much, more

Interior needs a little work. Headliner is in pretty good shape as Dad had replace it b4 the flood. Door panels and back seat panels need replacing.



rust around front and rear glass



Better do something with that top too! ...and I'll probably iron out the rear valance that sitting off to the left here



As I said, I got my challenger from my dad who was the second owner, so that makes me the third. Due to circumstances from spreading himself too thin (he owned and or maintained a couple dozen cars after his retirement from the Marine Corps) to all of his time he devoted to the Shriners and Masons, the Challenger got neglected. It pretty much sat for at least 10 years. Well after 3 years of it sitting here in Omaha, I finally made time to start on it.
Well, Brakes are done and its running!! Not without a little effort mind you LOL First I had to solve the problem of it not cranking with the key. Turns out I have a bad neutral switch so I created a temporary work around by grounding the ground terminal on the starter relay. Next I had to figure out why it wouldn't idle. Remember, this car sat for more than 10 years and sat under water after a hurricane in NC. Dad drained the engine and transmission and got it running again and then had to move on to other priorities. Well I think most of Atlantic Beach had settled in the float bowl Long story short, I bought a carb kit and fixed the idle problem. Had to add some dexron but I was able to drive it around the block. First time for me in 20 years I have some noise coming from the rear end. I shoved as much grease in the axle bearings as I could without taking them off while I did the rear brakes but not sure of their integrity. They didn't look too bad but it could be the input shaft bearing too... or all three. Well I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Next project after I fix the rear end noise is the exhaust. It broke at the muffler while I was working on getting it to run.
"If it ain't one thing, it's another. It just goes ta show ya; its always somethin'!!" Got in to move it one day and saw antifreeze on the passenger side floor mat. Heater cores are too bad in price, but I'm just bypassing for now.
I drove the car to my friends garage to store for the winter and notice a bit of smoke coming from the exhaust. Some, I’m pretty sure is bad valve seals and some may be rings. There’s less than 100,000 miles on the stock 318, but with the neglect, I’m surprised I was able to even get it to run. I have no qualms about an overhaul and when I do it I’ll go ahead and throw a cam in. I have an AVS that according to the digits is a LP off a 71 C body. Freshen up the 318 with that, the cam and dual exhaust, it should be a little less sluggish than stock I don’t plan to race it; Its just the stock 904 tranny with a one wheeler 8 ¾ rear. But It should be fun. Well, Thanks for your interest and any helpful criticism or suggestions
Scott

... and SERIOUSLY Dad! those white walls have gotta go I'm also thinking of using these wheels in place of the stock rallies. I thought I might sell the Rallye wheels to finance another phase of my project, but not sure if I could get that much for them, or just put them away for safe keeping. I'm open to suggestions These wheels are just sitting collecting dust. I got them for some money someone owed me and I think they are from American Racing but I need to find the center caps or buy new ones

FYI those are Ford Ranger/Explorer wheels from the mid 90's

LOL Boy, do I feel foolish Thanks. I was trying to identify them. May rethink the wheel swap thing Are they worth anything??

Pig tracks I guess I never paid much attention til I started working on the Challenger, My nephew gave them to me cause of some money he owed me. Not sure where I got the idea they were aftermarket. Buddy at work may want to trade me though!! He says he has some Keystone Klassics he's willing to swap. May just keep the Rallyes, however. They are a nice enough looking wheel. 'Specially if I get rid of those dang white walls LOL

So, Scott...do you have anything to update? I know in another post you said that you took the car to a friends house for the winter.

Do you have any more pictures to share? Give us a run down of all the options exc. Looks like the car is a factory black with black stripe car. Very cool!!!

Yeah its on the back burner for the winter. Maily due to money but there's the weather, recovering from back surgery, uh, did I mention money?? LOL Basic black on black with black interior. Really only option was power steering and Auto Trans. Don't even have power brakes. My dad added the Sears AC within a month of buying it. Depending on what kind of cash we all see out of the upcoming Stimulus package, I hope to start on the seats as the next project or dual exhaust. Really want to get started on the engine too, but did I mention the money thing?

I suggets you do what I do when I have no money to invest in my project- work on free things, like inspecting and cleaning up the wiring harness, gauges, etc. You can usually find plenty to do in the dead of winter and once it's done, you can put it in a storage bin and it's ready to be installed once the car is ready.

You've got a great start on the car.

It had black strobe stripes on it right? I think 72 might have been the only year for a stripe delete option on the Rallye. I love black cars with flat black stripes!!!

Yup. Flat black stobe stripes decal Another delema on the finish. If I put the vinyl back on, I surely want to redo the stripes. However, if I go with a bare top, I'm not sure if the stripes would look right. I wish I had thought of this before my PhotoShop trial ran out LOL

It doesn't matter if you put the vynal top back on or not. You HAVE to put the stripes back on.

I've never really cared for the louvers without the stripes. Flat black stripes on a black car look awsome. However it's your car and you can do whatever you wish.

One more "B4" picture then hope to post just "progress" from here This was from the trip to bring it home from NC. Lost a lot of the vinyl on that trip LOL

Well, it was a long winter but she's back home. Started right up! Smoked a bit but I still think the carb's loading up bad. Its mostly a dark smoke, but did clear up quite a bit after it was warmed up. I believe its not as bad as last fall though so maybe the rings are freeing up and reseating? After all it did sit un-run for many years. No worries. I don't mind going through it eventually if need be.
Today, I pulled the back seats, side panels and headliner. I want to get stated on the rust around the front and back glass so that all had to come out. Plan to pull the back glass and start there as its he worst. While I was pulling the bottom seat cushion I found something cool! I read about it all the time here, but I never gave it much though, but low and behold, there it was; the broadcast sheet!! It was tuck neatly between the springs and webbing. I had t carefully pull the springs back as i was so brittle. Remember, it had sat underwater during a hurricane!! I pulled the top of it apart but I have it all I think Gonna try to laminate it or something. It's too fragile to handle otherwise. Well, onward through the fog!!