Yes, it feels like the annual "I gotta get this POS running!' is in session. No guaranties as to project completion date, but it's looking more like a "real car" so far.

I'm not gonna bother with a "done" and "to do" list, but installing the rest of the exhaust system (headers already in) and reinstalling the front fenders & front grill are the next tasks to work on in the next day or two.

I did think it might be interesting to list all of the changes that have been done to the car since it got pulled apart "many moons ago", so here's what I can list off the top of my head:

1. Updated engine makes about 10% more HP and 5% more torque
2. Strange S-60 replaced 8.75 w/ brace; same 4.10 gear ratio
3. Strange 3" chro-moly 1350 drive shaft w/ forged ends and billet slip yoke
4. Changed to 22" front CalTracs segments from 20"; still have old Rancho 5-way shocks... for now
5. Rear wheel width now 10"; used 8" before; same size 275/60R15 drag radial
6. Front tires changed to M&H 185/75R15 from no-name 215/75R15
7. Tubular upper control arms, Delrin lower control arm bushings, adjustable struts, new ball joints & tie rod ends; still have previous QA1 R single-adjustable drag shocks up front
8. Front frame rail repaired and some chassis reinforcements added
9. Original replica T/A hood's scoop modified to increase height 1.5"
10. "Real gauges", as in new AutoMeter oil pressure, oil temp and water temp
11. New fuel tank out of concern old tank had corrosion... which turned out not to be the case once I removed it
12. New 8K playback tach to replace old budget VDO tach... still in box; I pulled it out to look at today
13. 5-gallon pail of Sunoco 260 GT 100 UL E10 fuel for first fire up. 8^)

$trange Engineering lives here...

Nice work

Looks great!

Looks good, I think you will really enjoy it once you get it out.

That beautiful wiper motor is worth at least a tenth!

Looking good Brad

Very nice Brad! Looking forward to hearing how it runs when you get it back together.

Perhaps... or not

I think that wiper restoration was one of the last jobs Jules D'addio completed before he died. It's almost too pretty for a 20-footer like my '73.

Nice car. Looks tastefully done. Looks kind of familiar also. Similar to mine.

A car can represent more than one thing, and a small amount of resto bling adds enough distraction to make a statement.

Personally I am all about it.

I live in a world torn between resto and race, street and strip, the late '80s and today, so I really appreciate a little contradiction here and there.

Well, the car is definitely a product of me, for better or worse.

I get ideas about "stuff" and like to see them play out in the real world, unless I change my mind... again.

It's got an exhaust system on it for the first time in however long it's been. We started to clean up and test fit the front sheet metal before calling it a day. Won't be back into it until the following weekend, but it's all going in a positive direction.

Not just mechanical updates, the car's received some cosmetic mods. Going heavy on B5 blue and black w/ minimal bright trim. And the big-a$$ scoop...

Nice!

Thanks!

Seems like even the simplest tasks take forever, but each one done is an accomplishment all by itself.

Also, Mike Hynes (also a Moparts member) has been helping me for years w/ my cars. He's done his own resto / resto-mod work for decades and has experience w/ stuff I've never messed with. Here are some pics of his legit '71 R/T 440 Six Pack Challenger, which looks like a museum piece. Only the bugs in the radiator show any indication it's ever driven. He must feel like he's slumming when he works on mine.

I almost went with the same hood until I decided to custom make my Super Shaker scoop and hood.

my one buddy used to say : "there is no such thing as a 15 minute job...."
now, he says : "there is no such thing as an hour's job...."

I ain't getting any faster with age, either...

something about being "closer to 80 than 70 means you are closer to the end."..........

There is no escaping the natural end of life here on earth, everybody dies in the end
I'm hoping I die quickly and painlessly in my sleep and not be a pain to my survivors before then

so very true Cab, no one gets out alive !
my wife has said for years and years, she hopes she goes first so she doesn't haft'a deal with my "stuff".