70 Challenger restoration guide?

70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 01:32 AM

Need to start reading up on how to go about the restoration on my challenger. Looked around a bit for a good book online but figured i'd ask everyone here for a surefire answer before i go wasting money. Not really sure what all is out there as far as restoration tips, tricks, hints, guidlines, etc. Because i am doing my first restoration and would really need a good guide. So even if it's a mixture of a couple books, thats fine. Just so i get the information i need to do my restoration right. Thanks everyone

Posted By: gtx6970

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 02:27 AM

IMO , theres no such thing as a 'sure fire way' with anything in print.

Your best source is the car itself .

Sure , there are similarites with most areas.But no 2 cars are exactly alike.
With several sources on the internet it's way better than anything in print, and it's free

my

Posted By: SunburstKid

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 03:06 AM

1970 DODGE CHALLENGER, DART Body and Chassis Shop Manual

These will not give you specifics on how to paint, do body work, rebuild a motor etc but they are an invaluable resource of pictures and data specific to your '70 Challenger. There are other books that can tell you how to go about that.

Challenger & Barracuda Restoration Guide 1967-1974 Paul Herd Motorbooks Workshop

Original Challenger and Barracuda 1970-1974 Jim Schild

Also a great resource for Challebger and Cuda specific info is the cuda-challenger.com forum You can find out anything you need to know about the Cuda and Challenger there.

Posted By: intragration

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 10:01 AM

Quote:

Your best source is the car itself .

I agree with this 100%. Take lots and LOTS of pictures, of everything. Bag and tag EVERYTHING. Don't throw anything away until the replacement is installed and tested. Notes are also helpful. The pictures are huge, you have no idea what you're going to need to refer to until it's already apart and you can't remember how it was before. If you're taking it completely apart, be extra extra careful to store everything neatly and keep track of where everything is. If you're storing stuff at home, it's best not to move to a new home between tear-down and reassembly ha ha. You have no idea how great a car is at storing it's own parts... You don't realize it, until you look at the 75 boxes of parts that look like they could be used to assemble 5 cars.

I took my car apart 8 years ago (and then moved) and am finally putting it back together. I thought I was very organized in the tear-down process, I was about 90% there, but there have been pictures I missed, and apparently at least a couple boxes of parts that are missing. Even though they're silly little parts, they're going to cost big bucks to have to replace now.

Of course, Moparts is great. If you're stumped, someone here can probably help with just about anything.

Finally, whatever the rule-of-thumb is for budgeting...it's correct. Whatever you think it's going to take to properly restore it, plan on about 2-3 times this.

Posted By: Challenger 1

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 12:28 PM

Quote:

1970 DODGE CHALLENGER, DART Body and Chassis Shop Manual

These will not give you specifics on how to paint, do body work, rebuild a motor etc but they are an invaluable resource of pictures and data specific to your '70 Challenger. There are other books that can tell you how to go about that.

Challenger & Barracuda Restoration Guide 1967-1974 Paul Herd Motorbooks Workshop

Original Challenger and Barracuda 1970-1974 Jim Schild

Also a great resource for Challebger and Cuda specific info is the cuda-challenger.com forum You can find out anything you need to know about the Cuda and Challenger there.

You got to have the FSM but don't waste your money on the other 2 books unless you like pretty pictures.

You've already found the best source of info, Moparts!
Good luck with your car.

Posted By: The70RTChallenge

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 06:08 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Your best source is the car itself .

I agree with this 100%. Take lots and LOTS of pictures, of everything. Bag and tag EVERYTHING. Don't throw anything away until the replacement is installed and tested. Notes are also helpful. The pictures are huge, you have no idea what you're going to need to refer to until it's already apart and you can't remember how it was before. If you're taking it completely apart, be extra extra careful to store everything neatly and keep track of where everything is. If you're storing stuff at home, it's best not to move to a new home between tear-down and reassembly ha ha. You have no idea how great a car is at storing it's own parts... You don't realize it, until you look at the 75 boxes of parts that look like they could be used to assemble 5 cars.

I took my car apart 8 years ago (and then moved) and am finally putting it back together. I thought I was very organized in the tear-down process, I was about 90% there, but there have been pictures I missed, and apparently at least a couple boxes of parts that are missing. Even though they're silly little parts, they're going to cost big bucks to have to replace now.

Of course, Moparts is great. If you're stumped, someone here can probably help with just about anything.

Finally, whatever the rule-of-thumb is for budgeting...it's correct. Whatever you think it's going to take to properly restore it, plan on about 2-3 times this.

The only problem with this, is that the car is already somewhat dissassembled. interior, everything connected to doors some emblems, radiator, hoses, trim, emblems, tailights, etc. is all there (except for some screws, bolts, clips) just need a better idea of what it should look like or how to do most reinstalation. I do plan on taking pictures of every nook and cranny of the car during dissasembly, but that can't help me with what i've missed and what i won't understand.

Posted By: tahoechallenge

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 06:38 PM

I found "The Guide to E body Fasteners" very helpful.
http://www.mmcdetroit.com/Market_Place/

Posted By: intragration

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 06:40 PM

Each individual area or assembly will have it's own section in the service manuals on removal and installation. You just need to treat the entire reassembly of a disassembled car as a bunch of small projects, rather than one big one.

If you're looking for a book or a list of the correct order to reassemble a disassembled car, or where to pick up from where it sits, there is nothing. Just continue digging in, one operation at a time, until there's nothing else to do. You have to look at it as small individual projects, or you'll go crazy.

If you have specific questions, ask away. One suggestion I would have is, if you can do it as a rolling restoration rather than a complete tear-down, you're more likely to complete that this decade. I'd guess 20 people tear their car completely down for every 1 that puts it back together. It takes an insane amount of space, money, and dedication to do a restoration start to finish. People sometimes overestimate their resources in these areas.

Posted By: The70RTChallenge

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 06:46 PM

I don't understand your point about a "rolling restoration". Because however i choose to restore the car, everything at some point will need taken off, replaced/refurbished, and put back on anyway.

Posted By: intragration

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 07:01 PM

Quote:

I don't understand your point about a "rolling restoration". Because however i choose to restore the car, everything at some point will need taken off, replaced/refurbished, and put back on anyway.

A rolling restoration just means taking apart and reassembling the car one area at a time, instead of tearing it completely down. If you're in it for the long haul and you want every nook and cranny cleaned up and painted, the complete teardown is the way to go.

For some people, once the car is torn down and they've thrown all of the parts, unmarked, into a big box, they suddenly lose interest.

Posted By: NV69B7RR

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/11/10 08:50 PM

Don't waste your time with this book, its worthless: Challenger & Barracuda Restoration Guide 1967-1974 Paul Herd Motorbooks Workshop
PM me your address and I'll mail you my copy if you want it.

The e body fastener book is one I highly recommend.
Also the 70 service manual is a must have, get the book not the cd.
Go to shows and take pics of the areas you need help with, or post on here.
I believe Dave Waldon at ECS restored a 70 Challnger 383 to a level of perfection and I know there was lots of progress pics on here. Bag, tag, label, mark, tape, and photograph everything! Also take lots pics at diffrent angles of the same part for reference.

Mopar Action magazine reference restorations came in pretty handy for me. They've featured many ebodies.

There is no one stop manual for restoring an e body, unlike mustangs and camaros. But Moparts & the internet will be your best resource.

Posted By: The70RTChallenge

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/13/10 08:13 PM

E Body fasteners

and

70 Challenger/Cuda Shop/repair manual

Seems like a good combination to me?about 120 bucks for the two together. Anyone have any in good condition i can buy used or can get for cheap?

Posted By: The70RTChallenge

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/15/10 07:16 PM

Good idea? any good used ones i can buy for cheap? would be very much appreciated

Posted By: NV69B7RR

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/15/10 11:23 PM

Heres one place to get the shop manual from.
http://www.faxonautoliterature.com/products.cfm

They are supposed to be printing the assembly line manuals at some point which show very detailed breakdowns of steering columns, pedal assys, brakes, bumpers, etc.

You can get the 1970 Challenger shop manuals new & used on ebay too.

Heres where you can get the e body fastener book:
http://www.mmcdetroit.com

Try posting a wanted ad on here for used one.

PM me your mailing address and I'll send you some of the E body books & mags I don't have a use for anymore.

Posted By: topside

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/15/10 11:33 PM

Paul Herd's B-body book is so full of errors that if you don't know the cars beforehand, you'll make a lot of mistakes compared to what's correct. I wouldn't bet on his E-body book being any better.
Jim Schild has a very solid rep on his other stuff.
Factory Service Manual is required for any car as far as I'm concerned.
Taking photos of unrestored/original/survivor cars is something I'd consider mandatory, especially if your car's been disassembled by someone else, and really looking closely at everything on your car will provide a lot of info. There's more than a little forensics involved in doing a correct restoration, and as stated previously, there are often differences between cars.

Posted By: 472 R/T SE

Re: 70 Challenger restoration guide? - 04/17/10 05:51 AM

http://www.mmcdetroit.com The fastener manual is a must imo.

He also lists Reference Manuals for sale.

Those & a FSM should be a tremendous help.