I’ve been getting the parts car and pieces ready to list for sale and finally got everything together (it’s listed on this site under A Bodies for sale).

Z R34 by M Patterson, on Flickr

We still got a little done on the Green car. When I test drove the car before I bought it, the rear end howled like a banshee. The rear end had 4.10s in it, which I knew I was going to change out for a set of 4.30s anyway so that was no big deal. I had already ordered the gears when I determined it was a 489 housing.

Everything I’ve looked at on the Green car had been very well done with quality parts. Tearing the rear end apart was really no different; new brake drums, aftermarket axles, new Green bearings. When we got the carrier out it also had new bearings and had a new ring and pinion, but who ever set it up either didn’t know how to set it up or didn’t care and had ruined a new set of gears. Fortunately, the case and sure grip were still good. Honestly I don’t have the patience to set up rear ends, and I don’t think I could stand long enough to do it anyway so I sent it out to a guy I trust to do them. It came back yesterday and is ready to go back in next weekend.

489 430 by M Patterson, on Flickr


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The 4.30s made it into the rear end housing a couple weekends ago and the rear end was buttoned back up. So progress I guess.

Z 4.30 by M Patterson, on Flickr

And then there was the ashtray. Both Valiants I bought had the ashtrays removed and gauges stuffed in the hole. Fortunately the dash bracket was still in the parts car and rummaging around in the truck I found the ashtray. Unfortunately the 4 ball bearings and bracket they ride in was missing. I’d already determined I will probably never use the dash ashtray but if it’s not there it leaves a hole that the new center AC vent won’t quite cove and I know it would bug the dickens out of me. So I started looking for a complete astray/brackets assembly. That’s when I found out they are one year only for Valiants and Barracudas, are usually missing the bearings and slider bracket and are usually pretty pricey if you can find a complete assembly.

After some thinking I figured that the ashtray will only need to slide into the dash once. That being the case I picked up an assortment of bearings off Amazon and used 4 (9MM) bearings and tack welded them to the ashtray bracket. I ended up welding 2 in the wrong place and had to relocate them (and forgot to take a picture before I installed the bracket).

Z AT2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

At least it holds the ashtray in the correct position and fills the hole.

Z A by M Patterson, on Flickr


Next on the list was to install the new gas tank. Before I’d bought the new 18 gallon tank, I did crawl under the car to make sure it would fit with the coil-overs and ladder bars. It sure looked like it would….. (I suspect you know where this is going). The factory tank is designed to wrap around the spare tire well and when it’s back far enough to do that it interferes with the coil overs. Yup what was supposed to be a 20 minute job just got complicated. We’re currently in the process of redoing the trunk floor.

We also have just stared on the EPAS Electric power steering unit and are in the process of figuring out where and how to get the aftermarket AC/Heat unit installed under the dash. As none of those projects are done yet I’m going to hold off posting about them until the installations are complete.
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So back to the gas tank and trunk. This is the trunk/fuel cell I started with. As this will be a street car/daily driver I wanted to have a functional trunk with enough room for a full size spare tire, tool box, jack, tire changing tools, plus enough room for a suitcase or 2.

Fuel Cell by M Patterson, on Flickr

I had decided to go back to a stock tank so I bought a new 18 gallon tank but as mentioned there were interference issues between it and the rear coil overs. It looked like I had a couple of options short of going back to the fuel cell (which ain’t gonna happen). Some guys have cut the spare tire well completely out, plated over the trunk floor and run a Satellite/Coronet gas tank on their Valiants/Darts. I’ve also seen where others notched the spare tire well and moved the tank forward.

I looked at several tanks for adaptability and if I could have gained another 5 gallons or so of capacity, I’d probably would just have bought another tank and sender. Of the readily available tanks I looked at that would work with the flat trunk floor I’d only gain 1 or 2 gallons so the decision was made to notch the spare tire well and use the tank and sender I already have. Of course relocating the tank led to a few “down stream” issues that also had to be addressed.

The Valiant tank is designed to wrap around the spare tire well, so moving it forward requires part of the spare tire be removed.


Z T 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


Z STW 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


Doing this requires a custom fill pipe and cutting and welding (which thankfully I’m still be able to do). Losing the spare tire well is not a problem as it’s too small to hold a 28” tall tire anyway.
I found a rear cargo floor pan from a Jeep that’s big enough to cover the tire well and has reinforcement ridges rolled into it. By retaining part of the spare tire well and putting a hatch in it, I could have a nice storage compartment for a jack and impact wrench. The new floor was trimmed, fitted and welded in place and sealed.

Z C by M Patterson, on Flickr

Z TF by M Patterson, on Flickr

I used spray on urethane bed liner instead of undercoating on the bottom of the new floor pan. For inside of the trunk I used a tintable bed liner without the texture material. The green is not even close to a match (which I expected) but it’s paintable so that will be addressed down the road.

Now I had to do something with the fill pipe. The factory fill pipe has a piece of metal that runs from below the end of the pipe to almost the top of the pipe. When filling the tank this acts as an internal vent so when the tank is full and fuel runs up the bottom side of the pipe (and hopefully shuts off the pump). The part above the divider vents and allows the gas in the lower half of the pipe to go back down into the tank instead of spitting out on to the side of the car and person filling the tank.

Z PV by M Patterson, on Flickr

When I modified the pipe I lost that feature. Fortunately I’ve been thru this before and knew a fix was to run a ½” fuel line from the top of the tank (slightly above the end of the fill pipe in the gas tank) to the top of the fill pipe (the same system some of the old Jeep Wagoneers’ used).

Putting a fitting for the ½” fuel line in the tank was pretty straight forward as where I located it was a flat area. I used copper washers on either side of the fittings to seal it. Because the fill pipe goes in at an angle the fitting is above the pipe’s end.

Z TV by M Patterson, on Flickr

In order to get the fitting at the top of the fill pipe to seal I needed a flat spot in the pipe. After the hole for the fitting was drilled I used a ¼” thick washer/spacer I had laying around on the inside of the pipe, ran a bolt thru it and used another odds and ends piece with a flat surface I had in the drawer, tightening the bolt gave me the flat spot I needed for the washers to seal.

Z TV2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

If I still had access to a pipe bender I probably would have just bent up a new metal fill pipe but fuel fill hose for a 97-80 Ford F150 gave me the bends I needed to mate the filler neck to the fill pipe (though it had to be extended a bit). With a little tweaking I was also able to also use the original tank vent. It’s not beautiful but then neither was the stock fill pipe and it is functional.

Z FF by M Patterson, on Flickr

I like having a set of tools with me so a tool box was added to the trunk where the battery used to sit. I don’t like a tool box that slides around all over the trunk so I used a pair of Jeep hood hold downs on each end to hold it in place. I like this setup as it allows me to easily move the tool box between my different vehicles.

Z TB by M Patterson, on Flickr

I added a spare tire hold down for the spare that’s the same height as the rear tires. Basically it’s done but I’ll probably be adding a latch for the hatch cover to keep it from rattling, but that’s a project for another day.

Z ST by M Patterson, on Flickr

When all was said and done I have a functional trunk and new gas tank. Overall I’m happy with the way the trunk turned out (I’ll be happier when it’s all painted body color).

Looks good! I like the way you handled the tank issue and the toolbox idea is just simply cool.

With the trunk taken care of my Grandson and I started on the Heater/AC install. Heat and AC are mandatory for this build and of course the Valiant had neither. After looking at various options I eventually settled on piecing together a system for the car. I already have a new Sanden 508 compressor installed on the HEMI so that part’s taken care of. I found a behind/under-dash heat/AC unit on E Bay that looked like it would work so I picked that up.


z ac by M Patterson, on Flickr


It took a bit of looking but I eventually found a set of under dash vents I liked (hardest part was finding ones that were set up for 2” ducting). The Y connectors will be installed in the ducting to the outer dash vents to divert the air to floor air when the heater is used. In order to keep things simple, the Y connectors and in-line water control valve will all be cable operated.


Z Vents by M Patterson, on Flickr


We got the evaporator/heater unit mounted up under the dash Sunday. I’m really pleased with the way it tucks up under the dash.


Z EVAP by M Patterson, on Flickr


And I got the under dash vents installed (I’ll run the ducting later this week). I could probably make the factory controls function with this, but I’m taking the easy way out and will just build a custom control panel and use the switches provided.


Z V by M Patterson, on Flickr


I’m still figuring out which way to go on AC hoses and still have to pick a condenser and receiver dryer but we’ll get to that in time.

Nice work! That is coming along nicely!!

Thanks.


I’ve been working on the EPAS electric power steering. I had purchased their A Body unit a few months ago and the instructions and You Tube video for modifying the steering column and installing the unit seemed pretty straight forward. Also informative were a couple of the threads on the forums from guys who have used EPAS in their cars.

It was one of the threads on another site that I found out that in addition to the A Body Kit, EPAS also sells a kit for “Dodge Demon/Duster”. The “Demon/Duster kit” is actually the one needed for the 67 up cars. As far as components go the only parts difference between the 2 kits appears to be the floor bearing retainer which is triangular shaped on the A Body kit (which also includes an aluminum floor plate that is not used on the 67 and up cars) and diamond shaped on the Demon/Duster kit (which makes it easier to attach to the existing floor plate). The instructions (from the EPAS site on the internet) for the measurements on where to cut the column and shaft are also different.

Z EPAS 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr

I had ordered my EPAS unit thru Summit, but rather than going thru their tech line when I had questions I looked up EPASs number and talked directly to their tech section. I can’t say enough good about EPASs tech support. I called them a couple of times when I was putting the system together. They were quick returning my calls, knowledgeable about questions I had and very helpful. When we determined I needed a different bearing retainer plate they sent it out immediately and I received it in 1 day.

One of the most helpful tips they gave me was that instead of using the supplied measurements for cutting the column that it might be better to reinstall the column and then set the EPAS unit up next to it to determine exactly where it would best index in my specific car and I’m glad I took their advice as my measurements for cutting the column and shaft ended up being slightly different than those recommended in in the instructions.

I was warned on one of the sites I would run into interference issues with the steering and exhaust using a First Gen Hemi in the 68 and he was right. When we went thru mockup on the parts car we were able to clear the steering box using 56 manifolds but the steering shaft to the manifold was really close……close enough that I was looking at possibly having to build a 2 piece steering shaft with U joints at the firewall to clear the manifold.

The EPAS A body and “Dodge Demon/Duster” kits are designed to run a single straight shaft from the power steering motor down to the steering box. If I had been doing a Small Block, Big Block, and probably even a second or third generation HEMI the installation would have been as straight forward as the instructions and videos depict.

I however am the idiot who’s bound and determined to use a first Gen Hemi. When we were test fitting the PS motor/column I noticed a couple of things. The floor plate that bolts to the firewall and supports the end of the original column (and is used to mount the EPAS floor bearing) has oversized holes punched into it. These were probably used to shift the plate as necessary for shaft alignment as the car went down the assembly line. By shifting the plate all the way to the left and even elongating the holes if necessary I can gain the clearance I need for the steering shaft to manifold clearance. Talking to the tech section at EPAS we determined I could use a U joint off the end of motor instead of the straight coupler (shown in the picture) and move where the shaft comes thru the fire wall for added clearance. The shaft coming thru the firewall will be cut off just past the fire wall, then a second shaft with U joints on each end will be used to connect the shaft from the motor to the steering box.

After a lot of measuring and test fitting I had the column modified and the PS motor attached.

Z SC by M Patterson, on Flickr

Will I wish I’d put a new turn signal switch when I assembled it…..probably…. but the old one worked so we’ll see how long it lasts.

We got the column and motor installed yesterday, along with its control box. It’s hard to get a good picture of it, but I’m really happy with how it fits in the car.

Z SCI by M Patterson, on Flickr

I’m waiting on the U-Joint for the end of the PS motor before I can finalize the shaft thru the firewall part of the project and I still need to get the wiring done including extending the wires on the rheostat so it will mount to the dash where I want it but the hardest part of the project is done.

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A quick update on the AC. I got the ducting run and although the heater hoses and AC lines have yet to be built/connected, I was able to test the unit and check for the volume of air that would come out of the vents. I’m very happy with the results. There’s good velocity coming out of the under-dash vents and the floor air diverters work well. I’m especially happy with the defrosters, they shouldn’t have any problems keeping the windshield clear (this was the major complaint I had with the last aftermarket unit I installed).

Most of the time spent on the car the last couple of weeks has been in the interior. I’ve been sorting out wiring for the accessories I’m adding (electric PS, AC, Radio, GPS, cruise control etc). We also redid the carpet in the rear seat area. I’ll post more on that when I have that part wrapped up.

Yesterday we were at a point where it was time to install the mock-up motor and transmission in the Green car. We’re doing a final mockup basically as a quick check to make sure that no new clearance issues popped up due to any differences in the bodies. I figured that there would be some additional clearancing required but to my surprise the engine and transmission actually seems to fit better in this body than it did in the other 68.


Z MU F by M Patterson, on Flickr


While the mockup engine and transmission is mounted I’ll go ahead and finalize the steering and probably some other little things prior to installing the real engine and transmission.

Just curious, do you have a link for where you got the AC unit from? (I know you said ebay, but was it a company?)

Thanks!

Here's a link to the page that lists them.

I have another project in mind that this unit would work well for so I bought a second one for that project the beginning of the week. The seller had three left so I ordered one at $89. I checked this morning and that seller appears to be sold out. There is another seller that has a couple of the 6 port units listed but for $45 more. .

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=12V+3-Speed+Car%2FTruck+Under+Dash+A%2FC+Evaporator+Assembly+Heat%2BCool+Unit+6-Port&_sacat=0&_odkw=354+Hemi&_osacat=0&_sop=10

Anyway I hope this helps.

Shorter version........ AC Linky

Thank you Mike!

I noticed when I was looking at the units currently available that the listing didn't show this picture. The unit didn't come with instructions other than to say the unit needs to be tilted back slightly to allow the condensation to drain.

The picture somewhat shows the wiring, pretty straight forward, a ground, a red wire with in line fuse that goes to 12V switched and a green wire that needs to run to the compressor clutch. The switches are pre-wired.

Hope this helps.


Z AC W by M Patterson, on Flickr

Lot of cools mods, nice work!

My helper wasn’t available a couple of Sundays this month so I concentrated on the interior and wiring which is now pretty much done.

As I mentioned in a previous post I'm happy with the heater/AC although running the ducting to clear the wiper linkage was kind of a PIA.

Other than the under dash vents the other visual mod for the AC/Heat unit was redoing the factory heater control panel and using the controls provided with the unit.

Z interior 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr


The new rear seat carpeting also turned out well.

I started by cutting a new divider from 1/8” masonite (if I was still using a fuel cell or planning on seriously racing it I would have built it from metal).

Z Divider by M Patterson, on Flickr

That was carpeted and insulated and a pair of speakers added (I would have mounted them in the package tray but the rollbar braces now go thru those holes. they’re so close together due to the trunk bracing). Then we put new carpet that matched the front carpet down and called it good.

Z interior 3 by M Patterson, on Flickr

Then it was on to the dash and figuring out where to place all the accessories I wanted and do the necessary wiring. I had to do the wiring for the new gauge cluster, AC, OD transmission, electric fuel pumps, stereo and speakers, satellite radio, GPS, cruise control ect ect.


By the time I had added the control knob for the power steering, cruise control, stereo, Satellite radio, GPS and controls for the floor air, it’s a little busy looking (although the GPS and Satellite radio will likely be removed except for long trips). I had looked at using a double DIN sized unit that would have still provide me the GPS, Satellite radio, FM radio, and a bunch of other features I’d never use (although a backup camera while not really necessary with this car, would have been a neat toy till the novelty wore off). I’m capable of doing the dash mods to do a nice installation (including relocating the heater/AC control panel) but it was more work than I really wanted to get in to and the satellite radio and GPS are set up to be transferable to 2 other vehicles I own, so I stayed with that.

I also added a couple of cup holders to the console (had the top of the console been in better shape I might fell a little bad about cutting those holes).

All in all I happy with the way it turned out especially the gauge cluster. The set up when I bought the car was pretty useless for a street car with the tach and aftermarket gauge cluster locations.


68 Cluster 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


The new cluster is a lot easier to see and monitor what’s going on.

Z interior 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


Yeah I know the metal flake steering wheel might not be to everyone’s taste (I actually thought about adding a Tuff Wheel instead). I was working in a Chrysler Plymouth dealership when these cars were new. At that time K Mart was the first big box store and everyone one of them had an automotive section with a selection of the metal flake wheels in various colors. At least where I was they were a popular add on. It just takes me back to a happy time. On the plus side the horn actually works now LOL


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Another Sunday come and gone and we made some more progress on the Valiant.
A couple weeks ago I had to put a new set of tires on my wifes’ car and while I was at the tire store I got a quote on a pair of tires to replace the Drag Radials on the Valiant. I had those mounted Saturday and they went on the car yesterday.


ZZZ R Tires by M Patterson, on Flickr


Then it was on to what should be the last thing before we pull the mockup motor and trans out and install the motor that actually runs. We needed to connect the EPAS power steering unit to the steering box.

The original steering column passes thru and is secured to a floor plate bolted to the firewall and the steering shaft is pretty much a straight shot all the way down to the steering box.


column 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr


The A body EPAS unit puts the steering shaft in the original location and the new steering shaft is designed to connect to the EPAS unit with a straight coupler.


Z Coupler by M Patterson, on Flickr


We found out with this built a straight shot to the steering box just barely interferes with the back corner of the cylinder head. We didn’t need much room to clear so the straight coupler was replaced with a steering U joint which would allow the shaft coming out of the EPAS unit to be shifted slightly to the drivers’ side.

The factory floor plate had oversized mounting holes so it can be shifted slightly during the installation. I didn’t know if the factory plate would let me move the steering shaft enough to clear the head so I built a new plate out of aluminum just in case.



ZZZ Floor plate by M Patterson, on Flickr



As it turned out the factory plate gave just enough adjustment to clear the head. The rest was fairly simple, another U Joint on the engine side of the firewall and a shaft and coupler to connect it to the steering box.


ZZZ Steering shaft by M Patterson, on Flickr



Everything turns smoothly with no binding. Like a lot of jobs on a project like this it turned out the hard part was actually just figuring how to it and then collecting the right parts.

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I would have posted this earlier in the week but I ended up spending most of the time setting up a new computer as my old one is on the verge of dying. I think the only thing I hate worse than setting up a new computer is setting up a new phone.

We’re back to having an empty engine bay. The mock-up engine and transmission have left the building and are back at the machine shop and transmission shop respectively.


eng compartment by M Patterson, on Flickr


The next step will be finishing up the transmission tunnel and mocking up the master cylinder relocation bracket and building a couple of brake lines.

The last thing we did before pulling the mock-up motor was to screw some studs into the passenger head to see if the Moon valve covers could be removed over the studs or if I would have to use bolts to attach the cover. Fortunately, it just clears. The problem with using bolts for the valve covers is the bolt holes go into the water jackets. If you use bolts, you end up having to drain the cooling system to pull the valve covers or make a heck of a mess.

I actually like the old PAW covers I had on the engine, the problem was the gasket lip on the bottom of them is extremely wide (I had to change them out on the 57 Plymouth because they interfered with the steering box). They also gave very little clearance to the passenger inner fender of the Valiant.


intake carbs by M Patterson, on Flickr



The Moon covers were installed on the HEMI. I’m still getting used to them after having looked at PAW covers on the engine for the last couple of years. I like them, it’s just getting used to them. Oh well the PAW covers were sold at the swap meet a few weeks ago anyway.

So the engine is back together and running again.

VC1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


VC2 by M Patterson, on Flickr


I want to play with the idle a little more then it will be moved to a cart and the transmission attached. With the weather being colder now that it’s winter I’m not getting a lot of shop time so that may take a while.


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The engine looks great!