65 Coronet AWB build

Yeah if it still has the louvers in the cowl it'd be easier to get rid of them than to patch the underside in to keep the floor dry. I wish I could leave mine as is but pretty sure it's going to be impound time if I get caught on the street without wipers here.

Looks great! Very nice work....

Contrary to popular opinion this hunk of tin is not dead.

Still coming along Quint

I have managed to get a little further along over the past couple weeks.
I started by installing the RH frame rail from the rear front spring hanger inside the rail forward to the c/l of the kick at the base of the firewall.
These rails are installed flush at the bottom of the rear rail and ran level with the rockers.

Next I installed the LH frame rail.
I determined dimensions on these rails to be 52" long from the rear to where the front rail kicks up at the firewall.
I ended up adding an additional wood brace to the so called frame jig to establish and carry the new rails.
I also double checked both new rails for plumb left to right where they kick up below the firewall.

I began mocking up the front frame rails and determined the angle of the new rails to be 2.3 degrees.
2.3 is too small of an increment to split for a miter joint so the rails installed at the center of the car are cut square and the new front rails are cut at 2.3 degrees.
I am only mocking everything up right now as I'm trying to look eight steps ahead and see what I can do now that will help later.
I made the 2x3 cross brace to cap both front rails at the front.
After confirming the distance of 35 3/4" for the locater pins in the leaf springs on the straight axle the front frame rails are installed at 35 7/8" c/l dimension. This is actually about 2" wider than the factory rails were installed.

You find you'll have to check and double check everything you do to assure everything stays square...plumb and level.
After pulling angle dimensions on the frame at the new front sections to check square they were about 1/32" off. Not enough to worry about on a 64 13/16" length. Nice thing is if you ever have to use any of these points at the frame kick or the front to square something up they are dead on square.
I need to find a good supplier to source the leaf springs from...all of the ones that Speedway has have too long of a dimension from the locater pin to the front spring eye.

I ordered the leaf springs today.
I had a guy with one of these cars tell me a while back to use trailer springs.
I found a set of 26" springs with a 13" eye dimension.
They already have urethane bushings and the assembly bolts come with greasable zerk fittings.
I had asked a while back if anyone knew a reason not to use the leaf spring sliders on the rear of the springs rather than shackles. I've never heard anything...I guess as of now I still am planning on using the sliders.

So here is a picture of the front suspension mock up.
This is a 12" forward relocation from stock of an A-100 van axle.
With this design as indicated in the photo's there is a 7.5 degree lay back at the kingpins.
There's really no way to know how this will react once everything is loaded with weight.
I think the only thing I'm going to do different than what is pictured is to make the slider bracket at the rear so it can have shims installed between it and the frame rail that would bolt in thru a bracket welded to the frame.
If ride height is an issue I can also use a tapered spacer between the springs and the straight axle at a later time.
So far I'm happy with how easy this installed and with using the greasable bolts at the front and bearings at the sliders it should work well.

A couple more of the drivers side.
I also ordered all of the new brake components for the 10" x 2 1/2" front drums for the A-100 Van axle. I single sourced everything thru www.partsgeek.com except the bearing cover caps on the hubs.
The other pictures are of the miter at the front frame rails before they were welded and the RF box tube pad to carry the roll cage bar at the RF corner. This tubing was tied in to the side of the frame rail and then installed recessed into the inside of the rocker panels where they were plunge cut. Being 3" wide it gives me a little wiggle room later for the roll cage bar placement.

Ok, so what's the issue here, Q?

I used that leaf spring slider on the 69 Dart for a couple summers now with zero issues on the rear. Never seen or heard of anyone using it here and was just looking for some input.
As for the other thing we talked about...I'm going to keep a lid on that until I pull the trigger...IF I pull the trigger...
I mapped out an area on the front rails near where the front hangers for the springs are for a bar to tie in from the frame back to the roll cage. This will give me a good point for the shock bracket at the top.
I did a few small modifications to the front spring hangers tonight and will post pics once I get them loaded Thursday.

Here are a few pics of the modified front spring hangers.
Rather than just two tabs that stuck down I added a piece to set against the bottom of the frame and a second one to wrap down around the front of the bracket.
This keeps them solid left to right and increases the available area to weld them in.
On to the next task...floorboards...tunnel and firewall...

I had a couple nice days outside so I gathered up the fenders...doors...hood and bumper parts for the front end from storage.
I spent most of the day yesterday stripping undercoating from the fenders.
I temporarily pinned the original passenger side door on and checked all the gaps.
Everything still fits well. I was kind of worried that maybe some of the integrity had been sacrificed with everything that has been modified. I don't see any issues. I marked where the leading edge of the fender needs to align and removed the door.

The fenders I have are an accident that's already happened on numerous occasions. They were only good for what I'm using them for.
I hung the passenger fender and dimensioned for the drivers side door and hung the drivers side fender. I sat the hood on and made sure everything seems square.
Then came the only actual fun. I used the laser and located a level line and a center line for the modified wheelbase. Relocation will be 10" forward.
I installed tape on the lines that will need to be cut. The area painted in black will need to be removed. Notice how well the leading edge of the cut line aligns with the original corner of the front fender above the bumper. You can achieve this by measuring 10" forward on a level line from the wheel well and making that your cut line.

Now you can cut...
Throw away the unused piece (I'm lying..don't throw away anything that has a radius or bend in it)
Then tack whats left back together...

I everything works out you should end up with a dimension of about 10 1/8" of opening that will get new metal...Position the wheel opening tin and support it so its sitting where it would when finished and begin tacking it back into place.
Now it starting to look like something...

Axle relocation was 12''...
Fender relocation was 10"...
I couldn't resist digging the front wheel out and hanging it on to see what I have.

Then it was on to welding up the trim holes and the antenna hole. Not as much fun...but it needs done never the less...
I think I can pillage the 63 330 I just got for parts for a piece of metal to weld into the front fenders...

It worked!
The 63 330 gave it's life today...as if it wasn't dead before.
I sectioned an area out of the doors large enough to do the patch panels for the fenders on both sides.
When I cut the back door a 3/8"-7/16" craftsman wrench fell out...
I glanced down after shutting the grinder off and saw the blade was broke in half...
Dumb luck I caught it before it got painful...
Then I got to thinking...
What would happen if I cut a section out of the rockers to finish off the bottoms of the fenders...
It's worth a shot anyway...

I don't know what the #$%^!@#$ they used for undercoating inside the doors but holy crap was it ever a bear to get off
I held the patch panel in on the outside of the fender and traced what I needed for a filler...cut it and installed it...No binding no pressure it just fell right into place...
All but one small area that I had to trim with the tiny Dremel wheel...
I did manage to clean up the passenger door today and got lucky as it was still pretty solid...

As for using the rocker to fix the fender...
All of the mounting reinforcement on the bottom 8" or so has been removed thanks to mother nature.
I did manage to steal a small amount out of the bottom of the 63 330 fender that if nothing else will give me a pattern to duplicate...
As for the rocker skin...see for yourself...I think I can make something work...

Amend all earlier posts in this referring to the straight axle as an A-100.
I found out today it's from an econoline van and not an A-100.
I still can't figure out why everyone was narrowing the I beam axles to make them work.
The two are very similar and there is no reason to narrow them...
Outside of drum flange on the Ford axle is 62" wide with a center line spring perch dimension of 35 5/8".
The same dimension on the A100 axle is 63 1/4" with a center line spring dimension of 35 3/4".
I managed to get all of the layout for the drivers side fender done last evening also. I'm not going to cut anything there yet until I see if I can find another inner fender support local as the bottom of it is much worse than the passenger side was.

I made some progress with the floors and the tunnel.
The original tunnel in this car was hacked to pieces along with the original torsion bar cross member due to an A body transmission install in a B Body.
Moving the rear floors forward the 19" dimension makes them much higher at the front of the rear section than they were from the factory.
I added metal at the sides of the new tunnel then added square nuts welded under the floors to make the tunnel removable.
Passenger side is finished including the transition to the tunnel.
Drivers side will be next along with some firewall repairs from previous A body pedal installation.
I need to tie in the firewall and floor repairs at the same time to integrate the new bracket from the frame for the clutch equalizer bar with provisions from it to install a support for the universal on the steering column base for the relocated steering box.

I managed to complete one monster pita portion last night. Top picture is of the original 65 opening for the steering column at the base of the firewall. Note the butchered area above the original clutch rod opening. The opening is large from the factory for the steering column to allow the cable shift column to fit thru the firewall.
I replaced everything with a section of firewall from the 63 330. This repairs the damage and allows me to use the base plate and tube from the 63 manual column. Although that column was a 3 on the tree column I will remove all the extra hardware so its just a floor shift manual column in the end.
Clutch rod hole is all fixed along with an area of rust that showed up once I removed the bracing for the inner fender well. One more little hurdle cleared... Only a thousand more to go...

I had ordered a new drivers side floor pan from Kramer's a few weeks back. It showed up and I was kind of putting it off till the firewall was all tied in. I managed to get it all mocked up and trimmed to fit enough that the floors and firewall are all tied together where they are going to be staying.
I mocked up the pedal assembly and added a piece of metal to the clutch pivot to tie it into the frame.

It won't matter now but I do need to know if the length of the big block Z bar is the same as the small block one I'm currently using.
I sat an old blow-proof bell housing in and used the pivot that was on the 318 poly bell housing.
Everything is level and the clutch rod when going thru its travel doesn't touch or rub anywhere. It seems centered in the hole vertically.
Ultimately this is what I'll use to locate the engine and transmission mounts since I have to fab everything anyway.
Just one more small piece that's 1/2 done...
I added an extra brace back to the firewall to make sure there is no movement left to right at the pivot.
I really wanted to get started tying in the 2 support bars on the front frame but I haven't been able to locate a set of fender well headers for a big block.

If you remember the rust repairs to the RH side of the firewall from the earlier posts than you'll recognize these.
You know how things change and always seem to evolve?
Case and point was this area which I thought was finished and then something else required it to be modified.
Below are the modifications made. The reason for these will surface in the near future...

The reconstruction...

Tease for what's upcoming...

Really enjoying your updates and continue to marvel at your skills. Keep them coming please!

As an aside, I agree with your comments on not needing to narrow an A100 or Econoline axle. I've an Econoline front axle under my 61 A body. The conversion was done in the late 60's and has proven very workable at stock width. B body width would fit it even better.

Very cool build!!
Pat

Thx...
I got my Ansen Blowproof Bellhousing back. I sent it out and had it jigged and re-drilled to accept an A833. (Pic is from before I sent it out)
I picked up a correct 65 bell housing pivot and now need to begin to mock-up the engine and transmission.
I'm using the Z-bar placement as the one spot that everything else will need to revolve around. It's going to be a little while before I have anything concrete as now I have to incorporate the engine-trans with the headers and front cage bar placement while integrating the steering shaft and box placement...
I still need to find a set of used RB fenderwell headers. A,B,E Early B I don't really care...
If something doesn't turn up soon I guess I'll have to order new...

I bit the bullit and ordered a new set of Hooker fenderwell headers today...
Borrowed a 4 speed trans last night...so if everything goes right I will be mocking a few things up...

I managed to do a few more things that I haven't documented.
I added two small bars (about 28") to extend the rockers forward with a 60 degree angle and tying back into the front frame rails right where the rear leaf spring slider is located. That was really the last two bars needed before removing the car from the jig.
Managed to get the drivers side fender cut...relocated and tied back together.
Once the fender and bars were completed I installed all the suspension.

I managed to scrounge up a set of 15x8 rear slots and a set of 31x9" slicks.
Had the front runners and slicks mounted up with tubes to be able to roll it around again.
Front wheels are 3 1/2" Anson slots.
The rears are about 5/8" from the leaf spring on the inside. Maybe a 1/2" from the inside of the 1/4 panel lip.

With the front and rear axle's and leaf springs all installed it was ready to be removed from the jig.
Outside it went rolling for the first time in about 3 years...
I'm going to add some weight to let any spring settling occur and revisit what all the ride heights should be.
Depending on the amount of spring sag I may need to modify a few things but for a first attempt at this I'm happy with where it ended up just using math to set everything up.

There's a good deal of satisfaction in having this rolling again. I put in it the box trailer for now and get to put the 70 back in the garage to do a few things to it before summer comes.
It's been a bit of a journey from the first picture of when I got it till now...Took a little longer than I'd have liked too...

Wow!!

updates are coming before too long...

So after starting back to work on this about a month or so ago I have finally gotten around to downloading some pictures...

I started with trying to get motor and transmission mounts in the car so I could start mapping out locations for steering and everything else it was lacking...

I am using a 63 Ansen Bell housing modified to accept an A-833 4 speed transmission and all of the clutch linkage parts from a 63 330 I had parted out....

I really needed to make everything hook up and work around placing the existing equalizer bar in the correct location as I wanted to use all the clutch pedals and hardware I had without modifications...

Is it correct??? I don't know but everything works around it and turned out pretty good in the end...

I did have the shorten the equalizer bar 3/4" to locate the drivers side header away from the new...lower than stock frame rails. In the end it centered the motor up a little more and made both headers fit better...

I started out using one of the plastic blocks in the beginning and ended up switching to factory stuff to dummy everything up...

The weight of the bellhousing and transmission required me to switch to using stock parts to mock everything up to proceed with building mounts...

I picked up several sheets of decent sized 1/8" steel at the scrapyard and started configuring elephant ear type mounts...

Ultimately I added a 1 piece mid mount bracket between the bellhousing and the block...

In the end the 1/8" steel mounts were used as patterns to create the 1/4" aluminum mounts in the last picture...

Best thing is is I can set it down in the car against the mounts and then just add the bolts as the brackets lay on top of the frame...

With the motor positioned where it needed to be I fabbed up the transmission mount and installed a limiter to keep the engine from ever moving toward the rear...

Installed the new transmission crossmember and mount and verified the equalizer bar was still correct...

Yes that is a 65 Bel II dash in a 65 Coronet...

With the motor and trans permanently located I started working on the steering box and column...

The column was a 3 speed manual one from the 63 330...It is now modified and cut down to fit and will appear to be a floor shift column when finished...

Here's where the heartburn is going to set in some of you as I used a gm manual steering box for this deal...

Much better fit than utilizing a manual Mopar box that just doesn't fit worth a crap...I can get a new one for 225.00 and can utilize an in stock 3/4" universal joint to complete the connection...

While I was waiting for tubing for the drag link and steering link to come in I moved on to completing other areas...

I installed both doors along with the vent windows and the glass and regulators...Installed the stainless glass channels for the H/T weather seals to be able to locate the position of the 1/4 windows...

I cut the original aluminum 1/4 window regulators in half and tapped them for new mounting holes to retain the factory connections to the 1/4 window glass.

No room for window cranks as there is nowhere for the glass to go anyway...

With both 1/4 windows installed I started working on the interior trim and the placement of a rear firewall....

This is not being built as an original car in any way....Its more like something someone would have put together a few years later and did not do what was done on any of the other cars...

I utilized the factory metal panels from the original door panels at the tops of the doors and the 1/4 windows and they installed in the factory screw holes... Everything else is homemade...

I made patterns for the doors and below the 1/4 windows and then transferred those to .050 aluminum...The rear firewall is also built from the .050 material...

After many paper patterns and tons of measurements this is what I ended up with...

The one thing some of you may notice about the metal panels for the doors and the 1/4 windows is that they don't have any of the extra holes in them...

All were welded up and then primed and painted leaving only the installation holes that were required...

New aluminum kick panels were also made along with the new dash panel...

This thing will be bare bones and does not utilize any of the factory instrument panel and very little factory wiring harness...

With the tinwork completed it was removed so the roll cage installation could be completed...

As it is I can cut the tin to fit once the cage is installed and do not have to try to fabricate the large pieces around a cage that was already in place...

I am only installing a 6 point cage at this time as I have no idea if this will ever actually be raced...

Main hoop bar with two bars going to rear tight to the top back edge of the package tray and then 2 bars from the cross bar in the main hoop down the floor mounts at an angle...

An additional bar is being installed behind the dash frame with 2 bars running to the front cage mounts on the floor and then two bars running forward to the firewall with steel plates...

Front bars were then installed from the firewall plates to the frame rails...I made these bars removable not knowing how easy it may or may not be to remove the fenderwell headers...

There has been some more progress in other areas but it seems I have been lacking with taking progress pictures...

More updates will come at some time in the future...

On a side note I have just installed my 3rd 10# spool of welding wire since beginning this project...

Wow, very nice work!

That is coming along pretty well! Nice work!

Really enjoyed watching your fabrication, metalwork/rust repair, very nice!

Where you lost me is when you tossed the stock sub-frame and crossmembers. I don't recall any of the eras Mopar AWB cars being built this way. I hope your motor plate is beefy enough since its farther to your fabricated frame rails.

The factory even had a manual showing how to build one! Your car reminds more like the Mercury Comets that came along in I think 1966.

Hope she lives up to your expectations!

None of the original cars used a straight axle front end...Many of the home built cars utilized one in the late 60's...

That is the look I am shooting for...I'm not remotely attempting to build what looks like a factory one...

If it looks like its not factory and homebuilt after 65 I'm right where I want to be...

Got it, then you've nailed it!

Wow! Tons of new progress. Very cool.

Did you do the engine turning on those panels yourself?

Yes...It kind of makes you about half dizzy when you do it...

All of the interior panels have it...

Kickpanels...dash..door and 1/4 panel and the rear wall separating the trunk...

All of the interior window trim will remain as chrome...some is a little pitted but it looks period correct...

Dash...steering column and all of the upper door steel panels are an aqua color and have been aged...

All of the floors and the interior of the roof will be white...

Roll cage will be black...

Vintage 2 5/8" Stewart Warner 150 lb oil pressure and temp gauges are all that will be installed...Maybe a volt gauge if I can find one to match...

I also have a vintage 9000 rpm Stewart Warner Cable drive tach for on the dash...

I have a set of SS seat brackets that I will duplicate for the outers and then have to fabricate new inners due to the higher floor height...

Recently picked up a correct 65 Hurst shifter handle...installed the white T handle and the reverse lockout on it this morning...

Steering wheel was removed from a late 60's old drag car and is a teal glitter wheel...

Installed the Moon gas pedal in the finished front floors...

Nice work! Makes you dizzy... There's something to look forward to.

Nice collection of vintage parts. Love the blue sparkle steering wheel.

Great thread. Really enjoying this one. Thanks for the extra effort posting.

Pics of the finished floors in the front with the factory tunnel added for the 4 speed...

The center for the tunnel will unbolt if need be...

This is what it looked like when I got it out of one garage and transferred down to the other one to go back into storage till fall...

Almost all metal patching from the firewall back is completed...some trim holes need welded in the passenger rocker and the new trunklid...

After that a little more 1/4 panel work is all that's really left to do...

I did manage to pick up a very nice trunk lid and a fiberglass hood for a good deal...

Nice work, it's really taking shape!

So another summer of fun with my completed cars is over...

This has been moved back into the upper garage for work to continue...

Plan is to get all of the metal work completed...

Then send it over to a buddies garage to begin bodywork and paint...

I have a lot of work to do with the front end to finish the fenders and get the hood on...

Once that is worked out I need to design any bracing and fabricate all of the latches to get the front end to open and close correctly...

It will be a one piece flip nose front end for ease of working on it later...

Plan is to mock up everything for the engine and transmission again to sort out the brackets for the radiator...throttle linkage and the like...

I had forgot to mention that I changed the entire rear clip about 1' from the back...

This car was rearend-ed sometime early in its life and it destroyed the tail-panel...

Separated it along the seam in the trunk floor and down the sides...

With the new trunklid on everything fits pretty good now...

Before the change nothing was even close...

I also swapped out the 65 B Body 8 3/4" for one from a 63 B Body to narrower the rear an inch...

If you zoom in on the images below you can see the difference...

Looks great , good job .. !

I have made some more progress...

I wasn't happy with the leaf spring sliders as they looked out of place and were way longer than they ever needed to be...

They have been removed and a pair of traditional shackles were installed...

I drilled through the frame and added a piece of tubing with a 1/2" hole and welded it in...

Then it was time to come up with shock mounts...If everything was this easy I'd have been finished a long time ago...

Shocks from a 73 dart were used for the mock-up but are similar to the B Body shock...

All I had to do was drill the bottom sleeve from 7/16" out to 1/2"...

After installing the shackles I rechecked the kingpin camber angle and it is almost 10 degrees...

Time to start figuring out this whole flip nose frontend deal in all steel...

What a monster PITA...

So it needs to slide forward 4 1/4" to allow for the fenders to not hit the doors while rotating up...

This means the hood would have to have the hole for the carbs cut back 4' farther than normally needed...

That's a deal breaker as that is removing all of the back of the hood behind the carbs...

When it is closed the whole top of the cowl would be visible...

Using some 3/4" tubing (steering shaft) that has a 1/2" inside hole and some 1/2" round stock I came up with this deal...

It allows the fenders to close and have an area to land on and then slides the fenders back into place so they fit as good as I could get them to fit...

The bottoms also need something to secure them so round bar was added there and a hole drilled into the end of the rockers...

I started with the drivers side and got all the bugs worked out before moving to the passenger side...

I actually have to weld the fenders to the doors to hold everything in place and then fab all the brackets from underneath...

Moving onto the passenger side I found a few rust holes that needed repair prior to even fabbing up the brackets...

I patch was cut from and old fender and grafted into place to make the repair...

The fenders have repair panels cut from other multiple sets of junk fenders to make one usable set...

Three different ones were used on the left and now with this patch four different ones on the right...

Then it was on to completing the passenger fender typical to the drivers side...

With both completed I ended up with the first two pictures...

Once finished something had to secure the one piece frontend front to rear so more fab was required...

I used trunk latch assemblies on each side located between the door hinges...

They can be seen in the 1st pic...

Location was important as you will see later...

Then i moved on to getting some type of a bracket in place to hold the radiator...

I got lucky with finding this radiator in this condition for the install...

Made everything work and wrapped it up with a period correct cool can...

I then began sorting out all of the electrical...

The cable drive tach needed a hole through the firewall as did the leads for the distributor and coil...

A battery lead needed installed along with an oil pressure line and a temp gauge cable...

I used a pass thru device for the starter however with using the ford relay this cable is only hot once energized...

I installed the battery tray in the trunk and ran the lead forward to under the dash...

Ignition is by a MSD Street fire box which has a rev limiter...

Then it was time to start working on the braking system...

Installed this old school line lock and started sorting out brake line placement...

I finished mocking up the dash and installing the required switches along with the tach...

Time to cut the holes in the dash and install the gauges...

Everything is period correct black faced Stewart Warner...

This is also kind of a final mock-up of everything prior to blowing it apart to start paint and bodywork...

I got out all of the inside window trim and mirror that are to be used and installed everything...

Then removed it all keeping all correct fasteners organized with their parts...

I completed the bracket in the trunk floor to reinstall the original gas tank and filler neck...

I did add a 1/2" fuel line pick-up rather than the existing 5/16"...

I also fabbed up 4 new tabs for the relocated seat belt tabs as the original locations were deleted or relocated...

The grill and headlight bezels were mocked up along with modifying the existing wiring harness...

The entire interior I am using was mocked up less the door panels as they have already been completed...

This kind of gives you a feeling as to what everything should look like once completed...

The floor and inner wheel tubs will be white to match the inside of the roof...

No headliner or carpeting will be installed and more than likely maybe only one front seat...

Then it was onto the hood...

I picked this up along with a near perfect trunk lid...

Didn't know if I was going to use it or not at the time but the guy wanted it gone...

Turns out that it works perfect for what I need...

It does have one disturbing point about it... (1st pic)

i had used the original steel hood to line everything up but it was just too heavy to use as a lift off...

This works and fits really well...

I actually liked the very small hood pin plates and duplicated them when doing the pins for the trunklid...

I shoved it outside to clean everything up in the garage and this is what I got...

I am blowing it apart now...

A lot of little things were done and I didn't get any pictures...

I should be sending some of this away to start body work right after Christmas...

The engine build has began...

I am using a stock bore 440 and shooting for about 12.5-1 compression with an old Crower camshaft...

Heads are a set of reworked 915's with Hooker fenderwell headers...

I recent purchased a Wiend Tunnel Ram with a pair of 660 Holley center squiters...

Distributer is a Direct Connection electronic unit with tach drive and MSD box...

Teardown for paint has been finished...

Mock-up engine has also since been removed...

Fenders have already been sent off to the body shop and are in progress...

The engine build is underway...

Resumed work on the firewall prior to sending the body out for bodywork and paint...

I have managed to get the body work of the entire firewall and cowl area completed...

Welded all the belt molding trim holes closed in the doors and at the 1/4 windows...

Used a Dremel and a little filler and those areas are also finished...

The fenders are progressing nicely...

Also spent a lot of time on the trunk floor where the extended areas were installed...

Tail panel and the area around both tail lights is also completed...

I mocked up both tail lights and they fit flush all the way around the openings...

Fenders are 95% done!!!

Plan on hanging them back on the car tomorrow...

Trunk lid and hood are dropped off...

Anybody out there sitting on a 65 fiberglass hood scoop they want to part with??

Front fenders are back and are installed again...

On January 3rd the rollback showed up and the car went off to start the balance of the bodywork...

When it returns it should be completely painted less any lettering I decide to do later...

With no car here to work on it was back to finishing a lot of small parts...

I picked up this Tunnel Ram at Carlisle in July...

It is a Weiand but someone spent a bunch of time cutting all the extra aluminum out of it...

It needed some of the extra cast cleaned off of it and then blasted...

Sure did end up looking a lot different than one that is not modified...

I finished painting the dash today...

It's a little tricky trying to make it look like its old but have new paint on it...

It wasn't as shiny once everything dried...

Cleaned and painted the breathers also...

Almost all of the small parts to put this back together are painted and ready to go...

Drivers side 1/4 panel in progress...

I went to the body shop and took the steering column and the pedals out of the car today...

Completely disassembled the pedals...sanded and cleaned all the parts...then painted everything...

Put it all back together with new grease on the pivot points...

Steering column had to be fixed where the column shift lever was...

Don't tell anybody but the column and pedals were removed from a 3 on the tree 63 330 4 door car...

Got the column primed and painted with the steering wheel back on...

Any chance you could post up the weight difference between the two? I'd be curious to know what all that work was worth beyond just doing it for looks.

Only about 6 lbs...

More progress...

Still painting misc. parts...

Fuel filler neck and one of the front cage bars from the firewall to the frame...

Valve covers have been sanded and are ready for polish...

I never thought those old 4 bolt Offy's would clean up that nice...

Very nice build!

Thx...

Really looking forward to getting this finished for this summer...

More progress on the body work...

Some primer on the drivers side...

Once everything is ready it will get reprimed and blocked...

Working on the passenger side now...

Ordered a 65 AFX scoop from Larry at Sled City...

Axles on the way from Dr. Diff along with the 4 speed parts from Passon Performance...

Different pieces of the puzzle are coming together...

I went to the body shop and swapped out the 63 330 rear end housing for the original 65 one...

It has now been cleaned with the 4.11 gears installed...

Backing plates were assembled with the new axles from Cass also installed...

Brake lines are completed...

It's ready to go back into the car when it returns...

No pics of the finished unit...

Body work is ongoing...

Guide coat installed and removed on both sides of the car...

Body color for the stripe on the side was picked out and purchased...

It is nearly identical to the color on this oil can which matches pretty well with the other turquoise interior colors...

I got the Offy valve covers and the front wheels back from polishing...

He took the rear wheels and slicks to begin working on those...

As an additional surprise I got to hear the motor run on the run stand yesterday...

I should be picking it up this week...

Engine after break in on the run stand...


I'll be picking it up today...



Need to get everything ready for paint and then install my tunnel ram and carbs

clutch pressure plate and bell housing and bolt on my "wedge" ears and into the chassis it will go once the car returns from paint...

Special thanks to Mike for the build on this...

Motor is 95% together...

Going to hold off installing the tunnel ram till after it is in the car...

Waiting on some 4 bolt valve cover gaskets and a few other little parts and it is ready to drop in the car when it returns...

I also got the rear wheels back from polishing...

The roll cage got painted the same color as the interior trim at the top of the door panels...

We sprayed the body colors on an old door and used a satin clear to see how everything will look...

The blue color looks more blue than it really is...

It actually matches the small can in the previous posts...

The entire interior was sprayed with a heavy coat of primer prior to the cage being painted...

So everything in the interior and floors had to be sanded down...

That was another 10 hours worth of sanding...

Then the trunk and the interior were sprayed and cleared...

Saturday 2/3/24 makes 31 days the car has been in the body shop...

Plastic was draped through the interior above the cage in preparation for the roof to be painted...

Because of how far the rockers return on the bottom at the pinch weld we wanted to raise the car some for painting...

The roof rail trim install on 64-5 H/T separates the roof from the body...

It will be much easier to paint the roof 1st separately and then just cover it for the balance of the paint work...

The roof got a coat of sealer...then 3 coats of color and then 3 coats of clear...

The paint color used is the 65 Dodge white...

We walked away from it at 4:00 pm on Saturday and left it alone until Sunday at noon...

I am using a Semi-Gloss clear as I don't want this to be a perfectly shiny new looking build...

It turned out right where I wanted it to be...

It has a nice sheen and will be very easy to clean and keep up with...

Peeled away the plastic and the tape and this what I have...

In order to paint the balance of the body the first thing that will need done is to seal the body...

Then the color stripe on the side will need to be laid out and sprayed...

Tape up the color stripe and then shoot the entire balance of the body with 3 coats of white...

Then shoot 3 coats of semi gloss clear...

In order for everything to begin the entire frontend needed to reassembled and installed after all of the panels were primed...

Everything fit great and it looks like a car again...

Next Saturday is when the next paint day is scheduled...

Looks great ..

Thx bigdad...

I'm bored so I installed the new studs in the heads for the headers...

Installed studs for the valve covers and put the new gaskets in...

Mocked the headers up to make sure I didn't have any issues...

Just trying to fill up time before Saturday...

It's Friday!!!

The weekend is here again and more progress gets made on my car...

First it got taped up everywhere I don't want paint to migrate to...

Then it got wiped down with grease and wax remover...

Then a tak cloth and a good coat of sealer...

Then it was time for some color for the stripe...

It will get taped up in the morning and the balance of the body painted white...

One more...

The morning started out about 8:00am with laying out the pinstripe tape for the stripes...

Tape everything up good...

Then wipe everything down with a tak cloth...

Then start spraying the 1st coat of white...

The door latches and strikers are removed so they can be opened and moved to paint continuously through the jambs...

Then you spray more white...

Then more white till you have 3 coats...

Crap is starting to get interesting...

Once the 3rd coat of white is dry you can remove all the tape...

Wipe everything down again with a tak cloth...

Then its on to spraying the semi-gloss clear...

Last two...

Now you got to walk away and trust in the process...

So while the front end is off I took the time to disassemble the suspension...

Springs and straight axle were removed and the frame was sanded and prepped for paint...

I also taped up the firewall and painted everything below the pinch weld black...

Paint on the front frame is now complete...

The centerline mark that has served me well was made in November of 2015...

Sadly...Happily...I don't know...But it is now gone...

This was also a good time to finish the inside of the front fenders...

I got all of the bracing back on for the fiberglass hood to set on...

Fenders are painted with bed liner on the insides...

I couldn't stand one more day with the small back tires so the slots and slicks were reinstalled...

Just for reference...the first two pics were taken on December 2nd of 2023...

The second two pics were taken on February 11th 2024...

There is 71 days between those two dates...

71 days makes a world of difference...

This is a totally cool project. Are you going to add some decals and/or lettering so it looks like a vintage race car, or just leave it the two colors?

I want to do something but I haven't figured out yet what that something is...

I was able to get the front clip re-installed today...

Leaf springs and straight axle got painted and installed...

Put the polished slots on and this is what I have...

Won't be long now!

Considering nearly everything was already mocked up your right...

Installed the headlight wiring harness...headlights and grill today...

None of it is especially nice but it will do for now...

Tail lights and door handles are also finished...

Tomorrow will be front and back bumpers...

Looking great. Nice progress.

Wow, nice progress on your really cool project!

Thx guys...

I forgot to add in the above post that most of my day was taping and painting and then un-taping the front clip prior to putting the grill in...

Car is on the lift for the first time since I owned it...

I have a few little areas that need attention prior to finishing the paint underneath...

Then the rear leaf springs and the balance of the suspension need painted and reinstalled...

Today was a long day...about 15 hrs...

Car was on the lift almost all day...

Wheel wells got taped up and bed liner shot in them...

Body was taped up and covered and everything underneath got painted black...

A little seam sealer added in a couple places...

The balance of the front frame was painted where it tied into the rear unibody...

All rear suspension got painted first thing in the morning...

I went home and picked up the entire rear end housing and got it re-installed...

Rear slicks are back on and it is rolling again...

There was enough time left at the end of the day to hang the front and rear bumpers...

The front end flips forward much easier with the bumper installed...

I hadn't said anything about this before but I did manage to work out the details of how to incorporate the front spoiler and make sure it clears everything...

It fits like a glove...

A couple pics with the front end flipped forward...

It's fast approaching time to name this thing...

I've kicked around everything I can think of and still haven't nailed it...

I'd be open to suggestions from other points of view...

Right now I am leading towards "Time Traveler"

Altered-nation (alternation) or Altered-native (alternative) or Altered-ego.

I installed the dash and the pedal assembly today...

Put all of the rubber body plugs in the holes in the floors...

Installed the rods for the exterior door handles...

They're talking about snow here tonight so I got everything gathered up and relocated the car back home...

Guess I was too busy as this is the only pic I have...

Woww!!Just a great build!

Thx...

Started working on installing the roof rail trim so I could install the 1/4 windows...

About the time I thought I was done fabricating and grinding and welding and priming I found out I was wrong...

1st piece of trim I start to install has the factory clip rotted away and missing...

I check the other side...Yep both are trash...

I have that same piece of trim NOS for my 65 Belvedere II so I dug it out...

Clip was brand new and in tact...

If anyone else needs one the dimensions for this clip are in the pics below...

I built the first one and worked great...

Duplicated it and got both pieces of trim installed...

Also installed the front half of the roof rail trim and the stainless channel for the window seal...

Then the vent window assembly and door glass followed by the rear 1/4 glass...

Another 15 hour day but this one has a few more things completed...

I wanted to start putting the interior aluminum in but I had to do some wiring first...

The tail light...tag light and the interior dome light(s) wiring is now finished and everything works...

I started the rear aluminum with the panel that would be the equivalent of a speaker tray...

Added the window fuzzies to the inside of the interior panels in the back and installed the aluminum on the sides...

Ran the positive battery lead up to the starter relay on the back side of the firewall...

Then installed the last piece in the center up to the speaker tray...

I then put the gaskets around the door openings and finished both vent windows...

Then installed the aluminum door panels on the doors and reinstalled the hardware...

All the aluminum is on permanent this time with pop rivets rather than the screws...

I guess I forgot to take pictures of the gas tank install and the filler neck but that is also now completed...

I didn't realize it until I jumped on the computer but someone did a lousy job of taking pictures today...

I cleaned the windshield and used Eastwood's Riodite on it to lessen some of the small scratches...

Got the rubber kit installed and completed installing the windshield...

Moved on to the back glass and cleaned and installed it...

Sure would have been easier if the 1/4 windows rolled down...

Completed all of the chrome interior trim and the dash trim along with getting the tach mounted...

Put all of the grommets in the firewall for the tach...oil pressure line...and ignition wiring...

Cleaned up the stainless for the front and got it installed along with the corners for the drip rail moldings...

Cleaned the rear stainless and it is ready to be installed tomorrow...

I was able to relocate 3 empty totes that once contained parts down to the bottom garage along with all of the extra stainless moldings...

Pictures are lacking...

Love the engine turned interior panels. Hopefully it doesn't wind up being too noisy inside, but it's not the type of car one would spend hours in at a time anyways.

If that were mine I'd be real tempted to put blue gasser window tint on the windows.

Thx...

I've thought about the blue tint as well...

Only really remember seeing it on one car...

My mindset for this was what a guy without much money and a bunch of time would have built around 66 or 67...

He would have spent money on things to make it rum more so than stuff to make it pretty...

I could be wrong...there really are no rules so its kind of whatever you want to do...

Here are a few pics of yesterday's work...

Rear glass and interior window chrome...mirror and tach...

First off I got the rear window stainless trim installed...

Weather got pretty warm so I decided today is the day the engine goes in...

I have to open the door and roll the car back far enough to lift the engine in with the front end flipped up...

It still doesn't roll out of the garage with the rear axle relocation...

First the oil pan needed painted since it was covered up by my engine dolly when the rest was painted...

Made sure to preserve the Moroso decal...

Time to install the flywheel...clutch and pressure plate...

Then the mid mount and the Ansen bellhousing with the fork and throwout bearing...

Now it is ready to set in the chassis...

The mid mount and "wedge ears have tabs that set on top of the frame so it doesn't fall through...

Secure the rear mount and then just bolt the wedge ears on with the water pump housing and its finished...

Now is when crap starts getting interesting...

Install the Weiand Tunnel Ram with the Holley 660's and then the Offenhauser valve covers...

Drop the distributor in and add the plug wires...

Put the breathers on and the velocity stacks and it starts to look like something...

Top picture is December 17th of 2023...

Bottom picture is February 23rd of 2024...

Not a lot of work occurred today...

Transmission is installed...

Trans crossmember and mount are installed...

The bar to secure the motor from ever moving forward or back is installed...

Had a decent day of weather here...

Pushed the car out in the sun to clean-up a little inside...

Hooked up everything for the clutch pivot and the clutch rod...

I got the headers back and got them installed...

I like the finish...

It's Eastwood High Temp Matte Silver...

Found 3/8" fine thread nuts with a huge shoulder on the back and 5/8" head to fasten them on with...

Once the headers were on the front chassis bars and shocks were installed...

Steering column is also installed...

I picked up a new radiator as the other one I liked so much tested more like a fountain...

Got it installed along with the radiator hoses...

The fuel lines from the chassis bar to the carbs are also installed along with the fuel filters...

Not a big deal but I also managed to get the right hand kick panel installed...

I'm re-routing the tach cable when I finish the throttle pedal bracket...

This left me an open grommet to run the temp gauge through once the dash is installed...

Left hand side kick panel will go in once some more wiring is finished...

That's looking great!

Thx Ted...

Not much has happened here lately...

The guy who painted my car got his hand hurt...

I've been spending time helping assemble his car...

Deal was to have them both done by Memorial Day weekend so neither should be a problem...

I finished sorting out the new throttle pedal bracket...

Clipped the cable in place and everything works smoothly...

Got it painted and installed along with the alternator...

I drilled for the new tach cable location and installed the grommet and cable...

The alternator doesn't look like it lines up in the pics but it is dead on...

I got the new alternator belt installed after the first one I bought was too short...

Finished up 90% of the wiring...

The other 10% is the line lock and the field wire for the alternator which I can do later...

Headlights...tail lights...dome lights and gauge light wiring all works now...

Minus the drivers side high beam which took it upon itself to work for 5 minutes and then blow out...

Ignition is finished...and the starter works from the key as it should...

Got the aluminum in the dash installed and the gauges hooked up...

Put the balance of the fuel lines on from the gas tank to the fuel pump...

Fired right up first try and had it running for about 15 minutes...

Okay...2nd try as the 50CC pump gaskets in the 660's were dry and hard...

Sounds just like I hoped it would...

Leaked a very small amount of oil out of the valve covers like I figured it would...

Tried to take a video but only got my finger covering the camera...

Kind of sums up my whole week...

Need to chase a few more Demons out of it and then let it run a little longer...

I must have been busy since I didn't take any new pictures...

Video won't load here...

Had it running for a little while today...

Holding about 75#'s of oil pressure...

Probably should have let it warm up a little more...

Lets try this out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ycEp9eXGfs

How the heck are you getting that to idle at 600 RPMs with that cam? I'd set that around 900 or 1000.

It was at 1100 the other day when it was warm...

It only ran for about 50 seconds or so when I took that video...

I'll get a good one once I get everything warmed up and timed...

Probably move it outside too so I don't end up deaf...

There has been some progress but since work picked up things aren't going as fast as usual on the car...

I ordered a driveshaft and have it here to install...

In case anyone's curious it ended up 32 3/4" long...

I sent the car out and had it lettered...

Finally decided on a name for it too...

stripe work looks great!
Matt