'73 Challenger Rallye Restoration

[Bill]

Purchased hood pin kit. Was wondering what position the holes should to be drilled for the bezels. Inline with the body line (guess best way to describe it a "t" pattern) or a "X" pattern if standing in front of the car. Also, what position should the pin holes be facing. Thanks for your help!

I just noticed some of the holes in the "X" pattern under the hood. Think I will use stainless screws with lock nuts instead of the self tappers provided with the kit. Will post pics soon.

 

[340challconvert]

This continues to be a really good restoration thread.

 

[Bill]

All installed and adjusted.

 

[moparleo]

Good job there Bill.

 

[74chlngrTT5.9]

Nice....

 

[Bill]

It's a weird feeling dilling holes in my nice paint job. Anyone snow where I can get custom length A/C hoses made up?
I sware nobody in new england does. I've searched everywhere. I'm about ready to buy the crimp tool to do it myself then I will be "the guy".

 

[moparleo]

I think Classic air or Vintage air do component restoration so they should be able to make any hose you want.

 

[Bill]

New seat covers.
Classic Auto Air aftermarket HVAC.

 

[74chlngrTT5.9]

Bill,
How was your overall impression on the classic install? I used them a few years ago with my 68 Mustang and literally had to modify every motor bracket and heat up and re-form under dash plenum and hose connections.
Thanks,
BTW looks great as usual.
Mike

 

[Bill]

Bill,
How was your overall impression on the classic install? I used them a few years ago with my 68 Mustang and literally had to modify every motor bracket and heat up and re-form under dash plenum and hose connections.
Thanks,
BTW looks great as usual.
Mike

It's hard for me to give an opinion because I purchased the kit used form a restoration shop. They were going to put the kit on a numbers matching big block Cuda convertible. The restoration shop kept telling the owner of the car that he should not put the after market kit in the car because it was a numbers matching car and the Classic Auto Air kit would ruin the restoration. The owner was determined that he wanted A/C in his car but changed his mind during the build. The kit sat around for quite a while collecting dust. Unfortunately I had to purchase a $275 kit from Classic Auto Air to get the compressor mounted onto my small block. I had to fab up one of the brackets because of my after market aluminum intake manifold. Other than that the compressor seems to line up nice with the pulleys. The air handler mounted in okay. I really like the look of the vent system under the dash. I think the fit looks very nice as shown in my picture above. The other cool thing about the Classic Auto Air system is the way they use the existing heat/defrost control. The FAN and TEMP levers work normal but the HEAT/DEF lever has three stages for off, defrost and A/C. I guess if I was going to do it over I would go with the Vintage Air especially since I have the InfinityBox (company name was ISIS power but they changed their name for obvious reasons) electrical system. Vintage Air and InfinityBox have teamed up to make a nice integrated system. If it was important to try to keep everything looking original I would go with Classic Auto Air because you can use the original control lever assembly. It was a mistake for me to purchase this used kit. I paid $500 for the kit, an unexpected $100 for shipping, $275 for the small block bracket kit, $20 for a new switch that was broken, the housing was cracked and parts had to be fixed because of a lousy packing job. I think both Vintage Air and Classic Air go for around $1,300 and I have about $900 into this one with a compressor and all other parts that have been exposed to the atmosphere for quite a few years. I still need to have hoses made up because the hoses I have are for a big block and the compressor is in a little different place than a small block that's going to cost about another $100 bringing the total to around $1,000. Lesson learned.

 

[74chlngrTT5.9]

Thanks for the details. Their use of Mustang controls is basically what sold me on it. Most likely will go Vintage on Challenger. Ya didn't erase my bad taste in Classic.
Again thanks for the insight.

Mike.

 

[Bill]

Getting there.... Sloooowly but surely. Gotta get the hood lip trim, trunk lip trim, mirrors, rear speaker covers, cruise control kit, A/C hoses made up, A/C system charged, front end alignment, exhaust looked over by someone that knows what they are doing, tune up, rear bumperets and take it to someone to have them help me get my windows lined up a little better. After that, it should be good to go for the summer.

 

[moparlee]

Nice job Bill! Sounds great and the interior looks really nice. You could go cruising right now.

 

[Bill]

Nice job Bill! Sounds great and the interior looks really nice. You could go cruising right now.

Thanks Lee.
I just did (lol).

 

[moparlee]

Thanks Leo.
I just did (lol).

Hey Bill, I am not the mopar Leo one, I am the mopar Lee one. Close, but not the same.

 

[DetMatt1]

All around nice work, the Challenger looks great!

 

[Bill]

Hey Bill, I am not the mopar Leo one, I am the mopar Lee one. Close, but not the same.

Opps. Sorry about that Lee.

 

[Bill]

All around nice work, the Challenger looks great!

Thank you! I love driving it.

 

[Bill]

I need to pull the trigger on buying some "stuff" to help get things finished. Was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the below links. Maybe someone has something used for sale or maybe a better place to buy from.

Classic Industries | Restoration Parts | Mopar Parts | Camaro Parts | Firebird Parts | Nova Parts | Impala Parts | GM Truck Parts | Tri-Five Chevy Parts

Classic Industries | Restoration Parts | Mopar Parts | Camaro Parts | Firebird Parts | Nova Parts | Impala Parts | GM Truck Parts | Tri-Five Chevy Parts

Mopar 71 72 73 74 E-Body 71 72 B-Body Rallye Mirrors NEW

70 - 72 Dodge Challenger Rear Bumper Guards Pair AMD New

 

[moparleo]

What besides the mirrors and bumperettes ?

rear bumperettes dodge challenger - Bing images

rear bumperettes dodge challenger - Bing images