My T/A restoration...

[Grady Cain]

Some semi-final assembly photos of the rear after being detailed. I made stencils for the numbers and letters from a page out of the DW book which referenced the proper font and size for the stampings.

The orientation of my "E" doesn't match the original which I realized after I painted it but, oh well....

I carefully cleaned all of the black paint off the original axle bumpers and repainted the mounting tabs the correct yellow...

Found a correct pinion snubber and brought it back to life...

Original drums still had enough meat on them to turn. Then blasted, painted and cleared...

Backing plates restored. Rear sway bar restored. Bushings are NOT available so I had to mask them and bead blast around them. As much as it will kill me, a final dusting of undercoating will be applied as that would have been done (in this car's case) at the dealership and some of these nicely painted parts and restored original hardware will get partially covered with it...

 

[Grady Cain]

Semi-final assembly photos -

 

[MN74]

I am still looking for the correct starter for my T/A. I just found the correct starter for my A12 Super Bee last week after almost 4 years of searching and I found the correct alternator for my A12 at Carlisle for $7.00!! It was in a pile of crap some guy had who wanted $7/each for alternators so I bought 2 because 1 had a beautiful pulley with a very cleanly stamped part number. Sometimes you get lucky...



Justin - while those are the original brake hoses in the photos, I am not using them. They were just used to plug the fluid ports during bead blasting. I did save the original rubber I.D. bands that were on the brake hoses. Can't believe they were still there. As for the CAD paint system, I have an older 4-stage set from Eastwood's that I've used but it is tedious. I'll look into that Duplicolor paint if I have future need - thanks for the info my friend...



I have a hard time with Bill. I know he has a ton of high-quality stuff and I've spent a ton with him over the years but his service has slowed to a painful crawl and he seems to be out of many of the items he has listed on his website. May have to give him another try as I have always liked his parts. There is a set of NOS bumpers on eBay I'm considering right now but they're $100.00. Once you start down the road of a "day-one" restoration, you have to fully commit and be prepared to be patient and spend money. I love the challenge though - absolutely LOVE it! I would do this every day for people if I could...

What a lucky find and on 7 bucks...What a score indeed...

The original cad is not like the cad today...it was cad cyanide and there are only a couple people in the US that still do that finish...So the eastwood kit is nice but not correct...

When it comes to Bill I only call his cell phone which is listed on his site. I agree in recent times he is either out or late getting back. His bumpers are licensed and are exact to the NOS ones you are looking at....You may want to try Bill...Also do not forget AMS obsolete just give them a ring....

It is a crazy road indeed...People have asked would I do another....My response is I would love to do one commissioned by someone....Never works out this way but if you lived nearby I would be glad to help in anyway....it is a disease that just cannot be cured....

Man Grady everything is looking great. It is amazing what you can find with a little light cleaning. The drums are in nice shape....

 

[Grady Cain]

It is a crazy road indeed...People have asked would I do another....My response is I would love to do one commissioned by someone....Never works out this way but if you lived nearby I would be glad to help in anyway....it is a disease that just cannot be cured....

Again, thanks Justin! I've seen your build thread on FBBO and I am blown away at your level of detail and quality as well. I too, would love to help if I were closer. Not everyone cares about this level of restoration and that's perfectly ok. It's like everything else in this world - to each their own. This is what I do and I know it's what you do incredibly well too so your positive comments are much appreciated. I still have my A12 to get started on once this car is finished!

 

[moparlee]

Grady, everything is looking really great! What did you use for the yellow on the axle bumpers and is it the same yellow that was on the transmission isolators? Very nice work. I too also like going original on parts and fasteners along with the correct finishes.

 

[Grady Cain]

Grady, everything is looking really great! What did you use for the yellow on the axle bumpers and is it the same yellow that was on the transmission isolators?

I don't know if it is the same yellow that would be used on a hemi transmission mount. I just used a generic primary yellow which matched the yellow I have seen in many restoration photos from other cars. Thanks for the kind words man - I really appreciate it...

 

[AUSTA]

Some semi-final assembly photos of the rear after being detailed. I made stencils for the numbers and letters from a page out of the DW book which referenced the proper font and size for the stampings.
View attachment 45794 View attachment 45795
The orientation of my "E" doesn't match the original which I realized after I painted it but, oh well....
View attachment 45796 View attachment 45797
I carefully cleaned all of the black paint off the original axle bumpers and repainted the mounting tabs the correct yellow...
View attachment 45798 View attachment 45799
Found a correct pinion snubber and brought it back to life...
View attachment 45801 View attachment 45802
Original drums still had enough meat on them to turn. Then blasted, painted and cleared...
View attachment 45803 View attachment 45804
Backing plates restored. Rear sway bar restored. Bushings are NOT available so I had to mask them and bead blast around them. As much as it will kill me, a final dusting of undercoating will be applied as that would have been done (in this car's case) at the dealership and some of these nicely painted parts and restored original hardware will get partially covered with it...

Here is some 8.75 (741) markings Bill Allphin Mopar Nationals judge recorded back around 1999 when he done my A66 if it helps anyone.

 

[MN74]

Again, thanks Justin! I've seen your build thread on FBBO and I am blown away at your level of detail and quality as well. I too, would love to help if I were closer. Not everyone cares about this level of restoration and that's perfectly ok. It's like everything else in this world - to each their own. This is what I do and I know it's what you do incredibly well too so your positive comments are much appreciated. I still have my A12 to get started on once this car is finished!

It is SUNDAY and no eye candy WTF Grady, lol.....

Thanks for the kind words Grady!......

Cannot wait for some A12 action....I have some good hookups for you when that occurs in relation to parts etc....

 

[Canuck74]

Wow, what a great build, very inspiring. This is the level of detail I love!

 

[Grady Cain]

It is SUNDAY and no eye candy WTF Grady, lol....

Ha! Sorry Justin - I'll try not to let it happen again! Should be able to post more today as a delay in materials will keep me from working unfortunately...

 

[Grady Cain]

Wow, what a great build, very inspiring. This is the level of detail I love!

Thank you man! As I was alluding to in post #34, my primary mission here is not to show what I have done or how nice everything is, it is to show what I've learned and if someone gets inspired by it, that is the best compliment I could receive...

 

[Grady Cain]

More E-body **** - Dashboard/Gauge restoration. Started with the original 1 speaker dash and found that the steel core was rotted in each corner. I wanted to preserve the original part so I brought it to Instrument Specialties. Thomas and the crew over there were able to weld in new pieces so the original core could be saved. Their workmanship on the 1970-only dash pad was impeccable.

I restored the gauge surrounds and control panels at home. Here is the lights/wipers panel -

SEM "Landau Black", silver (not chrome) paint pen for the bezels, yellow and blue for the arrows on the pots, replacement metal sticker from Performance Graphics. A very simple process with great results...

 

[Grady Cain]

Heater controls weren't pretty either and the same process as above yielded similar results...

This was interesting - I was looking for a replacement trim panel for the radio because the one that I found in a box with the car was broken in a few places.

I knew the car was originally a radio-delete as per the build sheet but there was a radio installed at the dealership per the original purchaser's request. (Uncle Norm also told me he remembers installing it - more on that interesting story later!) The radio installed was a standard AM-only with no 8-track. I wanted to bring the car back to it's original radio-delete status but quickly realized that a non-rallye dash radio-delete panel was absolutely impossible to find! Ok - I'll put a radio in for now until one day I might find a delete panel. Not knowing enough yet about what I was looking for and comparing everything I was looking at to the broken one I had, I just couldn't seem to find the same looking part. Every one out there for sale had the cut out on the bottom for an 8-track. "These all must be incorrect for my car" I thought to myself so I emailed Tony D'Agostino to inquire about one with just an opening for a radio. His reply was that they all came with that cut out at the bottom. I insisted I had one without the cut out to which he insisted I send him a photo. I sent the photo feeling very proud that I was about to show Tony D'Agostino something he had never seen! He instantly replied and I got an education - this was, in fact, the radio-delete panel that had been very nicely cut at the dealership by Uncle Norm to accept the AM radio and therefore, there was no cut out like on all of the factory radio trim panels we all know. How cool! Who knew?! (Well of course Tony knew...) I am in the process of trying to restore this panel by plastic welding in a piece of scrap ribbed material from a spare non-rallye gauge surround I had. I am going to try to completely close off the opening and go back to assembly line radio-delete status. If that isn't possible, I will at least try to mend the panel so that the radio can be installed in it rather that the one I purchased. Not a priority but I will post the process when I get to it. In the mean time, I found a beautiful original, unrestored AM unit and have installed that for now...

As for the story about the radio install - I knew Uncle Norm had done the install at the dealership prior to delivery to the original purchaser. Upon reading a series of notes I found with information provided with the car by the person I purchased it from (3rd owner Pete), I discovered a major f-up that Uncle Norm made. I found a letter from Galien Govier to Pete answering some questions he had during the documentation process. One of the questions Pete had was why was the antenna in the front right fender of only his T/A? WTF! They're supposed to be in the right quarter! Galen's response mentioned that he had seen this before and was most likely a mistake made at the dealership when the optional radio was installed after-the-fact as the delete cars would either not have had a hole drilled in the right quarter or if there were a hole, it would have been plugged. I asked Uncle Norm about this and he confirmed cutting the hole in the right fender as he would have done to any other radio-delete Challenger back then. This was the only T/A this small dealership had ordered and no one knew the antenna was supposed to go in the back on the T/A! The right fender was replaced many years ago and the antenna hole cut into the right quarter as it is supposed to be. Just another cool story I have about my car from those directly involved back in the day...

This was missing and I wouldn't have known about it without the DW book. Found 1 at Carlisle...

That's the original antenna mount. They all came with a short enough section of wire to reach the radio when mounted to the right fender. The T/A's and AAR's got an extension which I was able to find with the correct 90 degree end at the radio from Byron Fettig. No repop parts involved...

 

[Grady Cain]

Gauges and surround - Surround panel was restored the same as the other plastic parts. The gauges were in great shape, or so I thought. I brought the instruments with me when I went to pick up my finished dash pad at Instrument Specialties for Thomas to inspect. He saw things I didn't until he pointed them out such as some surface rust that had appeared in the white number 80 on the speedo, faded odometer wheels and pointer needles for all of the gauges. Not to mention their mechanical function was not known. I left them there for restoration. One of their cool mods is to install a more modern circuit board inside the original gauge voltage regulator box to create reliability while maintaining the original look. I buffed the clear plastic myself.

Tough to see but the after results from I.S. were amazing. You can mostly see it in the odometer wheels...

Before...

After...

 

[Grady Cain]

Dash frame was painted with Organisol so it has that proper texture...

Some assembly photos of the dashboard. I made my own work stands out of some scrap lumber...

Lots of trial and error on assembly regarding the order in which each component got installed. All of the parts were in boxes when I got the car so I was not the one who disassembled it! It took some time but came out great and looking original with all of its original parts (except the radio.) I even scrounged through all the screws and found the originals. Again, without the DW fastener book, I would not have been able to identify all of the screws, some of which looked right but didn't match up with the detailed measurements provided in the book.

 

[Grady Cain]

Last bit on the dashboard which includes another cool story (I'll make it shorter than all of my previous long-winded versions!) Through my previous job, I had contact with Sam Posey's personal assistant. I wrote and addressed a letter to Mr. Posey and left it in her car one day. In the letter, I outlined the fantastic local history of the car including its presence at Lime Rock Park during the 1970 Trans Am race which Mr. Posey drove in and asked if he would consider signing my glove box door. A few days later, I got an email stating that he would absolutely sign it for me but I would have to mail it to him as his Parkinson's Disease was severe and there was an optimum time of day for him to sign it when his medication was most effective in curbing his tremors. I have always been a fan of Mr. Posey's life on and off the race track (If you don't know about him, Google him - an outstanding racer, artist, model railroad enthusiast and much more...) and I am honored to have been able to have his hand on my car...

Here is a photo I took of the famous #77 Challenger he raced in the Trans Am Series when I went to the Sam Posey exhibit at the Saratoga Auto Museum last Summer. Too cool!

 

[Grady Cain]

Some miscellaneous details in my pursuit of assembly-line correctness -

 

[Grady Cain]

Paper electrical tape put back in place. Little details that for me, make the car as close to how it was when new...

 

[Grady Cain]

Heater box and blower motor restoration - Original blower motor painted over black somewhere along the line. Note the 3149 date code (Nov 10, 1969) relative to the March 19, 1970 build date of the car. 4 month span from part assembly to vehicle assembly. The motor was mechanically rebuilt and replated/restored by Passion4Mopars.

 

[340challconvert]

Some miscellaneous details in my pursuit of assembly-line correctness -
View attachment 46081 View attachment 46080

Nice detail w the rubber patch. Never knew about this one!