My T/A restoration...

[340challconvert]

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

 

[moparlee]

Great information and details! On my '71 340 Challenger I also found those rubber patches under the cowl seal each covering a hole in the cowl. Also found the black wire tape on my heater motor. And I put them back in place.

 

[Grady Cain]

Heater box - Pictures are self-explanatory. Completely disassembled, cleaned, blasted, etc. The rebuild kit was purchased from DMT.
Another thing I learned after I completely reassembled the heater box and left-side fresh air vent assemblies was about tubular rivets. As you can see, I used incorrect blind rivets in my restoration. I have since been educated on tubular rivets which were what was used at the factory. Too late to go back and correct what I've done but rest assured, I will use them when I restore the heater box for my A12 car. If anyone out there likes what they see in regards to the heater box restoration, I would be happy to do yours. PM me if interested!

Stamp was nice and clear - no need to re stamp it...

 

[Grady Cain]

 

[Grady Cain]

Reassembly...

 

[Grady Cain]

Ready to install...
Another thing I learned at this point when I couldn't f'n figure out how the right side of the box stayed in place was about the "J-hook!" That was missing so I got an original from Byron Fettig.

 

[Grady Cain]

Pedal assemblies - Brake and clutch assembly blasted and refinished. New pedal pivot bushings installed.

Original clutch safety switch was twisted and the wire harness broken off. I was able to straighten the arm and solder on a new harness from Brewer's. It tested good!

Correct finish is natural steel for the pedal brackets but paint was the appropriate choice for me to protect it. Even the best storage situation can be prone to slight moisture and surface rust. I used a coating that most closely reproduced the natural steel look...

Installed in the car with correct red dichromate nuts. I found the originals in my pile of hardware but they were extremely faded and decided to replace them...

 

[rbbruno3]

Outstanding work, again.....

 

[Grady Cain]

Parking brake assembly done in the same manner...

Again, the incorrect rivet used to attach the release arm. That won't happen with the next one!

Installed in car.
Accelerator pedal - same routine...

Plasti-dipped the tip to match factory process. Even tried to match the dip angle to the original. WTF - I need a life. Reproduction pedal pad used here...
Mechanical washer pump restored similarly...

That is the original white paint daub on the boot.
In many of these photos, you probably notice the interior shell is painted black. This is of course incorrect but it was how it was when I purchased the car. If money were no object, I would have had it repainted but I couldn't justify the expense of correcting it after paying up for the car. Fortunately, it mostly is not visible and is a solid, protective coating over what was an extremely solid interior.

 

[Grady Cain]

Outstanding work, again.....

Thank you for that - much appreciated man... really.

 

[mmissile]

NICE!

 

[DetMatt1]

This is one lucky car!

 

[3406pk]

Hey Grady. You make me tired just looking at all the work you have done. Great job. The detail work is fantastic. Could you post a list of your reference books and sources please. I noticed several pix from ICCA book that I would like to buy. Thanks a lot.

 

[Grady Cain]

Hey Grady. You make me tired just looking at all the work you have done. Great job. The detail work is fantastic. Could you post a list of your reference books and sources please. I noticed several pix from ICCA book that I would like to buy. Thanks a lot.

Thank you for the kind words my friend. I use the David Wise/ICCA Restoration & Judging Guidelines for E-body and the David Wise/Byron Fettig E-body Fastener Guide books as well as the factory Mopar 1970 Parts Manual and the factory Mopar 1970 Challenger Service Manual. I also spend time photographing any original/survivor cars at shows or Carlisle, etc... LOTS OF PHOTOS OF KNOWN/DOCUMENTED ORIGINAL CARS - IT IS YOUR BEST REFERENCE!

 

[340challconvert]

Your attention to detail is great.
Superior work on all aspects of your build!

 

[Grady Cain]

Your attention to detail is great.
Superior work on all aspects of your build!
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Thank you very much for that - I really do appreciate it...

 

[Jalaska907]

Hey there very nice TA! I just read your thread so far and I'm very impressed to say the least. Im in the process of putting my TA back together, but I'm not going to the level of detail you are. I had a couple questions for you if you don't mind

1) On the K member, What was the number on the coin? Also what was the build date of the car? I ask this because, I have a very late build TA, and the coin is "72" not "52" My car is a numbers car that was never involved in an accident that we can tell. Ive heard that the late build TA cars could have had the "72" coin since they were gearing up for the 71 production year.

2) On you pedal assembly, and e-brake assembly, what did you use for paint color. Im having a hard time getting paint to Alaska, which makes me limited to custom mixes or in stock spray cans.

3) Do you happen to have a picture of the firewall with the components mounted and wiring ran?

4) Also wondering about what paint you used on the heater box and components. When I got mine somebody spray painted the entire exterior of box and controls with black spray paint.

Sorry for all the questions, looking foreword to watching this build.

 

[Grady Cain]

Hey there very nice TA! I just read your thread so far and I'm very impressed to say the least. Im in the process of putting my TA back together, but I'm not going to the level of detail you are. I had a couple questions for you if you don't mind

1) On the K member, What was the number on the coin? Also what was the build date of the car? I ask this because, I have a very late build TA, and the coin is "72" not "52" My car is a numbers car that was never involved in an accident that we can tell. Ive heard that the late build TA cars could have had the "72" coin since they were gearing up for the 71 production year.

2) On you pedal assembly, and e-brake assembly, what did you use for paint color. Im having a hard time getting paint to Alaska, which makes me limited to custom mixes or in stock spray cans.

3) Do you happen to have a picture of the firewall with the components mounted and wiring ran?

4) Also wondering about what paint you used on the heater box and components. When I got mine somebody spray painted the entire exterior of box and controls with black spray paint.

Sorry for all the questions, looking foreword to watching this build.

Thank you for the kind words.
My K-member has the "52" coin which matches with my build sheet. I'm guessing you don't have your build sheet? The build date of my car was 3/19/1970. I would have to do some research in one of my books to confirm that a "72" coin was a possibility for a late-production T/A. I will be at my shop tomorrow and will look.
For the pedal assemblies, it was either Seymour Stainless Steel, POR Cast Aluminum or Eastwood Cast Steel. Those were done over 2 years ago and I must confess, I forgot what I used. I'll check when I get to the shop. Accelerator pedal is Eastwood Phosphate as that pedal got a different finish than the others.
Let me know specifically what areas/components of the firewall you are looking to see - inside or out in the engine compartment. I will be happy to post them.
No paint on the heater box - that is the natural color of the plastic. I just carefully cleaned it really well. I've seen some "restorations" where the boxes are heavily cleared with gloss which is incorrect. The metal brackets on the outside of the box as well as the metal flaps/doors inside the box were painted with Seymour Stainless Steel. Painting the cable brackets and internal flaps is not actually correct as they were either plated or bare steel when new. Since these items can't be seen, the choice of finishes was mainly for protection. The plastic left-side fresh air vent unit was sprayed with SEM Trim Black.

 

[Grady Cain]

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.

Hey Austa - love that post! Could you tell me any more about that "12 1X" (I think that's what it says) marking? I don't see it in any of my books but there was a non-legible marking on my axle tube in the same location that I uncovered during cleaning. I photo documented it but did not duplicate it because I couldn't read it and couldn't find any reference to it. There is definitely something there on my housing though and I would love to know anything you can tell me about it. Also please tell me what you know about the "100" marking. Very cool stuff - thank you for posting that...

 

[Jalaska907]

Thank you for the help. Another question I have ( currently working on my heater box) Is what and where did you get the flat button style rivets?

My car has a build sheet with "52" in the frame box. I understand that 52 was for the TA. From what Ive researched, the "52" was for the TA car, but there is no difference in the 52 and 72 k member, only variant is production year. The "72" part number is for cars with 318/340/(cant remember 3rd engine) and the word LATE after it. Since my car scheduled build date was in April of 70, it would put mine possibly getting 71 production k member (hince the late after the part number, and a "72" coin.

Also, all my date codes match up correctly, even on the K member. The coin isnt a big deal, but its interesting to me the differences. Ive heard of one other TA car that had the same thing going on, but I have not been able to verify with the owner, nor do I know who it is. (Found out reading some forums about it.

I love the pictures your posting, maybe one day I will start a restoration thread on mine, its just hard for me to keep up with it, as I often work hard on the car for awhile, then take long breaks.