DreRacing -68 charger build (need advice)

[DreRacing]

Hi! This is my first post on this forum
I am from Norway and I bought this -68 charger from the US (ebay) spring 2019.
I used the whole summer to get the body straight and painted it, I drove arround summer 2020 with the stock 440 (rebuild with EFI by me) But now I have problems with the engine (crack in valve seat probably) and broken start motor ("impossible" to change with headers)
And I want to use this winter to upgrade the car with Dodge 6.2 hellcat engine and A8 tranny. And in that context I need some advice and help for the build. I will update this thread as the build goes on.

The car on ebay march 2019. 25000$

Picture of picking up the car in Norway May 2019. It was original Red paint and Red interior. 318 original engine but this was swapped with a 440.

I used the whole summer 2020 and got it painted, also with new rims (Ridler)
quite happy with the look but I want 12" rear and 10" front

Here is the enginebay. I installed fuel injection winter 2020 (megasquirt 2) and bigger alu radiator. The engine bay will also be painted this winter.

Questions:
I want to use hellcat engine with the ZF8HP90 transmission.
anyone here done this swap?
The transmission is probably too big to fit in original tunnel, how much do I need to modify here?
What the alternatives on contolling the engine? Have HP tuners a solution for running original (remappable) ECU yes? or do I need aftermarket (holley?) and what about the transmission that needs to be controlled.

I want to use the Gerst tubular suspension as this one is the best? (opinions, alternatives?)

I may also want to swap the rear end to a dana 60 when Im at it. Is strange the correct alternative? I want a "bolt on" kit

I also want new 20" custom wheels, 12" rear and 10" front. Who has the most bad *** wheels to this car?

I also want to strengthen the chassis with a kit from AMD.
anyone done this and have recommendations?

I will be glad for all input on this questions, its a lot of stuff that can be discussed.
Feel free to ask me quiestions during the build.

I must also buy the complete engine with transmission, so If anyone knows about something for sale?

 

[RemCharger]

An aggressive plan for sure.
I think the easiest way to ecu it is buy a new one from Mopar. Then it's unlocked and you can tune it.
Afaik

 

[Ray70Chrg]

Welcome aboard. Your car looks really good. It's great to see that Mopars are appreciated all over the world. The advice from RemCharger is excellent, Mopar is trying real hard to get into the resto-mod business and probably have many solutions for the problems that are ahead. You can search the "Resto-mods & Pro touring forum" here on site because I know some have undertaken similar swaps. Good luck and I look forward to following your progress.

 

[davek]

welcome to the site and great looking charger.

 

[Photon440]

Good luck with that swap, it will be awesome. Chrysler sells plug and play kits to put those engines into older vehicles. Check out page 12: https://www.mopar.com/content/dam/mopar/pdf/performance-catalogs/Performance_Engine_Catalog.pdf

 

[Rjvb3]

Welcome! My advise would be to go with the US Car Tools Chassis Stiffening kit instead of the AMD kit. I used the USCT kit (subframe connectors, torque boxes, lower radiator brace, and inner fender support) and and it was beautifully crafted and actually fun to weld in. fit like a dream. I cant speak for the AMD kit, but there's no way it could be better than that USCT parts in my opinion. I posted a link to the level 3 kit with minitub below, but you should not have to tub and relocate rear springs to fit a 12" wheel with the correct backspacing. You will likely have to "dehump" to outer wheelhouse though.

http://store.uscartool.com/Level-3-...0-B-Bodies-US-Car-Tool-Mopar-Dodge_p_113.html

 

[DreRacing]

As I can understand, If I buy the ecu kit from mopar, this is designed to run the manual transmission, and not the ZF8HP90?

Thanks for advice on the US car tool kit, I will check it out.
I have done the "dehump" in outer wheelhose, but I may want a stronger rear end, but I may drive with the original 8 3/4 in the beginning.

 

[Ray70Chrg]

DreRacing: you may want to look at "hellcatforum.org" for more specific information.

 

[Chilsam]

sweet charger !...I recommend any chassis stiffeners for our cars...I pieced mine together off ebay from abandoned projects and sales...I went to the STRANGE factory in Chitcago and bought a housing set up to 70 B Body specs...I then installed a 30 spline 4.10 Trac-Lock from a Cummins pick up. Ithen ordered a set of 30 spline 8.75 axles for a 70 B bodyI have around 1400.00 invested in the rear end with rebuid kit.I could of went with the 35 spline set up but price was a factor and I figured if that rear could handle the cummins with a skid steer n simon forms + drums of tools n string line pins on a trailer behind it it would work great for my plans

 

[kbfallon]

As I can understand, If I buy the ecu kit from mopar, this is designed to run the manual transmission, and not the ZF8HP90?

Thanks for advice on the US car tool kit, I will check it out.
I have done the "dehump" in outer wheelhose, but I may want a stronger rear end, but I may drive with the original 8 3/4 in the beginning.

Do yourself a favor and look closely at these "chassis stiffening kits" and you may ask ....wheres the 1500.00 dollars...not to mention shipping to Norway. These parts are easily made with some basic metal working knowledge and tools and are what racers have been doing with these cars for 40-50 years. The 8 3/4 rear will be fine with some upgrades.

 

[Torkmnstr]

I want to use hellcat engine with the ZF8HP90 transmission.
anyone here done this swap? Many have done it, check with sound german tuning to get the right harness and trans tune. If I were you I'd just run a T56 magnum 6 speed, that's what I went with

The transmission is probably too big to fit in original tunnel, how much do I need to modify here? You will need to open the tunnel up top and cut out the torsion bar support unit, US car tool makes a perimeter tunnel kit which is pretty
cool

What the alternatives on controlling the engine? Have HP tuners a solution for running original (remappable) ECU yes? or do I need aftermarket (holley?) and what about the transmission that needs to be controlled.

Lots of options here, EFI source, holley, Mopar, hotwire etc

I want to use the Gerst tubular suspension as this one is the best? (opinions, alternatives?)

Gerst is good and it works, seen it in action, that's what I have, RMS, Control Freak are other full kits.

I may also want to swap the rear end to a dana 60 when I'm at it. Is strange the correct alternative? I want a "bolt on" kit

You can get a strange S60 unit, that's what I have as well, it won't be bolt on when converting the rear to 4 link though. Another option is a currie unit or moser units

I also want new 20" custom wheels, 12" rear and 10" front. Who has the most bad *** wheels to this car?

Baddest of the bad are Forgeline, but with that size you are looking around 8,000 for rims alone

I also want to strengthen the chassis with a kit from AMD.
anyone done this and have recommendations?

US car tool makes a complete kit, I am running their setup minus the subframe connectors which I had already installed.

I will be glad for all input on this questions, its a lot of stuff that can be discussed.
Feel free to ask me questions during the build.

I must also buy the complete engine with transmission, so If anyone knows about something for sale?

You will have to scour the web for one, if you are looking for a package Cleveland speed sells some, too much money if you ask me or some guys on the G3 swap facebook groups come through with them. Usually 12-14K

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Markzx14]

Great looking car.

 

[70chall440]

I would highly recommend looking at the Holley Terminator X system, easy to tune and has a TON of options. Their harness is basically plug and play. I looked at the Mopar one and the Holley system when buying a harness for my 71 Charger which is getting a 5.7 mainly bc I am using a Holley HP system on my 70 Challenger and really like it.

There are a number of shops in the US that have done this, I would do some searching and reach out to whomever you can find, explain where you are (thus will not be bringing your car in) and ask your questions. Most of these guys are "car guys" and I suspect will help you with some information. I would recommend that you try and ask all or most of your questions in your first or second email verses going back and forth as time is money.

 

[What’s up dock]

I would highly recommend looking at the Holley Terminator X system, easy to tune and has a TON of options. Their harness is basically plug and play. I looked at the Mopar one and the Holley system when buying a harness for my 71 Charger which is getting a 5.7 mainly bc I am using a Holley HP system on my 70 Challenger and really like it.

Will the Holley Terminator X system work with the hellcat , as far as the (factory) boost control?

 

[70chall440]

Will the Holley Terminator X system work with the hellcat , as far as the (factory) boost control?

I don't know for certain as I don't have a hellcrate engine but I'd recommend you research it, that said I believe that it will work.

 

[hunt2elk]

I'm going to chime in here regarding a statement earlier about US Cartool stuff falling right into place. Thar is far from the truth. I've used 4 sets of their torque boxes and will continue to. They fit ok, but do need metal added in some areas and metal removed in others to get perfect fitment before welding.
The inner fender braces are pretty good, only requiring slight mods for nice fitment. You will also have to modify your inner splash shields if using these braces.
Their frame connectors are another story altogether. You will have to deal with modifying for e-brake, regular brake, and fuel lines. As well as a lot of grinding to get nice fitment to your floorplans. I used them on my last car, and while they look nice now, I will never buy them again. I will go back to making my own connectors out of rectangle tubing and a few plates.

 

[DreRacing]

Thanks alot for many good answers! I would like to reply to each one but I will skip that.

Is the AMD frame connectors maybe better than the US Cartools?

I am about to order front suspension from either gerst og rms but I can not decide. I can see the gerst use a 2" drop spindle for lowering and rms use lowering springs. The drop spindle should be the best alternative?

Another headscratcher will be the dana 60 upgrade. The lowest gear ratio for them is 3.54. The hellcat with A8 have 2.62 original. I am afraid that the 3.54 will not fit the transmission so well and the gears will be too short. (a lot of shifting)
So I may want to run with my standard 2.76 8 3/4 to begin with.

 

[Photon440]

Quality Gear lists a 3.31 ratio. Maybe it's only for trucks?
https://www.qualitygear.com/lightdutyparts/dana60.php
You still have plenty of overdrive in the top couple of gears.

 

[cdr]

Gerst !!!!!!! Dr Diff has a 3.23 gear for a d60, he is also a distributor for strange

 

[hunt2elk]

Thanks alot for many good answers! I would like to reply to each one but I will skip that.

Is the AMD frame connectors maybe better than the US Cartools?

I am about to order front suspension from either gerst og rms but I can not decide. I can see the gerst use a 2" drop spindle for lowering and rms use lowering springs. The drop spindle should be the best alternative?

Another headscratcher will be the dana 60 upgrade. The lowest gear ratio for them is 3.54. The hellcat with A8 have 2.62 original. I am afraid that the 3.54 will not fit the transmission so well and the gears will be too short. (a lot of shifting)
So I may want to run with my standard 2.76 8 3/4 to begin with.

I bought a Strange S60 from Dr. Diff with 3.23's. Also wasn't aware that AMD made frame connectors?