73 charger rallye edition factory 440.

[Pat412]

Ok...so...I received a wonderful welcome here on my new members forum I decided to post my progress here...
Instead of reposting all my info over to here , if you would look at this post for all the pics and info on the car

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/new-73-rallye-440-owner-here-d.112298/

I'm still in the discovery phase , I have done nothing but continue the disassembly, to see what I have ,
It appears that someone did a lot of work to the car , new floor pan driver side,patch driver door, patch driver rocker/quarter.
Did a lot of sandblasting (very little clean up :/ ) I have a lot of bare metal , so my focus is on rust removal , seal, prime , and send it to paint.. once I stop the rot I can slow down and take my time with the rest.
Anxiously awaiting my body dollies to get started..
...help I need...
1.Information or links on how to remove toursion bars without losing a finger , so I can drop the k member.
2.Pictures of the inside of the rocker, is there a plastic trim piece that runs where the carpet meets the door ?
Here are some pics that are not in my new member post

 

[Pat412]

I'm sorry , I don't know what I'm doing to cause it to post the pics twice.?!?

 

[HawkRod]

You have a great project!

First, with respect to how you build it: It is YOUR car, so do what you want. That is what will make you happy in the end. Like any big project however, it pays to get opinions as you have been doing and make educated decisions. Nice job so far!

My opinion with respect to color: Before you make a final decision on color, see if you can find a car painted that color and look at it in the sun. Some are really striking when seen in the proper light. Going to a car show like the all Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle is a great way to do a lot of investigative work.

To loosen the torsion bars, make sure the front wheels are off the ground, and then loosen the big bolt that sits in the middle of the lower control arm. This removes pressure from the torsion bar. You will likely have to remove the lower rubber stop to allow the upper control arm to sag down enough though. Once the pressure is all the way off, there is a clip that holds them in the back. Remove this clip and then drive them out towards the back of the car, being careful not to nick or damage them. There are special tools to grab them and force them out, but I used dense rubber and a vice grip and then tapped on the vice grip. Mine came out easy but some will be stubborn.

Good luck!

 

[Pat412]

You have a great project!

First, with respect to how you build it: It is YOUR car, so do what you want. That is what will make you happy in the end. Like any big project however, it pays to get opinions as you have been doing and make educated decisions. Nice job so far!

My opinion with respect to color: Before you make a final decision on color, see if you can find a car painted that color and look at it in the sun. Some are really striking when seen in the proper light. Going to a car show like the all Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle is a great way to do a lot of investigative work.

To loosen the torsion bars, make sure the front wheels are off the ground, and then loosen the big bolt that site in the middle of the lower control arm. This removes pressure from the torsion bar. You will likely have to remove the lower rubber stop to allow the upper control arm to sag down enough though. Once the pressure is all the way off, there is a clip that holds them in the back. Remove this clip and then drive them out towards the back of the car, being careful not to nick or damage them. There are special tools to grab them and force them out, but I used dense rubber and a vice grip and then tapped on the vice grip. Mine came out easy but some will be stubborn.

Good luck!

Thank you for the kind words , I appreciate the support. . As for color I have a good idea of what I'm going to do , but want to go to some car shows before I get it painted. .
As for torsion bars ..I play this game with you 2000 gmc 1500,2013 gmc durmax, 2014 1500 passenger van ..so I'm aware of the danger. .
But here's a kick in the nuts ..no heads on the bolts and one is flush .

Also , I opened a project post to post the progress of the project.
Thank you

 

[Pat412]

Oops this is the project post lol..
Should of made a different title. . :O

 

[Pat412]

And I'm in some trouble on the front fenders , skins are repaired and good .
But the driver is missing a support mid fender , and the passenger mounting rail is swiss cheese from the last owner and his sandblaster. Hoping to find fenders with good cores and bad skins to piece together. .
I really don't want to go fiberglass....

 

[HawkRod]

As for torsion bars ..
... here's a kick in the nuts ..no heads on the bolts and one is flush .

Hmmm. Those make a normally pretty reasonable job much harder. I might suggest welding on nut or bolt on to the broken ends. Then I would use a torch to heat them up good and hot and see if you can wriggle them little by little and get them loose. Also, believe it or not, I have had great success with wax when nothing else worked. The trick is to gently heat a part and then apply the wax to the opposite side. So for example, heat the busted side of the bolt and then apply wax from the top so the heat melts the wax and draws it in. Obviously, this is useless until you have something that can turn the broken bolts, but once you do, this can work wonders.

Good luck!

 

[myers]

Thank you for the kind words , I appreciate the support. . As for color I have a good idea of what I'm going to do , but want to go to some car shows before I get it painted. .
As for torsion bars ..I play this game with you 2000 gmc 1500,2013 gmc durmax, 2014 1500 passenger van ..so I'm aware of the danger. .
But here's a kick in the nuts ..no heads on the bolts and one is flush .

Also , I opened a project post to post the progress of the project.
Thank you View attachment 340681 View attachment 340682

since the adjuster is already broken have you considered a torch to the upper half of the bolt to soften it enough to get it apart but definitely get the wheels in the air

 

[Pat412]

Ugh..tonight was not good ..
So..I figured I would start on the adjuster that is broken off flush ,
Tryed welding a nut on it twice, failed.
So I cleaned it up and welded a washer on to it the welded a nut on to that ..
I got it to move just a hair , in a hair ,out a hair , and so on ...on the forth try ..snap .
Now it's broken off inside the tension nut.
Crap..
I think it's a good idea to just leave the other one for tomorrow. .
The car is sitting about 2 feet off the ground on some truck jack stands , my big issue is this adjuster is run ALL the way in ..so I believe there is still a lot of pressure on it .
Now I was going to buy new torsion bars anyway from ffi ,
But , I hate springs , they do unpredictable things .. I called my mechanic friend and he said he has never had to cut one , but if he had to do it he would use a torch , just for the fact that at least his hands would be 2 feet away ..and if there was major pressure on it , you maybe able to slow down the unload rate better than some other form cutting that would just snap when it hit it's point ..
Yep..gonna think on that till the weekend. .

 

[Pat412]

Hmmm. Those make a normally pretty reasonable job much harder. I might suggest welding on nut or bolt on to the broken ends. Then I would use a torch to heat them up good and hot and see if you can wriggle them little by little and get them loose. Also, believe it or not, I have had great success with wax when nothing else worked. The trick is to gently heat a part and then apply the wax to the opposite side. So for example, heat the busted side of the bolt and then apply wax from the top so the heat melts the wax and draws it in. Obviously, this is useless until you have something that can turn the broken bolts, but once you do, this can work wonders.

Good luck!

I've been using, 1 part acetone,1 part atf in a spray bottle for years ..I do a lot of parking lot polls , and replacement polls where we are trying to save the anchor bolts and base ...it could be the nastiest looking bolt and nut..clean the threads spray them down and back them right off..it's cheep, about as thin as you can get , and easy clean up..
Runs circles around BP blaster and store bought stuff..

 

[YY1]

Used LCA's should be fairly easy to source, and IIRC the adjusters are repro'd.

The good news, if there is any is that the "spring" can only turn so much.

1/4- 1/2 turn max I'd guess.

The PO of my Satellite said one broke while it was sitting, and that's not the first time I've heard that.

I've not heard of any damage caused by that either.

Interestingly I've never heard of one breaking while driving.

 

[Pat412]

Umm...tonight same results as last night ,
Welded a washer on to the adjuster bolt , weld a nut to that , back ,forth,back,forth...snap.. flush break..
So , some how ,some way I have to cut something under pressure, twice..
The question now is ... do I try and melt the bolt through the small hole in the lca.
Try to melt off a side of the retaining nut on the side of the lca. Or
Stand back and try to melt the torsion bar in the middle. ..
I believe that the driver side (witch is wound all the way in ) has to much pressure on it to try and remove/lower the lca with a jack ..
On a good note , I got the shocks out with out having to cut anything. .

 

[YY1]

Soak those adjuster threads in a good penetrating oil for a few days.

While they're soaking, periodically smack them with a heavy hammer.

Not hard enough to bend them or damage the threads, though.

Also try heating the adjuster with a torch without getting the torch on the LCA, or vice versy- heat the LCA near the adjuster but not aiming directly at the adjuster.

Technique A will try to get the penetrant in between the threads, and technique B will try to let the different parts expand and contract differently, both of which should help unbind them.

Then weld your nut to the adjuster and try to put pressure on with your wrench up to but not past the breaking point of the weld.

If possible keep the nut on and repeat steps A and B.

This will test your penitence and temper.

 

[Pat412]

I don't think the is enough of the adjuster left .. both are broken off inside of the retainer nut .. ..

 

[Pat412]

I have time before my chassis dolly shows up..
But I have a feeling I'm gonna have to take the big tanks home , suit up in my leather welding gear , and hope for the best ..

I'm thinking with the bars anchored at both ends , they can't fly .. at most jump when they snap .
But the pucker factor will be a 10..

 

[myers]

have you tried to remove your strut rod and separate your lower ball joint it should drop the lca enough to take off more tension just a thought or am I thinking that backwards sorry its late and I'm not looking from under my car I hope it helps either way

 

[Pat412]

I've thought about that .. I my give that a try when it's time to drop the k member out .
Thanks .

 

[YY1]

Not a bad idea.

That'll give you a little taste of the spring unloading too.

 

[Bb70charger500]

I got a set of lower control arms with adjusters if you need them let me know

 

[Pat412]

Not a bad idea.

That'll give you a little taste of the spring unloading too.

Great...I hate springs, or , I have a healthy respect for springs ..
I don't like spring work at all ..garage door springs, car/truck springs. .any kind of spring bigger than a carb spring .lol..