Big Cocke build

[murfman]

So my wife and I bought our forever home in Cosby Tn which is located in Cocke county. Cosby’s claim to fame is the Moonshine capital of the world. The roads down there are great mountain roads through the Smokys, and our place is between the Tail of the Dragon and the Rattler so I decided to upgrade my 66 Charger’s suspension, brakes, and steering to make it more capable. My mod list is as follows:

Firm Feel:
Stage 3 steering box
Roller bearing idler arm
HD Tie Rods

Hotchkis:
Front sway bar
Strut rods
UCAs
Fox Shocks
Greasable lower pivot / urethane bushings
Torsion bars
Rear sway bar
Leaf springs

Reinforced K Frame W/Hemi skid plate

Reinforced LCAs

Dr Diff:
13” front rotors with 2 piston Cobra rotors
11.7” rear rotors with Cobra calipers and parking brakes

17” American Racing magnum 500s

Ok can’t believe what a huge transformation it’s been the handling, road feel, braking, and even the ride quality are all off the charts. Next phase will be replacing the poly 318 with a TFS headed 470 B block. I’m still on the fence between a 727 Lock up trans/Gear vendors OD or an 18 spline 833/Geqr vendors OD and 3.73 Dana 60

 

[moparedtn]

So my wife and I bought our forever home in Cosby Tn which is located in Cocke county. Cosby’s claim to fame is the Moonshine capital of the world.

Well now, that's not exactly true...
North Carolina was, is and will always be the highest corn squeezin's producers overall, but closer to home (I'm pretty darn close
to you, about an hour away) folks in Johnson County would also dispute your claim (that's where the real Copperhead Road is!).
So would the folks up the other side of Jellico, as well as the people I know here in Hawkins....
Yeah, I can get it from any number of folks anytime to this day, although I readily admit I can't handle the stuff anymore.
But...
According to the revenuers (feds), the absolute "capital" of shine production is Franklin County, VA - at one point,
they figured 99 out of every 100 people there was in the shine trade one way or the other!

Pretty country over your way though. The Partsmix Parts Mix folks are right in your backyard over there, too.
Would you be he?

 

[murfman]

Well now, that's not exactly true...
North Carolina was, is and will always be the highest corn squeezin's producers overall, but closer to home (I'm pretty darn close
to you, about an hour away) folks in Johnson County would also dispute your claim (that's where the real Copperhead Road is!).
So would the folks up the other side of Jellico, as well as the people I know here in Hawkins....
Yeah, I can get it from any number of folks anytime to this day, although I readily admit I can't handle the stuff anymore.
But...
According to the revenuers (feds), the absolute "capital" of shine production is Franklin County, VA - at one point,
they figured 99 out of every 100 people there was in the shine trade one way or the other!

Pretty country over your way though. The Partsmix Parts Mix folks are right in your backyard over there, too.
Would you be he?

Not me, but I’ve already met Greg and Maurice. As for the ‘Shine I’m in Popcorn Sutton’s back yard.

 

[moparedtn]

Not me, but I’ve already met Greg and Maurice. As for the ‘Shine I’m in Popcorn Sutton’s back yard.

Good people to deal with for sure....and I'm well aware of Popcorns' story (we're distantly related).

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Beautiful charger, and that coronet looks pretty nice too. I vote 3 pedals, shifting gears is always more fun!

 

[moparedtn]

Beautiful charger, and that coronet looks pretty nice too. I vote 3 pedals, shifting gears is always more fun!

True dat. A major part of the enjoyment of having one of these for me.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

True dat. A major part of the enjoyment of having one of these for me.

When I was searching for my b body, I love the 66-7s, and who doesn’t love a 68-70, so the only thing I really cared about was having a 3rd pedal

 

[Kern Dog]

So my wife and I bought our forever home in Cosby Tn which is located in Cocke county. Cosby’s claim to fame is the Moonshine capital of the world. The roads down there are great mountain roads through the Smokys, and our place is between the Tail of the Dragon and the Rattler so I decided to upgrade my 66 Charger’s suspension, brakes, and steering to make it more capable. My mod list is as follows:

Firm Feel:
Stage 3 steering box

Regarding that......
I suggest reading this:

Swapping a Borgeson steering box in a 1970 Charger

 

[ckessel]

Great start on the mods to take advantage of the roads in your area with an emphasis on handling and stopping. When you do the drivetrain updates, plan on adding structural updates too. Either from USCT or diy like myself and others do. These will make a huge difference too.

 

[murfman]

Great start on the mods to take advantage of the roads in your area with an emphasis on handling and stopping. When you do the drivetrain updates, plan on adding structural updates too. Either from USCT or diy like myself and others do. These will make a huge difference too.

I already have their core support reinforcement. And skipped the Hotchkis sub frame connectors as I plan on the USCT ones

 

[murfman]

Regarding that......
I suggest reading this:

Swapping a Borgeson steering box in a 1970 Charger

I did my research on both the Borgeson and the Firm Feel boxes. Personally I prefer the Firm Feel box.

 

[Nxcoupe]

So my wife and I bought our forever home in Cosby Tn which is located in Cocke county. Cosby’s claim to fame is the Moonshine capital of the world. The roads down there are great mountain roads through the Smokys, and our place is between the Tail of the Dragon and the Rattler so I decided to upgrade my 66 Charger’s suspension, brakes, and steering to make it more capable. My mod list is as follows:

Firm Feel:
Stage 3 steering box
Roller bearing idler arm
HD Tie Rods

Hotchkis:
Front sway bar
Strut rods
UCAs
Fox Shocks
Greasable lower pivot / urethane bushings
Torsion bars
Rear sway bar
Leaf springs

Reinforced K Frame W/Hemi skid plate

Reinforced LCAs

Dr Diff:
13” front rotors with 2 piston Cobra rotors
11.7” rear rotors with Cobra calipers and parking brakes

17” American Racing magnum 500s

Ok can’t believe what a huge transformation it’s been the handling, road feel, braking, and even the ride quality are all off the charts. Next phase will be replacing the poly 318 with a TFS headed 470 B block. I’m still on the fence between a 727 Lock up trans/Gear vendors OD or an 18 spline 833/Geqr vendors OD and 3.73 Dana 60

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What's the story on the coronet?

 

[493 Mike]

Why isn't a 5 or 6 speed trans on the list?
Mike

 

[murfman]

Why isn't a 5 or 6 speed trans on the list?
Mike

Don’t want to cut the car up. It’s an 80,000 mile California car that has never had any rust or major damage

 

[murfman]

What's the story on the coronet?

Just bought it out of Central California original R/T 440 with AC. I have the ownership history from new. I found the original owners daughter and she sent me a picture from 1977 when she drove it to High School. 100% original. The only thing missing is the original air cleaner. It has a 68 Unsilenced one installed. Going through the cooling system this weekend and going to pull the 1/4 panel on a buddy’s frame table next week. It was parked in neutral and rolled down a hill into a tree. Luckily it missed the deck lid and bumper. I have a replacement 1/4 extension and tail light. I’m going to preserve the Patina and probably go back to the 7.75-14 tires with full hubcaps as they came with the car

 

[Kern Dog]

I did my research on both the Borgeson and the Firm Feel boxes. Personally I prefer the Firm Feel box.

 

[murfman]

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I’ve been running Firm Feel boxes in my B and C bodies since the early 90s. I’ve had multiple bad experiences with Borgeson products in the past on my truck and my Ramcharger. With the way they treated me, I will never run their products.

 

[Kern Dog]

Yeah?
I only responded that way based on my single experience with mine. The Firm Feel I had had that free play in the center of travel that was really annoying. The Borgeson does not. Sorry that you had bad luck.
Without the fast ratio arms, the slop in the steering probably isn’t as noticeable.

 

[Darter6]

Tail of the Dragon

Beautiful but tricky,gotta be careful.

Beautiful charger,

Very nice,plain elegance with just the right amount of wheel and tire

 

[murfman]

Beautiful but tricky,gotta be careful.

Very nice,plain elegance with just the right amount of wheel and tire

Thanks. I find the Rattler more enjoyable as it has much less traffic but it’s pretty challenging.