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My $300 a month budget 69 RR project (AKA, Wholly crap, what did I get myself into)

GearAddict

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So I've decided to take the advice given to others and start a project page of my own. I'm making progress, but I figure it might give me a jump start in the motivational department to post regularly.

The car in question is an Orange 69 RR, 383, 4 speed, manual steering, manual brake, non-AC car that was bought for a reasonable price (I keep telling myself that). I bought it as a project car, but a to be a cruiser, not a show car, although I would love to do a full resto in the future.


The guy I bought it from said that it had been a drag car and he had started to convert it back to original but didn't finish (nowhere near finished). The body is relatively straight, but has had some bondo work and a poorly done paint job. It had most of the interior missing, a few mismatched door panels, rear seat from a Dodge, un-identifiable buckets (Mustang?) near nonexistent wiring, no working gauges, no headliner, no working lights, no bumpers, no exterior chrome, non-functioning parking brake, questionable motor, no emblems.....You get the idea... I don't have a lot of pictures of it then, so we'll jump forward to the present.

I gave myself a budget of $300/month, plus some yearly bonus money and off I went! (having previously owned a few GM cars, $300 seemed reasonable to make a dent each month (I had no idea Mopar parts were so expensive).

Since I started this project almost 2 years ago (wow, it seems like I should have accomplished wayyyyy more by now, especially after reading some of the other incredible projects posted on FBBO) Here's a list of things that I have done since the project began, just to get up to speed.

1. Re-wired front to back with Ron Francis Access 24/7 kit (it's ok, but would not recommend it, maybe re-doing it with OE style kit in future at least for under dash).
2. Custom fabed Autometer gauge cluster...I like it but need to redo the panel, as it sits too low.
3. Installed new, carpet, headliner, Trim (most of it) door panels, mirror, visors.
4. Installed new bumpers, reverse lights, door and trunk emblems, antenna, wipers, mirror
5. Installed Parking brake cable
6. Replaced carb, manifold
7. Installed Fan, clutch and shroud.
There's more but I won't bore you.

Here are some pics of the current state.

IMG_8543 - 2014-04-05 at 11-34-27.jpgIMG_8523 - 2014-04-05 at 11-30-21.jpgIMG_8521 - 2014-04-05 at 11-29-40.jpgIMG_8519 - 2014-04-05 at 11-29-23.jpgIMG_8516 - 2014-04-05 at 11-28-58.jpgIMG_8509 - 2014-04-05 at 11-28-08.jpgIMG_8508 - 2014-04-05 at 11-27-58.jpgIMG_8503 - 2014-04-05 at 11-26-56.jpg

More to come!

- - - Updated - - -

By the way, I should say that it was my first time tackling a headliner, I need to take a heat gun to it and see if I can get some of the wrinkles out...If not, I'll be redoing it in the future.
 
Nice looking project! I see what you mean about your guage panel sitting a bit low but I like what you've done there regardless!
 
Hey, pretty good, GearAddict. I like your idea of working around a budget. Compared to how you described the starting point, it looks like you've accomplished a lot. Thumbs up!
 
Nice looking project! I see what you mean about your guage panel sitting a bit low but I like what you've done there regardless!

Thanks! I liked it in concept, but I should have gone with 1 less gauge so that I could have done them a little less staggered, which would have pulled them up some... plus I need to fab the plate they are mounted to at an angle, that matches the stock gauge lens, but I got impatient to get it in the car... I will get to this after I get the car running smoothly and safely on the road (much more on that to come in tomorrow's installment :) )

CLUSTER.jpg

(Don't know why it's upside down)
 
image.jpg

There you go. Right side up.

And great job so far by the way! She is looking great!
 
I like it. Wish I had that much done with my project. Keep up the good work.
 
i tried the 300.00 a month plan,it was very frustrating.it seems that anything i need cost more than 300.00.
nice car keep up the great work.
 
For a 300 a month budget, You have a lot to be proud of, she looks as good as it gets! VERY nice!
 
nice work looks good keep us posted on your progress
 
Looks good from where I stand. $300 a month is a good start, you just might need to save a couple(or more) months at a time,lol. It can be overwhelming, just be patient. There are many of us who can't wait to have a driver to tinker with rather than rebuild from scratch. Keep up the good work and enjoy the ride.
 
$300 a month, tight budget. You ought to be proud, you're doing a good job with the limit you have set.
 
Yeah, you are doing a great job - especially keeping within your budget. I think it was more like $300/day for my Charger for awhile lol.
 
Thanks for all the great comments guys. They're much appreciated.

Yeah, the $300/month thing can be frustrating. It's forcing me to do a lot of research on every component I source to make sure it is what I really need. That has been educational, but can sometimes be more time consuming than working on the car. The good news is, I get a meager bonus each year and can use some of that to kickstart things and I have also been squirreling away parts, even if I wasn't ready for them yet.

I have decided after finally getting the car out on the road for more than an around the block test drive, that it is unsafe to drive in the current state....the manual steering gearbox has an extreme amount of play in it that I cannot adjust out, the Weld Draglite skinnies on the front have so much sidewall roll it's ridiculous, and right as I pulled back onto my street the right front drum locked up on me (springs/shoes disintegrated)...the whole front end is a disaster!!

Luckily my bonus check came in, so I decided to take on the suspension and brakes front and rear...So on a $2100 budget I settled on the following.

Parts have been ordered and have trickled in...here's the list
1. Right Stuff Detailing, Manual disc conversion kit
2. PST Super OE front end kit
3. KYB's for all 4 corners (this was a financial decision, I had Billsteins on my Chevy and loved em)
4. Hellwig 1-1/8 solid sway bar
5. Mopar Performance XHD rear springs
6. Hotchkis Shackles (I got a deal on em)
7. A used set of 15 x 8 American Racing T70R's with tires (tread is good but will need taller tires in future) off Craigslist
8. New set of Lugs

I am torn on what to do about the steering gearbox... some of the good people here on FBBO have used units for sale at a reasonable price, I have seen ones listed on Craigslist for cheap, but they are of an unknown condition and are 1.5 hrs drive. A new unit sounds nice but for $700 and I'm not sure about a 16:1 steering ratio on manual steering driver, with 8" wide tires up front...anyway, that will be the very next item purchased.

I plan on tackling the rear leafs/shocks and wheels today.
IMG_8553 - 2014-04-05 at 11-37-55.jpgIMG_8548 - 2014-04-05 at 11-36-31.jpgView attachment 179811
 
I'm going to try to be complete on posting links to helpful searches as I go through the project, incase it benefits others in the future...

The car came with traction bars installed, I did a little searching on the forum to see if there was really any value to keeping them for my purposes...I have decided to ditch them based on this helpful post.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopar...288-Traction-bar-help&highlight=traction+bars
 
That is a really nice car and project. I did my leafs last year, not bad and made a huge difference in my car. The dash gauges are very nice, some day I might take the time and do mine. The drum to disc is an awesome upgrade too. Nice.

Keep up the good work!
 
That is a really nice car and project. I did my leafs last year, not bad and made a huge difference in my car. The dash gauges are very nice, some day I might take the time and do mine. The drum to disc is an awesome upgrade too. Nice.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks MT, actually your thread on replacing springs was very helpful, I had read it a few weeks ago before I ordered mine.

for any who are needing it, here's MT's Leaf spring replacement.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopar...ce-XHD-OEM-Leaf-Spring-Install&highlight=leaf
 
ok....I had a bad day...Project "replace my leaf springs shocks and rear tires" was an epic failure all the way around.

First off, I got the car up on the jack, removed the tire and started trying to figure out what was what. Crusty shackle bolts check, cruddy u bolts, check...the usual. But when I started looking at the shocks, I realized something was amiss.

I'm fairly certain this was not the original shock bracket. Looks like they welded it to the traction bar?
IMG_8562 - 2014-04-06 at 11-59-27.jpgIMG_8563 - 2014-04-06 at 12-00-46.jpg

I sprayed all the bolts down with penetrating oil and I put the project aside for the moment while I try to figure out how to proceed next.

Does anyone know if repro shock brackets are available?

Well, I figured since the shock issue wouldn't get solved today, I thought I might throw on the new wheels to see how they looked...When I went to pull them out of the back of my car, I noticed a crazy amount of balance weights on the wheels and a set of them had already fallen off...mind you I paid a shop $65 to balance all 4 tires, 2 weeks ago and they have never seen the road!

So, I have 2 questions...
1. Does this look like the right type of adhesive to be used? looks slapped together and they didn't clean the rim at all before they stuck the weights on.
2. Should I be concerned that they had to throw that much weight on it to balance?

I will be taking at least the one wheel back, but should I take all 4 and make em do it again?

IMG_8576 - 2014-04-06 at 12-22-53.jpgIMG_8575 - 2014-04-06 at 12-22-47.jpgIMG_8574 - 2014-04-06 at 12-22-42.jpg





Also, in looking at the rear end, it appears to be a donor Dana 60 out of a truck, it has shock mounts welded to the axle tubes... No Pinion Snubber anywhere to be found as well.

I am going to drink some scotch and start searching for shock brackets...Happy Sunday
 
Update: found a set of shock brackets in good condition here in the marketplace section of FBBO for $85 from ChallengerSteve... Nice guy, very friendly and helpful.

That brings my April total to...$85
Looking at buying new U-bolts as we'll cause I think I'm going to have to cut mine off... $40ish from Mancini but I'll do a little more searching.
 
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