My '66 Charger Saga So Far

[CherryBomb]

Is it manual or power brakes originally?
I kept mine manual and it works fine with the right setup.

Original manual drum car. I have had manual brakes before and they are totally fine 90% of the time, but for the one "panic stop" situation, the extra boost helps. I upgraded to power in the '59 and that thing would stop on a dime! Definitely not graceful (picture slamming the brakes on a waterbed) but cut the braking distance way down. Had to use that a few more times than I would have liked, and I drove that car very cautiosly.

 

[CherryBomb]

Before you buy the MC and booster on that link, I suggest some research before you decide.. It's a "Bendix style" unit, not genuine Bendix and likely made in China. I have read many threads over the years where folks have had problems out of the box with these units. With this unit you will need to make a bigger hole in the firewall. Not saying all had problems but many did. Think you will be able to do some searches on this and other sites that will have opinions on these units. Many years ago I was able to find a remanufactured Midland style from Cardone. Fit it up with a proper dual pot MC and been working perfectly ever since. If you can find either a used good physical condition Bendix or Midland there are rebuild kits available for both.

I appreciate the insight, will poke around and see what I can see.

 

[Hilljack68]

Definitely not graceful (picture slamming the brakes on a waterbed)

 

[CherryBomb]

More progress on the Charger, and predictably a couple more setbacks…

I did not have an easy way to lock the crank in place so I put one of the cylinder heads on temporarily with some (clean) microfiber rags stuffed in the cylinder. No pushrods in place so the valves are shut, and the microfibers to a good job of gently stopping the rotation without damaging anything when they get compressed.

I pulled the balancer and timing cover off to inspect the timing chain and I am very glad I did. There was ton’s of slack in the old chain, so I ordered a double roller to replace it. I had not seen the offset “cup” looking thing on the camshaft sprocket before, but I am pretty sure it is supposed to be there, at least with this setup. I am not sure if it needs to be there on the new double roller one, any insight would be appreciated!

While the heads, intake, timing cover, oil pan and new water pump are off of the car, I am going to paint them up. I will have much better access to clean, prep and paint them for a nice finish. I already got the intake stripped back to bare, degreased, and just put the first couple of coats of flame-proof primer on. Hopefully the temperature rating on that will withstand the exhaust crossover heat. We will see. The remaining components will be painted up this weekend and ready to go the following. As for the block, I am going to paint the parts that I can reach (essentially just the front “V” and a little of the underside) in-situ for now. Unfortunately I am not in a position to pull the whole motor, so I am doing the best I can with what I have.

I saw another member on here mention the 20% off sale that PG Classic recently had, and decided to pull the trigger on buying some parts that will be needed to make the car presentable. Didn’t really have the money for it, but 20% was a really big savings so I made it work. I picked up a new trunk emblem, taillight lenses, letters, and surround trims to clean up the back end of the car. I also picked up a dash pad as mine is horribly cracked.

I figured I would take a break from the engine and reward myself by putting on a couple of the new shiny bits. Hah. Of course it couldn’t be that easy. The old trunk emblem on the car? All the prongs were broken and someone had glued it on with a gallon of clear silicone. Judging by how clean it was, I would say recently. Anyone who has ever had to remove silicone sealer knows the fun I am in for. I started the process but was feeling disheartened, so I moved on.

I figured why not pull the taillight assembly? Easy job and I can work on that in my shed. The assembly came out easily, but of course I made the fun discovery that they were too lazy to remove it when they painted the car! Seriously, it was 16 nuts, all of which were easily accessible and came off clean. There is a tiny bit of rust in there, but nothing that needs welding. Mostly irritated as I now have to scrub and treat that, then paint the tail panel so it is nice and sealed.

 

[icetech]

That cup is what runs the fuel pump.. it's a much better setup than the big block one with a rod, I'm glad you are saving the poly... mine was too far gone You can still find 4bbl intakes for those but are crazy expensive unless you get lucky.. keep a eye out

 

[Don Frelier]

Another easy way to make a piston stop is to pull a spark plug and insert some 1/4" rope.
Just be sure to leave some hanging out of the hole.

 

[440 4 speed]

More progress on the Charger, and predictably a couple more setbacks…

I did not have an easy way to lock the crank in place so I put one of the cylinder heads on temporarily with some (clean) microfiber rags stuffed in the cylinder. No pushrods in place so the valves are shut, and the microfibers to a good job of gently stopping the rotation without damaging anything when they get compressed.

View attachment 1503128

I pulled the balancer and timing cover off to inspect the timing chain and I am very glad I did. There was ton’s of slack in the old chain, so I ordered a double roller to replace it. I had not seen the offset “cup” looking thing on the camshaft sprocket before, but I am pretty sure it is supposed to be there, at least with this setup. I am not sure if it needs to be there on the new double roller one, any insight would be appreciated!

View attachment 1503129

While the heads, intake, timing cover, oil pan and new water pump are off of the car, I am going to paint them up. I will have much better access to clean, prep and paint them for a nice finish. I already got the intake stripped back to bare, degreased, and just put the first couple of coats of flame-proof primer on. Hopefully the temperature rating on that will withstand the exhaust crossover heat. We will see. The remaining components will be painted up this weekend and ready to go the following. As for the block, I am going to paint the parts that I can reach (essentially just the front “V” and a little of the underside) in-situ for now. Unfortunately I am not in a position to pull the whole motor, so I am doing the best I can with what I have.

View attachment 1503131

I saw another member on here mention the 20% off sale that PG Classic recently had, and decided to pull the trigger on buying some parts that will be needed to make the car presentable. Didn’t really have the money for it, but 20% was a really big savings so I made it work. I picked up a new trunk emblem, taillight lenses, letters, and surround trims to clean up the back end of the car. I also picked up a dash pad as mine is horribly cracked.

View attachment 1503132

I figured I would take a break from the engine and reward myself by putting on a couple of the new shiny bits. Hah. Of course it couldn’t be that easy. The old trunk emblem on the car? All the prongs were broken and someone had glued it on with a gallon of clear silicone. Judging by how clean it was, I would say recently. Anyone who has ever had to remove silicone sealer knows the fun I am in for. I started the process but was feeling disheartened, so I moved on.

I figured why not pull the taillight assembly? Easy job and I can work on that in my shed. The assembly came out easily, but of course I made the fun discovery that they were too lazy to remove it when they painted the car! Seriously, it was 16 nuts, all of which were easily accessible and came off clean. There is a tiny bit of rust in there, but nothing that needs welding. Mostly irritated as I now have to scrub and treat that, then paint the tail panel so it is nice and sealed.

You are missing 4 nuts for the assembly.

 

[CherryBomb]

You are missing 4 nuts for the assembly.

If you're referring to the trunk emblem, then yeah I am aware. I think I found one of them along with a broken off spike from the original emblem, so at least I have reference to what they should look like.

 

[CherryBomb]

Another easy way to make a piston stop is to pull a spark plug and insert some 1/4" rope.
Just be sure to leave some hanging out of the hole.

Agreed, if my heads were not already off, I would have gone this route.

 

[CherryBomb]

That cup is what runs the fuel pump.. it's a much better setup than the big block one with a rod, I'm glad you are saving the poly... mine was too far gone You can still find 4bbl intakes for those but are crazy expensive unless you get lucky.. keep a eye out

Aha, now you mention it, that makes all the sense in the world! I did look for 4bbl intakes but no luck and more than I wanted to spend anyway. There are dual quad ones available (still expensive) but that is way overkill for this little engine. If she is a happy running little motor when I am all done, I will be thrilled to bits.

 

[icetech]

Aha, now you mention it, that makes all the sense in the world! I did look for 4bbl intakes but no luck and more than I wanted to spend anyway. There are dual quad ones available (still expensive) but that is way overkill for this little engine. If she is a happy running little motor when I am all done, I will be thrilled to bits.

Put some assembly lube on the arm of the fuel pump when you put it back in so it doesn't run dry on startup

 

[440 4 speed]

If you're referring to the trunk emblem, then yeah I am aware. I think I found one of them along with a broken off spike from the original emblem, so at least I have reference to what they should look like.

Trunk emblem has three studs. Taillight housing has 20 studs.

 

[icetech]

Everytime i would look at a 66-67 it would pretty much be "Great car, but already sold the dash and taillights" gee.. great car

 

[CherryBomb]

Everytime i would look at a 66-67 it would pretty much be "Great car, but already sold the dash and taillights" gee.. great car

I had a few smaller "uh oh how am I going to find this" parts that were missing, but have managed to track them down thankfully!

 

[CherryBomb]

Trunk emblem has three studs. Taillight housing has 20 studs.

I just re-counted, you are correct. The 4 that are tucked out of sight behind the braces on each side were missing the nuts but thankfully the studs are still there. I can get some nuts and washers to resolve that. You don't happen to know the correct size of the "self cutting" nuts (or whatever they are called) that I need for the trunk emblem per chance?

Edit: "Self threading nuts" Google is my friend

 

[440 4 speed]

I just re-counted, you are correct. The 4 that are tucked out of sight behind the braces on each side were missing the nuts but thankfully the studs are still there. I can get some nuts and washers to resolve that. You don't happen to know the correct size of the "self cutting" nuts (or whatever they are called) that I need for the trunk emblem per chance?

Edit: "Self threading nuts" Google is my friend

No I don’t know the size, you could go to a place that sells parts nuts like that and test them for fit. The pentastar nuts might be a close fit. I had a broken stud on one trunk medallion. Carefully drilled a cavity and epoxied a dry wall screw in . Got a correct size speed nut and it worked.
IMPORTANT!! DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN ANY POT METAL pieces that have studs. That is why you need gaskets. My experience only.

 

[CherryBomb]

No I don’t know the size, you could go to a place that sells parts nuts like that and test them for fit. The pentastar nuts might be a close fit. I had a broken stud on one trunk medallion. Carefully drilled a cavity and epoxied a dry wall screw in . Got a correct size speed nut and it worked.
IMPORTANT!! DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN ANY POT METAL pieces that have studs. That is why you need gaskets. My experience only.

Thanks for the info! I’ll poke around.

 

[RedBeard]

Thanks for the info! I’ll poke around.

Also make sure you have a good or new gasket for the trunk emblem. One area that collects water and rusts.

 

[440 4 speed]

Thanks for the info! I’ll poke around.

Detroit Muscle Technologies make great gaskets.

 

[CherryBomb]

Also make sure you have a good or new gasket for the trunk emblem. One area that collects water and rusts.

Detroit Muscle Technologies make great gaskets.

Funny you should mention that, I ordered their gasket set on the 3rd and it should be here this week! Picked up a few other bits I needed at the same time.