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Dad's 71 Challenger

J72440rallye

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Been slowly working on resurrecting my Dad's 1971 Challenger and would greatly appreciate this groups help and knowledge as I work through this. My wife and I have four little ones of our own, so this build will not go down at a break neck pace rather slow and hopefully steady. It was originally plumb crazy with a 318, 904 and the small axle. Going to a Magnum 360, 46RH, a yet to be determined heavier duty axle and dark green metallic as a tribute to my amazing great Uncle's Charger. I have the most amazing parents that you can imagine, and am excited for this project as it is a little something that I can do for them as a thank you for putting up with a very challenging son . This definitely won't be a concourse job (definately amature), shooting for a solid driver that they can hop in and take to Alice's Restaurant in Woodside, CA whenever the urge hits. Pics to come and will be a little out of order in the beginning since some are on the old phone.
 

J72440rallye

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J72440rallye

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Found a long block Magnum 5.9 in SW Arkansas for $100, so my two oldest boys and I took a little road trip to bring back another piece of the puzzle.
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J72440rallye

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The engine had been sitting in the bed of a dodge pickup uncovered and without an intake for a little while. She was full of water and locked up. With a littler persistence she started to rotate. Just dropped it off at the machine shop last week. Both of the stock heads are cracked (as expected), block to be prepped with the usual treatments and punched if necessary. The owner of the machine shop has sourced some EQ manifolds with the LA intake pattern and I will re-purpose the dual plane Mopar intake off of the 318 that came out. The plan is to assemble the engine with my oldest son (12).
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J72440rallye

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I saw this product featured in a video from Auto Resto Mod called Bonded Logic. They showed good results with a low product cost. It is a thick foil backed insulation made from recycled denim and I picked it up a 4' by 24' roll on Amazon for around $75. Definitely a lot easier on the knees while crawling around the interior.
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J72440rallye

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Picked up a seal kit for the heater box and was very glad that I did. The heater resistor was surrounded by a pile of dried leaves that had blown into the box! The local radiator shop checked out the evaporator before I put it all back together. Very happy with the kit and instructions from Detroit Muscle Technologies.
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Stephen Hotz

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I saw this product featured in a video from Auto Resto Mod called Bonded Logic. They showed good results with a low product cost. It is a thick foil backed insulation made from recycled denim and I picked it up a 4' by 24' roll on Amazon for around $75. Definitely a lot easier on the knees while crawling around the interior.View attachment 63931
I like Jeff's channel. He is real good about throwing out low buck but usefull info. He also answers any emails sent with questions. Good luck on the car. Looks like you are making a good start. Thanks for including your up and coming junior hot rodders too. These are things they wont forget later in life.
 

J72440rallye

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I like Jeff's channel. He is real good about throwing out low buck but usefull info. He also answers any emails sent with questions. Good luck on the car. Looks like you are making a good start. Thanks for including your up and coming junior hot rodders too. These are things they wont forget later in life.
Agreed, by the time you factor in fuel, trailer rental, snacks etc. on picking up the engine it would have made better financial sense to pick up one local but the journey and time with the boys was priceless. If the next generation isn't exposed to our hobby in a positive and welcoming way, who then will carry this American history to the generation that follows them? You all should have seen all of the kids expressions and comments when I was taking the boys to Elementary school last year in our 72 cammed 440 Challenger that looks like it is something out of Mad Max. It has been on the operating table for a few months now to upgrade the radiator and cooling system. Can't wait to get it back out into the rotation for errands, work commutes etc. You never know which kids will see your hot rod and have a perminent impression in their memory that ignites a passion for the hobby. The plan, as of today, is to finish dad's car, get the Wagoneer roadworthy, find Jacob a project car and build that together. I'll have to drag it out a bit so that he cuts his teeth on a throw away car. Right now he likes the late 80s to early 90s F150 short beds, but we'll see how building grandpa's Challenger might sway the future.
 

J72440rallye

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Hit the local Pull A Part and found a 1998 B2500 Dodge van with a Magnum V8. Pulled the accessory brackets, water pump/fan/clutch assembly and water pump. I had read somewhere that the van setup is better for an E body swap, let me know what your experiences are because there are plenty of pickup brackets to choose from if they are a better option. I also grabbed an alternator and starter from a 96 Ram. There is a local alternator repair shop that has done amazing work at an unbeatable price for us in the past, so they will be getting the alternator and starter to work their magic on. I will be installing a new water pump and fan clutch but wasn't able to separate them at the yard. More options at the home base.
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J72440rallye

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Ordered up some gaskets to go through the wiper motor. Little bit of crust in there and will have to drill out the side barrel screws, replace them along with the long screws. More to come in this section.
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DrEamer

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Hit the local Pull A Part and found a 1998 B2500 Dodge van with a Magnum V8. Pulled the accessory brackets, water pump/fan/clutch assembly and water pump. I had read somewhere that the van setup is better for an E body swap, let me know what your experiences are because there are plenty of pickup brackets to choose from if they are a better option. I also grabbed an alternator and starter from a 96 Ram. There is a local alternator repair shop that has done amazing work at an unbeatable price for us in the past, so they will be getting the alternator and starter to work their magic on. I will be installing a new water pump and fan clutch but wasn't able to separate them at the yard. More options at the home base. View attachment 63941

My understanding is that the power steering mount off the vans work better in A bodies because it keeps the pump from hitting the battery tray. I can not imagine it being a bad thing for the E body as well. I am doing the same conversion with the 5.9/46RH too. I am stroking mine to a 408, and most likely convert mine to a LA V-belt. Looks like a great project !
 

Adam

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“I will re-purpose the dual plane Mopar intake off of the 318 that came out.”

Aren’t the 318 intake ports smaller than the 360 ports?
 

J72440rallye

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Good question, I had assumed that 318, 340 and 360s shared the same intake manifolds (aftermarket). The one that I was going to re-purpose is a Mopar aluminum dual plane that was installed on the 69 318 that came out of the 71. I asked the machine shop to order in a set of the EQ heads that used the older LA intake bolt pattern and angle mainly as a current cost savings with future options. I just ran a quick search on the Summit Racing site and they have their intakes listed as compatible between the 318, 340 and 360 LA family of engines. Interested to hear if someone has experienced this not being accurate. I grind and file aluminum for a living, so I definitely won't shy away from port matching the intake a bit if needed. On the head side I may smooth the ports out a bit without getting aggressive since I don't want to be surprised by a coolant passage photobombing my intake runner. Especially on a new head.
 

desotoman

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Very nice 71 plum crazy challenger ! Good luck with it .
 

Adam

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The EQ heads are excellent pieces. I have a set on a 360. I would just open up the intake ports on your 318 intake to match the heads, if they are not the same. Some 318 intake manifolds have the same size runners as the bigger manifolds with a small lip at the edge of the runner; easy to remove if it hasn’t already..
 
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