My first E body

[Josh M.]

Hello everyone, I have had my e body for about a year and a half now. It is a 1974 Challenger with a 318 2-BBL that was bought by my aunt new from the dealership. When she went to get rid of it in the 80's, my dad purchased the car and continued to keep it in the family. Unfortunately, he had to park the car when he started a family about 20 years ago and it hadn't rolled from its resting place until he finally agreed to give it to me if agreed to fix it and that is what I have been doing for the last 1 1/2 years. About a year into working on it, I was able to get it running and driving again but it quickly blew a freeze plug between the engine and transmission and had to put the car on hold because I didn't have the time to fix it because I just started my Bachelors degree. When I finally found time to work on it again I found this site when looking for freeze plugs.

I actually got very lucky with the condition of it. There is a fair amount of surface rust but it is extremely straight and no rust in the floors or rocker panels. trunk is thin and needs to be replaced but has not rusted through yet. It is going to be a long journey but I am definitely up for it. The picture is from the day I towed it home.

All recommendations/ tips welcome.

 

[DetMatt1]

Welcome to the site from the Motor City!

 

[desotoman]

cool good luck with it,keep us posted on progress

 

[340challconvert]

Josh
to FEBO from New Jersey
Great project; especially one that has been in the family for a long time.
Looking forward to your work on her.

A-66
Registry

 

[fasjac]

Welcome from Little Rock! Glad you’re fixing her up, and glad you’re on the site. Looking forward to the progress.

 

[73Challengr]

Welcome!

 

[moparlee]

Josh, welcome to the site from Michigan. Glad that your Challenger was kept in the family all this time.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Welcome from Panama !
74 Challengers are actually very rare with some of the lowest production #s , Great to see some younger people working on these cars & I am glad you are up for the challenge of restoring it !

 

[gpm6367]

Welcome from Joisey! What a family heirloom! Worth all of the effort.

 

[moparleo]

aboard. Here is my list of things to be done on a vehicle situation like yours. Be prepared in advance of what you will find out. You are very fortunate i your timing as almost evrything is available for these cars to make getting parts simple and economical. Not that way a few years ago. Rock auto, Napa, O'rielly's, Pep Boys, AutoZone and others. Plenty online. Take your time. Get a Factory Service Manual and just follow it front to back. Flush and change all fluids and filters. Oil, Air, gas, transmission filters. Oil, Coolant, transmission, differential, brake fluids. While the engine is out ( I hope you are removing it) Replace all soft plugs with brass. Replace oil pan gasket, front and rear seals, valve cover gaskets come to mind. Replace radiator cap, thermostat, belts, hoses, clamps, possibly the water pump. Radiator may also need repair/replacement. Replace all brake & fuel lines. Both rubber and metal. These deteriorate from the inside out. Trust me. Replace all hydraulic brake components. Brake hoses ( they dry out, swell internally and crack), wheel cylinders( pistons rust from fluid absorbing water), calipers (same thing as cylinders), master cylinder.(rust and internal corrosion from moisture as well) Gas tank may need replacement, old fuel turns to varnish and/or rust forms inside. Fuel sending unit replaced as well). Check all suspension parts ( ball joints, bushings, tie rod ends, steering box, steering coupler, shocks) and if serviceable, lubricate properly. Give your wiring a thorough and close up inspection. If the car was stored outside, critters love the taste of wire insulation. You might think that I am just naming off just about everything, but you may or may not know that a parked is the kiss of death for all the moving parts. Like being in a coma for 20 years and waking up and expecting to be able to run. All of the fluids have a service life of time or mileage. Except for oil 3-5,000 miles About 2 years of normal driving on the old cars. All of the vehicles seals need heat and lubrication to remain flexible enough to do their jobs. When re awakened most cars that have sat for a long period of time will start to leak everywhere. This is because the seals have hardened and no longer work properly. The belts dry out and the hoses harden from the inside out. There are all kinds of snake oil promising to fix everything, but they are basically petroleum products that cause rubber to swell. Like brake fluid does. Temporary at best. This is a comprehensive list of what I would expect to do myself if I got a car that had sat for that long. The brake and fuel system things are Safety items and should never be scrimped on. You are smart to start asking questions up front. We all had /have to learn from someone.
This is what makes older cars so much fun!! With some basic skills, good quality tools, a clean place to work and time to have the car out of commission you will learn about all of an automobiles mechanical systems. This knowledge will be of a great help in the future for you and every one that you pass the information to in your lifetime.
Enjoy your Challenger, it will be a real winner.

 

[Josh M.]

aboard. Here is my list of things to be done on a vehicle situation like yours. Be prepared in advance of what you will find out. You are very fortunate i your timing as almost evrything is available for these cars to make getting parts simple and economical. Not that way a few years ago. Rock auto, Napa, O'rielly's, Pep Boys, AutoZone and others. Plenty online. Take your time. Get a Factory Service Manual and just follow it front to back. Flush and change all fluids and filters. Oil, Air, gas, transmission filters. Oil, Coolant, transmission, differential, brake fluids. While the engine is out ( I hope you are removing it) Replace all soft plugs with brass. Replace oil pan gasket, front and rear seals, valve cover gaskets come to mind. Replace radiator cap, thermostat, belts, hoses, clamps, possibly the water pump. Radiator may also need repair/replacement. Replace all brake & fuel lines. Both rubber and metal. These deteriorate from the inside out. Trust me. Replace all hydraulic brake components. Brake hoses ( they dry out, swell internally and crack), wheel cylinders( pistons rust from fluid absorbing water), calipers (same thing as cylinders), master cylinder.(rust and internal corrosion from moisture as well) Gas tank may need replacement, old fuel turns to varnish and/or rust forms inside. Fuel sending unit replaced as well). Check all suspension parts ( ball joints, bushings, tie rod ends, steering box, steering coupler, shocks) and if serviceable, lubricate properly. Give your wiring a thorough and close up inspection. If the car was stored outside, critters love the taste of wire insulation. You might think that I am just naming off just about everything, but you may or may not know that a parked is the kiss of death for all the moving parts. Like being in a coma for 20 years and waking up and expecting to be able to run. All of the fluids have a service life of time or mileage. Except for oil 3-5,000 miles About 2 years of normal driving on the old cars. All of the vehicles seals need heat and lubrication to remain flexible enough to do their jobs. When re awakened most cars that have sat for a long period of time will start to leak everywhere. This is because the seals have hardened and no longer work properly. The belts dry out and the hoses harden from the inside out. There are all kinds of snake oil promising to fix everything, but they are basically petroleum products that cause rubber to swell. Like brake fluid does. Temporary at best. This is a comprehensive list of what I would expect to do myself if I got a car that had sat for that long. The brake and fuel system things are Safety items and should never be scrimped on. You are smart to start asking questions up front. We all had /have to learn from someone.
This is what makes older cars so much fun!! With some basic skills, good quality tools, a clean place to work and time to have the car out of commission you will learn about all of an automobiles mechanical systems. This knowledge will be of a great help in the future for you and every one that you pass the information to in your lifetime.
Enjoy your Challenger, it will be a real winner.

Hello moparleo and thank you for the advice. So far this is a list of the things that I have been able to do to the car and thankfully they match your list for the most part.
For the fuel system, I have replaced the fuel pump, gas tank, fuel sending unit, rubber hoses, as well as rebuilt the carb.
For the cooling system, the radiator has been removed and rodded out, I have gotten a new radiator cap as well as upper and lower hoses,thermostat, the water pump was replaced after the first start and I realized it was leaking. There are also new coolant and vacuum hoses all around. No old rubber hoses.
As far as gaskets go, I have replaced the differential gasket as well as the axle flanges, transmission gasket as well as the oil pan gasket and. I'm sure there are a few more but I can't think of them right now. Still need to do the pinion seal.
For the braking system, There are new rubber hoses all around as well as new wheel cylinders, drums and brake shoes. For the front, there are new bearings (made sure to pack them really good), seals, rotors, calipers and pads.
The oil,fuel,air, and transmission filters have been replaced.
Other things I have done are replaced the motor mounts, all hose clamps with new ones, belts, new set of tires, and greased everything that needs greasing and replaced all fluids(oil, transmission,power steering, brake, differential, and coolant)
This is the majority of the things I have replaced before trying to start it for the fist time.
Unfortunately, the car did sit outside for the 20 years it sat and I never thought to check the wiring very well so that is something I probably need to do pretty soon. I hadn't pulled the engine but it is out now and I am replacing all the freeze plugs while it is out. I will probably go ahead and clean it and give it a coat of paint while it is out.
Is there anything else you could think of I should do while it is out of the car?
Thank you again for all the advice.

 

[Josh M.]

Welcome from Panama !
74 Challengers are actually very rare with some of the lowest production #s , Great to see some younger people working on these cars & I am glad you are up for the challenge of restoring it !

Thanks for the welcome.
From what I can find, there are only 11,354 ever produced for the 74 model year because production of the challenger was canceled 1/2 way into the year. I realize that the 72-74 are technically considered the lesser years for a challenger but I am honestly just grateful to get one. These cars for all model years are just getting harder and harder to find.

 

[moparleo]

That sounds great. I am glad that you touched almost all of the bases. I would still look to change the metal fuel and brake lines as well. They are made of steel and corrode from the inside out, so you don't want to get a surprise fuel or brake fluid leak when you are heading down the road. An exhaust upgrade would also be a good thing to do as the muffler and exhaust pipes are probably not in great shape either. Take photos and post them for our members to see. Some are in the process of doing the same things that you are and photos are a good motivator to keep going.

 

[AUSTA]

Welcome you can treat the surface rust with a phosphoric based rust inhibitor doesn't look too deep.
All the parts Leo listed are available & don't run into a lot of cash the more you can do yourself the cheaper it will be & also add to your learning curve.
I would probably replace the Trans rear seal & universal joint as the grease & seals would have dried up also unplug all the electrical connectors & give a shot of contact cleaner