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Dr.Jass said:
It's actually a pretty ingenious design.....blah, blah, blah...
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Very similar to a wiper motor system, when you turn off the switch they return to home position and wait. Remove your wiper motor and try to bench test it. :doh:You'll be pulling your hair out. [smilie=l:
 
Cool I'll have test it today.


Ok, if I upgrade to the 11.75" rotors I'll need the spindles and calipers and brackets right? That will be the only way I'll change the front brakes. I also have the 10" drums, is it worth it to move up to the 11's? I know Ma Mopar has the best brakes out there, but at what power level do I need the rear discs?
 
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Actually, you need only the spindles, as the caliper adapters and calipers have to come from a later B-body (Cordoba, Magnum, etc.). Take the calipers, because you'll need them for core charges on the remans. There are two types of calipers for that setup, pin and slider. I prefer the pin style as they're not as likely to get stuck, but well-greased sliders work just fine. Measure the rotors before you turn bolt one on your donor Doba--they don't all have the big rotors. Also be aware, if you're in a jam at some point, a 14" wheel will not fit. OK, it will, but it will be jammed against the caliper and it will not turn. Getting it back off the car is fun, too, since you essentially just press-fit it in place. :doh:

I'm not getting drawn into the rear-disc question again. :naughty: It has nothing to do with power level. It is solely a question of how fast you're going drive it and vehicle weight.
 
Painted the taillight housings with Rustoleum textured satin black. Looks much better than the weather beaten, flaking Argent. These tails have a couple cracks and are warped so they will be swapped with another set, R/T or standard, when the restification is done.

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Dunno why but I've always loved the black tail panels on muscle era cars. far as I'm concerned, it looks weird w/o black in back. :D
 
I will take the opposite side of the field from Fishtar. No more definition, no more detail, no more depth or contour... it just looks like "I had some black paint, though." Those are my favorite '71-'74 taillamps, too. I was glad my Bee was both hideaway and A4, neither of which could you get with R/T-style taillamps.
 
blackout is..ugh nasty...there are a "few" cars it looks good on..the 72 or 73 chally is one of them as i recall
 
On your 71 I don't think the blackout looks right.............


...on here, it does..:dance:

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The housings are no good, warped and cracked :huh: I did it to see what it looked like, I kinda like it but not enough to do it when I find a good set. 5 of the 6 lenses are in really good shape, one of the reverse lights is stress cracked. I also have 3 bad sockets between these housings :(
 
I like all of the 3rd gen car tail lamps EXCEPT the ones I have '73 and '74 are awefull in my opnion!
 
71ChargerRT said:
The Bee without R/T tails I get, but you can't get hideaways and A4 without them either? I could've sworn I've seen Charger R/T with hideaway lights.
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There are a few things going on here. As I recall, the only way you got R/T-style taillamps (on a Super Bee) was if you ordered body-colored bumpers, as they were part of that package and not available as a separate option. Color-keyed bumpers were not available with hideaway headlamps on any model '71 Charger (I don't think they'll fit--those bezels are an amazingly excellent fit in the chrome bumper). Additionally, that bumper option was not available for A4 cars (R/T or Super Bee) at all.

So, if you see a chrome-bumper Bee with R/T tails, they were added unless someone screwed up on the line (better have Day One pics of the car). If you see a body-colored Charger with hideaways, someone made it that way themselves, same with an A4 car. Mine had the hood/fender/trunk/quarter mouldings a la SE, which though I wasn't originally a fan, I really grew to love. Chrome works so well with A4, and the ones I've seen where someone painted the bumpers looked like crap. If you see a really-nice A4 car at a show, man that chrome just sets it off.

You may be able to take some of the warp out with a heat gun, but those taillamps (if I'm thinking of the right ones) are made of a weird material to which I refer as "fiberglastic". :D The cracks can be fixed with plastic-weld epoxy pretty easily, but drill-stop them first and go easy on the epoxy as it can be a bitch to sand. If you've got bad sockets, I'd suggest the molasses trick--it can't hurt! Also, if the reflectors have deteriorated (and I'm talking about the silver ones for the bulbs, not the ones in the lenses), mask the bezels well, put in some old bulbs (1156 and 1157 bulbs are cheap), and use "bumper chrome" spray paint to rejuvenate them. You'd be amazed at the difference it makes. It's actually better than original for both visibility and evenness of lighting through the lenses.

I think I posted this tip somewhere else on the site, but the chrome paint you have left over is awesome for the inside of the instrument-cluster carrier. I like bright, even instrument lighting and I've done a couple of clusters that way. If you have fixed "bulb masks" meaning the tinted covers so the cluster illuminates green, mask them off and let 'er rip. It should already be painted white so the paint will stick. If it's not, get some rattle-can self-etch primer to help adhesion. If it's plastic, paint it first with Krylon Fusion so the chrome paint has something to which it will stick; it falls right off plastic. On the cluster in the Black Bitch, I went so far as to do the inside of the lens carrier while I had the lenses off for detailing. The difference was amazing. I had to turn the cluster dimmer down when I was done after more than a year running it at the highest setting that didn't turn on the dome lamp. Obviously, this trick doesn't work on E-bodies. :D
 
Ahhh, I understand now. If I had any other color I would paint match the bumpers, especially Citron Yella! Love that color, it's my second favorite! I am definately keeping the chrome chrome, and the stainless polished. :bravo: I have all the stainless door and hood trim, 2 sets as a matter of fact. Unfortunately I have hail dents in all 8 of the window pieces :( so I'll be sending those out to have them restored. No, I'll not be doing that myself :dgt: thanks but no.

As far as the housings, "fiberglastic" :D I might be able to fix one side, but the other is in pretty bad shape and missing a good sized chunk. I've popped the sockets out, very carefully, and I found pop in replacements with ground wires. They're available through Autozone and Advanced Auto, you just have to go online to avoid idiots that know nothing, no offense Fishstick ;)
 
Years ago, I used to think "The more shit you can throw at a '71 Charger, the better." Scoops, spoilers, R/T doors, stripes, etc. I'm older now, and I much-more appreciate the purity of line and shape over gee-gaw add-on stuff. I still love the front spoiler, but am not a fan of the rear. I don't like the R/T and Super Bee stripe like I once did, and the bulge hood is OK but I'd rather have a flat one now. The scalloped taillamps of the R/T and '72 Rallye now look overwrought and busy to me where the bezels for the standard taillamps have depth and contour that's easier on my eyes. I like the '71 hideaways which are cleanly designed; '72s have the vertical elements chromed (and in fact are different castings for the headlamp doors and grillework) and as far as I'm concerned were change for the sake of change, and not for the better. I'd still rather have them than any of the open-headlamp grilles. I think on the open-headlamp cars, the '71 grille is the best, and the '72 is the worst.

Mechanically, the '72 is the best of the breed but externally the '71 is better. I loved my '73 Rallye, but there were so many changes for '73 (doors, fenders, suspension) that I'm no longer the fan of the '73-'74 cars I once was. Stretch's car is an amazing example of the breed and I love that car, but I would not be interested in ownership of it short of putting it 100% back to original parts (which of course he's been smart enough to save) and selling it at a profit to buy something I really like and want to play with at no decrease in value--you really can't hurt the value of a car like the LeBaron by hot-rodding it, though with that particular car you'd better damned-well like it, or prepare to lose your ass on it should you sell it. I like it well enough to keep it, do the work, and even with show-quality paint and finish work, it's still a sleeper. I like that about it.

I made money selling the Bee, but not much for a V-code car. My roommate did a lot better than I on it after he bought it, but to be honest I was glad to be rid of the responsibility of owning a 1-of-1 car. I had to restore that thing, and though I still may have driven it what happens when a teenager blows a red light and T-bones it? Most likely it would have ended as a garage-kept trailer queen simply out of paranoia.

Buy a style you like, create it in your vision, and if you pile it up go get another low-buck low-perf body and transfer everything salvageable to it. The factory built a lot of musclecars, but the real deal is often beyond our bank. I'd rather have a G-code car I can enjoy than an R-code Charger about which I worry every second.

Damn, I went off the hook again. Sorry. :D
 
The more I think about it the more I want to build my car the way I want. I am already over the stripes. I love the the chin spoiler and loathe the Go-Wing. I want a bulge hood and I'm pretty much over the Ramcharger hood, though if I were to be lucky enough to buy an R/T with an original one it would stay. Same with the doors, I want as little as possible to attract unnecessary attention, though it will be really hard not to get looks around here with this car especially when it's done :D

I am going to find a tasteful way to add the required gauges, though I want to keep the dash as stock looking as possible, and keep my A/C. I would LOVE a radio delete bezel, I've only ever seen one in a car in a mag, and I believe I would deserve any asskicking I got for cutting one up to fit gauges. Maybe I'll mod the cut one I have now :hmmm:

I completely agree with the '71 grille being the best and '72 as ugliest. I love the R/T taillights, but once again I'm not sure if I want them, UNLESS I get a deal on them, and if I don't have a nice set of standard tails. I wish I could draw, I would sketch up this the way I see it in my mind.
 
Make me an offer on my chin spoiler! New never installed with chrysler markings and factory hardware. Bought it from First place auto products. Its a super nice reproduction.
 
I think the black out treatment looks good. The only reason it looks a bit dull is the fact that there is no accent around the openings. If you look at the 68 R/T tail panel section there is chrome accents around the taillight opening, and several ribbed sections across the panel. This helps break up the "Dull" look and give it more POP!

Maybe through some of that chinaman chrome stripping around the opening....:D......NO....Don't blame you I wouldn't do that myself.
 
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