Rusty's not very quiet cuda progress

Pretty good car day, got myself up early so I could do something outside before I started roasting.
Got the bumper brackets mounted, while I was back there I took another look at that trunk lid that's still bugging me, looking into the crack I could see the rubber bumper was planted on both sides, no play if you lean on it sooooooo I grabbed a pair of spare bumpers & cut off about an 8th of an inch.
Success on the passenger side, near perfect.20230712_113144.jpg
20230712_113223.jpg
Drivers side is still up but I can see the gap below the bumper, it might adjust a little closer, if I could figure a way to bend that corner without ruining my paint it could also be near perfect! 20230712_113236.jpg
 
Then it was a mad dash for the A/C'd garage, running out of things to do in here & I have many hours of hot weather to avoid.
Spent the rest of the day taping off my interior panels for the blue accent stripe.
I should have saved myself a lot of work & just brushed it on like the other car but i might as well make use of my air brush once more. 20230712_153024.jpg
Then a nice surprise awaited me when I went in the house, Goodies arrived.
Dip stick & rear window rubbers, & they were just that the rubber only, the pic looked like they came with the chrome frame, guess I could have put in the other quarter glass. 20230712_154143.jpg
& in another little box the speakers arrived, now I have no excuse I have to just get speaker wire & terminals & I can build the rest of the dash.20230712_154206.jpg
 
RUSTY Cuda said:
& in another little box the speakers arrived, now I have no excuse I have to just get speaker wire & terminals & I can build the rest of the dash.
Click to expand...
Rusty, don't forget these little brackets on the underside of the dash for the corner speakers. They cannot be installed once the dash is assembled or installed--no way, no how.

s-l500.jpg


If you can't find yours, let me know. I know I have extras of 'em. I can toss 'em in the box.
 
I have them, just have to try & remember when they go on.
Went to the radio store, the guy was some help, but didn't sell supplies, found some 14 gauge wire pretty quick, the connectors I can only find in sets of like 250 pcs, cheap enough (like 10 bucks) but it's frustrating when you need 8 clips worth about 12cents! & no other electronic projects in the foreseeable future!
 
Well, places like Home Depot sell them in smaller quantities, but you'd probably have ended up spending just as much. I needed two ring terminals to connect my compressor. I forgot to get them at work so I just got 'em at HD. It was $6 for five ring terminals, three of which I'll never use.

So, reallistically, $10 for 250 is not a bad deal. Let all your friends know you have 'em and to not buy any!
 
Got all the goodies , wire, wire clips, bass blockers & some red & blue thread locker ready to order when my son gets home, got a gift card from him that will almost cover it all!

In the meantime I got my body color stripes on the interior panels, see how bad my taping job was tomorrow?

Oh crap now I have to order the radio! 20230713_153500.jpg
 
I'm still reeling over the amount of stuff out of my work van which either got junked or sold for pennies on the dollar, I kept a few popular parts & whatever refrigerant was left, but with the new boiler & A/C I put in just before I retired none of the parts will work for me anyway!
the freon has helped one of my sons (the new stuff) & my mechanic the 22 that's gold in a jug!
 
You could take a ride up here , I think I'm about at the same stage with this car as when we had the nuts nats north, I think we put the fuel & brake lines in that day!
I am a stubborn old fool!
 
Not too bad 20230714_110055.jpg
there's a couple of spots where either the paint blead up or the tape pulled off my black, funny the rears which were harder to tape are near perfect?20230714_110908.jpg
 
My rear seat belts came today, I think I got what I need, they are nasty hope a little paint will stick?
this is what I had, different setup than the 7320230714_150519.jpgwas missing the 2 long rears. ebay crap20230714_150546.jpg
I think this is how they go? 20230714_152420.jpg
shoulders were a separate piece on the 7320230714_150527.jpg
 
The rear seatbelts should be the same between '73-'74. The fronts are completely different as '74 is the only year with integrated shoulder belts (and, as you can see from the wires hanging out of the buckle end, the ignition switch seat-belt interlock system).

You have the retractor end of the rear seat belts oriented correctly, but not the buckle end. The bracket on the buckle end should point up at the package tray, with the hole for the belt at 12 o'clock and horizontal. The best way to install it the right way is to hold it up by the buckle end with the button facing away from you (toward the tail lights), then dangle the bracket end over the bolt hole. There should be no twists in the belt. Once the rear seat bottom is installed, they come up and over the rear edge, which orients the buttons up with no twists if you installed them correctly.
The seat belt bolts are very specific. Hardware-store junk will fit, but it will also pull right through the brackets in an accident. Use the right bolts, period. The FSM shows the bolts install into a rubber plug after going through the brackets and prior to threading into the hole in the floor (the bracket is sandwiched between the bolt and the plug), but I can't seem to find a part number for said plug. I also don't recall seeing them set up as such in the wild.
 
The parts catalogs give no indication of which bolts go where. This is one of those "I hope I bagged it and tagged it" situations, because they're only listed in the catalog by head stamping and color. There are no dimensions provided nor locations given. Every single bolt apparently fits every single model/body style in a quantity of "AR" (as required). The service manual provides no clues either.
 
I have all the bolts that were there cleaned up & ready, buuuuuuttttttt they are all in one bag simply marked seat belt bolts! Not sure if there were any in the 2 missing rear retractor spots, pretty sure I have seen at least one somewhere else, will be rummaging around all my boxes again!

never saw any rubber plug on either car, I have an assortment of O rings would that work?
 
RUSTY Cuda said:
I have all the bolts that were there cleaned up & ready, buuuuuuttttttt they are all in one bag simply marked seat belt bolts! Not sure if there were any in the 2 missing rear retractor spots, pretty sure I have seen at least one somewhere else, will be rummaging around all my boxes again!

never saw any rubber plug on either car, I have an assortment of O rings would that work?
Click to expand...
The bolts may all be the same in your application, since there's no center seat-belt position in either front or back. I believe the longer bolts were used in cases where there were two belts using the same bolt. I can't swear to that, though--it's just a semi-educated guess.

The rubber plugs are just that--plugs. I don't know what purpose they serve so I can't say whether an O-ring will work or not. They're shown in the FSM. The insertion lines clearly show they go between the mounting bracket and the floor before the bolt is installed:

Rear_Seat.jpg

There were no such plugs in my Valiant's seat belts, but that's also a 1969 A-body. I don't know about the Challenger because it was gutted when I got it. I'll find out when I get my parts car home, but that might be awhile. There's no reason to move it until I get my '74 back from paint. The junker '74 is turning out to be a much-better idea than originally thought, looking at the "what goes where" struggle you're currently enduring. You took your car apart and have some hope of remembering; mine was disassembled by someone in Alabama 10+ years ago.
 
I'll dig out the bag when I go out today, count em up & see if I need 2 more, then the hunt will begin, if & when it ends ?????
I don't think my 73 book showed any plugs, I'll check again.
 
Here's what I have, a couple of different lengths/types? the 2 back ones were missing, I did find the one I saw in the xtra bolts bag bottom row is that & 4 other bolts with the same thread.
tap & die ready to go to work!
20230715_130801.jpg
 
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