Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Just a few of the upgrade parts I've been collecting for the car in the last 15 months or so.
Since the car is manual steering, on which I plan to upgrade from 26:1 to 20:1, it's going to be a bit of effort to turn at lower speeds, so the Tuff wheel will come out and be replaced with a Rim Blow wheel I picked up inexpensively. I've started to repair it myself and will post results when I've finished it (or completely failed and sent it out to be done by a professional). I already have a replacement switch and repro '70 "DODGE" horn button for it.
Next up is the Rallye cluster that 71ChargerR/T found for me at a "reasonable" price (because there's no such thing as actually reasonable where E-body Rallye clusters are concerned). These are the before-and-after shots; AutoInstruments refinished the gauges. I converted the tach to an upgraded control circuit and the clock to quartz myself. The speedometer and gauges worked fine as-is and were not touched mechanically. A bit of advice for anyone considering an E-body: if you want a Rallye dash, buy a car with one already in it. The expense involved with this setup, from boneyard to brilliance, is nothing short of staggering. If I had anyone to whom I had to answer other than a dog, it would've never happened. It's retarded, but I simply had to have what my '73 had. That's just how it is with these things sometimes.
Of course, there's the shiny new bumpers. These are actually '71 bumpers, which I ordered because they don't have the holes for the "buck tooth" bumper guards, nor do they have jack slots. I wanted the cleaner look and never intend to use a bumper jack on this car; I'll keep a trolley jack in the trunk. These are Goodmark's "premium" rechromed originals, which I ordered from a place called getallparts.com. It's not a restoration place, it's just a parts site, but their prices were the best I found and the shipping was about half of Rock Auto. They were $338 to my door, packed and protected to withstand even the angriest UPS employee. That was more than $70 under Rock at the time. These bumpers are freakin' gorgeous in person.
Finally, we have the coup de grace. Something I'd always wanted on the old car, and wanted if I ever got another, and more importantly, if I could find a set. Minilite wheels. These are aluminum 17" repros; the originals were 15" magnesium and currently fetch about $1,500-$2,500 per wheel--if you can even find them. I found out that Minilite was still in business, after multiple ownership and staff changes, and currently making aluminum repros. However, after doing a lot of research I found their quality is seriously lacking: they paint the wheels and do so badly, and the castings often have large voids where defects existed in the sand-casting molds. I kept rooting around the vintage SCCA sites and finally found someone (Vintage Wheel Works) offering a quality reproduction, far better than the current Minilite offerings and possibly even the originals, but in the more-economical aluminum (I also found repro magnesiums for $1,700 per wheel :dgt: ). Since good-quality street rubber doesn't exist in 15" (or 16") sizes anymore, I was forced to go to the 17" diameter. The wheels are made to spec, and to order. I spent a few extra bucks per wheel to get what I thought would be a good look, and am now the proud owner of the only brushed-rim Minilites in existence. The guys at VWW thought I was insane when I ordered the brushed finish, but after the first wheel was done they were convinced I'm a genius (their words, not mine). The wheels are raw aluminum, no clearcoat or finish of any kind. Clearcoat would ruin the look, and I was advised simply to keep them clean with soap and water. No protectant, no paint, or the gorgeous look will be destroyed. These really need to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
All four wheels are 17x8 with 4" backspacing, and though it doesn't look like it, yes--they do clear with the P255/50WR-17 rubber on them at each corner. I think this was the absolute best decision I've yet made about the car.
Since the car is manual steering, on which I plan to upgrade from 26:1 to 20:1, it's going to be a bit of effort to turn at lower speeds, so the Tuff wheel will come out and be replaced with a Rim Blow wheel I picked up inexpensively. I've started to repair it myself and will post results when I've finished it (or completely failed and sent it out to be done by a professional). I already have a replacement switch and repro '70 "DODGE" horn button for it.
Next up is the Rallye cluster that 71ChargerR/T found for me at a "reasonable" price (because there's no such thing as actually reasonable where E-body Rallye clusters are concerned). These are the before-and-after shots; AutoInstruments refinished the gauges. I converted the tach to an upgraded control circuit and the clock to quartz myself. The speedometer and gauges worked fine as-is and were not touched mechanically. A bit of advice for anyone considering an E-body: if you want a Rallye dash, buy a car with one already in it. The expense involved with this setup, from boneyard to brilliance, is nothing short of staggering. If I had anyone to whom I had to answer other than a dog, it would've never happened. It's retarded, but I simply had to have what my '73 had. That's just how it is with these things sometimes.
Of course, there's the shiny new bumpers. These are actually '71 bumpers, which I ordered because they don't have the holes for the "buck tooth" bumper guards, nor do they have jack slots. I wanted the cleaner look and never intend to use a bumper jack on this car; I'll keep a trolley jack in the trunk. These are Goodmark's "premium" rechromed originals, which I ordered from a place called getallparts.com. It's not a restoration place, it's just a parts site, but their prices were the best I found and the shipping was about half of Rock Auto. They were $338 to my door, packed and protected to withstand even the angriest UPS employee. That was more than $70 under Rock at the time. These bumpers are freakin' gorgeous in person.
Finally, we have the coup de grace. Something I'd always wanted on the old car, and wanted if I ever got another, and more importantly, if I could find a set. Minilite wheels. These are aluminum 17" repros; the originals were 15" magnesium and currently fetch about $1,500-$2,500 per wheel--if you can even find them. I found out that Minilite was still in business, after multiple ownership and staff changes, and currently making aluminum repros. However, after doing a lot of research I found their quality is seriously lacking: they paint the wheels and do so badly, and the castings often have large voids where defects existed in the sand-casting molds. I kept rooting around the vintage SCCA sites and finally found someone (Vintage Wheel Works) offering a quality reproduction, far better than the current Minilite offerings and possibly even the originals, but in the more-economical aluminum (I also found repro magnesiums for $1,700 per wheel :dgt: ). Since good-quality street rubber doesn't exist in 15" (or 16") sizes anymore, I was forced to go to the 17" diameter. The wheels are made to spec, and to order. I spent a few extra bucks per wheel to get what I thought would be a good look, and am now the proud owner of the only brushed-rim Minilites in existence. The guys at VWW thought I was insane when I ordered the brushed finish, but after the first wheel was done they were convinced I'm a genius (their words, not mine). The wheels are raw aluminum, no clearcoat or finish of any kind. Clearcoat would ruin the look, and I was advised simply to keep them clean with soap and water. No protectant, no paint, or the gorgeous look will be destroyed. These really need to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
All four wheels are 17x8 with 4" backspacing, and though it doesn't look like it, yes--they do clear with the P255/50WR-17 rubber on them at each corner. I think this was the absolute best decision I've yet made about the car.
Yes, the red line is where the roof edge is supposed to meet the quarter panel. That's a "perspective" mark that had to be seen from the correct angle, but it's a good indication of adjustments yet to be made, as is the funky window-frame fit. Once again, this is a later shot but illustrates what I mean.
