Spent an hour with seam sealer to seal up the newly installed section.
Lost about a week with Cadillac project.
Reassembly to start next!
2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45
Moderators: MostMint, wxo, Fred32v, Basement Paul, ttamrettus
Re: 2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45
Rear axles installed, ebrakes assembled properly
Big round of welding. Almost done. Missed a couple small welds, and still have to put the sheet metal on the bottom of the A-pillar in the door jambs.
Made contact with the junkyard in Dover - the dash is in - so I went to pick it up.
Spent an hour with seam sealer to seal up the newly installed section.
Lost about a week with Cadillac project.
Reassembly to start next!
Spent an hour with seam sealer to seal up the newly installed section.
Lost about a week with Cadillac project.
Reassembly to start next!
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: 2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45
Wow! Major visible progress! Can't wait to see more!
Re: 2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45
Video update #6: https://youtu.be/8V3NAxxBQRc
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: 2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45
Installing things on the car:
• Transmission tunnel insulation and driver side heat shield
• E-brake pedal
• Interior firewall blanket
• Some wiring harnesses. Trying to figure out where the harnesses are supposed to route, and attach to the car presents some challenges
• Main under dash HVAC assembly. Some additional adjusting to firewall to get a good fit/seal
• Front struts and upper control arms. The LF upper control arm had damaged threads on the ball joint. I debated taking it back but it was faster just to fix it with a bit of grinding, filing and a die
• Sheet metal for bottom of A pillar and part of frame rail fitted and clamped in place
• Brake pedal
• Gas pedal
• Hood hinges and hood latch cable
• Manual park release cable
Started on the dash work
• Decided it will be easier to move the cover to my existing frame. The wiring harness on the junkyard dash had some after market mods, moving the harness looks quite involved since it winds all around the dash
• Removed the pad from the junkyard assembly
• Discovered this assembly has a passenger airbag and also a key fob. The first dash I ordered was not to come with the airbag. As it turns out this one was about $100 more and this explains why.
Other
• Did some prep work for expanding foam – closing up some holes and labeling points to add the foam
• When I went to install the brake booster I found it had a dent in the bottom from the crash. This explains the lack of brake assist when I was lot driving the car last year. I thought it might have been pinched brake lines.
• Transmission tunnel insulation and driver side heat shield
• E-brake pedal
• Interior firewall blanket
• Some wiring harnesses. Trying to figure out where the harnesses are supposed to route, and attach to the car presents some challenges
• Main under dash HVAC assembly. Some additional adjusting to firewall to get a good fit/seal
• Front struts and upper control arms. The LF upper control arm had damaged threads on the ball joint. I debated taking it back but it was faster just to fix it with a bit of grinding, filing and a die
• Brake pedal
• Gas pedal
• Hood hinges and hood latch cable
• Manual park release cable
• Decided it will be easier to move the cover to my existing frame. The wiring harness on the junkyard dash had some after market mods, moving the harness looks quite involved since it winds all around the dash
• Removed the pad from the junkyard assembly
• Discovered this assembly has a passenger airbag and also a key fob. The first dash I ordered was not to come with the airbag. As it turns out this one was about $100 more and this explains why.
• Did some prep work for expanding foam – closing up some holes and labeling points to add the foam
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]
Re: 2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45
Dashboard
Turns out the original dash frame was bent and bolt holes did not line up. I was concerned for a bit but test fit of the replacement dash frame showed all the bolt holes line up.
With this information I moved the original wiring harness to the new frame and reassembled the whole thing. To make sure I got everything connected in the right places, I removed the harness from the dash frame one or two connections at a time and installed the original right after.
After assembly and other prep I installed the dash. Install was pretty straightforward, and this job is so much easier with no windshield and no front seats. Lots of bolts and small screws to install, and wires to connect. I had labeled most of the connections which helped.
Other
Kurt did the final welding for the lower A pillar sheet metal panel. Cleaned up the welds and got some paint on them
Obtained and installed the brake booster
Prime and paint the scratched areas in the windshield frame – before dash install to avoid spills/cleanup. Did brush touch on these since none of this will be visible
Got busy with expanding foam in the driver side frame rail and lower windshield brace – replacing what was removed during repairs. It took about a can’s worth
Remove deployed side curtain airbags and install replacements. This took longer than expected as I had to remove visors, hand grips and clothes hangers to move the headliner to access the bolts holding the airbags in. Also found a small rip in the headline presumably from the airbag deployment.
Install the front carpets – these loop in over the lower dash support brackets. Also put in the ducting that goes under the carpet to the back for the car
After the dash was installed, the steering column, glove box and gauge cluster were installed. There is a metal ring that holds the seal at the firewall, and of course it was bent. Each time I find another bent item I wonder if this is the last surprise from the crash. The brake booster had that title for about a week.
Definitely into a new phase for this project - still a long way to go but expecting a lot more assembling and less fabricating from here on in. After looking at this shell for so long it's really nice to see it starting to come back together.
Also - now over 525 hrs I'm hoping less than 200 to go
Turns out the original dash frame was bent and bolt holes did not line up. I was concerned for a bit but test fit of the replacement dash frame showed all the bolt holes line up.
After assembly and other prep I installed the dash. Install was pretty straightforward, and this job is so much easier with no windshield and no front seats. Lots of bolts and small screws to install, and wires to connect. I had labeled most of the connections which helped.
Other
Kurt did the final welding for the lower A pillar sheet metal panel. Cleaned up the welds and got some paint on them
Prime and paint the scratched areas in the windshield frame – before dash install to avoid spills/cleanup. Did brush touch on these since none of this will be visible
Got busy with expanding foam in the driver side frame rail and lower windshield brace – replacing what was removed during repairs. It took about a can’s worth
Remove deployed side curtain airbags and install replacements. This took longer than expected as I had to remove visors, hand grips and clothes hangers to move the headliner to access the bolts holding the airbags in. Also found a small rip in the headline presumably from the airbag deployment.
- Thank you Dave Bales for the air ratchet - perfect for this task
Install the front carpets – these loop in over the lower dash support brackets. Also put in the ducting that goes under the carpet to the back for the car
After the dash was installed, the steering column, glove box and gauge cluster were installed. There is a metal ring that holds the seal at the firewall, and of course it was bent. Each time I find another bent item I wonder if this is the last surprise from the crash. The brake booster had that title for about a week.
- not sure why I was surprised this was bent.
Also - now over 525 hrs I'm hoping less than 200 to go
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
-BP[/quote]