2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45

[MostMint]

Hood:

• It’s time to get the hood on the car for good. Looking at the base of the hood it doesn’t line up well in several places, so I did a bunch of adjusting/straightening.
• Both sides at the front were high – took me a while to figure out the latching mechanism had been bent up in the crash. I could not get it back to original shape but was able to make adjustments to lower the latching mechanism to bring the hood center down.
• After many rounds of adjustments the outside edge is pretty well in order.

• Fabricated a couple patches to strengthen the base where it had cracked in the crash. One I secured with rivets and the other I used JB Weld.
• Clean all the edges of the original seam adhesive
• Apply seam sealer to mating surfaces of hood skin and frame, put them together, pean over the outside edges of the skin and clamp down several spots where needed

• Install of the hood after this procedure uncovers additional alignment issues. Now the LF corner is too high. Contemplating the best method to fix this

Driver door:

• Adjust door positioning so window will close properly
• Touch up parts of driver door – on the inside front
• Adjust the top edge of the door so the seal makes contact with the glass

• Had to fix the mirror my prior repairs did not put up with pounding to move the top edge. Used a different adhesive

Paint:

• It’s about time to start addressing the paint. The car had to sit out for months so shortly after I got it I applied rust inhibitor to the exposed metal. This effect left some black spots and were not what I wanted in crash patina. Plan A was to just prime then paint these spots to match the car.
• My first move was to sand down the spots that were treated with rust inhibitor. Then I applied a light color 2k urethane primer with a brush to all the affected spots.
• I started brushing on paint with a small brush. I didn’t like the color matched look, but I noticed while painting when the brush was low on paint it would leave brush strokes on the light primer and it looks a lot like the scratches so I decided to go that route. It’s not perfect but looks fairly convincing from 25’. Now that I have discovered this technique I may go back and rework some of them.

compare to after touch up pics

compare to after touch up pics

• After the hood was assembled did a bunch of touch up along the outside edges. The paint there did not take the bending process well so there was a fair amount of work to do.

Other:

• Put in washer fluid and address minor leak
• Rear bumper cover was not attached at the bottom – original plastic rivet holes were broken so I improvised with zip ties
• Put some time into removing the tape adhesive left on the car. There is quite a bit as wide strips of tape were used around the top of the driver window and to hold down the trunklid – maybe halfway there

• Made some additional adjustments to better align LF fender with the door and the front bumper cover
• Obtained a new Interstate battery

• Shipped the seat belt buckles out to be repaired. Installed them upon their return only to find the airbag light still on. I was able to clear all the codes only to find a new code appearing which I cannot clear – my tool will not clear it so its off to a company who can clear it.

• Torqued down all the front suspension control arms to the chassis/subframe. These need to be tightened with the suspension carrying the weight of the car. Started work on installing front sway bar only to find one of the bushings missing. It must have been knocked out in the crash.

[TireSmoker]

"I can't believe this is the same car."

[Basement Paul]

"Let's not start sucking each other's d*cks just yet."

Well done...

-BP

[MostMint]

Did some lot drive tests in the yard today. Car runs really well.

oops

dash lights out. seems I'll have to drive it to get TPMS to reset

been at 78014 since Sep 2022

[MostMint]

Hood:

• Had to address the LF hood corner being too high. At this point I’m a little burnt out on fixing this hood. I thought it was straight enough. Once I got past that annoyance I had to figure out how to bend down the LF corner without damaging the surface any further. I thought of several methods to do this, but I ended up putting it on a table and used some ratchet straps with weight to keep the RR corner from moving up while I pushed down on the LF corner. I had to put all my weight on in but eventually got it to move some. I also discovered the adjustments on the hinges which allow me to raise and lower the back edge of the hood when it’s closed. After many iterations I was able to get the thing lined up pretty well in front. There may be a few more tweaks but they can wait til the front bumper cover is on.

• Installed the windshield squirters on the bottom of the hood
• Installed the cowl and wiper arms also. Placing the wiper arms on the splined shafts is a bit of a guessing game – factory windshield has marks on it but the Fuyao glass I got does not.

Other:

• The airbag module made a trip to MA to get reset and was reinstalled upon its return. With this I was able to reassemble the center console and bolt the seats in for good.
• Ordered a new drier for the A/C, evacuated and charged the system. Was able to use all the old refrigerant and the air is cold!

the air tank stored refrigerant from August until today

• Ordered and installed front sway bar bushings. Had to straighten the brackets that hold the bushing to the subframe. This could be the last bent part surprise! Fortunately they straightened up fairly easily in the vice

the holes don't line up - surprise more crash damage

• Torque down all the rear suspension control arms. While the wheels were off I also finished attaching the rear inner fenders.
• Front toe in was off by ¼” so I adjusted that and tightened down the tie rod ends.
• Did not install front bumper cover, or front inner fenders as they need the bumper cover to keep them from being pushed into the tires by the wind. Parts to hold the front bumper cover are still on backorder.
• Put more time into touching up the damaged areas. Went through another round of beige/vanilla primer (2k primer but I’m mixing tiny batches to brush touch – maybe a couple ounces at a time. Covered some bare metal where the paint flaked off during metal bending and some refining of the finish around some of my earlier work. Then I went back with another round of color. Put orange on the former bare metal spots and refined my touch up in several areas. After this it was time to put some clear on it. Mixed up a small batch and brushed it on all the bare metal – mostly the LF fender.

bonus pic – crash inflicted dent in the exhaust from the frame:

Still a lot of small things to address but it’s going for inspection tomorrow. Over 700 hours to get this far

[MostMint]

Inspection day was 6/27. That morning I discovered the cig lighter ports were not working – it was just a bad fuse. It was a bright sunny day and temps were like upper 60’s, very mild for late June. The inspection station is about 45 minutes from my house, and I left a bit early to give extra time in case of traffic, or getting pulled over. In Ohio you can drive the car to inspection with no license plate. Since I’m driving with no front bumper cover and no plate I figured I might get some extra attention.

After so many hours of work it was great to finally drive the car. It behaved well – doing pretty much everything as expected. I did notice the steering wheel had just a little bit of extra resistance at initial turn in either direction. Also it has blind spot sensors that work properly. The car learned the TPMS sensors that were in my replacement wheels and they all work.

Everything was going smoothly until about 35 minutes into the trip on the freeway when suddenly the drive from the engine stopped powering the wheels. At this point I’m on I-71 luckily in the slow lane as I’m approaching the exit, and I’m between the exit and entrance ramps at Snow Rd. I tried putting it in park and shutting it off but it wouldn’t do that. I freaked out a bit since I didn’t want the transmission to keep spinning with no fluid in it. After a while I figured out I was able to put it in neutral and shut it off. I tried several things to get it moving again. The shifter was flashing at me and telling me it was moving too fast to put it in park.

Of course I missed my appointment. Rhonda came and fetched me. After that it was a trip home to get the trailer and a round trip to fetch the car.

This was a huge disappointment, and the soonest I could reschedule for the next inspection was 7/22. After that the next step was to figure out what was actually wrong with the car. I got some codes from the computer that were indicating inconsistencies between various speed sensors in the car.

This made me suspect problems with the wiring. A quick look at the transmission wiring harness uncovered some bare copper wires.

It's a little fuzzy but there is copper showing

Inspection of that spot found only one wire with the sheathing scraped off but the inside wire was fine. This sent me back to the service manuals which led to inspection of the drivetrain after the transmission. Fairly quickly I saw that the halfshaft to the left rear had come out of the differential – not all the way but enough so the teeth disengaged. Since the car does not have posi that was that.

The good news is that was an easy fix. The passenger side was not engaged all the way either. I will monitor these closely for the next several drives. I put about 4 ounces of gear lube in to top it off and cleaned off the external differential case so I can monitor for leaks in case the seal got damaged in this event.

After that I went to work on the power steering. I noticed some movement in the input shaft from the steering column where it connects to the steering rack. This prompted me to remove the steering rack to investigate further. I figured the pinion shaft might be broken or bent. As it turns out it had at least ¼” play in it. I did some disassembly and found nothing conclusive there except I did notice the rack gear is not centered in the case – it’s off by about 1/16”.

I’m still not 100% sure these are terminal problems but consider the severity of the crash and these two problems I am going to get a replacement.

My assistant

[MostMint]

• Replacement steering rack ordered and installed. This unit was tie rod end to tie rod end so I just installed it as is. The toe in was good, though wheel was not straight. I later learned that if the steering wheel is off by more than 10 degrees while driving straight, it turns off the electronic stability control. This was resolved by moving both wheels to the right on their tie rods
• Made a lot of progress on the paint. Refined my process of simulating damage by applying the primer, then color, then using light application of 40 grit sandpaper to simulate scratches. This looks pretty convincing. Also put clear coat over all the exposed areas. We’ll see how that holds up to wet conditions
• Programmed a second key fob – had a spare from the parts car. The scan tool made this easy – and I also cleared out the key that I no longer have from the system. Still only have one physical key
• 7/22 was inspection attempt #2. The trip there uncovered the steering/stability control issue described above. I stopped at a rest stop about 2/3 the way there to look at the halfshafts and they were both in the diff. During inspection I learned they didn’t like me presenting the car with no front bumper cover. Inspector said the front bumper has to be wide enough to cover half of each tire. The factory metal support under the bumper is 2 ½” short of this goal. Everything outside of that is plastic and not structural so this seems like a dumb rule, but I’m not going to argue it. Everything else passed. I rescheduled for 8/12 and inspector said all I need in addition to what I have is the bumper cover and receipt. 3 more weeks grrr!
• On the trip home one of the halfshafts popped out again. This time I was able to fix it in a few minutes and continue. In the garage I went to work to resolve this mystery. Removed one of the halfshafts to confirm the c clip was in there and it was. Then I put it side by side with one of the old halfshafts, and what I learned is the CV boots on the newer unit are stretched quite a bit leaving 11.5” of the shaft visible, whereas the OEM part had 13” of the shaft exposed.

you can see how the CV boot is stretched compared to OEM

• Ordered a bumper cover. They sent it “folded” which meant there was some effort to flex it back into shape where the folds were. It’s a $200 tax on the project but rules are rules. Current plan is to paint it, put it on the car, and possibly sell the other one I bought. Also acquired supplies I need to paint it.

there's a whole bumper cover in there!

• Ordered a quart of ZF 8&9 Speed ATF (which you can only get from Mopar) and learned how to check the fluid level. No dipstick or fill tube, there is a plug in the side of the transmission you have to fill to that level – car on jacks and running. I know I lost a little when separating the trans lines from the radiator so I want to make sure it’s full.

• Installed RF inner fender
• Installed radiator ducting and plastic bumper support
• Acquired the left side rocker panel cover. $106 for a used piece of plastic.
• Removed LF fender, did some work to improve adhesion for the patch panels, put paint on some of the non-visible areas.
• Straighten front edge of driver door, and install door to fender seal, reinstall LF fender

taking measurements before adjusting front of door

• Disassemble used frt bumper assembly as I will be using all the parts but the cover

[MostMint]

Mechanical

• CV boots: Adjust three of them to expose 13” of the halfshaft and install new CV boot clamps

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• Transmission fluid: Had to add some (8-10 ounces) through the fill plug on the side of the transmission while it was running
• Inspection drive with the steering wheel straight cleared up the electronic stability control light
• Inspection drive uncovered some extra heat coming from the LF vs the RF. I put the temp gun on the rotors and the LF was at 200 while RF was 125. I inspected the LF brake assembly and I’m fairly certain the caliper bracket is just a little bit bent

Exterior

• Front bumper cover: apply body filler to minor imperfections, prime, paint, assemble and install. I had some extra clear so I applied another layer of clear to the damaged areas of the car

• Install LF inner fender

why I needed a new LF inner fender - old laid on top of new

• Install replacement driver side rocker panel cover
• Obtain some OE center caps

• Obtain a Challenger emblem for the rear fascia

Interior

• Obtain and install interior trim covers where the seat belt retracts into B pillar

• Fix the passenger side window switch. I was able to disassemble a rear window switch from a Charger police car and use its button in the Challenger switch. It worked!

Milestones

• The car is basically finished!

• Took the car and its new bumper cover with receipt in for salvage inspection on 8/12 and this time it passed.

While I was out I swung by emissions testing and it passed that too
• With a passing grade and supporting paperwork I obtained a rebuilt title then transferred plates I had left from the Corolla

Still some shakedown time needed but it is going to start taking me places.

[wxo]

Well done, Andy. I just noticed that you chose an aptly named project car...Challenger!

[MostMint]

Well done, Andy. I just noticed that you chose an aptly named project car...Challenger!

Thanks Walt. That it was!

Been driving it around a bit and learning the car more. It's getting a bit over 21 MPG so far and increasing just about every trip.

Last Friday I swapped out the 12 year old Michelin tires for a good used set of Goodyear Eagle RS-A 245/45/18 left over from the Charger project (cop tires!) I also obtained a caliper bracket for left front and swapped it out as well. Still need to check caliper temps after a drive to see if this is fixed.

78292
- inspected front suspension looking for anything loose. All seems to be in order. I'm chasing a rattle up there which I now believe is the struts.
- the "service stability control" message and dash light pop up on random occasion. I captured a code for this and also adjusted the steering wheel alignment as it is just a tiny bit off center
- added about 1" of fluid to the radiator overflow reservoir. At this point I'm assuming it worked out some air pockets as I see no signs of leaks

Hoping to make a drag racing debut with this car soon. On paper with the mods on it I'm thinking 14.6 ish but no guarantees. Butt dyno says no to low 14's at this point.

Missing a little plastic cover above the taillight in the trunk jam (both sides)

Many thanks to Mars auto for a trip through the yard to find these on a yellow Challenger there

replacement brake caliper bracket from NM100D

Brake caliper bracket reunited with knuckle from NM100D

Moved to the daily driver parking spot!

[MostMint]

[MostMint]

Video update #9: https://youtu.be/qIV26-AIIrY

[MostMint]

First night at the dragstrip. Weather was decent with temps in the high 60's when I made my best pass.

Best was 14.39, with 3 of the other 4 passes in the 14.40's. With a 2.1 60' time I'm sure there is more there with a posi or some way to launch it better. It's one wheel peel which means the best launch on short notice is with the traction control on.

Also the 0-60 meter in the car works all the time, and tonight I was able to improve the best 0-60 from 6.0 to 5.9.

Other misc:
Car has intermittent problem with the electronic stability control turning off. When it's off the cruise control won't work
The struts are really bad they need replaced. An hour on the freeway with uneven bridge transitions really exposed the issue
Cruising speeds and engine coolant temps run between 199 and 206
I looked at the rear 1/4 panel of another Challenger while I was there and I now understand what I have to do to get the rear wheel wells a little better shaped