Official Supp. Misc. auto enthusiast thread

[Mike McCandless]

I'm going to train shortly. I have a progress post I can do on a 61 plymouth we put an SRT8 motor in. Will eat up some posts though. Let me know. I have a bunch of car **** I can post. I don't spend money on anything, outside of cars.

[Valhallabound86]

I'm going to train shortly. I have a progress post I can do on a 61 plymouth we put an SRT8 motor in. Will eat up some posts though. Let me know. I have a bunch of car **** I can post. I don't spend money on anything, outside of cars.

We're all here for the car porn. I'd love to see that '61 plymouth.

[Mike McCandless]

Here is what I'm starting with:

A 1961 Plymouth 4 door. Great CA car that has a good paint job. Body is very solid. I wanted to do something really different. Originally I was going to just pull the suspension and rebuild it. Well, things kept coming off....




We decided to go ahead and rip everything out, so it looks like this now:



The entire front suspension has been glass beaded and repainted. Disc brakes are being put up front. When trying to decide what to do for power, we decided a 1961 needed a 6.1 SRT8 motor:



This actually has 6.1 internals, with ported 5.7 heads. Made over 420hp on the dyno, more than enough for my cruising needs.

With the power up front, what where we going to do inside:



Rip everything out and rewire it. Putting all of the factory gauges back in the car and adding some new ones. I'll have pictures of those this week. Installing a lot of power options. I wanted to put AC on it, so under the dash goes the vintage air unit, who needs a glove box:



In an attempt to keep the car quiet, we put sound deadening material all over the floorboard. There was no floorboard repair needed, which was a huge relief:



It turns out an E-body (cuda challenger) 8.75" rearend will bolt RIGHT into the back of the car.




The above pictures were done about 6-8 weeks ago. Below is an update of what has happened since.


A few from the front now with the frame under it and motor mounted:

[Mike McCandless]

Disc brake conversion. These disc brakes are from Engineered Components



Here is the march pully system on the front. We're not using their water pump pulley. Puts too much leverage on the front of it and will pull it out. Very clean setup, love how this looks. We have the same setup on my fathers 61 300-G.



Exhaust manifolds are off a Jeep Cherokee. Their coated in POR to help protect long term.



Indy Cylinder Head's Mod Man intake. Allows you to run 2-4's, a 6 pack or a single 4 setup. You can run FI as well. The coil packs are mounted under the intake and we run spark plug wires so it's a dual plug setup .



Ron Francis power block. Gives you access to 12v without stacking a bunch of wires.



On top here you can see a factory chrysler cruise control, out of a mid 80's chrysler. Underneath you can see the locar throttle pressure linkage for the transmission and the accelerator.



ABS electronic brake system. This keeps a power booster off the fire wall.

[Mike McCandless]

ABS electric power brake master cylinder. Looks cool!




How did we bolt in a 6.1 into a 61 plymouth, we used 61 chrysler motor mounts!



Oil filter adapter is off a 5.7 truck to allow for clearance for the K frame.



8 3/4 rear end out of an E-body car, bolted right in! 2.76 gears, gas mileage baby



Lokar shift light indicator for the console shifter



Shifter, throttle pressure and shift indicator all right here. Accelerator pedal, all of this stuff pictured from Lokar!

[/QUOTE]

[Mike McCandless]

Mildon Oil pan, only the best. Did some plug relocation for better draining



Power Steering rebuilt by Steer and Gear in columbus.



Crossmember was modified to accept a B-Body transmission mount.



Quite fuel pump mounted in the back.



Custom back panels. Carpet down. Keyless entry mounted on the driver side. Have an electric trunk as well.



Full interior shot

[Mike McCandless]

Vintage air unit hidden behind the dash, custom piece for the vents on the bottom.



Full on dash picture. On a Belevedere the top bezels came blank. The oil and volt gauge just fit right in. Got a factory clock out of a fury, rebuilt by JC Auto Restorations.



Turn signal indicator from, just some LED's we made up. Power door lock button from Watson Street Rod.



Lokar pedals, had to make the brake pedal, dead pedal as well



Shifter from locar, indicator is laying in the floor to be mounted once a console is made



FAST engine computer, mounted in the kick panel wall.



Back up camera for the license plate



Battery tray and reservoir holder for the power steering




Trying to figure out rims/tires for the car at this point. We will have the interior finished off by an interior shop in charlotte, nc. Interior's just aren't our thing. Haven't decided if going modern or period correct type of look. Will just depend on what we come up with. Lots of progress has been made, but still a ways to go!

[Mike McCandless]

A little more progress: [/QUOTE]



Back is all wrapped up



Motor pretty much wrapped up minus the radiator and firewall coverings



Another engine picture



The front getting close.

At this point, we're waiting on the radiator to come in. Then we'll put the exhaust on it and it's ready to head to the interior shop. Everything is functioning at this point electronically. Hope to get it to the interior shop in 10-14 days. Getting close!!

[Mike McCandless]

How it sits today. Going to crank this weekend and off to the interior shop!

[Mike McCandless]

time for an update with a bunch of pictures. The car came out from the interior shop on Monday, July 4th. We left for Carlisle, PA to debut the car at chryslers at carlisle. I'll get some interior shots tomorrow, as it is amazing work the guy did. Here is a little recount of the trip so far.

Our first fill up. The car had 50 miles on it as of Wednesday July 6th. Seemed like everything worked, so away we went! 400 miles to Carlisle PA:



The first tank of gas with a combo of city/stop and go/interstate, I got 18mpg. On the 2nd tank with the cruise set, I got 23mpg! This is an SRT8 spinning assembly with 5.7 ported heads. Made 430hp on the dyno.



Dad and I parked at Cracker Barrel after the fill up:



We drove through some SERIOUS rain on the way up. Car had no issues and made it through just fine. After we checked into the hotel, we headed over to a little cruise in down the road:



People were confused about the motor. Seeing the plug wires confused them. Few people had any clue what type of motor it was. Dad was loving explaining to everyone what was done:



We head back to the hotel and prepared for friday. We knew the weather would involve rain, just not sure how much. We drive into the fairgrounds and head to the Indy Cylinder Head booth:



Dad talking to some of the RamChargers. If you want an amazing history of drag racing and the evolution of the hemi, funny cars and countless other things, read their book, it's amazing. This group of guys created many of the performance items we enjoy today. Hidden in this picture is Tom Hoover, the father of the hemi:

[Mike McCandless]

There are no more pictures from Friday as he proceeded to RAIN. I'm talking inches upon inches. Headed to the hotel that night and looked forward to no rain the next day.

Next day, got my bling on :



Dad has his 11am Seminar. It was supposed to be an hour long. Due to all the questions and discussion, went 2h:



After the seminar, people asking individual questions for dad to answer, along with some autographs:



We walked around to get Dad's celebrity choice card. This car is given to the car dad liked the most. I'll grab some pictures tomorrow. It went to a really sweet 71 demon:



Around 2pm dad did an interview at Todd Warners trailer. Todd is an avid collector/restorer of vintage race cars. His collection is one of the most amazing all original race collections in the world. He restored dad's 72 demon. Mopar wanted to run a youtube video series on the car, so they started filming some of it today:





3pm Dad was the moderator for a Ramchargers interview session, it went great!

[Mike McCandless]

For those that didn't know, my father raced cars for a living. Raced back in the 60's and 70's. Was the first person to win Pro Stock at the US Nationals. Cars just aren't cars to us. It means so much more. Cars are how my father and I stay close. I'm fortunate from selling my websites 6 years ago to be able to do these types of things. I'm going in the morning to a car expo thing with him. We're always working on something. I'm very close to my parents and spend as much time with them as I can. For those that might go off on a tangent about how scivation/prima fund all this, I've never taken a check from either. This is all going off from my 1 fast and bulk nutrition days.

[Diesel0022]

Christ, that is beautiful

[Rodzilla01]

Thats bada** in a lot of different ways Mike...

[Valhallabound86]

That dash...is going to stick with me for a while. Very nice!

[_NimbusTim_]

Mike....I will continue to support you just because this thread. Awesome ride!

I'm personally a Ford man.....I've owned several 5.0 cars, a Lightning, and a 530rwhp/570rwtq 03 Cobra. I've since had kids, and am currently in the market for a new Dodge Caravan.

My dream build would be a 93 Notch Back mustand with a 03/03 Cobra Swap....or a 73-79 F150 lifted with a Lightning motor swap.

One or the other will happen one day.

[Rodzilla01]

My dream build would be a 93 Notch Back mustand with a 03/03 Cobra Swap....or a 73-79 F150 lifted with a Lightning motor swap.

One or the other will happen one day.

I also have an 88' Coupe/Notch project right now. I am about to yank the 302 and replace it with a 4v from a Red 97' Cobra donor car that came with a Vortec SI-Trim...

Pic of the Cobra setup:

[_NimbusTim_]

I also have an 88' Coupe/Notch project right now. I am about to yank the 302 and replace it with a 4v from a Red 97' Cobra donor car that came with a Vortec SI-Trim...

Pic of the Cobra setup:

Very Nice!

I'm a huge fan of the notches. Like I said, I've owned two so far in my life time.

[BOZZ]

I'm going to train shortly. I have a progress post I can do on a 61 plymouth we put an SRT8 motor in. Will eat up some posts though. Let me know. I have a bunch of car **** I can post. I don't spend money on anything, outside of cars.

I can appreciate this mentality. I'm a bikes and firearms kinda guy.

[thefleshlight]

Would sell my soul for:

Fukking hate supras. Slow and clumsy, no matter how much they put down on the dyno. Granted, they look good, not better than an FD2 RX-7 widebody and LS or Coyote swap :rambo:

Just saw this thread. Not sure if I have anything to contribute.

this ****ing guy

Twin 76's. Everything has been replaced on it. 530", billet crank, upgraded everything, custom intake, etc, etc, etc, etc. Motec is being put on now.

Never told me you were going on motec. Whore.

Billet crank ftw. Can you knife edge a billet crank btw? I love the way it looks but one would think that the designer has already allowed for the minimal weight and harmonic dampening.
Is that UGR's crank?

Here is what I'm starting with:

A 1961 Plymouth 4 door. Great CA car that has a good paint job. Body is very solid. I wanted to do something really different. Originally I was going to just pull the suspension and rebuild it. Well, things kept coming off....

Seeeeeennnn it



yawn.

moar!

[thefleshlight]

Miguel, got any more of that cuda? Still gonna sell it?

[Mike McCandless]

Once I touch a car, never sell. I'll buy cars and do minor stuff and sell. If it comes into "the garage" it's over, it stays here.

Here is the 70 cuda. This is how I bought it:







Thought I got a good deal on a restored driver. Looks good right??

So things got a bit out of hand.....

Motor gone





This should fit:

[Mike McCandless]

ransmission mods to allow for our very cool OD piece going in:



Take the grill and everything else out as well:



Who needs an interior?



New dash:



A few nifty power options being added:




A few other things, but we plan on driving in Feb. Good thing we did all of this. When ripping the car apart, we found mud literally behind the door panels. This car was under water at some point is my guess. Dash was out of a different car as it was tagged in the back from the yard. So we took everything down and redoing it. Will be a GREAT cruiser when done.

[Mike McCandless]

I want to explain what is going on here:



We're making room for an A500 out of a dakota 318 pickup truck. You have to fix the cross member to get it to fit. A lot of people say you have to cut the floor, which is not the case. Took 3" wide 3/16 flat metal and shaped it to where it is flat against floor. Cut out center of cross member that goes up into the hump. Took 1/2" wide 1/8th thick metal and tack welded to the side of the 3" piece. We took a torch and heated up the 1/2" wide piece and shaped it. Until it was shaped all the way around. Did it on both sides, front and back. Heliarced inside and outside. Welded that back into the floor, it clears the transmission now without cutting the floorpan.

We tied the frame together to give more support. If you don't want to tie it together, at least go in front of cross member and put a piece of 2x3 tubing at a 45 degree angle to the frame for extra support for the cross member. We choose to tie the frame together properly. On an ebody car it is a tremendous help. These cars are so short and so wide, they tend to twist/flex.

An A500 is basically a 904 with a 2.74 low gear and an OD unit. We'll operate the OD unit with two switches. A 94 and earlier tranny, has a 3 prong plug. The two grounds operate the OD unit and lockup converter. When driving in town, you won't use them. On interstate you'll lock up the converter and the OD. You could run a 3.55 in town and on interstate it will act like a 2.50. When you get off the interstate you have to unlock them both via the switches. This is meant for a TOURING car, not a race car or car that will see track time. If you want to do that, use a 518

Use an A518 if trying to beat on the car. It's basically a 727. The problem with the 518 is that it doesn't have the 2.74 low gear, it has a 2.45. Driving around in town might be a bit of a dog. The 518 is going to have around 20lbs more weight spinning around in it as well.

Overall, we're hoping this will give us an additional 4-5mpg on the interstate. Can't wait to test it out and see.

[thefleshlight]

Still seeeennnn it! MOAR!


What cuda were you gonna sell then? You were saying a few months back about a cuda you were gonna sell. Thought it was the 70.

[Mike McCandless]

This car has been under water for sure. We've removed everything from the car at this point. Rewiring the entire car. Talk about non disclosure when selling a car, but at least we're saving it. Here are some updated pictures:

Wiring on back of dash:



Wrapped back of panels to kill noise and heat:



Ron Francis wiring stuff:



Power windows:



Removed headliner and found tons of scaled rust, I would have had a convertible in 3-5 years at the rate it was going. Sound deadening in here as well:



Everything prepped inside:



Filling in tons of factory holes to make this all look smooth:



We have everything ready to start going back together. Once it starts going, we plan on finishing the car in a month. Just glad we saved this car from turning into a mess.

[Mike McCandless]

The cuda I might sell is the 67, not pictured. I have more pictures to update with but they are on another computer. I'll see what I can throw up later.

Finishing this up as well, my very first car, 65 barracuda:

We're trying to finish this car up as well. My very first car, 65 barracuda. Doing a color change. Also going to change the interior to black:

[Valhallabound86]

I might dream about that Cuda tonight. That is a lovely sight.

[Mike McCandless]

Heading out for dinner. I'll take pictures tomorrow of the 70 and where it is now. Going to a car expo in the morning. This is the next project.....getting a fuel injected 6.1 SRT8

[fitnfirm]

Mike what do you consider before buying these cars that you restore ? Have any GTO's ?