Adrian's '66 Charger

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:16 pm

So this thread is probably way long overdue (about 5 years to be accurate) but the car's been though some ...errr.... interesting changes and mods over that time so thought it might make a half-interesting read.

I purchased this car in late '12 and funnily enough from a guy in my home town of Melbourne in Aus. It was a great example of a first gen Charger so after getting a local inspection done I made an offer and the deal was done. It's certainly seen a bit of the world in it's travels (probably more than I have) after tracking it's journey from Aus to the UK but it arrived safe and sound.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:17 pm

It arrived as a 383 auto that was pretty well optioned (power steering, power brakes, power windows, A/C) and was still in it's original interior and exterior colours. I had some custom rear LED lights made by Bright Light Customs for the rear lights so I could have flashing amber rears and managed to get through an initial MoT and DVA registration without much incident. There's a thread on the light mods I posted at the time if you're interested in more details:

http://www.moparuk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41825

For the next few years I drove the car as is just doing the usual running maintenance and trying to make shows/meets where I could.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:20 pm

Fast forward to '14 and the car made an appearance in Classic American and after some trips down to Shakey and the Pod I decided to go on a slightly different route. It all started with a fateful call to Dave Billadeau who was kind enough to spend quite a bit of time having a chat to me about what we could do, budget, timelines etc. Then in August of '14 the car was up at Dave's for some minor surgery.

The aim was to come up with something that could go down the strip but what was very important is that I didn't want to ruin the looks of the car. So no stripped interior or modifying the body to get more rubber under the arches etc. It was about that time I became aware of the UK Nostalgia Super Stock class so I used their rules as well as a bit of a guide as the ultimate aim was to race in that class.

So onto the oily bits (this is supposed to be a workshop thread after all). We decided to do the job pretty much soup to nuts so engine, transmission, drive train were all in for a change. The 383 was ripped out and replaced with a 440 stroker with 440 Source ali. heads which pushed the ci out to 493. The rad and cooling system were also refreshed with a new Champion ali radiator. Some secondhand TTI headers and cutouts along with Flowmaster 44s finished the exhaust. Dave also dropped in a refreshed 727 transmission, Turbo Action RMVB shifter, new torque converter, new driveshaft and sourced a second-hand 3.91 posi rear end. We even threw in a SS Hemi scoop as well just to top it all off.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:21 pm

The car was then back with me and as you can imagine a bit of a different driving experience as I was still on the original 14" wheels !! As usual when it rains it pours so over the '14/'15 winter the fuel system decided to start giving me grief and I ripped out the old tank, filler neck etc. and replaced them with new parts. Glad I did this when I saw what was down the bottom of the old tank. Not something you want to see with a new power plant up front.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:21 pm

Some more work continued in mid '15 with a trip down to Anton at APD who fitted some nice shiny Wilwood front disc brakes as the old drums were just not up to the stopping power with the HP increase. He also installed a prop shaft loop and line lock.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:23 pm

August '15 probably saw the biggest external changes on the car with the decals being added. I designed these along with a graphics company using some old logo photos, period race shots from the 60s and even used a Revell 1/32 Slot Car as a reference.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:23 pm

October '15 saw a return to Dave to sort finish off some work that we didn't get round to in the previous year mainly around suspension and ignition. So super stock springs were added along with some uprated torsion bars and rear shocks. Also took the opportunity to go with a full MSD ignition setup.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:24 pm

In '16 I had the aim of getting to at least one UK Nostalgia Super Stock class meeting so Dragstalgia was set as the goal. A trip out to Andy Robinson race cars in early '16 saw the installation of a 6 point cage along with 5 a point harness. I managed to make Dragstalgia which was really the first time the car was 'complete'.

adrianp · Post by **adrianp** » Wed Sep 06, 17 11:30 pm

Since then it's been the usual assortment of running repairs and tweaks but I'm very happy with the car at the moment and have managed to get some more racing in this year with trips to York, Shakey and the Pod. I'll try and be a bit better about updating the thread if, as, and when I get more stuff done !