73SwingerBuild- Restification 340/4-spd

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73SwingerBuild

73SwingerBuild

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Joined
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Location
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First off, I'd like to thank everybody here for all of the help. Without the plethora of knowledge readily available here, I never would have made it as far as I did, and I probably would have given up.

This build isn't complete, but I'd thought I'd start a build thread as I wrap things up. I'm hoping to have the car on the road soon, and I have literally thousands of pictures that I thought might be helpful for anybody restoring a '73-'76 swinger or valiant.

Thanks for all the feedback and if you want more pictures of anything, just let me know.

Let's start with how I got the car, and I'll just move forward with the pictures as things progressed. The car was in pretty rough shape when I received it, so I quickly sent it out for body work to a local guy to work on it while I was at school.
 

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Here's a few shots from when I got it back from body work. I can't say I'd use the guy again, as he hacked up a lot of the job in the trunk and I am still finding mistakes of his that I get to fix before paint, but it was good to at least have it sitting in primer in the garage while I was at school.
 

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For the record, I hated body work before I started this. Here's a few shots of what I had to fix and how it's grown on me. A friend of mine from the car club (MVT Racing) did the final coats of primer and paint in the engine bay and trunk, but the rest was all on me.
 

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Lots more pics, but it's time for me to head out to the shop. I'm finishing up the dash now, but I don't want to skip ahead and show any spoilers... okay, maybe just one for now.
 

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Looking great!!Like the blue
 
Thank you. Yeah, I was going to change the color since I have another B5 blue Mopar, but I didn't. I'm glad I didn't either. The engine bay really pops out in the sunlight.

I'm anxious to lay some paint down. I'll be posting some suspension and drivetrain pics soon.

-Mike
 
Great to see another 73 being saved, gonna keep it a 73 I hope...."WE GET NO LOVE" LOL just kidding, can't wait to see more pics. Great job so far.
 
Thanks bkd. Yes, I will definitely be keeping it a 1973. I like that it's different.

Thanks unknown. The cluster has been a work in progress for a while. I just finished up the paint on the housing last night. I still need to drill holes for the headlight and wiper switches in the alumium panel, then I'll be ready to assemble the unit. Can't wait.
 
Maybe I should have clairifed. I've had the car just over 5 years now lol. These are pictures since I started building it.
 
Hey 73SwingerBuild,
was looking over the dash pic again awesome by the way, but was wondering if you modified the dash any in front of the pad, cause it looks like where the speaker would be you've made that area longer, if so do you have pics of what you did there?
Brad
 
That is just a misleading picture. What you are calling the speaker grill area in that picture is actually the cowl grill.
 
Okay I see it now, sorry. Sure did look like it was inside. Thanks for replying.
 
I figured it's been a while so I should post more pics. Mind you, this is all work already completed over the past couple of years. All leading up to the main event, which should be unveiled soon...
 

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The picture of the engine shows power steering, but the clearance was too small, so I switched to manual. I don't think I'll regret that decision lol
 
And here is the gauge panel I custom built based on some ideas I found here (thanks again 392Mopar). It really wasn't that hard and it fits great in the dash. I had a local machine shop cut the general shape, then I outlined where I wanted the gauge hole and had them cut those. I drilled the holes for the LEDs myself and I even used the original switches. I can't wait to see them lit up.
 

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And here a few shots of the goodies underneath the car. I decided to use the stock suspension components and just upgrade them as I saw fit.

I added sub-frames but I can't seem to find any pictures of them. They're the Mopar performance bolt-in ones that I bolted in... then decided to weld them on too. Why the hell not, right?

I really like the lower control arm stiffening plates, and the Hellwig adjustable rear sway bar fit perfect. The gas tank came from Rock Auto and just has a few coats of clear on it.

I'm hoping all of the prep work underneath will save me time down the road... of course at this rate, it will all start rusting before I even get her running! Definitely need to pick up the pace here.
 

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Not too many pictures to add at this point. I'll be working to get the wiring done on the instrument panel and heating controls tonight. Then I'll be working on the wiring towards the back of the car until I finish the body work on the rear quarter. Once the body work is done and my new clutch arrives (Centerforce dual friction 10.4"), I'll be putting the swinger on the lift and rigging up a system of dollies and supports to lower the car onto the drivetrain.
Then final wiring, paint, and weatherstripping get done. I can't lie, I'm starting to get pretty excited now.
 
Looks good.
What headers did you use?
Do you have the dimensions of the instument cluster?
 
snowcrow said:
what did you use to redo your trunk bottom?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean. Underneath I sanded down and filled in the pin holes with flux-core wire and a mig welder on low amperage. Then i sanded that down, primed, and painted with rustoleum.
On top, I sanded down with an orbital sander and flap-disc, sprayed an epoxy primer, then top-coated with a single-stage B5 blue.
Patch panels were welded in by the body guy, but he hacked it up and used scrap metal he had laying around, and then he either brazed or riveted before he seam sealed. Looks like crap. I'll do it myself next time.
 
sireland67 said:
Looks good.
What headers did you use?
Do you have the dimensions of the instument cluster?
Click to expand...

Thank you. I am using Dougs headers. Haven't put the assembly in the car yet, but I know everyhting fits nicely on the K-frame.

I don't have the exact dimensions on the instrument cluster. You can just measure your stock instrument cluster and use that as a template. Mine took some light massaging to get it to fit perfect. I didn't want any gaps.

If you want me to measure the heights (yes, there is a taper along the height of the instrument cluster) and the distances between the points on the sides I can try, but it's already mounted in the cluster housing and wired to go in the car. I'll see what I can do tonight.
 
I still have the template with the "turbo button" on it, which is what the machine shop used as a rough cut. If anybody wants it, feel free to PM me. I may want it back in the future, but I'll do what I can to help FABO. Lord knows you guys have been more than helpful to me.
 
I would love some more information on the gauge cluster. It is exactly what ive semi started working on.

how much of the cluster face did you cut out? Can i see a picture of the back side?
 
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