My newest project 1981 dodge challenger.

[City Hunter]

SPent most of the day working on the car, making some misc pieces of the transmission and piecing together a driveshaft..

 

Finished product is a transmission and driveshaft bolted in and ready to go. For those iunterested and state side. I used the automatic sapporo rear driveshaft with a 2.0l 1986 d50 2wd front driveshaft, and threw a PCN-398 U joint in. This makes for a bolt in driveshaft :) I

 

Tomorrow I will check the gas tank out, replace all teh soft rubber lines with fuel nijection line and isntall te fuel pump. I'll probably get clutch anmd brake pedals mounted also. I need tog et some cutting discs and open up the shifter area of the trans tunnel as well.

 

With any luck I should have this on the road by saturday if I can source a stock starion oil cooler.

 

 

 

[City Hunter]

not a whole lot of update. I've been messing with the small things lately.

 

I've got about 75% of the engine bay cleaned up. I jsut have the back portion left.

 

I also test fitted some of the starion turbo door handles. They almost fit perfect, about a 10th of a inch off from sitting flush. While test fitting, I tried to adjust the door hinge rod and broke it off because it was so f;n rusted. Now I gotta open the door fromt he passenger side. Hells yeah. I'm pretty sure a starion rod will work though.

 

I also spent most of the night checking the few cylinder heads I have. The 2 I had loose both had cracks on cylinders 2 and 3. The one I took off the original engine looks good, but I will need to put some new valve seals in at least. It's all cleaned up and about ready to toss on.

 

I'm ehading up to monroe this week to grab starion front suspension for the car. Should be quite the upgrade over the stock solid rotor bullshit.

 

[shane_lxi]

do you think your friend in aus could ahold of another of those spoilers? Looks like I could make itwork on the cress :D.

[City Hunter]

It's the only one he had. It's off a sigma if you are curious.

 

DId a little more work tonight with some motivation

 

[City Hunter]

I actually made some decent progress today.

 

I installed drilled out some brackets, drilled out holes for the clutcvh master and pedal, and mounted the pedal to the firewall. I still have to weld in a mount for the upper pedal mount.

 

I also pulled some of the blower motors off and installed the wiring harness I got from jeff.

 

 

The heron exhaust I will be using on my car. Well only part of it :)

 

She is a bit naked up front also. I needed to pull the bumper off tog et the fender off and do some test fitting of the intercooler.

[City Hunter]

Made some progress tonight. I managed to get the intercooler mocked up and holes cut in teh front core area, opened up the transmission tunnel area, and cut my fucking wiring harness so I had to install a different one. I also intsalled the fender and lower airdam thing along with the bumper and grill for some mock up to ensure everything fits.

 

Clutch pedal mostly mounted. I sitll need to weld in some mounts for the top

 

In trunk fuel pump mounted

 

The wonderful job I did cutting my perfect harness

 

A picture of my aus taillights I received the other day.

 

Opened up transmission tunnel

 

Mock up of the intercooler with holes cut and a fiero radiator.

 

Front end tested with hood latch suppose in place and bumper with intercooler sitting in there.

 

Under lip installed

 

You wouldnt even know this thing was turbo charged

[City Hunter]

Not much of a updatre but I made some progress tonight.

 

I got my new oem water banjo washers for the turbo, oilcooler banjo washers, and turbo gasket set.

 

I spent most of the night playing with the turbo figuring out where to clock it. The 14b has htis annoying notch on the cartridge and a pin on the compressor housing so it can only be installed one way. I had to file a new notch into the cartridge as I have it clocked way off from factory.

 

Anyhow, pic is of my 14b turbo mounted in a td05 housing ground out for a td05h wheel. This turbo should be fine for the time being. I know with the evo 3 housing these turbos will flow 300rwhp. I figure if I can get 250rwhp I will be happy. I know my torqu will be over 300 with some luck :)

 

I also installed the water linues for the heater core. Along with that I cut some of the cloth intercooler pipes to fit my intercooler configuration.

 

The only thing I have left in the engine bay right now is the following.

 

-Install starter

-Install dizzy

-install new vc gasket

-Secure starion wiring harness

-Install coil

-trim stock harness so it only fires the starter, or run the starion starter trigger. I'm undecided.

-Make some simple radiator mounts for the fiero radiator and tie in a puller fan.

-make a small oil cooler mount

-bolt the grill and bumper back on

-install the new pcv hose

-install a 1 way valve between the intake and booster off a starion

-install fuel filter, feed and return lines

 

Basically a ton of small things I can wrap up in a day easily.

 

Other things I still have to do with the car.

 

Interior

-reinstall blower motor

-clean and paint the dash parts

-install some black starion carpet

-install starion seats

-paint and clean the entire interior trim

 

Misc

-install banjo for the slave cylinder

-weld in the upper mount for the clutch pedal

-install clutch pedal to master rod

-redo all the brakes and flush brake system

-cut and weld up my resonator and side dump exhaust

-wire the couple wires off the starion harness.

-run a fuel pump power wire off the stock starion harness

 

I think thats about it. I should have this baby up and running in a few days.

 

This is how the engine sits now. I forgot to bolt on the wastegate actuator.

[City Hunter]

Well a little update. I picked up a 1980 plymouth arrow sport truck the other day so its been sucking my time away but I got some more stuff done on the car before I pulled it out of the garage.

 

Engine is completely done everything mounted, bumper reinstalled.

 

The only thing i have left to do is install som,e spark plugs, plug wires, wire in a ecu pwoer with a fuse onto the battery. Thats it for the engine bay.

 

 

I also fabbed up most of the side dump exhaust. It's currently mounted and resoinator is on. I have one last straight piece to weld on, but I am waiting untl slodat gets back so I can make the last cut on his bandsaw.

 

To get it started I need to do the following

 

Wire up 2 or 3 wires from the engine harness off the b38 plug, run the pwoer wire to the fuel pump.... annnnnnd put some gas in the tank.

 

[KFD]

That is a really cool project, man! I remember seeing a Challenger Technica years ago, the thing had an all digital dash, and a lady's voice that told you a door was open, lights were on, or your fuel was low.

Awesome build, City Hunter!

 

KFD

Edited April 17, 2009 by KFD

[Beau M]

Neat project! I had the NA version of that motor in my B2600, always wanted to throw a starion engine in there.

 

[City Hunter]

thanks guys.

 

The turbo conversion to a non turbo isnt rerribly hard if you know anyone like me :)

 

As for the car. I love it so far. I have some more plans for it down the road, mainly some late model AUS ail lights and some other misc stff, but it should be a really fun car to drive. Once i get back ino town I will try and get it running and licensed.

[City Hunter]

Firing it up. Enough said :fu:

[slodat]

Congrats! How is it??

[City Hunter]

im happy. The exhaust is quite quiet at idle even with my wideband bung empty on the downpipe. Seems to be iudling good. I nam throwing a coolant temp error, so I need to look at the plug and see whats going on.

 

So far no fuel or water leaks. Now it's time to do the brakes and put the interior back in.

[City Hunter]

So on my ever changing list of to do stuff.

 

 

General/engine

 

-figure out coolant temp error

-Find plug for o2 spark plug?

-install battery tray

-make aluminum mount for oil cooler to upper rad support.

-Install a electric or mechanical fan.

-Secure fuel filter

-Secure power steering resivoir

-install 10a fuse between constant 12v and ecu

 

 

Interior

-figure out why tach isnt working

-Install blower motor = find clamp

-add oil to trans and mount shifter

-Find all vent pieces and install

-Buy a new door linkage piece

-paint and reinstall interior

-find and install starion carpet

-install starion speedometer in cluster

-install stereo

 

Exterior

-clean grill and paint black

-blast rear license plate bezel and paint black

-sand and polish tail lights

-get hid headlights

 

Drivetrain.

-go over all brakes

-finish exhaust

-get some wheels

-cut springs

 

Other

-get the title transfered and registered,

[City Hunter]

and for the heck of not taking a picture in a long time. Here are a few.

 

Exhaust, it's hanging out quite a bit right now as I havent installed a hanger yet, It will be sucked back in almost flush with the lower rockerpanel when I mount it.

 

A blurry picture of the engine bay. Pretty much complete. Just a few small things to do in there,

 

Ahh progress. It might not look like it but at this stage it's going back together. I have to clean and paint the dash still, and find one or 2 pieces of vent ducting.

 

Man those aus lights look 100000x better. It will even be nicer when I paint the license plate piece and chrome trim around the tails black.

Edited June 11, 2009 by City Hunter

[City Hunter]

Update with a few pics.

 

I've been working and reworking the exhaust a bit, and may end up changing it again before it gets mounted for the final time.

 

Small things I've done, install the starion throttle cable, paint dash and driver side door panel, wire the neutral start wires together, started work on a hard pipe instead of the accordian going to the mas, installed the starion seat, routed some more wires, finished the brakes, and I am sure there is more stuff I am forgetting. Oh, I also lowered the back end of the car a bit and finished up installing the axle.

 

 

I still havent figured out where I hid the starion carpet I have had laying around. When you lose a entire piece of carpet, you know you have too much junk.

 

 

[City Hunter]

Getting a bit closer. I have most of the dash bolted in, gauge cluster etc..

 

I also installed the 150mph starion speedometer but it doesnt quite fill in the gap. I'll have to get another bezel made for the gauge. Good enough for now.

 

 

I'm starting to find the parts of the dash that were broken and ust not very useable as I reassemble everything. Heck I even broke the plastic off my cluster :roll: I'm not real worried as this car is never going to be anything nice like a show car. The whole build has been for me to go out and beat the hell out of it driving. I have on plans to trash the car, but I just wanted a reliable strong fun car. I think it's coming together nicely.

 

 

[City Hunter]

A few pics and some new. Blew up my rear end on accident. we wont talk about how, but it was a stupid mistake.

 

Anyhow, I got to drive it a little before I screwed the rearend up. I need lsd bad. The rear end brakes lose so easy it isnt even funny. It pulls very hard for stock boost. Should be much funner when I push it up to 19lbs. I may have to get a new clutch first.

 

Heres a few pics of how it is sitting as I havent touched the front suspension yet.

 

both seats in. More interior in

 

Engien bay shot with the new intake pipe

 

how she sits now waiting for a ring and pinion for my spare diff

Edited September 18, 2009 by City Hunter

[izzo]

lol, looks like you got a load of groceries in the back making it sit down like that :lol:

 

 

Looking good man, i like it!

[slodat]

Looks good Shaun! I literally just came inside from filling the rear diff with gear oil in my gf's 620!

[City Hunter]

Thanks, I'm about to go back on the search for a ring and pinion today, Maybe foster or damascus will have one.

[City Hunter]

well, gear set is back in and everything seemed to check out. I'm now rocking a set of 3.90 gears. Interesting enough the gearset in my old diff was 3.307 which I have never even seen mitsubishi use. I'm going to try and save that gearset.

 

Tomorrow I'll swing by the dmv and get the car licensed then take it on another drive after I get some plug wires and reinstall the radiator. Hopefully this will be the last of the big issues.

 

I'm hoping to get my exhaust finished up tomorrow evening as well.

[City Hunter]

Well, I put 70 miles on the car today. It seems to be running pretty damn good, but I still have a bit of tinkering to do with the tps and timing. It's weird not having lsd. burning out in this cars just feels like the clutch is slipping but then you smell tire lol. It seems to really get up and go, Just a little more work and it should be done. I did some work on the exhaust today, but im still not quite happy with it. I am going to have to go to a multi tip sidedump tog et the car lowered. This 3inch is just whoring up my ground clearance. I'm also in dire needs of some heavy duty springs and good shocls.

[City Hunter]

Shes coming alonge nicely. Took the sidedumpo off for now so I could get the front lower. I'm reworking my exhaust plan. The wats from my lancer actually look decent on this thing when it's lowered. They are only 14x6 +13 too.