Second Chance at a MOPAR the "BlackBird" build

[Blackbirdsrt78]

Thanks guys I am going with the Cooper Cobra G/T 235 60 R14 I found them online for 212 shipped. the Tires Plus here might get me a better deal but I doubt it. and I got the ball-joint which was near catastrophic failure replaced. put poly sway bar bushings, a new fuel filter and changed the oil she's good to go now!! gonna stick with the 14's till I can afford new rims. I really like the look of 14's in the front and 15's in the back. It handles alot better even though the alignment is still off. I was able to get rid of the excess positive camber though. it steers alot easier now and no more bump steer!

:icon_thumleft:

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

Ok so I take the car to Tires Plus which is next door to where I work. I tell them that everything will need to be adjusted AND WHERE IT IS ADJUSTED AT!!!... Ride height, camber caster toe.... the guy puts it up checks the alignment only scratches his head as if he forgot everything I told him, messes with the tierods and tells me my car is F#*@ed up.. I talked to the manager about it and he said that they would have and older gentlemen look at it...I mean what a waste of my time...its not a honda civic or something the front suspension is adjustable in three places not 1....OMFG!!!! so tomorrow they have the opportunity to redeem themselves.

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

I wish I could have held his hand through the alignment but I had to work....have I ever mentioned that I always have this issue when taking my Mopars to a shop. It always has to be put in the hands of a master tech. I am just going to request that from the get go from now on.

 

[Jack Meoff]

It's always the same.
Most name brand chains don't have a clue what is going on with our cars unless there's an old schooler there who knows these rides. I remember when I first got my Caravelle I brought it to one place for some front end work. They quoted me $4200!!!???
I later figured out it was because they were clueless to my car and didn't want to touch it. I've since met an amazing mechanic who knows the old rides like the back of his hand. He has his own monster collection of oldies.

He does the big jobs that I can't.
The new "parts replacer" generation are completely lost on old Mopars. It's always great to find an old school guy from back when they actually fixed things instead of just replacing them.

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

We will see what happens tomorrow. It just burns me because its really not hard at all to do an alignment on these cars. there is alot more room for adjustment than the modern shit boxes they are used to working on.

 

[compubert]

I had 15's on mine for a while, 14's just got too damn expensive. Very minor size array to chose from and I am not sure what model they came off of (Polara maybe?) but the 15's worked great till the owner wanted them back. I switched to 15" Trans-am wheels on the 84 Monte because of the choice/price limitations too...

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

Ok finally some good news.. The more experienced guy got the car dialed in. Here are the before and after specs. They gave me 50% discount. I tipped the guy 20 bucks.


Before...

After....

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

Front tires are on order they come Thursday or Friday. Cooper Cobra Radial GT 235 60 R14's

 

[Volare4life]

those are good final specs, I personally would have wanted a touch more camber, but i also run a 17X9 wheel on all 4, where did you end up getting it done at ?

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

those are good final specs, I personally would have wanted a touch more camber, but i also run a 17X9 wheel on all 4, where did you end up getting it done at ?

Got it done at that same Tires plus near where I work. They just had to have a more experienced tech to the job. I'm happy with it. The car drives like new now. The tires I had ordered are coming later than planned should be around Tuesday or Wednesday I will post pics.

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

Tires got delayed so...I was reminded of the headliner from slant6billy's video...gonna do it today.

Before...

And the supplies. Lowes vinyl back carpet. Goo Off . 3M headliner adhesive. 30 dollars.

 

[Jack Meoff]

I totally want to see the after.

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

After...

:sunny:

 

[greymouser7]

Is that carpet? What is that?

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

Pretty sure its the same thing that slant6billy did for his headliner. it a really thin vinyl backed carpet mine is Burgundy his is Grey. I think it looks sweet.

 

[72Dodge]

That's a really great idea. Good job!

 

[greymouser7]

Pretty sure its the same thing that slant6billy did for his headliner. it a really thin vinyl backed carpet mine is Burgundy his is Grey. I think it looks sweet.

How heavy is it Rich? I bet that absorbs some external sound! It DOES look really good!

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

you can hear a pin drop driving down the road. It made a big difference. All Thanks go to Slant6billy!!

 

[Jack Meoff]

Looks good!

 

[Blackbirdsrt78]

Having none of the problems I was previously having last time I attempted the headliner. Its been 80+ here and even parked in the sun, the glue is holding and its not falling down! Its like a new car now. A lot more quite than I was with nothing up there. has to be all the time scrapping and cleaning the old glue off and reading the directions on the headliner glue this time...color matches the original interior very well. just need to find a paint to match for the rest of the panels. I think I am going all burgundy with black accents.