'89 ahb

[Sublime440]

With some persuasion from one of the mods, I thought I would share my ongoing project:

It's an '89 Diplomat AHB with a 408, 727 and soon to upgrade 3.55 gears and Sure-Grip.

I'm in the process of rebuilding the front end right now, with most of the time being wasted on degreasing and repainting everything that nobody but me will ever see.

 

[Sublime440]

It desperately needed a cleaning, a pressure water hooked to the hot water faucet and some Dawn dish soap took care of that

Before:

After:

 

[Sublime440]

After stripping almost everything from the engine bay I spent what seemed like forever scuffing, cleaning, priming, and painting.

 

[Sublime440]

Fresh paint, tried to recreate the black overspray on the radiator support and repainted the K frame

Also got these popped in:

 

[Sublime440]

I needed an engine with a few hundred extra hp, so I picked up this 360 and built a 408:

Don't forget to space the driver side mount...

Finished and ready to go in:

 

[Sublime440]

Put everything back together and tried to clean up the original stuff as much as I could like the shift linkage, overflow and P/S caps, etc

The engine bay coming together:

The original Thermo-Guard:

Cleaned the gas tank, coated and blasted/painted/cleared the tank straps then shifted the tank over and this is how it currently sits:

 

[Sublime440]

The new exhaust, 2 1/2" Summit Turbo mufflers (I'm cheap) before I did any tuning on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaehe3CftVU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFsuWHg7584

And this is where it's currently at while I rebuild the front end. Hopefully in a week or so it will be ready to go back on the road and after the engine break-in I'll be looking to upgrade the gears and add a sure-grip along with new poly pads, shackle and sway bar bushings. Plans next winter are to repaint the rest of the car and restore the interior, hopefully then it will be done

 

[Jack Meoff]

I need a smoke......

 

[gtsdude]

Nice ride! That is going to surprise a few people. My next engine is going to be a stroker small block.

 

[Jack Meoff]

Your attention to detail is incredible my friend.
I've been watching your car come together for a while now.
Truly beautiful job!!!

 

[Roadrunner360]

You make it look so easy.........very nice keep the pics coming!

 

[Sublime440]

Thanks, it is definitely not easy, but absolutely fun. I don't don't know if you guys want to look at control arms and torsion bars but I'll have pics of them soon....I hope.

 

[Jack Meoff]

Post 'em up....the more car porn the better.
It's all part of the transformation....

 

[brotherGood]

Didn't sound fun that day you called me about the brake booster..haha.

 

[Sublime440]

Didn't sound fun that day you called me about the brake booster..haha.

It's a SOB to get to a couple of the bolts. I'd rather cut the inside of the cowl to get to them. It wasn't too bad to mask it off and paint it on the car. I hope it never goes out though...

 

[72Dodge]

Beautiful!!! I love it! I already desperately want an ex-service car, and this isn't helping. Keep the pics and info coming, please!

 

[brotherGood]

It's a SOB to get to a couple of the bolts. I'd rather cut the inside of the cowl to get to them. It wasn't too bad to mask it off and paint it on the car. I hope it never goes out though...

At least you didn't take dads advice..Lol

 

[Jack Meoff]

Beautiful!!! I love it! I already desperately want an ex-service car, and this isn't helping. Keep the pics and info coming, please!

So do I....
And Sublime's car has become a work of art.
I've watched it from the start....it's a freakin' masterpiece.
Keep those pics coming!!

 

[72Dodge]

Please let us know if you have to modify anything to move the fuel tank over. I have mine off, but it looks like the vent thing on top will interfere with the flat part of the trunk bottom since there's a bump for it in the stock location. (My '83 one looks the same as yours).

 

[Sublime440]

Please let us know if you have to modify anything to move the fuel tank over. I have mine off, but it looks like the vent thing on top will interfere with the flat part of the trunk bottom since there's a bump for it in the stock location. (My '83 one looks the same as yours).

Mine actually cleared that....barely. I checked, re-checked, and checked again and it looks like it's just within that recessed area and has just enough clearance to not smack the bottom of the trunk. I also cut a piece of tar paper and laid it on top of the tank to keep any vibrational noise to a minimum.

Also, when you shift the tank over, it HELPS to smack over the metal edge of the tank where the straps wrap around it at the back. You'll notice in the stock location they're flat. It will seat the straps and help to secure the tank a little better and also ensure your straps are long enough when you go to bolt them up in the front. I also had to knock out the drain plugs in the trunk.

I'm lazy so I ran new fuel hose to the sending unit while the tank was the ground. A new grommet would be a good thing to put on your tank as well while you have it out:

http://www.factorychryslerparts.com...uel-Tank-to-Filler-Tube/4241237/04002010.html

You'll also need to cut your filler tube and extend it with a piece of 2" gas hose.

It was actually probably the easiest mod I did to the car, and it looks so much better seeing the pipes run on each side of the tank. Mine turn down right before the bumper, I like it like that.