On this episode of HOT ROD Garage
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 (rock music)
00:02 - Welcome back to Hot Rod Garage, presented by Lincoln Tech.
00:22 In this episode, we're gonna take my 1971 Dodge Demon 340
00:26 that we got running in the last episode
00:28 and take the next steps to get this thing back on the road.
00:30 That means brakes and suspension.
00:31 But because this is Hot Rod Garage,
00:33 we're gonna do some major upgrades
00:34 to turn this thing into a total handling monster.
00:37 But before we get into that,
00:38 stay tuned for this quick tech tip from Lincoln Tech.
00:40 (upbeat music)
00:43 Here's a few things about paint guns
00:46 that you might not know.
00:47 Conventional spray guns operate at very high pressure,
00:50 which atomizes the material as it leaves the gun nozzle.
00:53 The atomization helps the gun lay down
00:55 very smooth coatings in a short amount of time.
00:58 Unfortunately, the high pressure also causes
01:00 about 70% of the material
01:03 to never meet the surface you're spraying
01:05 because it either misses the object
01:06 or bounces off the surface.
01:08 Because it's propelled at such a high velocity.
01:11 Enter the HVLP.
01:13 The HVLP spray gun stands for high volume, low pressure.
01:16 While HVLP consumes more compressed air
01:18 than a conventional gun,
01:20 it operates at much lower air pressure.
01:22 HVLP guns push paint particles
01:24 about half the velocity of conventional spray guns.
01:27 This means you have to spray closer to the surface,
01:29 but more of the material will find its way there.
01:32 There's still overspray,
01:33 but it's a small amount compared to the older style gun.
01:36 Although HVLP requires more time to cover objects in paint
01:39 than a conventional gun,
01:41 the soft spray pattern is great for applications
01:43 where the painter needs a high degree of control.
01:46 Lincoln Tech can teach you
01:48 how to have a career working with cars.
01:50 See lincolntech.edu.
01:53 - I've got to let you guys in on something.
01:55 When we left last time, I had this engine running
01:57 and I said something like,
01:58 "The next step for me is to break in this camshaft."
01:59 So I put an oil pressure gauge on it,
02:01 put some braking oil in it, fired it up,
02:03 ran it about 2,000 to 2,500 RPM for 20 minutes.
02:06 When I got to about 15 minutes, this engine seized.
02:09 And we don't have any footage of that,
02:10 so we put together this little reenactment for you.
02:12 (engine revving)
02:15 - Why?
02:19 Why?
02:23 Obviously the engine seizing was a real bummer.
02:25 It's a huge setback to getting this thing back on the road.
02:27 We're going to tear it out.
02:28 We're going to do a full autopsy later
02:29 and hopefully get it back in running stronger than ever.
02:32 But first we're going to deal with the suspension
02:33 and brake upgrades.
02:35 So this is a gnarly group of parts laid out here.
02:37 I'm really excited about it.
02:38 QA1 came through with their level three
02:40 handling upgrade package,
02:42 which is a front tubular cross member,
02:44 two way adjustable shocks, upper and lower control arms,
02:47 tie rod sleeves, these rod and tension rods,
02:50 and the sway bar.
02:52 They also just added this six link bolt in
02:55 coilover rear suspension system.
02:57 Now my Demon is an original car.
02:58 That means it's original matching numbers engine
03:01 and the car itself has really not been molested.
03:03 So the fact that I'm going to be able to bolt in
03:04 this level of performance into this car
03:07 without hacking it up is insane to me.
03:09 All right, before we get started, this is my buddy Mikey.
03:12 What's up bro?
03:13 Mikey's been my crew chief on my FD team for like 10 years.
03:17 He's built a couple of cool A Buddy Mopars.
03:19 He's got a Challenger he's working on.
03:21 We've been best bros forever
03:22 and we have done tons and tons of car projects together.
03:24 So let's get started on this one.
03:26 - All right, let's go.
03:27 - Cool, so before we start tearing into this car
03:29 and taking the engine out and stuff,
03:31 we need to get measurements of ride height and wheelbase
03:34 for when we put the new QA1 suspension parts on.
03:36 So we'll get that recorded and then tear into this thing.
03:39 24 and three quarter, 28 and three quarters, same.
03:44 All right, we've got the ride height recorded.
03:46 That's not as important because you can play with that.
03:48 Wheelbase is important for stuff like clearance
03:50 and making sure the car tracks straight.
03:51 So Mikey, you want to give me a hand?
03:53 - Yeah.
03:54 - Get these wheelbases recorded.
03:55 - All right, a hair under 108.
03:59 108 on a nose.
04:01 - Cool.
04:02 Since this engine and crossmember have to come out,
04:04 the engine's got to get rebuilt
04:06 and this crossmember is going to get replaced
04:07 with this red tubular one from QA1.
04:09 We're going to take those out together
04:10 from the bottom of the car,
04:11 which is sort of the way the cars are assembled.
04:13 And if you have a lift, that's the easiest way to do it.
04:15 You can install this crossmember
04:16 without taking the engine out.
04:18 You just have to support the engine from the top,
04:19 pull the old K-member down, bolt the new one up,
04:22 reassemble your suspension.
04:23 (upbeat music)
04:26 Maybe leave the distributor in.
04:32 All right, so I'm going to pull out the radiator,
04:36 some accessories.
04:36 Mikey pulled the alternator off
04:37 because it doesn't fit downward.
04:39 Disconnect the steering gearbox,
04:41 do a bunch of stuff under the car, cut this thing out.
04:44 You guys remember last episode when I was like,
04:45 I had this carburetor on my buddy's car
04:47 and then it came back with a bunch of crap in it.
04:49 That's the buddy.
04:50 - Yeah. - There he is.
04:51 (upbeat music)
04:54 All right, we've got everything disconnected underneath.
05:13 One thing we are going to do
05:14 is we're going to leave the transmission on there.
05:15 It's going to be easier to level everything on this pallet.
05:17 We just now have to lower the car down
05:19 into the engine and cross member resting on this pallet,
05:22 disconnect the upper shock mounts,
05:23 disconnect the upper arms
05:25 and lift the car off the engine and cross member.
05:27 So let's do it, Mikey.
05:29 (upbeat music)
05:31, - Grab that wire.
06:00 - So coming in to sort of inspect the state of the engine
06:02 bay now that we have the engine and subframe out,
06:05 it looks like I found where the Z bar mounts,
06:07 which is the mechanical clutch linkage to the sheet metal
06:10 is cracked in a couple of spots.
06:11 So glad I found it.
06:13 Now we have all sorts of access to it.
06:14 So before we put the new cross member in,
06:16 I'll come in and clean this metal up, weld it back together,
06:19 hit everything that's sort of scaly with some rust inhibitor
06:21 and should be good to go.
06:23 (upbeat music)
06:25 All right, the engine bay paint has dried.
06:37 We can start installing these cool QA1 suspension parts.
06:41 First thing we're going to put in is this tubular K member,
06:44 some tension control rods and lower control arms.
06:46 I'm just putting a little anti-seize on here
06:49 so that these don't get caught up in the chassis
06:51 if I ever have to take these back out.
06:53 (upbeat music)
06:56 All right, so this is a tubular lower control arm.
07:10 It's got a good adjuster for the torsion bar preload,
07:13 which controls the front ride height
07:15 and a nice big bushing in here.
07:18 I'm gonna bolt these in next.
07:20 And stuff like this that has a bushing in it,
07:23 you don't want to tighten it up all the way
07:24 until it's sitting on the ground
07:26 because if you tighten it up out of position,
07:28 it will start to get stiction in it
07:30 'cause it only has so much of a range of motion.
07:32 All right, so the next thing we're gonna install
07:36 are these cool tension control rods.
07:38 Normally this would be a giant rubber bushing,
07:39 which would allow a lot of deflection
07:42 and the wheel would move around a ton.
07:43 These have a rod end on this side
07:45 that replaces that rubber bushing
07:47 and allows totally controlled movement.
07:49 (upbeat music)
07:52 (drill whirring)
07:55 You have to position this front mount correctly
08:00 so that the arm can move up and down through its strobe
08:04 without any kind of binding here.
08:06 So you sort of just find the right angle.
08:08 See, it doesn't bind there,
08:10 but if you tighten it up down here,
08:11 that rod end is gonna bind.
08:12 So find the place where it's the happiest
08:15 and tighten it down there.
08:16 And when you're adjusting it,
08:17 you want to make sure that you get this rod end
08:19 back into a happy place when you lock it down.
08:22 (drill whirring)
08:23 That looks pretty good.
08:25 All right, QA1 sent over these red aluminum bodied
08:28 Stocker Star shocks.
08:29 They set me up with a two-way adjustable,
08:31 that's compression and rebound adjustable.
08:33 So I'll have Vasa to play with
08:34 while I'm setting this car up.
08:36 (upbeat music)
08:38 (metal clanging)
08:43 All right, I've got the adjustment knobs
08:44 turned towards the inside.
08:46 Pretty sure I'll be able to get to them
08:47 with the wheels on the car, which is the goal.
08:50 All right, so I'm gonna put in these cool
08:51 upper tubular control arms that QA1 sent over
08:54 with these stiffer bushings,
08:55 Zerk fittings so you can grease them up.
08:57 I went ahead and ordered them
08:58 with the larger shank ball joint
09:00 so that I can put on the later spindles
09:02 that the disc brake kit needs.
09:04 (upbeat music)
09:07 (drill whirring)
09:14 (upbeat music)
09:16 All right, we've got all the new suspension
09:33 and brake parts on the front of the car
09:34 and we're gonna move to the back.
09:35 And that's what I'm really excited about.
09:37 QA1 set me up with their new
09:38 six link bolt-in suspension system.
09:41 It offers all the advantages of a control arm system.
09:43 It's got coilover shocks and springs.
09:45 It's gonna have better control of the axle.
09:47 It's gonna work much better
09:49 and I don't have to modify my car.
09:51 So let's get it in, let's tear the old stuff out.
09:53 (upbeat music)
09:55 So this kit is made to work with an eight
10:04 and three quarter axle.
10:06 So if you have something else, it's not gonna work.
10:08 You can get your hands on one of these
10:10 because it clamps around the three inch axle tubes.
10:12 This is pretty much an upgrade for cars
10:13 that are still factory in the back.
10:15 I'm scraping off this undercoating
10:17 so that the panhard bar mount can slide up
10:19 and clamp around these things.
10:20 You gotta make sure that these are totally clean
10:22 or it won't fit.
10:23 (upbeat music)
10:27 All right, next thing we're gonna do
10:35 is install these mounts that locate the rear.
10:38 These clamp around my eight and three quarter axle
10:41 and all the arms connect to them and the panhard bar.
10:44 (metal clanking)
10:46 All right, we've got the one side bracket
10:59 bolted into my eight and three quarter rear end.
11:01 I smooth off a lot of the old weld slag
11:03 to make sure that they fit.
11:04 It's still a little tight on this side.
11:06 I've got Lucky here today, helped me out.
11:08 He took a little bit of material off of the upper bracket.
11:11 See that there?
11:13 Try to get these things to fit together nicely.
11:15 All right, we made a little room in that upper bracket.
11:23 This thing fits great now.
11:24 We're just gonna torque it down to spec
11:26 and then we can start putting this in.
11:28 All right, so we've got the rear end under the car.
11:30 We're gonna start installing the six links
11:32 and the panhard bar that support and control
11:34 the movement of this axle now.
11:36 I pulled off my old school rear pinion snubber.
11:39 This is kind of a basic piece that smashes up
11:42 into the underbody of the car
11:44 to control the rotation of the axle
11:45 because leaf springs wrap.
11:46 That's one of their big disadvantages.
11:48 I don't need this anymore.
11:49 And so you guys can see how this thing works.
11:51 We're gonna take the shocks and springs out,
11:53 move the car up and down
11:54 and you'll be able to watch it articulate.
11:56 So the panhard bar controls side to side
11:59 movement of the axle 'cause if it's not connected,
12:01 Lucky, you wanna push it?
12:03 See that?
12:04 We need this.
12:05 All right, so the QA1 six link rear end is in.
12:08 It looks awesome.
12:10 We will later come in, torque every bolt,
12:12 get the arms the right length.
12:13 And once this car is down back on the ground and rolling,
12:16 we can actually corner balance this car if we want.
12:17 We have these coilovers in the back
12:19 and torsion bars in the front with preload adjusters.
12:22 (upbeat music)
12:25 (upbeat music)
12:27 (upbeat music)
12:30 (upbeat music)
12:32 (upbeat music)
12:35 (upbeat music)
12:38 (upbeat music)
12:39 All right, that's it for this episode
12:40 of "How Our Garage" presented by Lincoln Tech.
12:42 Lucky is tightening up those last couple of bolts,
12:44 but we installed a pretty serious brakes
12:46 and suspension setup on this car
12:47 with almost no modifications to the chassis itself.
12:50 My '71 Dodge Demon is still in pristine shape,
12:53 but we have bolted on
12:55 a super gnarly setup that I can't wait to get on the track.
12:58 We've got to get that motor fixed up, get this thing running.
13:00 There's lots of alignment, corner balancing, anti-squat,
13:04 lots of stuff to adjust in the suspension,
13:05 but we'll get it dialed in
13:06 once this thing is back on the road.
13:07 And be sure to keep up with us on social media,
13:09 "How Our Garage Show" on Facebook,
13:11 and you can find me on Instagram, tangelo96.
13:13 Now everybody was begging for a big roll smokey burnout
13:16 for these last two episodes, so guess what?
13:17 That's what we're going to give you
13:18 and that's what we're going to say goodbye this time,
13:19 so stay tuned.
13:20 (upbeat music)
13:23 (engine revving)
13:26 (engine revving)
13:29 (engine revving)
13:33 (engine revving)
13:35 (engine revving)
13:38 (upbeat music)
14:03 (engine revving)