john dorset's Page

1971 dodge challenger convertible
john dorset, brighton , MI



Hello, Welcome to my History Book for the 1971 dodge challenger that we restored, I say we because it took a lot of effort from many people. I bought this challenger down in Texas in late winter of 2002. The guy described it to be a restored challenger that was fast and would last for many years, All I have to say to that is BULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This car would have broken in half on a good bump, like going over a rail road track at 40 or 50 mph . Everything on this car was junk, the engine was shot , the transmission, the rear end and everything else. There was more bondo in this car then there was steel. I bought this car not knowing much about restoring a old car, but boy did that change over the last couple of years. I dedicate this document to MO MUD A HOLES !!!!!!!!!!! Some People Think I was completely nuts for doing this car , When I got this car home from texas, I thought that I had a petty solid body, and just need to do some engine work. I could not have been more wrong, the a holes had actually put duck tape over sections of the frame rails and covered in undercoating. The trunk floor was made from a swimming pool steel wall both floors had a 1 inch of fiber glass holding them together. If you don’t believe, take a look at the piece of rear quarter I saved. Here is a list of the metal that was replaced or fabricated Replaced with new pieces - Inner Fender , both sides - Floor pans both sides , long version - Rear quarters, both sides, frame connectors - Trunk floor, trunk extensions, both sides - Wheel wells, battery tray, frame rails both sides, - Entire rear panel of car, Fabricated by hand Fabricated - Fender patches, both sides, upper and lower parts - Fire wall, both sides and in the middle. - A pillars and B pillars both sides. - Rocker panels, both sides - Inner wheel wells - Front cowl around front window - Both doors needed patch panels - The entire rear seating section, both sides. Now lets talk about the engine. When we torn down the engine the cam bearings had been spun and inside the engine was thick goop. The engine would have blown up shortly. The piston were shot, and the heads had seen their day. So , the 440 went over a complete blue print and balanced rebuild. It is now bored 30 over and has 10 to 1 pistons, a new cam (292 / 509 duration purple cam) was added. The heads were replaced with Edelbrock 84 cc flow heads, a high volume , fuel pump, oil pump, water pump were added, all aluminum to save weight. I found a original 69 Edelbrock six pack intake with matching carburetors , with a little rebuild , cool. A deep oil panwas added and everything was cleaned up and painted. Also added and new valve covers , and new alternator. The radiator was rebuild and a 4 core unit. The Transmission The trans was completely rebuild and made bullet proof according to my buddy the trans expert. A 3500 stall converter was added and a transmission cooler was added. All stainless steel lines were installed. Other Items Replaced - fuel tank, wiper motor, ignition , battery, belts, hoses - stainless steel fuel lines were installed - the complete braking system, again all stainless front disk brakes and rear 10 inch drums. - the entire front and rear suspension was rebuilt and new sway bars were installed, a PST bushing kit was used on both front and back. - all new wire harness’s were used. - the dash was completely redone - the rally gauges were gone through. - front grill and rear light assembly, were cracked. - The under body was stripped and then coated with POR 15 and then under coated. About the only thing that did not get replaced or worked on was the convertible top. It is the only item on the car that was not recondition rebuilt or replaced. Lord knows every other bolt and screw was replaced. I hope you enjoy the pictures , from the pictures on the first day I bought it home, to the discovery of the rust and bondo , to the 4 ½ years in restoration. This project was the best thing I have ever done. This project caused me a small fortune, but heck you can’t take it with you. It allowed me to bond with my children, who with out I would have never finished this car. My two wonderful boys (dan and matt) and great little buddy Nicole who got into all those spots the boys and I could not. I thank and treasure the experience . This became a real family project. NOW the SECOND RESTORATION. The winter after we finished the car , and after only drive the car for about 3 months or so we put into the garage, for the winter, Well one day in feb my wife decide that it was time for the daugther to practice driving and she was letting my daughter drive the big truck out the drive and into a church parking lot down the street. Well after they were done , my daughter was backing up the pick up truck drive way and her foot slipped off the gas and hit the gas pedal instead. The diesel engine in the truck took off and backed right into the garage , knocking down a wall the header across the front of the garage and throwing my big compressor right on to the back of the challenger, the driver rear panel was smashed , the trim around the convertible top was destroyed (stainless steel) and the quarter panel pushed into the door. needless to say OUCH , so the restoration was started over again, My heart was just about broken, Here is a funny little story about the crash, I do alot of servicing in different plants around our area and was in a plant out of touch when this all happened. One of the engineers in the plant came down to the floor and caught up with me telling me to call home right away , there was a emergency, so I went up front and started to call home, it was busy, call all the kids cell phone and even the wifes they were all busy, I was getting really worried, finally I got a hold of my oldest who was down in ohio going to the university of northwestern ohio, mechanic school. (good one) and asked him what happen, I asked if some one had died or something of that nature, He replied, No Dad it is worse , it is the car dad , the car, and then told me what had happen, one of the guys at the plant told me I turn white as a ghost. I had to set down, My daughter was afaid to talk to me for a few days, Well got over it , I love my family, and STUFF HAPPENS