All fingers are present.. Not all the glove though

Many years with grime and dust, the Traveller's pieces needed a cleaning. I spent a couple hours in front of a wire wheel and wire hand brush stripping the metal of all the grime. I was only getting started when the clock read LATE!!! My first time really behind a wire wheel. My cousin Larry warned me that things slip and fingers can get brushed too. I have all my skin intact, but the glove was torn in three places.

Piston Cup.... He did what in his cup?

Sprinkled over a Saturday and Sunday, we prepped the pistons. I never imagined how much goes into making sure every ring around the piston is in the right spot. Nor can I imagine working on an engine WHILE IT'S STILL IN THE CAR!!! I'm spoiled right now with the space we have to work... Mechanics are underrated!!!
We matched up the first couple rod bearings to the specs and called it good saving us about 2 hours. I got to get my hands dirty a little under Larry's supervision. Placed some rings around the pistons, lube job, pounding in the pistons and things like that. Before we put the pistons in the cylinders we lubed them with STP oil treatment. The engine will be sitting for a couple months so we want it not to rust.
Once we got the pistons in we mapped out what needs to happen next.

My dad has been sanding on the drivers side rear panel getting that smooth. I spent about an hour today doing my part. Much to go on that sanding. My arm is either going to be in "Arnold" shape or just completely fall off....

The Traveller

Work has officially begun on The Traveller. This phase of the car is basically under the care of my cousin Larry, "Cooter" if you will. He is a great mechanic that has experience building engines. And if there is a tool needed for engines, Larry has it... probably two of them!!
First on the list was to install the Clevite crank bearings. Oh if it were only that simple. We put the bearings in, torqued them, took them off, aligned them to the specifications of the engine for oil clearance, then torqued them back into place. A timely job but we wanted to make sure things were to specs. Once the numbers were taken we greased them up with Blue Racer Assembly Lube. Stuff looks like something that comes out of your nose after you break it. Granny came in and thought there was blood all over the place.
Once the bearings were set with lube we placed the crank in the block.

Engine goods

This is just the beginning of what I've bought for the engine. Also the fuel pump, valley pan, pistons, yada yada yada... I don't want to add up the receipts. YIKES!!!

Engine is in the shop and has been for about a month now.. Luke and I will call the engine " The Traveller" in reference to the horse that carried General Lee.

Driver Side Panel Work

With the weather staying in the mid 70's we have begun working with bondo to smooth the Frankenstein stitches across the body.
Also within this time I have bought many engine parts and new brake lines for the car. I've sold the last few things off the motorhome (tranny, tires) on Craigslist. Things are moving... And now with my summer free they will move quickly more frequently.

Dash Cluster

I can recall when I bought Rusty looking at the dash and wanting to clean it up. It's been about 2 years, but I'm ready to get to work on this part. I had to refer to my Charger Restoration book to know how to take off the cluster. I had to find and dis-connect many wires (labeling them ofcourse) before taking it off. There isn't much room to squeeze even my hand in there, but I got it done.
I went to eBay to get new decals and found the correct paint to match the rest of the dash. I did make the decision to go with WHITE decals instead of original black.