| A major milestone has been reached. I have dropped the engine in. This took many nights and multiple 6 packs, of beer, not intake. I guess that's a mopar joke. Anyway, there were a lot of problems solved. It was now that I was finding out all the little bitches associated with an engine swap. Stuff you would not think about, like pulley alignment, transmission/shifter linkages, wiring, and oh yes, clearances. I purchased a new mini starter and transmission lines to aid in the clearances and tackled the other problems one at a time. Mostly, things went well. This is the point at which a quality installation can really be defined. The idea is to solve every problem, and detail now, when it is easiest, and do nothing half-assed. It will haunt you later. |
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| Why are mopar starters so damn big? Big blocks, headers and starters don't get along all that well. They all need to occupy the same space. Here's my new mini starter. It's a gear reduction style. I'm anxious to see how long it lasts. It cleared everything and seems to turn the engine nicely. |
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| I knew it would fit. It looks peaceful sitting there but it has actually been in and out four times for various reasons, mostly to adjust the headers and add the transmission lines. You can see the new lines I got from Year One in this picture. The fuel line and filter have been added. Always use a filter. |
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| A front view. I guess it looks like it went in straight. I was suprised at how everything really went in well. The Challenger has a huge engine bay. Most engine bay components were cleaned and painted. You can see the horn assemblies and other detailed components. Also visible is a small unpainted patch near the radiator support. That will be taken care of later. |
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| While things were apart I was able to replace most of the wiring. It was all pretty solid, but old. At one point there was a section of lamp chord that led down to the starter. The original battery tray was pretty corroded. Year One provided a replacement. |
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| A little of the detail work. The wiper motor was rebuilt and reinstalled. The new wiring harness can be seen. I have added the throttle cable and kick-down bracket. A new adapter from Edelbrock ensures that the cables lined up correctly. You can see the new ballast resistor for the electronic ignition. |