ThePoose

Thanks, Mike.

I haven't seen that image before. That will help. If it was show season I'd just find one and measure, but it's snow season. I can use math with this one. Thanks.

Thanks for the info. Does anyone know how far back from the rear door opening the front of the scoop should be?

Getting started on fitting the scoops on my coupe and running into some issues. First, they're the scoops from CJ Pony Parts, which I ordered for three reasons: Branda at the time was out of stock and didn't know when they'd be in (in now of course), I had a discount, and most of all, the info on the CJ website said these bolted up to the existing holes. I expected to do some sanding and grinding to get them to fit right, but the bolts aren't even in the same zip code as the existing holes, or the same diameter. Also, the scoop opening looks small compared to other images I've seen. Not having seen the Branda scoops, I don't know if they're very different. Anyone who's used the m, do the bolts line up to the holes, even if it's just three? If so, wondering if it's better to just order those and try and return these. If on either I do need remove the bolts and add my own, what are the measurements for placement of the scoop? 1/2 inch below the body line and ?? inches back from the wheel opening? As far as the opening, I read in another post that you can open them up by grinding, but these look pretty thick and add structure. I'd hate to take too much of that away. Is just getting the Brandas and trying to return these going to save a lot of work and make it look right? Thanks for the help.

This chart might help. I found it somewhere a while ago. Probably on this forum. tirefitmentguide69-70.pdf

Nathan, Some pictures below. Mine is a factory 4-speed, so I guess the dimple is the centerpoint where the factory punched the hole for the linkage. The area is mostly flat, but you can see on the lower left, the bracket isn't over anything. The mounting surface, however is flat. I also ground the aluminum spacer the goes on the engine side of the firewall down (per MDL instructions) so that it is flat against the bracket. The clutch master cylinder is vertical and the rod isn't quite 90 degrees to the pedal but close. I had some of the same concerns you had, but this seems to be solid and in line with other info I found online. It's definitely solid. Just takes a little patience. Hope this helps.

Partial hijack: What's the reason for the #7 tube on all the 351W shorty headers going up and over #8? To equalize length? Neither the shorties on my 5.0 or the long tubes on my other 351W do that. Getting ready to buy headers for my build, and honestly, I hate the way that looks. Not the best reason to make a decision, but there it is.

Thanks. I just wish I was faster.

A few other things that have happened. Finally got the Baer master cylinder installed and plumbed. Ready now to bleed the brakes. Bought new hinges from WCCC and finished them to look original. Don't know that the black springs were original to my car, but like the look. Installed the Vintage Air box. This ended up to be a bit more of a challenge than I expected. And laid a fair amount of insulation. I also restored all the pedals and added the pieces for the hydraulic clutch. Some before: And after:

After the back was done, I was able to then move on the the front of the car. I added Tin Man subframe connectors and then was able to finish the Raptor Liner. It was pretty forgiving with tape lines. Then I set-up the new e-brake cables, added a stainless front-to-rear brake line and started putting in body plugs, which was strangely satisfying.

Thanks, RPM. I might have fallen off because I haven't been very timely in posting. Been a busy few months of work. I considered not getting the sway bar, but as I remember, it would have been quite a bit more expensive to add it later, so I went ahead and bought it. I bought the drop brackets for the TCP control arms, so yes, I did the drop without drilling the shock towers.

I started a thread because I thought mine might have been a CJ car they repurposed because of the staggered mount, but in sounds like the staggered mount was available on a variety of setups. Yeah, I think they just pulled bodies when they had orders to fill.

A few shots of the installed suspension. There were a few steps in between, like welding the brackets to the housing. I've since attached the sway bar and added brake lines. Instead of changing gears and adding a True Trac, it was pretty much a wash to get a new nodular housing from Quick Performance, with a lower ratio and the True Trac. Then went with 31 spline and new axles. Scope creep. I didn't put the snubber on, not knowing if I'd need it with this suspension. I think I'd have a lot of other problems if it bottomed out. If I need to add it back, please share. I can't set it up until all the weight is on the car, but it rolls again.

Raptor Liner on the back half of the car. I really like how it turned out. Not hard to work with once you figure it out and pretty forgiving. Color is actually black. Just a strong flash. With the carrier installed and ready to weld. This is why I sprayed the liner first. I like the contrast. I used the Raptor spray can to touch up. This is closer to the actual color.

It was a busy summer. And fall. And winter. But made progress. First was getting it ready prepped and ready for the TCP rear suspension. Aside from all the wire wheels work, I had to take this out and smooth it out. Stripped and primed. With the TCP rear suspension, you have to use the upper rack to place the weld-in brackets. Problem is once they're welded in, the bolt-in rack won't come out. I decided to go with the Raptorliner, so I had to go in stages. That's what the blue tape was for. I also trimmed and capped the bump stops while I was at it.

A dimension: 1.485 inches B dimension: 1.675 inches Another way to measure, at least on mine: The flat flange on the parking brake bracket that tacks to the floor. At the A dimension, that corner butts up against the flat flange of the transmission crossmember that attaches to the floor. At the B dimension, the parking brake bracket flange runs parallel to the flat flange of the subframe at 0.3 inches. Hopefully this image shows what I mean by the flanges. The parallel is hard to see but where the corner butts up is clear. It looks like the A dimension on your image is farther out than mine. Ugh, looks like I need to do some touch-up. Flash is not flattering.

Be happy to. Mine's already up on a lift, so it's easy for me to check. I just won't be able to do it until I get home from work about 7:00pm Pacific. If anyone else can get to it sooner, go for it.

I found a nearly exact match to the original at Ace Hardware, assuming all Ace Hardware have the same spring offerings. My local one has a rack of drawers with different size springs. You'll also want something to hold the spring in place and give it something to push against. I used a rubber grommet.

Yes, they have. Thank you.

Yes, I was referring to the bottom plate. My bottom plates are non-staggered, and I pulled the factory shocks out of this over 30 years ago. So, if all 4-speeds were supposed to have staggered shocks, mine has the upper mount but never had the staggered shocks installed. Like Ridge said, maybe sometimes they just grabbed what they had on hand.

I was asking more out of curiosity. Because even though mine has that upper mount, it doesn't have the shackle with the lower mount. Just the standard shock setup. Doesn't affect me moving forward. Thanks.

It's an M code 4-speed car. So would all 4-speed cars have used the staggered mount? The lower mounting plate on the shackles is set up for the front shock mount. Carefully was a bit of a joke. I guess this is what the instructions meant by "some clearance adjustment may be necessary." I'm also calling Chris Alston Chassisworks before I cut anything. It seems like they would specifically call out this step for four speed cars if it's that common.

Sorry, didn't know how to title this. In my build thread, a number of you noticed my car had big block shock towers. I was working on installing the upper rack for my TCP rear coilover suspension yesterday and it wouldn't fit. This was in the way: I'd never given it much thought before and always assumed every 69 had this staggered shock mount. (I'm pretty sure that's what it is). After a little internet digging, it looks like it was only on CJ/SCJ cars. I can understand why TCP wouldn't have engineered for this. Before I start carefully removing this, I had a couple of questions: 1 -- Is there any issue with removing it structurally? I doesn't seem to be, but I'm not overly familiar with big block cars. 2 -- Is it hurting any value? This is definitely an M code car. The VIN, data plate and build sheet all confirm this. Other than being an oddity, it doesn't seem to matter. It doesn't have any other CJ/SCJ components. 3 -- Do I need to carefully remove it? I assume this is a fairly rare piece, but enough that it could fund a few hundred bucks toward the project? Or to just keep in a box with all of the other original parts? It's solid, other than some surface rust. To get the cradle to fit, I'd just have to clearance the areas where the plate touches the frame rail and cut off part of that upper shock mount. Given that there's about 30 spot welds in it, removing will take a while. Thanks for your thoughts.

Saved up for one of these as a Christmas present to myself. Wanted it for years and wondered why I waited so long. The only thing worse that cleaning the underside is doing it on your back. Not the wheels that will be on the car, just using the wheels off my son's 2003 Mach 1 that have been sitting in my garage for two years. Cleaned off all the old undercoating and seam sealer. Removing fifty years of gunk and grime suuuuucks. Added new seam sealer. Still some more prep then prime and paint. I'm on the fence whether to add Raptor liner to the bottom. I don't expect I'll be driving it in anything but the best weather, but the liner is easy to clean and will help hide ugly welds that are coming with the subframe connectors and rear suspension.

Here is the TCP power rack installed. That sticker is coming off. Power booster rebuilt and installed. Stainless front brake lines in. Baer master and prop temporarily installed. Mounting base for hydraulic clutch mounted beneath that. From the back. It's a really nice piece. It ought to be. Probably the nicest it will ever look.