Great thread Alan! I have no reason to ever complain about the shape my car is in after reading this. Wow are you determined and have ambition! The work you've done is amazing and I can't wait to see this one on the road again.
MrMopar's 1969 California Highway Patrol restoration
- Thread starter MrMoparCHP
- Start date
I was recently talking with another owner of a 69 CHP Polara about this bracket and he said his doesn't have it.
The bracket is on the rear of the left head to hold the battery cable. It was originaly painted with the engine and I have chose not to, I still need to paint the bolt, this was only put on for the picture. Is this a standard bracket on C-Body 440's?
Before...
Alan
My logic goes like this: If the bracket was originally painted engine orange, then the bolts holding it on would be also. If you're choosing to paint the bracket black, that suggests that it was (obviously) painted off/away from the engine. Any other brackets painted black and attached to the engine after the engine was painted would have used bolts that were just in their natural finish from the bolt vendor. So I'm thinking to specifically answer your question, the bolts you want to attach this bracket would not be painted either.
I guess I'm just surprised that you've chosen to paint the bracket black instead of engine colour. All through this thread I've been impressed with the effort you're putting in to getting this car as EXACT as possible to its in service condition. Care to share your thoughts on the change ?
This plastic clip on the bracket suggests that there's a companion/mating part that has been taped to the battery cable to allow the cable to be fastened up there. My "guess" is that its purpose is to keep the cable off or away from the exhaust manifold to prevent melting the outer sheathing and prevent either a fire or an electrical short.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Did they change the location of the starter relay slab to fusie then figured they did not need it later?
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
My plan is the give the bolt a natural finish, just haven't done it. I chose to deviate on painting things like this as I saw no reason for it to be painted at the time the engine is painted, I chose to only pant the items engine color that needed to be on the engine to facilitate torqueing, I do not chose to paint/overspray hoses and ground wires, distributor and normally the fuel pump. I also do not chose the paint/overspray the exhaust manifold as it only looks that way for a short time. If the exhaust heat shields didn't have to go on with he head bolts I probably would have left them black.
My choice to deviate on small details is right up there with having that super shiny paint job yea not factory but it look good and it is how the factory should have done it.
At this point I'm not even sure it was engine color, I set it off for powder coating over a year ago and I do not recall weather it was painted of not. You can not definitely tell from this picture which is the best one I have of it.
I often describe my choice as it is how the designers wanted it but production got lazy.
The purpose of the bracket and clip was not in question. I have no doubts that it is factory. The only question is weather it was a late thing or what. My friends 69 CHP car didn't have it, yes it may have been lost over the years. I was just curious if anybody has seen one like this, I see it as an oddity which just makes me more curious.
Add that to the existence of the remnants of a tag riveted to the block and the build date being a couple weeks after the scheduled build date of the car just compound the puzzle. These are the things that intrigue me about restoring a car. My choices to paint some this a little different will not loose me a show and being correct will not win me a show, I'm never going to compete at that level.
Alan
Not sure that production was being lazy, it was likely more along the lines of job/task distribution, or what I'd heard called "line indexing". If a particular guy's tasks during the assembly cycle gave him the time and there was space at his work station, the time study guys would have said "OK, let this guy put on that bracket on the back of the left cylinder head". There likely was a broadcast sheet just for the engine that would have included installation of this bracket, and whether or not a particular engine got the bracket was a matter of did the guy read the broadcast sheet? Read it and ignore what it said? Lots of possibilities here. As to whether or not the engine should have had it, the parts book is probably the best place to get an answer unless somebody's got the '69 Trenton Engine/Mound Road graphics books. I sure don't, but I wish I did.
Not sure I can find someone to ask, but my guesstimate on the riveted tag is that its from a rebuilder. You're probably in a better position to know what CHPs practises were with regard to replacing blown engines in pursuit vehicles. Did Chrysler provide them? Did they go to a local area rebuilder? In the end, cost was likely the most motivating factor. How do the casting dates on the major engine pieces (block, heads, intake) match up to the engine and car build date?
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
I looked through the parts book in engine and electrical but could not find it (doesn't mean it isn't there).
This IS the engine that left the factory in this car, it is NOT a replacement engine.
The VIN on this engine was stamped at the same time as the transmission AT THE FACTORY! and is a 100% match for die impression, spacing rotation, skew...
There in lies the question! Why was that tag there?
Alan
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
Well I had my brake hold off valve checked and it was bad so I looked at what was available out there and could only find replacements with a different bracket. One was ordered through Inline Tube and I set out to swap brackets.
Here is the valve installed prior to removing it...
and the replacement (with the rivets already removed).
a side by side comparison of the two.
So what I did was drill the existing holes in the new block out (part way) so they could be tapped.
The removed new rivets were cut down and glued back in.
The new block was then attached to the original bracket with a couple screws (1/4-20, the smallest I could use with the existing holes).
installed.
I doubt anybody will see the screws or the differences in the blocks.
Alan
Here is the valve installed prior to removing it...
and the replacement (with the rivets already removed).
a side by side comparison of the two.
So what I did was drill the existing holes in the new block out (part way) so they could be tapped.
The removed new rivets were cut down and glued back in.
The new block was then attached to the original bracket with a couple screws (1/4-20, the smallest I could use with the existing holes).
installed.
I doubt anybody will see the screws or the differences in the blocks.
Alan
Last edited:
Beep Beep Dave
Senior Member
Thanks I just read threw the 29 pages. Keep up the great work and thanks for bringing this one back to life. The car really seems to be coming along nicely.
Dave
Dave
bulldogchesty
Senior Member
Nice work.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
That is some nice work and a lot of it for a part that is really not needed. Good job looks correct.
Fury Pursuit
Senior Member
Alan, the answer to your question is found in the "Dodge Engine Equipment Assembly Manual", and not in the "parts book". This will show you EVERY part EVER installed on a Dodge engine, weather it was a fleet option or a "standard" factory part, and it will list the part number.
This is THE manual that the factory line workers used to assemble EVERY Dodge engine to build sheet codes.
The 69 CHP Polara that I have access to sadly does not have this bracket, which is only worth that.
Take this buffet style, take what you want and leave the rest.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
I'm assuming this is it, I have seen it on ebay before so I just got one.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400618347871
Alan
This is Faxon's cherry picking of the engine graphics books. Fury Pursuit is right. These are THE place to check every imaginable detail on the assembly of the engine - part numbers, fastener torques, assembly sequence. I have not seen one of these books in person so I don't know how well they've been reproduced. But every page should have a change block in the bottom right corner. Note also that these books show PRODUCTION part numbers and not SERVICE part numbers. Production part numbers will be in the graphics books. Service part numbers will be in the parts catalogues.
Fury Pursuit
Senior Member
Nice move, I'm sure you will find it useful to your restoration.
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
I collect literature and it apears this is just a compilation of parts book and service books. If I see no value in it I'll pass it on.
In talking with a good friend of mine that seams to know the 440 c-bodies pretty well indicated that the cable bracket is standard on c-bodies only, I didn't get a year span. He also indicated that it should be black.
Alan
polara71
Old Man with a Hat
Alan, you need to talk with Krautmaster on the Drydock. He was a mechanic for the CHP , Odds are he's worked on your car.
Fury Pursuit
Senior Member
Alan, it's not a compilation of parts and service books. It's a reproduction, albeit sometimes horrible quality, of the original factory assembly documents. You may find it useful or you may not. Like I said before, take it buffet style, take what you want; leave the rest.
I've had a few C-body 440 cars e.g., Sport Fury GT's, Hursts 300's, Pursuit cars etc, etc, never seen that bracket before, but that doesn't mean much I suppose.
Good luck with your CHP. Nice work.
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