MrMopar's 1969 California Highway Patrol restoration

Well i guess i had taken photos of the exhaust that was on my Blue 71 before i replaced it. Being from oregon and Washington state the first 30 years of her life the was nothing wrong with the system, solid end to end.
Installing the HP manifolds required the change
 
Back then, we were doing exhaust systems at 50k miles.

This car had 165k when parked. My 1970 Dodge D200 has its original mufflers with 80k, my other Polara had a new muffler installed shortly after I got it, shop said it looked to be original, replaced as fitting rusted through, car had 60k on it.
Of course I was forgetting that this was Coastal New England...
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Interesting to note that the pipes are 2 and 1/4in in diameter, i remember talking to an older muffler shop fitter years ago when i had a charger and was looking to put in a big diameter system he recommending to stick to this same size for performance reasons, he explained that the diameter gave just the right back pressure for the engine to perform its best in its factory form.
 
One thing I need is a junction/terminal block. This one is on loan from a friend and was pulled off of a CHP car.
Any information on this would be helpful. Manufacture, other industries that may have used them, source?

I just need more information to have a chance of tracking one down.

Thanks,

Alan

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I'm very good at electrical archeology but I need everything printed on it.
Then again finding an electrical component today that was used 40+ years ago...

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I'm very good at electrical archeology but I need everything printed on it.
Then again finding an electrical component today that was used 40+ years ago...

If it was that easy I'd probably already have one, what you see is what you get.

It is about 3" overall in length.

I'm guess it may have millitary origins/applications, possibly made by Cole Hersee or Leece Neville.

There are no identifiers on this part, stampings, printed or otherwise.


Thanks,

Alan
 
That thing is as generic and universal as they come.
Can't be military if there's no identifiers.
Looks like something the garage bought locally when they were wiring up something. What was that juction block used in the wiring of?

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They installed these on every car for most of the 60's (recycled from one year to the next).

It was mounted on the driverside wheel liner. They would cut the battery cable about 15" back and put lugs on each end, these would go on the large post where they would then run a 4 gauge cable up to the passengerside core support where there was a starter solenoid that activated the siren (which is a starter motor).

This particular piece was a salvage and was sandblasted.


Alan
 
I recently sent a bunch of parts to Phoenix Specialty Coatings for powder coating, all the stuff I had at the time that was satin black was sent.
I just got them back and I am very happy with the finish and quality.

http://phoenixspecialtycoatings.com/

This is the second job I had her do and I can't say enough about the customer service and workmanship.

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Alan
 
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I have also been cleaning up many of the other small parts, most of these will receive rattle can finishes.

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Alan
 
This is the most metticulate restoration I have ever had the fortune to follow along with.
I am hooked.
 
This is the most metticulate restoration I have ever had the fortune to follow along with.
I am hooked.

Thanks,

The level of decay and weathering has forced me to be meticulous, most everything has some level of surface rust on them. So I see no easier way to do this other than tear it down and detail everything. I have taken the time to sort out what parts were body color and which ones were satin black, I have seen other CHP restorations that got this wrong.

Many of the parts that I am detailing are more about cleaning them up but if you need to repaint something you might as well do it right.


Alan
 
Thanks for sharing this. I really appreciate it as well. :)

The internet is great for sharing restos as they take place!
 
I have a couple updates.

There was some recent talk here about using vinegar to clean parts and I thought I'd give it a try. The door latch mechanisms were something that badly needed cleaning and I didn't thing sandblasting was a good idea. at first I dropped the mechanisms in a bucket with the low grade stuff from the market and after a day I went over the parts with a wire brush and put them back for another day. The next day I pulled the parts and they were tacky as I think all the grease from in the mechanisms broke down and coated the parts. So some fresh vinegar was put in the bucket and another day.

This time the parts were clean, a little scrubbing and I set them aside to dry after rinsing in a bucket with baking soda water in it. With the parts basically dry I dunked them in WD-40 and placed them on a sheet of cardboard to dry. The next day I wiped them down and put them aside.

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I still had some parts to do, some more door latch mechanisms but this time I let them sit over night in carb cleaner first. Still two days in one bucket wire brushing after each day moving them to a second cleaner bucket for another two days. The big difference was not going through the vinegar as quickly and less scrubbing each time.

Next up and more importantly is I got the engine block and heads back from the machine shop. I am really happy with the workmanship and eager to start the assembly. I have never assembled an engine so YouTube here I come, no wait I am not that stupid, I have a good friend that has agreed to help.

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One good thing about getting the engine is that it is paid for and now I can focus on the next big expenses like suspension and the transmission.


Alan
 
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Nice work. I started using vinegar as well, since the evapo rust was getting expensive. I found that a first soak in purple cleaner does a de-greasing and then a three day soak in vinegar takes care of the rest. I found the 6% concentrate in Wal Mart. It's marked as "cleaning" vinegar, but it's a dollar more than the 5% grade.
 
I am enjoying following this post. MrMoparCHP, will you coming up to the Pismo or Arroyo Grande car shows list year? I`ll be at both with the Newport. Would love to talk mopar with yah!
 
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