3/3/25:

I got some fiddly things accomplished:
- Installed a new headlight / parking light / turn signal assembly, as the left side unit had a rock chip in it that cracked the glass housing.
- Reinstalled the headlight trim ring - I love how these (when not smashed up) clean up the front look on a '63-'64 Dart.
- Made much progress on my custom valve cover - I have 2 small areas with pinholes to reinforce, but it is now mostly sorted and metal finished.







I still need to put the interior back together, screw down the carpet trim plates, shifter boot, trim ring and the crotch belt, as well as the shifter ball. All that is easy stuff to do.

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That looks great Greg!

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Thanks Rick!
I think I will like it as long as it does not go on a '60-'62 Car with a 225 and a Heater Box!

Any TNT for you guys yet? It seems that Elmer is cutting back a bit for the typical march schedule.

Greg

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Test & Tunes begin on the 22nd. Swap meet on the 15th though. I gave up trying to figure out what he is doing. He has 2 day weekend events almost every weekend until he gets to the Mopar weekend in May, then nothing but Saturday

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Maybe it is time for you to drive or tow up to red tank road?

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3/11/25:

I did some (re)engineering this weekend.

I bought an NRG Hub adapter for the steering wheel, I Also bought one of those steering wheel disconnects and a new wheel as the old one was well, big, old, grody and cracked. It would turn my hands black from the eroding Black Plastic on the surface.

I am not sure if I have any good pictures of the old wheel, I probably do somewhere. It was a well used Stock '64 Dart Wheel.
Here is a cute one from a while ago:


Well the hub did not have any provisons for the Horn ring / wheel contact also no way to cancel the Turn signal cam which are both super annoying and non starters for me in a street driven car. No dumbass horn button under the dash for me on this build.

I built a horn ring wheel/ donut contact from an existing part that was pulled out of a 1981 Chrysler Lebaron Station Wagon. I found that the Copper donut was really Copper plated Steel, so that made the fabrication much easier. I built a mounting ring to bolt to the back side of the NRG adapter, and welded the old MoPar Lebaron Part to it. The assembly got bolted inside the NRG adapter with plastic isolation washers on the top and bottom to keep it from grounding back against the Hub adapter / Steering shaft which is common with the chassis ground.

I also did some careful measurements of the existing turn signal cancellation nub on the factory wheel and was able to spotface and Drill the hub for a 3/16" roll pin.

It has worked well so far, but I have yet to drive the car until I get the Hood back from paint again.

Backside of the NRG 170H Hub adapter:
No Provisions for horn etc except for a wire pass-thru.


OE style wheel with Horn donut contact and a turn signal cancel pin:


1981 Chrysler Horn Donut contact: copper Plated steel. (sorry for the bad picture)



NRG hub with Soptface and drilled for 3/16" Roll pin for turn signal cancel function.


NRG Hub adapter adapter and contact donut complete.



Comparison between OE and Not OE, sorta made by me.


Install complete:

Removable as well - Will help with those pesky under dash projects!



Now that it is not so cold, snowy and deary out I cant wait to get the hood back from paint!

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Looks awesome Greg! I'm sure I don't fully understand what you did to make it functional, but that is impressive. Hard to beat something that looks that cool and works good. Well done!

...Now, can we make that application fit a truck...?

Thanks Andrew. I believe the truck column to be very similar.

I don't have an '81 or newer truck column handy, but I can check with Brian D. I am sure it has the little brass roller wheel in the turn signal mechanism to send electrical current to the horn donut like this one.

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So you're saying on your setup, the center circle with the NRG logo is the horn similar to a normal horn button - Correct?

Yes it is a horn button. Comes with that particular steering wheel and some fuddy duddy connectors to make it work

But this a really a 3 piece deal..
The hub adapter NRG part #170H
Then the quick disconnect also by NRG
Then the steering wheel which is NRG as well.

I don't have the part numbers handy for the last 2 right now.

You also can just get the hub adapter and a wheel without the using the quick disconnect.

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For those who are interested..

Here are the part #'s for all of the NRG equipment that (Hub adapter, Quick Release, and Steering Wheel with Horn Button) I installed last week:

NRG Hub Adapter SRK-170H
NRG Quick Release SRK -250BK
NRG Steering Wheel RST-380-STL-B


The hub adapter works for Chrysler (and other) products of the era - no options for a functional wheel mounted Horn circuit (as used on ~1962-1980's Chrysler Products) but there is a wire passthru compartment. (No turn signal cancellation function or functioning horn button capabilities as in a stock wheel without modifications.)

The Quick release has provisions for keeping a wheel mounted horn button and does not require any modifications. Nice part, avail. in many colors - I got the black part.
The wheel is a 380mm ⌀ (14.95") comes with a horn button that works as factory when properly connected on my car when other modifications are made as stated in the posts above.

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As always, great stuff Greg!

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Thanks Dennis, Hopefully you enjoy my documentation of the trials and tribulations here.

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3/17/25:

No painted hood back from the body shop yet.

So I did a few other things:

Finished the Valve cover - lots of little welds and some metal finishing, then painting.


Installed on the car:


Good thing I was able to finish that project as the Valve cover that I put on there temporarily was getting nicked by the rocker arm adjustment screw:


I Had ordered variable rate rear springs and then installed them.
The 4 link kit originally came with 175#/Inch Springs which I felt were too soft.
Then I ordered 200#/Inch which were great, but still saggy when loaded with the tongue weight of the trailer, and a trunk full of stuff and a full fuel tank.

So I am going to try these - 175#/300# Inch Rate Springs. The rate is supposed to increase as load is applied, so maybe I will not have to futz around with changing spring heights so often when towing etc.




200 Rate on the Right: - Constant Coil wind Distance
175/300 Rate on the Left: - Coil winds get closer toward the top and more open on the bottom.


The removal / install was easy with the lift.
I put some silver anti-seize on the adjusting bits, but I should look into those spring seat bearings.

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