That thing is gonna be sweet! Actually really like the BRG color scheme. Cant wait to see it done.
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The Willomet Charger
- Thread starter AgDieseler
- Start date
A desecration to Mopar nuts everywhere, this is my protouring, LS-powered, 1970 Dodge Charger; built at my shop, Willomet Motor & Fabrication.
It looks like your front seats are the backseat lol.
Looks awesome
Looks awesome
Thanks man. Me too. I’m curious to see how the fbbo crowd responds.
I sure hope so. I was talking with my friend that does paint and body, and he’s excited to block sand to perfection. He definitely gets the vision.
The green is “goodwood green”...the Corvette version of BRG.
I thought the same on the first view. It takes a minute for the brain to adjust, but I wanted to showcase the planned interior detail more fully.
David
Be sure to remind the mopar guys when they get pissy about the LS swap that the color is from a Corvette. Nice touch.
Big day today.
The car has a sponsor, and it's getting a fat dose of pro-touring growth hormone straight to the jugular. I'll cut out my last 18 months of work to install their full chassis, tin kit, and suspensions. This is a most perfect example of the "tuition pile", as I never would have had the credibility to work with these folks without first building my own junk. I have a lot of content to deliver for my end of this partnership, and will continue to keep this thread updated as we go.
Lots of work ahead, and wanted y'all to see it before the instagram folks.
David
The car has a sponsor, and it's getting a fat dose of pro-touring growth hormone straight to the jugular. I'll cut out my last 18 months of work to install their full chassis, tin kit, and suspensions. This is a most perfect example of the "tuition pile", as I never would have had the credibility to work with these folks without first building my own junk. I have a lot of content to deliver for my end of this partnership, and will continue to keep this thread updated as we go.
Lots of work ahead, and wanted y'all to see it before the instagram folks.
David
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Congrats! I am interested to see how their chassis components compare to the battleship you were building.
Curious...did they approach you to sponsor or the other way around? How's that work?
Congrats David!
That is really a cool update, and yes, I believe you now hold the honor of single-largest tuition pile contribution!
I’m sure it’s somewhat bittersweet given all the thought and effort that you’d personally invested. But ultimately having s great sponsor who can bring their own formidable resources to the build helps to make the decision easier.
FORWARD!
-G
Wow...
Surprises galore. The work you put into the chassis so far was turning out great. I had a feeling the networking done at SEMA was going to bring some industry interest but this is huge. Congratulations.
I was looking forward to see where your progress was going to go with it. This just opens up so much though. I figure it was tough to make the biggest donation to the tuition pile, but engineering and experience of a shop like that will make this all the better. This should ramp up the speed of the build. Plus I'm sure there will be the Willomet level of detail and finish to everything.
Great work dude.
Surprises galore. The work you put into the chassis so far was turning out great. I had a feeling the networking done at SEMA was going to bring some industry interest but this is huge. Congratulations.
I was looking forward to see where your progress was going to go with it. This just opens up so much though. I figure it was tough to make the biggest donation to the tuition pile, but engineering and experience of a shop like that will make this all the better. This should ramp up the speed of the build. Plus I'm sure there will be the Willomet level of detail and finish to everything.
Great work dude.
I am curious as well. The first time I read the post I didn't fully realize that you'll be throwing out all of your work to replace with theirs. I'm curious how that process played out. For sure exciting, but it had to be a tough decision.
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Dave, this is great news brother, I’m so happy that these guys are wanting to be apart of your build, because of your tenacity, attention to detail and ability to articulate your position on products and represent their brands in the best way is why you are where you are..
Much appreciated. It will almost certainly be lighter, but I don’t think by a huge margin. It’s all going to be .120 structural tubing. I was using a mix of .120 and .075.
It’s a big upgrade, no doubt.
I was introduced by a friend on Trail to SEMA, and developed my own relationship from there. We had 5 months of conversations and I continued to build the chassis as a showcase of work, and they elected to provide a whole chassis rather than the front and rear suspensions I initially inquired about. I wrote a very detailed proposal covering 33 weeks of assembly and integration, and we came to an agreement.
It’s a dance.
Thank you, sir. Forward always!
It took less than a minute for me to get right with cutting out the existing work. The objective has always been to do the most right thing for the car, and this was it. It doesn’t make sense to prioritize my ego over the car.
Thanks man. Chris Alston is all detail, so he and I speak the same language. I know I’m working with the right folks, and I think he feels the same. Really good team over there.
It’s a big step for the business, for me personally, and for the car.
Tough, but not hard.
I was resistant/defensive in my mind for only a moment. When I game planned out the floors, bulkheads, suspension systems, and brake kits that come with the chassis, it quickly made sense.
I have a few close advisors that validated my thinking, and I put everything I had into the proposal to demonstrate my seriousness.
Really appreciate those kind words.
Candidly, I’m extremely fortunate. I have a fantastic day job that lets me focus on project quality and maintain fidelity to my vision. It’s my network of friends (largely from Trail to SEMA) that encouraged me to go this route, and continue to be coaches and partners.
Kris Miller at Powerstop connected me to Jason Lewis, Tiffany Stone, Ian Johnson, and Matt and Nate at BleepinJeep. Jason was my connection to Chris Alston Sr, and as one of the original creators and producers of Roadkill, is my video editing sensei. Tiffany has spent 20 years in front of a camera, and is a fount of knowledge for managing a brand that’s tied to your face, something with which I’m inherently uncomfortable. Ian has been a great sounding board and general advocate, and Matt and Nate are continual sources of encouragement. I’m grateful to have that group of folks who want to see me succeed, and helped me tap into something I didn’t know I could do, or that was even an option for regular guys like me.
But remember, my whole process of “posting my junk on the internet” started here on CK5.
David
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Congrats man! This will provide tons of new opportunities for you and the car. Itll take the car from awesome to epic.
A great attitude David....doing what’s best in the interest of the car to achieve the desired result. You know what it takes to achieve that goal with your tuition pile. I have no doubt the results would have been very well done and performed well, but quite often, when work is done, there are many things that would change given the opportunity to do it again.
Using other products that have been down that road many times before can be a better investment in the long run.
Using other products that have been down that road many times before can be a better investment in the long run.
Remember, if you’re gonna do that you have to have a “premium IG” so guys can pay for the dirty pics.
I agree. One minute into a conversation with Alston Sr, and you know you’re working with a dude that has a deep knowledge of racecar fabrication. I’m comfortable acknowledging the superiority of the new chassis and associated systems.
I’ll post all the dirt.
David
That’s awesome news!!
Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Here’s a real life update. I’ve been measuring for this chassis for the last two weeks, and created my third and (likely) final version of the build sheets last night. Not surprisingly, there’s more to it than slapping the tape measure on the frame table. In total, I needed to complete two worksheets and markup one assembly drawing:
Front fender on, 305 at ride height 6" below the rocker. I had to cut the internal fender bracing to fit. The front suspension is pushed forward by 1.5".
For reference, max stuff with the original inner fender. These are commonly cut to fit anything larger than a 285.
Cut and at ride height, level to the front. I'll dial in the suspension stance much later in the process, as everything has to be built level to the frame table.
This is my "evaluation pose". I'm trying to relocate the tire in the center of the wheel arch. Originally, the axle was pushed fairly far back in the slot, which I think was a styling consideration so the fender swept down and over a larger portion of the rear sidewall. I prefer the tire to be centered, because it satisfies my OCD. To achieve that, the rear axle moved forward 1.75". Wheelbase is planned at 116.75".
I'm headed to pickup a whole mess of 3" square tube so I can brace up the unibody externally and begin the cutting.
David
- Front crossmember and suspension worksheet - determines the width of the crossmember, rack and pinion, standard or wide track A arm, and a handful of small assembly details
- Rear suspension and Fab9 worksheet - determines wide of the rear frame rails and axle housing and the location of suspension pickup points
- 68-72 Chevelle assembly drawing - they don't have a b-body Mopar drawing (yet), so I'm marking up their largest GM assembly drawing for length, width, etc. It's interesting how similar the Charger and Chevelle are in a few key dimensions.
Front fender on, 305 at ride height 6" below the rocker. I had to cut the internal fender bracing to fit. The front suspension is pushed forward by 1.5".
For reference, max stuff with the original inner fender. These are commonly cut to fit anything larger than a 285.
Cut and at ride height, level to the front. I'll dial in the suspension stance much later in the process, as everything has to be built level to the frame table.
This is my "evaluation pose". I'm trying to relocate the tire in the center of the wheel arch. Originally, the axle was pushed fairly far back in the slot, which I think was a styling consideration so the fender swept down and over a larger portion of the rear sidewall. I prefer the tire to be centered, because it satisfies my OCD. To achieve that, the rear axle moved forward 1.75". Wheelbase is planned at 116.75".
I'm headed to pickup a whole mess of 3" square tube so I can brace up the unibody externally and begin the cutting.
David
