00:00 [MUSIC]
00:06 Man, one day I'm gonna get my Demon back on the road.
00:09 We're gonna go out and score chicks.
00:11 It's gonna be so cool.
00:12 [SOUND]
00:14 >> Oil rule.
00:17 >> Dan Hotrock Garage, we're going back to high school.
00:19 [MUSIC]
00:29 [MUSIC]
00:39 Today on Hotrock Garage presented by Lincoln Tech, we're gonna do something I
00:48 have been waiting like 20 years to do, and
00:50 that is to turn my '71 Dodge Demon into a reliable street machine.
00:53 Now as you know, I had this thing in high school, but
00:55 it seemed like every time I got behind the wheel it exploded.
00:57 And I spent way more time under the hood than I did behind the wheel, and
01:01 I'm hoping to finally change that.
01:03 We've just gotta do a couple things to get this thing back on the street.
01:06 That is dropping the new engine that's fresh from the machine shop,
01:09 do a rear big bolt axle upgrade and rear disc brake conversion.
01:13 And then we're gonna fit this thing for some rad wheels and tires.
01:15 First, saddle up and let Clarence Barnes take you to knowledge time with this
01:18 quick tech tip from Lincoln Tech.
01:19 [MUSIC]
01:25 Hey, you know, this time let's talk about prepping TIG welding electrodes.
01:28 You know, if you don't have an expensive electrode sharpening machine,
01:32 you can prep electrodes on a belt sander or grinding wheel.
01:35 Now, a diamond wheel lasts the longest, and you wanna make sure you hold
01:39 the electrode parallel to the wheel,
01:41 keeping the grind marks running the length of the electrode.
01:44 This helps the weld current flow through the electrode to the workpiece.
01:48 Now, we don't recommend sharpening the electrode against a disc sander,
01:52 because the spinning action will put swirl marks onto the electrode.
01:55 This makes the arc wander as the current flows around the electrode instead of
01:59 straight through it.
02:00 The electrode should have a point at the end,
02:02 similar to a pencil, that is two and a half times its diameter.
02:06 This works well for steel, stainless steel, or chrome moly material.
02:09 You could spin the electrode by hand or using a drill motor for
02:13 a more precise point.
02:14 Now, if you're welding aluminum, add one more step to the process.
02:18 Just grind the point off the electrode, and you're ready to weld.
02:21 Lincoln Tech can teach you how to have a career working with cars.
02:25 See lincolntech.edu.
02:27 [MUSIC]
02:33 >> Okay, so we're here at the back of the car.
02:35 And so we can get these original skinnies off the back of this thing in order of
02:38 some cool big wheels and tires.
02:40 I've gotta get this thing set up for a big bolt pattern.
02:42 Now, the A-body never came with a big bolt pattern eight and three quarter.
02:46 That means getting some aftermarket Moser axles, sliding them in here, and
02:49 figuring out a brake system that will work with this.
02:51 Now, I looked into getting drums off an E-body or a B-body, which we'll bolt on.
02:55 It was only an extra 20 bucks or so more to get this right stuff disc brake
02:59 upgrade conversion kit, so that's what's gonna go on here.
03:01 First thing we're gonna do is pull all this old stuff off and get to work.
03:05 [MUSIC]
03:16 Okay, so I've got the big bolt Moser axle on the press.
03:27 I've got the new green bearing mocked up on there, and
03:30 I've got the bearing retainer plate in place between the two.
03:32 Now, if you don't get that bearing plate in place and press it all together,
03:36 you're gonna be in bad shape because this is what holds it all together and
03:38 it has to go on now.
03:40 They go to Harbor Freight and they buy a press for like 130 bucks when it's on sale.
03:44 And then you either pay probably 50 bucks to have these pressed on or
03:47 go buy a press yourself and use it forever.
03:51 [MUSIC]
03:53 There it is.
03:54 [MUSIC]
03:56 So I've got the bearing pressed on to the new Moser axle.
03:59 All I have to do now is install these wheel studs, so
04:02 I will put a coating of anti-seize on them to minimize any kind of binding.
04:07 They come through.
04:09 Some washers and a nut and an impact gun.
04:13 Get those things pulled right into place.
04:15 [MUSIC]
04:25 Okay, so I've got the axle all fully assembled now.
04:29 There is a small spacer and new gasket that I have to go on.
04:32 The spacer is part of the Right Stuff disc brake kit.
04:34 That's gonna space everything outward so
04:37 that everything lines up once it's bolted together.
04:39 I'm gonna toss some of these in to place.
04:43 [MUSIC]
04:51 All right, so the next step is to bolt up the caliper brackets to the axle we just
04:55 put on, hang that rotor, bolt the caliper onto the brackets, and
04:58 then make the brake hoses and emergency brake cables work with the car.
05:02 Then we can go ahead and measure for some cool wheels and tires.
05:04 [MUSIC]
05:09 Man, these parts I'm holding in my hands can stop a car.
05:14 They're like Superman.
05:15 They're like little metal Supermans.
05:16 [MUSIC]
05:26 Now that the Moser Big Bolt axle upgrade is done and
05:36 the Right Stuff rear disc brake conversion is handled,
05:39 we can start talking about fun stuff,
05:40 which is gonna be fitting wheels and tires to my Demon.
05:42 Now wheels and tires are everything on a car.
05:45 They totally define the character and the style, and not just what they are, but
05:49 how they fit.
05:49 Now on this car, the original wheels are too small, they're not cool, and
05:54 they wouldn't clear the brakes, and don't bolt on anymore anyway.
05:57 I love the idea that there's all of this rad QA1 suspension stuff
06:01 underneath the car.
06:02 I want it to look like it was running around Detroit in the summer of 1978,
06:06 pretty much.
06:07 Keep in mind, you wanna figure out offset or backspacing.
06:10 You wanna figure out overall diameter of the wheel and tire combination.
06:14 And then you wanna think about things like brake clearance and
06:16 fender clearance.
06:17 First thing you wanna do when you're measuring is set the car at ride height.
06:20 So to do that, I pull the torsion bar out and
06:22 use the pole jack to set it where it needs to be.
06:24 After I did that, I used a little vice grip and a plumb bob, and
06:28 I set a line directly from the outside of the fender straight down.
06:31 So what I'm gonna do is measure from the wheel mounting surface to that line, and
06:34 that's gonna be about as far out as I can push a wheel and tire.
06:37 And then from there, I'm going to measure from the string to what we call our first
06:40 point of contact.
06:42 That's anything that's gonna get rubbed on on the suspension by the wheel and tire.
06:45 So that, for me, is this upper arm.
06:47 I take that measurement, that's about gonna be the overall width I can fit in there.
06:51 Considering the measurements that I took off of this car,
06:53 I figure I'm gonna use about a seven inch wide rim and about three and
06:56 three quarter inch backspacing on that to fit well and
06:59 keep it nice and flush with the fender.
07:01 Now you may not have heard backspacing or understand what it is.
07:04 I'm gonna explain that to you cuz you're gonna need to know what that means
07:06 when you order a set of wheels and tires.
07:08 So backspacing and offset are actually both terms for the same thing, and
07:11 that is determining where the wheel mounting surface is in relationship to
07:15 the overall barrel of the wheel.
07:17 Now that means if you have an eight inch wide wheel with a zero offset,
07:21 that's gonna put the mounting surface directly in the center of that eight inch
07:24 wide wheel, that would give you four inches of backspacing.
07:27 Now as things move outward, backspacing will increase.
07:29 Let's say it is three inches on this side and five on that side.
07:32 That's five inches of backspacing.
07:33 That's going to be a negative.
07:35 [MUSIC]
07:37 Oops, excuse me, that's positive.
07:39 But it would be one inch of positive offset.
07:41 As things move backwards, you'll have less backspacing and more offset.
07:46 Okay, so these are the wheels I've picked.
07:48 These are Bassett D-hole, kinda NASCAR style wheels.
07:51 They are dirt cheap.
07:52 They're like 60 bucks a piece.
07:54 They're strong, they're awesome, and they're now DOT legal, so
07:56 you can run them on the street.
07:57 It's a total circle track look.
07:59 I think it's super cool.
08:01 And like I said, you can get them in all sorts of different sizes.
08:03 Now I picked a 15 by 7 with 3 3/4 inch backspacing for the front of the wheel.
08:08 And that means I have 3 3/4 inch from this lip to the mounting surface.
08:13 And on the front, I have 3 1/4 inch.
08:16 So now that we've got these wheels figured out, we're gonna get perfect size tires for
08:20 these things, mount it on, put them on the car, and see how it looks.
08:23 [MUSIC]
08:33 [MUSIC]
08:43 Okay, so first impressions of this thing on the ground,
08:57 I think it looks awesome.
08:59 I'm really happy with the way we fitted the wheels and tires.
09:01 They fill up the wheel wells really nicely, and I love the 70s stance.
09:05 It's gonna look legit and old school, but it shouldn't perform really well.
09:09 You know it's sitting just right, right now?
09:11 Well, we actually had to load a bunch of sandbags in the engine bay,
09:14 because if you recall, that engine is out getting repaired.
09:16 We did have a small issue where it sort of exploded and seized up.
09:19 Yeah, you can see it's all torn up.
09:21 Hot, not hot.
09:23 The main damage looks like the crankshaft journals here and
09:26 these two rod bearings that really took a beating here.
09:29 Took it to a machine shop, they confirmed it's an oil contamination issue.
09:32 We've got a new crank, rod, and all bearings in there now, and
09:35 it should be good to go.
09:37 And next thing we're gonna do, drop it in, connect everything, fire it up, and
09:41 take it out on the road.
09:42 [MUSIC]
09:57 Once we got the new engine back from the machine shop, we dropped the subframe,
10:00 loaded the engine on, and put everything back up in the car.
10:02 [MUSIC]
10:12 Let me help you with that.
10:25 [SOUND]
10:28 >> The heavy duty clutch you got is heavy duty,
10:30 is that what you're saying?
10:31 >> Yep.
10:33 >> Then we hot wired it with just the essentials to get it fired up, so
10:36 we could break that camshaft in.
10:37 [MUSIC]
10:40 Then we went ahead and hooked up all the accessories,
10:42 really put this thing together for a final assembly.
10:45 And if it fires up and sounds good, I can drive it out of here and
10:48 have some fun on the streets.
10:49 [MUSIC]
10:58 You ready, Lucky?
10:58 [MUSIC]
11:01 All right, do it.
11:02 [MUSIC]
11:10 Hell yeah.
11:11 There she is.
11:13 Mm, that sounds awesome.
11:15 [MUSIC]
11:25 [SOUND]
11:55 We are up in the canyons in Malibu, and since this thing sounds pretty healthy.
11:59 [SOUND]
12:02 And the QA1 suspension with the subframe, the front arms, and
12:05 that trick six link in the rear feels super tight.
12:08 And the car seems close, and the timing is nice.
12:11 I'm gonna start taking this thing for a bit of a spirited drive.
12:14 [MUSIC]
12:24 [SOUND]
12:34 Mm, this car is fun to drive.
12:52 [MUSIC]
13:02 This feels pretty creepy.
13:14 I think that's about it for this episode of How My Garage is Ended by Lincoln Tech.
13:18 Thanks to everybody that helped put this car together.
13:20 Thanks to year one and QA1 for all the parts.
13:23 It feels awesome to have this thing running and back on the road.
13:26 Don't forget to check us out on social media.
13:27 Facebook is Hot Rod Garage Show.
13:29 You can check me out on Instagram at tangelo96.
13:31 You can follow the show at Hot Rod Garage Show on Instagram.
13:34 We'll see you next time.
13:36 We should get out of here before the cops come.
13:37 [MUSIC]
13:47,
13:57 bam.
14:07 [MUSIC]
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