Hello Everyone

[chgrsteve67]

Where to start???

I'm Steve out in Sunny CA. I got a teardrop trailer on the brain found this forum and though I would join and maybe ask a few questions.

Been working on a 1967 Dodge Charger that should be done by middle of next year and plan on doing a little cruising around the country and maybe a visit to Canada. I don't plan on cramming all of mine and the Wifes crap in the Charger so I'm going to attach a small trailer. Utility trailers look ugly (generally speaking) and I really like the look of the teardrops.

I looked at a lonely teardrop for sale locally. It is 10 years old and needs a moderate amount of work (suspecting the plywood in the sides needs replacing, all of the weather stripping is gone, frame has lots of surface rust and so on). Offered the seller $1,200 but he was set on $1,500 figure for a few more dollars I can build my own and have a new trailer built to my specifications.

Anyways I wanted to say hi and I'll try not to be a bother.

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Steve. Good save on the money if it was damaged.

We love answering quesions, and some of the answers might even be right! We also nag for pictures cause they keep the bubble oil level.

[Mike C.]

Hi Steve,


Welcome to the forum. 1967 Dodge Charger, huh? Got any pictures? We love pictures here. When you start building your trailer, we like to see pictures, so we can keep up with your progress. If you have questions, just ask. We like questions too.


See you around.

[chgrsteve67]

Thanks for the welcome.

I have had my Charger a while and have been rebuilding it actively for the last 5 or so years. I'm just wrapping the rest of the mechanical and electrical work having just the fine tuning of the Fuel Injection system left. I'm in the process of taking all of the trim and interior out so it can be media blasted, body work done and painted. This will be a good time to build the trailer and do the hitch work so the trailer can be painted at the same time as the car.

Pictures of my Charger after a Fuel Injection tuning session last weekend.
(Pictures Removed)

This is what it will look like after its painted
(Pictures Removed)
There is not much left that is original, almost everything except the body has been replaced and even the body has been modified to make it more ridged.

Finding time is the hardest part. I use my uncles garage since I live in a track home there just is not enough space to work on these kind of projects. Also the neighbors get a little pissed of with the noise of power tools and motors running. I try to allocate 1 day a week to work on my projects, just trying to keep them moving forward. There is also the money thing too along with keeping the wife happy.

I also participate in a local car club which usually has one event a month I try to attend along with their doing their web site administration and maintenance.
http://www.capitalptcruisers.org/MainPage.html

Here is me with the wife.
(Pictures Removed)

And my car at night time car shows.
(Pictures Removed)

We do several fund raisers a year for the local community along with parades, ending the year with a big Toys 4 Tots event to collect toys for the kids.
http://www.capitalptcruisers.org/Events ... Tots07.htm
Maybe get a few teardrop in on the fun in the future?

I'm trying to think of a way to implement a paint scheme that will work on the trailer so I can use it with both the Charger and the PT for shows and events. Problem is my PT is almost 9 years old and has well over 100,000 miles on it. It may not be around in two years and I really like the new Challengers and Cameros that are coming out. Sticking with polished aluminum with a lower black stripe like the Charger may just be the way to go.

I posted a thread about the trailer I'm thinking about building but it hasn't gotten any responses yet.
http://tnttt.com/viewto ... highlight=

At least I have time. Got lots of that.

Steve (Wow - I don't normal talk that much )

[Mike C.]

Wow Steve,

That is one sweet looking ride. What size engine does it have? I really miss the old muscle cars.

Thanks for the pictures and info.

[chgrsteve67]

Its a 6.3L 383 V8 with a Tremec 5 speed and a 3.55 sure grip rear end
The car Dyno'ed at 245 HP and 319 foot pounds of torque at the rear wheels with a 4 speed and 600 cfm Holly carb.

After I'm done tuning the fuel injection I will put it back on the dyno to see how she does. The fuel injection system is a 700 cfm system and the trany is all aluminum with about 30 years of newer technology so I won't have as much Horse Power lost through the drive train.

Ultimately the above doesn't really mater, what matters is the Charger can roast the hell out of the tires.

[doug hodder]

Welcome aboard! There are a bunch of us teardroppers just up HWY 50 in the P-ville area! Doug

[chgrsteve67]

My cousin lives in P-ville just off of Missouri Flat Road, in fact I will be heading up there Friday for a birthday party.

Got any good supply places in P-ville for tears?
Trying to figure out what the Aluminum is going to cost me.

[satch]

One BAD ASS ride.I will be looking for it when I'm down in the Grove area.

[doug hodder]

Got any good supply places in P-ville for tears?

Nope! We have freight costs built in on everything coming out of Sac. Allied RV in Sac has a complete store of all sorts of goodies. Marvs in Rancho has a complete line of axles, and frame parts. Doug

[chgrsteve67]

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

Allied RV is about 3 miles from where I work on my projects. Think I'll go by Saturday and take a look.

Thanks Doug.

[satch]

You will find a lot of suppliers here in Sac. El Camino has alot of rv shops, Cardio Ind. is there too ( they supply aluminum if you want to side it). Not to mention a million HDs. Just look in the yellow pages.

[chgrsteve67]

Been gone for a while.

I have not spent any time on the tear drop in the last year or so.
Its been sitting under a car cover

I finally finished my other project and plan on digging the TD out and figuring out where I left off.

For those that have forgotten where we last left off.

Trailer Frame Built


Tear Drop tow vehicle towed off.


Tear Drop Progress.


Tear Drop Tow vehicle returned


Tear Drop Tow Vehicle Finished.










Tomorrow willbe seeing what damage the winter did and a parts list to get going again.

Steve

[Carter]

Steve,
What gauge tubing did you use for the tear body framework and how did you bend the stringers. Been thinking about doing the same thing.

Jim

[chgrsteve67]

Its 3\4 inch 16 gage square tubing.

For some of the smaller pieces I made a sqare tubing bender out of a old truck brake pad and a 6 foot piece of pipe. A propane torch to heat up the tubing makes it more plyable.

For the big pieces I used two 1\2 inch sheets of plywood screwed together, cut out to the shape of the trailier, I made a lever that could be positioned in several locations that I used to pull the heated pipe around the template. I made several ancors so after its pulled around the template I could keep the tubing in place and then spray it with water. THis hardens the steel so it keeps its shape and puts out the burning plywood.

I thought about taking pictures of the process but I figured people would laugh.

I got the floor and two inner walls cut this weekend but could not find any asphalt fence paint to seal the floor so I will have to take it all back out.