SRT-8 Daytona Clone

[Dave Kanofsky]

I was like a monkey discovering some shiny stones.

That's funny stuff right there!

[cdr]

for what its worth     I like the black door handles !!! 

[Stevearino]

for what its worth     I like the black door handles !!! 

Thanks Charlie. I do too.
 
I tend to question my judgement when I get a lot of negative feed back. Sometimes that is justified but other times I can see clearly it is just a matter of personal taste or aesthetic. I have gotten strong opinions on both the wheels and now these door handles. So much so that I have had to stand back and look again. In both cases I am pretty content with my choices. With the wheels I might have preferred a more old school look. More dish and a smaller diameter wheel with more tire sidewall. I would also have preferred wider rear tires than the front.  Since I chose an SRT-8 for my platform I was hemmed in  in a number of ways. First the large Brembo brakes kind of dictate the wheel diameter so kind of stuck there unless I wanted to invest in smaller brakes.( pointless) The width of the body in the rear and the inner fenders and suspension placement meant that I could not get wider tires to fit unless I widened the body. (I like the stock proportions of the 68 Charger so didn't want to do that) Also because of the width of the suspension I was restricted to wheels that had a face biased mount (thus no dishing) Most wheels today do not have the old school design (unless you want to spent about $700 per wheel for custom billet.Not happening here) There are very few good looking 5 spoke designs on newer wheels as that is not the style today. Faced with all of these restrictions I picked a wheel that had 5 spokes. Had some painted out areas reminiscent of the old Keystone Classics. And had a faux dish accomplished with a cut back in the spoke where it attaches to the wheel. Given how restricted I was I am pretty happy with the way they ended up looking and again it is a matter of taste in the end.
As for the door handles I had fully intended to paint them but dropped them into place before I was about to sand them down and just liked the way they carried some of the black elements of the wheels over into the body side. Sitting at a stop light this morning I watched tons of car go by. There are 4 ways to go. (1) A chrome handle across an indention on the door. (2) Painted like the body (3) Put period correct chrome handles on  (4) Then this was mostly on trucks and SUV's. Black. So while it is not a strictly a car thing it is not way out when considering design detail.  Any how that rambling wall of text was just to give you an insight into the decision process I went through before settling on both those items.

Have a nice day.

[funknut]

Thanks for being willing to share your thought process.  Personal tastes are a funny thing, and regardless of whether or not any of us might do it differently, I don't think anyone could argue that you haven't thought through every aspect of your project from top to bottom. 

[mike69440]

for what its worth     I like the black door handles !!!  

Thanks Charlie. I do too.
 
I tend to question my judgement when I get a lot of negative feed back. Sometimes that is justified but other times I can see clearly it is just a matter of personal taste or aesthetic. I have gotten strong opinions on both the wheels and now these door handles. So much so that I have had to stand back and look again. In both cases I am pretty content with my choices. With the wheels I might have preferred a more old school look. More dish and a smaller diameter wheel with more tire sidewall. I would also have preferred wider rear tires than the front.  Since I chose an SRT-8 for my platform I was hemmed in  in a number of ways. First the large Brembo brakes kind of dictate the wheel diameter so kind of stuck there unless I wanted to invest in smaller brakes.( pointless) The width of the body in the rear and the inner fenders and suspension placement meant that I could not get wider tires to fit unless I widened the body. (I like the stock proportions of the 68 Charger so didn't want to do that) Also because of the width of the suspension I was restricted to wheels that had a face biased mount (thus no dishing) Most wheels today do not have the old school design (unless you want to spent about $700 per wheel for custom billet.Not happening here) There are very few good looking 5 spoke designs on newer wheels as that is not the style today. Faced with all of these restrictions I picked a wheel that had 5 spokes. Had some painted out areas reminiscent of the old Keystone Classics. And had a faux dish accomplished with a cut back in the spoke where it attaches to the wheel. Given how restricted I was I am pretty happy with the way they ended up looking and again it is a matter of taste in the end.
As for the door handles I had fully intended to paint them but dropped them into place before I was about to sand them down and just liked the way they carried some of the black elements of the wheels over into the body side. Sitting at a stop light this morning I watched tons of car go by. There are 4 ways to go. (1) A chrome handle across an indention on the door. (2) Painted like the body (3) Put period correct chrome handles on  (4) Then this was mostly on trucks and SUV's. Black. So while it is not a strictly a car thing it is not way out when considering design detail.  Any how that rambling wall of text was just to give you an insight into the decision process I went through before settling on both those items.

Have a nice day.

Agree, it is your car, do what you want.  This is not a democracy.

IMHO, for what very little it is worth, you can change the wheels in the future.  

Keep the brakes, just find another set of wheels, maybe 18" or 19". some 40 series rubber and just get a good combination of retro and new to your liking.  Keep both sets of wheels, as it's like wearing a different suit to suit you mood.

Door handles, I think period correct, as a little chrome is OK and it will keep more people off balance to just what you have done. ( I realize the amount of work and effort to change them, so leave them as is!)

Remember, I offer this as just my opinion, and respect anything you do.  (Even not going original on the fuel filler!)

[Stevearino]

Well my controversial decisions aside I only got one day in on the car this weekend so I was just able to get the head liner and all of the accessories re installed.
Also got the "A" pillar covers back on. I tested out all of the courtesy lighting on the grab bars and the (essential for all hot rods) make up mirrors on the sun visors and all are in working order. I also made my final connection of radio antenna and mounted it on the rear package tray which I also did my final installation of.

[68pplcharger]

For what it's worth I think you picked a perfect combination of contemporary and old school to make this car. You have to have certain touches on the outside that are contemporary to pull together the modern interior of the car. This car has the old school lines with a slick looking set of five spoke rims. The door handles and wheels give that touch of modern but custom to tie it all together. It alerts the auto enthusiast that this is not the normal Daytona.  

[Stevearino]

For what it's worth I think you picked a perfect combination of contemporary and old school to make this car. You have to have certain touches on the outside that are contemporary to pull together the modern interior of the car. This car has the old school lines with a slick looking set of five spoke rims. The door handles and wheels give that touch of modern but custom to tie it all together. It alerts the auto enthusiast that this is not the normal Daytona. 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I know this is not everyone's cup of tea and I have been surprised I have not gotten more negative feedback. While criticism is never pleasant to deal with it has helped me dig a little deeper on this project and that is a good thing in the end.

[garner7555]

Regardless of how each person might change this or that, we can all agree (and respect) the amount of man hours and skill that has went into this build!      I love it!    

Would I change some things? Sure.    But I'm not going to say the MINOR things that I would change because it's not my car, so my opinion doesn't really matter.      Plus I actually love it as is!  Awesome car, awesome build, and an awesome guy (I can tell by the way you interact with people in this thread)!   

Car is really looking awesome!!

[DAY CLONA]

For what it's worth I think you picked a perfect combination of contemporary and old school to make this car. You have to have certain touches on the outside that are contemporary to pull together the modern interior of the car. This car has the old school lines with a slick looking set of five spoke rims. The door handles and wheels give that touch of modern but custom to tie it all together. It alerts the auto enthusiast that this is not the normal Daytona. 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I know this is not everyone's cup of tea and I have been surprised I have not gotten more negative feedback. While criticism is never pleasant to deal with it has helped me dig a little deeper on this project and that is a good thing in the end.

Steve, for what's it's worth, I like every facet of your build, the detail, the blend of old/new, your color choice, wheels, etc, all combine to envision fluidity in your build from top to bottom, front to back, the only grief I gave you was on the fender scoop inserts, I felt they needed the detail that you later supplied, other than that, your ride is absolutely stunning, it will set the bar very high for the next builder of such a project

Mike

[Troy]

I *think* that you'd get more negative feedback if you half-assed the job. I believe people appreciate the effort even if they may not agree with all the decisions. The quality and attention to detail is well beyond what most of us could hope to achieve. Of course, we've seen in the past where really awesome work on a horrible design can generate a lot of negativity so you must be right in the middle!

Troy

[ACUDANUT]

I *think* that you'd get more negative feedback if you half-assed the job. I believe people appreciate the effort even if they may not agree with all the decisions. The quality and attention to detail is well beyond what most of us could hope to achieve. Of course, we've seen in the past where really awesome work on a horrible design can generate a lot of negativity so you must be right in the middle!

Troy

yea, and this post is on it's 60th page.. Record breaker. ?

[Stevearino]

garner7555,DAYCLONA,,Troy, ACUDANUT. I know I said it before but thank you for all the kind words of encouragement. I just wish this wasn't the internet and there was some kind of communal maker space where everyone could meet and push all of our projects forward and share ideas. This is the next best thing and again I do appreciate the feedback.

Stevearino

[Arigmaster]

Ignore the negative Steve,

You are building the car for "You" and not for them. I had some negative comments on mine when I was building it because it was a 68 and I only added the wing, fender scoops, and a 6-pack scoop to it. It was fun while it lasted but there will always be the Purists and nay Sayers...

I think this build has been nothing less then phenomenal and I wish I had half of you sheet metal skills. I also admire your problem solving abilities using everyday items to fabricate solutions for the style and function.

Can't wait to see it finished and you driving it around.

[Highbanked Hauler]

 Steve I hope you can bring the car to the Charlotte speedway for black friday  laps this year.

[ACUDANUT]

  Steve, maybe a stupid question, but does it fire right up ? 

[Stevearino]

Ignore the negative Steve,

You are building the car for "You" and not for them. I had some negative comments on mine when I was building it because it was a 68 and I only added the wing, fender scoops, and a 6-pack scoop to it. It was fun while it lasted but there will always be the Purists and nay Sayers...

I think this build has been nothing less then phenomenal and I wish I had half of you sheet metal skills. I also admire your problem solving abilities using everyday items to fabricate solutions for the style and function.

Can't wait to see it finished and you driving it around.

I do appreciate the vote of confidence Arigmaster.  I however have always been a little thin skinned and have spent a lifetime trying (not always succeeding ) in opening up my mind to the possibility that I might not have all the answers and let some outside advice seep in.

Steve I hope you can bring the car to the Charlotte speedway for black friday  laps this year.

I hope so too Highbanked Hauler.

 Steve, maybe a stupid question, but does it fire right up ?  

At no time in the build (except when I had the steering column out) did it not fire up and drive. All it lacks is gas right now. I just did not want it to go bad in the tank so I siphoned it all out.

Well I always think I will get more done than I can. This weekend was no exception. I wanted to finish out the nose and re hang it on the car for the final time. I did manage to get all of the mechanisms back in. It has been so long since I built them that I had to reference my photo history to figure out how to put it back together. There were a lot of funny moments with me saying " Well. How about that? I did not know I did that."

[Stevearino]

I wanted to include a close up shot of the attachment prop to the doors. I used two heim ends one right hand thread and the other reverse so that I could have a final adjustment to tighten up the doors. I used these also on the center actuating arm so as to relieve any binding through the range of motion.

I put the bug eyes back on the car for the last time in prep for putting the nose back on the car.

I sanded an polished the clear coat on the chin spoiler and installed it on the nose.
I also finished the fabrication to put the 06 side markers in the side of the spoiler.
Here is where I ran out of steam because it looks ready to put on but I realized I still have to make a box to cover all of the wiring and motor for the headlight doors as they are in the air stream and will get hit by road debris. It is always something.

In order to dampen any vibration between the nose and the fenders I added this 1/4" self sticking rubber gasket that compresses down to 1/8" to the face of the front fenders.

[Stevearino]

Here is a picture with the rubber molding applied to the front fender.

The second picture here is a view looking up at the side window seal where it meets the head liner. I decided to use the 06 finish molding/door gasket for this area. It finishes the joint nicely but also I found it to be more compliant when rolling the window up to it.

I got the seat belts back in and spent a little time learning how to apply window tint to the quarter glass. Unfortunately I learned a little about old glass. What looked like pretty decent quarter windows looked awful once the tint provided a dark background to highlight all of the age scratched on the outside surface. Kinda looked like someone dressed up in a tux with muddy shoes when it was in. New glass already on the way.

Also started getting the rug back in the car.

[Stevearino]

It has been 3 1/2 years since I dismantled this car and I found some ducting that was rather mysterious until I figured out that it went under the rug in the front to send air to the back seat area.

I re-assembled the center console as it came out of the car...............Yeah. That rear seat DVD player had to go. I have an arm rest from ebay on the way.

[cdr]

as always,, lookin great!!!  I loved Hot Wheels when I was a kid & still do, now your car is my Favorite Hot Wheels ever made !!!!!!! the wheels are AWESOME on your car, perfect!!!!

[Dino]

Absolutely phenomenal work!   

I can't wait to see it on the road in all its glory.   

[out there]

Over the top cool ride. I wish I had your talent.  One of one....how cool is that     

[tan top]

 awesome stuff       

[Bobs69]

How much to build me one?