hemigeno's Daytona restoration - a few more tweaks... again!

[PocketThunder]

Hey Geno, have you gotten to the point yet where you wished you would have just bought one already done?..    I think every man goes thru that in his mind during a restoration..

[hemi68charger]

Hey Geno, have you gotten to the point yet where you wished you would have just bought one already done?..    I think every man goes thru that in his mind during a restoration..

I know I did............................................................................................. and then,,,, the rest of the story; I traded........ done.

AB

[nascarxx29]

1930 - 1976 Mopar: brakes, asbestos shoes, master & wheel cylinders, drums & rotors, brake hoses, bearings & seals, emerg brake cables; thru '62, "A",  "B","E", and "C", '63 - '76. Call Craig 516 - 485 - 1935 (Long Island, NY)

[hemigeno]

Hey What's up with trans cooler line fitting?
Not trying to bust ya Gene,just curious if there are swapped out for a blockout plug.

Not a bad question, Brian... The radiator we used is almost certainly the original.  That conclusion was drawn in part due to the date code stamped on the support bracket, but also due to the melted plastic from the shroud still left on the supports.  It was without a doubt the radiator in the car back in 1977 when it had the engine fire, and it had those fittings inserted in the lower tank back then.  We left them alone, although I know the blockout plugs you're speaking of.  AFAIK, internal coils on the lower tanks for transmission coolers were installed on all radiators regardless of transmission option.  055 radiators were used in automatic cars (e.g. 383 & 440 auto cars with AC but without a performance axle package).  Depending on whether the fittings were installed before or after the radiator was installed on the yoke, a mistake such as this could have happened.  It could be that a 055 radiator with pre-installed 118749 cooler fittings was installed in a manual transmission car, whether on accident or whether due to a parts shortage, who knows.  If the fittings were installed in the radiator after installation, the worker who did this must not have been paying much attention.

[hemigeno]

Hey Geno, have you gotten to the point yet where you wished you would have just bought one already done?..    I think every man goes thru that in his mind during a restoration..

Passed that point a long time back... 

However, I will say there is a certain sense of satisfaction having gone through the process.  Same thing with my house.  Being a carpenter by trade, I really wanted to build my own house... which I did... and ultimately paid way more than it would have cost someone else to build it, but I got it done exactly the way I wanted.  Like everything else, it's a tradeoff.

[hemigeno]

It should - You took it  Ooooops - I forgot - I'm not speaking to you.   

Uh -oh... what did I do now?  I promise I won't refer to you as DB anymore 

[maxwellwedge]

It should - You took it   Ooooops - I forgot - I'm not speaking to you.  

Uh -oh... what did I do now?  I promise I won't refer to you as DB anymore  

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,68150.msg765805.html#msg765805     

[hemigeno]

It should - You took it   Ooooops - I forgot - I'm not speaking to you.  

Uh -oh... what did I do now?  I promise I won't refer to you as DB anymore  

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,68150.msg765805.html#msg765805     

OOPS...   

That's what I get for staying out of the Off Topic section too long.  Sorry 'bout that, my Canadian bud!

[Hemi_tyme]

The second pic shows the vacuum lines going to the nosecone.  I cannot thank Ken P. enough for helping me out here...  Even though I still had my original nosecone wiring harness and hoses, when the engine side of the harness was disconnected (it was crispy due to the engine fire), the straight connectors were discarded with the crispy hoses.  Thanks again, Ken!    

Everyone else just calls me a PACK RAT ! Glad I could help. Ken

[nascarxx29]

Ken   Firstly thanks for the CD. And were all kind of part hoarders like those people on TLC who never through anything thing out.I got original parts stockpiled from 30 years ago a fellow pack rat

[maxwellwedge]

It should - You took it   Ooooops - I forgot - I'm not speaking to you.  

Uh -oh... what did I do now?  I promise I won't refer to you as DB anymore  

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,68150.msg765805.html#msg765805     

OOPS...   

That's what I get for staying out of the Off Topic section too long.  Sorry 'bout that, my Canadian bud!

No Problem Geno - I'll get over it someday.   

[PocketThunder]

"20 paragraphs about the washer on a K-Frame"              HAHAHAHA that was funny because its true..         

[hemigeno]

"20 paragraphs about the washer on a K-Frame"              HAHAHAHA that was funny because its true..        

I resemble that remark      

[maxwellwedge]

I was embellishing to get a reaction. We all know you could wrap up a K-Frame bolt washer discussion in ten paragraphs! 

It's all good my Amigo!    

[hemigeno]

We all know you could wrap up a K-Frame bolt washer discussion in ten paragraphs! 

... only if I have a couple pictures and a graph or two to go along with the discourse...

It's all good my young Amigo!    

There, fixed it for ya       

[maxwellwedge]

 

Good one!

The sad thing is - I could talk about a k-frame bolt for 30 minutes - better to deflect! 

[hemigeno]

I learned from the best...   

[maxwellwedge]

I learned from the best...   

Who?

Now back to our regularly scheduled show.

Car is looking great Gene. I am having the same problems as you on parts - No replies from the Carat Shop!

[hemi68charger]

Hey Abbott !!!!!!!!!!   

[69_500]

What only 30 minutes on a washer? I was going to say I think that Gene can stare at one for longer than that. I mean we did spend 1 1/2 hours just looking at the bearing on a jack at Carlisle 2 years ago. It was long enough that the owner of the car was getting a good chuckle out of it. He even commented that we had spent more time looking at and taking pictures of a part on the jack than the rest of the people had spent looking at his entire car as they walked by.

[hemibee]

Geno, I had the pleasure of looking  at your car a few times in the past couple of months and wanted to say it looks great, as you know a restoration like this takes as much or more patients than cash. your perseverance shows you as a real car fanatic that is not just in it for a return, sharing your resto pics and Vance's techniques with everybody is testimony to your dedication to the cars. unfortunately alot of people won't share that type of information. my brother and I own the sublime six pack Cuda in the background of a couple of your photo's at Vance's shop, you could not have picked a better guy to bring your car back to it's original condition, Vance possesses alot of old school talent and determination to do the job. We are in the middle of a restoration of an A-12 car and his knowledge of these cars is vast and he is always willing to give a pointer if needed. I know your original time of resto had gotten blown out but restoring a car to the level he has brought yours can NOT be done in 8 months. The car looks fantastic and I look forward to seeing it completed, and being I live 45 miles away, I most certainly will.      Rich         

[hemigeno]

Rich,

Thanks for the kind words about the car, and about the collective efforts put into this thread.  I don't know if it's even possible to convey every little nuance and detail of any car restoration, much less a concours-style resto.  As far as Vance goes, he has been a learning resource for me as much as a craftsman restoring my car.  Most times, I can hardly wait to post an update, as the details about how these cars were made that I've absorbed from talking with him are absolutely fascinating to me.  It's particularly gratifying to know that others have enjoyed going through this process as well.  As far as the scheduled completion goes, I had frequently told Vance that it was my desire to take our time completing the car - with the goal being to do the best possible restoration with the best parts we could find.  Striving for some artificially-imposed deadline (even the '09 Talladega show I had hoped to attend for many years) would only end up hurting the finished product.  Vance has been limited by the initial condition of my car and it's components/parts, as well as my inability to get him the parts he needs in a timely fashion.  Since the hold-up is of my own creation, I'm willing to be as patient as it takes to meet the aforementioned goal.  Thanks again for your comments   

Incidentally, is there a thread of your A12 restoration on the A12 forum or Moparts?  I have a GREAT amount of respect for the 6-pack guys, as their collective fanatacism and attention to detail has been the source of much inspiration on my project. 



For those looking for the next installment/update to this thread, I had planned on being in Michigan yesterday (Friday) to check on the car and drop off some additional stuff.  We had also arranged for a few goodies to be delivered to Vance's shop which will hopefully get the ball rolling again in a big way.  I called off the trip after learning on Wednesday afternoon that my Father-In-Law passed away unexpectedly.  That re-arranged my schedule/priorities, as it should.  I'll try to get up there soon, but my enthusiasm for hobby things has temporarily waned a bit under the circumstances.

[472 R/T SE]

Sorry about your Father in law Geno.

I hope your wife, kids & family are doing alright. 

These hunks of iron that are worshiped by lots of us but don't mean squat when it comes to family.  No time is a good time, hope he had a wonderful life & didn't suffer.

Take care man. 

[tan top]

 oh no sorry to hear about your farther in law Geno

[hemi68charger]

Sorry to hear about your family's loss Geno...... Puts everything in perspective. God Bless him and may He look over your wife and her family....

Troy