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

[hemi68charger]

Question for Geno... Is the textured paint on your dash original for 68 chargers?

I believe the finish on the '68's versions the '69's are slightly different.. I think the '68's are a flatter suede than '69..

Troy

As usual,  I'm still learnin'...  Did not know there was a difference...

It's just my observational "recollection". I've visited Mike's BE&A website and viewed it.. He's pretty dead on....

'68



'69 - '70  you can see the shine/gloss reflection a little better....

[68pplcharger]

Thanks for the info guys, Just replaced the inner fenders last week and just collecting the info before I get to that particular stage.

[hemigeno]

It's just my observational "recollection". I've visited Mike's BE&A website and viewed it.. He's pretty dead on....

The faceplate finish could be different though, as those weren't painted/finished in the same steps.  The tops of dashboards take a beating with all the sun rays they catch so it's hard to find pristine originals there, but original '68 and '69 lower dash frames might tell the tale, dontchathink?

[hemi68charger]

oh no.. I was just referring to the instrument/radio/glove box bezels, not dash frame.. I believe the dash frames are the same...

[hemigeno]

Guess the question then is, which component was 68pplcharger asking about?

[hemi68charger]

Guess the question then is, which component was 68pplcharger asking about?

Oh yeah... Bet it was the frame.........

[68pplcharger]

Guess the question then is, which component was 68pplcharger asking about?

Oh yeah... Bet it was the frame.........

You were right Gene, it was the frame. The "glare off of the dash" story told me you had it correct.

Thanks

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

David Patik @ Performance Car Graphics did the dash faceplate, instrument & odo refurbishing.  I really didn't like the thought of having an otherwise pristine dash and yellowed-from-time odometer numbers.

Geno are the ODO #'s decals of some sort?

[UFO]

David Patik @ Performance Car Graphics did the dash faceplate, instrument & odo refurbishing.  I really didn't like the thought of having an otherwise pristine dash and yellowed-from-time odometer numbers.

I'll agree with that.
PCG said he couldn't legally do the odo numbers back then(this is 8-9 years ago)
It's the first thing I spot whenever I get behind the wheel.
Have a odo wheel redone just waiting for me to install.

[gtx6970]

I finally took a picture of the NOS strut rod washers I have. and in these kits SOME of the toplock nuts had a greenish tint to them ( I can't find the nuts right now to snap a pic)

These deffenitly have a brownish tint to them with a slight rainbow effect to the finish when viewed in the light at an angle as opposed the common all black ones

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

David Patik @ Performance Car Graphics did the dash faceplate, instrument & odo refurbishing.  I really didn't like the thought of having an otherwise pristine dash and yellowed-from-time odometer numbers.

I'll agree with that.
PCG said he couldn't legally do the odo numbers back then(this is 8-9 years ago)
It's the first thing I spot whenever I get behind the wheel.
Have a odo wheel redone just waiting for me to install.

Brian how was the wheel redone?  decals?

[hemigeno]

Chris, sorry for not answering sooner - I was trying to find out what the procedures are and still don't have an answer.  David's catalog only mentions "reletter yellowed odometer numbers", and the price was listed at $30 although that may have changed (been a long time since I got a new catalog from PCG).  Whether "relettering" means a decal, or what, I dunno but will ask David.

[hemigeno]

I finally took a picture of the NOS strut rod washers I have. and in these kits SOME of the toplock nuts had a greenish tint to them ( I can't find the nuts right now to snap a pic)

These deffenitly have a brownish tint to them with a slight rainbow effect to the finish when viewed in the light at an angle as opposed the common all black ones

Bill, thanks for those pictures.  I dunno how to describe that coating look/effect any more than Jim/maxwellwedge does...    I've heard people say that it depended on how fresh (or contaminated with machining oils) the vat of dip chemicals were as to what tint the finished parts had, and that's probably quite true.  That most likely explains the variations we see in situations like this.

One of those retainers looks like it has hash marks on it, which might mean it was at the bottom of a dipping basket, y'think?   

[roger440]

Interesting finish on the washers. I might pop mine quickly through some black chromate over the top of the cad effect plating so they dont go completely black. Should get me close! Thanks for posting up.

[UFO]

Bill, thanks for those pictures.  I dunno how to describe that coating look/effect any more than Jim/maxwellwedge does...  

Did you try waving your arms around?

[hemigeno]

Bill, thanks for those pictures.  I dunno how to describe that coating look/effect any more than Jim/maxwellwedge does...  

Did you try waving your arms around?

THAT'S what I forgot to do... 

[pettybird]

the odo wheel is redone with decals.  it's nearly undetectable, certainly moreso than the speedo face itself. 

Dave does a really great job--better than i've been able to pull off at home or while at BoS...

[hemigeno]

Doug,

Out of curiosity, what are the telltale signs of a refurbished speedometer?

[hemigeno]

OK, here are some additional pics Vance sent me last week... the exhaust system is in!

In the first pic, you can see the factory-style exhaust hanger.  There is a square hole punched in the lower half of the bracket, which is something Vance had to find a way to add.  The pair of brackets I picked up at this year's Carlisle show were correct except for that hole, so he sent me a shot of how it turned out.  Apparently it wasn't any fun to make the tooling to punch that in there...

The second shot shows the correct Q-clamp, exhaust tip and hanger/bracket.  The chrome on the exhaust tips is not perfect (just like the originals), and shows marks on them from the tooling.  You can't see it from this shot, but the original-style exhaust tip bracket is an "S" hook that actually slips into a hole/slot on the top side of the exhaust tip and is tack welded into place.  The more modern tips have an "L" bracket that is simply welded onto the top of the exhaust tip.

In the third picture, you can see the bends in the H-pipe going into the muffler.  You can see the squash marks and tooling scratches from when the H-pipe was formed... definitely not mandrel-bent...  The clamp is one of Frank Badalson's repro clamps, which is a pretty nice part all things considered.  The nuts are the right shape & style, and the bottom half of the clamp has the right curve to it (not straight across).  Even as nice as these are, I'm still trying to get a pair of new assembly-line clamps to replace these.  Yes, I'm certifiably nuts.

[hemigeno]

More detail shots of the H-pipe, including a shot of the torsion-bar clearancing near the starter.  You can also see the drips on the torsion bars pretty clearly in the second shot.

[johntpr]

Looks awsome.

I'm not sure if it is just a case of the assembly lines workers using whatever they had laying around, but I've never seen an original unrestored Daytona that had Q Clamps holding the Chrome exhaust tips to the tail pipes.  I remember talking to Frank Badalson about that too.  The clamps on original cars I've seen were the regular types with 2 nuts.

Dave Benasutti's car before it was restored was the way i described.

[hemigeno]

The first pic is shot of the newly-installed muffler's stamping... no part number or pentastar on either side, just a date code and whatever the "H" meant  You can also see in the top left-hand corner how the pipe stub was spot-welded into place.

On the end of the muffler which faced the rear of the car, there were drain holes to allow condensation to escape.  You'll see these holes on the top and bottom of that end cap, because the mufflers were not handed for the left or right side.  One side was flipped over when compared to the other side's orientation.  In that second pic, you can also see the exhaust hanger's integral clamp - which has a straight-across profile rather than curved like the front clamp.

[hemi68charger]

Dang Geno !!!!  She looks great, beyond Great !!!!!  Where did you get those exhaust tip hanger brackets? Are they NOS or did you replate them?
I remember those Q-clamps on Whitey, she had the original exhaust on her and those same clamps were on the tip-2-tailpipe.....

Troy

[hemigeno]

Looks awsome.

I'm not sure if it is just a case of the assembly lines workers using whatever they had laying around, but I've never seen an original unrestored Daytona that had Q Clamps holding the Chrome exhaust tips to the tail pipes.  I remember talking to Frank Badalson about that too.  The clamps on original cars I've seen were the regular types with 2 nuts.

Dave Benasutti's car before it was restored was the way i described.

Thanks, John!

You're absolutely right, the factory could have used either "regular" style clamps or the Q-clamps.  I guess I should have mentioned that in my earlier text.  The engineering graphics mention both part numbers/styles as being OK to use, so it may have boiled down to what was in the bin when the car rolled down the line.  I'll ask Vance to look up in his notes how the unrestored Daytona's he's documented were equipped.  I'm the one who supplied the Q-clamps to him, and he didn't bat an eye so I assumed they were correct.  More later... and thanks for asking the question!

[hemigeno]

Dang Geno !!!!  She looks great, beyond Great !!!!!  Where did you get those exhaust tip hanger brackets? Are they NOS or did you replate them?
I remember those Q-clamps on Whitey, she had the original exhaust on her and those same clamps were on the tip-2-tailpipe.....

Troy

Thanks Troy!  The hanger brackets are indeed NOS.  I had some fairly decent reproductions, but the shape of the strap that wrapped around the rubber isolator just didn't look right.  As with many of the parts left without much protection from the weather, original components get quite pitted.  You can see some slight pitting still evident in the tie-down bracket... same deal, although Vance did the best he could with the parts I had and/or gave him to work with.