DodgeCharger.com Forum

I have been on this site a while and have been meaning to start my own resto thread, and when I found some more old pics of my car, I figured it was a good time. I am getting close to the end of the resto so I will have lots of pics to share, Ill be uploading them a few at a time due to the number of pics I have.  

The background:

I picked up the car locally in 1997 after going to Carlisle and not finding anything decent. This car was literally 15 miles from my house. Paid $3995 for a running, driving 68 Charger with a 318 auto, green, with a green interior.  the car looked pretty good, I knew it had rust and would eventually need to be addressed. I tried to upgrade the 318 immediately with a 4bbl intake and carb, but it wasnt good enough so within a year I picked up a 440 (same one I have now).  The 440 was very stout, it was just rebuilt from the person I bought it from, I was going the stock look at first, manifolds, 3:23 rear, mild cam.  The car was pretty quick in that configuration, ended up going 13.9 at the track on its first try. The racing bug got me good and the stock look didnt last long.


I would eventually add headers, better intake/cam, gears, then the six pack set up, glass hood, aluminum wheels. I removed the front anti sway bar, added drag shocks, converted to manual steering.  The car would do its best 1/4 mile time of 12.8@ 108 in 2002 with slicks, but I never got to see its full potential in its last configuration as I only was able to get 1 pass in with my street slicks and did that time. The tires were not even broken in yet, it was the first and only pass they would ever make as a week later, the transmission was leaking so I pulled it and decided to go the 4 speed route thinking it would be a quick swap, one thing led to another, a house addition, 3 kids later fast forward to 2015 and here I am now.

It has been a long journey since starting the resto in 2002, as you will see in future pics, lots of sheetmetal was replaced, this was before AMD had the full quarters and repro panels that they have now for this car. If it were now, I would have done things different, but I did what I could with what I had. I was originally going to keep it F3 green, but when the interior parts got wrecked in storage, i decided to go with a black interior which meant I could pick any color I wanted, so I decided on going with 1969 B7 Blue.

I learned lots along the way, learned to weld, paint, fabricate metal, had lots of help from my brother in law who still shleps over every week to help me out.  I made some mistakes, but I didnt pay anyone to anything on the resto except for the windshield and some machine shop work on the crank/rods and pistons.  Its a good feeling knowing every inch of the car inside and out.  Enjoy!  :cheers:

Mike

Here we are dropping in the 440. Added Magnum 500's, made a big difference!

First pass at the track, went against a 67 Hemi Coronet!

Few more pics of it pre restoration.

Looks nice can't wait to see the history of the build.

 :drool5:  Sweeeeeeet  :2thumbs:
Are you still planning on some track days?

Quote from: timmycharger on August 21, 2015, 07:30:06 AM
Few more pics of it pre restoration.

Thanks for sharing :2thumbs:

Do you have a larger image of your top pic (see red arrow in my pic below)? I could swear that I've seen that pic on-line way back in 2000 when I first started to use computers. This was at my work place as they were converting their data base to the internet. So I was kinda thrown into learning how to use the internet and I remember my partner showing me how to display a pic of my choice for my desktop background. So I searched the web for 68 Chargers and I think that small pic you have was it. I since lost that pic over the years but I sure do remember the green 68 R/T doing that burn out. If it is that same pic, what a small world :2thumbs:

Thanks :cheers:

Quote from: skip68 on August 21, 2015, 07:53:50 AM
:drool5:  Sweeeeeeet  :2thumbs:
Are you still planning on some track days?

Most definitely!! I cant wait to see how it does with the 4 speed vs. auto, motor is pretty much the same except for aluminum heads.

Very nice, car turned out great...  :2thumbs: never mind that's before resto...  :rotz:


Helps to read before replying...  :smilielol:

Quote from: VegasCharger on August 21, 2015, 10:21:46 AM

Quote from: timmycharger on August 21, 2015, 07:30:06 AM
Few more pics of it pre restoration.

Thanks for sharing :2thumbs:

Do you have a larger image of your top pic (see red arrow in my pic below)? I could swear that I've seen that pic on-line way back in 2000 when I first started to use computers. This was at my work place as they were converting their data base to the internet. So I was kinda thrown into learning how to use the internet and I remember my partner showing me how to display a pic of my choice for my desktop background. So I searched the web for 68 Chargers and I think that small pic you have was it. I since lost that pic over the years but I sure do remember the green 68 R/T doing that burn out. If it is that same pic, what a small world :2thumbs:

Thanks :cheers:

That is too funny! this is the biggest version I could find, someone took that pic and posted it online and I happened to see it. It was taken at a car show in Rhode Island back in 00 or 01, ive got grainy video of it somewhere too. Small world indeed!!  I posted these on Moparts as well probably 10 years ago.

Quote from: timmycharger on August 21, 2015, 10:39:50 AM
That is too funny! this is the biggest version I could find, someone took that pic and posted it online and I happened to see it. It was taken at a car show in Rhode Island back in 00 or 01, ive got grainy video of it somewhere too. Small world indeed!!  I posted these on Moparts as well probably 10 years ago.

OMG that's it!! It had to been the year 2000 because that was the year that the internet was being introduced to the company that I worked for. I remember saving that pic as well as using it for my desktop background. Me being new to the computer I also remember messing around with that pic with Micro Soft paint and I ended losing it somehow. Then I couldn't figure out how to find the website from where I originally found it. Back then there was no Google lol. Funny I just tried a Google search after I replied here and it didn't come up.

Yep a small world indeed, thanks for the larger pic :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Oh and to get back on track, NICE 68 CHARGER :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Thanks!!


some vids as well. The video at the track is frustrating to watch for me. We planned it for weeks, it was a rent a track day with some members of another car club so I had all day to test and tune, the weather was perfect, I just bought new front and rear aluminum wheels and new tires. The rears were ET Streets, brand new, still sticker residue on them. I should have known something was off as the rear wheels were so hard to get the lugs in, but I put them on in the pits when I got there and lined up. My buddy didnt get to the line in time to catch me go down the track as there was no lines in the staging area and I just rolled up to the tree.  Did a small burnout, made my pass and it was the one I noted above, my fastest pass ever, 12.8 at 108.  Then the track guy flagged me down saying I couldn't run as my rear wheels were wabbling badly.  I didnt notice it as I was running open headers.  Turned out, the weights on the drums were hitting the Weld wheels and they were not sitting flush on the drum.. I was so pissed, I even tried to knock them off, but wasnt able to with the tools I had there.  Ended up bolting my terrible street tires and did a few passes. It was useless to try to tune, I even brought jets to mess with. I always wondered what that car could have done that day. 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vSO-DlxlKs   -  FFWd to .28 sec mark!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4hmgEhh2wE

 :coolgleamA: :2thumbs:  .............. :popcrn:

Quote from: VegasCharger on August 21, 2015, 11:13:15 AM

Quote from: timmycharger on August 21, 2015, 10:39:50 AM
That is too funny! this is the biggest version I could find, someone took that pic and posted it online and I happened to see it. It was taken at a car show in Rhode Island back in 00 or 01, ive got grainy video of it somewhere too. Small world indeed!!  I posted these on Moparts as well probably 10 years ago.

OMG that's it!! It had to been the year 2000 because that was the year that the internet was being introduced to the company that I worked for. I remember saving that pic as well as using it for my desktop background. Me being new to the computer I also remember messing around with that pic with Micro Soft paint and I ended losing it somehow. Then I couldn't figure out how to find the website from where I originally found it. Back then there was no Google lol. Funny I just tried a Google search after I replied here and it didn't come up.

Yep a small world indeed, thanks for the larger pic :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Oh and to get back on track, NICE 68 CHARGER :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Ha! I love that pic, got in a bit of trouble with the wife because of that burnout though. I was there with my brother and his 70 Dart, and we must have missed the part when our wives walked across the street from the car show to a mall. My wife bought a dress and a few other things, put it in the back on the Charger and closed the trunk. My trunk area was terrible so I didn't think to look in there before I entered the burnout contest. Needless to say, the dress was ruined since my trunk floor was pretty much swiss cheese.  She ended up having to return it weeks later after the smell of rubber wore off.

 :coolgleamA:

I love the progression. Proof again that old cars never die - they just get faster. :2thumbs:

Starting to get gnarly  :o

 :coolgleamA:

 :coolgleamA:

As you can see, both corners were toast, water leaking into the trunk caused a mess. Here is where I wish AMD was around, I don't remember anyone making quality pieces in 02 for this part of the car so I had to fab up the corners and parts of the inner C pillar. Came out ok, not great, but I have the rear glass in now and the trim fits in there perfectly.

 :icon_smile_cool:

I didn't have access to a sandblaster yet so I ended up cleaning the inside framerails the best I could and them hitting them with POR 15, I used that stuff everywhere, pretty much coated the bottom of the car with it.  :icon_smile_big:  Used Weld thru primer as well.

the top of the quarter near the door was cracked, had to weld it back together.

Nice work! Almost 13 years ago does it bring back fond memories your nightmares?
Keep the pictures coming.
Pat

Quote from: keepat on August 24, 2015, 08:47:58 PM
Nice work! Almost 13 years ago does it bring back fond memories your nightmares?
Keep the pictures coming.
Pat

Thanks Pat, it seems like a million years ago, but with all I have learned over the years, I would have done a few things differently.

keep up the amazing work on your car!

Mike

some more pics

 :cheers:

Warped the passenger quarter a bit, probably was welding too quickly or not spacing out the welds enough. I blew it by not using weld through primer on the tail panel, the paint surely compromised the weld quality, but it felt solid, and nothing Im going to do about it now anyway  :icon_smile_big:

 :cheers:

a sharp eye can spot the outline of a 727 gasket on the drivers quarter, apparently I used it as a backstop for the gasket tack spray  :shruggy:

last pic is the Strange S60 fresh from the crate  :2thumbs:

I think you did ok on the welding. Alot of guys dont have the guts to tackle these jobs.  :2thumbs:

Quote from: six-tee-nine on August 26, 2015, 12:59:34 AM
I think you did ok on the welding. Alot of guys dont have the guts to tackle these jobs.  :2thumbs:

Thanks, I was literally learning as I went.


some more pics, building up the Strange S60

 :cheers:

 :cheers:

 :2thumbs:

 :cheers:

 :2thumbs:

 :2thumbs:

 :2thumbs:

 :cheers:

 :2thumbs:

Had all the panels sent out for sandblasting and DP90 coating.   We are pushing it into its temporary shelter while the new garage was being built. Last pic is of it in its new and current location. My brother in law's Maverick kept it company for a while.

Nice work.  :2thumbs:

Badass  :2thumbs:

Thanks Guys..

Getting to work in the new shop :cheers:

 :2thumbs:

A shot of the vinyl top we did, couldn't find the pics of the install, but it wouldn't matter as I peeled it off less than a year later as I wasn't happy with the noticeable lines on the c pillar that had to be smoothed out better later.  :brickwall:

 :2thumbs: great work!

More more!

Love watching this stuff.   :2thumbs:

Thanks!!!


Some shots of the headliner

The seats were pretty rough, ended up picking up a set of Legendary covers, was able to save the stuffing for the rear seat, but added some thick gauge wire to stiffen it up a bit.

 :2thumbs:

Nice... that build is happening at warp speed...  :o Looking good :2thumbs:

I wish! these pics cover a 13 year span, I just got around to posting them.  :icon_smile_big:


A shot of the car on the flatbed getting a new vinyl top. I did it once, was not going to do it again, my wrists and thumbs still hurt.  :RantExplode:

Restored the wiring harness and the dash.

I drilled out the bullseye medallion and put a mini shift light behind it. I mounted the base with the chips in the glove box.  :icon_smile_big:

 :yesnod:

 :2thumbs:

 :coolgleamA:

Steering column restored. I used a cruise control stalk turn signal lever and replaced the pushbutton switch for my line loc.  :yesnod:

 :icon_smile_cool:

Had the windshield installed by Safelite, they did an ok job, I had to argue with them to add some urethane sealer in the bottom corners. He insisted it was fine, even though I could see daylight through it from inside.. Needless to say, its completely sealed, but will probably be impossible to remove.

Quarter window hardware was cleaned and restored.

Since I plan on driving this car with my wife and kids, I added a 12V cigarette lighter source to the inside of the console daisy chained to the cig lighter from a C Body console end plate so I can keep my ipod in the console which plays through the factory 8 track after being modified and the kids can plug stuff in from the back seat.


Also, the makeshift paint booth we set up.

We did the body work on the panels and my brother in law painted the inside.  Went with B7 Blue, I really love this color, pics don't do it justice.

 :2thumbs:

I stripped down the crappy coating on the quarters and we primed the unibody.  Used a stud gun to shrink the quarters and Dutchman panel.

 :icon_smile_cool:

 :2thumbs:

Quote from: timmycharger on September 03, 2015, 06:34:00 PM
I wish! these pics cover a 13 year span, I just got around to posting them.  :icon_smile_big:


A shot of the car on the flatbed getting a new vinyl top. I did it once, was not going to do it again, my wrists and thumbs still hurt.  :RantExplode:

LOL I remember reading that after you mentioned it again.... dam it sucks getting old  :brickwall:

Quote from: 68pplcharger on September 10, 2015, 10:53:04 AM
dam it sucks getting old  :brickwall:

!

Hey it beats the alternative!   ;)

Yes it does...  :rofl:

LOL I remember reading that after you mentioned it again.... dam it sucks getting old  brickwall

haha yup

Gas tank was installed, no real drama there. Also the start of the motor tear down.

I can't help but looking at the little cars on the shelf...I want that Blues mobile.   :icon_smile_big:

For the engine, I ended up just freshening it up. I honed the cylinders, changed the bearings and rings, oil pump and heads. Im not expecting miracles out of this engine, I will be planning my dream engine while I put around in this motor, it ran very strong when pulled 13 years ago. I had some scuffed pistons and some that were stiff on the rods, but I had a machine shop go through them and clean them up.

If I can get 3 or 4 years on this motor Ill be happy, my sons will be older and able to help me swap the motors for a winter project.


quote author=Dino link=topic=119572.msg1488739#msg1488739 date=1442111121]
I can't help but looking at the little cars on the shelf...I want that Blues mobile.   :icon_smile_big:[/quote]

Haha , ya that's an old one!

I re cleaned the K frame, and got it ready for the dolly.  I went with a Hemi 4 speed from Passon Performance.

I dialed in the bellhousing with the Browell Tool and Robbmc dowels.

We dropped the body on the K frame with the US car tool body lift. Worked flawlessly.

 :icon_smile_cool:

 :icon_smile_cool:

Put in the rear glass with the butyl tape, installed the clips as well.

Starting the resto of the buckets.

 :cheers:

Just wanted to say im watching this one closely  :popcrn:  :coolgleamA:

 :2thumbs:

looking good , nice job ... :2thumbs: :coolgleamA: :popcrn:

Looking Awesome!
Pat

Thanks Guys, much appreciated  :cheers:


Had a good weekend, my brother in law did some welding on the exhaust, I plumbed the fuel lines and got it ready to fire.  Had the drive shaft shortened to 51 inches for the Dana 60.


For those on Facebook, this video may be viewable, not sure, not the best with this stuff.

https://www.facebook.com/michael.benassi.77

Got the motor running, sounds pretty strong, all the vitals look good, but I have some loud valvetrain to tend to. I pulled one valve cover and the adjusters were scraping the baffle so we clearenced it. and its a little quieter so  think the same thing is happening on the other side. Ill pull it off and will check it out. I also have a small rear main seal leak  :brickwall: but Ill put up with that I guess.  It moves, stops and turns now, first time since 02!

So after getting it started last weekend, I was able to play around a bit more with it this week.

Initially when we started it, had some very loud valvetrain noise, clacking/ticking. I initially set the rockers at 1/2 turn past zero lash, and after the initial startup was done, I went back in and gave them all another 1/4 turn. The noise is definitely quieter but not nearly as quiet as I would like it to be. I remember last time this motor was run, the rockers were noisy, but not sure it they were this noisy.  They are the older Hughes Engines 1.6 anodized blue roller rockers.

I will go in and give them another 1/4 turn to see if they quiet down some more. Im running 10/30 oil in my initial startup but will be changing the oil next week. Should I go heavier?

Everything else looks great. 60PSI of pressure when cold, and about 40 when warm at idle, charging at 14.4 volts, temp is good, fans kicking on when they should, got a small power steering leak at the cap I have to address, i think the seal is worn on the cap.  Also have a small rear main seal leak which appears to be getting smaller?  :shruggy:

Its idling very rough right now, i have to mess with the timing, and idle mixtures and possibly a power valve as Im only getting about 9-10 inches of vaccuum with this 284/484 MP purpleshaft cam.

Took it around the block a few times and horrified some neighbors as the car has no paint, grille, bumpers, or lights of any kind, but I wanted to see how it drove through the gears.  Happy to say it is super smooth, clutch feels great. Got on it about half throttle, and it scared the heck out of me as it easily spun the terrible shop tires I am using through 2nd gear, again, barely getting on it.

The fine tuning will continue, but things are looking good! next step is to build the paint booth again and get the body ready for paint in the spring!!!

:cheers:

:coolgleamA: :2thumbs:     purple 484 cam  , whats your initial timing ?  with that cam think I would  try 18 - 20 degrees initial , mechanical  all in at 32-34 degrees ,  & a    900 -50 idle speed ,  

I set the initial timing at 18 degrees, and thats about as far as I got. I didnt like the noise it was making so I swapped out the 1.6 roller rockers to the stock stamped ones and the noise is still there, almost like a diesel sound.

I found an ignition wire that got too close to the header and burned up, as the car starting backfiring, not running on all 8 so I need to explore this more and replace them all before doing any more tuning. I also need to change the oil since I just fired it up last week.  The idle is still sort of rough, but again, i need to rule out ignition wires before going crazy with carb adjustments and timing.

Ive read about piston slap noises, lifters, etc, its tough to say where its coming from, is there an easy way to post a video other than youtube? I have a small clip of it idling.

difficult to say what the noise might be  , with out actually being there ,

I would go through & check everything , just to rule it out ,   with out hearing the noise , think I would  do a compression check , seeing as you thought it was top end noise , 

Thanks Tan, I know, noises are impossible to describe, I need to get a link up of the video clip I made, I listened to it again, it even sounds like an exhaust header leak, but I checked all that and its fine.

I will be going through everything as you suggest, just waiting on my new ignition wires to come in. Id like to rule that out first as I know for sure I burnt at least one of my old ones.

The one thing Im not sure about is the PCV valve grommet. I didnt have the correct one so I sort of fudged one in there until the correct one came in the mail (yesterday), it didnt seal very well and Im wondering if that could have caused a vacuum leak and a noise. Ill rule that out this weekend when I fire it up again.

First things first though, from just messing around the last 2 weeks, I managed to run it dry of gas, i only had 4 gallons in there, but a few trips around the block and several starts and probably untuned carbs not helping. Sure isnt a 4cyl!!  ;D

 yeah could , pcv grommet would cause a big vacuum leak  , just to rule stuff out like that , could just plug the  vacuum hole on the carb , & run it with out , just to test type thing , leave the pcv valve out the valve cover .

think I would be also pull the valve covers & intake & spark plugs & rotate the motor by hand , to see it all the valves are opening & closing properly ,

whats the oil pressure ?   

  :popcrn:

Well, unfortunately the noise is still there after changing the PCV grommet. I also replaced the ignition wires.  Oil pressure is about 60 cold. Changed the oil today as well. I removed the valve covers and checked the rockers and they are all moving as they should. These are the stock stamped ones now after removing the roller rockers. I will do a compression check next, not sure what else I can do with out taking off the intake. I ruled out exhaust leaks too. Other than the noise, it seems to run well, a bit shaky at idle though.

Here are some videos of it running.  

Also restored the air cleaner and base, came out pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSS5oCcsRaQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFh6mxFDMrE

Still working on my noise issue, even after swapping out the roller rockers for the stock stamped ones the noise was still there.  I read that the stock pushrods may be too short on Edelbrock heads when using stock stamped rockers and since the noise was louder with the stock ones, I ended up switching back to the rollers.  I will try to adjust them again, setting the pre load, and may also try using a cut up valvecover to see/hear them running at speed.  

In the meantime, my brother in law helped me out with the battery hold down system. Basically a piece of bar stock aluminum polished and drilled, some rod stock, nuts bolts and oh , an old cookie sheet the wife wasnt using anymore.  We cut it down and used a rubber pad for the battery. Works very well, rock solid.

Now I can go on my test drives around the block w/o the battery sliding around  :D

Sweet build! I had a ticking valvetrain noise I couldn't track down and it drove me nuts. Turned out to be a noisy PCV valve! With vacuum applied it would make a rattling noise. 

Im putting the engine problem on hold for now, ill probably swap out the lifters in the Spring. The carbs are a mess as well, I ran out of steam with the mechanical part and am ready to dive back into the body.  

Started construction of the new paint booth. This one is bigger than the one I built last year as it now has to fit the car. I made it as big as possible without pissing the wife off, it has roller dollies on the wheels and moves around fairly easily.

I mounted 8 fluorescent double light units all around it, wired to 2 power strips. I have the fans on the doors and one on the side wall in the window for fresh air.   I still have to mount the plastic sheeting and the side door.

Lots of work ahead  :popcrn:

Nice start on your paint booth, I know what you'll be doing over the winter!
Good luck!
Pat

nice job on the dash and everything else  :drool5:    doing a complete restoration  , what is your million dollar tips, regarding paint, fabrics and so on....., what new products does NOT work on seats/ dash/ wiring / gauges  is there anything I shouldn't by starting on the same job as yours ?

Quote from: keepat on November 22, 2015, 09:32:51 PM
Nice start on your paint booth, I know what you'll be doing over the winter!
Good luck!
Pat

Thanks Pat, Its getting closer to being finished, hopefully this weekend.  Total of 20 fluorescent lights all around the car should do it I hope  :coolgleamA:  Can't wait to see my electric bills this winter, along with the amount of wood pellets I will need to keep the garage warm enough to do bodywork. I live in the Northeast and although my garage is insulated and finished, it still gets as low as 40 in there some mornings, so the plan will be to have the wife put the pellet stove on at like 2 in the afternoon on the nights I will be out there which is usually around 8 after the kids go to bed.  I need to be sure the body (steel) temp is around 60 if possible before laying on any filler, primer, etc.  Also I think im going to keep a tote for my products that I can keep in the house to keep them room temp.

So the plan for this winter is sanding, sanding and more sanding  ;D

Quote from: oddis on November 25, 2015, 02:37:08 PM
nice job on the dash and everything else  :drool5:    doing a complete restoration  , what is your million dollar tips, regarding paint, fabrics and so on....., what new products does NOT work on seats/ dash/ wiring / gauges  is there anything I shouldn't by starting on the same job as yours ?

Thanks oddis, good luck on your resto, boy I'm certainly not the authority on doing a complete resto, my number one tip is do your research, this and other sites are very helpful, gather pictures of examples of what you want to do. I have folders upon folders of dashes, doors, etc.

The dash and seats for example, lots of research and lots of time assembling. For the dash, the shop manual was invaluable, if you don't have one, get one! the wiring was so much easier to figure out.  Youtube trained me to do the seats, Legendary has some nice videos.

For Paint, I made friends with the local paint supply guy, he dumbed everything down for me and was a great guide in knowing which product worked with which paints, etc.

Again, good luck!

More progress on the Paint booth, I have not had much time to work on it so its slow progress, but almost done. The lights are all working now and most of the plastic is up.  Not quite as bright as I wanted, but I have a few hand held LED lights that I will use to check the work closer when I am done.   

looks really good. i got to ask, have you ever done this type of work before. the welding of the panels on and trunk replacement. and the painting. i like to read all these threads on restoration and i wonder if any of you have done this before or are just jumping in. either way it looks good and i hope that i can accomplish the same.
cant wait for paint

Luke

Quote from: lukedukem on December 07, 2015, 09:35:06 AM
looks really good. i got to ask, have you ever done this type of work before. the welding of the panels on and trunk replacement. and the painting. i like to read all these threads on restoration and i wonder if any of you have done this before or are just jumping in. either way it looks good and i hope that i can accomplish the same.
cant wait for paint

Luke

Thank you Luke, this is my second attempt at building a car, previously my brother and I built his 70 Dart about 20 years ago, but we didn't do any of the bodywork.  I always wrenched on cars growing up, but never had any real formal training.  I learned to weld about 15 years ago, and have lots of on the job support from my brother in law who was trained.  He also has been a huge help with the bodywork and paint as he has much more patience than I do  :icon_smile_big:

With 3 kids and a house, I honestly just cannot afford to pay anyone to do the work for me and doing it myself has become the only option for me to get the car finished.

Good luck on your project!

I have not had much time lately to work in the garage but got a few hours in last night. Im almost finished with taping off the car, this is just for dust from the filler and primer overspray, my interior is just about done as is the engine bay/trunk area so I don't want to have to clean it as I know Im going to make a mess.  The hinges look ridiculous with plastic bags on them but that was the only way I could get them covered and be able to open and close.  :shruggy:

What a slow process taping is for me, can't wait to do it all again after the body work is done and I have to tape it for final paint.  Couple of shots from the garage last night, it was about 25 degrees out but nice and toasty in the garage. I had my wife turn on the pellet stove around 4 and I was out there around 8. the temp of the body went from 36 degrees to 59 degrees, ambient went from about the same 36 to a nice 65 by the time I called it a night around 10:30.  Good test for when I have to start spreading the filler on. Ill have the filler in the house before I lay it on so its nice and easy to work with.

Enjoying the progress and 'do it yourself' mantra of your build!  Congrats on the progress and can't wait to see more photos!

Quote from: 72Charger-SE on January 08, 2016, 04:50:06 PM
Enjoying the progress and 'do it yourself' mantra of your build!  Congrats on the progress and can't wait to see more photos!

Thank you!


We got in a few hours on the body on Sunday and made some progress. We sanded down the primer that was rough in some areas with 320 and put down a skim coat of Z grip filler on the top of the fender/door and quarter along with the Dutchman panel. I am not nearly good enough of a body man to get the car straight with a hammer and dolly so I will be pretty much skim coating every panel. Most of the filler will end up on the floor anyway.  The hood and deck lid were done last year off of the car and are very flat. I will block them out after the other panels are done and the car has a coat of primer. 

I put some tape down to get a look at the body lines, that will be weeks away before I get filler on that area but I have to start planning it out.

Got a few more hours in this weekend, as expected, this is very slow going.  :brickwall:  The driver's fender had a good amount of metal replacement/patches welded in around the area of the cowl/hood and needed a lot of body work.  I do not have a contour measuring tool so I had to make do with what I had. I know that the passenger fender was perfect so after using a ruler and a few mixing sticks, I made some tape markings measuring how concave the fender was at different points, then copied them on the driver side.   

I knocked down the filler with 80 then 180 grit, I still have some more fine sanding and shaping but I am very close.  So basically about 8 hours of work and all I did was finish most of the top of the driver's fender and door. 

Below are some pics of the slow process, and my arsenal of sanding blocks. I found out that a section of an old radiator hose makes a fantastic block for the area on top of the doors!!

Nice! Excited to see the progress and methods you use to get your results. Have a few patches to do on my own car before i start with epoxy primer and filler too.  Good luck, looks good!  :2thumbs:

I am so thankful for this topic, and I think it is my favourite one nowadays  :notworthy:  :popcrn:

Very nice work!

Thank you!  :cheers: :cheers:


Got in a few more hours last night, not much to show for it still is vey slow going.  My strategy is to start at the top of the fenders/doors/quarters on both sides of the car, then work down to the sides of the car and work on the body lines. The front valance Is already blocked out from when it was off the car and the rear of the car including the lower corners will need some attention but that will be last.

surprisingly the top of the passenger door was very straight and I was able to block it very flat, Ill see how it looks with primer but I didn't think it needed any filler. The entire passenger side is much better and straighter from front to back.

We still have a few areas on the top of the drivers side that need to be smoothed out as well as the Dutchman panel which needed a lot of work.

 :2thumbs:

Good job   :2thumbs:

Have you considered using a high build spray filler before you start with primer?

Quote from: Dino on February 13, 2016, 11:10:25 AM
Good job   :2thumbs:

Have you considered using a high build spray filler before you start with primer?

I will definitely be looking into that as a possibility, my plan was once the filler work and sanding was done, to cover it with a high build primer, block that out, then repeat until as straight as possible.

Looking great ........... Very nice you're able to do all this at home it appears....  :2thumbs:

Quote from: timmycharger on February 15, 2016, 07:45:11 AM

Quote from: Dino on February 13, 2016, 11:10:25 AM
Good job   :2thumbs:

Have you considered using a high build spray filler before you start with primer?

I will definitely be looking into that as a possibility, my plan was once the filler work and sanding was done, to cover it with a high build primer, block that out, then repeat until as straight as possible.

I would have started with epoxy, and maybe you did, but if not then you can still get a great paint job so consider taking these steps:  Once you are done with filler I would use a spray filler.  This will give you the opportunity to block the car and get it laser straight instead of having to rely on doing this with a primer.  Spray filler is a very easy to use product and you can re-shoot the car or parts of it when you need to build it up more. 

Once the car is straight I would shoot it with epoxy as this is the only primer that is waterproof.  Fillers and a high build are like a sponge so you don't want to rely on those alone to protect the metal underneath.  The more metal you can cover with epoxy the better.  This is the stuff they use in the e-coat process.  You can simply shoot two-three coats of epoxy and follow it up with a high build primer without having to sand the epoxy.  The re-coat window depends on the manufacturer. 

Now you can block sand your primer on a car that is already straight so you won't have to do any hard work here.  You're simply flattening the primer to get it ready for paint.  When you're ready to lay the topcoat you take some more epoxy and thin it out so you can use it as a sealer.  Finish with either a single stage or bc/cc and you'll have a paint job that lasts.

Stick to the better known paint brands with a proven track record and try to stay with one brand to ensure compatible products.  It'll cost you a bit more but it will be worth it.  A paint job is never cheap and anything less than a great paint job with quality products would be money down the drain.

You will save a lot of money doing this by yourself and if you take your time to do it right then the end result will pay off in more ways than one. 

Keep doing what you're doing.   :2thumbs:

Quote from: Dino on February 17, 2016, 12:56:42 PM

Quote from: timmycharger on February 15, 2016, 07:45:11 AM

Quote from: Dino on February 13, 2016, 11:10:25 AM
Good job   :2thumbs:

Have you considered using a high build spray filler before you start with primer?

I will definitely be looking into that as a possibility, my plan was once the filler work and sanding was done, to cover it with a high build primer, block that out, then repeat until as straight as possible.

I would have started with epoxy, and maybe you did, but if not then you can still get a great paint job so consider taking these steps:  Once you are done with filler I would use a spray filler.  This will give you the opportunity to block the car and get it laser straight instead of having to rely on doing this with a primer.  Spray filler is a very easy to use product and you can re-shoot the car or parts of it when you need to build it up more. 

Once the car is straight I would shoot it with epoxy as this is the only primer that is waterproof.  Fillers and a high build are like a sponge so you don't want to rely on those alone to protect the metal underneath.  The more metal you can cover with epoxy the better.  This is the stuff they use in the e-coat process.  You can simply shoot two-three coats of epoxy and follow it up with a high build primer without having to sand the epoxy.  The re-coat window depends on the manufacturer. 

Now you can block sand your primer on a car that is already straight so you won't have to do any hard work here.  You're simply flattening the primer to get it ready for paint.  When you're ready to lay the topcoat you take some more epoxy and thin it out so you can use it as a sealer.  Finish with either a single stage or bc/cc and you'll have a paint job that lasts.

Stick to the better known paint brands with a proven track record and try to stay with one brand to ensure compatible products.  It'll cost you a bit more but it will be worth it.  A paint job is never cheap and anything less than a great paint job with quality products would be money down the drain.

You will save a lot of money doing this by yourself and if you take your time to do it right then the end result will pay off in more ways than one. 

Keep doing what you're doing.   :2thumbs:

:iagree:

Thanks guys, yes I am lucky to be able to do all of this work at my home garage  :2thumbs:

Quote from: 68pplcharger on February 17, 2016, 01:02:11 PM

Quote from: Dino on February 17, 2016, 12:56:42 PM

Quote from: timmycharger on February 15, 2016, 07:45:11 AM

Quote from: Dino on February 13, 2016, 11:10:25 AM
Good job   :2thumbs:

Have you considered using a high build spray filler before you start with primer?

I will definitely be looking into that as a possibility, my plan was once the filler work and sanding was done, to cover it with a high build primer, block that out, then repeat until as straight as possible.

I would have started with epoxy, and maybe you did, but if not then you can still get a great paint job so consider taking these steps:  Once you are done with filler I would use a spray filler.  This will give you the opportunity to block the car and get it laser straight instead of having to rely on doing this with a primer.  Spray filler is a very easy to use product and you can re-shoot the car or parts of it when you need to build it up more. 

Once the car is straight I would shoot it with epoxy as this is the only primer that is waterproof.  Fillers and a high build are like a sponge so you don't want to rely on those alone to protect the metal underneath.  The more metal you can cover with epoxy the better.  This is the stuff they use in the e-coat process.  You can simply shoot two-three coats of epoxy and follow it up with a high build primer without having to sand the epoxy.  The re-coat window depends on the manufacturer. 

Now you can block sand your primer on a car that is already straight so you won't have to do any hard work here.  You're simply flattening the primer to get it ready for paint.  When you're ready to lay the topcoat you take some more epoxy and thin it out so you can use it as a sealer.  Finish with either a single stage or bc/cc and you'll have a paint job that lasts.

Stick to the better known paint brands with a proven track record and try to stay with one brand to ensure compatible products.  It'll cost you a bit more but it will be worth it.  A paint job is never cheap and anything less than a great paint job with quality products would be money down the drain.

You will save a lot of money doing this by yourself and if you take your time to do it right then the end result will pay off in more ways than one. 

Keep doing what you're doing.   :2thumbs:

:iagree:

Thanks Dino, that is great information, much appreciated.  The way I did it was first, I had all of the panels sandblasted and coated in Dupont DP90 which I believe is an epoxy coating.  I then stripped down the shell and sprayed that along with all of the panels with epoxy primer (its the gray color now on the car). I don't remember the brand, but I do remember speaking to the rep at the paint supply shop who let me know it was ok to cover the DP90 with.  As you can see, I then put the filler over the epoxy primer.   

I really do like the idea of the spray filler, so once I am done with the filler, I would be ok to shoot it over that?  After I block out the sprayable filler, would that be when I would lay the primer/sealer down? I am going to look into a tinted primer/sealer since I am using PPG OMNI BC/CC which needs more coverage. I was thinking of buying 2 gallons of color, so after reduced, I will have 4 gallons of product.  I know lots of folks do not like the PPG Omni, but from what we sprayed so far, I am very happy with the results.

Thanks again for your input  :2thumbs:

You did it right!   :2thumbs:

You applied filler over epoxy which is the way to do it.  Yes you can do the spray filler right over the filler you have on there now.  Technically you want to do epoxy between the two as well but it's not earth shattering if you don't.  The whole purpose of the epoxy here is to have a water barrier.  This means that anytime you end up with bare metal, you add more epoxy.  In reality though, you'll end up sanding through the spray filler and epoxy again because you are going for a level surface.  

So I think in this case you can just shoot the spray filler over the plain filler and top that off with epoxy BEFORE you shoot your final high build primer.  Get the car as straight and smooth as you possibly can before doing the spray filler.  It's not designed to hide dents but merely to get rid of the final scratches and the transitions between filler and bare metal.  In essence you use it as if it were a thick primer.  Once you start sanding it you will be very happy to find out how nice you can block this stuff.   :yesnod:

Don't shoot that final primer without epoxy first or you'll lose the water barrier.  But again, you can do a wet in wet system here so you won't have to sand the epoxy at all.  SPI for example gives you a 7 day window to do this.  

The sealer goes on after your high build primer has been sanded and before your topcoat goes on.  You actually spray the sealer, let it flash, and follow with topcoat right away so these are all last step processes.

So to recap:
finish with regular filler work and sand it fairly smooth.  Nothing rougher than 150 grit, 220 may be better
>spray filler built up in thin layers, if you find spots that are still too deep then you can use plain filler on top of the spray filler later.
>block the spray filler and add spray filler or plain filler in areas that need more work.
>rinse and repeat until the car is straight
>epoxy primer to cover all bare metal.  At this point the body should be as straight as can be
>shoot high build primer over unsanded epoxy primer if you're within the re-coat window.  If not then you have to sand the epoxy so plan this right.
>block the high build primer, this should be a final blocking with lighter grits and you should not have to sand through this primer.  If you do, which is easy enough to do especially on the edges then the next step solves that problem
>thin the epoxy to use as a sealer and let it flash
>spray your topcoat system
>after you clean the paint equipment the paint should be set but nowhere near hard so here's when you can remove the masking tape and use a lint free cloth with a bit of lacquer thinner to smooth out any paint edges.  The thinner will melt the paint line.  Once the paint hardens you can use a drop of polish to get the shine back and this will give you a smooth and invisible transition.

PPG Omni is now Shopline. I used it on my engine bay and I should have read some reviews first.  The paint was ridiculously thin.  I ended up remixing it without and reducer and still it was super thin.  So I ended up just using hardener which gives you less end product to work with.  I used the 2nd out of 3 quality paints though so their top line may be better.  In any case you may want to consider using a better top coat.  If you need to use twice as much product then your savings are out of the window anyway.  Also this was SS paint so their base may be better.  

I always use a lot of base though and I use a dry spray feather technique after my wet coats to make sure the metallic is evenly divided and ensure proper coverage.  It uses more product but I've never had streaks or clouds doing it this way with any color.  Be sure to have one of those test cards with greys and blacks taped to your car so you can put equal amounts of paint on it and take out the guess work.  You're not done until you can't see the black on the card shine through anymore.  The car may look covered in your booth but you may end up rolling it out in the sun only to find out it's not entirely covered.  Don't go there!  Use the card.   :yesnod:

Tintable primer is always a good thing but in this case you can save a lot of money by tinting the epoxy as that will be your sealer before topcoat.  This way it doesn't matter what color your high build primer is.

SPI makes a very good epoxy and I did like their clear coat as well.  You may want to give them a call and see what type of topcoat they have to offer.

Alternatively you could spend a bit more and just go with PPG.  I used to paint with Glasurit in Europe which was my favorite by far, but I don't know if it's available here or even if it's still as good.  It's been a long time since I've used it.

Dino, thank you for this information, it is much appreciated. Ill be heading over to the paint supply shop next week to get more supplies so I will ask them about the spray filler and epoxy primer availablilty and what is available for BC/CC system if Omni is no longer available. I picked up my last batch of PPD Omni almost a year and a half, I wasn't aware that they switched to Shopline.

I honestly didn't think that the Omni was that bad. Even with the cheap gun we were using, I thought it laid down very nicely. After clear coating it, it looked pretty good. We did the engine bay, jambs, and inside trunk area, along with inside of all of the panels, hood, decklid.

Is Shopline a complete new formula?

I couldn't tell you to be honest. Someone here told me Omni became Shopline. I've never used Omni myself.

I only have used the single stage for my engine bay and it did lay nice, it dried fine, it's still glossy as hell and I'm super happy with how it looks, but man was that stuff thin! If I had sprayed it like one of the better known brands then the paint would've been on the floor! I had to be really careful with it.

Base coat is a completely different animal so you won't have that problem at all and clears are usually on the thicker side to begin with.

EDIT: I just realized I have used their base on my wife's car and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.  It covered really nice and it sprayed great even with my cheap gun. I used SPI clear on top of that.

Dino, after working on the car this last weekend, I had a question about the spray filler.  Is the product very messy to use? I am worried about the area inside the panel gaps that are currently blue (body color) and I was expecting some overspray with the primers and then again with the color, but will the spray filler make it impossible for me to spray the car assembled? I did not plan on disassembling the car again.

Thoughts? Thanks!

No it's not messy at all, think of it as very thick primer. You're going to need a big tip and needle for your gun by the way.

Just mask of any painted jambs. If you place the masking tape right onto a sharp body line then you can spray right against it as it is very easy to break that line with sandpaper without going past the line. 

For example: place a strip of regular masking tape on the edge of the door jamb and quarter panel and add some wide tape on the jamb. I'm talking about the area where the door striker goes.
Place a wide strip of masking tape on the inside of the door and do it in such a way that half of the tape is stuck to the door and the other half isn't sticking to anything so when you close the door the non stick side hits the quarter panel and the sticky side is facing you.  Now gently push the sticky exposed side inward into the jamb so it sticks on the masking tape you placed on the inside jamb of the quarter panel.  Nothing's getting past that and the spray filler and primer is contained to where you want it.

Yes, I definitely agree about the jams and I like that idea, thank you. I may even try to slide some tape in the blind gap in the top of the fender where it meets the cowl and hood as that is body color also and I don't know if color will reach there when top coating.

Thanks again for your help Dino, on goes the battle...

For the gaps like fender to cowl there's a few ways to deal with it. The easiest is to stick some foam in there or paper towel or whatever. But you can also take some masking tape and cut/tear it in half lengthwise. Then stick one end right on the edge of the cowl and the other on the edge of the fender. They can be overlapped without going past the edges so nothing will get into the gap and all you have to do is sand the edge when you're done.

When using bc/clear you can carefully spray base into the gaps before spraying the rest of the car. When done just clear as usual.

Thanks Dino, great tips. For some reason, when I though of spray filler, I assumed it would be a huge mess. I made my way to the body shop supply store last week and picked up a can of Evercoat Featherfill. I watched a few videos of guys spraying it and it looked pretty straight forward. I will be super careful with my taping in the gaps.

Regarding tintable primer, the only one that he recommended was not an epoxy primer, but a urethane primer by Transtar, he said they didn't carry any epoxy primers that could be tinted, so I may need to look into another brand.   I am going to look into the SPI brand as you noted, I will confirm if they can be tinted with the PPG Omni blue, and if they make a high build primer product as well.  You mention to thin it out and use it as a sealer before top coat, would that still be ok with the tint?


also talked to them about the availability of the PPG Omni in B7 and they can still mix it up for me, they agreed with my concerns about the coverage and recommended I use the test cards to make sure it covers fully as you noted. My plan is to buy 2 gallons of base color, which after reducing will give me 4 gallons of sprayable product. I am hoping that will give me enough to put 4 coats of base on there at least.

Thanks again for your input Dino 

You're welcome.   :cheers:

I haven't tinted any primers for so long and I can't remember what epoxies I did tint. They used to have special bottles for these things, we didn't use urethane paints to tint like they tend to do with a high build primer. Then still I'm not a huge fan of it because it changes the way it sands and once sanded will not have a real uniform color anyway. I find there is nothing wrong with just painting your base over a solid grey, white, or black primer. Just as you need to keep adding base to cover all aspects of a test card you spray the car this way as well. Sure you may end up using a bit more base but this is really not going to make a lot of difference in the long run.

I don't see any problem using a grey high build primer for example and mixing some white and black epoxy to do the sealing right before base coat. I painted my wife's roof blue metallic and had stark white SPI epoxy on the front of the roof. A few coats of blue and some clear and you cannot tell where the primer was.  :2thumbs:

Thanks Dino, I'm leaning more towards what you had suggested with the gray primer, I think that would be just fine. I have lots of bare spots now from blocking so I will end up using the epoxy before I spray the featherfill.

Got some work done on it this weekend, the Dutchman panel is pretty nice now, the entire top of the car is blocked, now we are making our way down the sides. The tail panel needed a lot of work but looks nice now. I wasn't very happy with the corners where the end caps go on, had to use filler to make it look nice because I was not very careful when I welded it and made a bit of a mess. It looks nice now but I would have done it different if were to do it again. Got a layer of filler down the quarter and fender, the door was very straight, only a slight low spot around the left handle bolt hole, I will try to hammer it from the backside flat as any filler will crack there.

I have been at this since January, going out there about 2x a week, total of about 12 hours per, not much to show for it yet but making progress!

 :cheers:

 :cheers:

Looking great!!
Pat

Thanks, Pat.



Making super slow progress, even though I have been able to get more hours in the garage. The first pic describes my pace  ;)

The good news is once I finish the filler work on the top of the quarters, it will go much more quickly as below the main body line, the panels are very straight and need filler only in a few spots and along the tape line to help out the terrible body lines from the Year One quarter skins.  Below the tape line is very straight luckily.   We spend a lot of time on each panel to get it straight as a possible, I am sure this time will payoff when the final product is completed.

Once the filler work is done, then it will get a coat of epoxy primer, then a coat or 2 of the feather fill.  Then blocking, blocking and more blocking until ready for more primer.  Still on track to spray it in June, but hopefully sooner as the guy that has been helping me on this since day 1 will be moving down to VA in June so I have some extra motivation to get the bodywork done in time for him to shoot it before he leaves.  If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be even close to the point I am at now so I am grateful for all the time he has put into this.

 :coolgleamA:

Finally, the filler work is done.  It was very slow, but I could only get out there once or maybe twice a week. Got it out of the booth to clean it off, hopefully next week we can spray the Epoxy sealer and Featherfill G2.  Hoping it will block easy given how much time spent with the filler work getting it perfect.  Felt good to fire it up too :coolgleamA:

I'm sure it was nice to start it up and drive outside just to blow it off where the dust won't land in the garage. Look forward to seeing it all one color even if it is primer!
Pat 

Quote from: keepat on May 26, 2016, 01:45:51 PM
I'm sure it was nice to start it up and drive outside just to blow it off where the dust won't land in the garage. Look forward to seeing it all one color even if it is primer!
Pat 

Thanks, Pat, it sure was!

I widened the paint booth so both doors could open, then had to re tape the car after blowing it off. Used an old box as a make shift duct with a small fan in the window to blow the fumes out the lower fans. Worked pretty well.

First, we put down a coat of epoxy primer/sealer to cover the bare spots followed by 2 coats of the G2 Featherfill. That went down real nice, we reduced it about 5% with Acetone to thin it out a bit.

Now some small areas need to be addressed, then its blocking time.


:2thumbs:

 :2thumbs:

 Body lines look great! Nice job!
Pat

Quote from: keepat on May 30, 2016, 07:18:48 PM
Body lines look great! Nice job!
Pat

:iagree:   :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Very nice work :2thumbs:

Looking real good.  :2thumbs:

 :2thumbs: :coolgleamA:   :popcrn:

Thanks guys, it felt great to get to see the lines as its so hard to see when its half filler and primer.  

I'm running out of time to get it painted unfortunately as my brother in law is moving in a few weeks and I am not sure if I will have the time to properly block it and prep it for painting before he goes. This is something I do  not want to rush so we will keep at it and try to get a perfectly blocked body and I may explore having someone spray the topcoat for me, and possibly color sand and buff after. I can do the blackout area on the taillight panel and the stripe decal.

I was out there last night with a good LED light and found lots of pin holes and a few scratches. I may do another coat of the featherfill on these areas or maybe just a high build primer.  :scratchchin:

First off: excellent work and kudos for getting to this stage. You deserve a pat on the back and a few cold beers!   :cheers:

Second: you're correct in not rushing now as you do not want to risk a sub-optimal result in final paint after doing all this work.

Third: be very careful with pinholes. They can ruin a good paint job and are sometimes hard to get rid off. The problem with covering up pinholes is that dirt, debris, and air can become trapped in there and that can result in the pinhole leaving a mark later down he line after you have it painted. Ideally you sand those areas so the pinholes are gone, but if you have to fill them then be sure to blast them with compressed air, and even go over them with a vacuum, to make sure nothing is trapped in there. You may want to use a fine filler to close up any fine pinholes, or use a skim coat of metal primer. If you put a good amount of pressure on the putty knife you can force the filler into the pinholes and force the air out. Leave the filler on for several days before sanding to make sure it's rock hard. I'd still try to sand them out though.

It's a lot of work but the best thing to do is block the car and not mind going through the primer, and then prime it again. It's part piece of mind really. If you don't care that you'll sand through the primer then all your focus will be on getting the car as straight as possible instead of focusing on not breaching the primer and maybe leaving some imperfections. Then when you block it a second time you won't have to sand through it anywhere and have a perfect base for sealer and topcoat. But it's a lot of work to be sure.

Either way I'm sure you'll end up with a great end product.   :2thumbs:

Quote from: Dino on June 04, 2016, 11:44:50 AM
First off: excellent work and kudos for getting to this stage. You deserve a pat on the back and a few cold beers!   :cheers:

Second: you're correct in not rushing now as you do not want to risk a sub-optimal result in final paint after doing all this work.

Third: be very careful with pinholes. They can ruin a good paint job and are sometimes hard to get rid off. The problem with covering up pinholes is that dirt, debris, and air can become trapped in there and that can result in the pinhole leaving a mark later down he line after you have it painted. Ideally you sand those areas so the pinholes are gone, but if you have to fill them then be sure to blast them with compressed air, and even go over them with a vacuum, to make sure nothing is trapped in there. You may want to use a fine filler to close up any fine pinholes, or use a skim coat of metal primer. If you put a good amount of pressure on the putty knife you can force the filler into the pinholes and force the air out. Leave the filler on for several days before sanding to make sure it's rock hard. I'd still try to sand them out though.

It's a lot of work but the best thing to do is block the car and not mind going through the primer, and then prime it again. It's part piece of mind really. If you don't care that you'll sand through the primer then all your focus will be on getting the car as straight as possible instead of focusing on not breaching the primer and maybe leaving some imperfections. Then when you block it a second time you won't have to sand through it anywhere and have a perfect base for sealer and topcoat. But it's a lot of work to be sure.

Either way I'm sure you'll end up with a great end product.   :2thumbs:

Thanks, Dino, It has been a long ride, getting closer and closer.

Great tips, After making sure they were clean as possible, I filled in the pin holes with the filler.  l still have to get a few more I missed, Ill crawl around again with the light to get them all. I will be doing like you say above, blocking it flat as possible, then hitting it wiht another coat of poly or high build and then block it out again.  I like what I am seeing already pre blocking, in the right light you can really see how flat the panels are, the finished product should be really nice.

I am going to have arms like Hulk Hogan in his prime when I'm done sanding this car  :icon_smile_big:

After going around the car with a huge LED light, we fixed a few imperfections in the filled spots along with the body line itself.  We guide coated the entire car and started blocking the first coat of primer with 180 grit. As you can see we went to the epoxy in a few spots but as pointed out by Dino, I am hoping the second coat of primer will be easier.  We got through about half of the car, still a lot of real estate left to cover. 

the plan is to have it sprayed with another coat of primer on Sunday before my brother in law leaves. If we can't get it blocked by then then I will lay down the primer myself, it will just take me longer.  I will then block it down one more time to 600 grit and hopefully have it ready for the sealer and paint.

Since my brother in law is leaving, I had to make alternate plans on painting the car. As luck would have it, there is a body shop within walking distance from my house who does quality work, as vouched by my mechanic after I inquired about him.  He came over to look at it on Friday and will get back to me on a quote or even if he wants the job. Basically I am asking for sealer, base coat/clear and a color sand and buff.  Proper taping, etc which he assured me he would do. 

That is top notch bodywork.

Good job man, it will be worth the work.

Thank you, JR!


Looks like its going to get painted soon! Talked to the body guy today and we agreed on a price for him to paint it.  :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

I just need to get the second coat of primer on and block it out to 600 grit.  The second time around should be easier I hope!

We finished the blocking at 180 on the featherfill so today I put down 3 coats of 2k High Build Primer, probably close to 5 coats n the rear quarter body line area, its a little wavy so I will get the straight edge and tape and try to block it straight as possible.

I will block this out to 600 per the painter's request, then it will be off to be sprayed  :2thumbs:

 :cheers:

Looking mighty fine!   :2thumbs:

Looking good and getting close   :2thumbs:

that thing is crisp, like a new 100 dollar bill.   :2thumbs:

Luke

Thanks guys, much appreciated! :cheers:


Still in the process of blocking out the car, got the quarter main body line a bit straighter after using the tape method, just very slow going.  I am doing the entire car at 320, then I will finsh it off at 600 wet.  So far even at 320, it is looking nice, hard to see in the pics but at certain angles its like a mirror already, very straight.  

I went down to metal on a few tiny spots, in one of the pics you can see it, not sure if the sealer before the basecoat will take care of this or if I have to mix a small batch of primer. I am out of activator so I would have to go buy a small can to do this. Last year, I bought a can of transtar primer in a can from the autobody supply store, pricey stuff but maybe I can use that for the tiny spots? The guy at the supply store told me it was compatible with all products. I used it on small interior parts and it worked great.

I hope to finish the 320 blocking this weekend and get started on the 600 next weekend.  :cheers:

 :cheers:

I ended up using that primer pictured above on a few small spots, not really good for what I was looking for so basically I just sanded it right off, it had zero build capabilities, far too thin.

Given the small size and few spots, I think I will be ok with just the sealer over everything prior to the top coat.   I checked in with the painter on Saturday, let him know that I am getting closer, looks like 2 to 3 weeks away still until I am ready. I forgot that the motor needs a bit of attention before I hand the car over to him, I have a small fuel leak and 2 leaky valve cover gaskets to deal with, I am sure he doesn't want fuel and oil all over his booth floor.

Finally, after 8 months of sanding, its ready for paint. I blocked it all out at 320 then again 600 wet. Boy that was messy but it took care of the scratches. I did go down to metal on a few tiny spots, but the painter is going to seal it first anyway. Talked to the painter yesterday, he can take it on Wednesday, I have to go pick up the paint tomorrow. My original plan was to use the OMNI like I did in the engine bay, trunk area, but I am considering Diamont, its much more expensive, and I am not sure if it will match, but I am going to bring a quart of OMNI I had from before to compare.

Took it outside after cleaning it off, forgot about my noisy valvetrain I have to attend to, but that is for another day.  The passenger fender body line was a bit wonky so I had to re block it, had to use a different color primer but it wont matter as its getting another full coat of primer anyway.  I am happy with the lines, I could only do so much with those 1999 Year One skins.

I will post up some pics of it painted, maybe during as my wife plans on taking a walk down there while Im at work and maybe taking a pic or two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeCVGMqwQnw

:icon_smile_big:

 Congrats, body lines look great! Look forward to seeing paint on her!
Pat

Those lines are crisp! It's going to look sweet! Congrats on a job well done.   :2thumbs:

Thanks guys, so happy this part of the build is over with, it was definitely my least enjoyable, that is for sure.

Took the painter's advice, ended up using R-M Diamont rather than Omni.  It was about $350 more a gallon but I am hoping it will be worth it.  Will be using the R-M high end clear as well.  I know its not sprayed yet, but when I compared what I had left of the OMNI vs the Diamont, the color shade looked spot on. I know this could change once sprayed but that was a good sign at least. The worst scenario is that inside the trunk and engine bay would be slightly different, not too concerned about that since he is going to re spray the door jambs with the new stuff, that would be more noticeable.

Dropped it off on Wednesday, not sure if they did anything on it yet other than move it in and out of the shop at night.  My wife tells me I need a paper bag to breathe into since I constantly want to drive by and check on it.   I think its worse since I have this week off and more time to stew about it.

Nice work there Timmy, can't wait to see the result.
:2thumbs:
TPR

Going with the Diamont good advice as Omni sucks. Omni is good for a used car lot winter beater maybe. Just my opinion, I'm sure others think it's the greatest. LEON.

Thank you!

Yes, for all the time and effort on this car, I didn't want to skimp here.



Some shots of it at the shop, he is preparing to do the jambs, and edges of the deck lid and hood/doors.

Well, got a call from the painter today while at work. He finished painting the jambs/ trunk gutter area and edges of the doors and hood/decklid.  That was the good news.

Bad news is that it doesn't match the PPG Omni that was there.  Pic posted below.  He said the Diamont looks so much better than what was there. I considered picking up a gallon of Omni and having him re do it, but instead the painter is going to re do the entire area inside the doors with the Diamont to make it match the jambs and eventually the entire car.  So when he is done, inside the engine bay/underside of hood and inside the trunk/underside of decklid will not be the same as the outside of the car.

Not an original car, or a show car for that matter so its not the end of the world. just wished I started with Diamont in the first place.  :brickwall:

Great color!

Scuff the parts that don't match with a scotchbrite and reshoot them or just have the painter do it, you'll always look at it and think bad of it if you don't. Why take a shortcut after all this great work?   :Twocents:

After seeing it in person this afternoon I am not sure if it will bother me all that much. The car was in the sun the transition didn't look as bad as the first pic.  If it bothers me then I agree with shooting over the Omni.   This color is amazing, the terrible pics do not give it justice, the Diamont is much deeper, you can see the metallic in the paint.  In one of the pics of the quarter extensions, they look like two different colors, obviously they are not, but this color is hard to get a picture of.  

The painter ended up spraying the entire door jamb, along with inside the door as that was very obvious, looks great.  Its very humid here, he is letting it dry for a few days before taping and spraying it. He is taking good care of it so far.

 :2thumbs:

Does the Painter or shop have heat in the booth to bake the paint? LEON.

Quote from: hemi-hampton on August 09, 2016, 10:39:18 PM
Does the Painter or shop have heat in the booth to bake the paint? LEON.

I don't believe that he does

Not real important on the jambs but I would want my outside baked. As far as I know all spray booths have this option but most don't want to use it because to exspensive. Heck, I even baked the paint on the cheap $149.99 Maaco paint jobs back in the late 80's but probably because it was mass production, had to paint 8 cars a day or 1 per hour. LEON.

$149 paint job!  :smilielol: I spent more on sandpaper I think.  I do remember paying a local shop $250 to spray my old Lancia back in 1994.  You can't even get gallon of decent paint for that amount now.

I am going to ask him about baking the paint, thanks for the feedback Leon.

With the car just about to be painted, figured now is a good time to get a better way to post pics on this site. I signed up for Photobucket, this is just a test LOL...



(http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p474/mbenassi1/20160731_161157_zpsehxprmbf.jpg) (http://s347.photobucket.com/user/mbenassi1/media/20160731_161157_zpsehxprmbf.jpg.html)

The painter surprised me today with a phone call on the way home from work, nice end to a tough work week.  :cheers:

Looks amazing, he did a great job laying down the paint. I wont get it back till next week as he needs to buff it all out still but even now I would be happy with it the way it is.  The color looks dark in the booth, but see the above pic of the quarter end cap and door jamb, that's the color in the sun.

Having a celebratory cold beverage to celebrate  :cheers: :cheers:

 :icon_smile_cool:

Oh man looks awesome !!

Looking good!

All that hard work paid off. Great work!   :2thumbs:

Looks great!

Can't beat a 2nd gen with fresh paint :2thumbs: :2thumbs:    Looks good!  :yesnod:

Looks good. Congrats :2thumbs:  LEON.

Looking good Timmy. I'll have a drink for you too.
:cheers:
TPR

Looks great! congrats!
Pat

Thank you guys  :cheers: I am so happy with how it came out, I will post up some pics when I get it back and outside in the sun.

Can't wait to get all of the trim on and finish it off.  Still lots of $ ahead as I have to get my bumpers re chromed, restore the grille, buy some door glass, door panels, seatbelts and some wheels and tires.

I think I am more excited about having my clean garage back, going to dismantle the paint booth very soon, just need to spray the grille support frame first.  No more tracking white foot prints all over the driveway.  :eek2:

 :coolgleamA: :2thumbs:  looks good !!  great stuff  :yesnod: :popcrn:

Nice! Looking forward to seeing it done with trim, bumpers and lights  :2thumbs:

Great color and great job! :2thumbs:

Thank you guys!  :cheers:


Did some work while the car was at the shop, restored and re finished the grille support frame. It had tons of tiny craters, like acne scars all over it, and a little waviness from where it was welded together.  A tiny skim coat with some body filler did the trick, primed it and painted it with SEM trim black paint, came out great.  I am not ready to bolt it in yet as the grille should be done first, so I will put it in the garage loft in a big blanket to keep it safe.

Finally was able to take down most of the paint booth and do some cleaning so when the car comes back, it wont immediately be filthy again.  My wife was happy that she has her entire spot in the garage back, no more do the kids have to shimmy into the car because the booth is 2 inches from it haha.  :2thumbs:

Brought it home from the shop today, of course during a rain storm. I only had to go around the block but it was still a bit sketchy.  This color is impossible to capture with a picture, it seems to constantly change. With my eyes, it looks almost bluish/greeen but through the camera its bright blue. :shruggy:

You'll need to have it out in daylight and possible need a different camera.

Are you happy with the color? That's all that counts.

Yes! more than happy with the color, I agree that once its outside, it will make a difference. B7 is always tricky to get an accurate picture of. I must have 10 pictures of cars that are supposedly 1969 B7 and many of them are slightly different.

I'm sure even brand new B7 cars would have variables in color. Not too strict on the whole tolerances thing back then!   :lol:

Alright enough drooling over it; get that thing done!   :punkrocka:

Very nice  :coolgleamA: Congrats on getting it painted, it looks fantastic  :drool5: 

....now move that aluminum ladder  :icon_smile_big:

Quote from: Dino on August 16, 2016, 10:03:05 PM
I'm sure even brand new B7 cars would have variables in color. Not too strict on the whole tolerances thing back then!   :lol:

Alright enough drooling over it; get that thing done!   :punkrocka:

I bet the B7's back then all matched better then they do now. LEON.

Awesome Timmy  :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

What a difference from 2001 when I first spotted your Charger on-line.

:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Looks awesome Congratulations

Awesome Timmy  2thumbs 2thumbs 2thumbs

What a difference from 2001 when I first spotted your Charger on-line.

cheers cheers cheers


Yes! what a different 15 years makes!!


Very nice  coolgleamA Congrats on getting it painted, it looks fantastic  drool5  

....now move that aluminum ladder  icon_smile_big

Haha! yes, I know, its still there, I have to clean the garage  :P


Thanks guys, got to bring it out in the sun for a few pics, you can see in one of them what a difference the shade makes, its like 2 different colors.

First order of business is to correct a small run in the tail panel. I could bring it back to the shop but Its a huge hassle for me right now, It is right where the chrome trim separates the body color and the black in the tail panel and is hard to notice.  I will wet sand it down using my round sanding block, tape all around it first. I will then polish it out and should hopefully disappear.

All your block sand looks like it paid off, body lines look great!!
Pat

Did some work on the motor yesterday as I had a loud ticking sound that was driving me crazy. I was also leaking oil out of both valve covers and had 2 damaged sight plugs on my holley carbs that  were temporarily fixed last year.  Last year,  I bought the clear sight plugs to make float adjustments easier, but they immediatedly melted and left the threads in the bowls.  I took off the bowls, and thinking they were in there tight, I went to drill out the remaining plastic threads but they just pushed in and I ended up stabbing the rear float with the drill bit making a little hole  :brickwall:...

I replaced the lifters that I shouldn't have re used before as they motor sat 13 years with new comp cams ones. Set the appropriate pre load and bolted it back together.

The good news is that the ticking noise is gone, the motor is still noisy with the Hughes adjustable rockers but that is what it sounded like before I took the car apart so I am going to go with it.  The bad news is that on my rear carb, I had fuel spraying 3 inches out of the fuel vent tube.. guess floats don't work well with holes in them  :shruggy:.  I picked up a new float last night.  

So I could let the car get to temp and break in the lifters, I blocked off the rear carb/fuel line and just ran it on the center carb.  Brought the motor up to temp, let the fan click on and made sure no more valve cover leaks.  

Overall, I am happy with the motor so far, this is the longest I had it running since putting it back together. Oil pressure is good, it got to about 200 degrees or so, but the timing is very advanced, not sure if that and the fact that the motor was just rebuilt is causing it to run hotter than I remember.   Also, I have a rear main seal leak that I already knew about, Ill address that in the future as its not a big deal right now.

Concerned about the charging system however. Its all over the place, around 14.5 to 16.9 V while at idle, I will check the field wires on the alt, and possible re check the ground on the Voltage regulator.  

Below is a clip of the motor with the tick, and after when the lifters replaced..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFh6mxFDMrE


and after:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1JwHCEvy7k

Sounds good man coming together nice.

Thanks!

I think I solved my charging problem today after a little trial and error. First I scraped the paint off of the back of the voltage regulator as well as around the mounting hole on the firewall. I used a star washer with the bolt for some added bite.  That didn't fix it so I ended up digging through my parts and found a couple of parts store regulators. 1 is a Filco, the other Wells. I used the Wells one and it seems to have cured my problem. Using my meter on the battery, its charging consistently at 14.1 to 13.75V range at idle with the electic fuel pump and dual electric fans on.  I kicked the blower motor and wipers on to boot, it stayed steady.

I also pulled the rear carb off and inspected the float. I think it was just sticky, as it didn't drop a few times when I flipped it upside down. The one I punctured still floats actually, its the foam looking one, not brass.   I wasted a few bucks on the float I bought but its good to have a spare.  I will clean it all up and bolt it back on, making sure the float is nice and free, should cure that problem too.

It needs to be tuned a bit more with a vacuum gauge and timing light which I will do this weekend, then I may take it for a quick spin  :icon_smile_cool:


Next I have to address my leak. I think its the rear main seal, but its not dripping just on the bottom, it looks spread out as if it were the rear of the pan, possibly a pan gasket, I will crawl under there and take a better look.  I may just have to re position the rear main seal, dunno, but I know its going to suck as I am running a Lakewood Bellhousing and motor plate.  :brickwall:

I have been slowly picking away at some small things on the car.  I had the runs in the clear coat removed by the painter, I still have to go back to have him finish some of the small ones way down low on the rocker but those can wait.

I had the car registered and insured, I was able to use a 1968 license plate so now I only have to run 1 plate and the blue lettering on the Mass plates are pretty cool and different.  Had some fun driving around the neighborhood albeit no bumpers, grille, lights, hood  :D

The valve train noise is still there, but not nearly as loud as it was prior to changing out the lifters, and the carbs need a bit more adjustment as they seem to be running very rich (eyes watering)

I put on the gas cap and ring, glad to see it fit perfectly since we had to completely fabricate that area by hand. Installed the exhaust tips and I have been working on the trim, using as much of my original trim as possible, getting better with the buffing wheel.  I am not too happy with the aftermarket windshield trim, it doesn't fit as nice as my originals that are bent to hell, particularly on the bottom corners where it covers the A pillar, it looks like dog crap, big gap, its like its not the right shape. I will look for an original set and polish it out, but for now I am going to run it.

looking awesome

After peeking in on your thread a couple times previously, I thought "man, I need to make time to read through the whole thing"...did that today. Great work on your Charger, it looks absolutely fantastic!! :cheers:

I'm very impressed that the only thing you farmed out was the paint job, it kinda gives me hope that I may actually be able to do the majority of the work on mine. I'll be checking back in on your progress more often now, keep at it. :icon_smile_cool:

Oh and BTW, I had to LOL when you wrote about your wife's new dress in the trunk, that ended up smelling like burnt rubber, after your big burnout. Sounds like something that would happen to me. :smilielol:

Quote from: Charger_Fan on October 12, 2016, 02:12:42 PM
After peeking in on your thread a couple times previously, I thought "man, I need to make time to read through the whole thing"...did that today. Great work on your Charger, it looks absolutely fantastic!! :cheers:

I'm very impressed that the only thing you farmed out was the paint job, it kinda gives me hope that I may actually be able to do the majority of the work on mine. I'll be checking back in on your progress more often now, keep at it. :icon_smile_cool:

Oh and BTW, I had to LOL when you wrote about your wife's new dress in the trunk, that ended up smelling like burnt rubber, after your big burnout. Sounds like something that would happen to me. :smilielol:

Thank you very much! I appreciate that, for the most part I tried to do everything myself, it just wasn't in the budget to pay someone to do it for me, which is why it is taking me so long.

Yes, the dress story was great, my wife just shakes her head when I mention it to her  ;D

Good luck on your Charger, I hope you will be able to tackle the work yourself as when its done it just makes it all that better knowing you had a huge part in its completion.  :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Quote from: timmycharger on October 11, 2016, 08:17:24 AM
I am not too happy with the aftermarket windshield trim, it doesn't fit as nice as my originals that are bent to hell, particularly on the bottom corners where it covers the A pillar, it looks like dog crap, big gap, its like its not the right shape. I will look for an original set and polish it out, but for now I am going to run it.

Looking nice  :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

I have misc windshield trim pieces both for front and rear if you decide to go original and cannot find a complete set.

[/quote]

Looking nice  :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

I have misc windshield trim pieces both for front and rear if you decide to go original and cannot find a complete set.
[/quote]


Good to know! thank you I will keep that in mind :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

I got some parts back from the blaster and prepped them for paint. Mostly bumper brackets, head light parts and other assorted under car stuff. Since I am nowhere near a factory correct build, everything got blasted with black.

I taped off and painted the tail panel, used SEM trim black and tried to give it a dry spray to create some texture, I am happy with how it came out. Since I am running a trunk mounted battery, I had to put a shut off as I plan on track time. I tried to blend it into the tail panel, and have a red handle I can swap out for when I hit the track.

I regret having to smooth over the quarter valence end caps, with those horrible Year One skins and end caps, and my lack of experience, I couldn't get them to look good enough to have the seams look decent.  Meh, maybe I will have another chance at a 69 some day and they will be perfect :yesnod:

If it really bothers you, it doesn't take much to tape off the corners and cut a slight gap in there. If you do it right you can just touch it up with paint when you're done instead of having to respray it.

Car looks killer by the way!   :cheers:

Thanks Dino, I did try to scribe in lines when it was still in primer but it didn't come out too good. I welded the seams and have a small skim coat on them so when I tried to cut the lines, it was hard to cut them straight. I regret doing it this way but I will chaulk it up to a learning experience.

My original tail lights were in poor condition so I ended up scoring a re chromed set on Ebay that needed a little bit of work. the prior owner sprayed black inside the tail light housing where the lights would go, I compared my original that was bright silver.  A little bit of chrome spray did the trick.  The black needed to be re done as there were chips and the line was rough near the chrome.  I used my lenses and gaskets, used plastic polish to clean them up.  I have to sort out the wiring, the turn signals and brake lights don't work but they go on with the headlights. Maybe a blown fuse?  The reverse lights work :2thumbs:

 :cheers:

I know it's not correct but I like the smooth valence corners...

Quote from: qwick68 on November 06, 2016, 01:21:08 PM
I know it's not correct but I like the smooth valence corners...

I do too.

Quote from: green69rt on November 06, 2016, 04:22:08 PM

Quote from: qwick68 on November 06, 2016, 01:21:08 PM
I know it's not correct but I like the smooth valence corners...

I do too.

:2thumbs:

Thanks guys, it's not as much of a big deal as I thought it would be, especially after I start bolting things on!  :2thumbs:

Quote from: timmycharger on November 05, 2016, 09:46:45 PM
I have to sort out the wiring, the turn signals and brake lights don't work but they go on with the headlights. Maybe a blown fuse? 

.
It might be a fuse, or it could be the turn signal switch. Power to the brake lights goes through the T/S switch, so if it's bad, you won't get squat.

The back end is looking pretty schweeet!! :drool5:

 :coolgleamA: :2thumbs: :cheers:

Thank you!

Charger_Fan,  you nailed it. I jiggled the turn signal lever and they work now, sort of, its very wonky so I will be ordering up a new one. Thanks! :cheers: :cheers:

Not for me, gotta have the lines compared to being smoothed out valance corners.

:Twocents:

Tail lights look awesome  :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

My brother in law was in town and he helped me put down the stripe.  We taped off the location based on threads I found on this site with measurements from an original car, then just used some soapy water in a spray bottle and a squeegee.  I am very happy with how it turned out.  :2thumbs:

Stripe looks really good!  :cheers:
I just realized that 68 and 69 backup lights are diff.   :eek2:

Thanks! yep, I kind of like the 69 style better, but then again, pretty much the entire back end.


We got most of the trim straightened and polished and on the car, few more pieces to go.  :coolgleamA:

Looking good  :coolgleamA:

Looking good!

Thanks guys  :cheers:


Got in a few hours on Sunday, cleaned the shop dust from the trunk area, greased the trunk hinges so now it stops making terrible sounds when I open and close it.

Polished and installed the upper tail panel trim that my brother in law did a great job getting dents out of.  Lastly I installed the trunk seal, what a pain in the ass that was as I initially made a big mess with the adhesive but was able to clean it before it was permanent.

One of my favorite threads.
Looking close to done!
:2thumbs:
TPR

Nice job with the strips...  :2thumbs:

Thanks guys, much appreciated, this is the fun part of the build for sure.

Slowly chipping away at it, yesterday I was able to install the side marker lights, only the rear ones are hooked up for now, they were the $150 repros and gave me trouble as expected, but eventually, I got them to go on correctly.  I installed the Charger emblem in the back, sorted out the lower trim fasteners as well.

I installed the front wheel lip trim, ended up using my original drivers side one as it fit so much better than the Year One piece. I couldn't use my original passenger side one since it has a good size ding in it.

I will be working on the vent window assemblies soon, collecting parts still and I will be getting the grille sorted out, Its on my bench ready for Inspection and from first glance, it looks ok. Some cracks in the inner parts of the outer shells, the fastener areas are pretty beat up, will be doing lots of plastic repair there, but the overall shape of it is correct, not squashed and the trim is nice, I have another few pieces of trim I can use as well.

This grille is from my friend's 68 Charger that he had in high school that I bought from him and sold years ago, my original grille went on that car when I sold it, it was caved in towards the middle.

That's a dam nice grill!

Yea its not too bad, I have lots of work ahead of me on it to get it right.

Today I mounted the grille frame and restored the front wiring harness. Still figuring out how it lays in there and how the vacuum lines all hook up but the headlights and markers work. I put my old sealed beams back in for now, I wanted to test the relay/fuse upgrade on the wiring which seems ok. I may upgrade them later but these cleaned up pretty well. I polished the trim rings too. I have to restore the buckets still and may use Evaporust like the bolts/etc. This stuff works pretty well.

If it can be of any help...

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,121524.0/all.html

Great info! thanks Dino, it definitely will help!

few more from yesterday.

Looks nice. That grille is a nice starting point. Do you plan to paint it like original?

Quote from: Charger-Bodie on December 19, 2016, 08:11:22 AM
Looks nice. That grille is a nice starting point. Do you plan to paint it like original?

Yes, that is the plan, there is lots of great information on this site that I can use  :2thumbs:

Quote from: timmycharger on December 19, 2016, 08:29:18 AM

Quote from: Charger-Bodie on December 19, 2016, 08:11:22 AM
Looks nice. That grille is a nice starting point. Do you plan to paint it like original?

Yes, that is the plan, there is lots of great information on this site that I can use  :2thumbs:

Sweet. alot of people take the easy way out and paint it all black.

I soooo want to stick my grille in my car, but I shouldn't because it's easier working on the car with all that extra space up front.

Can't wait to see yours finished.   :2thumbs:

I would too after seeing that finished product!

Great job on your grille Dino, I am going to use yours as my reference. I am going to start gathering jars and plastic pieces for the ABS slurry I think I read somewhere that lego pieces will work, with 3 kids Ive got millions of them!  I have the Acetone already.

With the trim, is that aluminum not stainless? I would have just gone to town on the buffing wheel but looks like I need to get them cleaned up first.

Yeah Lego works fine. I don't have any kids so I had to get my ABS at the local hardware store.   :icon_smile_big:

The trim is aluminum. In order to buff it you have to take off the anodized layer, hence the need for lye. In all honestly, it's a lot of work and I just did mine because I enjoy the work. If I had the funds to buy a new set I would've done so, but the old set did turn out real nice!

One thing I did not mention in my grille thread is that you should wear a respirator or at least sand the trim in a well ventilated area. You do NOT want to inhale this stuff.

I took the grille apart, carefully removed the hardware for the trim as they are expensive to replace. I will soak them in evaporust along with anything else metal in the grill, like the rivets and bracing.  After cleaning all the plastic, I will work on the plastic repairs.

Put in the headlights with the buckets, they need to be adjusted still. I installed the mirrors, using the reinforcement plates from Mega Parts, no issues there.

Excellent! Almost there!   :2thumbs:

:cheers:

Looking good!

Is that grille done yet?   :icon_smile_big:

What do you have left to do on the big blue beast?

Thanks Dino! I'm still in the cleaning stage of the grille, right now the edge pieces with the metal brackets have been soaking in evaporust, they are looking good, I will dive into the plastic repair next week hopefully. I still am messing with the brake pedal height which should be solved, after that, its the vent windows, side glass, door panels, few interior adjustments, and pieces of trim, then I want to change out my oil pan to something that doesn't hang down so low, after that's done, I will nut/bolt the bottom of the car, buy some wheels and tires, then bring it for an alignment and have the A/C charged. Although, as you know, something always unexpected will pop up I'm sure.  The hood will go back on after I have the body guy fix what I did to it. I did a movie "Tommy Boy" impersonation a few months ago and had it fly up on me on one of my around the block ventures. Minor damage but it will be sorted soon.


Below is a shot of the antenna, I got the 68 Charger replacement telescoping unit. Seems way longer than I think it should be? Not planning on leaving it like that of course.  The bumper from AMD went on easily, overall nice fitting piece, but the chrome in some spots was blemished, not enough to make me return it but it's there none the less.

Got to mount my vintage 68 Mass license plate, since the registry allowed it as an antique plate, I only need the one which is nice.

Beautiful work! I love the rear end of a '68 when everything is fresh!

Question for you. The screws that hold the license plate light to the bumper on my car are the originals. My bumper has been poorly rechromed in the past, so its been messed with before. The screws for the light just barely cover the holes in the bumper and I'm not sure if they were drilled out and I should weld them up or if its original. Someone put huge washers on the screws in the past which I know that they didn't have, but this got me questioning the size of the holes in the bumper. Thanks!

Thank you! I couldn't agree more!

Here is a pic of my bumper, the only one I had that showed the holes, they were pretty big, the screws I had that were from my old bumper, barely covered it. No washer was used. I felt that the bigger holes helped me because it didn't sit quite flush behind there. Not sure if it was a casting flaw or what, but the larger holes allowed it to sit correctly.

Awesome, thanks for the reply. Keep up the great work!

I lost my original hood latch some how but thanks to a member on this site, I am back in business. Shout out to BLK 68 R/T for helping me out. Below is the before pic, and after a night in evaporust and some time with a brush and WD40, came out very nice. Thanks again!

Very nice work  :2thumbs:. I only hope my car looks as good as your guys cars on here.

Thank you!

I also started working on the grille yesterday. Last week, I soaked the metal parts of the buckets in evaporust, then I washed the pieces of grille thoroughly with some simple green and water. As you can see, the grille was broken in several places.

I copied the technique Dino used on his grille and made an AbS slurry from pieces of plastic and acetone. I used several Lego bricks and experimented with how much to use until I had the consistency I wanted.

I then made dams out of paint sticks covered in tape and poured in the slurry. Once it was firm, I was able to flip the pieces around to get to the other broken parts. I let them sit overnight and this morning they were almost completely solid. I wont touch them again till next week so they will be plenty firm for me to start filing and sanding them into shape.

Here is how they looked this morning. Almost completely solid.  :2thumbs:

Excellent work my friend!  :2thumbs:

I wonder why the slurry takes longer to dry on yours than it did on mine. Either I used thinner layers or the ABS/acetone mix was different. Heck Ive heard it can be different with certain pieces of ABS and types of acetone! Good news is that as soon as it's solid it'll be one with the grille.   :yesnod:

Using a file to level out the "weld" is probably going to give you the best result in the shortest amount of time, where you can use one that is. The rounded parts like the lower corners you can just do by hand with coarse paper until you get the overall shape, then switch to finer paper.

When you are sanding and you see that there won't be enough material to smooth it out, stop and mix up a slightly thicker slurry. Brush some clear acetone into any pits to fill to make the material sticky, and follow it with a dab of slurry. It should dry pretty quickly and you can then finish sand it. Kinda like using body filler.

Great work, mine has taken 15 years so far as well.  I still need to get mine painted and put back together though.
Thanks for taking the pictures and documenting the process and most of all taking the time to share it with us!

Quote from: Dino on January 15, 2017, 09:02:07 PM
Excellent work my friend!  :2thumbs:

I wonder why the slurry takes longer to dry on yours than it did on mine. Either I used thinner layers or the ABS/acetone mix was different. Heck Ive heard it can be different with certain pieces of ABS and types of acetone! Good news is that as soon as it's solid it'll be one with the grille.   :yesnod:

Using a file to level out the "weld" is probably going to give you the best result in the shortest amount of time, where you can use one that is. The rounded parts like the lower corners you can just do by hand with coarse paper until you get the overall shape, then switch to finer paper.

When you are sanding and you see that there won't be enough material to smooth it out, stop and mix up a slightly thicker slurry. Brush some clear acetone into any pits to fill to make the material sticky, and follow it with a dab of slurry. It should dry pretty quickly and you can then finish sand it. Kinda like using body filler.

Thanks Dino, not sure why the batch I made took longer to set up, I made another batch today and it was pretty much the same. I went back and did a few more spots that were covered with tape. By the time I get to it next week, it will be good to go. Thanks for the tips on how to finish it off, I have a good set of files and plenty of paper to work with.

This week I am hitting up the body supply shop to pick up some primer and paint for the grille. They carry a full supply of SEM products there in rattle can. 

Quote from: chargedup68 on January 16, 2017, 07:25:44 AM
Great work, mine has taken 15 years so far as well.  I still need to get mine painted and put back together though.
Thanks for taking the pictures and documenting the process and most of all taking the time to share it with us!

Thank you! I get so much information from this site, if I can help the next person then great!  Good luck on your build!

Great work on the grille. I just did all of the repair work on my grille a couple months ago using the same method. I bought an old busted piece of a '68 grille on ebay and used that to mix with acetone. My mixture also took a good day or two to fully cure, but after a few days it was as solid as the rest of the grille...

Quote from: 68RT440 on January 16, 2017, 04:40:32 PM
Great work on the grille. I just did all of the repair work on my grille a couple months ago using the same method. I bought an old busted piece of a '68 grille on ebay and used that to mix with acetone. My mixture also took a good day or two to fully cure, but after a few days it was as solid as the rest of the grille...

Awesome! Thinking back, I probably could have done the same thing as I had an extra broken headlight bucket that I could have used pieces of plastic off of.  I took a peek at the spots yesterday after work and the areas are rock solid now.

I was able to file down and sand the repairs which came out pretty well. Some air bubble holes that I filled with more slurry, which dried very quickly.  I sanded it with 80 grit, then 180, then 220 finally with 600.  I primed it using the SEM spray high build primer 42013, hitting it with 3 coats.

I plan on masking off each fin in the grille and painting it SEM Satin Black color coat, but first, a coat of SEM 15253 Titanium Metallic Color Coat which I will let dry a week before masking with 3M fine line 3/32 tape.


The cracks are gone, the corner looks like it never was broken and all of the mounting bosses are repaired. I will start working on the doors and headlight surrounds as they need work.

I have some bad news...turns out this ABS/acetone slurry is not stable because today I noticed my grille had started to crack in several places.


















KIDDING!!!!    :smilielol:

Good work buddy, can't wait to see the results.

You can call me names now.   :lol:

Hahaha! Man you got me good, I saw this last night before I went to bed on my phone, saw it quickly and only saw half of your post until this morning when I went on my laptop! That would have sucked!!!!! Its all good man  :smilielol:  




some shots of the grille painted silver

Holy cow! I didn't mean to give you a sleepless night! I was hoping it would only take you a second to notice the entire post.   :lol:

You did a great job there, the grille looks great.   :2thumbs:

After a few hours of taping off the center section of the grille, I sprayed the SEM satin black color coat. I had to touch up a few small spots with a fine brush by spraying some in a cup.

I mocked up the grille to see the silver better.  Next week I will tape and paint the black on the corners, doors and surrounds.

Perfect! Almost there.   :2thumbs:

nice job, looking good  :cheers: :2thumbs: :coolgleamA:

Thank you!

I have been picking away at the grill pieces over the last few weeks. I taped everything off which was a huge pain, then hit it with the satin black, then touched up any imperfections with a brush and some paint sprayed in the cap.

I assembled the grille using new hardware from Ebay, pretty nice kit. Everything went together pretty easily except for the aftermarket aluminum trim. I had to massage it a bit to fit right and squeeze the back so the hardware stayed in there and didn't pull out.  I ended up punting on my original trim since it was far more beat than I remembered and picked up a set from Tamraz (sp?) parts on ebay. Overall nice pieces.

Next is the vacuum pods, I tested them and they seem to function properly, I just need to clean them up along with the bars.

 :icon_smile_cool:

 :icon_smile_cool:

  :icon_smile_cool:

 :icon_smile_cool:

Grille looks great, sucks taping that bad boy off doesn't it.  :2thumbs:

Hey Tim!! Can you come and do my 'Bee's front grill and rear light valance??? Looks like you have that taping down to an art...  :lol:

Looking GREAT!!!  :2thumbs:

Thank you guys! Oh man, hats off to painters who do taping all the time. It certainly is a tedious job. I hope it's a long time before I do anything like that again  :brickwall:


I installed the pods and brackets and put in the grille. I ended up having to remove the dash frame to reach the screws for the doors. The pods cleaned up nice and still work. My 14 yr old daughter helped me with the front bumper, It's still loose until next weekend when I can mess with it again.

Next is the front valance lights..

 :icon_smile_cool:

  :icon_smile_cool:

 :icon_smile_cool:

 :2thumbs:   :cheers:

It's not the easiest and most fun job in the world to get the grille looking like this, but it's worth it isn't it?

Pretty  :drool5:

Quote from: Dino on February 06, 2017, 05:18:48 PM
:2thumbs:   :cheers:

It's not the easiest and most fun job in the world to get the grille looking like this, but it's worth it isn't it?

Oh heck ya!

The grille looks amazing!  :cheers:

Thanks guys!

I put the bumper on which took a long time to get the passenger side right.  The AMD bumper isnt quite perfect.  It took alot of messing around with the brackets to get the gaps to look right and the bumperettes are not quite flush.  
The valance is not quite finished, still have to finish restoring the marker lamps.

 :icon_smile_cool:

 :popcrn: :popcrn: :popcrn:

I got a nice set of vent frames from a member here and tore them down for restoration. I polished out the chrome and stainless then replaced the rubber gasket. I may clean up the old one s and see if the glass sits tighter than with the new one i put in.  I still need to finish the other side since I had to swap the stainless from my old frames since it was dented.   I am now collecting parts to put the side glass in along with the frames.

  :icon_smile_cool:

 :icon_smile_cool:

Nice!

I replaced my seals a while back as well. I look forward to driving around without having a howling wolf in my ear.   :eek2:

I restored the parking lamp bases and installed a nice set of used lenses.  Put on an old wheel cover just for the picture, then cleaned it up and hung it on the wall.  

I put in seals for the vertical trim, what a pain in my hands. I used a plastic trim tool to push it in bit by bit.

I also cleaned up the rear channels and installed new felts with the rivets, the old felts were garbage. I then put in the front plastic/felt guides, used the cheaper aftermarket set which were very tight until i carefully spread the channel open slightly. The channel slides easily up and down now, but i plan to spray some lithium grease in the channel when i slide in the glass.

Still waiting for the glass setting tape for the vertical trim, i have everything else ready to go.

Mike,
Looks like you got most of the pieces already on the car and put to use.  Glad that things went relatively smooth.  Nice job!!

Nice work!

I completely gave up on those vent window slides. They were just too damn tight for power windows no matter what I did so I reverted to some old worn originals.

Quote from: 69bfan on February 25, 2017, 09:20:56 PM
Mike,
Looks like you got most of the pieces already on the car and put to use.  Glad that things went relatively smooth.  Nice job!!

Thank you. Kudos to you for getting them to me before the weekend! Very happy with the quality of the seals so far  :2thumbs:

Quote from: Dino on February 25, 2017, 09:22:41 PM
Nice work!

I completely gave up on those vent window slides. They were just too damn tight for power windows no matter what I did so I reverted to some old worn originals.

Thanks! Oh man I read your post on another thread about your glass, that sucks for sure. I read about guys having the same problem with the aftermarket guides which led me to someone who wrote that they had spread the channel with success so I gave it a go.

Quote from: timmycharger on February 25, 2017, 09:54:59 PM

Quote from: Dino on February 25, 2017, 09:22:41 PM
Nice work!

I completely gave up on those vent window slides. They were just too damn tight for power windows no matter what I did so I reverted to some old worn originals.

Thanks! Oh man I read your post on another thread about your glass, that sucks for sure. I read about guys having the same problem with the aftermarket guides which led me to someone who wrote that they had spread the channel with success so I gave it a go.

I tried it on mine and it helped somewhat, definitely enough for manual cranks, but the power windows are way too sensitive and I didn't want to force the vent rail too much. Besides, I added modern one touch remote modules and they have built in sensors. When the resistance is too great the motors simply shut off, and that's exactly what they did time and time again. The originals are way thinner than these repro slides. I was lucky, Moparsal sent me a few that still had a decent amoun of felt on them and they work as they should. I still have my wanted ad up though because I want spares! This car has to last me another 40 years!   :lol:

Looks like you'll be getting your car ready well before the nice weather comes around, I bet you're itching to go cruising!   :2thumbs:

You can still find new original flocked mylar channel runs.  Just be sure that they are in the original packaging.  As i have told others the reproductions have been through three revisions and were too thick and not pliable enough.  The latest runs seem to be much more closer to the original Chrysler pieces.  Also, Mike replaced the lock side channel runs which most people ignore.  They become old and the flocking rubs away and thus there is the added resistance from that side as well. 

I'm just not up for taking any more chances with these slides. I wouldn't know how to get the ones that are the best fit as that info is not available when you order any. I've lost well over $100 already and way too much of my time trying to get this to work. The originals aren't as pretty, but once installed you can't see them anyway.

Agreed on the rear channel guides, they are often overlooked.

Lots of graphite and silicone spray. They loosen up some. It's a must to use the original plastic slide clips or sand down new ones.

Yah I did use the original slide clips. The new ones wouldn't even stick together. Oh well problem fixed with the old stuff!

I think i may be ok with my clips, I put in the guide with clip installed about a quarter the way up the channel and it was smooth. I can shave mine down a bit it needed though, good tip.  I was going to use lithium grease but if silicone spray works better, I am all for that.   Yes these clips dont stick together so I used some tape until its time.   Glad to hear that you sorted yours out Dirk. Makes sense with the power windows.

So, testing fitting the slides on the bench was one thing, but actually installing them and trying to use them is another!  I sanded down the plastic pieces before installing them to help them move better, but it did not make a difference because immediately right off the bat I realized I screwed them up.

I trimmed them down too far at the top so the felt didn't go all the way to the very top of the channel, it was about a half inch too small. I thought you had to leave space for felt/slides to fit in the chrome top of the vent window end plug, but I left way too much I guess. I then crunched part of the plastic/felt fighting with it when I installed it on the bench since the stupid clips kept coming apart and falling out which was noted also above. By the time I got it installed, it was pretty mangled and just kept getting worse as I rolled the window up and down.

From there I used that opportunity to mock it all up to ensure other than the stupid channel slides, it will work like it should.  I was able to confirm everything else is good, even got to mess around with the quarter window adjustments, almost have it perfect.

I also installed the weather stripping/seals that go in the drip rail channel.  I am hoping that they are just very new because my door barely closes without giving it a good shove  :brickwall:

So trying to be cheap and stubborn cost me here, I will be biting the bullet on a set of Mopar slides this time around, like I should have in the first place  :brickwall:

Below are some pics of the mock up, It will have to come out again anyway for the slides, but looks good to see it more complete.

That sucks. I hope you have more luck with the mopar slides. It does look good!

Where's the issue at the drip rail? Is the vent window frame too tight on the seal?

Quote from: Dino on March 06, 2017, 03:39:12 PM
That sucks. I hope you have more luck with the mopar slides. It does look good!

Where's the issue at the drip rail? Is the vent window frame too tight on the seal?

Yup, next time when I read 5x that people had problems, should probably should listen  :yesnod:

Yes, looks like it's very tight along the top of the vent window frame. I only had the allen bolt holding the frame in for the mock up so I am not sure if it's sitting completely like it should yet or when I put in the nut and bolt it may pull it away from the drip rail?  I am using Metro brand seals which came in a master kit I bought.

Yeah you need the entire assembly bolted in place to make it fit properly. The seals may need to settle a bit as well. Once you have the vent frame in place warm up the seal in that area and close the door. Then let it cool. It may take some time before the seal fits properly but eventually it will AND it will be nice and tight. No more howling wind noise!

Quote from: Dino on March 06, 2017, 03:52:10 PM
Yeah you need the entire assembly bolted in place to make it fit properly. The seals may need to settle a bit as well. Once you have the vent frame in place warm up the seal in that area and close the door. Then let it cool. It may take some time before the seal fits properly but eventually it will AND it will be nice and tight. No more howling wind noise!

Thanks Dirk!!

Looking good :coolgleamA: I'm getting close to putting door glass in as well so this was a good read on the vent window sliding weatherstrips   :cheers:

Quote from: BLK 68 R/T on March 08, 2017, 09:35:57 PM
Looking good :coolgleamA: I'm getting close to putting door glass in as well so this was a good read on the vent window sliding weatherstrips   :cheers:

Thank you. I got so much info from this forum on the vent windows and side glass, good luck with yours. :2thumbs:

looking good ! nice work  :2thumbs: :coolgleamA:

Quote from: timmycharger on March 09, 2017, 06:28:08 AM

Quote from: BLK 68 R/T on March 08, 2017, 09:35:57 PM
Looking good :coolgleamA: I'm getting close to putting door glass in as well so this was a good read on the vent window sliding weatherstrips   :cheers:

Thank you. I got so much info from this forum on the vent windows and side glass, good luck with yours. :2thumbs:

I book marked this thread so it will be there when I need it.

Quote from: green69rt on March 09, 2017, 11:06:01 PM

Quote from: timmycharger on March 09, 2017, 06:28:08 AM

Quote from: BLK 68 R/T on March 08, 2017, 09:35:57 PM
Looking good :coolgleamA: I'm getting close to putting door glass in as well so this was a good read on the vent window sliding weatherstrips   :cheers:

Thank you. I got so much info from this forum on the vent windows and side glass, good luck with yours. :2thumbs:

I book marked this thread so it will be there when I need it.

:cheers: These are the threads I followed. Awesome info in here

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=39415.0

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28517.25.html

I just couldn't get the aftermarket door glass slides to work for me. After trashing the drivers side, I didn't bother trying to do the passenger side so I have that lying around if anyone wants it.  Maybe the AMD glass is too thick for it to work.   Got a set of Mopar slides (thanks Richard!) and below are the side by side comparisons of what they look like.  The Mopar slides were much better, the plastic pieces fit better and it had a nice curve that matched the glass.  

I had my wife help me put in the glass assemblies, not trying that alone which went in fine, but I had a long battle getting them to fit into the pin and sink in just right. I then had a big battle with the vent trying to get the angle of the glass to sit right on the seal.  I have it very close now, I just have to play with the quarter glass a bit once the rear seat is out.  The doors are very tight, not as bad as before but still snug around the top of the vent frame. I will try what Dirk suggested earlier and warm it up a bit.

I restored the wipers, popped them on with a new set blades. I polished them a little brighter than stock, but I like the look.  

I ordered new wheels since my last set of magnums got ruined in storage but only the rears came so far, 15 X 8.   I will probably end up going with BF Goodrich T/As like I had before, 275/60 in the back, probably 235/60 in the front, but I am not sure still.

Below is my next adventure, I have to repair the upper pads as I see a few minor cracks that will need to be filled, then they will need to be dyed. I will be using the SEM system again as I had great luck before with the visors.  I started putting in the felt sweeps in the door, I decided to do it after the fact since I thought they would get chewed up when I was trying to get the vent frame in.  I got the chrome one in already in the door, but having a difficult time with the inner one.

The wiper arms look great! I've thought about doing that myself.   :yesnod:

Those straight slides are useless. I still have one as well but it's going in the trash. I wouldn't give it to my worst enemy.   :lol:

Does the window roll up and down as smooth as with the original slides?

I have some of those cracks in my upper pads as well. That and one of them has a chunk missing under the vent window handle. You should be able to fill the cracks up nicely with some vinyl repair glue/putty. Mask of the surrounding area as best as you can so all you see is the crack or you may end up filling in some of the texture and end up with a "bald spot" after you paint it.

Thanks! Yes, the glass moves up and down pretty easily but do have some resistance with the door felts / sweeps  installed, I think it will free up more over time.  I sprayed some silicone down the channels to help it out. 

I bought myself one of those vinyl repair kits that come with swatches of material to make simulated textures so that should help out with hiding the repairs a bit.  These things are stupid expensive so I will be doing what I can to save mine.

Any progress? I'm like an addict here!   :eek2:   :lol:

haha I'm the same way with several threads on this forum!!

Not really any progress, I get only 1 day a week out in the garage to get work done hence my super slow pace  :rotz:

I have been soaking the ends of the upper bolster pads in evaporust since they were rusty on the back of each end for some reason, they are looking good. This weekend I will be putting in all of the "fuzzies"/sweeps and then starting on the bolster pad vinyl repairs.  I will also get started on sealing off the doors as all of the hardware is in there and I have all of the plugs/seals etc to put on still.

thanks for the interest!!!  :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Hay progress is progress! Mine is so slow I actually think the car is starting to lose parts as it sits!   :lol:

Quote from: Dino on March 23, 2017, 07:46:21 AM
Hay progress is progress! Mine is so slow I actually think the car is starting to lose parts as it sits!   :lol:

:lol:  oh man, you will get there!!

Quote from: timmycharger on March 23, 2017, 08:15:20 AM

Quote from: Dino on March 23, 2017, 07:46:21 AM
Hay progress is progress! Mine is so slow I actually think the car is starting to lose parts as it sits!   :lol:

:lol:  oh man, you will get there!!

Bit by bit and piece by piece!   :2thumbs:

Lots of work done on Saturday, nothing much to show for it though  :scratchchin:

I had to touch up the black on the inside of the doors since it got pretty beat up over the last few years since I sprayed them. I will now be able to finish the door seals next week once the black has dried, along with putting in all of the body plugs and bumpers on the inside of the doors.  

I did finalize everything inside the door, the glass is adjusted and mechanisms greased. the latch is now working properly even though I never found the proper clips that go there. See the pic below, I ended up enlarging the hole on each door mechanism latch lever so it would accept a standard plastic rod clip just like the door knob. Everything now works great.

I polished the last of the chrome trim, which are the 4 pieces that are in the interior, I can now put away my buffing wheel!  Next week I will spray the dye on the upper pads, I scrubbed them and removed the old fuzzies on the rear part, what a pain to remove those staples. I will probably pop rivet the new ones on.  I just need to fill some minor cracks this week before dying them this weekend.

I repaired some cracks on the upper pads and dyed them with the SEM satin black. I removed the medallions since I had better ones to swap out, made it easier as no taping.  They are ok but not perfect since they were my old ones that were driver quality to begin with. I will keep my eye out for another set next year, for now these will do.   I trimmed out the door with the new seals, rubber pieces and plugs.  I put on the Year One panels after cutting everything out first, copying my old panel.

I saved the chrome squares from my old door panels and used weatherstrip adhesive to glue them on to the new ones. Everything fit pretty well, I am happy with the look overall, but I hope those seals loosen up a bit, the doors are very hard to close right now, especially with the lower door seals in place.


For the rear pads, I ended up drilling holes and using rivets to hold the new fuzzies.

Next week I will be getting my wheels/tires mounted and putting on the K frame and inner fender shields.  :2thumbs:

 :icon_smile_cool:

Not sure about how this seal is supposed to sit. Do I cut the end of the door seal or let the rubber "end cap" overlap it?

NICE!!!!!  :yesnod:

What did you use to "repair the cracks"???

First I bought a vinyl repair kit by Loctite that was heat free, but the activator was a solid block so I returned it to the store. Since the cracks were more like slivers, I just got some vinyl adhesive and a needle and used a little bit to keep the cracks from getting worse. I should have taken some pics but I was in the heat of the battle haha..

Thanks.. I'll have a look at mine tomorrow. Believe the door seal was trimmed back and the end cap bonded over top.

Found a picture... mines a coupe, but shouldn't matter. Cap over door seal. Will check tomorrow if it's bonded.

The end cap is not bonded to the door seal.  It simply lays over the top of the door seal.  For some reason, that end cap looks strange in the fashion that it is wanting to sit on top of the door seal. 

Better shots of mine Tim, finger pointing where we trimmed the door seal down a bit so the hump in the end cap and it blend smoothly. Not bonded....

Again mine is a coupe, but I still need to make a notch for the window width on the cap, as the repro came without same.

Perfect! thank you for the pics, very helpful!! :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :cheers:

Quote from: 69bfan on April 01, 2017, 08:08:20 PM
The end cap is not bonded to the door seal.  It simply lays over the top of the door seal.  For some reason, that end cap looks strange in the fashion that it is wanting to sit on top of the door seal. 

Thank you!

I finally got my wheels from Summit and had the tires mounted and balanced. I went with what I had before taking it off the road, mine got rusty in storage so had to buy them again.  :brickwall:

275/60/15 rear on 15x8 wheels.  Fronts are 235/60 on 15x7.  I spent a few hours with soap and water with rags cleaning the front suspension from all of the bodywork dust, touched up a few areas and installed my inner fender shield. Still need a patch for the passenger side so I cant do that one yet. I put in the front inner fender seals along with the plastic k frame shields and the long shield that bolts to the bottom of the frame rail.  Also did the same in the rear end of the car, tons of filler dust that needed to be cleaned.  I ended up using big aluminum rivets to secure the plastic shields.

hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing  :scratchchin:

Quote from: ht4spd307 on April 08, 2017, 09:44:40 PM
hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing  :scratchchin:

.


Good question! I am not sure if it's just on 68s or not, I have seen people omit them on 68 restorations I have seen.  :scratchchin:

Quote from: timmycharger on April 09, 2017, 06:28:13 AM

Quote from: ht4spd307 on April 08, 2017, 09:44:40 PM
hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing  :scratchchin:

.


Good question! I am not sure if it's just on 68s or not, I have seen people omit them on 68 restorations I have seen.  :scratchchin:

Yup 68 only. Phased out later in the run. Some 68 had it some didn't.

yes i thought it may have been a 68 thing as my dad when he worked in the GMH General Motors Holden factory the company would pay employees incentive payments if they could think of things they could remove off a car which in turn stuff like this would save the company millions.On one model the early torana they removed all the front guard bolts and spot welded them on which saved them millions of dollars in bolts but a nightmare for the after market .

Been busy with home projects but have been able to pick away at some small things. I didn't take pics of everything, but since the last update:

Installed the horns and relay

Adjusted the quarter glass on both sides, got them as good as I could get them.

installed rear upper bolster pads and rear panels/chrome.

cleaned up and dyed the door jamb windlace

gave up on looking for a patch panel for my inner fender shield, ended up fabricating a small patch, welded it from the back.

Started on the restoration of the seatbelts. Many years ago I sold my original green set thinking I could easily find a black set. My originals were perfect, except the wrong color, should have kept them  :brickwall:   Instead, I picked up a rough black set a couple of years ago that needed to be re dyed and I finally got to them.  First I washed them a few times with soap and water, let them dry and then used 2 packages of RIT black dye with some boiling water and a few cups of vinegar.  I still have to re paint the buckles so I will post the final results when done, but you can see the process.

Lookin snazzy!!! Must be getting real good at the glass by now and you're welcome to come up and put mine back in!!  :yesnod: :2thumbs:

If only I were close by, I would love to! I think I did more research on installing and adjusting the glass than any school paper or work project in my life :icon_smile_big:

I've probably said this before, but this is one of my favorite threads.
Coming together nicely Timmy!
TPR

Quote from: TPR on April 24, 2017, 07:19:56 PM
I've probably said this before, but this is one of my favorite threads.
Coming together nicely Timmy!
TPR

Thank you!! :cheers:

Got the seatbelts almost finished, taped off the buckles and put the belts in baggies, shot them with some SEM trim black.  They are not perfect but much better than they were.  I have to sew on the straps for the shoulder belts but I am not sure how long they need to be, any feedback is welcome.

 :icon_smile_cool:

Looks good I've still got to do that to my cars rear seats. How long did you let the seat belts soak in the RIT dye?

Thanks


I let the water come to a boil, then brought the pot outside since it smells bad with the vinegar, soaked the belts, buckles and all for about 30 minutes while stirring it with a stick to move them all around.  I probably would have left them in longer as they are not super dark black, some have a very dark purple look to them in the sun.  :2thumbs:

Cool thanks for the info

Getting very close to completing the car or at least completing it enough to enjoy it this year.   The interior is now finished, seat belts installed, the carpet trimmed and secure with the kick panels and sill plates put on. The console was screwed into place and all of the interior lights, switches, etc were tested.  My list of what is left to do is down to a handful.

1. adjust torsion bars
2. install stock pinion snubber
3. finish the repairs from the hood mishap, have re painted
4. fix a few minor sags/runs in the clear at the rockers.
5. clean/detail the car
6. get an alignment, have A/C charged

Very nice, just a handful of things left to do. Then it's..... :drive: time  :icon_smile_big:

Quote from: BLK 68 R/T on May 22, 2017, 05:11:33 PM
Very nice, just a handful of things left to do. Then it's..... :drive: time  :icon_smile_big:

Yep! hopefully I can steal a few hours this weekend and knock off a few things off of the list  :cheers:

Couple of new pics of the car in its current state. Still working on the hood repairs but the list is getting shorter for things to complete.  :2thumbs:

Quote from: Charger-Bodie on April 09, 2017, 09:05:52 AM

Quote from: timmycharger on April 09, 2017, 06:28:13 AM

Quote from: ht4spd307 on April 08, 2017, 09:44:40 PM
hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing  :scratchchin:

.


Good question! I am not sure if it's just on 68s or not, I have seen people omit them on 68 restorations I have seen.  :scratchchin:

Yup 68 only. Phased out later in the run. Some 68 had it some didn't.

my recent find , April 1st car  has them

 :scratchchin:  I wonder when they started phasing them out, maybe when they just ran out of the supply?

Amazing car by the way, congrats! Love the color, I think mine was the same when new, but my interior was green.

After almost a year of having my hood off the car since having the car painted, I finally finished the repairs and had it painted earlier this week.

I now just have to finish adjusting the valves, get an alignment and an inspection sticker and then its done enough for this year  :cheers:

 :drool5: :drool5: :drool5:

EDIT (adding): You've come a long way since this day. You know the story, my first P/C desktop Charger picture back in 2000. I somehow feel attached to this car.

:cheers:

Haha Thanks Bryan!! That is still one of my favorite pics.  One of these days I will convert the old 8MM video I have of that burnout contest onto DVD or Youtube  :yesnod:

Quote from: timmycharger on August 11, 2017, 08:30:58 AM
Haha Thanks Bryan!! That is still one of my favorite pics.  One of these days I will convert the old 8MM video I have of that burnout contest onto DVD or Youtube  :yesnod:

:2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Congrats on getting it finished up, it looks great! :cheers:

Thank you  :cheers: Can't wait to give it a good cleaning and detail and take some pics outside!  :yesnod:

Lookin' good definitely need some more pictures.  :2thumbs:

Thanks! Took it for a spin to talk to the alignment shop. Its going in next week, I got it pretty close with string and an angle finder but I want to try it on the highway  :yesnod:

Took a few pics of it with the hood on it, still needs to be adjusted side to side but its pretty close.

 :drool5: looks awesome  :2thumbs: :coolgleamA:

Car turned out amazing.  Color is perfect!

Fan-freaking-tastic!! :drool5:

Thanks so much for taking us all along in your journey. It's kind of amazing that those jerks at PB waited until you were 95% done to pull the plug on your pics, along with everyone else worldwide. You sir, have great timing! LOL!!  :cheers:

Perfect!

Guys thank you, I appreciate all the support and advice given by folks on this forum, as we all know it's easy to get off track on getting them done. Of course I am already planning a better engine for this car in the next few years. We need a new kitchen first :eek2:


I plan on going back and fixing some of these pics, so pissed.

Im stumped on my engine noise, it's not the rockers lifters or pushrods which I ruled out after months of screwing around. Plenty of power, good oil pressure, no smoke at all, oil change a few months ago no metal sgavings.  Im just going with it.  Up to 90 miles on it so far, just got an inspection sticker so she's completely legal.

Gas sending unit is shit, says 1/4 all the time, got gas yesterday and it filled all the way to the cap with 7 gallons so I don't know what is going on. Time to pull it out after I burn some fuel down.

Here are a couple vids

https://youtu.be/rVV5UJvTOGEt


https://youtu.be/lhPXQ0CUESs

Quote from: timmycharger on August 16, 2017, 01:46:44 PM
I plan on going back and fixing some of these pics, so pissed.

Yeah, Photobucket really broke the web with that policy change. Lots of stuff gone in one fell swoop.

Anyway, just wanted to say -- nice job / nice car!

Long time no post here, I have been slowly fixing the pics that were screwed by Photobucket and finally got them repaired. 

Here are a couple of pics from when I last posted. I have done a few things to the car since then including fixing my rear main seal leak and changing my Moroso 7 qt pan in favor of a hemi 6 qt pan. I also welded on a skid plate while I was at it.

I also installed the pistol grip shifter on my existing hurst mechanism that I got from Brewers. My hand position in relation to the dash in 1st and 3rd isn't to bad so I am going to try it out.

:cheers:

 :icon_smile_cool:

Beautiful :2thumbs:

Love this car!

looks amazing!!!!!

where did you  get the new oil pan? do you have a part #?
any clearance issues with k member?
thanks George

Thank you guys! :cheers: 


George, I bought the pan from a member here but I know he got it from Mancini Racing.  They have nice pan and pickup combos.  Good luck..

Awesome!!!

ok thanks

Looks fantastic!!!!

Ever since the engine refresh (bearings, rings, heads, gaskets, etc) I have had an annoying noise (see vids below) and after changing out rockers, lifters, pushrods, nothing changed.  I have since put about 550 miles on this engine which ran strong, had good oil pressure and no smoke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSS5oCcsRaQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFh6mxFDMrE

Yesterday I did a compression test which I should have done straight away but regardless I did it.  I got the engine to temp, then proceeded to remove all the plugs but it took forever to do the driver's side as the headers were hot and by the time I got to the passenger side, it cooled off so I don't know if that effected the test results. Also, I read after that I was supposed to have the carb butterfly open but I forgot that as well.  

The results on the drivers side were around 155 for each cylinder but on the pass side, I was getting close to 190 on that bank except for cylinder 8 where I got 0 PSI.  The spark plugs on all the other cylinders look the same, light cocoa color, except for number 8 that was shiny new.

So looks to me like I have been driving on 7 cyl since I fired it up a few years ago. Not good, that noise was probably that dead cylinder and who knows what is going on there. I will have to do a leak down test and possibly pull the head.

The fun never ends!!

Hey at least you narrowed it down! I'm confident you'll have it fixed in no time.   :2thumbs:

Bent valve probably

Take the rocker arms off that side,and re do the compression test. If you have compression after that,then the issue is in the rocker, push rods, or camshaft.  If you still have no compression after removing the rockers, then it may be a valve or ring issue.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I must have hurt it at startup since I had these plugs in the engine for about 545 out of the 550 miles on it and the #8 one looks brand new still.


going to post a separate thread on the engine as I have some questions.

:cheers:

Long time since last posting on this thread, I am finally able to drive it around again after wrenching on the engine for a few months. 

Sorry for the long story, but it was quite an adventure. 

After removing the rocker covers and using a remote start, I found a wiped cam lobe and lifter, it was pretty far gone.  This was my Mopar 284/484 purple shaft cam and lifter set from prior to my restoration that I just put back in the motor after a re bearing and re ring.

I pulled the pan, cut the oil filter and didn't see any shavings or anything nasty so I ended up swapping out the cam with a Lunati 60303 cam and lifter set along with their double valve springs that they recommend.   This process took me close to 2 months to finish as I do not have a lot of time this time of year with the kids activities and house projects.  Swapping out valve springs on an engine that is in the car has to be one of the most tedious tasks I can think of and I had to do it twice since I had to put in the inner spring after breaking in the cam. What a nightmare that was, glad it is over.   I swapped out my roller rockers for a set of stock stamped ones that I set up with custom pushrods from Smith Bros.

I then had to deal with a leaky thermostat housing, a leaking oil pan gasket and then for 2 weeks, fighting rocker cover gasket leaks.  The thermostat housing was a quick fix, the pan was as well, I went with a Summit Brand 1 piece windage tray/plastic type gasket that sealed nicely so far.   The rocker covers were a mess, they are 40 year old Direct Connection chrome ones and after years of taking them off and on, the gasket surface was no longer flat.  After a body hammer and dolly, I got them flat but still couldn't get them to seal with Felpro rubber/fiber gaskets so I tried $40 Moroso blue ones that sealed for a while then leaked once the car was warm.  I ended up with good ol Felpro cork gaskets sprayed with hi tack and they now are dry as a bone.


After all that time and effort, that annoying tick is still there but the rest of the engine is quieter and it is much smoother at idle.  I even have power brakes that work properly!  I only took it for a quick spin for fresh gas but this cam is much nicer to drive than the 484, feels much stronger on the bottom end and pulls like a freight train.  I also went up 2 jet sizes on all 3 carbs while I had it all apart.  I'll just have to live with the noise in the engine until my next 440 is built, Ill try not to blow it up but can't promise anything  :icon_smile_big:

Now that it is ready to drive again, its about 50 degrees in MA right now and rainy  :brickwall:

Thanks for the update Mike. :2thumbs:

Glad to see you're still at it with your beautiful '68!

Oh BTW I finally found the pic I lost on my work P/C of your car. It's the same pic that you posted in reply #8 of this thread.

But like I mentioned in my following reply (#9) I was fooling around with it in Micro Soft and the result is attached below. For some reason (and I don't know why) I scribbled "FOOL" on the quarter panel. And I also cropped some off the boarders (you don't see the orange cone) like you do in your pic. Please don't be mad at me, I love your Charger, I was just goofing around. The properties on my pic dates back to 5-8-2004, so I know that at some time I re-created it from when I originally found it back in 2000-01.

Haha no worries Bryan, too funny that you had that pic back then. I lost it years ago then remembered that I uploaded that pic to Moparts and was able to re download it.   :cheers:

Glad you were able to get your engine issues figured out, any idea why it wiped the one cam lobe? Well, at least you will be able to drive it for a few nice days before winter. :)

Thanks, not sure what caused it to fail, the cam was from the late 1990s, installed in about 2000 or so and then sat in my engine on a stand for about 13 years after that.  I may have not cleaned the lifter bore enough or it could have been on it's way out when I took the engine out back then?

Yup, going to try to drive it as much as possible before the snow flies!

Quote from: timmycharger on March 18, 2017, 06:21:04 PM
I just couldn't get the aftermarket door glass slides to work for me. After trashing the drivers side, I didn't bother trying to do the passenger side so I have that lying around if anyone wants it.  Maybe the AMD glass is too thick for it to work.   Got a set of Mopar slides (thanks Richard!) and below are the side by side comparisons of what they look like.  The Mopar slides were much better, the plastic pieces fit better and it had a nice curve that matched the glass.  

I had my wife help me put in the glass assemblies, not trying that alone which went in fine, but I had a long battle getting them to fit into the pin and sink in just right. I then had a big battle with the vent trying to get the angle of the glass to sit right on the seal.  I have it very close now, I just have to play with the quarter glass a bit once the rear seat is out.  The doors are very tight, not as bad as before but still snug around the top of the vent frame. I will try what Dirk suggested earlier and warm it up a bit.

I restored the wipers, popped them on with a new set blades. I polished them a little brighter than stock, but I like the look.  

Do you have the part number for the Mopar slides?   I also tried the repo ones and they didn't work.   Thanks.

Sorry, I do not unfortunately. I purchased them from a member here (69bfan) but didn't save any of the packaging or receipts.   Sorry again and good luck!

69bfan said he still had a couple in stock, just last week.. PM him.

Thanks to Both of you!    :2thumbs:   :2thumbs:

Quote from: VegasCharger on October 15, 2018, 08:14:46 PM
Thanks for the update Mike. :2thumbs:

Glad to see you're still at it with your beautiful '68!

Oh BTW I finally found the pic I lost on my work P/C of your car. It's the same pic that you posted in reply #8 of this thread.

But like I mentioned in my following reply (#9) I was fooling around with it in Micro Soft and the result is attached below. For some reason (and I don't know why) I scribbled "FOOL" on the quarter panel. And I also cropped some off the boarders (you don't see the orange cone) like you do in your pic. Please don't be mad at me, I love your Charger, I was just goofing around. The properties on my pic dates back to 5-8-2004, so I know that at some time I re-created it from when I originally found it back in 2000-01.

I found some old pics in a shoebox over the weekend and it had the non digital pics of that burnout contest.  What a moron I was driving all the way from MA to RI with no spare tire and then entering into a burnout contest. Oh to be in my 20's again though!    Starting to miss the F3 green now  :'(