Re: Restoration of my B5 Blue 4Spd Charger 500... Blue Thunder debuts...Finally!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Allen,
I have been following your posts with much enthusiasm.  Keep up the great work.  My C500 will also be needing the upper door pads in the near future and I happened to see a post on Moparts from Legendary Interiors stating that in January they are expecting to have their own upper door pads available.  They stated in the post that they will have a "first 50 order" price break of I believe $850 -875 for a set of 4.  Pricing after that is expected to be between $1,000-$1100 for the set.  Do you know if BE/A parts are going to be producing these pads for sure?  It was my impression that the BE/A parts were going to be much cheaper than the Legendary ones.  Am I correct on this?  Any input from anyone else on this?

Chris - Thanks for following my ordeal... I mean "living-the-dream" experience. 

As far as the Charger upper door pads from B/E&A, Mike Ross of B/E&A has said they are definitely producing them... AND SOON!  If I recall correctly, I believe the prototypes are almost finished and there will be pictures posted soon.  In his group buy posting by Troy he indicated the price would be $515 per set of 4, complete with the in-set emblems... quite a bit cheaper than the range estimated by Legendary.  I first saw the Legendary postings on forums today during lunch, and are waiting for more details.

At this point I expect to buy the upper door pads from B/E&A... it would take a lot of convincing to get me to spend about $2000 more for the 4 sets that I plan to order.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out!  First we get dual vendors on full Charger quarter panels, and now the same happens on the upper door pads.  The timing of all the new high quality reproduction parts works out well for my future plans! 

Alright now, who is FINALLY going to make high quality E-Body `Cuda door panels?... WELL?... Ole' Yeller is waiting for a white set! 

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

his name is kevin penquite   him  email is  BBody68@aol.com    he has a 68 hemi car if i remember correctly  my column was 325.00 plus shipping and the speedo cluster was like  650.00 or 700.00 with the bezel rechrome

Thanks for the info!  I was wondering like Danny if he was the guy at Monster Mopar... Talked to him & got a business card I think...

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Tracking the reproduction full quarter panels as they are headed south to Texas... 

Kinda like watching the TV stations tracking Santa on Christmas Eve...

Earlier today they were in Louisville, Kentucky... delivery expected on Friday.

Allen

[moparstuart]

his name is kevin penquite   him  email is  BBody68@aol.com    he has a 68 hemi car if i remember correctly  my column was 325.00 plus shipping and the speedo cluster was like  650.00 or 700.00 with the bezel rechrome

Thanks for the info!  I was wondering like Danny if he was the guy at Monster Mopar... Talked to him & got a business card I think...

Allen

yes he was at monster mopar and a great guy to deal with

[moparstuart]

Just out of curiousity, but is he the same gentleman who was selling repaired steering columns there at the Monster Mopar in St. Louis this year?

yes he hit alot of the big shows , and he replaces all the electronic in the columns and on my 70 the lock cylinder and key , and powder coats all the bracket and paints them up really nice , I was very inpressed with his work and the cluster I got looks as nice as other venders who charge double the price .

[69_500]

I think that me and Allen were at his space at the Monster Mopar for a good 15-20 minutes one day.  There are ton of things that I've love to replace on my 500, the steering column is one of them. But man I just can't seem to ever convince myself that soem parts are worth those prices. Not that his were high by any stretch of the imagination because they weren't. But you spend $40 here and $50 here and next thing you know you've spent as much in parts as you did for the whole car. Which in allen's case means he would have like 1 part if he was only going to spend as much as he did for the whole car.  In my case though, that means a little different amount.  Man I wish I was older.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Which in allen's case means he would have like 1 part if he was only going to spend as much as he did for the whole car.  In my case though, that means a little different amount.  Man I wish I was older.

Looks like I'll be spending about 70 times as much as I paid for the car...

...and no you don't wish you were older!   

I had a pretty good day... tracked the quarter panels from Louisville through Memphis where they left for Dallas at 11:30 AM today...

Also, stopped by the paint shop and found they had started to finish the dis-assembly (I thought they would start tomorrow or Friday).  Wheel opening moldings & windshield and back glass moldings were off as well as other items.  The windshield had already been removed, and the back glass was taken out while I was there! 

Very good news, the windshield & back glass channels appear to be in great shape!!!    I will post better pictures when the sealant and grime is cleaned off...

Also, its got a small shiney spot now in front of the driver's door... maybe all it's flaws will buff out... 

Here are some pictures from today:

XS

[xs29j8Bullitt]

More pictures from today...

[The70RT]

I bought the turnsignal switch, bearings and a new switch for around a 100 bucks. The wiring is all one piece. It isn't too difficult if you have the tools and the factory manual. I figure I can do it myself and save some money.

[learical1]

Man I wish I was older.

...and no you don't wish you were older!   

Trust me, Allen's right!

[moparstuart]

I think that me and Allen were at his space at the Monster Mopar for a good 15-20 minutes one day.  There are ton of things that I've love to replace on my 500, the steering column is one of them. But man I just can't seem to ever convince myself that soem parts are worth those prices. Not that his were high by any stretch of the imagination because they weren't. But you spend $40 here and $50 here and next thing you know you've spent as much in parts as you did for the whole car. Which in allen's case means he would have like 1 part if he was only going to spend as much as he did for the whole car.  In my case though, that means a little different amount.  Man I wish I was older.

yes but i have seen alot of columns get smoked lately , if it still works good then great but for my money new electronics make me feel awhole lot better i replaced every wiring harness in both my running cars and the column in the bird vert.  maybe over pretective but i sleep better now .

[69bronzeT5]

Looks good Allen. Keep up the good work on the C500!!!

[69_500]

Well I said I wish that I was older, I didn't say I wish I was as old as you are. 


Had to say it, you made it too easy. 

Okay let me put it another way, I wish that my dad would have kept just 1 of the cars he had, so that he would stop pestering me now to get another one. Its not that I don't want another one, preferably a Daytona, but man they just aren't for sale for the prices he was getting them at.

[learical1]

I wish that my dad would have kept just 1 of the cars he had, so that he would stop pestering me now to get another one.  Man they just aren't for sale for the prices he was getting them at.

I wish I kept at least 1 of the cars I had so my sons would quit whining about selling them before they were born.  Man, they sell for so much more now than they did in 1983.  

Statement fixed. 

[69_500]

Thought you still had a car there learical?  If it makes you feel any better I was at least born before 1983.  Heck I remember going to wing car meets before 1983. First DSAC event I attended was in April of 1979. Granted I wasn't driving then, but was there drooling. 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

The Classic Body Design reproduction quarter panels arrived on schedule today.  The transaction with Ron Lushia went very well, he was very responsive to questions and provided a tracking number for the package.  The quarter panels were packed very well, and the package was delivered by United States Freight (USF Holland/USF Reddaway) without any damage to the boxes.     Thanks to all involved!

The shop owner inspected the quarter panels and declared them to be the best reproduction sheetmetal that he had ever seen!  Of course the final  judgement will be after installation, but they look GREAT!

Here are a couple of pictures...

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

After looking over the quarter panels, I spent the rest of the day continuing the dis-assembly of the Charger 500.  Removed the steering column, dash assembly, heater box, vent box, brake/clutch pedal mechanism, master cylinder, and a lot of smaller items...

Getting ready to place some large orders for parts needed for the C500, also preparing to ship out the first components for restoration...

Below are a few pictures taken today.

Allen

[69bronzeT5]

Looks good man!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Looks good Allen. Keep up the good work on the C500!!!

Looks good man!

Thanks Cody... I am following your restoration thread & other restoration threads as well. 

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Well I said I wish that I was older, I didn't say I wish I was as old as you are. 


Had to say it, you made it too easy. 

Lets see, that will cost you 3 demerits on any possible future acquisition of my Charger 500 or Daytona...    

Allen

[69_500]

Three demerits?  That makes me about 25 in the hole already then doesn't it? I figured 1 demerit for each smart ass comment about trading, and .001 demerit for each time I wished I had both your 500 and Daytona. 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

By the time I called, someone had already "found" the C500 and wanted to buy it!     

Lee, if you are reading this... IT IS NOT FOR SALE!

Well, I just got a call from Lee...  WOW!... It turns out that he is the guy that owns this car and several other Gen II Chargers... WOW!   

Life is sureal at times...     He seems like a great guy... 

Allen

Picture of his car grabbed off of the Internet:

[xs29j8Bullitt]

By the time I called, someone had already "found" the C500 and wanted to buy it!     

Lee, if you are reading this... IT IS NOT FOR SALE!

Well, I just got a call from Lee...  WOW!... It turns out that he is the guy that owns this car and several other Gen II Chargers... WOW!   

Life is sureal at times...     He seems like a great guy... 

Geeez...   The paint & body shop is becoming the Grand Central Station of Chargerville!    Another Charger fan "found" the C500 this week and told the owner of the paint shop that he knows me from 20 years ago...    He also told him that he owns a F8 colored 1969 Charger 500!    ...All along I though these Aero Cars were rare...  

If you are on the forum Bernie, stop by and Hi in this thread...

Also I took some pictures of the plug installation today until the camera battery died... 

Allen

[69_500]

OH OH OH, hey Allen if you would be so kind as to pass on any contact information to the F8 owner. Not asking for his information, but feel free to drop him mine. You know me I'm always up for talking 500's or Daytona's. And hey what can I say I'm nosey, and I'd always like to add another folder to the growing files on the computer of photo's of various 500's.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

OH OH OH, hey Allen if you would be so kind as to pass on any contact information to the F8 owner. Not asking for his information, but feel free to drop him mine. You know me I'm always up for talking 500's or Daytona's. And hey what can I say I'm nosey, and I'd always like to add another folder to the growing files on the computer of photo's of various 500's.

Will do Danny... I expect I will be meeting the guy soon, he has a 1970 Plymouth B-Body (RR/GTX/Satellite) in the paint shop.  It is just a uni-body on casters at the moment.  Besides, I start a file on everyone that inquires about one of my cars... 

Allen