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

[69hemidaytona]

Great to see that you made it to Carlisle. I wish I could have been there to see your car in person. The different part numbers for the left and right Charger roof emblems is hard to understand as it seems they are interchangable anyway. Did you find an NOS console body for your car or did you use a nice original piece? I just picked up an NOS 4 speed console in black along with an NOS shift boot and NOS finned end plate. I would like to trade for an NOS automatic console for my car. If I cant find one I guess I would consider selling it. Let me know if you know of somebody that would trade or would want to buy it.

[hemigeno]

Tony, I was figuring you'd pop by at Carlisle sometime, and am sorry you couldn't make it.  Someone mentioned a V2 black interior Hemi auto Daytona was in the show field, and I was thinking for a split second that perhaps my Daytona wasn't the only one that made a debut at the show.  Oh well, you'll be there soon I hope.

Congrats on the console find.  We had a pretty nice base to work with, although it took me quite a while to find top plates with good woodgrain inserts.  Off the top of my head I don't know of anyone with a NOS auto console, but I didn't know of anyone with a 4-speed one either (before now).

[hemigeno]

Several folks have made it a point to ask about the outcome of the judging performed while at this year's Carlisle show.  Let me be clear - the organization that looked at my car while at the show has no connection whatsoever with the organizers of the Chryslers at Carlisle show or Carlisle Events, as the judging was something I had arranged to happen there more out of logistical convenience than anything else.

[Edit - As a further clarification, this was also not the SME program that had been Carlisle's top tier judging program for the past 5 +/- years or so.  Carlisle Events had decided earlier in the year not to re-sign with SME, so that group was not involved.]

I will not go into detail publicly about why this happened, but shortly after the show's conclusion I requested the judging organization to cease completing the scorecard for the car.  It's still in the works to have the car reviewed by some current members of the same group, and there will undoubtedly be some minor improvements made over the winter based on accumulated feedback.  Paul Jacobs is hopefully stopping by the shop next Sunday to take a close look a the car and give me his assessment.  I had hoped to have some other folks who know these cars well also spend some time looking it over, but at least one of those opportunities would be difficult if not impossible to arrange.  So, I'm now considering other options.

Contrary to my earlier plans, I've recently reserved a slot in next year's Mopar Nationals OE judging.  Those that know me well will understand how sincere I am in stating I could absolutely not care less about "competitions", or whose car scored what in comparison to mine.  At the moment, a judged competition such as at the 'Nats appears to be the only way to receive some sort of standardized/accepted assessment of the car's condition.  It's never been my goal to do anything with my car's restoration other than to do the best historically-correct restoration we could, with whatever parts could be found.  Now that the car's "first round" of restoration work has been completed, we can figure out the (hopefully small list of) things that aren't quite right - which is the stage I'm at now - and decide if they can or should be changed.  

In the meantime, the car is safely tucked away in the HemiHouse.  I haven't been able to do much with the car until I get back up to Vance's place to bring back all my extra parts - including the reproduction tires & wheels that will be the car's normal setup.  That MIGHT happen the weekend after next, but my fall calendar is rapidly filling up (especially if I add in the Monster Mopar show).

As I get some feedback from Paul & others, I'll post up the things that will be addressed as things move forward.  In the meantime, here are the few photos I took right before heading out for Carlisle, PA from Michigan.  Too many things happening to worry much about the camera!

[hemigeno]

I only took a few shots of it while on display inside Building T, and here they are:

[gtx6970]

Gene,
The car looks great and hopefully it receives it's well deserved recogintion
Glad to hear it's finally back home where it belongs,  safely tucked away. And I can only imagine the trials and tribulations on ones sanity to bring a car to this level.


Good talking to you last week or so.

Bill

[jonw29]

Gene.Where did you get the transport booties for the car tires?Are they spare tire covers for a Bronco?

[nelson_audet]

wow i love your car:)

[Beep Beep Dave]

I  over the Daytona as well. It sure looked good. I had no idea it was your car as I would have liked to meet you and say Hi

Dave

[UFO]

transport booties for the car tires?

Can't see how those are gonna work in the snow.
Looks fantastic.With all the details you've gone thru there can't be much to upgrade.Except maybe a "T" handle shift knob.

[hemigeno]

Thanks again everyone - I'm quite relieved the car is in its current state, although I know better than to prounce it "done".

Gene.Where did you get the transport booties for the car tires?Are they spare tire covers for a Bronco?

Very close guess, Jon.  Those are indeed spare tire covers, just "officially" sized for a Suzuki Samauri.  That was the closest size I found online, although there are places that will custom-make about anything.  Even though I carefully measured the F70x14 tires before ordering, these are a REALLY tight fit.  It takes a bit of finagling to install them even when the car is up on a lift, but they do go on.  I've seen other cars with similar tire covers, and theirs fit considerably looser.  Whether there is an advantage to one approach or another, I dunno... but since these work (after a fashion), they're the ones I'm keeping for now. 

I have been expecting (Fearless Leader) Troy or Old Moparz/Bob to post a picture of my car with diapers photoshopped around the tires.  They threatened to do so at Carlisle, as having those covers over the tires/wheels type-casts the car squarely in a trailer queen role... maybe a even a diva trailer queen at that.

Can't see how those are gonna work in the snow.

   

Looks fantastic.With all the details you've gone thru there can't be much to upgrade.Except maybe a "T" handle shift knob.

Brian, you know I don't shy away from a little controversy - but it takes more than a couple of road test photographs to make a believer out of me.

What was the Chrysler part number for the Hurst T handle again?   

[nascarxx29]

Car looks fantastic only thing I didnt see on the restoration was the front plate bracket.Is MO a 1 plate state

[hemigeno]

Car looks fantastic only thing I didnt see on the restoration was the front plate bracket.Is MO a 1 plate state

Thanks - and good eyes on the bracket.  Missouri was a one plate state -- in 1969 anyway.  Both of the front plate brackets are in the trunk.

[Aero426]

Beautiful Gene.  I can't wait to see it in person.

[41husk]

I must say again the pictures don't do this car justice, You truly need to see it in person.  It is truly like a trip back to the show room in 69

[BigBlockSam]

that car come out great . congratulations on it Geno .

But where's the burnout video 

[moparstuart]

that car come out great . congratulations on it Geno .

But where's the burnout video 

dude   

[hemigeno]

that car come out great . congratulations on it Geno .

But where's the burnout video 

dude   

That would be some rather expensive incense (tire smoke).


Thanks, Rene!   

[BigBlockSam]

 

[tan top]

  .......... awesome Daytona Geno      

[UFO]

What was the Chrysler part number for the Hurst T handle again?   

Actually in the Hustle stuff catalog.Just a little off as this one is from 1973.
Wonder if it's in the '70 catalog?
http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/_1973Hi-PoParts-03.shtml?load_img=33

[Davtona]

I must say again the pictures don't do this car justice, You truly need to see it in person.  It is truly like a trip back to the show room in 69

[bigfastjohn]

       Geno just saw the pics of your finished Daytona it looks fantastic I only hope our green one Downunder looks half as nice when its finished.Congratulations.   John father of Tim and partner in the Daytona in Australia Project

[mauve66]

 

[hemigeno]

Thanks again for the compliments everyone.  Time for another installment in what may end up being the never-ending saga of this car's restoration.

A couple of weeks ago, Paul Jacobs was kind enough to take a detour along with his fiancee out to my shop in Union, MO.  With the experience and knowledge Paul has on Daytonas in particular, I was interested in his thoughts on my car.  It's too easy when you've been working on a project for (literally) years, to overlook stuff that might jump out and be painfully obvious to others.  It's not that I doubt Vance's expertise, but he wasn't necessarily the person who put every nut & bolt back in place.  Despite my intentions to leave plenty of time in the schedule for a thorough review of the finished product before Carlisle, it just didn't work out.  Why am I not surpised...  

Anyway, I was aware of a few items that were not 100% correct on the car.  Paul's 2+ hours looking the car over was as valuable as any other time spent due to his experience and fresh perspective.  Thanks again, Paul - and I'll have to find a way to make it up to you and your fiancee.

As Paul noted an item, I took the time to snap a photo to remind myself of the area.  This made sure I didn't leave anything out.  I also wrote up a list along with an explanation of the item before forgetting what was said about it.  In the next several posts we'll go through the photos and explain what's up, along with my plans.

The first two pictures below show a stack of shims used to fit the front fenders to the chassis.  During the time these cars were made, the shims used in this area resembled round washers and were not square as you see here.  The square ones apparently didn't get used until sometime in the mid '70s.  I have a theory about why the square shims are there, which goes back to some body damage the car received while being driven daily by the second owner.  Why the shims are there doesn't make any difference, as they "should" be round ones even though these work fine.  The fix isn't an easy one.   It may take removing the door, backing out the nut/stud from the bottom, replacing the shims with round ones, making sure the fit is correct, reinstalling the stud and then masking everything off to apply a proper amount of paint/overspray.  

In the third picture, you can see some hood-to-hinge bolts that have an unusual marking for this area.  Paul seems convinced that this particular manufacturer's bolts were normally found on Ford products.  My guess about why these bolts are in this location has to do with the owner immediately prior to Davtona...  this gent (David June) was a big Ford guy, and my Daytona was the only Chrysler product he ever owned according to what he told Davtona.  He's also the guy who removed the original crispy hood and replaced it with the blue '70 Charger hood that spent MANY years on the car while in cold storage.  Chances are, he grabbed some bolts from his FoMoCo supplies to insert in the hood when the change was made.  There was a considerable amount of heat damage to the hood near the rear, which may have frozen the original hood bolts in place and/or weakened the hood hinge springs to the point he decided to replace them (the hood hinges were definitely replaced).  It's possible he never bothered trying to separate the hood from its hinges and just chucked the whole thing in the scrap pile.  At any rate, the bolts in that picture need to be swapped out for some with more "acceptable" head markings.

The last picture is not Vance's fault.  Back in '04 or '05 during one of my Swap Meet adventures I came across an absolutely mint set of upper door pads in the Great Lakes NOS booth at the 'Nats.  Decent price, so I picked them up and put them in the Daytona's parts pile.  Fast forward 7 years, and Vance is finally ready to install the upper door pads a day or two before Carlisle - and I had told him I had a pair of minties in a box.  He pulls them out, and notices right off the bat that they're '70s rather than '69s (the difference is in the grain pattern).  What do you do two days before a major show like that?  Put on your best pair and move along... which is what he did.  There were at least two other correct sets of '69s sitting on the shelf, but both pairs had minor defects which would have taken more time than we had to repair.  When I went back to Vance's a week after PJ's visit, Vance and I looked over the sets of '69 pads and there is a pair that should work fine once a little TLC is applied.  I've got some feelers out to see if anyone has a mint pair that wouldn't require as much work, but it won't be a problem to correct this issue.  Blame me, not Vance.

[hemigeno]

In the first picture, you can see a hole at the top of the door weatherstrip which is missing a screw.  There are actually two holes that don't have screws near each side's top weatherstrip termination.  One of those holes has an explanation, the other just got missed.  The one in the picture is missing because NOS weatherstripping was not pre-drilled for that particular screwhole, for whatever reason.  Maybe the location varied at times, I dunno - but there wasn't a hole so a screw wasn't put in by Vance's crew.  It's no big trick to add the hole and screw(s), but that's why this picture is included.

The second shot is something I knew about before the show.  Very early in the restoration process we sent the instrument cluster out to David Patik for refurbishing (that was my choice, being a loyal customer of PCG for years).  David does great work, but his process utilizes decals for the instrument gauge faces rather than re-silkscreening them.  It's possible to see the difference by looking at the gauge face edges, where a faint outline of the decal's edge is visible.  We will have to remove the cluster and send it out to someone for re-restoration to eliminate the points deduction.  It's a little bit of work and expense, but one that I should have handled differently from the start.  IIRC, Mike Mancini does correct silkscreen gauge sets, so I'll probably be giving him a call once we're to that point.

The purpose of the third picture is to point out the differences in wiring harness wrapping.  Most of the harnesses in the engine compartment were NOS pieces I had been fortunate enough to find.  The only reproduction (or non-OEM/refurbished) harness on the car is the reverse light harness visible in that photo.  Paul pointed out that while the harness itself is correct, one way to identify a repro is by the non-adhesive wrapping.  Reproductions use a material that is thinner than the original stuff, and that is evidenced by the way it contours around the wire and/or contains wrinkles that would not be present with the thicker OE material.  Paul suggested buying any old/original dash harness, just to remove the wrapping.  I could then either re-wrap the reproduction harness (possible) or find an original harness whose wiring is still usable.  Paul wasn't sure too many original harnesses survived intact because of the engine heat they would be subjected to on a regular basis.

Sharp eyes will likely note in the last picture that the bottom door plugs are missing.  They simply didn't get installed before Carlisle, and none of us noticed it before.  The plugs are probably sitting around here in a box somewhere!