1970 Challenger JHN0B 4 speed Restoration Back in Swing

[JS29]

That was a lot of work. 

[dodj]

Very Nice!!

[70 Challenger Lover]

Before, I was thinking of going with undercoating when I'm done like original but as I move along, I can see why guys detail out the underside and leave it with a nice coat of fresh paint. I may just do that.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Still plugging away on fitting everything. Pretty happy with driver quarter. When I weld it in, I'll lift it a hair at the door jamb so it's the same height the original was at. The passenger one is good but I want to play with fit at the Dutchman panel just a little more. The tail panel fits but still needs final fitting. I'm happy with the trunk lid. That was the one unknown. A little high at the right upper corner but that's just the lip underneath popping up when I removed the clamp. Next step is to get the trunk floor in, then I'm stripping the roof skin off so I can clean and paint all hidden areas before welding everything in permanently.

[RUNCHARGER]

Is the trunklid an original or aftermarket?

[70 Challenger Lover]

AMD. Like everything else on this car, the original was too rusty to use.

[cudamadd]

Good for you great 2 see 

[70 Challenger Lover]

I'm nearing the point where I want to sandblast the area that never see sunlight so I can epoxy and paint them. The area where the quarter window sits is easy with the quarters off but I also decided I want to strip off the roof and do the bracing underneath. The roof was solid enough but there were signs of corrosion hiding up in the braces. This is what I found everywhere.

[JS29]

  Good call. 

[70 Challenger Lover]

I knew I would find issues. It was this or dipping but I had a feeling dipping would leave my roof compromised in the end so either way, I'm putting in a new one.

[RUNCHARGER]

Yup: These cars are old and that's not surprising to find unfortunately.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Sandblasted all structural stuff that will be hidden and covered the bare metal in epoxy primer. Gonna squirt some black paint over the epoxy today. There are a three small localized areas of rot on the passenger side I want to repair before the roof skin and quarter get welded back on. I'll have to touch up the paint again but I didn't want to leave the bare metal exposed to the open air any longer than I had to.

The supply place I normally get sand from has switched out to a newer coal media. To my surprise, it produces far less dust and cuts really nice. I used up the remaining sand on one side and then coal on the other. The coal was at least twice as fast and left an even nicer finish.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Now that everything is protected in there for years to come, I can turn my attention to a few smaller rot repairs.

[YellowThumper]

It amazes me the depth of some of these restorations.
Everything is looking nice.

I have used Dynacorn panels on an early Falcon. They were spot on for sizing.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Roof came in today so I tossed it on just to see how it fit. Pretty nice overall. They damaged one area on the passenger C pillar but shouldn't be a difficult fix. For a $300 Goldenstar roof, it's far nicer than I was expecting.