1970 Dodge Challenger A66

[kawahonda]

1970 Dodge Challenger A66 model. All original, nothing missing. Thought I'd open a fresh thread for me to document my progress and to ask questions as they come up to save some on forum traffic. I am not planning a restoration right off the bat. It will be several years as the car just needs to be enjoyed as is.

After getting it home from Seattle and slapping on some missing decals, I was able to drive it 35 miles as it puttered along with bad gas and without a fuel gauge.

Once I ran out of fuel (and put a little bit more in to get me home) I decided to just park it in the garage and start doing a little bit of work!

[kawahonda]

First order of business is dropping the fuel tank. The tank didn't look too bad inside, but the sending unit looked toast. Instead of spending $40 on phosphoric acid and 3-4 hours of work, I decided to just get a new fuel tank. I ordered new straps, gaskets, etc. I will reuse the original tank pad and sending unit locking ring. I will not paint tank or tank strap. Original tank and straps have undercoating.

For the fuel sending unit, I didn't want to cheap out. I decided to go with a $100 stainless unit from Year One. All other parts are on order from Roseville. I'll have more questions regarding calibration of the Year One sending unit in a few weeks; would like to dial it in as much as possible before installing the tank back.

[kawahonda]

Now is the best time to do all metal work required to restore the trunk pan with the fuel tank missing. My plan:

1) Finish Wire wheeling (top and underside) pan.
2) Weld 12-14 pinholes using copper spoon as backing. Grind smooth.
3) Apply Rust Mort.
4) Prime pan (top and bottom) with black epoxy primer (non-acidic).
5) Undercoat underside of pan.
6) Seam seal. Stick a factory trunk mat in there and call it good. Pan will have original burnt-orange color surrounding it. Only the repaired will be in black.

In the future, this will allow me to simply scuff and top-coat the trunk area when it's time to restore. Best of all, the section will be restored and rust-free.

[JS29]

 

[Rich G.]

Good luck! Let the fun begin. If you're going to drive it for a while better ck the brake lines for rust. Plan on changing the fuel line too from the looks of that sender.

[Chryco Psycho]

Not sure why the fuel sender was not working correctly , nothing visably wrong 

[kawahonda]

Yea, tell me about it.

CHarlie and I talked, and we both think that the fuel line is OK to be left alone. Some corrosion on line from rear trunk area, but shiny metal after that. We think it's OK from the looks of the clear fuel tiler, it wasn't picking up any visible contaminants.

If someone can convince me that replacing the fuel line is a simple and cheap thing, then I'm all game. Otherwise...

[Cuda Cody]

Man, that car is CLEAN!!!!     Good buy!

[kawahonda]

After 2.5 hours or so (including some beer time), the trunk pan is now 100% solid. I went from 16 pinholes to zero. With the help of the lady and a copper spoon I made (and a bright halogen light) I can now move on to cleaning the underside, feather-edging a little bit more in the pan, and getting it ready for rust-mort. It's my first time using Rust Mort, but I made sure to reach out to a SEM associate for tips/advice. After rust mort, I will roll it out into the driveway and spot prime the repair areas with black Epoxy. Hit the bottom pan up with some undercoating for added resistance, then move on to install fresh new parts.

Solid pan. But I'm glad I chose to do this NOW. Original or not, rust-free is better!

And originality retained!

[Husk Challenger]

Great Job!

That looks like a very nice A66 car! 

[Katfish]

Love the details and plan.  I like the idea of not tearing the car apart and enjoying it as you fix things.
Too many projects stall once the car is no longer driven.
Good luck and keep the updates coming.

[kawahonda]

Thanks everyone. I think I am the right man for this car. I like to pride myself for doing things right!

Thanks to everyone's responses, I decided to just go ahead and order an OE steel fuel line kit from Classic Industries. They were having a 25% off sale, so it was dirt cheap. Easy insurance, right? Might as well just do it now when the tank is out, easy access.

I ordered a new SS Sender from Year One. I plan to spend a half day on it for calibrating. Any tips? Hell, I may even fill the tank up while the tank is on the floor, install the sender, and wire it in with extensions just to get it right. No use in anything less than perfect...

Today, I put on the Rust Mort to both sides of trunk. What an amazing product. 2-3 coats separated 10-15 minutes in-between. Will let it sit until tomorrow evening, then wash it off. Wow, is all I can say. It would have been sacrilege to cut into this pan. ORIGINAL BABY! Will spray in black Epoxy this weekend to "seal" the deal. Have some SEM black seam sealer to reapply. Should look beautiful. I also ordered a trunk pad...the really good one....man I can't wait.

First photo is before Rust Mort. Second photo is 10 minutes in. Third photo is 1 hr in. It's going to look AMAZING after 24 hours after the rinse! Best of all, rust more doesn't seem to care about shiney metal, nor does it care about original paint. I feathered edged the surrounding area, so with some careful spraying it will look really damn good.

[kawahonda]

Trunk pan is sealed w/ epoxy. New rubber plugs. Black 3M Seal sealer. Undercoating (bottom, only because rest of car has it). Ready for top coating in the distant future. I'll be putting an OE mat over it (which actually will cover up a vast majority, if not all of the black epoxy) from Dante's. Tank mounting hardware has been soaked in Prep and Etch, so they look ready to roll. Still waiting on new OE fuel lines/clips/hoses. Fuel tank arrived from AMD, looks perfect. Waiting on some more things. Tested my original sending unit...seems to work, just needs a new float. Clean this up and use this vs Year One Stainless steel? Ready to install either way!

Started doing a lot of rear-end polishing (bumper, rear painted parts). The bumper has lost several chromed sections, but it still shinned up pretty good for driver quality. Inside trunk is cleaned with degreaser and is ready to be used and enjoyed.

Took off the door today in what I thought was a simple job of installing new hinge bushings/pins. Then I found out I had to drill. Then I was was being told to not drill. So now, my only option is to send the hinges into someone and have them restored. Mo-money.

Took off the washer reservoir thinking I'd be able to slid in my new reproduction (fantastic quality, btw) and found that I'm going to need a new pump/filter before inserting it.

Took my glove box lock, console lock, and trunk lock to a Locksmith to have them re-key it to the same key. I supplied Chrysler reproduction keys. Haven't heard back and it's been a few days.

Seems like everything I take off leads to "mo-parts".

Trying to get this back on the road by next weekend. Trying to button up what's apart. Do this restoration in rounds. Car needs to be driven, and I miss it already.

[usraptor]

Nice progress!   

[ToxicWolf]

I'm really impressed to see the instructions sticker on the inside of your trunk lid put on correctly.  So many people make the mistake of straightening those things up.  The factory never put one on straight.