1974 Challenger Restomod

[Dmod1974]

Nice job!

One of your pictures shows a corded band file.  What brand is it?

El cheapo Harbor Freight special. With good belts it works great. The Harbor Freight belts are crap though.

[daaboots]

Man, you're really moving along with this project! Wish I was moving at your speed 

[Dmod1974]

Wrapping up the last of the welded on panel replacements for my car, I got the new decklid filler welded in place.  Initially, I was going to attempt repairing the original one, but the price point on the new metal just didn't make sense for the work involved to fix the old.  It would have needed multiple patches in compound curved areas.  The new one fit quite well, but was a bit too narrow so I added weld bead to each side.  Pretty easy other than those damn 1/4 to decklid flange welds!

Cleaned up and threw down the 1st coat of epoxy primer everywhere I could before installing the new panel since some areas are almost inaccessible with a paint gun after it is installed.







Next, I seam sealed the trunk with 3M 2 part seam sealer; awesome stuff but pricey! 

Why did they seam seal the spare tire and console brackets anyways?  Were they concerned that the drunk, high, and blind line stick welders were going to burn through the panels so seam sealing was done as a CYA??? 





Last coat of epoxy primer laid down after installing the panel.



I also opted to weld the seams solid to the quarters, but ground a groove that I can put a thin bead of sealer in to look factory.  I figured that will give everything a little extra strength to prevent cracking, and eliminate a rust/leak path.



I still suck at painting, but it won't matter since I plan on throwing down a spray on sound deadener and heat barrier.  I mainly wanted to ensure I had a good base for adhesion and everything sealed up and as protected as possible.  I was thinking about Lizard Skin; any other opinions out there on that or other options?  I'm still torn about putting Dynamat or similar on top of the spray on barrier given how awful that stuff was to remove.  Seriously, I don't wish that kind of mess on anyone.

[soundcontrol]

I used Raptor liner inside my quarters, gonna use it in the wheelhouses and inside the fenders and possible trunk. It's thick and very hard, but I do hear from people that used it before that it can crack over time if you apply it over seam sealer.

[YellowThumper]

Nice progress as seems to be the usual.
To answer your seam sealer question. I surmise it was to cover the sharp edging of the pieces.

[Dmod1974]

Nice progress as seems to be the usual.
To answer your seam sealer question. I surmise it was to cover the sharp edging of the pieces.

Thank you!  Never thought of that!  Makes sense; especially in the trunk area.

Rando pictures I forgot to upload from this weekend that I thought were kinda neat.  I cut the skin off of the original hood.  I'll probably clean it up and hang it on a wall in my garage since it's pretty light now.  The structural piece had a lot of rot in addition to broken loose cage nuts for the hood hinges, and the skin has pretty extensive pitting surface rust on the areas concealed by the structural part.

[soundcontrol]

Wow, I never seen anyone separate those before, how is the skin attached?

[Dmod1974]

Wow, I never seen anyone separate those before, how is the skin attached?

It's actually just like a door skin or the trunk lid skin.  The outer perimeter is folded over the frame and spot welded every so often.  There are also large blobs of adhesive or sealer between the frame and hood skin to prevent oil canning, I assume.

[Dmod1974]

A little less progress since it's starting to warm up and I have a lot of stuff going on...

The 4 speed hump is in; so it's officially a manual car like I've always wanted.  I'll be ordering a 6 speed kit toward the end of the metal work since I know further cutting and modification of the tunnel is coming.





I also had to cut and modify the offset of the left rear bumper bracket to get the bumper sucked in equally and tightly on both sides.  It never fit great before I did any of the metal work either, and I know the car is a lot squarer than before so the bracket was suspect.





I'm still working on the rear valance to get the gaps perfect.  I'm hoping to have that done over the next week.

[Dmod1974]

It's been a minute, so here are some pics of the progress.  I stripped the entire front end down to metal and epoxy primed it for temp protection.  What a PITA without a sandblaster....









I also repaired the roof skin rust near the windshield...  Talk about a pucker up moment, but I think it came out pretty good.  It'll need a little filler in a couple of spots, but nothing major.  It's a vinyl top car anyways.  I will NOT be removing the entire length in one chunk when I do the rear window repairs.  It was nerve wracking trying to get it all lined up right.  I thought it would be easier to patch on the bench, but I don't think I saved any time overall.









Also patched up the one frame rail that I salvaged.  I'll be welding in bolt sleeves for the upper mounting points for the Alterktion subframe from the inside before I weld the last patch in.

Yuck.













For anybody wondering what gauge steel was used for the front rails (I couldn't find anything definitive), it's 14 gauge.

[anlauto]

Looking real good ! 

I like the fact you replicated the factory runs in the primer...

[RUNCHARGER]

Wow on the ws/roof patch. Does the trim line up okay? You've more nerve than I do.

[Dmod1974]

Wow on the ws/roof patch. Does the trim line up okay? You've more nerve than I do.

Yeah, the trim was the least of my worries.  Getting the slope of the roof right was the real challenge.

[Dmod1974]

Looking real good ! 

I like the fact you replicated the factory runs in the primer...

LOL, and this is why I draw the line at painting.  I'll do the metal work, but the real art will be handed off to someone else.  I have neither the patience nor the talent to do it right myself.

[soundcontrol]

That roof patch is so nice! What tools did you use to make the piece?