A.G.A.R. The Last of the Sunroofs...Another one bites the dust...

[303 Mopar]

Sad thing is....my customer paid less than a grand to get all this assembly done  no wonder I'm broke..

Well looking at the time stamps of your last 4 posts it only took you 11 minutes to assemble both sides of the firewall and install the engine so I think $1k is about right.   

[Cuda_mark]

Heater box cover looks mint. Was it original to the car? Restored or just never cracked?

You're correct, sometimes you get lucky and find a mint original.

I found a mint original one once. Unfortunately the guy wanted the deed to my house and naming rights to my first born for it. It was probably worth it.

[anlauto]

Once the motor/Transmission/K Frame assembly is in, it's just a matter of tightening the K frame bolts, the transmission crossmember.
With the upper control arms already in place, do up the upper ball joint. Add the front shocks, hook up the brake lines,  and then do the torsion bars.

Tip#1 Put the torsion bar adjusters in the LCA with just the tip of the bolt showing, then turn the adjuster down until it hits the bolt....now it should be lined up with the bar perfectly. Don't forget lots of grease on both ends of the bar.

Tip#2 the little support bracket that goes from the K Frame to the lower rad support should be put in before the rad.

[anlauto]

Buttoned up most things under the hood as well. Install the fan shroud/ rad/hose etc...plug in all the wires at the starter relay, horns etc...off to the store tonight to pick up the anti-freeze etc...

Tip#1 I use 3M weather-strip adhesive on all the hose connections

[anlauto]

With the car on all four wheels, my vertically challenged upholstery installer will have no problems installing the vinyl top !

Next week, I'll start with all the shiny stuff....got the chrome mirrors on today, they look sweet

[Cuda Cody]

   Loving this thread.

[70 Challenger Lover]

I just love watching a nice car like this get all reassembled, especially an e body. It's a downright pleasure putting all the beautiful clean stuff back in the car and watching it become a finished product.

I think I'd assemble someone's car like this for free. This is the stage where you get to sit back each day with a beer and admire what is probably one of the most beautiful cars ever produced. And since it hasn't seen the road yet, it's as spotless as it will ever be. Now all the work that led up to this point, I'd definitely charge a good amount for that.

Looking great! Keep up the updates.

[anlauto]

Wow this one is coming together fast. That green is one of my favorite Mopar colors.

It seems like at this stage you have a pretty accurate time frame when it will be done so do you start coordinating with your customer to have the transport truck come and get it? You know, so it does not have to go into storage by you?

There's WAY TOO many unknowns and things that can go wrong. I will never tell a customer to "arrange transport" until the car is 100% finished and I've had a chance to drive it and put on some miles.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Id love to see a few shots of the work when the vinyl top goes on. I want to attempt my own soon so good to watch pros doing one of these cars whenever I can. Car is looking great!

[anlauto]

Id love to see a few shots of the work when the vinyl top goes on. I want to attempt my own soon so good to watch pros doing one of these cars whenever I can. Car is looking great!

Not much to see...he lays the vinyl top on, clamps the center and folds it in half, spray glues the roof and the vinyl, then stretches it over and glues it down, then does the other side.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Id love to see a few shots of the work when the vinyl top goes on. I want to attempt my own soon so good to watch pros doing one of these cars whenever I can. Car is looking great!

Not much to see...he lays the vinyl top on, clamps the center and folds it in half, spray glues the roof and the vinyl, then stretches it over and glues it down, then does the other side.

So is the stretching just enough to remove wrinkles then? I've seen a few videos and both used different methods with good results. One was like you described. The other was a year one video on a charger and they were stretching that top like their life depending on it.

[RUNCHARGER]

It's not all that simple. You can get in trouble in 3 seconds if the top isn't placed correctly front to back for a start. I tried to repair a hack job on my SE with no luck then we hired a pro to do it and we ended up with a crooked top with an extra seam below the back window. We called him back and he redid it but 2 tops were wasted.
After watching the Pro screw it up and trying to fix the first attempt I would try it myself now. First thing I would suggest is make absolutely sure it is fitted correctly front to back. The other thing is when I was trying to repair the first hack job I was thinking like it was a headliner and using heat to shrink it a bit. That doesn't work you have to stretch it to adjust it.
I tell you one thing, I'm lucky to have fingernails left after cleaning all the cement off the roof 3 times.

[anlauto]

You need to get a new "pro"....I've had 15 vinyl tops installed and he's never had to do it more then once. I've been using the same guy since 1985. 34 years

[RUNCHARGER]

 Yeah, I looked for about 6 months until I found this guy. I was ready to trailer it 3,4 hours whatever it took. Point is this guy has done it lots and messed it up so a first timer better pay attention. I notice you don't do it yourself.

[anlauto]

Yeah, I looked for about 6 months until I found this guy. I was ready to trailer it 3,4 hours whatever it took. Point is this guy has done it lots and messed it up so a first timer better pay attention. I notice you don't do it yourself.

No no no....When you have a guy that knows what he's doing, why bother messing with it yourself....

I never claimed to do "everything myself" ...I got a great team of guys that help me turn out these restorations.