Another R/T going back on the road (finally)

[70 Challenger Lover]

Thanks!

[dodj]

Nice!
Pretty soon you will have the same problem as Murray. Going out to the garage and trying to decide which car to take. 
Challenger, Barracuda or C2...
Not a bad problem to have.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Not a bad problem at all!

Been lacking in the updates so here's another. After getting the roof skin all finished, I sprayed it in and out with a good sealer. I shot orange outside but didn't bother on the inside since it is more protected. Plus I wanted to make sure I have enough orange for other stuff. Glued in some lightweight insulation using industrial upholstery glue. Got the headliner in. That was more work than I expected but I'm happy with the result. I put the entire dash assembly in and got everything hooked up. That allowed me to fire it up. Sounds awesome. Can hardly wait for glass so I can drive it again. But before I can do glass, I need to get the vinyl top on. Got one in order from Legendary.

Helping my folks move all this next week so the car will have to wait until I get back. I'm debating whether to install the vinyl top myself or pay a pro. I'm reasonably sure I could do it but if I make the slightest mistake, it will be obvious to the world forever. Screwing up a $70 headliner is way different than screwing up a $350 vinyl top. From what I've seen, the tricky part is getting the small strip by the Dutchman panel to lay down perfect before doing the C pillars. Any mistake there will have material on the c pillar bunching up and not setting down right.

Well anyway, this thread should be coming to a close soon. I'm anticipating having the car back on the road in a month or two! The rest of my perfect interior is just waiting to go back in the car.

[anlauto]

This has to be the oddest restoration order I've ever followed along with, but the results are looking good

[70 Challenger Lover]

This has to be the oddest restoration order I've even followed along with, but the results are looking good

Haha...it's the oddest restoration order I've ever attempted!

When I bought the car, I always envisioned stripping it to a shell and doing everything right from start to finish in the normal order. After a while, I collected other cars and decided that my other projects (along with family, friends and life in general) were keeping this car on the sidelines too long so I thought that if I could just get it back on the road, that would be okay. After all, I don't personally mind a ratty looking exterior as long as the interior is fresh and it is mechanically perfect otherwise. Once the Barracuda came along (which was a very impulsive buy for me), I thought maybe I should let this car go to a better home since that would still leave me with three very cool cars. We all know I'd never get a decent price for the car half finished in pieces so I felt compelled to get it to a state where a buyer could drive it as is or finish it off with good paint and body work along with a small amount of rechroming.

Looking back, I wish I had stripped it to a shell and just did it that way. It would not have been much more work really. I guess cars this old are always going to need so much work that you're kind of in an "all or nothing" situation right from the start. I definitely won't ever do another car backwards like this.

[RUNCHARGER]

You made it solid, and if you assemble it and it's driveable I think it is extremely salable. When they're all disassembled, half the parts are missing and the disassembler ran out of talent is when the trouble starts. That and you can drive it for fun as well.
I did a few cars where I did all the mechanical, bodywork and splashed them with the thought of getting pro-paint later, that never worked out for me. The thing was after doing all the work, I never felt like doing more to tear them down for a proper repaint and I kicked them down the road rather than doing more work on them.
Important thing here is that another one will be on the road for years to come.

[70 Challenger Lover]

And that will probably be my regret down the road if I keep it. It's a huge amount of work to strip parts off a second time for paint and body plus more work in masking all the areas that I can't have overspray on. It can be done for sure but it's just more logical to strip it to a shell and build it right from start to finish. I started getting a lot of project creep on this car doing things I never set out to do from the start. I drew the line at paint and body because once I start down that road, I'd be restoring every nut and bolt on the car and we all know how expensive those projects get.

I've never owned or even driven a car that is super nice mechanically and also interior wise but ugly on the outside. I'm told some guys like that sort of thing though.

[70 Challenger Lover]

My hold up lately has been the vinyl top. Can put the glass in nor any of the interior until the top is glued on. I wanted to take it all on myself but after doing the headliner myself, I figured I'd rather not risk a $300 top on a mistake. Plus it takes 6 weeks to get another from Legendary.

There's a professional upholstery guy in my small town and when he did my seats, he allowed me to help so I could learn. I hit him up the other day and he squeezed me in for the vinyl top. Even allowed me to help so I could learn on this too. Glad I didn't chance it myself. He made it look easy but it certainly wasn't. Came out perfect though and I think I have the confidence now to try the next one solo. My headliner was good but not quite perfect. The guy was even cool enough to fix my little mistakes there so now the headliner looks perfect as well!

[70 Challenger Lover]

Had the whole week off so I spent most of the time straightening, polishing, and installing stainless trim. Here's a photo halfway through. The whole car is done and it looks fantastic. Got the interior all finished as well and it too looks great.

For the first time since I've owned the car, I tuned it and spent a little time dialing it in. The previous owner rebuilt the engine and he put in a hot cam. Not sure what it is but it is crazy powerful. Without power steering, it feels downright dangerous since the backend wants to go sideways even after shifting to second. Fun though as long as no one else is on the road. Maybe that how the car originally got the front end damage!

Next step is to gets the dents out of the front fenders. I'd like to sandblast them along with the hood, get everything sealed and maybe painted orange underneath so only the topside will need paint which can be done with the rest of the car someday.

[70 Challenger Lover]

By the way, can someone explain how to rotate my photos? Drives me crazy that they are normal in my photo library but always post sideways here.

[Dakota]

For new pictures on iPhones, take them while holding the camera with the "home" button (round button on the face) pointing to the right.  I have a very clunky way to "fix" existing pictures that need to be rotated, but I have to believe one of the wizards here know a better route so I'll remain silent on that. 

I can't offer any help on Android or other phone brands.

[7E-Bodies]

@70ChallengerLover got info on the San Diego paint shop that mixed your paint?  I have the same issue with my 70 F8. PPG lost formula

[70 Challenger Lover]

I'll get it for you. It was a little expensive on shipping but the color match was spot on when compared to some original orange areas in the trunk that never saw sunlight. It sprayed pretty easily in a $150 gun too.

[70 Challenger Lover]

For new pictures on iPhones, take them while holding the camera with the "home" button (round button on the face) pointing to the right.  I have a very clunky way to "fix" existing pictures that need to be rotated, but I have to believe one of the wizards here know a better route so I'll remain silent on that. 

I can't offer any help on Android or other phone brands.

I generally use my iPad and I do take them with the button on the right. That's what throwing me here. They stay correctly oriented in my device and when uploading to Facebook, eBay, etc., they always stay correctly oriented, except here. Lol

@7E-Bodies it was TCP Global. Tcpglobal.com I went into their "restoration paints" section and picked a single stage acrylic urethane but it looks like they can offer you just about anything.

[70 Challenger Lover]

When you are ready to paint, you might consider hitting up @anlauto or @Cuda Cody or one of the other restoration guys on here who do this a lot. I wasn't necessarily looking for perfection but those guys have probably done a car or two in your shade of green.