Pro Touring 68 Dart convertible

[anlauto]

Yea, I really like that

[YellowThumper]

Spot on. 

[Burdar]

   See you soon!

[anlauto]

Without having to go back and read the whole thread, have you made a final decision on the colour ? How long do you figure the paint job will take ?

[Burdar]

The original QQ1 blue.  No idea how long it will take.  I'm not going to rush them.

[anlauto]

Never good to rush a body shop, that's for sure....Car's going to look beautiful

[Burdar]

Here's something I started working on a few years ago.  I wanted to make some custom panels for the trunk but I wanted to keep it fairly simple and light.  I started out with the rear panel by the trunk striker as it seemed like the most complicated.

The striker and striker bracket don't sit level...they slope up to the front of the car.  To make the panel I used 2 pieces of 1/4" MDF with a 2x2 on the inside corner to attach the two pieces.  Running the 2x2 through the table saw and cutting a bevel on one end gave me the angle I needed once the two pieces were attached.  The top face of the back panel now slopes up and matches the angle of the striker.  The front face of the rear panel is perpendicular to the trunk floor.  After trimming the back of the panel to follow the curve of the trunk opening, I used a router to "round over" the front edge so it wasn't a sharp transition. 

To hold the panel in place, I attached a small piece of 2x4 to the striker bracket using rivnuts in the bracket for attachment.  The 2x4 then has a couple threaded wood inserts in it so the panel can be secured with (2) 1/4x20 screws.

To keep everything as light as possible, I used 1/2" MDF for the trunk floor instead of 3/4.  I cut out a hole in the center so the factory spare tire "cup/wingnut" could hold it in place.  The main center panel is made from 1/4" MDF and the side panels are made with 1/8".(then reinforced on the back side to make them stronger)

It took awhile to figure out how to do the main center panel because of where the fuel filler tube is located.  I thought about making that panel with a curve in it to clear the filler tube but abandoned that idea quickly.  In the end I decided to make a flat panel but lay it back at an angle.  A 2x2 screwed to the MDF trunk floor with a bevel on it locates the bottom of the panel.  The top of the panel lays against the ledge under the trunk lip.  The top of the side panels sit against the same ledge under the trunk lip.  The bottom of those is held in place by a strip of wood screwed to the MDF floor.

Here's what the basic panel layout looked like before I started adding more details to them.  I primed the rear panel by the striker.  That isn't part of the body.

[Burdar]

I wanted the trunk to match the interior so everything flows well together.  That means using black and white vinyl.  After a lot of thinking, I came up with this design.  The outer sections will be black and the inserts will be white.  The trunk floor will be covered with the same 80/20 loop carpet as the interior.


As I was cleaning up and painting the front door panel GT emblems, I had an idea about what to put on the main center panel in the trunk.  I liked the shape of the GT emblems but they were way too small. So, I set out to make some larger ones.(that lower emblem was pitted badly so I found a nicer replacement)


I'll admit that math/formulas aren't my strong suit.  I had to call my math genius sister to calculate the overall dimensions so the new emblem would be in proportion to the smaller original.  She did a good job as it looks proportional to me.  For the GT letters in the center I used some old GTS hood emblem letters.


Aluminum sanded/polished/brushed and GT letters repainted.

[Burdar]

For the main panels white insert, I just used the scrap piece that I previously cut out.  I sanded it a little smaller then the opening and attached it to a backer.  I covered it with 1/8" high density foam before covering it with white vinyl.




The new emblem is held on with studs/nuts through the back.


I did the same thing with the side panels.






The white inserts on the side panels looked bare and needed something else.  I came up with a simple aluminum "spear" to attach in the center.  I think it finished off the side panels nicely.  I just bought some 1/4 x 1/4 aluminum square stock at the local home store.  Then I put a bevel on the three ends so it came to a point.  Then I sanded and polished them.




I debated on the placement of the "spear" since the bottom of the insert is parallel to the trunk floor and the top of the insert follows the slope of the 1/4 panels trunk opening.   It looked out of place parallel to the floor AND parallel to the trunk opening.  In the end I split the difference and I think it looks fine.












Just recently I bought some carpet, made a template of the trunk floor and cut out the carpet.  Then I took it to a local interior shop where I had them sew a vinyl edge around the perimeter so the rough carpet edge was covered. 

[Brads70]

Darren that looks amazing! Top notch work right there! 

[Swamp Donkey]

Wow.  I like it!


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[Burdar]

Playing around with different looks for the hood inserts.  The inserts I got with the car were badly repainted and pitted.  I blasted them to remove the paint and chrome.  I hand sanded the top lip and was able to get all the pits out.  Surprisingly the pot metal actually polished up really nice.  I sprayed a texture on the sides followed by some silver and clear.  I painted inside the scoop opening the same color as the engine.

The insert base is chromed with the center painted black.  The chrome has miniscule pits all over it so something needs to be done to make it presentable.  I bought some cheap generic carbon fiber vinyl to do a test with.  It looks cool from a distance but the vinyl doesn't conform to all the tight bends and lifts in the corners.  Maybe a quality 3M vinyl would work better but I think now I'm just leaning towards painting them with wrinkle paint.  I could conceivably still add some of the carbon fiber vinyl to the bottom but not wrap it around the corners.  Then you'd see the vinyl through the insert openings.

If it doesn't end up looking cool, I'll just buy the reproductions and be done with it.  You never know what might look cool until you try it. 

[Burdar]

So, awhile back, @GoodysGotaCuda posted about a cool little LED volt gauge he installed in his Cuda.  It flashes different colors depending on what the system voltage is.  Since I removed the AMP gauge in the dash and replaced it with an oil pressure gauge, I needed a way to monitor the charging system.  I bought this last year and just got around to installing it.  I was going to install it in the ash tray of the center console but I decided to just put it on the dash.  I want to be able to easily see it but I don't want it in my face.  I put it down low next to the map light.  I should be able to see it at a quick glance.




There was a discussion on Moparts about LED dash bulbs.  I used some cheap E-bay bulbs in the gauge cluster and tested them when the dash was all apart.  I liked the look but never tested them to see what they would look like on a completed dash.  That Moparts discussion got me currious so I hooked up a battery to the dash assembly.  This looks great.  The picture makes the lights look brighter then they really are.  These LED do NOT dim with the headlight switch.  I think this brightness would be fine but I'll look for some LED that can be dimmed.

[GoodysGotaCuda]

Lookin good. I've been really happy with that LED volt gauge


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[dodj]

Like the dash!
I've always thought those wide rectangular speedo's with the, like, 5:1 aspect ratio were the coolest.