69 Superbird MULE car build

[remta1]

Found this 69 Satellite sport in Los Angeles and had to have it .The plan was to just restore it or possibly clone it into a roadrunner.
It may look a little beat up but is actually very very clean .I will show you the resto build and this is where it gets interesting.....part way thru the resto I had  a bit of bad luck /good luck /fate and  I had the opportunity to make my garage larger or put some more money into the 69.

I did truck loads of research on the pros and cons of doing a superbird / clone / tribute whatever you want to call it.Got the calculator out, sat down with the wife and she said go for it .

Obviously it is a 69 body. I really liked the historical look of the early photo below of the creative industries mock ups etc .What do I call it ?, I don't want to get into the debate of is it a clone ,  it hasn't got this or it should have that etc.

How I want the car to look, is as if I had been in part of development back in the day but still wanted what I am doing to still be "slightly  historically correct " as the first superbird mockups and   preproduction were of a 69 body .That should keep the car show "experts " happy LOL .I just wanted to put my own "creative " touches
to the build .I mean no disrespect to any wingcar enthusiasts there are some things I like , some things I would change and that is what I have done with my Mule .

There was some discussion in posts about the mule subject and I best thought this suits my build name. I have also wanted a wingcar and am living my dream ,it may not be to everybodies liking ,but that is the beauty of this hobby otherwise all our cars would have the same paint , wheels , and engine.

I have also decided to retain the full 69 body ,including the 69 front guards as part of my build and as this thread develops I will show how I got round some of the headaches of a 69 build .Don't these things normally go really easily and smoothly ?  .

[nascarxx29]

http://wwnboa.org/claybird.htm
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,54499.0.html

[Ghoste]

Thats a cool idea and yes, of course they always go easily and smoothly.

[remta1]

Thats a cool idea and yes, of course they always go easily and smoothly
I will post/reply  when I can , have been out of town and a bit crook so build has been slower that anticipated , but best not to rush these things

[Fred]

Thats a cool idea and yes, of course they always go easily and smoothly.

As smoothly as the bumps on my head. 

[remta1]

,

[remta1]

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[remta1]

cleaning up the bottom of the guards

[remta1]

,,

[remta1]

new extension.

[remta1]

pretty happy with the roof considering that it was a vinyl roof car , no holes  and cleaned up rarely well.

[remta1]

...etchprimed

[Fred]

Excellent project. 

[remta1]

ta , this is probably one of the tidiest ones I have found , floors and trunk are mint too ...pictures to follow

[Fred]

Trunk is mint?  Wow that is a first.

[remta1]

when I say mint I should have said mint compared to what I have seen before and had before ...it has a few tiny wee holes peppered about the place in the trunk most no bigger than a ball point pen nib but  the floors in the rest of the car are excellent   ....but yeah mint I suppose

[JB400]

Looks like you're off to a good start.   What's the thinkings for a powerplant?

[Fred]

when I say mint I should have said mint compared to what I have seen before and had before ...it has a few tiny wee holes peppered about the place in the trunk most no bigger than a ball point pen nib but  the floors in the rest of the car are excellent   ....but yeah mint I suppose

Well, that I can except.   

[remta1]

Looks like you're off to a good start.   What's the thinkings for a powerplant?

cheers, running factory motor at the moment , spending all my money on go-go bits and ooh aah bits first and will worry about the rest later as it costs quite a bit to get them road legal with all of the hoops and crap you have to jump thru with the government 

[remta1]

tinted epoxy primer coat that I used helps protect the metal and find high and low spots in the panelwork,

[remta1]

,,

[remta1]

..not going to bore everyone with all of the body prep pics..

[JB400]

Not boring at all.  It gives a nice insight to how much work it takes to building these cars

[remta1]

as  I mentioned in my first post , this where I had the opportunity to extend my garage or build the mule.....
Brought my kit thru AAR quality fiberglass (stinger )  , very good to deal with , found them really helpful had to modify a few things ( later threads )

First test fit on wing ....looks terrible as the wing is  a different colour , the car is sitting way too high , and the glass is out ...
Thank goodness I can see past this...

I was able to use my mates superbird for reference but everything had to be in context with the body shape differences on the 69 and to make sure that all the lines and reference points look correct   

[Ghoste]

I'd say you're off to a pretty good start.