Impressive body work

[Gary42]

I cannot say much more then, impressive when it comes to the body work being accomplished on my 72 Rally restoration. I live in AR, not originally from here, just down the road from Larry Roper (Hotrod). If not for him, I can honestly say I am not sure where I would be in this process so far, a huge debt and gratitude for him and his expertise so far.
The guy that is performing this miracle: JOHN VOZEL, an impressive warrior that works for Larry and has been in this business for many years.
My car was originally from MO, but bought it from a dealer in MN about a year ago, so if you are from the northern part of the US I need not say anymore. After making the final agreements, the resto has begun. John started by assessing what he had, or at the very least thought he had. After removing the drivers' side quarter panel, is when the real challenge for him had begun. Come to find out the drivers' side and drivers' rear had been hit pretty hard in an accident at one time, and the person that did the outer body work did an excellent job of hiding what was really wrong.
Here is what is planned:
Removal of full quarter from drivers' side first, cut out and replace upper superstructure, with parts from the donor car. Cut out and replace frame over rear wheel, as it had been buckled at one time, remove entire trunk section, from behind rear seat to the tail panel, as it too had a bow in both the floor section and tail panel. During this process, John will also replace the section just in front of the wheel well and behind the rocker panel, as it too has been totally rusted away. The spring shackle will also be replaced, as it had been beat on pretty good and rusted away over the years.
This is only the first step in many to come, as John will be doing all the welding and replacing of any trouble areas. Then will come the passenger side, those updates will follow.
I owe a huge debt and gratitude to Larry for getting me this far, as he was the driving force in leading me in the right direction on this and future projects to come. To John Vozel for putting up with me so far, I ask too many questions of him sometimes. If ever there was a guy to accomplish this task, it would be John. The price is right and will not leave me broken and have to halt the restoration process.
I will keep you all updated and have pics posted,
Thanks
Gary

[doctorpimp]

Sounds like you're on the right track!
Keep us posted

[Gary42]

Some pics.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye9.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye8.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye5.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye4.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye3.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye2.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye1.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye.jpg

[Gary42]

Some pics of the donor car in the process of being taken apart.
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye15.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye14.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye13.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye12.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye11.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/72Rallye/72Rallye10.jpg

[doctorpimp]

Still looks to be decent for a northern car.  Typical rust issues.  Shame about the accident repair: insurance claim money goes to the lowest bidder
What are your plans for the car?

[Gary42]

I know what you mean about being decent, as I am origionally from the NY area. I retired from the Army in 2002 and decided to stay here in AR, as far away from the salt as I could
As for the car itself, I plan on a full restoration, will a spell on the rotisserie, and then keep it as one of my toys. My future plan after this one, is to find a good 69 Charger and clone it into a Daytona that is with much assistance, patients, and advice from Hotrod.
So for now I look forward to having this car on the road sometime next year.
Gary

[wylde8]

Thats a ton of work, but it looks like its coming along nicely.  I see a lot of people complain about something as insignificant as a small hole in the quarter or something.  Those people obviously have never dealt with a car from up north.  Its a lot more work, but thats what most of the stuff in that area looks like. 

[Silver R/T]

thats pretty rusty

[Gary42]

A ton of work is putting it mildly, and rusty is about right, but one thing I can count on is this: John said from the beginning that the road will be rough and long, but he would not even think of repairing this car if all I wanted was just a quick job. He is the type of guy that will not attempt anything if the job is not going to be done to his perfection.
This car will be entirely rust free when he is finally done, so I guess that I can count on having it for sometime to come. There is not many matching numbers Rally Chargers around, and this one is worth every penny I will eventually spend on getting it done right. John is a highly sought after guy for this type of work, so with his schedule it takes a bit longer but the end results is perfection.
Gary

[terrible one]

Cool deal man. What a couincidence, I'm in AR as well, and my Charger is from MO. Where in AR are you?

[SeattleCharger]

 

[Gary42]

Now thats funny. I live just outside of Ft. Smith, in the town of Greenwood. The ideal size, around 7500 people.

[terrible one]

Fort Smith eh? Wow, very close to me. I'm in El Dorado. 

[BigBlockSam]

wow man, lotsa work. i think i'm gonna move closer to Larry too 

[Gary42]

One true thing to remember when it comes to living close to Larry, there will never be a dull or wasted moment when it comes to his Mopars and helping as many people as he can

[BigBlockSam]

i couldn't have built any of my cars if it wasn't for the help of my friends and wife

[Gary42]

Between my wife keeping me grounded and Larry making sure that I keep myself and my projects on the right track, I guess I would yet be another lost soul  trying to fit in with the big boys and their toys

[hotrod98]

My future plan after this one, is to find a good 69 Charger and clone it into a Daytona that is with much assistance, patients, and advice from Hotrod.
Gary

Everyone around me wants to build a wing car now...I love it.     

[RallyeMike]

I have always passed on cars with major rust issues.  My hat is off to guys who have the will to tackle rust buckets.  It takes a lot of patience, and if you farm out the work, a lot of bread. Good luck with your project.

[Gary42]

Passing on a car that may or may not be that rusty is always a mistake. Had I taken advantage of this long ago, I would not be looking for the cars and parts that i am looking for now. The funny thing is this: every body and their brother is buying/selling anything they can drag out of a junk yard, and it always ends up being another mans treasure.
Money comes and goes and if we do not enjoy life and spend as much of it as we can while we are here, what good would it do us when we are too old to enjoy it?
Buy as many cars as you can while you are young, drive as fast as you can get away with, and just enjoy watching another mans junk become your treasure.

[BigBlockSam]

eat drink and be merry for tomorrow, we die.   

[Gary42]

Could not have possibly said it better myself, cheers

[73Charger]

Seems like the Dukes are about to pop in on this discussion and yell Yeeeeee Haaaaa! 

Who cares about a little rust as long as they RUN! 

I admire guys who can do all that great body work. 

I'm still a babe in the woods in this field and do much of my rust fixin' with "you know what" 

So far, when I pull out the welder, I just seem to make things worse. 

Good luck on that project, and I'll keep learning here. :-)

[Gary42]

I am totally gettin ya on that one, as the last time I even touched a welder I made a bigger hole then I had origionally started with. I attempted to use rods and a MIG welder, and all I got from each one was a sore wrist from pulling them off the metal I thought I was welding.
I have decided to leave that job to the big boys like John, as he is one of the best around here, as long as Hotrod is not around. Hotrod is like all the other big Mopar guys, too many cars and even more work then he can possibly handle. I am sure that if he did not have so much work and so little time, I possibly could have convinced him to lend me a hand. I only wish I had known him earlier in life, as he could have showed me a trick or two in the game they call welding.
I bought this Rally for one reason, I liked the way it looked and the bonus was it really runs good. I can picture in my mind the end result, so to wait for the end finish will and is a breeze.
Rust? Who sees rust? I see a numbers matching, Hemi Orange, bad ass ride that no one around here has. Heck if I were better lookin I wouldn't need such a bad ass ride to turn heads

[The Ghoul]

I will never call my car rusty again!!!
Im so impressed im not even going to stur up the whole 'is restoration to this point re-body' argument... Im just blown away by whats going into this job!!
aces all around

[Gary42]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, as right about I need all I can get. Re-Body:Never, I like to think of it as more of a Re-Birth . My entire outlook on this monumental task: It's only money (just don't tell my wife how much it is really costing )
And as it arose from the ashes, it was nothing but MOPAR

[BigBlockSam]

after all the bullshit that i've gone through with bodyshops. it might be worth it to take my car to Larry. ROAD TRIP!

[hotrod98]

I'm lucky to have talented guys like John Vozel and Mark Cogburn working for me here at the dealership. It took a while to convince John to take on some outside work like Gary's Charger. John has a 60 x 80 shop with 16' side walls. He has all of the equipment and certainly has the talent to do the body work part of the restos. LIke me, John has painted so long that he is isocyante sensitive and has to be careful when painting so he sticks mostly to doing just the body work. Mark on the other hand loves the painting aspect of the restos and has turned into a great painter. He would like to go to work for Foose or Coddington some day and he just might do it.
I want to point out that some of those pics that Gary posted are of the two parts cars. The resto car is the orange rallye car. We'll make sure Gary keeps you posted as John progresses.
Rene, Call me and I'll give you directions. You might fall in love with Arkansas while you're down here. 

[BigBlockSam]

You might fall in love with Arkansas while you're down here.   

i don't doubt it. I'm not happy where i am now.

[The Ghoul]

I didnt know you lived in michigan? 

[BigBlockSam]

new jersey

[Gary42]

Larry is not far off when he says you might just fall in love with this area. As one of those Dam Yankees, Yankees just come to visit and then go home, I have often wondered what took me so long to get here. I have listened to the family in New York ask why I chosen to stay here after retiring from the Army, and the answer is always the same: hate the cold, deep cold, and hated even more the thought of waking at 2 or 3am just to snowblow the driveway so that i could get out to go to work at 6am.
Call me crazy, but why would I want to go back to that. People here in AR have asked me the very same question, and when I explained to them that if I took the area that I am from in New York and placed it here, you would not even know the difference. I lived in the city until I was 12, and then the family picked up and moved into the Adirondacks, where mountains, lakes, rivers, and streams are the same as here.
The bonus was to find friends like Larry, John, and Mark who put up with me. I guess life is not so bad at all here after all.

[hotrod98]

I like living in Arkansas...not too hot...not too cold...almost no snow and the people are nice. It's less than a five hour drive to several major cities and racing facilities.

[Dueppy]

Hi Gary!

Nice to see some pics of your Charger.
I also started working at my charger two months ago.
Next days i will see if your fenders will fit... 
I'll try to mail you some pics next week.

Bye,
Chris

[Gary42]

Chris
Nice to finally hear from you, how are things there? Looks like you all are getting more rain then you can use right now, how far from the Elbe are you? It is good that you are finally getting your Charger back together, I was just talking about you the other day. Yes please send me pictures as you get things going, I would really be interested in seeing what you have done and how well all the parts I sent you fit.
Make sure you keep in touch and keep me updated on your progress. I will be posting more pictures soon, as we have the grey car apart and ready for sandblasting and etch primer before welding them to my Charger. Always good to hear from you friend, stay safe.
Gary

[Gary42]

Not much new to report, as things seem to be going a bit slower then I had anticipated. One of the many down falls of having someone complete this work on their time, which is very limited at times. I hope to have the next installment of pics posted soon, as John says he is ready to start sandblasting both parts to be assembled.
I keep hoping foe success by x-mas .