'71 Hits the Paint Booth

[randy73]

Out of curiosity where in Maryland do you live?

BTW: I would keep it white, there are so few white cars around, it just makes the car stand out in a crowd.

[71charger_fan]

I'm just outside Frederick. I thought white would help make it pop, but it actually seems to make it blend into the background at car shows.

[NHCharger]

Unfortunately you are right about white cars at car shows. When I first got my 68 Charger on the road four years ago I went to several car shows with a friend who had a immaculate white 68 Charger. Looked straight out of the showroom. He never got a trophy. I won several which really irritated him since mine is a resto mod.

[ACUDANUT]

In the end, who cares about a worthless trophy. Be happy and enjoy your car, for tomorrow you and this car will gone forever.

[NHCharger]

In the end, who cares about a worthless trophy. Be happy and enjoy your car, for tomorrow you and this car will gone forever.

That's true. I actually intend to give all the ones I have collected over the years to the Boy Scouts. My friend Jim was a trophy whore so I always got a good laugh when he would complain the voting was rigged.

[71charger_fan]

In the end, I'm just very unhappy with the quality of the paint work I received. Especially after they billed me significantly more than the estimate. I want another color change to try and forget as best I can how badly I was screwed. At a local show, I saw a '59 Chevy convertible with gorgeous paint. I estimated he had to have at least $50k in paint work. He told me it was $18k, so I got the painter's card. I've since seen a few other cars this guy's painted and they're all that good. Plus, he said I can come to his shop and help out to cut down on billable labor hours. He didn't give me an estimate in dollars, he just told me it would cost me between 200 and 300 hours. So, the more disassembly I do, the less I pay him to do. At this point, it's a matter of waiting for him to have space to take the car in and settling on a new color.

[ACUDANUT]

 Paint and body work cost Big Bucks these days. Hell, a 1k car can cost you 12K and yet people just don't get it.

[NHCharger]

The bodyshop guy that did my 72 Charger was a professional drunk, so you can imagine how that one turned out. The guy that painted my 71 did an awesome job. That car is now in Ohio and the owner said he's always getting asked who painted the car. On my 71 I did the same thing you are doing to save a ton of money. Over the years I have got more and more into doing my own work to the point where I do all the bodywork including the paint.

Picking a color for the 68 and wheel selection was the two toughest decisions to make.

[71charger_fan]

Right now, I'm waiting for this blast of arctic temperatures to pass. Too cold to be out in that unheated garage. At this point, probably all that's remaining that I'll do will be pulling the front valance and bumper/grills, the antenna, and weatherstripping. I'm debating with myself as to whether or not to buy a new forward light harness. Mine's in pretty good shape but with everything else I'm going to be putting into this car (again), I'm thinking I might as well replace that and possibly the engine harness too.

[NHCharger]

I replaced all the harnesses except the dash harness in my 68 and all of them in my current moneypit. I waited for Y.O. to have a 30% off sale with free shipping. The nice thing about the Y.O. harnesses is that they are an exact duplicate of the factory harness.

[71charger_fan]

Last time I ordered a harness from Year One, it was backordered for so long, the car was done and back on the road for months before it finally arrived. I'd probably just go straight to Evans.

[randy73]

M&H make all mopar harnesses, you can go on there website to search and then order from year one. There tech support is great.

Good luck!

[71charger_fan]

I got a 30% off coupon code in the mail today. I'll probably go ahead and order a forward lamp harness and an engine harness.

[ACUDANUT]

Really, what's the code ??

[71charger_fan]

Save 30%* until midnight Monday
Use Code: NY18

[ACUDANUT]

Dang, I hate it when there is only a small window for these codes. 

[71charger_fan]

I saw a code for "up to 35% off" at Classic Industries. So, I put the harnesses I needed in my carts at both Year One and Classic Industries. YO was over $100 cheaper as they were a straight 30% off. The discount that was applied to my Classic Industries cart worked out to 5.9%. So, I have new harnesses on order from Year One. I was going to get a new package tray. With the discount, it was about $21. However, it added $18 to the shipping. I can make my own if I decide I really need one.

[71charger_fan]

Today, I took advantage of the warmer weather finally moving in and got back out in the garage. I pulled and disassembled the front valance.

[randy73]

where did you get the chin spoiler?

[71charger_fan]

It's a fiberglass repro I've had for over 20 years. I probably bought it from Year One, but am not certain anymore.

[71charger_fan]

Today, I pulled the antenna, cleaned out the trunk, and organized the parts that have come off.

[aifilaw]

Looks sharp, love that year

[randy73]

Does look good.   

[Simonic]

It's a fiberglass repro I've had for over 20 years. I probably bought it from Year One, but am not certain anymore.

I bought a pair of spoilers for my 71 last year.... Ordered them thru YearOne. They arrived in boxes from 'Dales Cuda Shop' 

[71charger_fan]

I packed up the wiper motor to send it out for restoration. Of course, I drove all the way to the Post Office before I realized it's a holiday.