Randy's Restomod Daytona on a Hellcat Challenger

[Stevearino]

Hey everyone. Sublime 70 started a thread over on the Charger discussion page about this build that I am just starting. The car is a 1970 Charger shell that I will be splicing on to a 2022 Hellcat Challenger. The Challenger has about 8,700 miles on it and looks like something big fell on the roof and they totaled it so it has a salvage title. Other wise it is a pretty nice car. The 70 Charger is someones sad tale of a restoration project gone on too long for the wallet. The owner cried uncle and tapped out after spending 6 figures on the car. The car was completely dismantled and had been media blasted and was ready to go back forward when the owner sold it to a friend of mine for a ridiculously low price. There was tons of stuff on the car that I did not need for this project and I left all that stuff with him to sell off. I basically only took what I needed which was the shell minus the hood. The car had been media blasted and epoxy primed so the dirty work of stripping it down was done and out of the way. Any way some here may not agree with some of the design choices the owner wanted for this build but it is his build and I will be trying to bring his vision to life. I built him a 1/25 scale model to help him visualize the build. He has already made some changes so it is not exactly what we will have in the end.
Any way here is the first video in the series and number 2 will be posted here today.       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xulmWpF5lfM&t=123s

[WINGIN IT]

No doubts it will spectacular in the end.

[Stevearino]

No doubts it will spectacular in the end.

We shall see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rol4mbe5yAU

[Stevearino]

Some Pictures

[tan top]

 

[KurtfromLaQuinta]

I'm keeping an eye on this project.

[hemi-hampton]

Would a old 68-70 Charger Body fit better onto a newer Charger instead of a Challenger? LEON.

[Stevearino]

Would a old 68-70 Charger Body fit better onto a newer Charger instead of a Challenger? LEON.

The only difference between the LX ( Dodge Charger, Magnum, Chrysler 300) and the LY (Challenger) platform is the wheel base. The floor pan of the Challenger is 4" shorter behind the front sears. The old Charger has a 117" wheel base. The new Charger has a 120" wheel base.  The Challenger is  116" . With that said my Daytona is on a modern Charger. It looks right because I lined up the rear wheels in the old Charger stock openings and lengthened the rear section of the front fender. Because the Daytona nose adds another 18" of length to the car it looks balanced. Without the nose you have to push the back wheels back 1 1/2" inches and move the fronts forward 1 1/2".  I doesn't look too bad but any one who looks at old Chargers a lot will notice something is off.

[hemi-hampton]

Thanks for that info, I was curious about the different wheelbases for each car. LEON.

[mopar4don]

Watching 

[Hemidog]

Subscribed! 

[Stevearino]

Working on the Daytona decklid    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZYKBdzLY2A

[moparstuart]

the adaptive cruise active radar camera is in / behind the lower grille in the bumper   

[mopar4don]

AMAZING work Steve! 

I look forward to your Friday updates! 

[Stevearino]

the adaptive cruise active radar camera is in / behind the lower grille in the bumper   

Thanks Stu. That means I will probably be able to keep that option.

AMAZING work Steve! 

I look forward to your Friday updates! 

Thanks again Don. I hope it doesn't get to repetitive in the future.

[birdsandbees]

Wife's... to show the adaptive cruise sensor

[Stevearino]

Wife's... to show the adaptive cruise sensor

Nothing like that on this car. The only thing behind the grill either upper or lower is the outside temperature sensor. Hell this might not have that option after all.

[Stevearino]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7tZXlJ-KWs Some custom tail light fabrication.

[panhead]

Good day sir,

You're doing amazing work!!! As well as opening my eyes to new ways of shaping metal!! Thank you!!

What brand of shrinker/stretcher is that? And were would a person get one?


Curt

[Stevearino]

Good day sir,

You're doing amazing work!!! As well as opening my eyes to new ways of shaping metal!! Thank you!!

What brand of shrinker/stretcher is that? And were would a person get one?


Curt

Thanks. That is an Eckold shrinker/stretcher or hand former as they may be called. I am not sure where they are sold because I bought mine second hand. They are pretty pricey. I got this one cheap years ago for $1,500.00 At that time they listed for $3,500.00 You can get a decent machine with deep jaws from Eastwood for about $400.00. The big deal with the Eckold is that it has round jaws as opposed to the squared off jaws of most less expensive setups. If I did not get it so cheap I don't know that I would even have one. Great machine.

[DonC1]

Great work Steve as always!
Those Eckolds appear to have more bite radius than the standard square jaws everybody carries.

[Stevearino]

Great work Steve as always!
Those Eckolds appear to have more bite radius than the standard square jaws everybody carries.

Thanks and you certainly would know Don. While working for Hendrick Motorsports I really got spoiled . We had an Ekold 4 way power shrinker. You could address the center of a panel with one of those about 20" in. If you were not careful and had the jaws adjusted too much before you turned it on you would instantly cobble up your work before you got it shut down. If you wanted to just sweeten something up you had been working on for a while you had better get another guy to help gradually tighten or loosen the wheel as you worked the panel or you could ruin your efforts.

[Stevearino]

https://youtu.be/thmnACk3fCg More work on the tail panel.

[cdr]

looking great Steve, its all those time consuming little things that make it a great build, I know I repeat myself but, your craftmanship is off the charts, I am SO impressed with your abilities , looking forward to the next update.

[Stevearino]

looking great Steve, its all those time consuming little things that make it a great build, I know I repeat myself but, your craftmanship is off the charts, I am SO impressed with your abilities , looking forward to the next update.

Only wished we lived closer Charlie. I would love to help out on ol Brain Damage.