Body mod question....

[69chargerboy]

I was wondering, has anyone thought about shaving the rain gutters? I've been thinking about doing that. Any Pro's or Con's of shaving them???

[moparguy01]

Done it. Sometimes it looks different. No real pros or cons. other than sometimes it causes more leaking into the windows. I've usually shaved it on cars that had the driprails too rusty to save.

[Brock Samson]

didnt autodynamics and mr angrey shave theirs?... ( the driprails you freaks!) 

[PA Dodger]

I found this link to pics of Mike Musto's Charger on another site.  They are the best pics I've found of a Charger with drip rails removed. I think it looks great. I was tossing around the idea of doing this too but want to know what to expect.  Will there be a gap that needs welded up or just a little grinding and bondo once the are cut off?
That link is  http://www.lateral-g.net/members/musto/
Dan

[tan top]

didnt autodynamics and mr angrey shave theirs?... ( the driprails you freaks!) 

   

       wasn't the other  a custom blue color .

[Charger-Bodie]

not a big fan of the mod you end up loosing the door and quarter top trim and the roofrail seal channels show up extra .....as always this is just my opinion and someone elses is differant its youre car and you are the one who needs to like it!!

[autodynamics]

shave them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hemi-hampton]

Didn't KWS Kenny Wayne Shepard shave his drip rails LEON.

[suntech]

I think it looks great with shaved drip rails, and my charger will loose them

[Hemidog]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28986.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,41598.0.html

[Drop Top]

If you decid to do it. Do one side at a time. Don't cut off any more then about a foot at a time. If you cut it off all at once it will start to seperate as you are welding it back together. Watch the heat bild up also you don't want to end up with a worped roof. Alot of work ahead of you and you will never be able to go back. Think about the resale value droping way down.

[suntech]

Think about the resale value droping way down.

Why do you think so? 

It all depends on the craftmanship IMO

[Drop Top]

I've been around this hobbie a very long time. Met and known some very famous car customizers. Even if the job looks good after the job is finished donsn't meen its been done corect. Usually the car will decrese in value if a major mod has been done to it enless its been done by some one with a reputation and pics are done during the process. Of course if you start with a rusted out 318 car, you could argue that with all the major running gear mods and the other major wheel and body along with the $15,000 paint job it would be worth more then it was before you started. But, would it be worth what you have in the car? Generally speaking if you shave the car of anything and do nothing more It will lose value to most hobbiest. Granted there is always an exception to the rule. But how manny have that kind of luck. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people have to sell there car before they have finished it and because they had it modified it beond turning back, lets say they lost alot and if they would have let the body mods alone they could have slod it for more. Getting back to what I said about who you have do it. If he is a well known customizer It will probly be worth more in the end but be prepared to spend more out of pocket.If your lucky enough to keep the car entill the customizer passes on then it will usually go up in value as long you keep all the documents and it just happens to win some major shows and in more then a few Magizens. Case in point I worked with and respected one of the famose and respected customizers of the 50s and 60s. I bought a car from him that he built (body formed by hand) from the ground up. Revell made a model out of the car and it made it into a mag. He had never got rid of the car. When he retired he moved the car into my shop for storage. He finely decided to sell the car and gave me first dibs on it. When I bought the car people told me I was crazy. But now that he has gone I have been offerd way more then I paid for it. I plan on restoring the car this year and hope to have it back in the public by next year. This car was his last full on customs from a very long list. but I'm getting off the subjict. This just shows my point that its all about documentation and who dose the work then it dose anything else. On the other hand for every famos person that passes away there is another one to take his place. I hope its you. It shure is'nt me.

[Rolling_Thunder]

Been there and done that on my Charger....     Pete and Mike did theirs as well...     

[Ghoste]

I agree with Drop Top.  I work a lot of classic car auctions in a year and in almost all cases, a well done restoration will outperform a customized car model to model.

[Mike DC]

 
Personally, I just think the style gains are too small in proportion to the seriousness & irreversibility of the modification. 



If you talk about recutting the wheelwells on a set of (non-original asian repro) fenders or QPs, then everyone starts telling you to think long & hard about the wisdom of the decision.  But for some reason the driprail thing seems to carry nowhere near as much weight in people's minds.  I don't get it.   

[Charger-Bodie]

 
Personally, I just think the style gains are too small in proportion to the seriousness & irreversibility of the modification. 



If you talk about recutting the wheelwells on a set of (non-original asian repro) fenders or QPs, then everyone starts telling you to think long & hard about the wisdom of the decision.  But for some reason the driprail thing seems to carry nowhere near as much weight in people's minds.  I don't get it.   

I agree ......And the thing I dont like about the shaved drip rails is that it makes the roofrail channel show up that much more , and makes it look out of place. Plus whats so bad about drip rails?

I guess I also just see see the logic.

[bill440rt]

 
Personally, I just think the style gains are too small in proportion to the seriousness & irreversibility of the modification. 



If you talk about recutting the wheelwells on a set of (non-original asian repro) fenders or QPs, then everyone starts telling you to think long & hard about the wisdom of the decision.  But for some reason the driprail thing seems to carry nowhere near as much weight in people's minds.  I don't get it.   

I agree ......And the thing I dont like about the shaved drip rails is that it makes the roofrail channel show up that much more , and makes it look out of place. Plus whats so bad about drip rails?

I guess I also just see see the logic.

I third the agreement. To me, Chargers look fantastic without ANY body mods. Not to say I dislike the members' cars here that are modified, they are beautiful cars without a doubt. But a Charger is one car that doesn't need body mods to improve it's appearance.

[Mike DC]

Yeah, totally.




One sheetmetal modification on a car body that's 98% nice & stock . . . it's kind of like a having one little tattoo.   


I don't find the mods annoying on a whole car that's CLEARY committed to never going back to stock again.  But when you hack one or two small things on a car that's otherwise a nice stock survivor/resto, it seems like it's just spoiling the blank canvas without producing much to show for it. 

[Ghoste]

I've never made much secret about how I feel when it comes to customizing Chargers.  It was the styling flagship for Dodge from 1966 to 1974 and the three designs really beg to be left alone.  There are cars that beg to be altered but I never view the classic Charger as one of them. 

[Charger-Bodie]

I've never made much secret about how I feel when it comes to customizing Chargers.  It was the styling flagship for Dodge from 1966 to 1974 and the three designs really beg to be left alone.  There are cars that beg to be altered but I never view the classic Charger as one of them. 

Very Well Said!!

[tan top]

I've never made much secret about how I feel when it comes to customizing Chargers.  It was the styling flagship for Dodge from 1966 to 1974 and the three designs really beg to be left alone.  There are cars that beg to be altered but I never view the classic Charger as one of them. 

Very Well Said!!

i know each to their own & shaving the drip rails off  ...looks ok !!   good !!  ..something i would never consider doing .... 

[Mike DC]

There are two kinds of customized 2nd-gen Chargers:  The ones with major sheetmetal modifications, and the ones that came out looking good. 

[Rolling_Thunder]

all true - I wanted a more modern look so I shaved mine - don't get me wrong - the Charger looks great either way - however I did it for the sake of being different...       Most people who have seen my car since being painted with the trim on don't even notice they are missing until I point it out   

[vancamp]

I've never made much secret about how I feel when it comes to customizing Chargers.  It was the styling flagship for Dodge from 1966 to 1974 and the three designs really beg to be left alone.  There are cars that beg to be altered but I never view the classic Charger as one of them. 

I agree its something you do to street rods not muscle cars