Getting the hemi '68 of mine done.Off to the paint shop. again, Hemi pics

[hemi68charger]

Well, some of you know my 5 year saga with the paint and body on my '68 Hemi Charger R/T.. Well, this morning some buddies came over and off "Hemi" went to Mo Musclecars ( www.momusclecars.com ).....  With this outfit, my car should be properly handled and fixed.... Here are some pics of the day..... The job will begin this coming week.......  This time, the car should be the jewel it was supposed to be.... It'll get done right and I'm going with the OEM overspray look,,,

1. Loading it up at the house...
2. sitting waiting to be loaded..
3. at the shop.
4. getting ready to be tucked away for the long weekend......

[duo-stripe]

Hey Troy, good luck!!

grtz Marcel

[TruckDriver]

  Troy!

[hemigeno]

Let the countdown begin!!!

[firefighter3931]

 

[Silver R/T]

looks good, bet you cant wait to put it back together

[hemi68charger]

Let the countdown begin!!!

Geno, I can guarantee it won't be 5 years this time.. 

I will go to the shop this coming Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss everything I want done......... It should be about a month or two.....  Then, let the games begin for my quest on a kick-butt '68 or a winged car......

Troy

[charge69]

Good luck Troy!  This shop is bound to treat you better than before! You may actually change your mind about trading it when it is finished! Gonna be a beauty!

Carl

[hemi68charger]

Good luck Troy!  This shop is bound to treat you better than before! You may actually change your mind about trading it when it is finished! Gonna be a beauty!

Carl

Thanks Carl.. I'm hoping so.. Either way, I'll be a happy camper when it's done...........

Troy

[8WHEELER]

May the Force be with with these people Troy    wish I could find a place around here
to finish my 5yr mess as well    your car is still my favorite 68 color 

Dan

[Magnumcharger]

Interesting.
It looks perfect in the pictures...but I know how digital images lie, so I'm assuming it's a lot worse than it looks?

And why are the legs on your stands so brutally high up? Wouldn't that make it unreasonably tippy?
Especially for shipping. And hard to roll on those small casters?

[hemi68charger]

Interesting.
It looks perfect in the pictures...but I know how digital images lie, so I'm assuming it's a lot worse than it looks?

And why are the legs on your stands so brutally high up? Wouldn't that make it unreasonably tippy?
Especially for shipping. And hard to roll on those small casters?

Thanks Dan...   

Actually, the height wasn't an issue in shipping. The caster's are rated a 4000 lbs each and the whole unit pivots and rolls rather easily... I have plenty of room underneath, especially when I get to the point of replacing fuel lines and such.. Wasn't intending for it to be so high, just turned out that way.... The car isn't a lot worse than it looks.. Pictures don't pick up the little things here and there. And, the complete underside and engine compartment I've sanded down to repaint.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Good luck Troy

Keep us updated on the progress....

[bill440rt]

Best of Luck to you!! 
Can't wait to see the finished product this time! Please keep us posted.

[Magnumcharger]

Sounds like you're going for an "investment-quality" restoration result.
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!!

[hemi68charger]

Sounds like you're going for an "investment-quality" restoration result.
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!!

Looking at it in different lights, one would say 'yes'.. But, for me, it's a personal adventure to get it as right as possible and looking back and saying, " I did that".. I figure if I'm going to do it, do it OEM correct and still drive the snot out of her.. Other than the actual paint and body work of course.. But, it's my vision that dictates what they do... I will end up with one hell of a '68 or a good chip for a winged car...

Boy, am I too waiting for the finished product...

[pettyfan43]

Man what happened? I know you were excited when you got it back!

Was it just not as nice as you thought? Did Smitty goof it up?

Sorry to hear you are spending more to get the car right.

[hemi68charger]

Man what happened? I know you were excited when you got it back!

Was it just not as nice as you thought? Did Smitty goof it up?

Sorry to hear you are spending more to get the car right.

Smitty "goofying up" is an understatement.. There are a lot of good things he did, but a lot of bad/hurried/rushed/whatever-you-wanna-call-it as well..... The complete underside is going to be repainted.. Since I have to do this, I'm going the factory primer/overspray method.. Also, a better job at blocking and wet sanding will be accomplished.. Initially, when I got home from Iraq, I was excited to see the car completely painted.. Hell, it had been 5 years and a lot of other cars he's done pass me by.. But, when the excitement faded and I started to put things back on, I discovered one thing after another.. I could tell it was a rush-to-finish job... The majority is fine, but as you know, it's the little things sometimes that sticks out the most.. Well, at least for this anal dude like I am it does........

So, now, Tim over at Momusclecars will give a new spirit to the process.. I'm helping him on his R/T, the supposedly 1st Charger built, and in return, he's helping me out...... I'm looking forward in his.. Not too many times you can say you've helped restore a factory advertising icon of a car... We believe, with "Galen's" input, this to be his car..

[hemi-hampton]

Curious why you did not go with the factory OEM oversprayed undercarriage look the first time around & could this have played a factor in wanting it redone? LEON.

[hemi68charger]

Curious why you did not go with the factory OEM oversprayed undercarriage look the first time around & could this have played a factor in wanting it redone? LEON.

The repainting in the factory OEM oversprayed had nothing to do it.. The underside of the car was real rough. Basically, he shot the outside of the car. This created overspray all over the car. He didn't scuff the underside and engine compartment to knock down the overspray and make the surface smooth again. Because of this, both the engine compartment and underside of the car was real rough... This was unacceptable... There was other areas he didn't fix properly either, so I had to have those addressed.. After looking at other cars online at various restoration services and seeing the results of the factory OEM oversprayed  method, I decided to go that route since I needed to repaint the area anyways..

Again, my decision to go the factory OEM oversprayed route had no bearing on my decision, the problems were deeper than paint... But, this time, it will be right........

Thanks for the question.......

Troy

[pettyfan43]

Well man I wish you luck, That car will be stunning when done!

As far as the red car, I have a BUNCH of ads with that car, I LOVE that thing! I have a good friend with a 70 R/T clone in that same color combo! looks KILLER!

[hemi-hampton]

OK, I see what happened, I either tape those areas off for protection from overspray or sand off the overspray. Sounds like he did niether. Good luck, love that color by the way. LEON.

[hemi68charger]

OK, I see what happened, I either tape those areas off for protection from overspray or sand off the overspray. Sounds like he did niether. Good luck, love that color by the way. LEON.

Yeap, he did neither.. Then, to accommodate him, I sanded/scuffed the complete underside and engine compartment so the "hard" work would be done.. After I pointed out some things I didn't like and the work, he told me to take it somewhere else.......      

So, I have...........  Don't need someone with a bad attitude working on my car now..........

He didn't like the fact I told "you guys" about it ..............

[68RT4ME]

 Troy, your such a HardAss! I mean you are so impatient. After all, you only gave the guy 5 years to do it in. What the Hell is your hurry 

Anyway bro, now that you have it at a real shop, good things will happen...

Oh yeah, Get back to work 

[hemi68charger]

Oh yeah, Get back to work 

You're one to talk Mr. Policeman............. Hit the beat...... not your meat..............   

[hemi68charger]

Well,, I now have my primer/dip paint from Performance Car Graphics for the undercarriage repaint and my undercoating from Roger Gibson Restorationss.. The shop has begun work on the bad spots that weren't addressed previously...

Troy

[pettyfan43]

Man I hope that thing comes out nice, I LOVE that color combo!

[hemi68charger]

I was bored tonight... So, I thought I'd watch a little Monday Night Football and tinker with the hemi.. I got the valve covers out and blew off the dust from the box... I also threw the carbs and distributor on to get some effect... Then I've started primering the engine for the hemi-orange paint... I still need to get misc. detail items for the motor, so I'll be giving her a second coat.. Oh yeah, and that expensive negative battery cable... I'll install the manifolds as well prior to my final coat...

[69bronzeT5]

HEMI........

[Rolling_Thunder]

    Thats how we roll !   Good luck with it man - nothing like building a Hemi  (I can say that now)   

[The70RT]

Nice..........

[WINGMAN]

   Very nice Troy  

[Silver R/T]

looks nice

[hemi68charger]

Thanks guys..  Wanted to get a coat on there.. I have to clean up the motor mount brackets/insulators and get them on there so they can be painted with the rest of the engine.. It'll be looking Sweet soon. I can't wait.. Whether or not I keep this puppy, it's been frustrating and fun at the same time.. These are the fun times when I have control of what  I'mm doing and it's progress as opposed to waiting 5 years for a paint job... But, it's coming together... Slowly, but surely.....................

[hemi68charger]

   Thats how we roll !   Good luck with it man - nothing like building a Hemi  (I can say that now)   

Looking good Thunder.............

[hemi68charger]

I've put one coat of color on it... Waiting to get the detail items to get things finished up...

[Nacho-RT74]

trying to help... editing the IMAGE code

I've put one coat of color on it... Waiting to get the detail items to get things finished up...

[hemi68charger]

Thanks Nacho.. Duhhhh,, shows I didn't even look at the preview before submitting it..... I fixed it....

Troy

[hemi68charger]

Well, things are happening... again.. The body work is approximately 95% done and then the painter will take over to start the finish work on the body for pre-paint prep.. I'm really happy with the progress made in the last three weeks.... The price I'm having to pay will be very large to correct the horrible work Smitty did on the car, or shall I say the lack of fixing areas.. Things are done now and in a nice manner.. Thanks to Geno for his reference pics of his Daytona so I could illustrate to the body man what actually needed to be done... Again, this Mr. Anal likes what he sees......

Soooo, if there's someone reading this that reports back to Smitty, please tell him thanks for absolutely NOTHING !!!! It's going to cost me over 4 times what I gave him 5 years ago to correct the car and paint it.. The complete car will be repainted and as previously mentioned, the undercarriage will be done in the OEM dip primer overspray.. It will look great when done.......... The amount of money to correct his mistakes was a shock, but the value is definitely there....... The sad thing is I could have paid this 5 years ago and had a done car 4 years ago..... I'll suck it up and write it up as experience...........

I'll post some pics soon.............
Troy

[Highbanked Hauler]

Troy, is it that he didn't have the skill and finesse or were there larger issues?  Al

[hemi68charger]

Troy, is it that he didn't have the skill and finesse or were there larger issues?  Al

All, it was larger issues, called time management.. The sad thing about it all is I've seen pretty much all his work since he started his business (of which me giving him the inital amount for his capital investment to start his way to begin with). He did a piss-poor rush job in many areas and used the excuse I 'rushed' him after 5 years. He has great skills, I just got the worst job he ever did, and now I'm paying for it, again.............. But, alas,,,, the car WILL be done and done pretty darn good...

[moparstuart]

Troy, is it that he didn't have the skill and finesse or were there larger issues?  Al

All, it was larger issues, called time management.. The sad thing about it all is I've seen pretty much all his work since he started his business (of which me giving him the inital amount for his capital investment to start his way to begin with). He did a piss-poor rush job in many areas and used the excuse I 'rushed' him after 5 years. He has great skills, I just got the worst job he ever did, and now I'm paying for it, again.............. But, alas,,,, the car WILL be done and done pretty darn good...

I have had several of those expensive learning experiences also    suck's  but hey your cars getting done  congrats man

[bzabodyn]

Troy - the motor looks great! Can't wait to see the finished body/paint work!

BZ

[Highbanked Hauler]

  Its hard to get someone  with the skill to do the work, AND THE SKILL TO RUN A BUSINESS at tthe same time.   Been there done that!!

[hemigeno]

Troy,

Congrats (again) on making some serious progress.  You'll be very glad that you took the time to get things straightened out. 

As far as the expense part goes, I'm wondering if Smitty didn't give you a steep discount when he was first starting off in the hopes that doing your car would be a springboard for his business.  Then when he got busy without having to use your car as advertising, it became not such a good deal for him.  The longer it went, the less he wanted to tackle the project at all - especially at a discount.  It still speaks volumes of his integrity (or lack thereof) that he drug things out this long and then tried to pass off shoddy work as a fulfillment of his promise to you.

Just like so many other things in life, you tend to get what you pay for - and you're getting some First Class work done now. 

[TruckDriver]

I can't wait to see the finished Charger. I love Turquise on 2nd gen Chargers

[hemi68charger]

Troy,

Congrats (again) on making some serious progress.  You'll be very glad that you took the time to get things straightened out. 

As far as the expense part goes, I'm wondering if Smitty didn't give you a steep discount when he was first starting off in the hopes that doing your car would be a springboard for his business.  Then when he got busy without having to use your car as advertising, it became not such a good deal for him.  The longer it went, the less he wanted to tackle the project at all - especially at a discount.  It still speaks volumes of his integrity (or lack thereof) that he drug things out this long and then tried to pass off shoddy work as a fulfillment of his promise to you.

Just like so many other things in life, you tend to get what you pay for - and you're getting some First Class work done now. 

Geno, You hit the nail on the head.. He forever touted how this was going to be the best Charger out there.. Well, he showed me......  Here's the 426 tonight after getting some toys from Frank over at Roger Gibson.. You'll notice how bad the choke tubes are in their pre-bent orientation ( I didn't get them from Frank, but Frank told me everyone pretty much gets them from the same supplier and has to make them fit). I'll be getting this stuff done probably this weekend after guard duty... It's fun getting all the detail items in place.. After this test fit, I'll remove, prime and paint give a final coat once all together. Waiting on the ground strap from Bill...

[hemi-hampton]

You say it's costing 4 times more to do it right, Makes me wonder if you were to give smitty 4 times more from the start if he would have done a better job? For example, if one guy wants to pay $5,000 & another guy wants to pay 4 times that $20,000 the $20,000 guy is going to get a much better job. Then the $5,000 guy see's the $20,000 guys job & complains how come his dont look that nice. No insult intended, just trying to figure ouit whats going on? LEON.

[hemi68charger]

You say it's costing 4 times more to do it right, Makes me wonder if you were to give smitty 4 times more from the start if he would have done a better job? For example, if one guy wants to pay $5,000 & another guy wants to pay 4 times that $20,000 the $20,000 guy is going to get a much better job. Then the $5,000 guy see's the $20,000 guys job & complains how come his dont look that nice. No insult intended, just trying to figure ouit whats going on? LEON.

Plain and simple; he was lazy towards my car, his time management sucked and he placed NO priority on my car, even though I helped him start his business.....  Then, at the end, he complained about being "rushed"..... Please !!!!!  Yes, he probably would have done things quicker had I'd given him more money, but alas, he wouldn't have even been able to get going in his business if it wasn't for me partly..... The agreement between he and I was to have a finished show-quality car, period.. Apparently, a man and his word mean nothing to him...........

[moparchris]

Hey Troy,
Everything's looking great.  Email me about the heat tubes. The shop I work at after school does a lot of Hemi cars and we have worked out a system on the heat tubes.  I won't see email tonight but I will probably look on Thursday when I get home from school.  Keep on trucking bro. !! 

[hemi68charger]

Hey Troy,
Everything's looking great.  Email me about the heat tubes. The shop I work at after school does a lot of Hemi cars and we have worked out a system on the heat tubes.  I won't see email tonight but I will probably look on Thursday when I get home from school.  Keep on trucking bro. !! 

Will do, you have mail................