Re: Restoration of my B5 Blue 4Spd Charger 500... Blue Thunder debuts...Finally!

[PocketThunder]

Allen wanna trade for my C500 in T7 bronze?  Dont you like that color better than B5?  Plus my car is a HEMI car    (well, sort of  )

[moparstuart]

Allen wanna trade for my C500 in T7 bronze?  Dont you like that color better than B5?  Plus my car is a HEMI car    (well, sort of  )

hill side hemi

[xs29j8Bullitt]

I spent $6471.45 on the Charger 500 today! 

What did you buy???

Down payment for paint & body work, payment for media blasting, misc parts for restoration including NOS head light bezel to go with a NOS grille that I bought 25 years ago (before I even owned the C500).

Spending more money today... just got off the phone with Ron over at Classic Body Designs... ordered a pair of his reproduction 1969 Charger quarter panels. Time to get this show on the road!

Allen

[69bronzeT5]

wow, sounds like your moving ahead at a steady pace

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Counting Lee, 7 folks have tried to relieve me of the C500 burden in the last 3 months (including 4 on this forum).

hey allen  wanna sell your charger 500  ( sorry couldnt resist)  add one more

That makes it 8 & 5... duly noted! 

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Allen wanna trade for my C500 in T7 bronze?  Dont you like that color better than B5?  Plus my car is a HEMI car    (well, sort of  )

9 & 6 ... Sorry, B5 Rules!    Just be glad your Sorta-Hemi is a Real-C500 !!! 

Allen

[69_500]

Okay so I get that the father son project line doesn't work. But how about this one.


It could be a grandpa-dad-son project if ya just let me take it off of your hands. You know my dad had a fondness for these cars, as I do, and well I've already corrupted the 4 year old son as well.


Couldn't resist. Heck I figured that in 20 years of ownership you would have already located all the parts you needed to fix that 500. I thought that was what the trunk was full of.

[bzabodyn]

Congrats on getting the project rolling Allen! It'll be great to see that beautiful blue beast back on the road!

Actually, my hemi charger is going to be picked up tomorrow to have a prospective shop look the car over - if I decide I'm going to use them (American Classic Cars in Conroe - know anything about them?) they said they could start on it the first week of Dec... so we'll see... we might both be driving "new" cars around the same time!

BZ

Thanks Brandon!  I have not heard of them, BUT be very careful in picking a restoration shop... especially one that does not mainly restore Mopars.  There are more restoration disasters than victories...  Even if the multi-make resto shop is a honest one, their lack of Mopar experience can lead to major problems down the road... What happened to the first shop that you were considering?

The shop I went with is a shop that does regular paint & body repairs as well as restoration "show" quality work.  I looked at several nice jobs that the shop had done before selecting them.  The owner is a Mopar fan and has several current Mopars, including a 1970 Charger R/T 440 car.  Still, there are no guarantees...

Again, BE CAREFUL... don't depend on promises of perfection... CHECK REFERENCES... MOPAR ONES!!!

Maybe, Troy H. or other Houston area members know that shop...

Allen

Thanks for the advice Allen - I haven't guaranteed them anything, but after meeting a couple of people from their shop, they definitely have the experience with Mopars to tackle this project (the owner and his son are Mopar-heads themselves) - for instance, one of their best repeat customers is a huge Mopar guy and some cars in his collection that they've restored for him include a '70 hemi charger and a hemi daytona!  They picked up the car today and I'm meeting with them Saturday to discuss the process step-by-step before I decide if I'd like to use them or not... just for good will, they even said they'd ship it to the shop in Taylor if I decided NOT to use them, so we'll see...

BZ

[xs29j8Bullitt]

I received word from Ron over at Classic Body Design that the quarter panels were shipped last friday and he will provide a tracking number tomorrow.  I am making a list of needed parts and starting to track them down, and expect to post "wanted" ads in a week or so.

I am also trying to create a list of preferred vendors for reproduction parts... spending a lot of time and money.

I checked earlier... the C500 is still gone!   

Allen

[69bronzeT5]

I think the other Mopars need some love too  

[BB1]

How did I miss this. 

[moparstuart]

I think the other Mopars need some love too  

are they lonely ?

[Magnumcharger]

Allen, I'm thinking since you've done your homework on the various restoration facilities, you've probably worked out a budget for the restoration itself.
I would be interested in knowing how much you plan to spend to get your C500 completely restored. Then, it would be interesting to compare your projection to the actual totals.

I can't remember who said it first on this forum, but it was stated that it would probably cost the same to restore a base Charger as any of the high performance (Hemi R/T, 440 R/T, 500) variants.

[69_500]

I think he could have restored that 500 for about $500 if he really wanted too. JK.

I've thought about redoing my car and the list I've already came up with, totalled $15,000 and that didn't include body work, or paint. If that gives you any clue. Then again I'm picky, not as picky as GENE but picky.

[hemigeno]

Then again I'm picky, not as picky as GENE but picky.

I didn't start out to be so picky, but the more I learned about how the cars were put together the more it intrigued me to try and replicate that look.  Then I did my usual "Wellllllllll, while I'm at it..."  justification for lots of other things I hadn't planned on when I first bought the car.

BTW, thanks for reminding me...   




Hey Allen - good to see the wheels of progress in motion on your car.  Be careful with making those lists - they tend to snowball on ya (or at least they do on me)!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Allen, I'm thinking since you've done your homework on the various restoration facilities, you've probably worked out a budget for the restoration itself.
I would be interested in knowing how much you plan to spend to get your C500 completely restored. Then, it would be interesting to compare your projection to the actual totals.

I can't remember who said it first on this forum, but it was stated that it would probably cost the same to restore a base Charger as any of the high performance (Hemi R/T, 440 R/T, 500) variants.

The budget has been on my mind a LOT in the last week...               

First of all to put the numbers in context, here were my assumptions:
* I would do virtually all of the dis-assembly of the C500  (came up a bit shy of this goal, but close...)
* I would "sub-contract" out many of the component restorations (steering column, dash cluster, heater box, etc)
* I would have the "special skills" tasks done locally (seat cover instl, windshield/back glass instl, C500 stripe application, molding polishing, etc)
* I would have the engine long block assembled, 4 speed trans & Dana axle freshened, etc by local or out-of-state builders
* I would do the parts clean-up/detailing, parts hunting, and "project management" during the time the car was in the paint & body shop
* I would do the finally assembly of the C500 starting next Fall or Winter
* Parts used would primarily be the original ones, spares I already have, or NOS parts already on hand
* Reproduction parts used would primarily be sheetmetal (Auto Metal Direct as the primary provider)

Things have changed... more than a bit! 

Original budget made on 9/15/07 - $28,000 + $3,000 Reserve = $31,000

Revision 'A' made on 10/1/07 - $32,000 + $3000 Reserve = $35,000  (after the paint shop owner had a look at the car and estimated $$$)

Revision 'B' is in work... will probably end up in the lower 40s with reserve...       

I am trying to get a handle on the lastest changes (new estimate from paint shop, quarter panels from CBD instead of AMD, repro door pads, etc)

With other planned capital expenses not related to the C500, there exists a classic shortfall in funding... eBay will be part of the solution...

As for restoring a base Charger vs a Charger 500, there are other considerations besides the similar basic costs... There will come a day when Danny, Geno, and other Aero Car gurus will inspect the final product, and I don't want too many of these:    My C500 is not going to be a "Gold Standard" restoration... I am gonna drive it on actual roads!  I don't plan to get too carried away with the restoration, but there are already warning signs... 

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Hey Allen - good to see the wheels of progress in motion on your car.  Be careful with making those lists - they tend to snowball on ya (or at least they do on me)!

Great advice! ...but too late ...can you say Excel spreadsheet?!

Haven't spent a dime on the C500 today... I think I will check eBay... <10 second sniper 

Allen

[moparstuart]

Hey Allen - good to see the wheels of progress in motion on your car.  Be careful with making those lists - they tend to snowball on ya (or at least they do on me)!

Great advice! ...but too late ...can you say Excel spreadsheet?!

Haven't spent a dime on the C500 today... I think I will check eBay... <10 second sniper 

Allen

I know a great guy in witchita kansas that does awesome column and speedo cluster rebuilts if you want his name He is very resonable and I am very happy with his work         

[moparchris]

Allen,
I have been following your posts with much enthusiasm.  Keep up the great work.  My C500 will also be needing the upper door pads in the near future and I happened to see a post on Moparts from Legendary Interiors stating that in January they are expecting to have their own upper door pads available.  They stated in the post that they will have a "first 50 order" price break of I believe $850 -875 for a set of 4.  Pricing after that is expected to be between $1,000-$1100 for the set.  Do you know if BE/A parts are going to be producing these pads for sure?  It was my impression that the BE/A parts were going to be much cheaper than the Legendary ones.  Am I correct on this?  Any input from anyone else on this?

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Allen,
I have been following your posts with much enthusiasm.  Keep up the great work.  My C500 will also be needing the upper door pads in the near future and I happened to see a post on Moparts from Legendary Interiors stating that in January they are expecting to have their own upper door pads available.  They stated in the post that they will have a "first 50 order" price break of I believe $850 -875 for a set of 4.  Pricing after that is expected to be between $1,000-$1100 for the set.  Do you know if BE/A parts are going to be producing these pads for sure?  It was my impression that the BE/A parts were going to be much cheaper than the Legendary ones.  Am I correct on this?  Any input from anyone else on this?

Chris, Eric from Legendary has joined our site as well & posted here.....looks like a nice product will be coming out soon...

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,36801.from1196177421.html#new

[Troy]

Here's info on the B/E & A pieces:
68-70 Charger Upper Door pads from B/E & A

Troy

[69_500]

Hey Allen don't worry about any  from me when I get to look at your car. I'm sure of that. I haven't seen one that I didn't like.


I know you didn't set out for your Daytona to go the way it is Gene. The more I watch what your doing with that though, I begin to worry. I worry because I'm the same way. I start off with simple enough goals, but then as time goes on I start doing this  and that leads to more spending, and more list, and more spending. And next thing you know your already past your origional goal, but pages behind where you think you need to be at. Its a never ending viscious cycle. Every time I go out in the garage I see 3-4 more things on my 500 that I'd love to change at one time or another. Then I get to thinking that there is nothing wrong/broken with what is on there. But its not the right type, or its a bad reproduction part or this and that. Grrrrr, now I'm winding up with a cabinet on my wall of parts that are accumulating, that in all honesty I don't need for the car to work, but do need to get it back to stock. Which then puts a dilema, change them now so its right, or wait until I can do it all at once?

[xs29j8Bullitt]

I know a great guy in witchita kansas that does awesome column and speedo cluster rebuilts if you want his name He is very resonable and I am very happy with his work         

Yes Stuart, send me his contact information for my list of vendors.   I lived in Wichita in the mid-80s, so there is a chance I may even know him. 

PM or Email to: xs29j8@charter.net

Thanks,

Allen

[69_500]

Just out of curiousity, but is he the same gentleman who was selling repaired steering columns there at the Monster Mopar in St. Louis this year?

[moparstuart]

I know a great guy in witchita kansas that does awesome column and speedo cluster rebuilts if you want his name He is very resonable and I am very happy with his work         

Yes Stuart, send me his contact information for my list of vendors.   I lived in Wichita in the mid-80s, so there is a chance I may even know him. 

Thanks,

Allen

PM or Email to: xs29j8@charter.net

his name is kevin penquite   him  email is       
                  BBody68@aol.com    he has a 68 hemi car if i remember correctly  my column was 325.00 plus shipping and the speedo cluster was like  650.00 or 700.00 with the bezel rechrome