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

[BROCK]

Allen, even though things get quiet:  rest assured that there are many of us following along & wishing you the best

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Allen, even though things get quiet:  rest assured that there are many of us following along & wishing you the best

Thanks!  I appreciate the good wishes... it is taking a lot more effort to avoid the restoration icebergs than I ever expected... 

I hope the C500 goes to the plastic media blaster next week, that will give me some time to work out a recovery plan on the Goodmark mess...

Allen

[69_500]

Hey Allen,

You have a perfect donor car in the same building as the 500 was for parts don't you? Something called a Daytona? JK

Even though some of the new body panels aren't EXACT to factory specs, they are still a huge leap from what we Mopar faithful had available 10-15 years ago. Which was at that time NOTHING but patch panels.

I think that if you run into a few more  situations, that you will just  and give up, and pass the car along to someone else. LIKE ME 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Hey Allen,

You have a perfect donor car in the same building as the 500 was for parts don't you? Something called a Daytona? JK

It does kinda look like a parts car...    ...and then I would have extra space in the workshop...    ...and if anyone complained I could blame you...     

I think that if you run into a few more  situations, that you will just  and give up, and pass the car along to someone else. LIKE ME 

Do you feel it slipping from your grasp Danny...?   

In the middle of dealing with my second awe-S#!% of the project, something good happened today...       

No, not related to the Goodmark fiasco with the wheel housings... but I am finalizing a recovery plan with back-up options that I will talk to the body shop about tomorrow.

Any guesses on the good news?... I'll spill the beans tomorrow evening after I get home from the paint shop.

Allen

[69_500]

Oh alright I'll admit that it isWAY out of my grasp already. But that doesn't mean a man can't still dream does it?

Ah there is always hope on the Daytona right? You'll be so fed up with the whole restoration process that surely you wouldn't go through it again would you? 




Oooooh, I have a guess on the good news.


Your gonna sell the car to Danny and let him sort the whole mess out?








Oh you meant good news to you and your car. Hmmmmmmmmm, nope no guesses from me on that one.

[PocketThunder]

This is starting to turn into a soap opera between you two.... 

[69_500]

Hey Paul, I'd be after your car too if it was a 4 speed. 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

This is starting to turn into a soap opera between you two.... 

You're right...   

[LeeBoy]

Hey Allen,

You have a perfect donor car in the same building as the 500 was for parts don't you? Something called a Daytona? JK

It does kinda look like a parts car...    ...and then I would have extra space in the workshop...    ...and if anyone complained I could blame you...     

I think that if you run into a few more  situations, that you will just  and give up, and pass the car along to someone else. LIKE ME 

Do you feel it slipping from your grasp Danny...?   

In the middle of dealing with my second awe-S#!% of the project, something good happened today...       

No, not related to the Goodmark fiasco with the wheel housings... but I am finalizing a recovery plan with back-up options that I will talk to the body shop about tomorrow.

Any guesses on the good news?... I'll spill the beans tomorrow evening after I get home from the paint shop.

Allen

So what is the good news. I have been following your story and I'm anxious to know.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Oh you meant good news to you and your car. Hmmmmmmmmm, nope no guesses from me on that one.

After 21 years... The C500 is (Partially) Numbers Matching Again! 

For the last 4 months I have been talking to previous owners of the Charger 500 trying to locate the original number's matching 18 spline 4 Speed transmission and any other related material from the car.  I already knew that they never had the original 440 engine, but they thought they had the original transmission buried in a storage building.  A week ago I got the call that I had been waiting for... THEY FOUND THE 4 SPEED !

Thanks Phil Sr & Phil Jr... I appreciate the tremendous help in re-uniting the C500 with the original transmission!

Not only did they make this happen, they sold me the original 18 spline trans & another 18 spline trans complete with shifters for a very reasonable price.  In todays "what's in it for me" collector car hobby... that is rare indeed! 

Pictures below... BTW, the third 18 spline trans is one that I brought along to trade for the original trans, which was the orignal plan we had discussed.  No longer having the big block Mopars they once had, and not needing them for their 340 Duster, the transmissions were offered for sale to me. 

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

So what is the good news. I have been following your story and I'm anxious to know.

Sorry to keep you waiting... I type like a 50 year old... Ohhhh wait...   

Not exactly earth shattering, but it gave me a boost in moral when I needed it after Goodmark's jab in the eye!

The chances are much less that I will ever locate the original engine... but I will keep trying!

Allen

[LeeBoy]

That's great news.  Any leads on the original motor?

[moparstuart]

awesome allen congrats

[hemi68charger]

That's awesome Allen !!!!!!  Congrad's.........

Troy

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Congrats!  How often does that happen!? 

[69_500]

Awsome news. I'll add a little bit more to  my next offer because of that news. 

Just goes to show that there are still nice people out there. It seems to me that there are more and more "nice" people in this hobby though than many would give them credit. In other words, it seems that your always hearing about how so and so ripped someone off for a part (price wise), or took the money and ran without coming through on something. Its always good to hear the GOOD stories too.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

That's great news.  Any leads on the original motor?

awesome allen congrats

That's awesome Allen !!!!!!  Congrad's.........

Troy

Congrats!  How often does that happen!? 

Awsome news. I'll add a little bit more to  my next offer because of that news. 

Just goes to show that there are still nice people out there. It seems to me that there are more and more "nice" people in this hobby though than many would give them credit. In other words, it seems that your always hearing about how so and so ripped someone off for a part (price wise), or took the money and ran without coming through on something. Its always good to hear the GOOD stories too.

Thanks everyone!  I was due some good news after the Goodmark treatment... yes, I gonna keep   

Although I do not yet have a good lead on the original engine, I am going to try a new approach.  If something doesn't start to pan out in the next 3-6 months, I will post the C500's VIN & other information and see if the Missouri members (or anyone else) can help locate it.

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

You have a perfect donor car in the same building as the 500 was for parts don't you? Something called a Daytona?

Thanks for your suggestion Danny...    The bodyman left about an hour ago with a wheelhouse from my "donor" car... 

This way he doesn't have to wait for the availability of the AMD wheelhouses which are a month or more away... maybe several months.  This is important now because the C500 went to the plastic media blaster yesterday, and the cleaning is well underway!  Below are pictures the media blasting service emailed me today showing the beginning of the stripping process.

I will post more pictures and the blasting service's contact information in the next few days.  I have seen a 1970 GTX that they cleaned, and it looked GREAT!

Thanks for the pictures Doug!  (He is the owner of the restoration shop which provides the plastic media blasting service)

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Clear progress in the pictures below...

[The70RT]

Cool....looking good........you will catch and pass me before long. I have a one man crew 

[Fitz73Chrgr]

  If something doesn't start to pan out in the next 3-6 months, I will post the C500's VIN & other information and see if the Missouri members (or anyone else) can help locate it.

Make a post over on the Missouri Mopar board (see sig).

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Cool....looking good........you will catch and pass me before long. I have a one man crew 

Unless I go broke before then...   

[xs29j8Bullitt]

  If something doesn't start to pan out in the next 3-6 months, I will post the C500's VIN & other information and see if the Missouri members (or anyone else) can help locate it.

Make a post over on the Missouri Mopar board (see sig).

Thanks for the link!  I will post over there when I go public with the VIN number & other car information.  Still trying to locate it quietly to prevent someone from buying it to offer it to me for mega $$$$$...  I may have a new lead by looking at some old owner's information in a different way.  I will call a friend who has an old wing car contact in Missouri and see if that approach turns up anything.

In the mean time I will go check out the Missouri Mopar Board!  Thanks again! 

Allen

[moparstuart]

  If something doesn't start to pan out in the next 3-6 months, I will post the C500's VIN & other information and see if the Missouri members (or anyone else) can help locate it.

Make a post over on the Missouri Mopar board (see sig).

Thanks for the link!  I will post over there when I go public with the VIN number & other car information.  Still trying to locate it quietly to prevent someone from buying it to offer it to me for mega $$$$$...  I may have a new lead by looking at some old owner's information in a different way.  I will call a friend who has an old wing car contact in Missouri and see if that approach turns up anything.

In the mean time I will go check out the Missouri Mopar Board!  Thanks again! 

Allen

will the block have an   xx on it  ?  I will keep an eye out for you at swap meets at least 

[hemigeno]

will the block have an   xx on it  ?  I will keep an eye out for you at swap meets at least 

Ooohhh...  good question, as the C500s were done both ways - but the answer is on the transmission.  The engine should show XX29L9B****** also, just like in the picture Allen posted.

The line workers used the same "burp" gun to stamp both the transmission and engine after they were mated together.  This was done on the assembly line, shortly before the engine/trans/front suspension were installed in the chassis.