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

[xs29j8Bullitt]

More Blue Thunder... 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

A few more... 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Interior pictures...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

VIN body stampings intact and easily readable...

[DC_1]

very nice. 

[moparstuart]

 

[Bob T]

   Very nice   

[C500]

Wow, looking good Allen   

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Thanks guys... here are more pics

First pic shows my friend Andre from work who went with me to see Blue Thunder and deliver the needed parts.

As I mentioned earlier, Andre took a lot of the pictures that I am posting, including the close-ups in this post and the next one....

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Engine compartment & wheel wells...

[Aero426]

Looking good!    That shop looks familiar.  The car is in good hands.

[Richard Cranium]

Very nice. 

[KORDSAUTO]

Allen,

Thank you for your confidence and patience during this process.  It was an honor and a privilege to be involved with your project "Blue Thunder".  It is my express intention that you have many more hours enjoying driving your car then what you have put into it to get it this far. 

It was a pleasure to work with a "class act" person such as yourself!  I welcome any opportunity to serve any future paint & body needs that you may have.

I am confident that Ken will do an exceptional job reassembling your car, he is a pure enthusiast and a high quality individual.

Thanks again,

Greg 

[tan top]

  wow that looks awesome    nice work 

[nascarxx29]

Awesome build .I send your continuing progress updates to a friend who has B5 69 Charger 500 AC.Thats in need of a facelift

[moparchris]

Allen,
WOW 
That is going to be one damn fine Charger 500!!  Someday maybe mine will look that good!!
Keep on keepin' on
Chris

[xs29j8Bullitt]

It was a pleasure to work with a "class act" person such as yourself!  I welcome any opportunity to serve any future paint & body needs that you may have.

I am confident that Ken will do an exceptional job reassembling your car, he is a pure enthusiast and a high quality individual.

Thanks for the kind words Greg, but as I have said before, you & Ken rescued Blue Thunder when a bad situation was getting worse.  At the time I did not even know about many of the workmanship problems from the first body shop which were later uncovered.  As the new problems were found, you took all of them in stride and found good solutions.  Your way of doing business could not be more different from that of the first body shop, and I have absolutely no reservations about you working on additional cars for me.

And, you might be happy to know, they will arrive assembled...  not in cardboard boxes & storage totes.  Finances permitting, a new project might be delivered in the coming year... possibly when Blue Thunder is picked up.  I plan to start a serious effort to sell excess cars & parts after the Holidays, and if successful early on a new project could arrive much sooner...  Depending on timing & finances, it might be R4 Performance Red, FY1 Lemon Twist Yellow, A4 Platinum Silver, or BB1 Black.

Thanks again for all your hard work Greg!

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Looking good!    That shop looks familiar.  The car is in good hands.

Very nice. 

wow that looks awesome    nice work 

Awesome build .I send your continuing progress updates to a friend who has B5 69 Charger 500 AC.Thats in need of a facelift

Allen,
WOW 
That is going to be one damn fine Charger 500!!  Someday maybe mine will look that good!!
Keep on keepin' on
Chris

Thanks everyone!   Blue Thunder is finally taking shape...  Although the project has not gone smoothly, with me staggering to the finish line like a delirious marathon runner in the Olympics,  with the help of some really good people in Arkansas I will make it!

One of the primary goals of this restoration was as a learning curve practice run for upcoming projects of some of my other favorite cars.  Well, I have learned a lot of lessons... some of them quite expensive.

Thanks to everyone who follows and/or posts in this thread.  If you have any questions, ask away... I try to answer them.

Allen

[Magnumcharger]

Allen, it was a long rough ride for you and your 500, but the end result is both visually stunning and worth the wait!
I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say thank-you for posting this thread, and we all look forward to seeing the glorious end results!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Allen, it was a long rough ride for you and your 500, but the end result is both visually stunning and worth the wait!
I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say thank-you for posting this thread, and we all look forward to seeing the glorious end results!

Thanks Robin, the last three years have been quite a ride... especially when combined with other events in my life.  I had no idea of the early problems that I would encounter, only a general feeling that based on previous projects there were bound to be setbacks.  The "long saga" I mentioned in the thread title would have more aptly been termed "long ordeal" during the first year, but since then the C500 project has gone fairly well considering we were walking through a "minefield" of issues inherited from the first body shop.  The health & family issues that I encountered also affected my ability to rapidly supply some needed parts, further slowing progress.

Major progress has been made in the last two months, and as Doug mentioned the Charger 500 is in great hands as Greg passes it off to the Aero car restoration master for re-assembly.

Gotta stay focused on the goal now...

[kw mopar]

Now that you can start bolting parts on is when it gets exciting. Looks Great.

[daveco]

Wow, that looks fantastic! Congrats Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Wow, that looks fantastic! Congrats Allen

Thanks Dave... You're up kinda late...    How's the rehab facility construction coming along?

[1969chargerrtse]

  Wow amazing work.

[daveco]

Wow, that looks fantastic! Congrats Allen

Thanks Dave... You're up kinda late...    How's the rehab facility construction coming along?

Concentrating on rehabing my backlog, (turning P.O.s into invoices). I want to see concrete trucks in my back yard by late Jan, then, other things...