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

[moparstuart]

Allen glad to hear that none of the AERO cars are in the potential trade. Maybe one of these days I'll talke you into trading that Daytona of yours.

but danny u are forgetting  about my adoptions papers

[xs29j8Bullitt]

A little over two weeks ago, Blue Thunder had a fairly close call.  The car is OK, as are the folks who have/are working on it... but...

A short story & pictures tomorrow... time to get to bed soon! 

[daveco]

No fair teasing  

[xs29j8Bullitt]

No fair teasing  

G'Morning Dave...     OK,  here goes...

On 4/26/11 (aka "Hemi" Day  ), the body & paint shop that Blue Thunder spent most of the last two years, was destroyed by a F2 tornado that hit northern Arkansas.  My Charger 500 had been moved late last year after the painting was complete to a restoration shop in another town that was spared by the twister.

However, important parts of my C500 remained at the body shop, like the entire front grille support structure... including all the C500 unique pieces such as the headlight bucket adapters.  Fortunately, the missing C500 parts were recovered undamaged from the destroyed shop after a tractor with a hydraulic bucket was used to lift a collapsed wall to retrieve them.

I spoke briefly with the body shop owner Greg who rode out the tornado with his family in their house adjacent to the body shop that was destroyed.  None of the family was injured, and the house was not too badly damaged.  The shop will be rebuilt, but it was a very close call for Greg and his family!  Greg has been a super nice guy to work with, and I hope that he can get his business up and running quickly again...

The pictures below were taken and sent to me via cell phone by the restoration shop owner yesterday... Thanks HT!

Below are two before pics & two after pics...

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Four more "after" pics...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Here is a pre-tornado satellite picture showing Greg's house and shop.  The building on the right is the shop that was destroyed.  Also, it looks like the Charger 500 may have been in front of the shop when the satellite picture was taken... can't quite read the VIN number though... 

[daveco]

Wow, hope he can rebuild.

[Charger-Bodie]

Well at least he didnt have any cars in there. He didnt did he?

[C500]

Glad your car was out 

[DC_1]

That is a shame his building was destroyed. Glad the family and home made out ok. One thing I did notice in the picture of the leveled building is there doesn't appear to be any vehicles damaged and also not much in the way of equipment or tools. Was this a storage building or did he actually do work in there?

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Well at least he didnt have any cars in there. He didnt did he?

That is a shame his building was destroyed. Glad the family and home made out ok. One thing I did notice in the picture of the leveled building is there doesn't appear to be any vehicles damaged and also not much in the way of equipment or tools. Was this a storage building or did he actually do work in there?

It was definitely a working shop, not a storage building.  I believe that I was told by someone (not Greg) that he had just moved a customer's car (1955 or 56 Chevy) from the body shop building to his house garage, perhaps to do some detailing (not certain).  As I understood no customers cars were damaged.

In the top picture of the second picture post, there is a car in the debris field covered in a blue tarp, but I believe that it may be one of Greg's cars...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Glad your car was out 

Me too!  But it is not the first time my Mopars have been attacked by a tornado... my Hemi `Cuda was hit in the mid 1990s...

[Richard Cranium]

Damn.

[hemi68charger]

Me too!  But it is not the first time my Mopars have been attacked by a tornado... my Hemi `Cuda was hit in the mid 1990s...

Whew !!!

[held1823]

Me too!  But it is not the first time my Mopars have been attacked by a tornado... my Hemi `Cuda was hit in the mid 1990s...

Whew !!!

a sigh of relief, trying not to imagine that happening the night your car was in there? can't say i blame you.

[BigBlockSam]

that's scary stuff

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Me too!  But it is not the first time my Mopars have been attacked by a tornado... my Hemi `Cuda was hit in the mid 1990s...

Whew !!!

a sigh of relief, trying not to imagine that happening the night your car was in there? can't say i blame you.

The tornado that almost got the Hemi `Cuda was in Wylie, Texas in the 1990s.  The tornado struck during the day, and I saw the body shop on video from a CNN helicopter.  I could see only a lime green blob of color in the corner of building that I knew it was kept.  It took about five hours to get through to someone who had visited the shop after the tornado and confirm the Hemi `Cuda was not seriously damaged.. I lived 300+ miles away at the time.

[Kordsmeier-Auto]

Allen,

Thank you for updating everyone on my dilemma.  Thanks to all for the well wishes and a special thanks to Ken for his help in removing parts that were buried under downed walls.  Thank you Allen for your kind words and concern for me and my family.  Fortunately I had moved a customer's '55 Chevy Bel Air 2 days prior to the tornado and it was spared any damage.  Since the storm I have moved tools and most equipment into my attached garage for temporary storage during the repair/rebuilding process. If anyone would like to see storm video You Tube has some good footage of during and after the tornado.  P.S.

Allen would you please give me a call on my cell phone as my records were lost in the storm.

Thanks again,
Greg

[b5blue]

Greg, we all wish you a speedy recovery from this disaster! Your work is superb, Thank the Lord you were all safe! 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Allen,

Thank you for updating everyone on my dilemma.  Thanks to all for the well wishes and a special thanks to Ken for his help in removing parts that were buried under downed walls.  Thank you Allen for your kind words and concern for me and my family.  Fortunately I had moved a customer's '55 Chevy Bel Air 2 days prior to the tornado and it was spared any damage.  Since the storm I have moved tools and most equipment into my attached garage for temporary storage during the repair/rebuilding process. If anyone would like to see storm video You Tube has some good footage of during and after the tornado.  P.S.

Allen would you please give me a call on my cell phone as my records were lost in the storm.

Thanks again,
Greg

Hi Greg...  I will call later today.  Thanks for rescuing my C500 parts when you had much larger concerns to address.

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Rescuing this thread from page 6...  and despite the automated 60 day plus warning, I ain't starting over...       (See first pic below...)

When I last spoke with Ken about a month ago, he said that only a little work was being done to my C500 at this time.  He is still heavily involved in rebuilding the tornado damage homes in the area, and is concentrating on finishing two other Mopars he is working on.  He expects to concentrate on finishing my C500 during this Fall/Winter, so hopefully I will have it back in time if there is a Aero car event at Texas Motor Speedway this Spring...

In the meantime, my update is to report that I received this cell phone pic showing Blue Thunder has been "un-boxed"...  i.e. taken off of the wooden cart that has been it's home for 2 1/2 years.  I assume this means that for the first time since 1982, a correct Dana 60 axle is back under it!

Here's Blue Thunder back on "all twos"...     

[LeeBoy]

Looking good keep us updated

[held1823]

God, I love that color. This car is going to be beyond beautiful.

[b5blue]

This truly is a "saga" for you and this Charger Allen! 

[tan top]

     looking forward to seeing more pictures