Hemi Charger Restoration thread (Updated 5/28/10 - Nearly complete!!!)

[bzabodyn]

Been too lazy lately to post the new pics, but the cars (somehow) made it to Jeff's Resurrections in Taylor in one piece without anything really missing or damaged... it was quite the endeavor - 450mi round trip around Texas started at 4am and ended at 8pm... long f'in day but well worth it!

Will update in next day or two with some pics...

BZ

[bzabodyn]

Ok, here are a few pics from last week....

First - pit stop for gas/diesel between Conroe & Taylor...

[bzabodyn]

Next, unloading the HEMI at Jeff's Resurrections and comparing it to a newly completed/detailed HEMI engine/front assembly...

[1969chargerrtse]

Great pics thanks for all the updates, love that car!  

[bzabodyn]

A couple of other Mopars on the premises... a '70 V-code Bee and a "ready-for-paint" Superbird (yep, HEMI Superbird - motor/front end belong under that)...

[Ghoste]

Maybe a dumb question but, do you find it encouraging daunting to see the fresh Hemi beside yours?

[bzabodyn]

Last - pics of the donor car and the HEMI car in their temporary storage... notice the homemade dollie and the right rear wheel collapsing under the HEMI car - that happened while unloading it from the enclosed trailer - it was quite the ordeal!

[Dans 68]

So...did you post to the Gas Price Check-in thread ?     It would be cool to link them together. 

Dan

[bzabodyn]

Maybe a dumb question but, do you find it encouraging daunting to see the fresh Hemi beside yours?

ENCOURAGING, DEFINITELY! Seeing the level of detail that pictures can't capture (esp a damn camera phone - forgot the DSLR at home - hard to remember much at 3am in the morning!) - paint daubs, markings, etc - really impressed me... it was fun to go through the motor with them and show them all the original date-coded parts throughout the engine and see them get genuinely excited about it...

BZ

[bzabodyn]

So...did you post to the Gas Price Check-in thread ?     It would be cool to link them together. 

Dan

Nope - you wouldn't want to know what I paid for regular 87 octane for the Tundra... first time under $2/gallon in FOREVER! Cheap gas in TX.... Diesel was like $3.15-3.20 ish...

BZ

[Ghoste]

Cool, it sounds like its all good to me!

[Shakey]

I was in the same situation for 4 years and was in denial , good thing your taking care of it swiftly . 

Wow - and I thought 2 months was an eternity! I'm happy to get everything going again, just kicking myself for not going with my original choice for a shop and now I'm going to end up getting it done there afterall, but for a pretty penny... and hoping I'll recoup the lost money over the next 50yrs or so at like $100/mo or something... 

BZ

Glad to hear things are looking up!

Questions:

Why did you not take it to your original choice of shop in the first place?  What made you change your mind?

[bzabodyn]

2 things - promises and money... bad decision I regret to this day and now I'm REALLY paying the price - in the form of two resto bills... let's just say by the time I'm done I could have restored a Daytona to 100pt status...

BZ

[tan top]

been wondering whats been happening Dude !  looks like things are going good now  looking forward to seeing more  progress pictures  as & when  .........

[hemi-hampton]

Everybody makes that same mistake, the promises & money mistake, Seen it happen many times. LEON.

[bzabodyn]

It'll be the last time with this car though - I PROMISE!   

BZ

[bzabodyn]

Good news this week - Monday the body shell was reinforced and sent off to get an acid bath and see what ends up coming back - full process start to finish should take 2-3 weeks, so I should have some interesting photos to post then....

Also - Jeff ordered new quarter panels from Ron at Classic Body Designs... will have them in plenty of time to inspect, etc before the body comes back... right now they are still sorting through tons of parts to decide what's going to be restored and what's going to need to be replaced...

Have a good night and as I get updates, I'll let everyone know!

BZ

[hemi68charger]

Good news this week - Monday the body shell was reinforced and sent off to get an acid bath and see what ends up coming back - full process start to finish should take 2-3 weeks, so I should have some interesting photos to post then....

Also - Jeff ordered new quarter panels from Ron at Classic Body Designs... will have them in plenty of time to inspect, etc before the body comes back... right now they are still sorting through tons of parts to decide what's going to be restored and what's going to need to be replaced...

Have a good night and as I get updates, I'll let everyone know!

BZ

Brandon..
If it's going to Houston Metal Strippers off 242 or whatever road that is in Conroe, tell them to be VERY careful pulling it out of the bath... They pulled mine too fast and ended up damaging the drip-trough moulding area.. Was easily fixed, but should have never happened in the 1st place............

Troy

[charge69]

Hey Brandon,  after getting Troy's warning about Houston Metal Strippers damaging his car, I discussed it with my friend who is doing the metal work on my Charger and he said that they did the same thing to his Roadrunner. The damage was minor but it did require fixing.  We made up a reinforced sling mount that stuck out the rear window area and welded it into the car for them to use and it worked out great. No damage to my Charger and the sling mount was easily removed.

There is not an acid dipping site anywhere  in this part of the country except for Houston Metal Strippers.  You might want to go up there and inspect the car and take pictures when it is done and before it gets shipped back to the restorer.  They are located just about 1/2 mile east of I-45 on HWY242, actually on the eastbound feeder just before the railroad tracks. Do not go over the overpass, just stay on the feeder road and it is on the right.  The phone number there is 281-367-4037. I would call and ask to be informed when it is finished and go check it out myself!

Carl

[bzabodyn]

I will talk to Jeff about these issues - when I took the car to him, he mentioned that he has a great relationship with his acid dipper and says he basically rotates cars constantly and always has at least one car there and they have always treated him like a top customer (never mentioned any complaints or damage - I even got to see a couple cars that were recently back from there)... Are you guys sure there isn't a similar operation in the Austin area somewhere?

If it is there, I will definitely make a quick trip down there for some "supervision"...

Thanks Troy and Carl - I really appreciate the heads-up!

BZ

[hemi68charger]

Brandon, the closest place I know about is in Ft. Worth.. Not sure about the name, just know there's one in the DFW area... The problem with Houston Metal strippers is they lift the car too quickly and the acid doesn't have enough time to drain out, hence causing the vehicle to weight a LOT more and causing more stress to the areas of the car the strap is touching.. But, if you did something like Carl mentioned, then all should be cool.. I would make a visit or call the shop to express your concern that nothing like this happens to you.. Tell them you know of a '68 Charger in which there was some damage, albeit slight.......

[bzabodyn]

Good news from Jeff (after I asked him about the acid dippers):

"Metal Rehab in Arlington [DFW area].  Also, The Editor from Musclecar Enthusiast was by today to check out the Super Duty Trans AM for a story. In our conversation, I mentioned the 1/4's we will be installing on your R/T. He would like to do an install feature." (He also mentioned he had used Houston Metal Strippers... then he ended the sentence with: ONCE!!!!)

So good news for me and Ron that sold us the quarters... the more exposure the better for everyone!

BZ

[jeff69]

That car is on 6 city Texas tour already! Hopefully now it is in the right hands to get finished. Sorry you had to deal with losers like that! Didn't someone have a 69 Hemi 500 with all kinds of problems during their resto. The shop caught on fire! One day you will look back and laugh at some of the crazy stuff during this whole ordeal.

Jeff

[bzabodyn]

That car is on 6 city Texas tour already! Hopefully now it is in the right hands to get finished. Sorry you had to deal with losers like that! Didn't someone have a 69 Hemi 500 with all kinds of problems during their resto. The shop caught on fire! One day you will look back and laugh at some of the crazy stuff during this whole ordeal.

Jeff

No joke - never thought restoring a car was going to be so emotionally involving!  It definitely makes for a good story - but can't wait to get it out on the road... still have a long way to go but looking forward to the journey!

BZ

[69_500]

That car is on 6 city Texas tour already! Hopefully now it is in the right hands to get finished. Sorry you had to deal with losers like that! Didn't someone have a 69 Hemi 500 with all kinds of problems during their resto. The shop caught on fire! One day you will look back and laugh at some of the crazy stuff during this whole ordeal.

Jeff

I believe that MsMopar's HEMI 500 was in a shop being restored, when it caught on fire if that is the car your refering too.