New member -- Help with HLPAG.

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

darn we all thought you were the devil !

No.... that's me.  And I have my 69 Charger all safe in storage.

[Mike DC]

 

No offense, but paint/decals/pushbar/rollbar & wheels for $3k???

I know , to paint alone, I'm looking at roughly $12-15k for show quality.

I was calling the possible lowest-end number for the parts. 
I was picturing an already-decent restored Charger that just gets a basic scuff & respray and the bolt-ons.


A couple gallons of orange urethane, clearcoat, and activator.  Decals.  Pushbar.  Dummy rollbar.  Vector wheels. 

Score a decent deal on some used wheels, spray your own paint, apply the decals, and weld up your own pushbar & rollbar locally (or with mail-order unassembled kits that I've seen).  It can happen for $3000.




If you wanna talk about starting with a disassembled unrestored Charger shell, and also dropping it off at a top notch body shop for them to do all the labor . . . well, that's a different question.   

(I agree, quoting $3K would be a total joke for all that stuff.  Sometimes even the $12-15K can be downright cheap depending on the starting point.)

[jb666]

I would NEVER EVER EVER want to spend 10k-15k on paint for a General LEE.    I built my GL to be enjoyed, driven, looked at, and yes even let the kids sit out the window on the door for pics.  If you plan on driving it don't be surprised if people touch or lean up against it to take a picture.        You don't need and I don't think that you would really want a trailer queen General Lee.     People and kids will come up to it like flies on Pooh.  Trust me, I know.        I would say find a good solid driver for $20k-$25k and then have it painted, graphics, wheels, push bar ect. and you should be under 35k and you will know what is under the paint.      Chuck

You know, you actually raise a few valid points. When I had my Vette torn down and painted I didn't take it out of the garage for over a YEAR... mostly in fear that it would be scratched, chipped or hit.. It totally took the FUN out of the car. Sure, it's a show winner and a lot of fun watching people admire it at shows, but is it worth killing the driveability? NO...

So yeah, I agree.

[skip68]

   That was the point.    You hit the nail on the head.    A General Lee is a fun car and needs to be seen.  If you want a show car just to look at and not worry about, buy a picture and hang it in the garage.      P.S.  your Vette looks SWEEEEEETTTTTT.     Good luck on the hunt and keep checking the cars for sale section here.  Oh, If you find a car you can see if a member can check it out for you before you buy, even if it is 2000 miles away from you there may be a member here that is close to the car.                  Chuck...........

[Kevin68N71]

No offense, but paint/decals/pushbar/rollbar & wheels for $3k??? 

I know , to paint alone, I'm looking at roughly $12-15k for show quality.

You want a "show" quality paint job on a GL clone?
And "show quality" can cost anywhere from a few thousand to 100,000 and up.....

I think the $3K estimate for paint,decals, etc. is very doable......of course, I'm a painter so......

Where were you guys when I had that big, ugly, heated debate months back where I stated that good paint jobs were available for $3000, as my two neighbors had done, and most people were telling me that was impossible. 

[skip68]

You can get a real nice paint job for $3k.   

[Mike DC]

         
I totally agree about the GL thing.  Having driven one daily several years back, I can attest that the attention thing is unreal.  For good and bad.

That subconscious barrier that other people normally feel about touching someone else's property . . .  for some reason a GL just doesn't seem to generate it whatsoever.  IT WILL get touched if you take it out in public.  The same people who wouldn't dare touch your 1996 minivan are liable to lean on the fender of your GL replica.  (And EVERYBODY tries the door handles first thing, just to see if the doors are really welded.  You definitely need to lock it when you leave it in public.) 



This is getting into a whole other subject, but anyway, don't try to keep the paint/body TOO nice.  If there was ever a car that this painstaking care is out of character for, it's this one.



I could rattle off a list of guys with gorgeous GL replicas.  It's possible, they're out there, and I admire the investment/efforts they're doing to give the GL hobby a better image among other car-guys. 

But honestly, you'll have more fun with the car if you don't go down this route.  My two cents is to just get rid of the rust and the obvious body damage, get a reasonably shiny coat of the correct colors & graphics, and get it on the road.  These old rides are all a lot more fun after the third or fourth scratch in the paint, and the GL is as perfect of an excuse for a project like that as anything.

[Joshua]

 
A couple gallons of orange urethane, clearcoat, and activator.  Decals.  Pushbar.  Dummy rollbar.  Vector wheels. 

No need for urethane orange if yer gonna clearcoat it....a gallon of orange base would easily cover it (and be cheaper), another gallon of clear....skip the decals and PAINT that stuff on before the clear..... Or you "could" install the decals after the base, and clear over 'em....to keep 'em "LOCKED" down and protected.....


Regardless of the "quality" of the paint on a GL clone.....you'll get WAY more attention (if that's what you're into) with it than some "show quality" new Corvette, that's for damn sure...... Every mid-life crisis guy has a Vette.....

And I never understood people being SO worried about other people, especially little kids, touching their cars.....cars aren't that fragile. Guys will spend ten's of thousands of dollars on a "show" car...to park in some grass field to win some $5 trophy???

These old rides are all a lot more fun after the third or fourth scratch in the paint, and the GL is as perfect of an excuse for a project like that as anything.

ABSOLUTELY...... plus, scratches add character, and should be "badges of honor".....

[jb666]

A couple gallons of orange urethane, clearcoat, and activator.  Decals.  Pushbar.  Dummy rollbar.  Vector wheels.

No need for urethane orange if yer gonna clearcoat it....a gallon of orange base would easily cover it (and be cheaper), another gallon of clear....skip the decals and PAINT that stuff on before the clear..... Or you "could" install the decals after the base, and clear over 'em....to keep 'em "LOCKED" down and protected.....


Regardless of the "quality" of the paint on a GL clone.....you'll get WAY more attention (if that's what you're into) with it than some "show quality" new Corvette, that's for damn sure...... Every mid-life crisis guy has a Vette.....

Mid-life crisis?? I got my Vette at 35 and am only 37 now.. I got my first Vette at 30.. I just loved them, but unlike the GL, they aren't my DREAM car..

And I agree, I'd much rather have the stuff painted on..

Does anyone know where/if I could find exact specs of the lettering for the doors/roof??

[Brock Samson]

this is the Vette I'm lusting over right now.





http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C27069?pt=pf

[Joshua]

Not saying YOU are in a mid-life crisis.....but guys who are generally have Vettes.... My buddy has an '08, he's 36.....

As for the lettering....their is a REAL DEAL GL here in Wa, actually, he may be a member here. Anyway, Sunday is a Mopar show in the area and he may be there as well....maybe another member could take exact measurements....I would, but won't be going. (got to pinstripe a hotrod that day)
The thing with most GL clones is not the lettering, but the color....most of 'em are way off, colorwise.

Brock, when I lived in AK, there was a guy with an orange one, @ 1969, 427, raised L-88 hood, tunnelram, black sidepipes, flared wheelwells......straight outta the 70's man.....it was a BAD car....

[jb666]

I was told the "real" color was '75 Corvette Orange, but I don't buy it..

What's the REAL color (from the show, not the movie)??

[jb666]

   That was the point.    You hit the nail on the head.    A General Lee is a fun car and needs to be seen.  If you want a show car just to look at and not worry about, buy a picture and hang it in the garage.      P.S.  your Vette looks SWEEEEEETTTTTT.     Good luck on the hunt and keep checking the cars for sale section here.  Oh, If you find a car you can see if a member can check it out for you before you buy, even if it is 2000 miles away from you there may be a member here that is close to the car.                  Chuck...........

There is one for sale IN NC, but I've got a buddy from one of my plants checking it out for me 

[Chad L. Magee]

jb666-  You would be better off starting with a 1969 model than a 1968, simply because you would not have to do so much part hunting to make it correct.  My suggestion is to start with a 1969 Charger that came orginally with either a 318-2bbl. or 383-2bbl. and an automatic transmission (used in the TV series by WB in their GLs).  The reason why is simple: it will be easier to find one in good shape without costing a mint.  The key to this is that it does not have to stay numbers matching, so you can add any engine you want to it, even a crate hemi.  The 383-4bbl. ones are usually harder to find in nice shape (usually they were abused) and will be more expensive than the previously mentioned ones.  Charger RTs are not a good choice to start with for a GL clone, as they usually cost alot more than the base model Chargers and it will tick off purists if you convert one.  (I am still steamed about a certain mint 1968 Charger RT 440, 4-speed, dana-60 that was done into one very sloppy by the second owner a few years ago.)  Just some food for thought.......   

this is the Vette I'm lusting over right now.

Brock Samson-  Have you ever seen a Balwin-Motion Phase III Vette?  (if not, it is understandable as only 13 were made in 1969-74 and they are rarely shown outside of museums)  I was previously wanting a 1968-9 L88 in black like you mentioned until I saw a B-M version.  I am trying to set my Vette up like the Stage VI package per an article in an issue of HPC from 1969......

[bamadukefan02]

Corvette Flame Red is correct for the television show, it has to be the correct year though as I understand it.  I have heard that different years of flame red look different, some more red, some more orange.  As for the movie they used Big Bad Orange which is an AMC color I believe.  If you have any questions about the General Lee log onto the Confederate General Lee Fan Club www.CGLFC.com the guys there no more about the General than anyone else and some of them have real cars from the show.

Holt

[Brock Samson]

 Yeah Chad, i lived at the library and the local pharmacys back in the day, i'd sit on the floor and read all the car magazines and buy my favorites...
they're all down in the garage... i bet i have 80-100 boxes of car magazines and new car press kits down there, six high and three deep..
anyhow.. the Phase III was one of my favs.. what i've always dreamed of was combining parts from the Le Mans BFG, the Phase III with a ZL-1 427 engine painting it Fly Yellow with a super custom black Baldwin type/BFG - Hesitation stripe. i had every detail figgured out.
well i was like 12 and 13...
Chargers are really my Fav. American Production Cars though, and ALOT more practical.

[moparstuart]

 I dream of this one       in my nightmares   

[Mike DC]

Yeah, CGLFC is the place for GL fans these days.  Lotsa great cars, lotsa great people.

------------------------------------------------------------------------



As for the colors --

1974-76 "Corvette Flame Red/Corvette Orange Flame" seems to be closest thing to a single intended color for the cars.  The Georgia and the later California episodes.  (Don't let the word "Red" in the shade name fool you, the mid-70s version of this shade has as much yellow in it as any of the other oranges you'll consider for a GL.)


Some of the mid-series cars in Cali used a color that looks a tiny bit redder than this, but not all the way to Hugger or Hemi (body paint) orange.  Some mixture of 'Vette Flame and Big Bad orange would produce it pretty well.


The TV crew built these cars too sloppy to really nail the lid on the coffin of any single color though.  (Hell, the doors on the best surviving CLOSEUP CAR don't even match the fenders & quarters.)  They occasionally even touched cars up in a hurry with paintbrushes.  It's just the nature of the beast with Hollywood prop-cars.


And you can't believe how a GL orange color looks on film.  Film tints colors to a great extent, and orange is one of the worst.  Don't underestimate just how much different a color can look on film compared to reality.


 

[Joshua]

Now THIS is my kinda Vette......

[moparstuart]

 

[moparguy01]

I dream of this one       in my nightmares   

why must you remind me of such horrors?now i wont be able to sleep or eat for a week or so.

[Khyron]

I was laughing at the comments about kids and people always touching their GL's.... the only people that mess with my car are older people that get it

[skip68]

I was laughing at the comments about kids and people always touching their GL's.... the only people that mess with my car are older people that get it                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    That's because DMCL is so old that anyone under 35-40 doesn't remember it. 

[Ghoste]

Actually, a lot of people over that age group don't get it either.  But that's okay, it makes it cheaper for those of us collecting DMCL memorabilia.  (cuz some of us get it too much  )

[Mike DC]

Suit yourselves, but I think the "kids touching the GLs" are the smart ones. 

Not many of us got into this hobby with rosy visions of polishing out orange-peel & sweating the panel gaps.