hemigeno's Daytona restoration - a few more tweaks... again!

[PocketThunder]

Opportunity has come a knocking on my door, which means I'll see you in Milwaukee at the Aero Car meet in August with my C500.  There wont be fresh paint on the car though. 

Will it be moving under it's own power?

keep reading in the aero section my friend

[nitrometal]

Man, with this kinda detail this is gonna look sweet!  Keep up the progress photos.

[hemigeno]

Opportunity has come a knocking on my door, which means I'll see you in Milwaukee at the Aero Car meet in August with my C500.  There wont be fresh paint on the car though. 

That's great to hear, Paul!  I read your thread about the Leaning Tower Of Power - you're braver than I would be.  CudaKen was always trying to talk me into dropping an engine in the Daytona and just cruising around in it Joe Dirt style.  I guess I always wanted my first official drive to be without the quarterpanels flapping in the breeze.  Besides, it didn't bother me to have it sitting in the corner untouched, but as soon as I'd have started working on it I'd have had a hard time finding a place to stop.

Man, with this kinda detail this is gonna look sweet! Keep up the progress photos.

Thanks, nitro!

I'm heading up to Michigan again on Friday, so I should have another batch of pictures sometime after that.  Vance told me last week that the engine is back from the machine shop.  He also mentioned that the last coat of primer had been shot on the bottomside and was being sanded with 320grit.  He thinks it might be off the rotisserie real soon, and my guess is it'll be in the paint booth in late July or early August.

[hemi68charger]

  He also mentioned that the last coat of primer had been shot on the bottomside and was being sanded with 320grit.  He thinks it might be off the rotisserie real soon, and my guess is it'll be in the paint booth in late July or early August.

Mine too.. I'm having to do that to my '68 to get it reshot again... 180/320 and then red scuff pad to smooth it all out....  This time I want paint in every spot.... Geno, are you doing the "primer/color" resto or applying color to the complete underside?

[hemigeno]

Geno, are you doing the "primer/color" resto or applying color to the complete underside?

We're going the primer/color resto route.  It doesn't look as nice as a complete paintjob on the underside, but it's the way it came from the factory so that's what I'm going back with. 

BTW, good to hear that you're still making progress on the '68.  You'll be glad you took the time to do everything right in the end.

[69_500]

Hey Gene, the primer/paint combination is what the car looked like before the restoration isn't it? 

Was just to easy to say.

It will be gorgeous when its complete. By the looks of the other cars at Vance's shop I"d say the Daytona will be impecible.

[hemigeno]

Hey Gene, the primer/paint combination is what the car looked like before the restoration isn't it? 

Well, sorta...  between the road grime, grease, scale rust, rust pits and rust holes, you could see a few specks of primer.   

[nitrometal]

Mine too.. I'm having to do that to my '68 to get it reshot again... 180/320 and then red scuff pad to smooth it all out....  This time I want paint in every spot....

Hey Troy, do you have have Dana on the rotisserie now?

[69_500]

I was more thinking along the lines of seeing red and blue together on the car. You should really update your sig pic Gene. Your car hasn't had a blue hood for over a year now.

[Moparmatty]

The first shot shows a change that was made since the last batch of photos.  One of our eagle-eyed DC.com members (Ray / 69_charger_man) pointed out to me that the crossmember we salvaged along with the frame rails from that rear clip had a round filler tube hole.  Even though Chargers did not utilize that filler tube hole, they used the same crossmember as the Bee/Runner did (which DID use the filler tube hole).  Sometime around February of 1969 the stamping plant changed the shape of the filler tube hole from a round shape to an oval shape.  The Daytona's original crossmember had the oval shaped hole, whereas the piece we scavenged off of that rear clip was (you guessed it) the round shape.  This little detail isn't super noticeable, but it is definitely visible if you know what to look for.  I had even read a thread on the Moparts A12 forum about this very subject the very same month that I had taken that rear clip up to Vance.  In other words, I should have noticed that detail, but I didn't - and it escaped Vance's notice too.  Ray pointed it out to me, and I appreciate his doing so, since catching that "mistake" while it's in the sheet metal stage is much better than noticing it after the paint is on.

Anyway, the second picture shows the cuts that they had to make in the (formerly NOS) rear lower valance in order to get at that crossmember to elongate the hole - effectively converting it to the oval style from the round style.  There just wasn't an easy way to get to it without making those cuts.  Sad but true.

BTW, thanks again, Ray!   

Gene.  Is there any specific date when the new crossmember was put into production.  My '70 440+6 Roadrunner has the oval hole and has 511 on the fender tag.  Or was the round hole crossmember only used at specific plants?

Matt

[hemigeno]

Gene.  Is there any specific date when the new crossmember was put into production.  My '70 440+6 Roadrunner has the oval hole and has 511 on the fender tag.  Or was the round hole crossmember only used at specific plants?

Matt

AFAIK, the '70 model year cars should all have the oval hole and the break/change happened about the halfway mark of the '69 model year.  So far I have seen cars built prior to 2/1/69 with the round hole and pretty much everything built after that has had an oval hole.  The rear crossmember we used came from a car built fairly eary in the '69 model year (so it had a round hole), and the Daytona's were all built after the change with oval holes.  That's why Vance had to modify the replacement crossmember to have an oval hole.

If your 'Runner has an oval hole, that's what it should have based on what I've seen.

Sorry if my explanation(s) were a little fuzzy...

I also have a batch of pictures from a trip to Michigan at the end of June, but they're pretty much the same as the last batch.  Vance & his guys are still working on the undercarriage, and they are going to finish off the rocker panels and most of the trunk before taking it off the rotisserie.  While they are making progress, there is still a whole lot of work to do before it'll be ready for paint.  The engine compartment alone could take a couple of weeks to get to the same level that the underneath side is - and the engine compartment is much more visible.  I'm hoping for paint in August, but that could be off.  I'd still rather them take the time to do things right than to rush the job along.  Seeing Chris Sauer's former car at Carlisle was a taste of how good my car could potentially look - although his car was in much better shape to start with...   

[hemi68charger]

Mine too.. I'm having to do that to my '68 to get it reshot again... 180/320 and then red scuff pad to smooth it all out....  This time I want paint in every spot....

Hey Troy, do you have have Dana on the rotisserie now?

Hey there Phil..
Nope.. I was referring to the '68.. I got the car back after my return from Iraq. The outside of the car is top-notch, but the underside and engine compartment had a lot to be desired. The problem was the clear was put on too dry in order to make a deadlline. Because of this, the clear dried rough.. So, I sanded/scuffed the complete underside and engine compartment.. I'm getting my dollies for the car I'm having made this week, get it on them and take it back for about a week I guess.. From then, I can start putting parts/trim back on.. That's when the slow fun begins I think......

Troy

[Moparmatty]

AFAIK, the '70 model year cars should all have the oval hole and the break/change happened about the halfway mark of the '69 model year.  So far I have seen cars built prior to 2/1/69 with the round hole and pretty much everything built after that has had an oval hole.  The rear crossmember we used came from a car built fairly eary in the '69 model year (so it had a round hole), and the Daytona's were all built after the change with oval holes.  That's why Vance had to modify the replacement crossmember to have an oval hole.

If your 'Runner has an oval hole, that's what it should have based on what I've seen.

Sorry if my explanation(s) were a little fuzzy...

I also have a batch of pictures from a trip to Michigan at the end of June, but they're pretty much the same as the last batch.  Vance & his guys are still working on the undercarriage, and they are going to finish off the rocker panels and most of the trunk before taking it off the rotisserie.  While they are making progress, there is still a whole lot of work to do before it'll be ready for paint.  The engine compartment alone could take a couple of weeks to get to the same level that the underneath side is - and the engine compartment is much more visible.  I'm hoping for paint in August, but that could be off.  I'd still rather them take the time to do things right than to rush the job along.  Seeing Chris Sauer's former car at Carlisle was a taste of how good my car could potentially look - although his car was in much better shape to start with...   

I must have misunderstood what you had originally said.  I took it as though the later built cars got the round hole.  Thanks for clearing that up Gene.

Matt

[hemi68charger]

Holy smoothness Geno !!!!  The panels and underside of your Charger is AWESOME !!!!!!!!  VANCE is the man !!!!  No wonder you took it to him........

impressed and in awe...
Troy

[hemigeno]

Holy smoothness Geno !!!! The panels and underside of your Charger is AWESOME !!!!!!!! VANCE is the man !!!! No wonder you took it to him........

impressed and in awe...
Troy

Well, they're getting pretty smooth, for sure.  This whole stage of the project is one of those that seems to take forever, but it makes all the difference in the world.  Vance's comment was that paying this much attention to the nooks, crannies etc. is "What separates the Men from the Boys" in the restoration world.

I know I would never have the patience to spend that many hours sanding on the same car over and over.  I'd have grabbed the paint gun way back in April when they were putting the first coat of filler on some of these seams.

I figured I would go ahead and post some more of the pictures I took on June 30th when I last saw the car.  Vance and his guys were still working on the underneath side, and hoped to get it off of the rotisserie soon.  While it was flipped on its side, they wanted to hit the underneath side of the rocker panels, and do most of the trunk compartment.  Between working in those areas and perhaps hitting some of the engine compartment and front framerails, it could be a while longer before the car is topside again.  Then they'll be able to start fitting body panels and really making everything straight.  That might go fairly quickly, since the fenders, hood, decklid and doors have all been filled/sanded/primed.  They'll still be spending lots of time block sanding all of the body, I'm sure.  My guess is that it won't see the paint booth until late August.  That's still just fine with me, since the time and effort they put into everything now will only make the finished product that much better.

Anyway, here are four pictures of the underneath side.  The last three are of the trunk extension panel including the front and back joints.

[hemigeno]

More pictures, which show part of the wheelhouse and seams.  I tried to focus on some of the bracket and panel edges that they've spent more than a few hours filling and sanding.  Those are details that would have escaped me, for sure.

[hemigeno]

Detail pictures galore...   

[hemigeno]

Still more detail shots.

[hemigeno]

More detail shots.

[hemigeno]

I tried to get closeup shots showing the attention to detail around some of these brackets.  It is amazing to see how much work they've done to reach in with putty knives and sandpaper back underneath the brackets to fill/sand these areas smooth just like the panel areas that are much more visible.  When they're done, I seriously doubt you could find a single area that did not appear smooth as glass.

[hemigeno]

More of the same

[hemigeno]

 

[hemigeno]

I really did take a lot of shots from the underneath side, since I may not have this good of a vantage point ever again.  Sorry if it seems like overkill to some of you guys!

[hemigeno]

It's hard to say which pictures are useful and which ones aren't.  I've lamented a lot already that I did not take more pictures of the car when it was unrestored, so I am trying to make sure I don't have the same regrets about the restoration process. 

These first two pictures show an example of things that they have yet to finish up.  When they get all the filling/sanding work done, they are going to come back with a tool that will replicate the look of the factory spot welds.  Again, the intent is to make the finished product indistinguishable from a factory-fresh car.

[hemigeno]

Details, details...