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

[abebummy26]

Yeah we're doing alright. He's a superintendent again. Yeah I plan on stopping by the shop for a ride maybe once its done? I wouldn't mind a ride in the hemi car either.

[gtx6970]

Gene,
In regards to the bracket clipped over the master cyl re-inforcement plate.
Is it NOS - if so, whats the part number.?

If not NOS what do you do to retain or restore back to the OE galvanized finish?

[roger440]

Gene,
In regards to the bracket clipped over the master cyl re-inforcement plate.
Is it NOS - if so, whats the part number.?

If not NOS what do you do to retain or restore back to the OE galvanized finish?

Good question. Do they all have this bracket or is it a Daytona specific part?

[gtx6970]

Good question. Do they all have this bracket or is it a Daytona specific part?

Used at least 66-70 B-bodies. and I've found 2 different lengths used in these years

[roger440]

Good question. Do they all have this bracket or is it a Daytona specific part?

Used at least 66-70 B-bodies. and I've found 2 different lengths used in these years

Mmmmm, dont suppose you can buy these.

[hemigeno]

Gene,
In regards to the bracket clipped over the master cyl re-inforcement plate.
Is it NOS - if so, whats the part number.?

If not NOS what do you do to retain or restore back to the OE galvanized finish?

Was the OE finish really galvanized?  I thought it was silver zinc.   

The one on my car is a nice condition original that has still been replated in silver zinc to make it super-nice.  Zinc replating doesn't ruin or destroy the rubber dipping, but hot-dipped galvanizing would for sure (if that's what it was).

[gtx6970]

I have numerous examples on hand and every one is galvanized . Plus there are 2 different lengths used from 66 to 70 B-body.

the nicest original I have so far that I refuse to let go of just yet

[hemigeno]

I'll have to ask about the galvanizing thing, not that I don't believe you.  The Part Number for the clip is 6015613.

[gtx6970]

I'll have to ask about the galvanizing thing, not that I don't believe you.  The Part Number for the clip is 6015613.

Gene,
Where did you come up with a pt # ?

Also, do you show a different pt # for the shorter version.

I pulled every one I could off of junkyard cars a few weeks ago, The issue I ran into is there is no certain bracket used on specific applications.
Meaning I found both lengths on power brake cars as non power brakes cars, same as on power disc brake cars of the same years.
Yet, The only one I've found used on the power brake hemi cars was the short one

[hemigeno]

Bill,

The part number came straight from the Chrysler engineering graphics.  There is only one part number given for 1968, 1969 and 1970 model year cars (certainly could have been used before or after those years too), so if there are different lengths it cannot be explained through any document that I've found.  Definitely no qualifiers for cars with different option combinations, and the same clip was shown for /6, LA and B/RB/Hemi powered B-bodies.

My guess - and it's nothing more than a guess - is that the length differences were due to multiple vendors.  It's also possible that vendors could have used multiple plating methods as well, although I won't hide behind that sort of "escape clause" in researching the galvanized topic further.

[gtx6970]

Thanks Gene,
I haven't found that pt # in any parts book from 1966 thru 1970
Odd there would be only one pt # called out . When obviously there were at least these 2 styles used on like years.

I wouldn't doubt there are/were more than one supplier of this thing.

I also have a decent used one from a 71-72 B-body ( also used 70-74 E-bodies) with manual brakes ( same one used on power disc brake Hemi E-bodies) and it's obviously clear zinc , so I wouldn't doubt if 2 different plating choices were used.

comparison pics for the 2 B-body brackets

So as not to muddy this thread any further I'll start a new one

[hemigeno]

A brief update for those of you who've asked what's going on with the restoration effort lately...

I have wrapped up getting most of the parts together, although there are still some things in the works and some stuff that hasn't been delivered just yet.  We've FINALLY been able to get the exhaust components assembled, and the front & rear suspension components are all there at long last as well.  I've found different/original rear springs and rear shackles that were not pitted, and I think we've found unpitted tiedown brackets which can be left bare rather than given the faux finish Vance had to do to my originals due to their deep rust pits.

The car still isn't on the tires and wheels it will eventually roll around with, as Stockton Wheel is in the process of straightening and gussying (is that even a word when you're east of the Mississippi?) up a set of date-correct road wheels.  I'm also having them make me a set of 14x6 reproduction wheels that'll be shod with repro bias ply tires.  For safety's sake, I refuse to drive very far or certainly very fast with 40 year old tires... just because they don't have any miles on them doesn't mean the rubber won't still get hard.

I've been working hard on solving my glass issue for 2-1/2 months now.  A local vendor had agreed to give polishing the glass a try, but recently backed off.  Although I've lost a ton of time waiting, if they don't feel comfortable working on the glass (especially original Daytona back glass), I'd rather that they didn't.  MoparJohn has helped out with the contact info for the guy that did his glass, and I am probably going to go that route.  More delays...

The original package tray is not salvageable, but even if the corner hadn't been broken I'm not sure it would have looked real good with the surface scratches in the grain.  Those almost certainly couldn't have been removed or hidden.  Legendary Interiors has my original at the moment, and they are making a new piece to the exact shape/size/texture as before - and they're even making it in blue just like mine was...  Vance will have to dye it black as Creative Industries did with mine (with a few areas of incomplete coverage for effect), so the whole treatment will be complete.

One good thing is that we found a trunk mat and fuel filler tube seal, which means the trunk compartment can be buttoned up soon.  That's been a long time coming.

Even though I've been to Vance's shop now twice in the past two months, I have taken very few additional pictures simply because there wasn't much visibly different... last trip up I actually forgot to take my camera too.  There just isn't that much change to look at now.  Once we get these parts changes/issues settled Vance can go about the business of detailing the undercarriage - including the undercoat treatment.  Things are coming together, albeit slowly, and I'm quite comfortable being patient at this stage as long as the finished product gets done right.

More updates soon.

[hemi68charger]

 

You definitely have resilience Geno... I commend you.............

[Charger-Bodie]

Better to be right the first time than hurry it along and need to redo things later.

[tan top]

wondered whats been happening !!! thanks for the update Geno looking forward to reading & looking at more into & pictures & stuff   

[gtx6970]

Nats appearence maybe? maybe Monster Mopar in St Louis?

If all goes well , I'll be @ Monster Mopar and NOT selling parts

[hemigeno]

Thanks for the comments, although I think "bull-headed stubbornness" probably applies to me more than nice terms like resilience.

Nats appearence maybe? maybe Monster Mopar in St Louis?

If all goes well , I'll be @ Monster Mopar and NOT selling parts

I don't know if the Daytona will be ready by either of those shows, although MMW might be close.  The 'Nats is out for sure.  Hope to see you in September anyway, either with or without your red trailer.

[hemigeno]

A few things have been happening on the Daytona recently, but most of the restoration efforts have been focused elsewhere on another venture so there's not too much in the way of visible changes to point out.

Several parts issues have been ironed out in the last couple of months, and the first of these is shown in the following two pictures.  This is the galvanized harness loom that Bill A. asked about earlier.  Vance had this one in his stuff all along, so it's what we'll use.  I have a line on an NOS piece just in case, but this one should still work nicely.  Like Bill said, these are hard to find with the galvanizing still intact for whatever reason.  Maybe brake fluid works 'em over?  Maybe the galvanized coating isn't real thick?  

Incidentally, this is a long-style bracket.  Vance's observation over the years has been that long brackets were used on manual brake cars, short-style on power brake cars.  That makes the most sense, but there are undoubtedly cars which don't follow that pattern - and no one's trying to say it's an absolute concrete rule.

[hemigeno]

Another thing I've been working on for a while is having a few components sent off for restoration.  One of those is the inner door latch mechanisms.  Jules the wiperman ( Linky ) has my latches all taken apart and ready for refinishing.  This is the first time he's seen the bluish-purple and light green dyes used on the springs.  Anyone else see those colors on their Daytona or late-built Charger latch mechanisms?  I'm thinking it's just a late '69 model year thing like so many other idiosyncrasies, but who knows.

[hemigeno]

Another item I've been working on now for over 4 months is the restoration of my car's road wheels.  These were sent out to Stockton Wheel in California for a makeover back in March.  It took several tries to explain what I was looking for by way of the finished product, and finally one of the guys back in the shop started dealing with me rather than the sales counter guys.  That's when the lights came on and they figured out that I DID NOT want a triple chrome plated, super-shiny finish... strangely enough, crappy workmanship is the goal on these.

Anyway, when I was at Vance's shop a week ago the prototype wheel had just been delivered.  It looks pretty good, and they did an especially nice job of replicating the almost shot-peened look of the originals.  What we're still going to work with them on is to re-do the sanding marks evident beneath the crappy chrome on most all untouched wheels.  If they don't want to mess with the centers beyond what they've already demonstrated they can do, we will have them prep the wheels for chromework, ship them out to Vance for the sanding marks, and then have the center sections chromed just as you see here.  That should replicate the original look perfectly.  Once the refurbished centers are remounted by Stockton on the late May '69 painted outer rims, I'll have what amounts to a brand new date-correct set of wheels.  Even the back side of the rims turned out pretty nice.  We're pretty excited about how these will look once they're all done.

[hemigeno]

I took the first two pictures as a reminder to myself of another couple of refurbishment projects that will be started soon.  In the past, I've debated about what to do with the original numbers-matching transmission case due to the pitting seen in the first picture.  Well, we now have a plan...

In factory-stock drag racing circles, one of the very common tricks of the trade is to port out a stock cylinder head casting to whatever port shape the racer feels is best.  The smooth surface of the casting is then given an acid treatment over a period of time to replicate an as-cast rough surface, and it generally works well enough that the NHRA tech guys rarely - if ever - catch these cheated up heads even though the ports are looked over pretty good.  I had brought up a couple of '69-vintage transmissions for Vance to pull a tailshaft and side cover from to replace my pitted originals.  After thinking about it, we decided the core cases will make an excellent test bed for Vance to try grinding the case smooth and replicating the finish.  Those parts were never very smooth to begin with, so the bar isn't set very high when it comes to what the finished product will look like.  If those efforts are successful, he'll feel confident enough to play around with the car's original transmission with the goal being able to leave it bare metal and in better shape than what you see now.

Speaking of bare metal...

The second picture is of the rear tiedown plates I had removed from another fairly low-mileage car.  These have fairly light pitting as you can see, so I'm inclined to use them on the Daytona in bare metal form.  It's my opinion that the light pitting seen on these bare parts is better than using the original plates which have been filled and painted with a faux "bare metal look" paint.  Originality is king here in my book.

The last two pictures show a miracle metal treatment I had to beg and plead with Dave Walden from ECS Automotive to make up for me.  This is a really, really cool product that should be mass produced sometime in the near future, but for the moment he's made a small batch for use on my car.  I've asked Vance to give this product a try on a few components that will be left bare.  It's applied by heating the part with a heat gun and then wiping on the metal treatment - which resembles a carnuba wax product.  Once it dries, you can't tell it's there, but the metal is absolutely waterproof -- water beads up just like it does on a freshly waxed car hood.  Assuming that Vance's test is successful (and I've seen other test parts at Dave W.'s shop that look absolutely awesome) he will drop back and give all of my bare metal components this treatment rather than the cosmoline we're using now.  It's more work and added expense, but I am confident the end result will be worth the effort.  This is something I think will be a neat detail item on this car.

[hemigeno]

Another item we've made a big improvement on is the rear leaf springs.  The original springs were not sagging or worn, but they were pitted quite heavily - especially on the left underneath side.  That pitting was the result of the car being stored outside for a few years after its engine fire, where the left side of the car was exposed more than the right due to an overhang.

We pulled another set of leaf springs from a nearby parts car (previously used as a taxicab, if you can believe it) that had little, if any, pitting.  They've already been rebuilt/installed and look much better.

[hemigeno]

I had heard in the past about the different castings used on Charger taillight housings in '69, but hadn't seen a comparison picture.  The parts car had a set of early-style housings with longer "shrouds" over each taillamp socket.  In the second picture you can see the shorter style found on all late-model-year Daytonas.  Just seemed like an interesting detail.  Oh, and the length of the shroud determines which plastic taillight cover style you can use, as only an early style deeper cover will work with the longer shrouds.  Short-style taillight housings will work with either depth of cover.  The only available reproduction (which we hopefully won't need to utilize) is the shallower late style also used in 1970, BTW.

[hemigeno]

Another part or two showed up at the shop in the past couple of months.  These were both at the shop last time I visited in June, but I forgot my camera that trip.

[hemigeno]

More pics of the same general area