MOPAR JOHNS B5 DAYTONA RESTORATION!!

[Mopar John]

 My last picture for today is an overhead shot of the trunk opening. My next installment will be the metal work and repairs!

[tan top]

more , good / intresting pictures !  John    keep them coming

[nascarxx29]

 More thank you keepem coming good stuff

[Mopar John]

The weather is getting nice here! That means 1 thing! Get the cars out! For me it's time to go fast again! If you remember at the beginning of my story I started doing this with my first car when I was 17! I am now 56! This year is my 40th year of drag racing off and on. I have run the full points program at ROUTE 66 RACEWAY since it opened in 1998! This year I had to get an EKG along with my physical in order to be licensed by the NHRA to run down into the 9's! With that out of the way I started getting the GTX ready. On Monday I traveled to Highland, Indiana to pick up my fresh race trans from my racing partner Keith Long known as the 727 SPECIALIST. I got it home and all the small parts back on it and ready to go in. I had to leave for work 3-11's this week. Tuesday morning with the front of the car on jack stands I had the trans in, in 2 hours! I could do it blinfolded! Wednesday I filled the trans with 8 quarts of fluid and changed the oil and filter. Another 10 quarts of oil! I fired it up to check for any leaks and all was good. While I had the trans out I installed a new SFI approved flex plate and a new NHRA mandated locking trans dipstick. Thursday I had to work a double! This morning I checked everthing over and washed her up! Then I went through the trailer and made sure all the race items were loaded and then last loaded the car. I still get goosebumps when I start that engine! Tommorrow is our season opening test and tune and Sunday is our first points meet. Linda and I plan to visit some of the grandkids who live over that way Saturday after the test and tune! Here are some pictures of me getting ready this morning! ENJOY!

[Mopar John]

I will be back Monday with more pictures of the Daytona restoration. The next batch will be of the quarter panel repairs. Troy wanted to do this next so he could finish the metal work inside and out before he reinstalled/ repaired the trunk floor extensions and the trunk floor. While I'm on the Daytona I did pick up a pair of NOS upper control arms recently. They are here and in great shape. We installed a very very nice pair on the Daytona but we will compare and make sure that these are not just a bit better. If all is good I will save them for the R4 Daytona.
Mopar John

[hemi68charger]

John..
Hope everything goes well at the races...... 

[jb666]

This is an awesome thread. Keep the pictures coming!! 

[Mopar John]

Here's how my racing weekend went. I had ordered a pair of new 11.5 M/T slicks. I asked for them to be a matched pair. When I got them they didn't look the same and I called Mickey Thompson direct. The tech guy told me that 1 was 3 years old and the other was 2 years old and not to run them@#$%^&*((! I called the guy that I ordered them through and he ordered me a brand new pair from the factory. They didn't come in until Friday afternnon when I was already gone to work. So I had to run my spare 10" slicks and 10" wheels for this weekend. Traction turned out not to be my problem! On the first pass of the year it missed all the way down and ran a 10.49@^()%^&*! I checked and regapped all the plugs and made another pass and it ran a little better and turned a 10.25. Then I went over all the plug wires, cap and rotor. I made another pass and again ran a little better and turned a 9.96! We'll at least I'm back in the 9's! That was it for Saturday. Sunday I switched some wires and ran another 9.96! We'll it's not running right but it's consistant. It warmed up a little and ran a 9.99 on our final practice. So I dailed in a 9.99! We have 4 lanes of cars for first round and we try to spread out the Mopar guys so we don't knock each other out. We'll I ended up running another Mopar dialed in at 11.55. He left green and so did I! I chased him down but he broke out with a 11.52 and I broke out worse with a 9.87! I was sad that I lost but happy that it ran even better! Last night I ordered 8 new plugs and this morning I ordered a new plug wire set! I hope to be at full strength next Sunday! I have attached a picture of the mixed matched slicks and my dismounted old ones.

[Mopar John]

                                            Now back to the B5 Daytona!
Last week I mentioned that I bought a pair of NOS upper control arms. I have apicture of those attached. I also bought a set of NOS front 11 X 3 brake shoes from a Moparts ad. These shoes are numbered 3004976 and are in the original 1969 dealer parts book! They are listed as replacements for the original shoes. These are the correct replacements and less superceded than the NOS 351 series we used on the car! I have attached a picture of the label for those also. The last picture is a closeup of the tail light panel and the damage from the thieves stealing the rear wing while it was in storage at the salvage yard! My next post will be on the right/passengers quarter panel repairs!

[Mopar John]

                            PASSENGERS/RIGHT SIDE QUARTER PANEL REPAIRS!!
Troy and I discussed the quarter panels and how to repair them. If I would have had a pair of NOS quarter skins it would have been a much more complex issue. But I didn't have NOS quarters and the panels were not real bad. So we decided to get some AMD repair panels and replace only what was neccessary! We both felt this route would be less invasive to the door opening and rear window plug area! I am glad Troy and I felt the same on all of the major decisions on this restoration. I would hate to be at odds with the guy doing my car!! This batch of pictures show the metal work on the passengers quarter panel both front and rear of the wheel opening!

[Mopar John]

Here are the rest of the pictures I have for the metal work on the passengers quarter panel!

[moparstuart]

 Again i think its great your guys repaired the bad areas and left as much original sheet metal as possible 

[Mopar John]

Again i think its great your guys repaired the bad areas and left as much original sheet metal as possible 

Thanks Stuart! The more original the better!

[Mopar John]

                                          DRIVERS SIDE QUARTER PANEL REPAIRS!
  The drivers side of the Daytona needed about the same treatment as the passengers side. There was a dent to be removed on the part being saved and metal replacement down low. This first batch of pictures is in front of the rear wheel opening.

[Mopar John]

More front of the right wheel opening and the dent repair!

[Mopar John]

The last batch of pictures for today are of the left quarter behind the wheel opening! At this point in time I was happy that the pictures were of repairs and not of rust damage!! The next batch of pictures will be of the wing washer removal and repairs to them and the inside of the quarter above them!!

[nascarxx29]

Good daytona resto stuff keep it coming Unrelated but saw this NOS daytona nose at a show in the 80-s $3000.00 I didnt have to spend.This place is in Indiana ever hear of this place NS1 .I know your always buying or bought NOS parts.They from around your area

[Mopar John]

Good daytona resto stuff keep it coming Unrelated but saw this NOS daytona nose at a show in the 80-s $3000.00 I didnt have to spend.This place is in Indiana ever hear of this place NS1 .I know your always buying or bought NOS parts.They from around your area

Dave,
If I don't have my wires crossed, I think this was Ron Fellwock. The NS1 parts company was located just south of FORT WAYNE, INDIANA on the east side of the state. His company now is just known as FELLWOCKS and is in EVANSVILLE, INDIANA. This is near PAUL JACOBS who is partnered with my restoration guy TROY ANGELLY. The company that stripped the Daytona REDI-STRIP is down there also! There is a great deal of Mopar activity down that way! We did buy some much needed parts from Ron for the Daytona restoration.
Thanks! John

[Mopar John]

                                              RACING SLICKS CONTINUED!
  Moday late morning I went and exchanged the mis-matched slicks for a pair of fresh ones. All went well and got them home. I dug into Linda's stash of dish soap and could not find 1 bottle of DAWN dish soap@#$%^&*! DAWN is the brand I use to soap up the insides of the slicks so I don't have to run tubes. That night I started midnights and picked up a bottle of DAWN and my 8 new spark plugs on the way to work. Then on Tuesday morning when I got home I soaped up the new slicks. Again on Wednesday when I got home I put a second coat on and laid them on the opposite side. This morning when I got home I went to mount them! The first picture is of the new slicks all soaped up and ready for mounting! The second picture is of the 12" wheel on my tire machine. I bought this at an industrial auction about 20 years ago! Man does it come in handy! The second picture shows the slick now installed on the rim. Next comes the fun part of trying to seal the beads of a new 11 1/2" slick on a 12" rim@#$%^&*()! WOW WHAT FUN!! At this point I wonder what it would be like to be an octopus with all the extra arms to hold the tire up and the air hose at the same time?? I have heard of a guy that fills the inside of the new tire with starting fluid and then lights it and explodes the tire onto the wheel @#$%^&*(!! Not for me with the Daytona in the next room! Actually I turn the wheel and slick over and walk around the outer bead and sort of get it started. Then I turn it over and put it back on the tire machine and let the weight of the slick pull down toward the other bead. I then take the air hose and start filling the slick with air. I use my free hand to snug up any area that I hear air escaping from. This whole thing took me about a half hour for both slicks! The last picture shows the slick mounted on the wheel. I use a 12" wheel to make sure all 11 1/2" of rubber are on the track at the low pressures that we run! ENJOY!

[Mopar John]

On Monday afternoon I set all the rocker arms just to make sure none had loosened up! I found a few a little loose and to my surprise I found a couple of exhaust rockers that were tight. This could have lead to some misfire if the exhaust valve didn't close all the way!! On Tuesday night at work I had a chance to gap all my new plugs and put index lines on them. I have to index the plugs with the tip on the top half of the plug or the pistons will bend the tips! I have attached a picture of a new plug with an index line ready for installation.

[Mopar John]

                                             B5 DAYTONA WING WASHERS!
  This series of pictures will be of the Dayona wing washers. The first picture is of the top of the passengers quarter panel where the wing was mounted. Remember it was off the car outside for years! The second picture is of the same quarter panel looking up from the inside with the wing washer removed. The last 2 pictures in this set are of the wing washers removed from the Daytona! There was some rust and pitting from the wing being stolen and letting rain water in @#$%^&*(!

[Mopar John]

                                                    MORE WING WASHER!
  In this batch the first picture is of the trunk gutter removed. The gutter and the area was cleaned up while the wing washers were out. The second picture is of the trunk gutter welded back in using weldable primer! The last picture in this batch is another underneath shot and shows more rust that was sandwiched in a seam! There was very little that didn't come apart get cleaned and put back together on the body shell!

[Mopar John]

                                  LAST BATCH OF WING WASHER PICTURES!
The first 2 pictures are of the washer repairs and in primer ready for reinstallation. The last 2 pictures show the wing washers welded  back in with weldable primer! This portion of the body was now ready for the epoxy primer!
The next chapter will cover the original rear valance and valance corners. Also I hope to cover the trunk floor extensions and repairs.

[Mopar John]

                                                                     426
Today is April 26th or 426 Lindas birthday! I will be taking her out for dinner when she gets home from work!

[Dave Kanofsky]

                                                                     426
Today is April 26th or 426 Lindas birthday! I will be taking her out for dinner when she gets home from work!

Happy Birthday to her!