At it again! 1970 Charger resurrection

[tsmithae]

Alright, it's been a while yet again... But, finally, progress!


Discovered this massive lag bolt sticking through my floor... 



Discovered my rear window trim is garbage.



Removed Headliner, package tray, mirror, visors, belt clips, hangers, dome light.




Discovered the metal around my rear window doesn't APPEAR to be as bad as I thought.




Also, not pictured:
-Kick panels
-Anything in the way of the headliner
-the last of the interior trim


Here is yet more finished work.


Mirror before and after pics (steel wool, started coarse and worked my way down to 0000 on the post and base and then the mirror had overspray on it from when someone had decided the interior should be grey)





Upper door pads went from sad hole-filled black/grey/red/green to sexy black (I used vinyl repair/filler to patch the holes and cracks and then vinyl dye once I removed the 2-3 layers of old paint)




And, the dye is drying on the visors as I update this and the arms for those have been steel-wooled and then sprayed matte aluminum(same as base/post for rearview.

More pictures tomorrow hopefully!

[troutstreamnm]

Nice work!  The gauges look awesome.  Makes me wish I would have spent more time on the gauges on my 500!  Keep the pics coming. 

[tsmithae]

The gauges look awesome. 

Thanks!  It took a LOT of time... However, seeing as how the garage is full and there is no room at the inn for my car (see below), I have been taking my time with the work that I can do right now.




However, visors are done now!

[earnie]

The gauges look awesome. 

Thanks!  It took a LOT of time... However, seeing as how the garage is full and there is no room at the inn for my car (see below), I have been taking my time with the work that I can do right now.


no room fer your car, however a pinto is fine=oh the horror
looking good so far


However, visors are done now!

[tsmithae]

Haha, yea the Pinto is wonderful!  However, it is now running and can exit the garage under its own power and IT IS FOR SALE! PLEASE, SOMEONE BUY IT! 

[tsmithae]

Well, everyone can stop flooding my inbox with offers on the Pinto , it has sold!



Rear uppers are done and the pile of completed parts is getting quite large...






Also, somehow this weird emissions sticker made its way to my door (thanks to A383wing)   




Lastly, thanks to bananadan at the 70 Registry, I have my button, a spare hinge cover, and a trim piece for my parking brake.







I will keep those wrenches spinning and do my best to get the interior completely restored by the end of summer!



Alright, only a small update for now, unfortunately.  Every single time I go out to my car I get a phone call about 30 minutes later saying someone needs my help, whether it be my parents needing help with our house renovation or my aunt needing he water heater replaced or my uncle needing my assistance for a recording for a voice-over... Whew... And I thought I would get to relax finally not being on tour!

Anyway, upper dash pad redyed 



And, I have begun the heater controls and have ordered the decals from PCG, they shipped today and hopefully I will have them early next week.  Unfortunately, the controls have been painted black, along with every single other thing that was inside my car... Oh well, I keep trying to think of it as them doing me a favor and preserving the original finish underneath the layers of primer and paint... The only issue has been getting to the original finish without damaging it...

[tsmithae]

Ok, well progress has been slow since I have had to install a new pressure tank and water heater for my aunt, drywall and do electrical work at my folks house, and try to get some work done in the family garage so that we can get closer to getting my car in for new sheet metal.

However, I did find some time.

Removed the steering column and spruced up the steering wheel a bit.







Also, the heater control decals made it and those are installed and now I can add the heater controls to my "Done" pile!

Before and after:










The steering column is mostly finished, I am just waiting on a donor turn signal switch from Tolley at 1970chargerregistry.com (thanks!!!) so that I can attempt to make one that looks proper.  Also pictured is my new (to me) FSM!





Also, my uncle and I got the idea that we should build a blast cabinet instead of buy one.  So, using old square tube steel from an old awning, this is what we have so far.  We plan on having the top and the diagonal all plexi and then have a recapturing tray at the bottom of the cabinet.  Dimensions are 24 deep x 40 long x 30 high.




Ok well, progress is still rolling in; despite this...  and yes, that dangling bit of wire is our main power feed...





However, steering column is finished! Minus the horn cap which is drying as we speak.






And, the blast cabinet is taking shape nicely.

[tsmithae]

Well, work on the Charger has been slow; however, I keep fussing when I can!

"Ouch" pics




Wonder how long that has been riding there (was found under the bumper upper reinforcement)




Which one of these sockets is correct for a '70?




Well, the grill got stripped and several broken fins got replaced.

Before







After. And, a MAJOR  :thanks: to Tolley over at the '70 registry for the "500" emblem! 








Also, rebuilt the headlight motor and now it works flawlessly! (see here http://1970chargerregistry.com/mboard/index.php?topic=548.0)




I have finally finished the tail panel, which I have tried and tried and tried again to get it to look good. 


First off, I had to straighten one of the corners... it had a pretty nice indent/line in it that I actually am really happy about how straight it looks after paint.





However, I got a run in the paint... One. Stupid. Run. 


So, I decided to try to sand the run down and reshoot that area.  Well, it eliminated the run but I wasn't satisfied with it because I could see the transition (it was too close the the grained center section and I could tell... I'm not entirely sure if anyone else could have, but I could and it would have bothered me every single time I looked at the back of the car...) So, I removed the paint on the entire center section, which was a LOT harder the second time around. 

Then, after finally getting it clean, sanded the transitions into the new paint that I was leaving down with various grits during various stages and eventually was pleased with that.  Next, more primer; then,  more paint.  Finally, Success!  With the base black coat....


Then, hours of careful taping and comparing to the pictures I shot of it before I stripped it down. 

Alright, I am taking this moment to give everyone a brief warning...

DO NOT USE EASY OFF ON ANYTHING ANODIZED UNLESS YOU WISH IT TO REMOVE THE ANODIZING!!!!
The end result after this will be pitted, rough, dull, lifeless, etc etc etc.  However, you can sand it down and regain a smooth feel to it.

Anyways... I then shot the Anodized Aluminum substitute (Rustoleum Metallic Silver).

And, a couple pics.

[twodko]

What a difference detail work makes! Nice XLRman! The Mrs and I met Tolley and family at this years' Mopar Alley show. Great guy and lovely family.
The front valance light buckets sure have different pigtails. The bucket on the right is the same as the ones on our 69. I wonder if they are the same for 70's? Do you need buckets/lens? if so PM me. Really nice work and that old wrench will look good on your garage wall!
As I was looking closely at the work you did on the dash panel it would seem the headlight switch just mounts to the back of it yes? I have a new switch and need to replace the original, it looks like all I need to do is pull that dash panel enough to replace the switch. I hope it's that easy. Your car will be on the road before you know it!

[Vainglory, Esq.]

You do good work, my friend. 

[tsmithae]

Nice XLRman!

As I was looking closely at the work you did on the dash panel it would seem the headlight switch just mounts to the back of it yes? I have a new switch and need to replace the original, it looks like all I need to do is pull that dash panel enough to replace the switch. I hope it's that easy. Your car will be on the road before you know it!

Twodko, just wondering... XLR, did I mention that I am an audio engineer (and you're referring to an XLR cable) or are you referring to something else?

Also, the headlight switch did indeed mount to the frame of the cluster and once that is removed, it is held on by 2 screws, IIRC. 

You do good work, my friend. 

Thanks! I am definitely taking my time with her and hope to be entirely satisfied (I really am just trying to justify the fact that things are taking a LOT longer than expected and I have no money to invest and etc, etc etc...). 

[tan top]

nice work !! looks good 

[Charger_Dart]

Very nice work & great pics.

Are you happy with the Rustoleum Metallic Silver finish? I have a few parts that the anodized finish is gone on.

[tsmithae]

nice work !! looks good 

Thanks!

Are you happy with the Rustoleum Metallic Silver finish? I have a few parts that the anodized finish is gone on.

I will be honest that the Metallic Silver is making me happy.  It was FAR less than getting it re-anodized and I could do it myself.  However, I am sure that it is not going to be exactly the same as getting your parts re-anodized, but for me, it looks as close to anodized as one can get without paying for it! 

[projectanimal]

WOW great pictures and work!! 
we're hoping to do a lot of the same things as we pick up parts and clean/finish tired ones we have! 
where did you get the gauge plates?    keep the pictures flowing! 
I hope that our Winter shows similar progress! 

[tsmithae]

Thanks!

I hope that you can save most if not all of your parts, I personally find it really gratifying to take something tired and old and making it new again, instead of buying new.  As for the gauges, they were from whitegauges.net and they fit alright.  I hear that performancecargraphics.com has a set that most people have used.  I will keep updates and pictures coming as time allows.  Currently I just started a new job and have been working 70 hrs/week lately and that has been taking a lot out of me.

Good luck with yours, I hope your winter shows a lot of progress! 

[projectanimal]

Thanks for the info on the Gauges tsmithae  , will check those out.  It appears the PO installed a newer clock as the dials are still pearly white, but the speedo is pretty faded.  Our plan is to clean and use all the parts we have (I agree with giving them a second life as well as the good feeling of doing the job ourselves). plan to take apart the steering column and repaint the blinker switch as well as the column as it's green.      Hope to hit a large car swap next month here in CT and see what we can find!      

will be tracking progress with pictures and video as time allows.   good luck getting back on track with your project as it looks like a show winner when completed!   

[tsmithae]

I'm really glad to hear that you are going to be reviving as much as possible, shows dedication! Good luck with your project and I hope you can find some useful things as the meet.

[tsmithae]

Well, after a several month hiatus, I am back to wrenching on my car, albeit in frequently.


Lately, I have gone through al of the wiring harnesses and I am in the process of making a custom relay harness/box for my headlights (and I believe that I will be adding in an extra relay for an electric pusher just in case...) I also just removed my heater box and will be completely restoring that as well, does anyone have experience with replacing the heater core and costs for repair/replace just in case I need to do so?


However, I managed to get an extended weekend off work and I left the big city for my folks place (where my car resides).  So, I had to fire up the 383 again and this time, I was actually rolling! 

A little bit about this engine, 383, .40 over, Xtreme Energy cam (Can't recall which specifically, I will have to go through my paperwork if anyone is that interested), single place torker intake, Holley 4160, carter fuel pump... anything else, feel free to ask!

[projectanimal]

Good to hear you're back at it! 

I have been off the Forum for a little bit, but have made great progress with our project and actually drove it down the street!!!     Feels good to finally have no oil leaks, a fresh looking engine bay, and some other important parts making the engine rumble! 

will figure out how to post the video I snapped with my phone and post it up for all to hear! 

Cheers

[Skyview69]

nice work!...motivation to go work on mine! 

[Dodge Don]

Looking good...keep at it 

[Memphis Mopar]

Great Job!!!

[bigez04]

Good stuff man!    I'm in the middle of my 73 resto too.  I'm getting some ideas for mine from your progress.  What was it that you put the seatbelts in if you don't mind my asking?  Also what paint did you use for all the plastic panels/visors etc. or did you use die?  I've never had any experience with die, just curious how they work and where to get them.  Thanks for any info you can offer.
Eric

[tsmithae]

Thanks all!

I'll admit, I hit a pretty rough spot for a bit and had some pretty major life changes but all is looking up and although I live in Chicago and the car is about 100 miles away, I have been dragging parts to my apartment and restoring them as I go.

So far I've gotten the harness all redone and am developing ab idea for a headlights upgrade that would turn out to be a plug-n-play type upgrade.

Right now I'm taking a break from the electrical while im finding parts and just drug the heater box to my apartment. It is torn apart and I'm working on cleaning it up and then rebuilding it. Any good advice on seals? I've heard of DMT, anyone use them?  Also, any good way to test the core for leaks?


Animal, lets see it!

Bigez, for the seatbelts I used RIT dye, double strength. Plastic, I stripped, cleaned, prepped and then used plastic primer then plastic paint. Vinyl, I cleaned, prepped, and dyed with vinyl dye. Most everything I used was available at various local auto parts stores, hardware stores, and hobby stores. Good luck!