MOPAR JOHNS EK2 SUPERBIRD RESTORATION!!

[Mopar John]

                                               A REAL INTERNATIONAL HOBBY!!
This past week I purchased a set of NOS front shock bushings with washers. The seller was in the country of Turkey! They arrived quickly an in great shape. They were in the original MOPAR packaging and well preserved! Even the plated washers were in very nice condition!
Also in the last week or so I responded to a wanted ad for a non A/C firewall cut. I responded with a photo and the buyer replied with a photo shopped picture showing me where he wanted it to be cut. To get a shipping price I measured the area and asked him to send me a ship to address. Turns out he is in the county of Belgium!! WOW!
So I contact him and asked who they use over there and he replied UPS. So I went to my UPS depot only about a mile away and got a shipping cost. Then I contacted the buyer and asked him how he was going to pay me?? I feared he was going to use Western Union or some international money order! He replied and asked if I had a PayPal account? I replied with my user name and he sent the money that day in US dollars!! WOW AGAIN! I cut the part out, packaged it in cardboard and dropped it off at my UPS depot. The buyer had it in Belgium in 5 days!!
Around the same time I responded to a want ad for a couple of heater box cable clips. To keep the cost down I mailed them first class in a small padded envelope. I dropped it off in Laporte, Indiana on November 25th and they didn't get to the buyer in California until December 5th! Twice as long as it took to ship a firewall to Belgium!!
There has been some BIG PROGRESS on the Superbird project and I hope to bring you all up to speed with pictures soon!
MJ

[1970Moparmann]

There has been some BIG PROGRESS on the Superbird project and I hope to bring you all up to speed with pictures soon!
MJ

Can wait to see John!!

[Davtona]

                                              A REAL INTERNATIONAL HOBBY!!
The seller was in the country of Turkey!

I bought 4 sets of NOS disc brake pads a few years ago from a guy in Turkey John. First name started with a K is about all I remember. I have no idea where he came across them. As smooth a transaction as I have ever had. More recently I purchased a set of NOS taillights from a guy in Sydney Australia. Shipping was unbelievably quick on those. Paypal was used with both sellers. It really speeds up things compared to the old days with snail mail. Amazing sometimes where stuff ends up. 

[Mopar John]

                                                              BIG PROGRESS!!
Soon I will have many posts with photos to catch up on! But the big news is that the Superbird WAS painted this past Friday! I have a funny story to tell about how I found out. 426 Linda and I were attending my Christmas party from work and her cell phone went off. She was distracted by this and I told her to " PUT THAT THING AWAY!". Then she shows me pictures of the painted Superbird sent to her on facebook by the restoration shop owner! I felt bad for just a second and then grabbed THAT THING and had to show some of my work buddies! I am going to attach a picture just as a teaser. I want to get caught up and follow the progress as it happened.
MJ

[1970Moparmann]

AWESOME news John!!!  Congrats! 

[hemi68charger]

                                                             BIG PROGRESS!!
...

Sweet !!!!!   

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Very, very nice.   

[moparstuart]

                                                             BIG PROGRESS!!
Soon I will have many posts with photos to catch up on! But the big news is that the Superbird WAS painted this past Friday! I have a funny story to tell about how I found out. 426 Linda and I were attending my Christmas party from work and her cell phone went off. She was distracted by this and I told her to " PUT THAT THING AWAY!". Then she shows me pictures of the painted Superbird sent to her on facebook by the restoration shop owner! I felt bad for just a second and then grabbed THAT THING and had to show some of my work buddies! I am going to attach a picture just as a teaser. I want to get caught up and follow the progress as it happened.
MJ

[thehemikid]

 I will admit, when a resto reaches paint, it's a pretty awesome point in it's rebuild!  That there is a pretty awesome site John.

To me, the next peak is when the motor's finished a fired up before install.

[hemi68charger]

I will admit, when a resto reaches paint, it's a pretty awesome point in it's rebuild!  That there is a pretty awesome site John.

To me, the next peak is when the motor's finished a fired up before install.

I tend to agree, except for a wing-car...... I think the next benchmark of visual satisfaction will be the installation of the painted/decaled wing and nose.......... Then, that puppy WILL look like a Superbird !!!

[Mopar John]

Thanks guys for all the comments and opinions! In my own mind there are like 5 steps to complete. The first step would be to disasemble the car, bag and tag the parts and prep the body. In this case we used REDI-STRIP. The second step would be to prep the metal and do any repairs. In this case there was a HUGE amount of work with all the replacement panels. Also being a wing car added a LOT like the rear window plug being removed to get to the quarter panels! The third step would be the panel alignment and then all the priming, sanding, re-priming, sealing and finally paint. That is where we are at now. The next step will be to assemble the car. Then finally to get it running, sort it out and clean it up! Troy Angelly has stayed very close to my schedule and the Superbird should be done late spring.
  I would like to point out that a ton of original detail was put into this restoration. It's odd that I used the picture that I did as the teaser. Reason being is that if you look into the drivers door opening you will see the inside firewall and Troy's duplication of the factory primer dip line. He has worked on this for several years and has it very close to the original look. You can still see it with the first coat of paint applied! A lot more to come soon!
MJ

[thehemikid]

 Troy, you have a very unarguable point there!

John, ...you are a very blessed man to be able to take a car, (especially wing cars) to this level.

[pettybird]

I will admit, when a resto reaches paint, it's a pretty awesome point in it's rebuild!  That there is a pretty awesome site John.

To me, the next peak is when the motor's finished a fired up before install.

I tend to agree, except for a wing-car...... I think the next benchmark of visual satisfaction will be the installation of the painted/decaled wing and nose.......... Then, that puppy WILL look like a Superbird !!!

I was just about giddy when we put the wing back on the B5 car.  then the final step are the big decals!

[maxwellwedge]

Looking great John! Always a nice moment during a resto.  

[Homerr]

Looks great John!  I really enjoy each of your write-ups.   

[Mopar John]

                                                 TONY MALCEIN STRIKES AGAIN!
  I have mentioned Tony before in my Daytona restoration post and now here! A while back Tony called me with some left overs from his Hemi Daytona restoration. Most of the parts would be for the Daytonas but he had an almost complete set of weatherstrips that would fit the Superbird! WOW! I thought with the NOS door skins, quarters and the polished glass these parts would be perfect! I ended up buying them and contacting a lot of guys I knew and quickly came up with one of the two missing pieces! I still need one for the passengers door outer if anyone would know where one is at give me a pm. THANKS TONY! I am also looking for a drivers side roof rail weatherstrip and maybe the proper wheel for a spare? Pm me if you have anything laying around that might enhance this restoration. Now that it's painted the clock is ticking!!!
  I also would like to thank everyone on the feedback of my story! That is what keeps me going. I have attached a picture of the NOS the NOS weatherstrips.
  I now have the picture cd's for the last two invoices and will be back to posting restoration pictures soon!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                             BOTTOM SIDE DENTS!
I have three discs with tons of pictures and I am going to try and stay in order of the work done!
This batch of pictures shows where the guys at the shop went over every inch of the car on the bottom side looking for dents, scratches and rust. The first picture shows a dent by the drivers side torsion bar mount. The second picture shows a couple of dents in the rear floor by the seat belt mount. The third picture shows the same area with the dents marked with tape. The last picture shows this area with the dents repaired and in primer!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                                       FRAME RAIL DENTS!
To continue with the bottom side dents there were plenty found in the frame rails! Most were probably put there by ME jacking the Superbird up to work on it. They all had them in the areas that I would use to lift up the car with my floor jack. I will use the pictures for the passengers side front frame rail to give you an idea of how bad the dents were and the work needed to repair them. The first picture shows the bare frame rail with the dents. OUCH!
The second picture shows one of the dents being pulled out. The third picture shows the repaired area with some glazing putty. The last picture shows the repaired area now in primer. WOW what a differance! In my next update I will go over some bottom side prep for the final primer!
MJ

[hemi68charger]

Holy-Dentman !!!!! You ARE going to the extremes on this 'birdie......... Looks great John...... 

[Mopar John]

                                                   MORE BOTTOM SIDE WORK!
  With the bottom sanded and all the dents removed it was time to take it to the next level!
The first picture shows the bottom side of the original trunk floor that was used. This area had
some pitting and the primer had to be sanded and glazing putty applied. Then it was sanded.
The second picture shows the primer being sanded in the cross member area. The third picture
shows the primer that was applied after the glazing putty was finished being sanded. The last
picture shows this same area in what now could be the final primer?
  In my next installment I will share with you all the work that was done to save the original hood!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                             BOTTOM SIDE HOOD REPAIRS!!
 I thought after the guys straightened the corners of the hood out we were in good shape there.
We'll not exactly! The next few replies will show all the repair work done on the bottom side of the hood.
I will start out with the extension panel and the inside of the hood extension. The first picture shows this
area opened up for inspection! It really didn't look so good in there. The second picture shows a close up
of the same area. The third picture shows a close up of the area after it had been sanded. The last picture
shows an overall of the area after it was sanded! Next up will be more work in this area!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                             BOTTOM SIDE HOOD REPAIRS PART 2!!
Once Troy and the guys had the front part of the hood opened up they decided to take a look around at the inside.
They decided that the brace that was near the inside of the hood should come out and be cleaned up. The first two pictures shows how this brace looked when it was removed and the last picture shows the brace being welded back in!
MJ

[Mopar John]

                                             BOTTOM SIDE HOOD REPAIRS PART 3!!
  Before I continue on with the front part of the bottom side I will go over the other items that were found on the bottom side! The first picture shows some dents in the area of the hood latch. The second picture is of the same area with the dents repaired. The third picture shows a dent near the corner of the hood. The last picture is of a dent in the bottom side support channel. There was a LOT more work on that hood than I had remembered! WOW!
MJ

[hemi68charger]

                                             BOTTOM SIDE HOOD REPAIRS PART 3!!
  Before I continue on with the front part of the bottom side I will go over the other items that were found on the bottom side! The first picture shows some dents in the area of the hood latch. The second picture is of the same area with the dents repaired. The third picture shows a dent near the corner of the hood. The last picture is of a dent in the bottom side support channel. There was a LOT more work on that hood than I had remembered! WOW!
MJ

Good stuff !!! 

[69hemidaytona]

That car is going to be perfect!