Got a project 70, now the fun/pain begins

[toocheaptosmoke]

Well, finally found my new project.     Sometime last year I decided that instead of an economical modern car I needed another vintage ride. (current DD is a 1984)   No turning back now, this WILL be put into service as a daily driver, but granted it won't be my only ride.   


Have been on the hunt for a year or so, started out looking for cheap projects and eventually decided to save up some extra $$ and get something a bit more solid to start with.  Ended up paying a little more than I would have liked for this car, it's missing a lot of parts.(pretty much ebay pricing)  But, it turned up a mile from my house, has a very solid frame, clear title, and hopefully shouldn't need any sheet metal. Was pretty much the exact type of project car I was looking for.  I'm so used to seeing tons of rust I was impressed by the lack of rot.  Has a lot of dents and dings, but that doesn't really bother me.  Somebody did a not so nice job of putting a 2 piece trunk pan in, but I can make it work.  No drive train, but I didn't plan on using the original stuff anyways.








After I spent everything on the car I'm trying to save up for the laundry list of stuff needed to get this thing back on the road.  Everything mechanically related will be gone through and rustproofed.  Interior and paint is low on the priority list, probably go joe dirte style for a while until time and funding permits.

[cdr]

very cool & welcome

[larmstrong11]

congrats  love 70 chargers  but be very careful with the body shops...  mine is back in, 1 st time i didnt like the results so i had to take it back for a redo  i m  still a little nervous   but keeping a closer watch on progress now.  good luck and have some fun

[Fred]

Welcome. 

[bill440rt]

Welcome to DC.com! 

Looks like a solid platform you have to work with, good luck!

[toocheaptosmoke]

Thanks guys.   I've been hanging out on the site for almost a year, mostly reading, has been very helpful in figuring out what to look for and what I was getting into. 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Time to update, it has been a while.  Now that the weather has started to break I'm getting back to work, working outside in the driveway sucks in the snow.  I should forewarn everyone ahead of time, if you're a purist this build might not be your cup of tea!    Going in sort of a cheesy 70's-80's/barn fresh/resto-mod direction with the car, not sure exactly where it is going to end up. 


(from last year)
Through the end of summer I got about as much done as I could without buying too much, was pretty much broke after buying the car.    Pulled it down to the house to start working on it.   Looks to have been a project car someone lost interest in and sat for a while in a barn.  At least that's my guess from the amount of nuts and dirt accumulated inside the car. 







Gutted out what was left of the interior.   Good thing I'm converting to disc brakes up front, because the left hand thread lug nuts were stripped out, so I just pulled the hubs and all.   






Stock axle came out,





Engine bay is nice





Pulled the heater box, steering column, and all the wiring.









Looks like it was ziebarted when new, still can see the original paint.







Trunk floor and lower quarter panels are the only metal that has been replaced.   Not a very clean install, but fine for a driver.  Going to do a little clean up and call it a day. 

[surmanajaja]

looks like a great start,..and a 4-speed... judging from the engine compartment someone was gonna make it into a GL before running out of steam...

[Cooter]

I see nothing wrong with how that trunk pan was put in. Fully welded won't score any points at the Nats for OE gold, but it works. Afterall, Floors and trunks are gonna be covered anyway. Car looks great. 4-speed is a good thing. Color looks more RED than DOH orange IMO.

[maxwellwedge]

Looks like an original automatic car with the A/C firewall and dash. Was that a Dana I saw?

[Baldwinvette77]

IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! 

[riverratSE]

Good solid start you have there. Have fun and enjoy.

[69rtse4spd]

As stated before welcome & clean start.   . 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Thanks guys.     


The car was just a 318/auto originally, at some point it was converted over.  I think it was run with a manual for a while, as there is a pretty well hacked hole in the floor.   Rear axle was just a 8-1/4. 

The trunk floor looks a lot better in the pic than in real life. 

I have to say that it is really nice starting with something not completely rotted out!  It has less rust than any of my other vehicles. 

[maxwellwedge]

It is worth paying 3-4 times more for a car without rust!     Have fun with it!

[GOTWING]

When you do paint the car what color combo are ya thinking? I would love to see a Bahama yellow 70 Charger done up with the 440 hood call outs rump stripe and black vinyl top and interior. My other choices would be Plum crazy or lime light. Good luck with your project, keep the pics coming.

[tan top]

 

[toocheaptosmoke]

It's not going to get a real paint job yet, I painted a car a few years back and don't feel like doing all that work again just yet.  When I eventually get to it I'll take my time and make it nice.  If you guys would see the type of vehicles I usually drive, you'd see that shiny paint is generally not on the priority list.    http://youtu.be/GBfeJ0eqDsk

For now, just plan on having various shades of primer, maybe some funky 70's style graphics on one door, flat black hood, etc.    

[toocheaptosmoke]

Went at the floors with a wire wheel, there was a few spots with some rust, but for the most part the floors are solid.





Was really surprised to not find any rust in here, the factory sealant was crumbling away but clean underneath.  The original gold color is kind of growing on me.





Coated the inside floor with Zero Rust, kind of an imitation POR-15.





Tried to find any spots on the car where water had been in contact, cleaned the old primer off and hit it with new sealing primer.

[Kern Dog]

Fun stuff, huh?
You may find that the car is more fun to own and drive with it in primer. Once the car is painted, you may be too nervous about damage to enjoy it.

[toocheaptosmoke]

The only real bad rust I found was on the passenger side trunk extension.   The PO had replaced the other side, but not this one?  I guess they didn't want to mess with the vent thing, which I initially thought was just an emission thing for 70's but later found out it was for California cars only.  Of course, I found that out after I cut a hole in the new metal, and that the new gas tanks don't have provisions for that vent anyways.    So, the vent tower will go back in just to fill the hole.







Looks like someone cut the shifter hole with a claw hammer





Shop vac should market this attachment for cleaning out the air ducts. 

[Baldwinvette77]

love the shop vac attachment  also what exactly is that California vent thing? 

[toocheaptosmoke]

Not 100% sure on what all of its functions are, but it had 5 lines going into it. 

[Baldwinvette77]

Perhaps it's a canister for gas fumes? charcoal canister?  i forget what it's called... anyway not needed on a charger in my opinion 

[Indygenerallee]

Gas tank vent tube, 70 only item.