my daytona clone project

[Nwcharger]

i was going to wait until i had my car on the road before starting my post but its close enough and ive had a lot of people want to see pics of the car. at first i had no plans on doing a daytona clone, this was going to be a cheap 5k or less charger that i can drive to work and take to the track but not really do any body work to it, kinda joe dirt style. then i started thinking it would be cool to have a joe dirt daytona. so i here are some pics of how it started. the first pictures are crappy but this is how the car looked when i bought it, but it also came with a lot of extra sheet metal from another charger that was parted out year ago...

[Indygenerallee]

Cheap 5k or less Charger??? 

[Patronus]

 

[Nwcharger]

by this point i had the car running and driving with a rv 440/727 that i put a long tailshaft on so it would work in a car. i drove it around my neighbor hood for a couple weeks for fun and then decided to make a c500 clone.

[Nwcharger]

Cheap 5k or less Charger??? 

yes 5k. i bought the car for 2600. i then bought a running driving motorhome for 200 bucks i had a blown car 727 just laying around. i got a cheap set of headers and a holley 650dp for 100 bucks on craigslist. i replaced all the suspinsion bushings and tie rods along with shoes, wheel cylinders and brake master. ill dig up all the costs but it was less than 5k to get it on the road running and stopping. just looking rough.

[Indygenerallee]

Yeah, I bought my complete 69 for $5000 but your not gonna have a nice running and driving 2nd gen for that....

[Nwcharger]

so i bought a vega hatch for 50 bucks and started looking into how to install it. i got a trunk lid closeout panel and shortend my trunk lid.

[Nwcharger]

Yeah, I bought my complete 69 for $5000 but your not gonna have a nice running and driving 2nd gen for that....

it actually runs and drives very nice. just looks bad but thats fine, it fits me.

[dads_69]

Right on! Another clone, just please your's vs what I did and sell it, I was having a bad day is all 6 years ago, goodluck with you're clone and keep the photos coming!

[djcarguy]

    great to see and read info on your project. like the budget and drive to get one get it running and out an enjoy it.  get some welding skills and confendence built up to dive into the save the daytona project.. great ta see an all da best on this an future builds,like 68 an tona. wish i would of  kept my 70 rt an done a daytona years ago,sold it to put money toward a superbird ,that 1st wife veto'd.. well take care an enjoy, think i all ways had more fun in my projects with primer ,than new paint.   later oregon rules.DJ

[Highbanked Hauler]

 Good deal man

[BigBlockSam]

 

[Nwcharger]

so i shortend my trunklid and ordered a 3rd gen dutchman panel to use for the new trunk gutter. i made my trunklid before i got the dutchman panel and when it showed up i realized the curve in the trunk is quite different to the dutchman panel. so i removed the section of the panel i needed and with a little work i got the dutchman panel to have almost the same curve has the trunk, after hours of looking threw pictures i cant seem to find the ones of me installing the plug but basically i installed my shortend trunklid to see where i needed to weld my dutchman panel. once that was welded i layed the plug over and welded it it too.

[Nwcharger]

 

[wingcarenvy]

Thats very cool. 

[BigBlockSam]

looks good bro 

[mauve66]

 
great work finding that beginning stuff cheap, don't loose the dream

[hotrod98]

so i shortend my trunklid and ordered a 3rd gen dutchman panel to use for the new trunk gutter. i made my trunklid before i got the dutchman panel and when it showed up i realized the curve in the trunk is quite different to the dutchman panel. so i removed the section of the panel i needed and with a little work i got the dutchman panel to have almost the same curve has the trunk, after hours of looking threw pictures i cant seem to find the ones of me installing the plug but basically i installed my shortend trunklid to see where i needed to weld my dutchman panel. once that was welded i layed the plug over and welded it it too.

The thing that I pointed out back when I first discovered that the 3rd gen dutchman had a similar curvature to a Daytona deck lid was that you need to make the front lip of the deck lid longer or your closeout panel is going to sit right on top of the steps of the drip trough. The deck lid wil never seal properly and will leak like a sieve. In addition, I make a lip at the back edge of the vega plug that overlaps down into the dutchman. This makes for a cleaner looking piece and is less likely to leak. When I first started doing the conversions, I would make the large cuts in the vega plug to relax the metal but now I use an English wheel instead and just make a couple of small cuts at the lower corner of the glass opening. Less welding and less bodywork.
The way that you're doing it will definitely work. Have you checked to see where the deck lid sits on the ledge where your trunk seal goes.

Congrats on living the dream.

[Nwcharger]

so i shortend my trunklid and ordered a 3rd gen dutchman panel to use for the new trunk gutter. i made my trunklid before i got the dutchman panel and when it showed up i realized the curve in the trunk is quite different to the dutchman panel. so i removed the section of the panel i needed and with a little work i got the dutchman panel to have almost the same curve has the trunk, after hours of looking threw pictures i cant seem to find the ones of me installing the plug but basically i installed my shortend trunklid to see where i needed to weld my dutchman panel. once that was welded i layed the plug over and welded it it too.

The thing that I pointed out back when I first discovered that the 3rd gen dutchman had a similar curvature to a Daytona deck lid was that you need to make the front lip of the deck lid longer or your closeout panel is going to sit right on top of the steps of the drip trough. The deck lid wil never seal properly and will leak like a sieve. In addition, I make a lip at the back edge of the vega plug that overlaps down into the dutchman. This makes for a cleaner looking piece and is less likely to leak. When I first started doing the conversions, I would make the large cuts in the vega plug to relax the metal but now I use an English wheel instead and just make a couple of small cuts at the lower corner of the glass opening. Less welding and less bodywork.
The way that you're doing it will definitely work. Have you checked to see where the deck lid sits on the ledge where your trunk seal goes.

Congrats on living the dream.

ive been inside my trunk several times to see how the lid will seal, witch by the way is a major pain in the ass with the short trunk. but i think i got that part handled by trimming the lip back on the dutchman panel to avoid any contact. i still have lots of work to do but when i finish it shouldn't leak. at least i hope it doesn't since i live in Oregon and see a good amount of rain.

[Nwcharger]

i found a 70 hood on craigslist for cheap so i picked it up. its fairly straight too but has a six pack scoop on it, but thats ok for know because im building another motor for it and using an old weiand cross ram and six pack.  i also picked up a 18 spline 4speed with a hurst vertigate shifter. it had the linkage modified for a dart but i got a bunch of replacement parts from someone on this forum.

[Nwcharger]

next i found the nose cone. i bought it on ebay shipped for 765.00. the hideways drop down instead of popping up, i was going to change this but they seem to work just fine for know. soon after buying the nose i got ahold of dane and put a deposite on a wing

[moparstuart]

    very nice budget built  , only way some of us can have a wing

[BigBlockSam]

very cool idea with the lights . i bought my stinger nose off of ebay for $450 . you did the rite thing by buying one of Dane's wings. makes the car worth more 

[Nwcharger]

i wanted to see how it looked on my car right away. after a quick mock up i can see there would be a lot of work to make the 69 fenders work.

[Charger-Bodie]

Ive got a set of 70 fiberglass fenders tha would be pretty cheap...

[Indygenerallee]

Actually you can make those 69 fenders work with little modification.... I did....

[Nwcharger]

Actually you can make those 69 fenders work with little modification.... I did....

i saw your project and how you where going to make you 69 fenders work. do you have any pictures of how they turned out?

[Indygenerallee]

I have made a little more progress they have turned out pretty nice though, you might as well mod your fenders they look pretty clean except the dent on the driver side. I personally would not put fiberglass fenders on with all that downforce I don't know how well they would hold up.. 

[DAY CLONA]

I have made a little more progress they have turned out pretty nice though, you might as well mod your fenders they look pretty clean except the dent on the driver side. I personally would not put fiberglass fenders on with all that downforce I don't know how well they would hold up.. 

I've got fiberglass fenders on my Daytona, molded into the nosecone as well, plenty of miles on them (40,000 miles) plenty of 140-150 MPH runs as well, no issue with stress cracks, fractures, etc, they've been on the car since it's inception in 2004


Mike

[djcarguy]

Gee that orange nose looks familuar, and it landed only a 100 miles from where i dreamed it would..hahaha     Good ta see more parts and progress,on your build.   that intake and trans would work good on a race daytona project, . great ta see and follow.will be going thru ya area in few weeks,hope ta see in person someday,or at woodburn dragstrip????hint maybe see when ya get other one home???  take care.dj oregon rules?

[Indygenerallee]

Mike, That's pretty cool I never knew that car had fiberglass fenders! Like I said I was unsure of how they would hold up being that nose adds a ton of downforce but I suppose if you have steel Z brackets they take most of the load weight.

[Dave Kanofsky]

I like the hood with the scoop!

I thought about making one like that for my car but couldn't justify the resources to make it happen.

Back when I had a SuperBird I also had a spare '70 SuperBee Ramcharger hood, I took a long look at it but with two hood scoops facing forward and two fender scoops facing backwards it just looked too cluttered IMO.

[moparstuart]

I like the hood with the scoop!

I thought about making one like that for my car but couldn't justify the resources to make it happen.

Back when I had a SuperBird I also had a spare '70 SuperBee Ramcharger hood, I took a long look at it but with two hood scoops facing forward and two fender scoops facing backwards it just looked too cluttered IMO.

Im not a fan of the six pack scoop hood on anything except A-12's
Mine had a six pack scoop on it and that was the first thing i did away with , in favor of an air grabber 

[Indygenerallee]

I agree the six pack scoop does nothing for me on anything but a A-12 car. 

[DAY CLONA]

Mike, That's pretty cool I never knew that car had fiberglass fenders! Like I said I was unsure of how they would hold up being that nose adds a ton of downforce but I suppose if you have steel Z brackets they take most of the load weight.

The fiberglass fenders were a necessary evil, being that the glass nosecone needed to be molded in,...as fiberglass to steel usually doesn't hold up well when bonded, and i wasn't going to lay out the coin for a steel nose, esp when i make my own glass wingcar noses,...the internals are all steel however, I figured in the past if the glass cones can take the brunt of downforce without seeing any stress issues, fiberglass fenders should be able to withstand the test also,...the fenders are from WS Racing, real lightweight fenders, about 10 lbs each, not bad for the coin, about $150 each IIRC, needed a little work to correct the bodylines, but they were a bolt on design, and all the bracing was incorporated into the fenders, of course the lower front dogleg needed to be modified to accept the Daytona valance, just as you would do with a steel fender, except in this case, fiberglassed rather than welded mods

Mike

[Ghoste]

Also not a fan of the Six Pack scoop on things other than A12's but I like them better on anything over those Chevy cowl inductions.

[Nwcharger]

the wing came next. thanks dane...

[DC_1]

 

[Daytona Guy]

You are welcome - looking good man!

Dane

[Hemidog]

You are welcome - looking good man!

Dane

Looks very good! 

But is that bare steel and bondo while the car sits outside?

[tan top]

looks good ! 

[JB400]

Also not a fan of the Six Pack scoop on things other than A12's but I like them better on anything over those Chevy cowl inductions.

I second that.

[Nwcharger]

i know the hoods not the best but finding one seems difficult, besides the scoop its a rust free hood and was 100 bucks if i remember  . the auto dealer that i work for sent me to los angeles for training so when surfing craigslist out there i found a pair of 70 fenders for sale north of bakersfield. so jumped into my crappy rental car and pick them up. then went to the grayhound station and shipped them to my house. by the time i got home i had a pair of fenders ready to be picked up at the grayhound station near my house. so now I'm able to mock my nose cone for the first time.

[BigBlockSam]

  i like the scoop . it makes it look more race, custom 

[moparstuart]

    wow super nice , great budget built gives up people with families and small budgets hope 

[200MPH]

do you have a Video of the lights operating ? is that mechanical or vacuum? looks good !

[Nwcharger]

The headlight doors work on vacuum. I just had to add 12 inches of hose to the factory setup. The doors are made from aluminum and they work better than I thought they would. I'll see about getting a video up if possible.

[Lighthorseman]

Oh, that is SO COOL!!  I know you're not trying for the Joe Dirt look, but that is awesome.    Also, I really like the look of the drop-down headlight doors and the square lights.  I second 200MPH's request for video!   

[Highbanked Hauler]

Looking good, is the hood fiberglass or steel with a glass scoop ?

[Nwcharger]

heres a link to a video of my headlights in action. they seem to work pretty good i think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug7XKKGXBtI

the hood is metal with a glass scoop. i didnt put the scoop on but it will work for know. i also picked up a 1970 satellite locally for 800.00. heres a couple picks of it as well. it was last on the road in 77. i found a sales agreement from 76 in the glove box from a old car dealer in salem. it will make a great superbird clone to go with my daytona clone. 

[JB400]

One more Satellite is going to spread its wings and fly   It'll might even still have its rocket boosters

[WINGIN IT]

Wow, pop-DOWN headlights,  those work great, I like 'em   

[Lighthorseman]

Wow, pop-DOWN headlights,  those work great, I like 'em   

Times two.     That video has me thinking.  Sounds nuts, but I really like the look of the square headlights...and since I'm (eventually) building a birdible, it's not like I am trying to pull off a dead-on factory look.  Would the vacuum system hold the headlight doors up properly at highway speed?

[Nwcharger]

Wow, pop-DOWN headlights,  those work great, I like 'em   

Times two.     That video has me thinking.  Sounds nuts, but I really like the look of the square headlights...and since I'm (eventually) building a birdible, it's not like I am trying to pull off a dead-on factory look.  Would the vacuum system hold the headlight doors up properly at highway speed?

i havent had anyone in front of me to see if they stay up but i would think they do. there are magnets that hold the doors up when the engine is off. ill have to find that out i guess

[200MPH]

those lights work great! is that a pretty simple set up ? did you happen to take any pics of the lights?

[djcarguy]

     Great find n price for the 70. i would like to run on a deal like that on a 68-69-or 70 belve or satellite to do a custom bird .think i would leave rear window and modify the nose to fit stock fenders.love the little 68-69 body side line and tail lights.  well great stuff you are getting and making,all the best.DJ

have you looked at the,     daytona clones around the world,     and ,  Wing cars in a  convertable state,  threads?

[djcarguy]

   Well it was good talking ta ya an catching up on the clone project. good ta hear you have it in garage an finishing up work on vega back window and body stuff.
         you sure are on a roll with getting mopars and wing projects,keep us postted. all the best on the builds.dj

[Nwcharger]

   Well it was good talking ta ya an catching up on the clone project. good ta hear you have it in garage an finishing up work on vega back window and body stuff.
         you sure are on a roll with getting mopars and wing projects,keep us postted. all the best on the builds.dj

Thanks man... I just got back from a heavy metal show in southern Oregon and picked up that 69 coronet i told you about on the way back. It's gonna be my A12 clone. I'll post some pics of it tomorrow.

[chargerman69]

does it matter using 69 hood then a 70

[djcarguy]

  doing a daytona clone you will need a 70 hood  an fenders to mate up too the nose cone. 69 hood totally diff on front edge as it is rounded down .good luck on parts and build.dj   

[Nwcharger]

heres some pics of my newest toy. 1969 coronet 440. i traded a 2002 Hyundai accent that i bought from a customer for 300 dollars. i put less than 200 into it and found the coronet on a used car lot. after some talking with the owner we agreed to trade sense he can sell a running car much easier than a project car with no motor/trans. i think i got a hell of a deal.. the daytona clone is in the garage and hopefully will be out this spring and have a few less colors. so many cars, so little time. im up to 6 mopars. 5 toyotas. 2 air cooled vw's. 4 hondas and 1 a class rv. no wonder my wife says i have a problem.

[200MPH]

How is the Daytona coming along? love the lights btw

[moparstuart]

How is the Daytona coming along? love the lights btw

yeah what lee said   

[ACUDANUT]

You are getting some awesome cars Cheap.  Any work on the clone ?

[Highbanked Hauler]

You are getting some awesome cars Cheap.  Any work on the clone ?

   I guess, and the bodies don't look to bad either..  good deal..

[Nwcharger]

No progress on the Daytona clone yet. Ive been messing with my satellite. I got it running last week and its the first time it ran since 76 or 77. It's just a 318 but I'm building it so my wife can drive it and she wants to get decent gas mileage. Plus it a numbers matching motor/trans which is kinda cool to me anyways. I got a 70 coronet front clip for 350 bucks and started sourcing the hood extension and nose. I plan on starting another post on my superbird clone progress.

[moparstuart]

No progress on the Daytona clone yet. Ive been messing with my satellite. I got it running last week and its the first time it ran since 76 or 77. It's just a 318 but I'm building it so my wife can drive it and she wants to get decent gas mileage. Plus it a numbers matching motor/trans which is kinda cool to me anyways. I got a 70 coronet front clip for 350 bucks and started sourcing the hood extension and nose. I plan on starting another post on my superbird clone progress.

[djcarguy]

 :'(sold???sad ta hear 

[Nwcharger]

:'(sold???sad ta hear 

Yea sadly I did sell the clone but it has a great new home on the east coast and will get the attention that I can't give. Really didn't want to sell it but I needed to pay off the c500 I'm buying.

[djcarguy]