Daytona Clone Questions?

[WingCharger]

Well, I dont have a a Charger, or even a drivers license, but it is never too early to start planning, right? I have been working out plans for a my clone, for probably a year and a half, when I discovered Daytons. Anyway, I have benn really going in depth latley, trying to save money to buy a 1969 or 70 Charger, or a First Gen dodge W250. Neither have been found "yet". But I have a lot of questions I have to ask, and I figure now is the best time. I hope all of you can help! For the record, I am not a factory original guy. I build a car the way I want. I know, a sin for most guys out there.

Here are my questions:

1. What are the best brands to use in the best areas? Who makes the best nose, wing, front lower valance, lower spoiler, rear window plug, wing brace, jack, light assemblies, a-pillar trim, extended deck filler, and shortended deck lid. I have found Janek, Dayclona, and Wingcarfab. But, who is the best for each?

2. What companies make reproduction F5 Medium green Irid. auto paint? This is probably a stupid question, but hey, I dont know.

3. Would it be better to paint, powder-coat, undercoat with Por-15, or dare say Rhino line the underbody for protection? I want to go black anyway I go though.

4. Did Daytonas come availabe with the rally dash and the tic-toc-tac? Were these tachs built into the dash? Finally, do any companies make reproduction Rallye dashes?

5. What were the differences between a Daytona, R/T Daytona, and R/T SE Daytona (What I want to build)?

6. What would be the best way to acuate the Daytona lights? I have read of guys using the motor out a 1970 Charger to run them.

7. Do any companies make extended wiring harnesses for Daytonas? Or do I have to manually extend one?

8. Did Daytonas have 2 or 3 speed wiper motors? What would be the better of the two? (Would better function out weigh historical accuracy?)

9. Are front and rear sway bars worth the extra cost for a street/strip car?

10. I prefer non-power steering myself. I guess from growing up driving old farmall and ford tractors. So, if I find a power steering car, what would I have to buy, or alter to convert it?

11. I have had many bad experiences with drum brakes, (does crashing a old drum brake quad into a junk manure spreader count?), so I am going to convert all brakes to disk. Would power disks, or non-power disks be easier. I plan on having 440 six pack under the hood, and I am assuming power disks are better.

12. What all did Rallye Chargers, or in my case Daytonas, have different from a normal Charger?

13. What would it take to convert a auto 1969 charger to a 4 speed manual. Besides the shifter hump, which I already know about.

14. Where the 440 six pack Daytonas built with lift off six pack hoods? If they werent, what mopars were in 1969?

15. Where can I find a picture of a blank 1969 dodge charger build sheet? I want to go through and build my own.

All for now, and thanks ahead of time for all the help!

[Troy]

Ummm, not to sound mean, but if you're needing help insuring a car then you probably can't afford 99% of the parts you need to make a Daytona. Try just getting a "normal" Charger on the road first. Baby steps man, baby steps! Plus, when you're first learning to drive you really don't want an additional 18" of body hanging out the front end of the car where you can't see it. Lastly (partially due to the first two items), you can't usually get one of these things insured as a daily driver - unless you go with a liability only policy (maybe you can qualify for comprehensive but it won't cover you the same as a "stated value" policy). I'd hate to see you spend a lot of time and money on something only to have the insurance company tell you they will give you 10% of it's value and total it out if you're ever in a wreck.

1. Depends on what you want to spend. If you want excellent parts and have a trust fund, try Wingcarfab - if you're broke try Stinger.
2. PPG would be a good place to start.
3. I've seen some people use Rhino liner type material on the underside (but not as rough). It works good. Standard undercoating also acts as a sound deadener and is cheaper.
4. Yes. No. Not exactly. You can buy the Tach and bezels but not a new cluster. All Chargers will have the rally gauges.
5. Daytonas were already at the R/T level (440 minimum) but weren't designated as R/Ts. SE is a trim option which could be added to anything.
6. Vacuum.
7. No. Yes. (Last time I checked. Do a search since this was just covered within the last week.)
8. Either? Depends on the options that were ordered. I think it's a personal preference.
9. Front sway bar was standard. Both front and rear bars are usually tossed on a strip car but they are nice for curvy roads.
10. A manual steering setup (column, box, correct pulleys). You can tighten up a power box (places like Firm Feel sell them).
11. Either power or non power will be better than the stock drums. However, you could get front discs from the factory.
12. There wasn't a Rallye Charger in 1969 so nothing (if that answers the question) or lots of things if you want to compare a Daytona to an early 70s Charger.
13. There's a list in the Tech section. It's about 30 items long. Use the advanced search and look it up under my user name. (I always say "4-speed")
14. Six pack Daytona? No such thing. Only Super Bees and Road Runners had that option in 1969.
15. Dunno.


Troy

[hotrod98]

Thank you for the answers Troy from the bottom of my heart.  I just didn't have the energy. 

[WingCharger]

Ummm, not to sound mean, but if you're needing help insuring a car then you probably can't afford 99% of the parts you need to make a Daytona. Try just getting a "normal" Charger on the road first. Baby steps man, baby steps! Plus, when you're first learning to drive you really don't want an additional 18" of body hanging out the front end of the car where you can't see it. Lastly (partially due to the first two items), you can't usually get one of these things insured as a daily driver - unless you go with a liability only policy (maybe you can qualify for comprehensive but it won't cover you the same as a "stated value" policy). I'd hate to see you spend a lot of time and money on something only to have the insurance company tell you they will give you 10% of it's value and total it out if you're ever in a wreck.

1. Depends on what you want to spend. If you want excellent parts and have a trust fund, try Wingcarfab - if you're broke try Stinger.
2. PPG would be a good place to start.
3. I've seen some people use Rhino liner type material on the underside (but not as rough). It works good. Standard undercoating also acts as a sound deadener and is cheaper.
4. Yes. No. Not exactly. You can buy the Tach and bezels but not a new cluster. All Chargers will have the rally gauges.
5. Daytonas were already at the R/T level (440 minimum) but weren't designated as R/Ts. SE is a trim option which could be added to anything.
6. Vacuum.
7. No. Yes. (Last time I checked. Do a search since this was just covered within the last week.)
8. Either? Depends on the options that were ordered. I think it's a personal preference.
9. Front sway bar was standard. Both front and rear bars are usually tossed on a strip car but they are nice for curvy roads.
10. A manual steering setup (column, box, correct pulleys). You can tighten up a power box (places like Firm Feel sell them).
11. Either power or non power will be better than the stock drums. However, you could get front discs from the factory.
12. There wasn't a Rallye Charger in 1969 so nothing (if that answers the question) or lots of things if you want to compare a Daytona to an early 70s Charger.
13. There's a list in the Tech section. It's about 30 items long. Use the advanced search and look it up under my user name. (I always say "4-speed")
14. Six pack Daytona? No such thing. Only Super Bees and Road Runners had that option in 1969.
15. Dunno.


Troy

I swear I read somewhere that they built 1969 six pack 440s! But it was late in the model year and very few were shipped with them. Oh well, guess i was wrong. Dual Fours Now!

[Mike DC]

     
To build a Daytona clone, you'll need what amounts to a 1969 Charger that is wearing a 1970 front clip.    That's what the factory really made them out of. 



If you don't care much about originality details, then it would arguably be easier to just start with a 1970 Charger shell in the first place. 

1969 cars are worth a bit more in general.  And the 1970 front end sheetmetal is expensive as a MoFo to buy used because it's a one-year-only deal and is unlikely to ever be reproduced. 

 

[Troy]

Thank you for the answers Troy from the bottom of my heart.  I just didn't have the energy. 

Amazingly enough, I learned everything I wrote by reading this site...

I swear I read somewhere that they built 1969 six pack 440s! But it was late in the model year and very few were shipped with them. Oh well, guess i was wrong. Dual Fours Now!

They did - just not Daytonas. The engine was a mid-late year addition on the cars that it was available on. Dual fours only came on Hemis. If you're going to go that route on a 440 then just stick the six pack on there since neither are "correct" (although the six pack setup is more expensive). Back to my first comment, if you're wanting to drive a 440 daily then I hope you don't have to drive far or you'll need help with more than insurance. I get just about 10 mpg (Premium fuel too) if I drive it easy so going to visit my mom on Sundays costs me about $27-30. When I had my first Charger in high school I had to sell it because my parents said I needed something that got better gas mileage - and it was only a 318! Putting a lot of time, effort, and money into something only to find that you can't drive it and/or have to sell it is a real bummer.

Troy

[moparstuart]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,44041.0.html   Go here there are several thread on restoring chargers in general and more on just daytona stuff also.  Read away first them see what your getting your self into     

[WingCharger]

I was reading a old Mopar Action magazine, and I found this Daytona Clone:

http://www.magnumforceracing.com/cars/daytona/daytona.htm

It doesnt have a plug or front spoiler, but from a distance, I think I would run too it!

I really like the custom nose. It doesnt have headlight doors, or headlights, so it wouldnt be legal, but I have a solution. If you look closely on the bottom of the nose, you see two openings for air flow. You could place powerful halogens down there, and I am thinking that would create enough light to drive at night.