General Lee questions, horn mounting and decals...

[UH60L]

So, my car is running finally, and I'm in the "I can drive it while I keep working on it" stage.

I ordered a set of American Racing Vector wheels and some radial T/A tires.

Anyway, I bought my General Lee decals from Phoenix Graphics back in 2007.  Other than taking them out to show people a few times, they have been in the cardboard tube the whole time, stored in my garage.  You guys think they'll still be ok.  I was worried they might be dried out or the sticky side might not stick etc etc.  In the big picture they were not too expensive, so if needed, I could buy a new set.

Second question: I've looked it up online a few times, but I figure there is a lot of expertise on here.  Do you guys have all the specs for positioning the decals on the car?

Third question: Any suggestions for the best mounting position and method for mounting the Dixie horn.  I had one installed before all the restoration work was done and I just mounted the horns to the front top edge of the radiator support and the air compressor on the right side back of the radiator support.  I've ordered a new one (WOLO, 12 note) as my old one the horns got damaged, and the pump doesn't seem to work anymore.

Any help would be appreciated.

Clint

P.S.: Anyone have a recommended shop or person to have decals installed in Oregon? (Willamette Valley preferably)  I would do it myself but I want them to look straight and not be all stretched out.

[Mike DC]

Decal locations -

You know the deal, there were zillions of variations on the TV cars.  And those didn't use Phoenix graphics (but Phoenix's decals look decent in the big picture).  

So, just ballparking an average common GL appearance:


Door numbers - put the bottom of the numbers parallel with the bottom edge of the door, with 2" of orange space between.  The '0' and the '1' were spaced with about 4" of orange between them.  Where they were located in the front-of-the-car to back-of-the-car sense . . . huge variations.  Just somewhere behind the door scoops and ahead of the door handle.

Roof flag - look at the top corner of the windshield chrome trim.  Stretch an imaginary line across the roof to the corner on the other side.  That line is a decent place to put the leading edge of the flag.  Stars - the center star often had two points pointing toward the passenger side, one pointed toward the driver side.  

GL lettering - in the front-to-back-of-the-car sense, put it directly over the door's main glass.  The forward-most letter ('G' on the drivers side, 'E' on the passenger side) was near that imaginary line for the flag's leading edge, but not all the way up against it.  Put the lettering parallel with the sides of the flag, with perhaps 1" of orange space in between.  

[CornDogsCharger]

Phoenix Graphics supplied the decals for the 2005/07 Dukes movies.  They would be correct for that era General Lee... if that's what you were going for.  There were many different variations throughout the TV series, Reunion Movies, and 05/07 movies.  I would not use the decals that you have for two reasons... 1. they have been rolled up in a tube for 9 years and you will likely have issues trying to use them, and 2. Unless Phoenix Graphics changed the material used between 2005 and when you bought them in 2007... they were not the best quality material available and they fade very badly.  I'm not sure if you watch Graveyard Carz... or if you've seen the 2005 movie GL that they are restoring, but you can see that the flag was badly faded and almost had no color left in it.  If you plan to purchase a new set of decals, I would go with Crazy C's decals.  He has every era decal kit available and the material that he uses is the best on the market.  His website is http://crzycsglgraphics.bravehost.com/ 

Justin
"CornDog"

[Mike DC]

Phoenix Graphics supplied the decals for the 2005/07 Dukes movies.  They would be correct for that era General Lee... if that's what you were going for.  There were many different variations throughout the TV series, Reunion Movies, and 05/07 movies.  I would not use the decals that you have for two reasons... 1. they have been rolled up in a tube for 9 years and you will likely have issues trying to use them, and 2. Unless Phoenix Graphics changed the material used between 2005 and when you bought them in 2007... they were not the best quality material available and they fade very badly.  I'm not sure if you watch Graveyard Carz... or if you've seen the 2005 movie GL that they are restoring, but you can see that the flag was badly faded and almost had no color left in it.  If you plan to purchase a new set of decals, I would go with Crazy C's decals.  He has every era decal kit available and the material that he uses is the best on the market.  His website is http://crzycsglgraphics.bravehost.com/  

Justin
"CornDog"

All very true.  

[UH60L]

Thanks for the information guys.  Yeah I was worried about the decals being old.  Probably a good idea to just buy new ones.  It took way too long to get the car running again and get some money in the bank.

I noticed that Phoenix Graphics web site now lists a movie version and a tv version of the decals for the General Lee.

I did notice those pics from graveyard carz, but I wasn't sure what happened to that car, if it was stored outside or if someone had tried sanding it off or what, but yeah, pretty faded and nasty looking.

I have heard nothing but good things about Crazy C's stuff, so I'll probably just get a set from him.  Sounds like he sells good stuff.

I would be willing to try installing them myself, but I had some bad experiences applying decals on Black Hawk helicopters in the past.  (we had to put yellow rectangles with black numbers on the engine cowlings for the forest service during fire fighting missions...)  Maybe it was the quality or type of vinyl decals but we always ended up with them all stretched out from using the squeegee on them...

Thanks again.

Clint

P.S.:  When it comes to washing and waxing the car with the decals on, is there any type of wax that is safe for vinyl decals?  I have black ones on my 2015 Challenger Shaker and I'm afraid to get wax on them for fear of them turning white...