Re: Restoration of my B5 Blue 4Spd Charger 500... Blue Thunder debuts...Finally!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

A few more pics... then its time to get some sleep!

Edit:  Fixed a typo on the pic showing the engine bay and re-attached it, so it is now last instead of the Rework folder screenshot...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Hey Allen, that blue sure is looking good on those panels !!!!     You should have it ready for your next Cowtown Mopar show..

Thanks Troy... I talked to Greg yesterday and he said the C500 is progressing well toward exterior paint.  He found some small cracks starting on the front valance, so he is weld repairing them.  Also doing final fit & assembly of the C500.  If everything continues to go well, the application of exterior paint should occur in the next week... stay tuned!

Oh... apparently you have heard of a five year hiatus for the Cowtown Mopar RoundUp...?!?   

[b5blue]

Allen, the car is fantastic! What cleaning preparation do they do prior to spraying Rust Bullet? Is it going inside frame rails and in hidden areas like between the hood and hood brace frame? I have searched the Rust Bullet sight and would like any "tips" or recommendations your guys may have if possible as they are truly professionals. Boy that B5 Blue is exciting to see coming together! You are building a "World Class Charger"!       

[paironines]

The "body line moved with filler pic" is awful. That would have been the first and last reason to pull the car from the 1st shop. The car's looking good, btw.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Allen, the car is fantastic! What cleaning preparation do they do prior to spraying Rust Bullet? Is it going inside frame rails and in hidden areas like between the hood and hood brace frame? I have searched the Rust Bullet sight and would like any "tips" or recommendations your guys may have if possible as they are truly professionals. Boy that B5 Blue is exciting to see coming together! You are building a "World Class Charger"!      

Thanks Neal!  I will ask Greg next time I talk to him, but as far as I know the surface rust was removed where it was possible by spot sand blasting and hand "sanding".   Greg always applied the Rust Bullet by spraying where ever possible, but may have had to use another method in "nooks & crannies".  Brushing or "mopping" Rust Bullet will leave very visible brush marks, and should only be done in hard to access areas that will not be visible later on...

As for "hidden" areas, like the area between the hood skin and brace frame, those are totally impractical to apply Rust Bullet or any similar material.  The plan was to "mop" in Rust Bullet in the insides of the sub-frames were they were exposed by removal of the trunk floor and sections of the floorboard (see pictures below).  The "brush marks" on the insides of the frames would be totally invisible when the new trunk floor and floorboard repair sections were installed.  Rust Bullet was also supposed to be sprayed on in areas temporarily opened up due to the removal of the quarter panels and rear window plug.  I doubt that Rust Bullet was applied to any of these areas while they were open and accessable.  By the time the new shop got the car these areas were mostly closed off again.  I guess I don't have a great concern about those areas of bare metal because they appeared to be in great shape after 40 years of being in the elements, and the C500 should have a more protected life from now on...

This project has been a real learning experience as intended, although tuition and class duration have been much greater than I expected.  Blue Thunder was never intended to be a gold-standard restoration, and will be far short of that level.  But it should be a very nice weekend driver...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

The "body line moved with filler pic" is awful. That would have been the first and last reason to pull the car from the 1st shop. The car's looking good, btw.

Thanks Ben, unfortunately I was unaware of the body line being moved until several months after the car was rescued from the first shop.  The first time that I saw the painted doors installed on the C500 was the day we removed it from the first shop.  At that time I assumed it was a problem with the line on the reproduction quarter panel...  I have no idea why it was done, or if it was even moved intentionally...  or just another "ooooops".

As far as Rust Bullet, it appears to be a very good product, and they have a well done and informative website:

http://www.rustbullet.com/

There is a lot of technical information, including testing summaries.  Time will tell how the product performs, but so far I have been very pleased with this company and the product.  Seems a lot better than POR15 ...IMHO

I bought a good supply for the C500...

[b5blue]

Thanks Allen, I have held off doing any body work on the 70 and hope to start soon. (Not wanting to make big mistakes)  

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Progress toward final paint continues... pics from last week's effort...

Part of Greg's latest email explaining the pictures in the next few posts:

Attached are photos of the trimmed, sealed and base colored outsides of the hood, fenders and the doors.

The reason that the bolt on parts were base colored, was so that the possibility of overspray bleed could be kept to a minimum.  This process is a part of the PPG MVP (Maximum Velocity Program) where the goal of the refinisher is to keep the final spray steps (and time in the booth) to a minimum while eliminating the sealing step (application of PPG DP Epoxy primer reduced as a sealer) and need for multiple base coat applications to achieve color hiding.  This process also  protects  the jamb areas of the car body and bolt on parts, which is the main reason that process was chosen. Once the parts are assembled onto the body and final fitted, a light scuffing with a gray scuff pad is all that will be required to apply the final color coats and clear coats.  The bolt on parts will be masked on the exterior surfaces (directly adjacent to the body) to prevent overspray build up on them until the car body has been sealed and base colored to hiding.  Once hiding is achieved, the masking paper will be removed and additional color coats will be applied to the bolt on parts and body together to ensure color match.  My plan is to bag (plastic mask) the insides of the doors, hood, fenders, underside, inside and decklid areas so that the doors and decklid will be able to be opened and closed for color and clear coat application and eliminate the possibility of a paint edge (commonly found when hard masking a jamb or opening area).    This process will be better explained when the final painting is done and photographed which will take place this week.

These first pics show work on the front valance...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

The doors, hood, and deck lid...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

The fenders...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

While looking at the pictures of the driver's side fender, I noticed the body line went too far forward.  It is being corrected as I type this...

Here are some of the pics... last pics for now...

[moparstuart]

 man thats awesome  , allen your just like john madden with all your arrow ,lines and circles   

[hemi68charger]

man thats awesome  , allen your just like john madden with all your arrow ,lines and circles   

He just needs a 'BAM !!!" or two in there...........

[CornDogsCharger]

"Brett Favre wouldn't have taken that line too far because he is perfect at everything.  Brett Favre would have done it right the first time, everytime.... BAM!" 

Justin
"CornDog"

[xs29j8Bullitt]

man thats awesome  , allen your just like john madden with all your arrow ,lines and circles   

Dazzling Eh? Stu... like you have been hyp-no-tized!    

The Charger 500 continues nearing the final exterior paint stage... now expected this weekend or early next week.  Greg and I have been exchanging photos to do a final check on various items prior to paint.  For example, today the question came up as to whether the quarter panel should have holes for beltline molding attachment along the top edge next to the rear side glass like the door does for the same beltline molding.

I went out to the Charger parts car that I have and took pictures like the ones below to answer the question...

The third pic below is a new one, dressed up for Stuart, Troy, & Justin... 

I will post the other dozen or so new pics tomorrow...

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

man thats awesome  , allen your just like john madden with all your arrow ,lines and circles   

Left you speechless... Huh Stuart? 

Here are the pictures without special effects...

Final assembly fitting & verifying contour matches and gaps is nearing completion.  I just spoke with Greg again, and he said the hood is now installed and the fit is great.  If the final things fall into place today, the C500 will be painted tomorrow...

BTW, I really need to thank Ken (HemiTyme) for all the help he has been behind the scenes.  He has helped in numerous ways, including moving the C500 from shop to shop during the different stages of work.  Also, Ken has provided technical support for Greg who is having to re-assemble something he did not take apart...  He has even opened up his "Birds Nest" to the non-feathered, non-winged Charger 500.

Thanks Ken!   
These first pictures show fit & contour verification underway... new pics coming soon will show completed body assembly.

Allen

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Fit checking loose parts like the side marker housings which will be painted separately to verify proper fit one last time.  Also priming parts after final fit check & painting bolt heads prior to installation...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Last pics for now... more coming soon

The lower quarter panel/valance corner pieces had been somewhat mis-aligned since the original body shop installed them.  The options have been to 1) do nothing, 2) completely remove and re-install/replace, 3) "tweak" the installed corners to get the best alignment possible without removing & replacing.  The first three pictures below shows the "tweaking" option was selected...  The last pic shows driver's side door fit and body line verification.

[hemi68charger]

Oh the progress. !!!   

[moparstuart]

      now back to the telestrator   

[Davtona]

Looking good Allen. I'm looking foward to seeing it B5 blue. 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Thanks guys... When I last spoke to Greg about 6 hours ago, he was still expecting to paint the C500 tomorrow...  He was finishing a few small spot repairs like the ones shown below, and we were trying to make sure we did not forget something important.

Greg said he will try to send more pics soon (maybe tonight), showing the C500 body fully assembled & ready for paint.  Hopefully by this time tomorrow, the C500 will become "Blue Thunder!"... 

[KORDSAUTO]

The Eagle is Painted!!!!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

The Eagle is Painted!!!!

             
      ...and as Stu would say..............





Thanks for the great news Greg!
AND, Welcome to the forum!

And... like the guys 41 years ago, I was about to turn B5 Blue... waiting for word about Blue Thunder's status.  I was very tempted to call this afternoon, but distracted myself with a Mopar battery mod design that I plan to use first on Blue Thunder.

Talk to you tomorrow...  and before someone else says it...  send PICS!      

Allen

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