Opinions please - project dilemma. back on track (updates with pics)

[dodgecharger-fan]

NMike, you're pretty much right on the money with the areas that I am concerned about. There are a couple more that didn't get worked on at all because they are solid enough to not worry about and will be hidden behind other panels. I'm not counting those as "strikes" because I knew about them and agreed to leave them alone - other than cleaning it up and getting it in primer. There are some other places that didn't get done that I expected to get done. I chalk those up to "we both missed it but the paid-for work was done and the work that was done was paid for."

The tail panel was where one crack developed and it had some waves here and there.
The driver side rocker is where I found another piece of tape.
I expect that I'll find it over on the passenger side as well, but I haven't checked.

The rails are the big question mark for me. They are the A.R.T. caps which are super strong and do as advertised. They are ugly though and a lot of the work that you can see was done to make them less ugly. LOL! It didn't work completely. But it's what we had available at the time.
Of even more concern is that A.R.T. forgot to add the top flange to the rails - I ordered them that way. I wasn't about to send them back and we're talking a $10 option here. So, the bodyman added his own. I thought that was just fine, but looking closer at the welds, I'm not too sure anymore. While they are important, I was more concerned about whether the welds that are holding the A.R.T. pieces in were better or worse than what I can see on the flanges.

The usual scary parts of a Charger project were surprisingly nice when I got the car.
Hood - just a little ding on the leading edge - no rust
dutchman - just a little rust on the front corners - small enough to fill in with weld (as far as I know at this point)
roof - just some pitting on the driver side c-pillar
cowl - good every where except the very corners beside the vents (I think they'll need to be re-worked again. I can see them waving from across the garage. 
doors are great.
window channels all around - just fine.
The fenders were rough and the bodyman gave me the option of paying to get them fixed or looking for some good used ones. (I got some from some great members here.)

I will send it to a shop though - only because frame rails are involved. and Now, I just want it back in paint so I can start re-assembly. I'm not as tied to doing as much of the work myself as I was before.


Talking this out has been a really good process for me. I'm feeling better about the whole deal. Talking about the good things going on in this project has boosted my outlook.

No, about the snow outside..... somebody go turn the dial on the weather machine. This ain't funny!

[SeattleCharger]

1hot68, I have tons of pictures of before, during and after on my website. If you follow Chapter 4 on this page, there's links to pages and pages of pictures.
http://www.niagaramopars.com/Restoration.htm

you aren't kidding, lots of pics, that is a cool project website, looks like they did tons of work and it looked good to me, I am no body work person though, I would be bummed if my car was messed up after all that, sorry about that,  the pics don't look like bondo and duct tape was being done,  now I am more inclined to buy a well done car someday if I can ever afford it, versus risking a restore thing like that happening.  I guess it comes down to hopefully being lucky on picking the right shop?  How could they do all that to the car and have it be messed up?  it looked like they were fixing it right

[mally69]

KEEP IT, I wish my car was as good as yours is when i bought it , mine was a totall basket case it needed everything your looks to be solid compared to what mine was..  If i were you i would hang on to it 

[SeattleCharger]

KEEP IT, I wish my car was as good as yours is when i bought it , mine was a totall basket case it needed everything your looks to be solid compared to what mine was..  If i were you i would hang on to it 

same here

[hemi68charger]

Man, sounds too familiar to my situation... 5 years later and rust that was never fixed and an apparent quickie of a job at the last minute, even after having the car for 5 years..

This all revolves to many things, but the most obvious would be:
1. your attachment to "this" Charger
2. the real condition of the car with further dissection.
3. the ability to find another Charger within your budget
and
4. how far you want to go with whatever car you do finish..

I feel for you man, Been there.. My situation was a fact that the paint and body was paid for in full 5 years ago and when I got the car back, it was no where near what it was supposed to be.. It's going to cost me over $13,000 to fix the car and have the complete thing painted over. But, at the end of the day, I have better peace of mind and I KNOW the job will be done right AND I'll probably have the car back in Jan or Feb. Of course, my car is an original j-code '68 Charger, so it was obvious I needed to press forward...

You really need to find out the true condition of the car... It could turn into a major money pit versus finding a Charger in better shape...

Good luck..

PS: I totally ratted out my body guy.. He deserved it, He asked for it and he got it.... You gave your car in good faith and no one deserves such treatment and work......  In my eyes, you're doing others a service so they don't fall down the same stairs....

Troy

[6pkrunner]

If you can find a better shell for comparable coin - get that one. The body with the less work - the better.
Crossroads are more often than not door closers. Once down the path a bit, it is usually impossible to o back - or very difficult.
I think I would strip the existing shell and get a quote from the new bodyman to do it correct. Then see what you can buy for that coin range
that is in better shape. If there is nothing - then away you go with what you have.

And nice driving on the high road.

[kamkuda]

It looks like it started as good work and then the "get it done fast" factor set in.  I agree blasting will show what you are really dealing with.
Good Luck!

Rob

[mally69]

i was told when i first bought mine ( don't loose interest) even if it is bad, when your all done it will make you feel great, kinda like saying to yourself , man that thing didn't get the best of me.  There were many times when i just stepped away from mine for a few days and after 3 years when it was done it was a great feeling of accomplishment 

[dodgecharger-fan]

PS how much do you want for the shell? 

HAHA. I forgot to respond to this before.. $15K and I'll let you keep the rotisserie that it's on..     

[Tilar]

Bottom line, it's my impression that he's hit some rough times. Even if I do go after him, I don't know what I'd get. Plus, I've made some very public statements about how happy I was with the work.
And again, I've moved passed it. Chalked it up to lessons learned. If I do get something back, I'll view it as a bonus.

You, Sir, are a bigger man than I am. People do hit rough times now and then, but I am a firm believer that you reap what you sow. I may not push for anything very severe, But you can bet the bank that he would be giving me a complete explanation as to why he did what he did.

[dodgecharger-fan]

Well, she's loaded up and ready to roll.

I'm taking to another shop for blasting and forensic analysis

I'll get some pics up later.

Wish for no rain and low winds.....

[Ghoste]

Good luck and I hope it all works out from here on.

[NMike]

$20 says that it is not as bad as you think.

[dodgecharger-fan]

$20 says that it is not as bad as you think.

I hope you're right.

Drive up was great. A little windy near the end.
A couple of welds on the "legs" gave out, but nothing major - just the pieces that tie the two sides together.
It was a bit wobbly coming off the trailer, but it held.

I'll get pics up of those legs tomorrow - so you know what I mean. Too tired tonight.

It POURED all the way home though. The worst part was the constant noise of the rain hitting the truck.
New GoodYear TripleTreds worked beautifully. I felt very confident driving in very slick conditions, but I am glad I didn't have a loaded trailer. The empty one was enough fun...

[kamkuda]

Glad the drive was a safe journey,

Rob

[xlr8r]

 I feel for yah, DCF.....  I wanted to go look at the carnage before Resto hit on it, but I will be in FLA.
  Chin up, buddy.

[dodgecharger-fan]

Thanks again guys.

I posted this in my "I'm a blogger" thread, but in case the connection between that and this is missed, there's pics of the trouble as well as the journey here: http://www.niagaramopars.com/b2/

[dodgecharger-fan]

Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but it's better than starting a new one and have everyone ask, "What are you talking about?"

I got rid of the blog software that I was using but I still have the pictures hosted.

So here's an update to cover the last year and 4 months:

I got it to the new shop and when they started digging into it, these are the problems that they found.

Initial look showed some problems in spots that I thought were perfect. I think body guys have x-ray vision.


One of the fenders I got didn't turn out to be too hot. There's lots more than seen in these two pictures, but you get the idea. I bought an AMD fender to replace it.



That perfect dutchman that I had? Warped to hell when the guy welded in the replacement package tray. The current shop found the problem and I've got an AMD replacement for it.

I'm not even sure why this got welded


fibre glass filler on the edge of the decklid. There's more than shown in the picture. I'll get a replacement for it, but we'll use this one for fitment for now.


It's cleaned up a bit here, but there was rust left under the filler on the factory seam



More in the next post...

[dodgecharger-fan]

Here's where it starts to get ugly

This was what the last guy left in the rockers and covered up with body tape and filler.




Doing body work with a coin? On this one, yeah.


The rusty rockers (is that a band name?) get replaced with the nice used ones I got from New Mexico.

[dodgecharger-fan]

Sorry I got things a little out of order.

Here are some post-blasting pics. Some filler was left behind because why spend time cleaning up a piece that you're going to cut out and toss..







The holes in the rocker that started all this re-work:

[dodgecharger-fan]

Some of the nice used parts I got from New Mexico are going back on:







More the crap work that was left by the last guy is coming off. You think the car would have folded if I had got it all back together?

[dodgecharger-fan]

There are a lot more pictures here: http://www.niagaramopars.com/gallery/index.php?album=69+Charger

So that's some highlights of Round 2 with this car: what was found from round 1 and some of what has been done to correct it.

Things kind of stalled late last year. Between waiting for some parts and the uncertainty of the economy, I stopped the project and got the car in storage at a friend's house. Now that some things are sorted out and other things are less uncertain (my job), we're getting back to things - Round 2.5 so to speak.

Round 2.5 started with getting the car and everything back in to the hands of my body guy and getting some quarter panels. I got some CBD quarters direct from Ron.





My body guy is very pleased with the quality.

Stay tuned for more pics as things progress.

Oh, and the plan has changed slightly. We'll get it all back into a solid shell, in sealer primer, and the door jambs, trunk, engine bay all sprayed in colour - maybe the underside too, but I plan on undercoating, so... but it will be sealed... not like I got last time. I was told it was sealed, but it wasn't.
That way I can start on some assembly and work up to a point and then get it painted when the budget allows.

[69*F5*SE]

Wow, nice full quarters and good replacement panels.  Things are looking up now.  Congrats on moving it along nicely.   

[bull]

So did the previous body guy ever pony up?

[dodgecharger-fan]

I never found him. I never really looked all that hard, though.