My Thanksgiving - Progress on a Car! (Lots of pics!!!)

[TUFCAT]

WOW.    Much better than Overhaulin! 

[Troy]

That took me a long time to post so I had to sleep on it and take another shot...

First I forgot to say Thanks Brian!

Second, don't expect any body shop (even Brian) to do that sort of work that quickly. We tested the limits of the welder and how much heat the sheet metal could take. You really want to let that stuff cool down but we didn't have time. It took both of us a couple of days to recover as well. I did prep as much as I could before I left home and I'll still need to strip all the paint off apply filler and block sand (and block sand, and block sand) before it can be painted.

This whole thing started out of frustration. The car was originally MM1 Bronze metallic with a white top and interior. It was a 318 column shift automatic with A/C, PS, PB, and just two bucket seats (no buddy seat). The previous owner wanted a 383 so the original drive train was MIA. I've had the car for 6 years and it's been in 2 different body shops. It really is a solid car so it bugged me that I just couldn't seem to be getting anything done on it. I put the car up for sale a couple of times but it really didn't garner any interest. So, I decided that I've got a garage full of parts and I'd just stick it together with what I had in a truly low-buck build. The plan was to paint it Hot Rod black, install my spare 68 383 HP and 727 (running but not rebuilt), and throw in some decent (not show quality but nice) black interior pieces (the original white stuff doesn't hold up well). I modified that a bit to include a 23 spline 4-speed setup just because it's a more desirable combination for most people (including me). I figured a running/driving car would be easier to sell in the spring and - if it didn't sell - I'd have a great cruiser that I wouldn't be worried about all the time.

The local body guy who was going to help me paint it stopped by a few days before I left for Brian's and he was really impressed with the car. He said the Hot Rod black would save 40-60 hours in prep on a normal car but mine was so straight that he'd recommend painting it right from the start. Plus it would sell better in color as not everyone is a fan of the flat black look. I heard the same sentiment from nearly everyone over the weekend at Brian's shop - right after they asked me what color I wanted to paint it. So, I have some ideas but I haven't made up my mind yet. I really want a black car but I already have a factory black car and I prefer to drive instead of clean. The best color for a driver that doesn't show dirt very well is silver so that's a possibility. I'd really like to go with a modern version of the factory color. I love that bronze in the sunlight but in the evening or under lights it just looks brown. Perhaps a modern color would still look good in all circumstances. If I were solely going to sell it I'd have to go with black or red but I'm not a huge fan of red cars and neither color would work if I keep it. Either way, the bottom is going to be completely undercoated and I'll probably shoot much of it in black. There's not much original about this car so I'm not going through the trouble of making it "correct".

Another bump in the road that cropped up - it's nearly unanimous that I drop a 440 in it. I have a completely rebuilt one sitting at the shop (zero decked, flat top pistons, balanced rotating assembly, Engle cam for the 4-speed, 440 Source heads, Edelbrock RPM intake, etc.) but that totally blows the low-buck approach out of the water ($4000 vs $200). I question the logic of throwing a 23 spline behind it as well but it should be ok with street tires. I have a brand new 3.91 Sure Grip rear laying on the shelf that would be a lot of fun behind that combination but, again, low-buck isn't happening ($1000 vs free). Adding that motor and trans means I might want to upgrade form the stock 10" drums. I have a complete Dr Diff big brake kit but there goes another $1000 - and I'd need a set of 17" wheels and tires. Luckily, the front end is already built (anyone notice the size of the sway bar and torsion bars?).

No matter the color or drive train, I have a ton of work ahead of me. If I were really ambitious I'd hope to have it in paint by Christmas but January is much more realistic. I'll probably make build decisions as I go - primarily dependent on what else I'm able to sell. I'm afraid new paint and a new motor will make my old trim and interior look bad so I'll tackle that as it comes.

All in all, I'm happy to have made progress and I now have the motivation to dive back in. Hopefully I can keep up the momentum and have this thing on the road by summer. If it drives like I want it too it will be at Carlisle and Monster Mopar. FYI - my definition of a "driver" doesn't mean a cruise down the block once per month. During the summer I drive my cars at least 3 days per week for 200-400 miles. My classic cars see about 14,000 miles per year.

Troy

[Troy]

Troy, is this the car you got from Long Island?

Yep, the same one you looked at for me. Thanks!

Troy

[jaak]

Great story and great pics. Troy your car looks great and I know it feels good to accomplish so much in a weekend.
And kudos to Brian for "helping a brother out", especially during a holiday weekend. Thats what the hobby is all about.

Great work guys,
Jason

[Silver R/T]

nice job, you guys did a lot of work for short amount of time

[SFRT]

great pix and good reference for what we are going to start tommorrow. Thanks!

[Cooter]

Troy, car looks Great guy...Brian, Don't know you, but I gotta tell 'ya you do very good work bro...Loved looking at the pics and it has be stoked to do my sons '66 Plymouth now. Nice work guys...Making use of every available piece of spare time sure does feel good when your done...

[RD]

looking great Troy... love seeing progress as mine just sit hehe... nice to see somebody doing something!

[jb666]

Wow!! That's some great progress for such a short time, nice work guys!! 

[General_01]

That looks like great work. Awesome work guys.

[KWS]

Sweet Troy!! Nothing like progress to get you motivated! Good luck with the build.

[OneofNoneRT]

  You have almost caught up to where I am  and I have been working on her for 2 years now.. Fascinating I am Just amazed.. It took me 2 Saturdays for the Sub Connectors and Torque Boxes Alone!..And I am on a Rotissirie! Much less all the other stuff!

You guys are My New Heroes!

[bakerhillpins]

Cool, Nothing beats a full on charge through a pile of work. Feels good to get it out of the way I bet. I always find it far to easy after I do something like that to put off continued work for all the "other stuff" that got over shadowed. Hope you can keep it rolling.

Makes me nervous about buying one of my own to work on.

So I take it that its not for sale any more?

[rt green]

nice . love the underneath work. that shop isn't to far from where i grew up.   got my 220v hooked up in the garage yesterday. hope to do some welding like that soon. i like the copper color it is now.

[Dans 68]

Thanks for the photo and journalistic essay, Troy.    It sure is enjoyable to see these beauties fixed up! As far as the 440, if you have a spare 383 HP sitting around I would just throw it in and enjoy banging through the gears.      Save the dinero for the fuel account.

Dan

[mopar_nut_440_6]

That is some serious progress for three days.

My hat is off to you and Brian!

Brian is definitely an awesome guy. He always has great advice and does some awesome work!

[bull]

Well, now you're doomed to finish it.

[dads_69]

Troy, it's about time you start to represent the charger forums. I'm just messing with you...
Good to see you get to enjoy one of your many mopars once again soon. I still long for a 68' charger myself.

Great work Brian also! 

Mark

[dkn1997]

Troy, is this the car you got from Long Island?

Yep, the same one you looked at for me. Thanks!

Troy

That was such a clean car.  Did he actually give you anything else besides the shell?  I can't remember if he said he had the interior or anything else...  I still have a whole folder of pics. 

I'd vote for the modern version of the bronze color, no vinyl top though.  and keep white interior. 

[69 OUR/TEA]

Congrats guys!!!!!! Alot of work accomplished in that little time frame!!!!Car looks like its on its way Troy!!!

[Troy]

Thanks everyone! Brian - and his family - are great! We had spoken several times about me sending a car there but this one seemed like such a short project that making two trips that close together wouldn't have been practical. Now I wish I'd have left it there for block sanding and paint.

nice work  TROY / BRIAN how bad were the AIR DUCT COWL STACKS ? what did you do to repair them ? mine are toast on the runner im looking for donar staks but had to find so ill most likely just make pieces from sheet metal .

thanks RANDY 

Well, I have a picture of mine somewhere. They had rust holes but weren't horrible. I didn't like the idea of having to remove the entire cowl to fix them (and we didn't have time). We had several ideas but, in the end, Brian just welded on a new piece inside the original and sealed the heck out of it. I have since acquired a set of original stacks so I may change that before the body work is complete.

looking great Troy... love seeing progress as mine just sit hehe... nice to see somebody doing something!

I've been saying the same thing forever it seems. I haven't actually made progress on a Charger in years - other than some bolt on upgrades to the R/T.

Makes me nervous about buying one of my own to work on.

So I take it that its not for sale any more?

It helps to have a plan, realistic expectations, and a reputable shop/helper. It seems that a lot of "projects gone bad" started out with good intentions but failed due to one or more of these reasons.

My primary reason for putting the cars up for sale was to finish my 68 Charger 4-speed Track Pack. That's still a huge goal for me. This car is still for sale (not advertised) - but the price just jumped due the "upgrades". It will probably also be for sale once it's finished/drivable depending on whether the other R/T sells (my only drivable Mopar) and how some other things work out.

Thanks for the photo and journalistic essay, Troy.    It sure is enjoyable to see these beauties fixed up! As far as the 440, if you have a spare 383 HP sitting around I would just throw it in and enjoy banging through the gears.      Save the dinero for the fuel account.

Dan

The 383 runs but it a bit of an unknown. The primary reason for choosing it was because it's cheap and I figured it would be easier to sell a running car than a disassembled project (although my disassembled projects are generating much more interest than the drivable cars). I have a feeling that if the paint turns out real nice on this car - and there's a good chance that I can keep it - then I will not be inclined to install an engine more than once. The 383 won't get that much better mileage than the 440.

Well, now you're doomed to finish it.

Let's hope. At the very worst I have yet another running car to choose from instead of a huge mass taking up space in my garage.

Troy, it's about time you start to represent the charger forums. I'm just messing with you...
Good to see you get to enjoy one of your many mopars once again soon. I still long for a 68' charger myself.

Mark

Hey! I've been driving my R/T for 2 years.

Troy, is this the car you got from Long Island?

Yep, the same one you looked at for me. Thanks!

Troy

That was such a clean car.  Did he actually give you anything else besides the shell?  I can't remember if he said he had the interior or anything else...  I still have a whole folder of pics. 

The car was complete minus the engine (and half the other stuff in the engine bay), front seats, and windshield. He was trying to part it and actually advertised it as a rolling shell.

Troy

[grdprx]

Awesome work!  Metal work is my Achilles too. 

[six-tee-nine]

Great job from brian as usual.....

Nice pictures, theres always something to learn for the amateur body guy like me in pictures like these.....so thanks for sharing.

BTW that's about the same amount of work that my 69 needs so I'll urgently have to get starded......

[Charger-Bodie]

Thanks everyone! Brian - and his family - are great! We had spoken several times about me sending a car there but this one seemed like such a short project that making two trips that close together wouldn't have been practical. Now I wish I'd have left it there for block sanding and paint.



Troy

Your very welcome Troy and wernt even too bad of a house guest. Never even had to dump cold water on ya to wake you.

[firefighter3931]

Nice work guys ! 


Ron