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

[mikepmcs]

 

[Al]

great Job 

[Troy]

Wow! Back from the dead. Just don't ask me how the progress has been going since I got it home...

Troy

[Steve P.]

Ok Troy. Back from the depths of thread hell once again.. How about an update on the bronze beast?

[Troy]

Call me a "distracted restorer"! I got the car home and it sat for a bit before I stripped most of the paint off the outside. I did my 70 Challenger 340 at the same time. Put them both back in the garage. Got to messing with the Challenger and found out it was rotted worse than expected so I ordered a bunch of sheet metal. Since 1009... I sold my turquoise 68 Charger R/T, sold my 97 Toyota Tacoma, sold my 1999 Cummins Ram 3500 (for a huge loss after rebuilding/replacing nearly everything on it), sold my black 68 Charger (after assembling it so it would roll onto the truck), bought a 76 Power Wagon, bought a drivable-but-needing-restoration 70 Mach 1 for my dad, bought a 70 Challenger 440 Six Pack 4-speed clone (because I didn't have any drivable Mopars), sold the Power Wagon, bought a 1993 Toyota pickup, sold my Tahoe (in the pictures in this thread), bought a Kia for daily driver duties, bought a 1998 Toyota Tacoma because the Kia DOES NOT move in snow, and recently bought a 1995 Toyota 4Runner (to flip). After a couple summers the Mach 1 was having some issues with the steering and dad was uncomfortable driving it so I put it up in the air, removed the entire steering system and sent the parts off for restoration. I got the sheet metal for the 340 Challenger, borrowed a welder, and started replacing panels. I convinced "Dino" to come visit for a few days and he helped trim/fit some panels and get the welding started. More importantly, while he was here he knocked out all the dents on the bronze Charger and smoothed a bunch of the panels. Lost 2nd gear in the 440 Challenger so yanked it apart for a rebuild. I "upgraded" a bunch of other parts while it was apart for over two months and it has hardly run right ever since. Lots of troubleshooting time and fuel in that one! Lost reverse in the Power Wagon so yanked that transmission and waited nearly three months for a rebuild. All these inoperable cars blocked the only two garage doors at my shop. Found my rust on the 340 Challenger so ordered more sheet metal and did more welding. After four years the Mach 1s steering was still MIA so I ordered all original parts elsewhere (and got reamed for "core" charges). Pulled the motor at the same time to replace the clutch and also resealed all the leaks. Put in the steering, took it for a test drive, and it still sucked! Found out the ball joints were toast so ripped out the entire suspension this time. The 440 Challenger would run great 1 day then barely make it out of the garage the next. Fixed and replaced about $8k worth of other stuff (some was visual like console, shifter, etc.). While I was messing with all that I managed to toast the electronic tach/clock that was in it when I bought it so I replaced that (gauges have been out 6-7 times now). The Toyota pickup decided to randomly stall. Sometimes it would start after a few minutes, sometimes a few hours. Very frustrating! Along this time I had a family issue crop up and only made it to the garage once in 14 months. After that I started traveling for my job. Not often - but enough to cut into my free time. I also moved twice - and went from 5 miles from my shop to 16. Bought a rotisserie and a brand new welder and stuck the 340 Challenger up in the air. More welding, grinding, sanding, priming. Repeat. Repeat some more. But it's soooo much easier! Got the new 1" lowering suspension for the Mach 1 along with some really neat alignment tools so I can do my own. Installed everything and took it for a drive. Great! Except now it is severely tire challenged. More money flies out of the wallet. This was in the fall so really no time to enjoy it before winter. Swapped the engine in the pickup to a 1998 3.4 (along with the wiring harness, sensors, etc.), fixed the A/C, fixed the power steering, and added electric windows. Took the old motor and put it in the 4Runner with the blown 3.0 (but perfect wiring and other components so the random stalling is no longer an issue). Flushed and replaced all the coolant in the 440 Challenger, put in new plugs, and reversed all the changes I made to the carburetors. Runs reasonably well again! Now that I've freed up space in the shop I can actual rearrange the cars. However, I need to get the 340 Challenger back on the ground so I can put the bronze Charger on the rotisserie! The biggest hold up right now is deciding on whether or not to "pretty up" its suspension while it's easy to do. Put the Tacoma and 4Runner up for sale which will get me back down to only seven vehicles (three projects).

So there. Had the car for like 11 years and have realistically spent about 80 hours on the restoration. For someone who'd rather drive than work on cars I certainly seem to have it backwards!

Moral #1 of the story: focus on one thing at a time. Life gets in the way very often and long-term down time on a project can be a killer!

Moral #2 of the story: "finished" cars can take seeming unlimited money and time to keep them running. I've put $18k into the drivable cars (Charger, Challenger, Mach 1) since this thread started. Prior to this thread I spent about $13k (other Charger, Barracuda). Multliple cars = multiple headaches. I have no idea how much time I spent on them.

Troy

[NickJ]

Troy,
  Awesome work brother. Quick question.. What did you guys use to patch the upper portions of the rear window? I've seen patches for the lower but nothing for the upper. I know I could make the patches but if I can buy em pre-shaped it would save a ton of time. Thanks!

Nick

[G-man]

Hi Troy,

Is it not just easier to buy a good charger than spend months/years and MORE money to get that done from a car that looked like a wreck?

Good progress either way... I just remember you saying you had projects more than 5 years ago and it seems that is all you ever got. Come on man, get something on the road  

[Steve P.]

Damn Troy, I thought I had it bad!!!! I have been jumbling helping out family for ages. Playing games with my back. Shuffling both the wife and myself from doctor to doctor and hardly had a chance to even get over to my 1 car to fill the front left tires that slowly leaks down over time.

I have been working on my back shop here readying it for everything from the old shop to come here and let me tell you I am sick as hell about rebuilding other peoples stupidity...

Side note for anyone reading this: If you are going to build a shop. Draw it out. Every part of it. Find all your flaws before you build it. When you think you have killed off all the stupid things, go over it again...... My back shop was built by a "CAR GUY". He is the second "CAR GUY" I would call an absolute IDIOT!!! I am stuck with what he had built and having to do way too much to correct his foolishness... Talk to others about their shops. What they like and do not like and fix the STUPID "BEFORE" you build.

Back on track now: So Troy, did you ever decide on a color??

I think you should spend the next pile of cash on a 2-post lift. It's a huge time and BACK saver and with the use of some home made dollies you could have anything rolling around to keep working space available.

[Steve P.]

I forgot to mention: At least you can remember what you've been doing for the past 3-4 years!!! 

[Troy]

Troy,
  Awesome work brother. Quick question.. What did you guys use to patch the upper portions of the rear window? I've seen patches for the lower but nothing for the upper. I know I could make the patches but if I can buy em pre-shaped it would save a ton of time. Thanks!

Nick

That upper edge is just flat. Brian hand made the patches on this car and I repaired several spots on the Challenger with patches that I cut out of flat sheet and bent into shape. Just be aware of the structure behind it since these rust in the seam and you usually have to put all the layers back in.

Steve, I've been eyeballing a scissor lift for a while. I rent my shop so installing anything permanent isn't going to fly. Plus the ceilings are only 10'. Of course, I thought about buying a rotisserie for about eight years before I got one. I wish I had done that much sooner!

Hi Troy,

Is it not just easier to buy a good charger than spend months/years and MORE money to get that done from a car that looked like a wreck?

Good progress either way... I just remember you saying you had projects more than 5 years ago and it seems that is all you ever got. Come on man, get something on the road  

A wreck? Wow, you must not look at too many of these! I paid $4k for this car and it was complete except for the engine and transmission (which I wouldn't have used any way) and windshield. The front fenders, hood, deck lid, and grill are mint (the headlights still hold vacuum too). If you want to see a wreck (literally!) you should have seen my black one. It's not all that easy to buy a "good" Charger - especially if you're picky about what you want. Moreso if you're straying from stock. By the time you buy a good candidate them rip it apart to change the drive train, paint, interior, brakes, and suspension you couldn't do it anywhere near what I'll have in this car.

It's not always about money. If you count them, I mentioned several cars that I purchased that I could hop into and drive (68 Charger R/T, 73 Barracuda, 70 Challenger 440 Six Pack clone, 70 Mach 1). All of them cost me money after the purchase - but I also drive a lot more than most people (put 14k on the Charger R/T and 10k on the Mach 1 in the same summer and 18k on the Barracuda in another). I have lots of projects because I sometimes find exactly what I want. For example, my 68 Charger R/T 4-speed in blue/white to restore to factory condition and this car which was a 318 column shift auto without a drivetrain to "modernize" and build however I want. I've had some sort of old car (and sometimes newer ones) torn apart for almost my entire life. The green 340 Challenger was supposed to be on the back burner until the Chargers were done but I started messing with it and screwed up my order. I have the space and tools. I usually have the money. What I'm short on is time.

Troy