Challenger Coming together!!

[e-tek]

Challenger getting further every weekend!!

Well, another weekend of getting small things done...would have gotten much farther had I not had to return the seats, now the carpet! Oh, well, there's so many things to refurbish I guess I have time.

Touching up the silver edge on the radio...

Cleaning up the quarter windows. Gonna have to polish out some scratches - any body know the fastest way?

Starting on the door panels - man they are dirty!!!

Lots of damage to repair before any painting happens!

Another attempt at replicating Cadmium plating with Eastwoods paints. This time I started with a silver base. A little better, but still not great...

Cleaning up more underhood seals:

 

[sam 8]

Nice work, I really appreciate the effort on the details.

Ya know, I wonder how many people out there still remember the phrase "Solid State"
LOL

 

[brad d]

Thats a pretty clean rebuild, looking good.

 

[dps]

Hey E,

Will you fix those door panel nicks or gouges with the same kind of technique and materials as the dash, or is it something different? Do you, or could you, use any kind of vinyl filler and then respray with one of the vinyl paints? I'm interested to see how you bring those back to life.

Looking great so far!

 

[Nuit Damnant]

Beautiful! Hope my Valiant looks that good someday! E body dreams on an A body budget

 

[Ttankersley]

I can't believe I just found this thread. Excellent work. My Dad had a 71 back in the day before I popped out.

 

[e-tek]

Hey E,

Will you fix those door panel nicks or gouges with the same kind of technique and materials as the dash, or is it something different? Do you, or could you, use any kind of vinyl filler and then respray with one of the vinyl paints? I'm interested to see how you bring those back to life.

Looking great so far!

I'm thinking of using a lightweight 'glaze' filler, then feathering it out, spraying texture, then prime and paint. The dash filler is a flexible 2 part that might work, but it sets up too hard, meaning I'd have to sand it hard, possibly wrecking the actual panel. The glaze filler sands really easy. I'll post pics!

Thanks to all for your comments and for looking!

 

[Jay H 237]

How was the bulk head connector in the firewall? I know that was one of the weak points Chrysler had back then and would cause many electrical problems.

 

[e-tek]

I had heard it was moisture from them not being sealed. The fix (apparently) is di-electric grease, which I am using liberally!

 

[e-tek]

Spent the weekend getting some of the odds and ends done on my Challenger restoration. Being near X-mas, I had to get some kids stuff done too (like building a skating rink in the yard...). After getting some plastic repair tips from Len at Autobodystore.com, I started the repairs on the door panels and also cut the carpet to fit. Next weekend I'll be able to finish both hopefully!!

The worst spot was cracked and missing a portion of the edge.

Made a pattern to cut a piece from the inside of the panel to fit on the edge.

Repaired the crack by epoxying in metal strips for extra strength...Not pretty but it'll definitely hold!

Next I'll smooth it all out with lightweight filler and texture it before paint.

 

[e-tek]

Last week I started on the interior and hope to get a big part of it done over the holdiays. I'm always off between Xmas and NewYears so can usually get a good amount done. Last Xmas I did some bodywork and rebuilt the engine...Hopefully I'm not still working on it next Xmas though!!

Engine compartment pieces...

Sanding the door panels before retexture and paint...

 

[MOPARHOUND!]

Anyone care to comment?
Anyone doing a resto to the same extent?

I've read probably 20 of your posts, thought you were a Ford guy from your sig pic, and your avatar. Overlooked the Challenger listed in your sig. Great project pic's. I'm a B-body guy myself, have a few 68-71 Dodge and Plymouth projects. Collecting parts for several, never focus on one, so rarely does one get done..........LOL.

Here are 2 of the Chargers...................

The 69 was purchased at an living estate auction in a tiny town in Nebraska from the original owner, 318/Auto/8-1/4, Whitehat Special Package (Woodgrain steering wheel, etc.). 23.5 MPG on the Interstate going to a Charger meet last year, 2.71 gears:

The 71 Charger R/T is a 440/auto/8-3/4. Had a knocking 440 when I bought it, installed a 496 stroker, but it broke more than once, just recently installed a mild 440:

 

[e-tek]

That white R/T is suuuuu-weeet!
I'm a car guy - no particular brand, but cars that appeal to me (and many). My stable each has a use or sentiment - the Galaxie is my summer top-down cruiser (hell if I could find/afford a conv Chally, I'd have one!), the 46 Merc truck is my 'very rare' yard hauler, the 240Z was the parts car for a race car my wife had (and next in line)....and the Challenger is a project I wanted forever and want to do up real nice - show like, but a driver.

Thanks for showing your- great rides for sure!

 

[e-tek]

Here's where she is at the moment. I've been procrastinating on finishing the headliner because I've seen some pretty bad jobs on some cars and I don't want to F it up!!! I'm always off between Xmas and NewYears, so I'm hoping to get a good bit done. Last Xmas I was rebuilding the engine... (Hopefully I'm not still working on it next XMas!)

 

[e-tek]

OK boys, a quick update on the Chilli Challenger Xmas Vacation. Thanks to Mrs. E-tek and having a nanny, I managed to spend 5 or 6 hours a day in the shop all week. Today is family day (the nanny is off!), but this weeknd I'll be installing all the parts I worked on for the interior. A few things accomplished included: retextured and painted the door panels and console, finished the dash, recovered the drivers seat and installed the carpet. Also started on the headliner. A good run for sure! By the end of next weekend I'll be mostly finished the interior, then I can concentrate on testing the engine. For that I need to fab up some tubes from the exhaust manifolds so I can run some mufflers and tubes out the door - looking forward to that!!

 

[rickairmedic]

E tec I bet you will be driving it by summer its really starting to come together . Maybe next christmas break you can come down and work with me on my 63 F100 I might even have it in the garage by then LOL.


Rick

 

[e-tek]

Another day spent lovingly carressing my 4 wheeled companion...until Mrs. E-tek came in....just when I thought it might turn into a three-some like in the old days, she says: "look after the boys, I gotta go out".

After an hour of trying to keep them entertained, but mostly just keeping them away from the show cars, I was exhausted and more than a little disappointed that I had to leave my mistesses lair before someone (like one of the damned kids!) got hurt.

Worst thing is Mrs. E-tek said she'd recreate the "mechanics helper" scene I posted below....hasn't happened yet...

 

[6 Grrrs]

e-tek:

Looking good. This is the first I saw this thread. My GTO was at the same stage a few months back. I got it out of the body shop in early July. I had it on the road in late September.

All your hard work will pay off in the end. Once you get to drive it.

 

[LAWFISH]

Looks like a very nice Challenger. I recently sold my buddy my 72 340 4 speed HEMI orange Challenger. He restored it perfectly.

Here is a pic of a couple of Mopars I have. Personally I have had several Challengers and am partial to the 70. But right now, I have mostly E body Cudas, including this 70 Cuda vert clone, 440-6 in Viper red. Also a drag car 500 stroker project and my old highschool car, a Petty blue 340 auto slapstick Cuda.

Currently i am working on a 67 sweptline POWER wagon short wide and a 38 Plymouth and this 67 post Dart, 340 6 pack 4 speed, in Plymouth Q5 turquoise metallic, which is also the color of the sweptline truck project.

Someday I will start the 72 cuda.

RUMBLON.

My new direction

 

[dps]

Another day spent lovingly carressing my 4 wheeled companion...until Mrs. E-tek came in....just when I thought it might turn into a three-some like in the old days, she says: "look after the boys, I gotta go out".

After an hour of trying to keep them entertained, but mostly just keeping them away from the show cars, I was exhausted and more than a little disappointed that I had to leave my mistesses lair before someone (like one of the damned kids!) got hurt.

Worst thing is Mrs. E-tek said she'd recreate the "mechanics helper" scene I posted below....hasn't happened yet...

Myself and Mrs. dps are rooting for both the project and the scenic re-creation. May we suggest a long weekend for the kiddies with their grandparents?

 

[e-tek]

Lawfish - VERY cool stable!!!! PLEASE, start a thread on your racing and resto expoits with lotsof car, parts and shop pics - looks like you have a world of experience to share!
Welcome aboard!!

dps - thanks for the support - I'm sure it'll happen sometime!

 

[e-tek]

Just got an offer to send along some pics and info of the Chilly Challenger build to a magazine - so I'm sending this link along with some other stuff. If it makes it in, I'll let you know!
As well, this weekend will hopefully see the interior near finished. Once that's done I'll put another 50 or 60 hours into a final cut and polish, then I can start puting togther the exterior. Still lots of fabbing to do too - I want to shave (de-bolt and de-bumperpad)) the bumpers and paint them body color!

 

[GzrGlide]

Very Cool. Can you say which magazine?

 

[e-tek]

I don't want to jinx it - but it's Canadian, then I sent it along to a few others as well. I'll be yelling the name if it gets in!

 

[e-tek]

Lots done last weekend, here's some pics -

Had to remove all the upholstery in order to pad out the bucks. Used premium carpet underlay foam - worked well!

As well, Got the headliner pretty much snugged up. Got alot of the wrinkles out and everyone assures me the rest come out on a hot day...though I'm still gonna try some heat/steam next weekend to get it as good as possible.

Seats turned out not bad, but I'll still be stuffing a few spots to fill out the bucks and remove the rest of the wrinkles.

Me and my son also build a cat platform because "Bubbles needs to look out the window Daddy"....

 

[2+2=428]

Outstanding job! I can't wait to see more of your build!

 

[e-tek]

I can't recall if I included in this thread all the problems I had with the PUI upholstery I ordered through YearOne, but what happened was as I was installing the fronts I noticed the covers where missing crucial parts called pulls, that allow you to hook the inner portions into the foam bucks so they are pulled taught. I had to send photo's of the originals and call PUI to get them to add the pulls seperately so they would match the OEM parts. Obviously they have been selling these covers without the right parts attached!! For my troubles PUI send me a new set, properly sewn, and YearOne gave me a big fat credit. :-\

Par for the course, I was installing the rear covers last weekend only to find that they were also sewn with errors. :stomp: This time they weren't missing pull (there aren't any on the rears) but they were obviously "rushed" or "pushed" though the machine and missed Quality Control altogther. As you can see from the photos, the bottoms are puckered and the seat back corner stitches don't even meet the corners. Unbeleivable. So after ANOTHER wasted install, I have contacted YEar One again to get them repalced. By the time I actually get a good set and get them installed, I'll have enough credit to build another car! ullinghair:

On the bright side, I resprayed the door and quarter panels with a different White, which is a MUCH closer match to the original white. It has a lot more yellow in it than the initial white I used.

As well, I used WD-40 to remove all the glue from the woodgrain decal on the console plate. Came out clean as a ......

 

[6 Grrrs]

I had originally bought PUI covers, but later found out on the Pontiac forums that they did not fit properly (so I never tried installng them). Ames swapped them for Legendary covers & a little cash without any question. I think it was only $40 difference. I wanted Legendary covers originally, but I bought them at an event & they only had the PUIs on hand.

 

[e-tek]

Man those seats look incredible!! I won't stop until mine are that straight and smooth!! Even if I have to make Year One supply me a set of Legendary covers instead of the PUI stuff they sold me.

 

[e-tek]

Man those seats look incredible!! I won't stop until mine are that straight and smooth!! Even if I have to make Year One supply me a set of Legendary covers instead of the PUI stuff they sold me.

And that's what happened. Year One finally said: "Take your money and buy Legendary. You'll never be happy with PUI covers."

Is that customer service - or what? Problem is, if they hadn't gone to substandard suppliers just to raise profit margins, they wouldn't have unhappy customers!! Bad business indeed.

 

[e-tek]

After 3 tries and getting 4 sets of covers, the last ones came and where installedlast weekend - they fit beautifully!! I tell you - I should have known by PUI's name there would have be problems - 'cause they STINK! They must KNOW they sell USELESS junk, because they sent me 3 replacement sets and NEVER ONCE asked for the others to be returned. So now I have several sets of PUI covers in my shop -and one set of Legendary covers in my car.

Before installing the seats, I cut extra insulation for under the package tray and behind the back seat-in an effort to get "new-car" sound-deadening properties.

Back Glass In:

The interior will be completely done this weekend - I'll post up some final photo's then. Then it's time for 20-30 hours of color sanding and buffing, so I can put the exterior together!

 

[Axis11]

Whenever I see a white challenger I always think of vanishing point.
The movie was o.k., but just like bullitt the car is a bigger star than any actor.

You have great attention to detail, how much time do you think you have in it so far?

 

[e-tek]

Love that photo!
Seeing as how I just did the seats 3 friggin times - that alone added 20hours to the build! I haven't counted hours...but it'll be 3 years of weekends when it's done this summer!

 

[Rte66Charlie]

e-tek, I gotta go with Axis11 - when I think white Challenger, I think Kowalski (and Super SOUL, "comin' to you from station K-O-W.....") - ditch the black vinyl top!

My first brother-in-law had a '70 Challenger - 340/4bbl, auto, blue, black vinyl top - while the guy was a jerk and my sister ended up divorcing him, I LOVED that car!

Just imagine, a 16 year old punk (me), a guy dating your sister and wanting to get you out of the house.......and throws you the keys to his Challenger and says "Wanna go wash the car? Take your time......." That car was SPOTLESS the entire time they dated! They got married and he sold it and bought a Corolla and a Rabbit - no wonder she divorced him!!

 

[dirtymoe77]

Found this post today..I'm in Finland on Business and killing some time. I have to say, your build is awesome. I admire your ability to tackle all of these different things yourself. I have a 1955 Chevy Wagon myself and am doing some odds and ends to it but your abilities are blowing me away. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the things I want to do to my car. After reading through this, the things I want to accomplish are nothing a little time and patience won't solve.

Again, great build and thanks for sharing!!!

 

[shanker]

Mopar Crew signing in!

I have 2 70 Coronet R/T's and a 70 SuperBee

My wife has a 75 Duster 360 and a 74 Ramcharger SE w/ a 440 in it

 

[Stargeezer]

Is bubbles the cat OK? Looks like you might have used a pressure treated 4X4 for the post on the cat platform.. That wood treatment is poison & I would get it out of the house... the cat too! Ha Ha

 

[e-tek]

Found this post today..I'm in Finland on Business and killing some time. I have to say, your build is awesome. I admire your ability to tackle all of these different things yourself. I have a 1955 Chevy Wagon myself and am doing some odds and ends to it but your abilities are blowing me away. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the things I want to do to my car. After reading through this, the things I want to accomplish are nothing a little time and patience won't solve.

Again, great build and thanks for sharing!!!

Much appreicate the comments. While I have done basic bodywork in the past and some prep/painting, I had never before: rebuilt an entire engine, done interior work (seats, dash, panels, headliners, etc), welded on inners and quarters, restored to this level....but I knew I wanted to. So I just bought what I needed, learned a lot from the net and magazines and went at it. I had to redo a few things to get them right, but overall everything has turned out pretty nice. I would think ANYONE else can do it to.
As an aside - I used to be a professional athlete (Triathlons: Swim/Bike/Run)and people always said: "Wow - I could never run a traithlon/marathon/Ironman..." But I never believed that. Anyone can do it. You just have to WANT to. There's all sorts of places to learn and all sortsof time - get 'er done!

Is bubbles the cat OK? Looks like you might have used a pressure treated 4X4 for the post on the cat platform.. That wood treatment is poison & I would get it out of the house... the cat too! Ha Ha

Ya - the thing lasted about 2 weeks in the house because Bubbles would go to the top and jump off, dumping it over onto the kids computer, toys, heads....so I didn't even have time to let the teated lumber affect her. I was hoping she'd scratch on it, eat some of it and then I would'nt have a Bubbles....but she's STILL here!

 

[rickairmedic]

E-tec you need a bigger base on the kitty post . The ont I built for our cats the base is 3 times the size of the top perch . I wrapped the column half way up with speaker box carpet and the rest of the way with sissal rope the rest of it is covered with speaker box carpet. They use it as a springboard to jump across the bedroom onto the bed .


On another note the Challenger is looking great ( you have 2 months left hurry up ) .

Rick

 

[Fatbrosracing]

Love the build, though they never are finished are they, Here's ours.