The Other 68 Dart Resto Project

I am posting some pictures of my 1968 Dart GT. It was originally a 225/6 car, painted TT1 Med Green Metallic with a Dk Green Interior. The second owner did a "restoration" in 1990. He installed a 73 K-frame with Disc brakes and a mildly cammed rebuilt 318 4bbl with a 727 trans. He also installed a 69 A-body 8 3/4 and redrilled the axles for 4 1/2" BC. Then the car sat, it was last inspected in 1998, it had not moved until Dec 2, 2006. Then I bought it.

I saw it was on ebay and it was local, so i went to see it. I was shocked! I had never seen a car of this vintage with so little rust. Actually there was rust, but it was all surface rust, harly any pitting at all. The car was almost all there. The only missing pieces were the trunk finish panel and the glovebox. So I bought it. I got the high bid at $3750.

And so the project begins:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0095.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0094.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0098.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0099.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0100.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0102.jpg

The restoration begins. I am thinking about renaming the car "snowball" since enertime I take something apart, I keep saying, might as well do this also.

I started doing a brake job so I could at least drive the car. Well I could not leave the drums looking like this, so I stripped them and painted them with rust encapsulator. Then I decided, since I was doing brakes, I might as well replace the rubber soft lines, so I did, with braided stainless lines. And, as long as I had the hard lines off the axle, I might as well paint the rear. So two hours later, I had the whole rear suspension off the car and only a gas tank hanging underneath!

I spent most of the day trying to get the years of leaking axle grease and dirt off the rear end, I am still not done, but I'm about 85% there, still have to scrub some crap off, but I am getting close to painting.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0125.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0129.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0126.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0131.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0132.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0135.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0141.jpg

I wish my car was half as solid as that one! :headbang: Any ideas on what color you're going to paint it? I knew a guy 30 years ago who street raced one with a 340 & a 4 speed. It was orange & I always liked the look of it.


:burnout:

At this point I don't know. I might paint it one of the original 68 colors.

In order most likely colors.
1. TT1 Med Green w/Black interior & Black stripe
2. BB1 Black w/Red interior & Red stripe
3. LL1 Dk Turquise Metallic w/White interior & White stripe

And of course, Resale Red is still a possibility.

Looks like a solid car, it's a real bonus if you don't have to cut out to much or better yet any rust. My dad nearly bought a 69 Dart GT new, I was 11 at the time and was already envisioning myself behind the wheel in the not so distant future, the deal fell through and he ended up buying, of all things, a 69 Buick LeSabre 4 door, it still hurts everytime I see a Dart. :cussing:

Excellent score Flyboy. :thumbup: And keep up the good work. That is a really nice Dart.
I think LL1 is what PPG used to call Surf. My 68 2 dr post Dart is that color origionally. I repainted the engine well, dash, and the under carriage with it. It's a one year only color that is beautiful. I would go with LL1 and the black interior. :blob: Some day I'm gonna finish that car. :-({|=

Update, I got some of the suspension pieces stripped and painted, I also sprayed the rear leafs and rearend housing with rust converter, I will be doing the final painting tomorrow.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0146.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0153.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0154.jpg

Looks very nice! Don't you just love what a nice coat of fresh paint does to parts? :D

Actually, they look better now that the paint is dry, it looks like natural steel. You gotta love Eastwood. They may charge $18 for a can of spray paint, but they last forever, I can tell you how many parts I painted with one can on Encapsulator. I used about 1/3 a can of Chassis black on on my whole rear axle and leaf springs. They definately pack more paint solids into their cans than any other company. I hate to give them these shameless plugs because they pissed me off so many times with slow delivery times, but I have to admit, their stuff is the best. The only thing that I am less than satisfied with is their Rust Converter. It is too slick when it dries, you really need to scuff it up when it dries before you paint over it.

Upadate: Today I did the final assembly for the rear end, and stored it away in a corner of the garage. Heare is a picture of it detailed and assembled.

I also pulled everything out from under the back half of the car. Gone is the gas tank, filler neck, shocks, and driveshaft. Next job will be to sand down (or up?) the underside, give it a coat of rust converter, and then prime it with Rust Encapsulator. I think I should also replace the gas tank also, I took pictures of the inside of the tank, what do you think?

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0157.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0156.jpg

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http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0161.jpg

OK, I just ordered a new gas tank. And I am bidding on a new 3/8 pickup.

The project got put on hold this weekend due to a small disaster. I live in an apartment building, the bottom floor is where my garage is. Here is the story.

I came home last friday night and saw a bunch of people standing in front of my building with my garage door open and somebody inside my garage. I ran over and found out that there was a fire in the building on the third floor, so I ran up to check on my dog, she was OK, nothing damaged in my apartment, I was lucky, of the 24 units in my apartment building, 17 had significant water damage from the fire hoses and sprinklers. I had one of the lucky 7 apartments that the sprinklers did not go off in. Until I got down to my Garage, which was directly below the apartment that caught fire. I was not so lucky. When I got there, the maintenance man had already vaccumed out most of the standing water, a lot of my tools were soaked and starting to rust. I managed to get most of them cleaned off and dried out, my box of receipts that I kept for everything car or tool related is now a box of paper mache. All my new sandpaper ($100's worth) was soaked. My freshly painted and restored rear end was soaked and some small parts were starting to rust. My brand new 6" vice I bought the night before has a coat of rust. Right now I have buckets catching dripping from the ceiling and the garage smells horrible. Luckily for me, toolboxes have drain holes in each drawer, and the porous rubber matting kept my tools from staying soaked. I have to check my power tools though, and Im not sure I can save my dremel. I had the car windows open, all I can say is thank god for 1960's rain gutters, there did not seem to be any water inside the car, although my trunk was not so lucky since I left it open, I did have the drain pugs already pulled, but the clean, rust free metal inside now has a light film of orange rust. Also, thankfully, my new compressor was shielded inside a wood box, which also shed water because of the coat of paint overspray on top. Since very little was stored on the floor of the garage, I was spared the damage my neigbor had, he had probably a 100 cardbourd boxes full of all kind of stuff all stacked on the floor. I spent most of the weekend throwing stuff out and cleaning up. The Garage smells like a must basement from all the water that came down through the ceiling.

I decided, its time to buy renters insurance.

BTW, the fire was started by the idiot upstairs ironing his shirt and leaving the iron on his bed turned on! What an idiot! He could have killed people and pets in the building. Unfortunately, he was NOT removed from the gene pool last night. I hope they bill him for all the damage!

Wow, that sucks! Sorry to hear that ... but glad your apartment didn't get soaked. As for the car.. I think most of that is just surface rust and salvagable due to not rotting away.

Good luck with it all! Sorry to hear about your tools!

Well, everything seems to be back to normal now. It put a little delay in the process cleaning up.

Since then I have pulled, cleaned and repainted the driveshaft, replaced the u-joints with HD pieces. Cleaned all the gas tank hardware, painted the shocks, and bought new wheels and tires (Draglites).

The cold weather now has prevented me from painting the underside, everything else is ready to go back together now. Just need some 70F dry weather so I can finish up.

No progress, weather has been below freezing for a week, can't get my garage up to 70F to paint, so everything is on hold. I did get a new gas tank and 3/8 pickup/float assy though. I am going to have start finding other things to do until I can get +70F temps in the garage.

OK, i just took a serious left turn today. I bought a 383 w/727 trans. See what happens when you have idle hands! Now I got a big block Dart.

Just look at them below, so pretty, don't they look like they were made for each other?

http://i7.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/84/72/2081_1_b.JPG

I saw you on BBD.com. You have a 73 k member. Right? I put a 440 in my 2 dr post using the same k. When I droped the motor in it hit the k member and was crooked in the trans tunnel. I ground the lip off of the k member and welded it back up. Then took the drivers mount, you will need BB spool MM's, and sawed the front half off. Bolted the MM to the front side of the rear MM ear and then took the sawed piece and bolted it to the back side of the front MM ear. and welded it back together. Not a DC K member but it does sit straight in the trans tunnel. If you want to make the DC conversion go to the tech archives at BBD. I would have done that conversion, but it back before Gore invented the internet..ROTFLMAO.
BTW...do a search while you are over there so you will know how to do the B body headers in an A body. And great score on the 383. Wish I had one for my 68 2 dr ht Dart.

It's a good looking Dart, I'm envious.

So is the Eastwood spray on rust inhibitor like POR 15? Do you have to treat the metal first with etching stuff, or can you just wire brush/sand and paint away?

OK, i just took a serious left turn today. I bought a 383 w/727 trans. See what happens when you have idle hands! Now I got a big block Dart.

Just look at them below, so pretty, don't they look like they were made for each other?

http://i7.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/84/72/2081_1_b.JPG
flyboyo1 glad everything is ok,and that guy never pick's up an iron again.

383 wow!! that' great,Hope everything go's smooth for ya :thumbup:

Here is an article on both, made my decision on getting Eastwood's stuff.

It's a good looking Dart, I'm envious.

So is the Eastwood spray on rust inhibitor like POR 15? Do you have to treat the metal first with etching stuff, or can you just wire brush/sand and paint away?

http://www.eastwoodco.com/images/email_images/Rust-Article1.gif

http://www.eastwoodco.com/images/email_images/Rust-Article2.gif

Its been a while since I updated this thread. Unfortunately my attention had been turned to my new 383 engine, and quite frankly, I got ripped by a chump on ebay. I was told that it was a running 383 when I bought it. WHen I got it home, I pulled the valve covers, there was a ton of rust covering the valvetrain, next I pulled the intake, rust in the valley, lifters frozen, cam rusted. I pulled the heads. WATER! In two cylinders, and in the intake ports. I pulled the drainplug from the oilpan, Oh My God! I scrambled to find containers for the gusher, my oil drain pan quickly filled with rusty water, I grabbed the lid from mt trash can and filled it. When the last drop tricled out, 4 GALLONS! I turned the engine upside down and pulled the pan, rust everywhere. I pulled the rods, the crank and bearings looked like they survived, the crank spun freely, so thing were not so bad.

I took the engine to a machine shop, they tore the rest of it apart, cleaned it, and told me that the block, crank and rods were good. I was going to have them rebuild it with new pistons and bearings, but I did a cost analysis. FOr them to do it with new pistons, bearings, rings, it would have cost me $1250. And I would still have a cast cranks, cast pistons, weak rod bolts, and an external balanced damper and TQ converter.

A lot of money for stock components. I did a little research, I can do the same machine work and a 496 stroker kit for $2050. For $800 bucks I can have an extra 113 cubes and another 125 HP. I cant do a stock 383 knowing that I can build a monster. The good news is now that I am going to get a monster motor, the bad news is that I am now going to have to wait until at least August until I can save enough money to do the engine and buy heads.

I had to re-evaluate my project, gone are my desire for 11 second time slips (for now). I decided that I am going to stick with my original plan and do the bodywork, paint, suspension, and interior. The good news is now I can afford to do all this by May. So now my plan is to get going on the pretty stuff.

Time to pick a paint color. It was between 3 colors, I think I decided on a color, PP1 Red. Tell me what you think.

Not my car, but exactly as I want it, see the car on the bottom row:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/Mopar/DCP01495.jpg

Update 2/26/07

I spent the better part of 4 hours on my back on Monday grinding away at any loose dirt, undercoating, and rust scale from the bottom of the balk 1/3 of the car with a wire wheels and drill. I am prepping everything for rust converter, followed by encapsulating primer, then paint. THis was the second dirtyest job I have ever done. There is no way to not "Get any on ya" grinding away on a creeper with the junk falling into every crevice in your head. When I finally gave up for the day, I walked in the house and my dog did not recognize me! Talk about dirty. If you need a godod reason to get a rotisserie, give me a cal I will give you a few. Next post will have exciting pics. :headbang:

Nice. Look at it this way: you probably got one of the dirtiest, nastiest jobs of the whole project out of the way. Piece of cake from here on out, right? :)

Nice dude! I have the same project going right now. I have a 68 w/ 73 K-member and discs, 8 3/4 rear, and dropping in a 440. The good thing is I'm in PA, about 10 minutes from the Eastwood showroom and warehouse. I can just drive up the street and pick up their stuff! I'm going to mini tub the rear and move the spring inboard. Other than that, it will look original.

Wow !!!! Sorry to read about the fire.Hope everything has turned out ok.

Going for the big block are ya.

If I had your 68 I would have a really tough time not doing a 68 Hemi Dart car.

Good luck with your project !!!!

I promised some pics of my progress, here are a few. Take a look at the drain hole, jealous? The trunk pan looks bad, but its really just a combo of dirt and surface rust, there are no holes anywhere in the trunkpan,the metal is thick and solid.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0219.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0218.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0217.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0215.jpg

OK, I had a dilemma, there were a couple of tiny pinholes in the rear 1/4's, but nothing else, the inner trunk panels and drain holes were great, but I am still worried about what I cant see. I have used Evapo-rust with great success, so why not flood the inner fenders with it and get rid of the rust you cant see.

So, here is my plan and execution.

Step one, the parts, RIO-400 fish tank pump, 4 feet of hose, 5 gallon bucket, and a rubbermaid trash can lid.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0213.jpg

I used the lid with a hole cut in it to catch the dripping.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0221.jpg

Here is the hose, routed through the filler hole.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0220.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0224.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0223.jpg

Here we go, pissing fluids, flushing out the rust.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0225.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0222.jpg

I had a little bit of splashing, so I devised an expensive sheild to keep it to a minimum.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0226.jpg

Pretty cool idea.

Better than exploratory surgery. :thumbup:

Holly Taledo !!!!!!!!

You are going for it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great idea......

Is that stuff flammable? If it is I wouldn't do that again, that pump is designed to move water not a flammable liquid. You might end up in the same boat as the iron guy and you don't want to do that.

On the insurance thing, I've been down this path before and a vehicle will not be covered by renters or homeowners insurance. The vehicle has to have it's own insurance to be covered if it gets damaged in a structure.

My favorite pics are of the inside of the fuel tank... MMM varnish.



Chuck

Nope, not flamable, its even rated as "sewerable," all bio.

My favorite pics are of the inside of the fuel tank... MMM varnish. Chuck

The car sat since at least Feb 98 in his Dad's backyard. The good thing is that there really is no rust-through on the body, just a couple of pin-holes on the rear quarters that actually look like they were caused by rock chips, as there really was no other rust. In fact, I am probably just going to patch the holes with little 1" squares of sheet metal rather than cutting things apart. I am still looking for rust, but evertime I stick my head somewhere looking for it, I have been surprised by the lack of it. Which is why I am preserving the metal now, so far just light surface rust.

Next I am going to strip the paint of the bottoms of the rear quarters just to be sure there is no well hidden rust. then I am going to neutralize the rust again, and coat the metal with encapsulator. i have seen so many cars with nice paint jobs and bubbling rear quarters it makes me cry. If fact it happened to my Dakota I had painted about 7 years ago, a flawless paint black job, then the rear fenders rusted from the inside out. I was so disgusted, I sold the truck as-is. That will not happen to my Dart.

RUST WILL DIE!

Nice start, I all ways wanted a 68 GTS in Sunfire Yellow with a black interior.

Thats a pretty good way to derust the inner panels. What method are you planning to use to get complete coverage of the Rust Encapsulator inside the quarters? I have been thinking of using a flat foam brush with maybe a paint stirring stick taped to the handle for extra reach,but by reading your posts I bet you've got a better way. Keep posting your tips they are really helping me plan my next steps for when the Doc. releases me. I can't wait to get back to work on my Duster.
Bob

Wow !!!First time i've seen a car pissing.hehehe
Good luck building your Monster 383. Sure they were made for each other:thumbup:

Thats a pretty good way to derust the inner panels. What method are you planning to use to get complete coverage of the Rust Encapsulator inside the quarters? I have been thinking of using a flat foam brush with maybe a paint stirring stick taped to the handle for extra reach,but by reading your posts I bet you've got a better way. Keep posting your tips they are really helping me plan my next steps for when the Doc. releases me. I can't wait to get back to work on my Duster.
Bob

Probably going to pour thinned down converter and encapsulator down there and let it drain out the weep holes. I checked last night, after 24 hours it seems to be working, but since the nights are cold, its slow. The stuff works quicker the hotter it is. I am going to do a little more poking and prodding tonight I am also thinking about drilling a few more drain holes to keep rust at bay.

The pump worked great, I let it run for 3 days and it seemed flush a lot junk and dirt out, and I found a socket and screwdriver too! But I am too concerned that the metal might be too thin is some spots now that the rust has been dissolved. There were a couple of pinholes in the metal caused by junk accumulating in there, I can feel and see pits where the rust dissolved away, but so far has not penetrated through to the paint. The space is just too narrow to get my hand in there to check it out completely, you can't see in there either, so I made a decision to drill the spotwelds and make a thin cut to remove the bottom 4 inches of both rear 1/4's. I wanted to avoid exploritory surgery, but I don't feel good about hoping noting is wrong, I need to know for sure. Also, I can make a better repair if I can see if there are any thin spots in the metal.

I did make more progress, I got the whole rear underside from the rear seat pan back to the bumper cleaned and prepped, I laid down a layer of rust convertor on the rusty areas and I will seal it with Encapsulating primer my next day off. Then paint, then the rear suspension, driveshaft, and gas tank can go back in and I can finally drive the car for the first time. I am leaving the Rusty 2" exhaust in for now, untill my 383 is ready, then I will be replacing it with a 3" system. I hope to be driving it within 2 weeks, since I had only ever driven it off a trailer and into the garage, this will be a big event for me.

Ok, here is another update, after I wire brished, scraped, cleaned and ate a lot of dirt & undercoating, I finally made some progress.

The first three pictures show the cleaned up rear floorpan. I decided a good stopping point was the rear seatpan seam all the way back to the rear bumper brace.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0246.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0253.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0254.jpg


The next three pictures showed the floorpans after spraying them with Duplicolor Rust Convertor. I did have some of the Eastwood converter, but it was not working correctly when I tired it and their tech support is an absolute joke, I was told they could not help me because they were busy and they were going to close in 15 minutes. ASSHOLES! I hong up on them and the next day I called and got them to issue me a credit. It really depends who you talk to, because they gave me credit beyond the 60 day limit and told me to just trow it away and don't ship it back. Definately a love hate relationship I have with them.

Back to the car. The black areas show where it did its job on the rust, the other colors are primer, overspray, clean metal, and undercoating. I decided not to remove the undercoating for a few reasons, 1) there is nothing wrong with it, no rusty metal underneath, 2) the factory put it there 39 years ago and it has protected the metal ever since, 3) It does not bother me since I am not doing a concouse resto, I am just trying to stop any rust from appearing in the future.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0266.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0267.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0268.jpg


These final 3 pictures are of the last step of the rust control, Eastwood's Red Rust Encapsulator Primer. I bought a quart and ended up using half of it, also thinned 80/20 with laquer thinner, I sprayed it using 3 Preval disposable sprayers, which I used because I have borrowed spray guns and that stuff can be a real bitch to clean out of them. It took me about 2 hours to do the priming, the last step will be painting it all with Eastwood's Chassis Black and reinstalling the previously cleaned and restored rear end. I also have a new Gas tank that I am going to reinstall as soon as I get it painted with Eastwood's Diamond Clear bare metal preservative. Dont worry about the exhaust, its being replaced next month with dual 3" pipes, in anticipation of the big block.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0274.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0280.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0282.jpg

That looks awesome Great job! Do you sleep once in a while as well ...LOL kepp the pics coming

Actually, it was not that much work, it was more than I thought, but not that bad. I started to paint the underside satin black last Saturday, then I ran out of paint and it started raining, I bought some more paint, and did some more tonight, but ran out again. One more 15oz can should do it. I will finish it up tomorrow night and then start on the trunk this weekend. I am just going to prime it for now since it will be bodycolor and I have not decided on black or red.

That's looking real nice, Keep it up !

FYI, you may want to consider using epoxy primer --got zinc in it--excellent rust inhibitor/surfacer/primer.

Update, finally finished painting the underside today, spraying black up above you is a MESSY job. I should call Mike Rowe. Here are some pics, I also got my filler tube cleaned up and painted, and a picture of my new gas tank inside with 3/8" pickup. I am going to reinstall the rearend this weekend, drop the car back on the ground, clean and primer the trunk, paint it black, and then reinstall the gas tank and filler.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0439.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0437.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0434.jpg

Look at you go Flyboy01!!! :blob:
your work and pic's look great,
Do you ever take a brake. :toothy7:

Nice pics... how did you take that shot inside the gas tank??

Got my rear re-installed yesterday, but I had a major goof on my tires. I measured everything and got 15x8 wheels with 4.5 bs on 265/50r15 tires, I figured everything would fit fine. I was wrong, I mis-measured. Instead of being centered, they are about 1/2" farther out now. I now have 1/8" clearance from each wheelwell lip to the tire sidewall, I figured I could cut the lip down so I could have about 5/16 clearance on each side, or I can get a set of 255/60r15's for it.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0465.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0466.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/axle004.jpg

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I got a lot done this weekend on the Dart. Although the Dart has almost no rust-through anywhere, there was a fair amount of surface rust everywhere, this has been my personal battle since I got it. I am happy to report that I am winning the battle. Previously I stripped and painted the rear half of the underbody and refinished and rebuilt the rear suspension. This weekend I got more done, I installed the new gas tank and fuel pickup, I stripped the inside of the trunk, cleaned everythng with laquer thinner, wiped everything down with wax & grease remover, covered the rust with Eastwood Rust Converter, and finally primered the whole trunk in Eastwood's Rust Encapulator. I also pulled the rear bumper and prepped the rear valance with more Rust Converter. I also stripped the bumper brackets and painted them. I finally finished up today with getting my rear drum brakes put back together.

BEFORE:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0217-1.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0219-1.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0218-1.jpg

STRIPPING:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0470.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0471.jpg

RUST CONVERTER:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0473.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0476.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0481.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0483.jpg

ENCAPSULATOR PRIMER:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0489.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0495.jpg

I started doing bodywork this past week, I started by stripping the paint and filler off the left rear quarter, I welded up the holes left by the trim and emblems. I am going to post a few pics when I get a chance.

Looking good !

I say go with the Black with the red bumble bee stripe, it just looks so sick and sinister!

i gotta hand it to ya, what you have done so far looks amazing. awesome job and keep us posted

looking great

Flying right along flyboy01. :thumbup:

The truck looks perfect :salute:


This is going to be another great A bodie. :blob:

nice job on keeping us posted, looking good :headbang: that 383 is gonna be mean

OK, since you asked, here are some more boring pictures:

Here are my wheelwell lips, trimmed down, still need to be spot welded and filled with seam sealer, but now I have about 5/8" clearance between the sidewall and the lip. I will probably hit them with my D/A and some 80 grit to smooth them out.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0563.jpg


Here are my shit welds, I welded up about 13 holes, I only have about 50 more to go. Hopefully my welds will get better.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0554.jpg


Here is the completed rearend, all done and ready to go. Now all I need is a 3.23 sure-grip to finish it off. Don't worry the crappy exhaust will be replaced soon, I am just keeping it so I can drive the car a little. As soon as the 383 goes in, its gone.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0566.jpg


Here is how much clearance I have, I have about 5/8" from the sidewall to the outer lip. I have about 1" from the inside wheel well to the sidewall, I have about 1/2" from the sidewall to the spring. I'm sure that if I move the springs in 3/4" with relocation brackets and pick my backspacing very carefully, I can easily get 275/50 or 60 in there.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0570.jpg


Here is what my front brakes looked like AFTER I cleaned out all the cobwebs, spider webs, and dessicated bug carcasses. Overall everything looked good, all the bushing in the suspension are solid, no slop, so I am going to wait to rebuild the suspension until maybe next winter. The spindles were pefect, no scoring, and the bearing are re-usable, the rotors however are junk, they are straight, but whoever last turned them took them down to the minimum, .94", so now they are junk. Oh well, I can get new rotors for $76 a pair. I am replacing the front lines with RMS braided stainless. I have new calipers for the front. I also drained all the old brake fluid outof the system, I flushed about a pint of fluid for the rear half, I might do even more in the front. I was shocked at how dark the old fluid was, and how much setiment there was in the bottom of my dump can when I was done. More to come.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0574.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0573.jpg

You got a very nice project going there and your doing it right. Always finish one section or part before moving to another. It keeps pieces together and your mind fresh on what you’re doing. Also photograph everything. I can’t tell you how many photos I have of others and mine projects. It gets to the point of people always seeing you with the camera. But guess who they ask when they need reference photos or they can’t remember “where does this go”.
Keep it up “Nice work”.

Maynard

Very nice man. I gotta clean up my 64s underside this year, and youve given me hope it can be done. Ill need some lower quater panel work on mine and my rear valance needs a dent pulled out of it, but the rear valance is spot welded on. I think when i get going with the welder i bought, i might be able to remove it myself and get the dent out, but the rear quarters, i just dont know if i can do. Your project is looking nice, keep it coming.

looks good man. good attention to detail on the undercarriage.

Thanks for the support. This is the order I am planning to do the work:

1. I am going to finish up the front brakes next, all I need is a set of rotors.

2. Get some gas in tank and install my new Edelbrock 650cfm carb.

3. Install my wideband O2 A/F meter (need to weld in bung to exhaust pipe)

4. finish the bodywork on the left rear quarter, then weld up all the trim holes.

5. Primer the whole car.

6. Paint the car.

This should keep me busy through the spring.

Are you sure those rims have 4.5" backspacing ? They look pretty deep and thats a lot more clearance to the springs then I would have though.

I'm positive its 4.5" BS 8" wheels. I have some 5.5" BS wheels before that did not fit. I also have some 4" BS 7" front wheels that I tried. Its strange that everyone with an A-body has different measurements.

I finished up the front brakes today, I had the rears done weeks ago, but I started on the fronts last Monday, finished today.

I replaced the front rotors with a new set because the old rotors were below minimum thickness, I also got the RMS Braided front lines installed too. I decided that I could not just put the parts on as-is. I coated the nice clean, new calipers with Eastwoods Diamond clear, I painted the centers of the rotor hubs with Duplicolor Cast Gray to keep them from rusting. I also scrubbed the backing plates (dust shields) with a soft wire brush after soaking them overnight in degreaser. I did end up going with the good Raybestos Pro-Stop pads.

It was a bit of a pain to get them bled because the whole system was dry in front, so I flushed the whole brake system with a quart of fluid front and rear, you would be surprised how much dirt there is in old brake fluid. I finished up by cranking up the torsion bars 1 1/2 turns so I could get the jack under the k-member (talk about low!).

I inspected the front suspension and all the joins and bushing are tight and should last a while longer, a few of the boots were cracked, but everything else was good. I will eventually rebuild the front suspension with poly bushings and much bigger torsion bars (have .870 now).

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0573.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0575.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0580.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0578.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0574.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0584.jpg

Looks good.

I guess I will be able to fit a 275-50-15s on my car after moving the springs.

I finally got the Dart running after 5 months, In December I had a lot of problems with the engine, I could not keep it running, it would run over 1500 rpm, but would not idle. I took the Gas tank out and found this:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0162.jpg

I figured the tarnished fuel might have something to do with it. I bought a used Edelbrock 1406 carb (600cfm) a while back but I did not bother replacing it until I got a new fuel tank and pickup (got this in a few weeks ago). I took the old carb off today and was shocked at what I found inside my mystery engine:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0592.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0589.jpg

:o I was amazed at how hard this stuff is, its shiny and rock hard, I could not scrape it with my fingernail! I installed a new fuel filter (clear so I could keep my eye on it) Installed the Edelbrock carb and new gasket, but then I tried to hook up the throttle and kickdown. Time for a trip to the parts store, luckily one of my local Pep Boys carries a lot of Edelbrock stuff, and they actually had the Mopar linkage in stock, on my way back home.

Hmm...I'm hungry, stop at Taco Bell...10 minutes later, starting to drive fast...its making a run for the the border...must...get...home...to...bathroom...FAST!

Ok, back in the garage now, feeling much better. I installed a new set of plugs, I poured in 2 gallons of gas in it, cranked for about 15 seconds, VROOM! It started! WOO HOO! I love Edelbrock carbs, they always start the first time!

CRAP! The radiator is leaking water from somewhere in the middle of the core...%$#&@

I shut it off, giving up for today...I will work on it tomorrow.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0162.jpg




Woah, what's the story behind the tank? Do you know if the car sat for a decade or two? That's one brutal tank!

Sat for 10 years, the guy set it aside to F with Rustangs, what a mistake.

I actually started the body work a few weks ago, but it was more exploratory surgery. I started by doing a little sanding and breaking in my new D/A. I strated out by trying to see how deep the filler was, I cut a groove in the side with my D/A throught the filler fron under the gas filler back to the rear corner, I estimate that toward the rear it was about 3/16" thick. The quality of the repair was pretty good, but I was concerned that the whole 1/4 was covered by at least some filler. It had to go, I need to know what was under it.

This was the first step, after cutting the line through the filler, I decided to start sanding down with 80 grit, this was the result after 3 hours with a D/A.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0551.jpg

I needed to fill the holes, I started out welding the holes shut for the "DART" emblem and all those damn holes for the GT side trim:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0554.jpg

Today I decided to attack the filler with a stripping wheel (on the trunk), it definately works better without damaging the metal. The very back of the quarter had a lot more than I thought, but on the plus side, the damage underneath was not all that bad. I took about 2 hours, but I got the thick stuff off, I was really happy that the fender lines were straight and true. These will be use to restore the "character" of the rear fender.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0599.jpg

How many of the A-body guys wish your metal looked like this under the paint? ;D The only rust was a pinhole where you see the hole at the bottom. I determined that the pinhole was tiny, so I drilled it out to about 3/8" to get to undamaged metal, which I am going to weld shut later.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0600.jpg

After welding up the holes, I ground them flat with my grinder, actually they are cocave, which I will smooth with filler later. You can see a little of the damage at the back end of the fender.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0601.jpg

Here is a better shot showing the mostly undamaged character lines.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0602.jpg

Here is the fender after giving it a coat of self etching primer, you can see the damage a little beter with primer, next weekend I am going to start knocking down the high spots and getting the fender back in shape before adding filler.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0605.jpg

This a continuation of the bodywork I started a few weeks ago by stripping all the old filler down to the metal. I have to add, this is the first major bodywork I have ever done, before it had been limited to door dings and a little bit of painting, so if you see me doing something wrong, let me know.

Just enough tools to make me dangerous. I have my D/A sander, a 17" air board sander, a 17" hand board sander, a 6" block sander, a grater for shaping bodywork, Evercoat filler, mixing board and an assortment of speaders.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0607.jpg

Here is the uglyness I found under the filler, in retrospect I could have left it alone, but I just didn't know what was going on underneath, plus the rear body crease was pretty soft, I wanted to sharpen it up a bit. All the holes are being welded up, I started with the rear quarter. I also knocked down most of the high spots with a hammer and dolly (I still missed a few).
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0608.jpg

The start of the filler, I started with the lower half, I was concerned that the creases would be soft so I paid the most attention to them. I already made a pass with the D/A to knock down the first layer. Its a bitch getting the hardener to filler ratio just right, you will see by all the different colors of the filler.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0612.jpg

This is the second coat, knocked down with the grater.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0619.jpg

Coat number 3, filling in the low spots.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0625.jpg

Sanded down with the D/A, I then hit all the bare metal with etching primer.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0632.jpg

The next day, I did the top half, now I am applying a layer of glazing putty, I built up the center crease so when I sand it down I can get a nice shap line.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0636.jpg

Here is my first coat of primer over the intitial filler work, look at that nice sharp crease!
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0642.jpg

Here is another look at the crease, straight as an arrow! I love it when a plan comes together.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0639.jpg

To find the low spots, I sprayed a light coat of black primer.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0643.jpg

I then blocked it to find all the high and low spots, still needs some work, I found a few high spots I need to knock down some more.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0646.jpg

Afterwards I put down several coats of high build primer, I am going to block it one more time, if I still have high spots, I am going to knock them down, them I am going to fill in the low spots with some glazing putty.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0649.jpg

Another angle of the work. I think its starting to look better. The streaking is actually from the high build primer still being wet.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0648.jpg

More to come next weekend...

nice work dude. looking good. I like how you take your time and do it right.

Looks good, Run a line of tape along the body line then block the panel up to the tape. Pull the tape and retape on the other side of the body line, then block the other side. This should give you good strong, crisp body lines.

Looks good man! I can really appreciate your work underneath the car and all that rust prevention/preservation/removal. I love the idea of the Evapo-rust pumped into an area with the pump..wicked idea! I'll have to try that sometime. Keeping things wet is the problem with that stuff, but you seem to have solved the problem. Theoretically you could do the whole inside of a frame like that.....just plug the big holes and let her rip with a long drain pan underneath......the possibilities are endless!

Well, yesterday was a big setback, I thought I would fill a few pinholes with spot putty instead of the high-build primer I had been using. BIG MISTAKE! The putty attacked the primer, it wrinkled , shrank, and cracked, and I had to strip it all back down to metal and Evercoat, so I knocked down all the high spots again and had to redo the glazing putty and finish, this time I used the high build primer to fill any pinholes. I am back to where I started, but I do feel that my second attempt was even better, so I have now finished the back of the quarter and I am going to move to the front half of the quarter now. Hopefully the whole car will be in primer in the next few weeks.

Anyone want to make $100?

I need to rent a garage from somebody for a weekend so I can paint my car, I will put up plastic sheeting on the walls and floor to keep things clean.

Its preferable that the garage be within 70 miles of Dallas TX, the garage needs to have 110 vdc with a 20 amp breaker (for my compressor), some lighting (I can bring my florescents to hang), and I would need it from Saturday through Monday. Can anyone help?

I have been trying to do it in my apartment garage, but my neighbor parks his car so close that I worry about overspray getting on his car (some did last week, but it was dry, thankfully). I have tried in vain to find any space that can be rented to work on my car, but the best I could find was a shop for $750 a month about 60 miles away.

So, is there anyone out there that can help me out and rent their garage to me for a weekend?

The Dart is running again. Well, it ran for about 20 minutes after I replaced the fuel tank, pickup, filter and carb, then it died. I thought it was bad wiring to the ECU, so I replaced all that, put in a new OrangE Box Mopar ECU and cleaned up the wiring, no dice. I next thought it was a clogged fuel line, but when I pulled the off the fuel pump, fuel ran out, it had to be the fuel pump, so I replaced that, and it started! I drove it around the p[arking lot a bit, could not take it on the road, since I have no tail lights in it. The tHrottle cable is sticky, I am overcoming it with a heavy spring, but I need to get that fixed.

When I finally got the Dart out of the garage under its own power last Sunday, I decided I need to take a few updated pics. This one has been slightly photo-shopped, I took out the side trim on the door and pasted in a bumper, but otherwise, its pretty accurate, but this is the good side, you can see the peeling paint on the hood, roof, and trunk. I want to get it painted by the end of summer.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_06623.jpg

I LIKE it! You're making great progress.

$100 for a weekend? You could probably find a body shop near you that will rent their booth out to you for $150. Walk in with your own materials and go to town.

Hay flyboy01! Good looking A bodie you got there.

I like them 68's

Can you pickup that Eastwood's Red Rust Encapsulator Primer just about anywhere? I'm going to do my trunk soon. I have a little bit of surface rust, and I Think that would do the trick nicely.

No, unfortunately, you can only buy it from www.eastwood.com, but they have a sale right now, 10% off throught 5/29/07.

Constant rain and high humididty have stalled the project for the last few weeks. :sad:

This morning I decided to repair my door hinges. Originally, when I bought the car, I opened the door and tried to lift it, no slop. But trying to adjust the door last week led to a lot of frustration, I could not get the door lined up, it turns out the the pin hole had been worn in an oval pattern, which meant the the door had slop near the closed position, but not in the open. I ordered a pin repair kit, I got it yesterday, so I made it my project for the day. I originally planned on trying to repair it without pulling the door off, but realized that it would be easier to pull the door off the hinges. The bad part was, I got a case of "might-as-well." I decided it would be a perfect time to prep the door jamb for paint. I started at 10 am, I sprayed the filler primer at 10pm.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0705.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0704.jpg

Here is the hinge seperated, I had drilled the holes with a 25/64" drill bit (which I had to make a run to Lowes for.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0706.jpg

The other side was just as easy.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0708.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0711.jpg

In case you are wondering how the bushings go in
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0712.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0713.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0714.jpg

The striker plate had the typical mopar problem, which was fixed by the previous owner. The repair was done OK, but there was a crack in the weld at the top, and the inside seam was left unwelded, which caused it to flex.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0716.jpg

I fixed it by welding it all the way around. Of course my welds were so bad, I had to grind them down with my die grinder.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0717.jpg

Time for filler.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0721.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0726.jpg

After shaping, I shot the bare metal with etching primer, any areas of rust were sanded down, then I sprayed rust encapsulating primer over those areas (red primer).
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0729.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0730.jpg

The last thing I did for the night was shoot the jamb with some filler primer.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0731.jpg

I might add a little putty later to smooth out some of the bumps.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0733.jpg

flyboy01, Thanks for a very good hinge repair how to. Your posts as usual are detailed with clear pics and are very helpful to me and others as well. Seems like your particular project is just a few days before I start the same repair on my Duster. You have saved me a lot of head scratching and cussing. I need to start a resto thread on project Juice, start taking pics and sharing some of my experiences, good and bad. Keep up the good work!
Bob

Glad I could help. I did a bit of head scratching at first, but I figured it out. The hard part was finding the right size drill bit. Doing the pin replacement was really easy, if that was all I did, it would have taken me no more than 20 min per door. Aligning it is the hard part, but in theory, if you only take the door half of the hinge off, the alignment should be close when you are done.

In case you were wondering where to get the repair kit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/66-76-Dodge-Dart-door-hinge-pin-kit-Mopar-pins-bushings_W0QQitemZ200116395305QQihZ010QQcategoryZ3 3642QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I got my hinge kit today from the same ebayer. Thats a good tip( leaving the hinge bolted on), I've got my fenders off and the alignment might not be as rough this way. Where is the best place to buy the evaporust?
Bob

Coming along great, thanks for all the pics, very helpful.

When I did mine I sprayed a bit of paint on the hinges before I took them off so I knew where they were.

I got my hinge kit today from the same ebayer. Thats a good tip( leaving the hinge bolted on), I've got my fenders off and the alignment might not be as rough this way. Where is the best place to buy the evaporust?
Bob

I got my Evaporust off ebay, there is a guy that sells the 5 gal, if you offer $65, he will take it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170090965604&rd=1,1

Another update, I got the drivers door done, I just need to weld up the trim holes and spray a coat of primer.

This is what it looked like before I started, you can see that there were large areas where the clear coat had failed, which led to the failure of the base coat, which left bare filler that you see here. I have no idea why the clear was flaking, but it might have been because the car sat in the Texas sun for 15 years, slowly baking.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0743.jpg

After doing a little research, I found out that I need to strip the old paint off completely since the clear was improperly applied and there would be a high risk of it peeling off if I just scuffed it. I did things the hard way and sanded off the paint with 80 grit in my D/A.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0767.jpg

Once I got the paint stripped, I started blocking the door with a 17" board, the previous paint job had a thick layer of filler primer on it (brown), so I just started sanding until I got the panel straight. The existing filled was done properly, and I saw no need to strip it down and start from scratch.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0768.jpg

This is what it looks like now, the panel is pretty straight now, I did have a few divits that I had to lay in some fresh putty to make it really smooth. I still need to weld up the trim holes in the door. Once I do that and get the door back on the car and aligned, I will spray the whole car in the finish primer. The driver's side of the car is worse than the Passenger side, so that is why I am spending most of my time on this side. The front fender was replaced before and really only needs to be sanded and aligned.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0769.jpg

WHAT is bbd.com and is that the e adress?

racy

http://www.bigblockdart.com

Well its almost 3 weeks later, no progress. It has rained every day since in Dallas, the humididty is too high to do any bodywork. I have dedicated a bunch of time to cleaning and organizing my garage however.

It looks like the weather is going to be clear tomorrow, a chance to get some more bodywork done. I will post more pics later.

OK, finally some more progress!

I started the day by doing something I have avoided doing for 6 months, removing the window trim of the front and back glass. I started to do the back on about 4 months ago and gave up after trying unsucessfully prying on it for two hours, the trim is in perfect shape and I did not want to damage it. Since it has not removed itself, despite my hoping so, I decided to tackle it Monday morning.

Well, 1/2 hour into struggling with the trim clips *SNAP* my trim tool broke. F**K! I decided to save a little time, by welding it back together instead of driving to the parts store to get a new one. 45 minutes later it was done, I was prod of my custom gusset and all the welding and gringing I did. :D I took it back over the window, shoved it under the trim and *SNAP!* :angry5: I chucked that tool out the garage door, got in my truck, and drove to O'reiley's. 30 minutes later, I was back home with a tool much nicer than the first one, and it cost $4 less. Sometimes you learn the hard way. :tard:


Ok, 3 hour later (yes I said 3 hours), I finally got the front and rear trim off with minimal damage. It took all of my brain power and fingertip muscle to get trim off that had 38 year old butyl rubber baked on the bottom of it. But, good news, no rust!

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0846.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0845.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0844.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0843.jpg

Here is the second part of my project. I started the day just wanting the loosten a few bolts and re-align the front fenders, the drivers side needed to come up at the rear and front needed to shift a bit to the left. That was the plan, what ended up happening was I pulled both all the trim, then I loosened the bolts, then I thought to myself, "these are going to be much easier to sand off the car," so I proceeded to start yanking it all off. I plan to pull the passenger door next so i can replace the hinges. I did the drivers door a few weeks ago, and it was a lot easier doing all the sanding off the car.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0833.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0834.jpg


Very minimal surface rust, no rust through.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0838.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0839.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0842.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0840.jpg


No rust through, but very thick paint.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0853.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0850.jpg


No rust.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0847.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0848.jpg

Looks great! I had the same challenge fighting with the gummy butyl that stcuk to the trim better then any bubble gum has stuck to my shoe.

Will you be removing the windshield and putting in a new gasket?

I'm almost ready to put my windshield back in but I need to screw in the trim clips first. The windshield trim clip set I bought from Laysons has four slightly longer clips compared to the rest. Any chance you could tell from the existing ones around your windshield if any are longer then the rest? I'm not too sure where the four longer ones go.

All the trim clips looked the same to me, evil! Those little bastards!

I am going to have to replace the windsheild because it has a bullseye in it. I am going to do that after I paint it. How much did it cost you to replace you windshield?

Boring, but update pictures none the less...I finished the work on the driver's door, it had a major dent in the center, the lines are back to what they were before, everything is straight now. Its primered, wet sanded, and ready for sealer and paint. Its going back on the car this weekend. It looks like now, I am expecting to have paint on it by the end of August.


http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0865.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0866.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0876.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0871.jpg

nice work fly

looks nice. cant wait to see paint on it.

Flying right along.
Nothing boring about those pictures!! Nice and straight.:grin:

Ok, I decided to have a little fun instead of doing bodywork all the time. I already had my gauges, so I wanted to see what they would look like in my dash. I started by fabricating a panel that fit out of cardboard, after I got a shape I wanted to see how the gauges fit so i cut circles out of carboard to check the fit. THis is what I came up with, I am going to make it out of 16ga steel later.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0868.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0873.jpg

A little more progress, I got the roof sanded and blocked smooth this weekend, I fixed a little bit of rust pitting in the pass rain gutter (no rust through), I filler in the holes from the "DART" letters on the pass side quarter, I did the driver's side a while back, and I welded in a patch or the lower rear quarter.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0882.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0880.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0881.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0893.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0894.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0889.jpg

Ever wonder why you get rust in the lower quarters in most mopars? In the south, there are many rust free cars, as min is, however, those little trunk pan extensions trap a lot of junk. Here is what I found after I cut out the metal for a patch. It looks like a piece of 3/8 fuel line that has been rusting in there for years.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0895.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0896.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0897.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0898.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0899.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0904.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0905.jpg

The panel and gauges will look fantastic! Are you going to be able to use your stock light and wipers switches? Good job on the rust repair as well!
Bob

gauges look bitchin' you are doing some nice work there! Hope mine turns out looking as good!

I got all the holes welded up yesterday, it took me 4 hours to weld all the trim holes from the rear wheel wells back on both sides. Now I just have to grind them flat.

As far as the dash, yes I will re-use the stock switches, I am thinking about blending the sheetmetal in the dash to try and make it look as stock as possible. (as stock as aftermarket gauges can look)

I'm still working at it. I have 85% ofn the left and 75% of the right rear quarters done. Got them smooth and rebuilt the fender lip (note: when welding up trim holes, the heat will warp things :-( ).

I ground out some old filler that had a few pinholes that went down to bare metal, probably some drops of grease when they laid it on many years ago. I replaced it with Evercoat after prepping the surface.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0906.jpg

A lot of welding, did I mention I hate welding up holes? Oh yeah, be careful, you can do some warping when doing this, dont ask me how I know!
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0907.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0908.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0910.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0912.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0922.jpg

Sanding in all the creases and contours is a bitch! I have spent 2 weeks getting these areas just perfect. A little more sanding to do and I'm done.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0928.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0925.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0926.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0929.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0932.jpg

Here is the drivers side, it was a lot less work, because of no rust and cleaner, better welds, also I did not warp the wheel lip from welding like I did on the passenger side.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0934.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0935.jpg

I also got the 383 back from the machine shop Monday, I threw all the parts on it to take a picture.

Specs:
71 383 block
Bored .030 to 4.280
Lifter bores honed
New cam bearings
All new freeze plugs
Deck checked for flatness
Cast crank, stock rods.
10:1 Badger Cast Pistons (9.5:1 assembled)
452 heads 88cc
Performer RPM Intake
Carter Carb (unknown CFM, anyone know how to check this?)
The rest is undecided.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0995.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0996.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0997.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_0998.jpg

what is the carb # on the front of the baseplate? cast crank?? i thought that all 383's were forged.

All 2bbl 71 383's and starting the 400's were cast in 71. I am going to check the carb # tomorrow.

Looks like your car will be bitchin!

The block was degreased by my machinist, the heads were soaked in Evaporust, the oil pan was soaked in Purple power, and the timing cover had pitting, so I soaked it in Evaporust and primed it with Rust Encapsulator. I assembled the pieces, wiped down everything with wax and grease remover, I then used a propane torch to go over everysquare inch of the engine, burning off all the grease and solvents left over. I primed the whole engine in Duplicolor primer, then I sprayed in in CHrysler Blue.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1104.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1105.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1114.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1113.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1116.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1117.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1119.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1120.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1121.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1124.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1125.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1122.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1129.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1134.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1133.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1130.jpg

Looks great. I guess you have not stroked that 383 yet. Will be nice when you're finished. Progress is good.

the stroker is going to have to wait. I am just going to assemble it as a stock 383 with a hotter cam. I have more ambition than cash.

OOPS! It looks like I goofed up. I did not realize that Chrysler had 2 different engine blue colors. I noticed after it dried that it did not look right, after checking I figured out that I should have painted it Chrysler Engine Turquiose, not Blue. Well, I am going to get a couple of cans and spay a couple new coats of paint over my blue "primer"!

More progress last weekend. I have the rear quarters done and blocked smooth, roof blocked and smooth, both doors blocked and smooth, drivers's door jamb is smooth, just need to finish sanding down the cowl panel and passenger door jamb, I am going to pull the door to do that since I am repairing the hinges with a pin kit.

Unfortunately, I started sanding down the trunk, and found some problems. After f*ing around with the trunk alignment for about an hour, I determined the the trunk lid had been bent in the past and the driverside of the lid had been smashed down from probably somebody jumping on it and the back edge was pulled out about a 1/4 of an inch from the pass side. ???

I know from the original owner that the original trunk lid had been hit from behind and was replaced with another one. I guess the replacement had been tweeked as well. It was repaired, and the repair was very smooth, except that the trunk lid is flat on one side and has the original crown on the other. After doing some thinking, I bought a come-along and managed to bend the back edge back, hoping it will bend the lid back also, but the top did not change. I might try to fix it with some filler, or I will try to find another straight smooth lid (probably impossible). I know I saw a few up in a junkyard in Denton, but I am willing to bet the yard want premium $$$ for it. Another option is an AAR fiberglass lid, which is $350, but truck freight would probably be another $150.

A final option is to just paint the lid as is, since I am painting all the panels off the body anyway, I can always paint a new lid later, and basic black is not too hard to match.

A final note, I have 95% decided on a paint scheme for the Dart. Since the panels are now smooth enough for it, this is what it will be:
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/34321.jpg

You are doing a great job Flyboy! I live in Denton, and I have been restoring a 75 Duster. Rocky Mountain Dashes makes a instrument panel that is real close to what you designed in cardboard. I have one and there is a picture of it on this website.

Cool, you gonna be at the show in Garland next weekend? I was hoping to have my car there, painted, but the progress has been slow. Still hoping to make the Nov Lone Star Shootout in Houston.

I gave the trunklid my attention today. I decided to take a 24" straightedge and check to see how bad and where the trunklid was bent. I found out that the trunklid was actually ok over all but the far left 8". Obviously sombody had sat on or stood on it to bend the whole left edge down. The shape of the lid (flat) did not match the fender (crowned).

I was trying to figure out how I was going to bent the whole trunklid back into shape, when I had an idea. I grabbed my lineman's plier and a paintstick and started bending the lip of the lid up to match the fender. As you can see, I used a paintstick to check the level. The orange marks I mad with a sharpie told me where to bend and how much.

I finally got the shape to match the fender perfectly. Once done, I filled in the trough left with body filler, I will sand it all off tomorrow and see how it will turn out.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1137.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1138.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1141.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1144.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1146.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1150.jpg

Day 2 of the trunk project.

Here is what I started with, I stripped the side of the trunk that had the flattened section. The light areas were high spots. I have already bent the enge of the trunk lid to match the fender line. I then re-alighned the lid to sit high on the hinges so I dont dig into the fenders while sanding.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1138.jpg

First layer of filler.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1150.jpg

ARGH! I hate the dust, it gets everywhere. This sanding board is the best $10 I ever spent at Harbor Freight. I only used Evercoat filler, I use the Featherlite on the first layer and on bigger areas, I use their glaze on smaller areas or second layers, its thin, so it is a lot easier to spread. I got the Durablocks at English Color and Supply, a very good paint supply store in the DFW area. All my sandpaper is from Eastwood.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1151.jpg

Sanded down with etching primer applied.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1152.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1155.jpg

First layer of filler primer applied.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1156.jpg

I like using a contrasting Red filler primer for the final layer of sanding with 320 grit, it seems to be a lot easier to see low spots.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1162.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1165.jpg

Here it is, project complete. Its now ready for Sealer, then paint.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1167.jpg

After finishing the outside of the trunklid, I taped up all the edges and covered the top with masking paper to protect it while I work on the bottom. I unbolted the lid and tried to lift it off by myself. HOLY SHIT! Thats a lot of steel in that trunk lid, two layers of heavy gauge steel! I tried to lift it while standing behind the car, no dice, I could not do it. Crap. I next hopped into the trunk and stood in the spoare tire well, with all my remaining energy (it was about 98F and I had been working outside for 4 hours) I managed to lift it off. I climbed out and almost tripped while holding it above my head, I managed to get it around the car to a table and set it upside down. I sanded down the bracking and any spots of rust I found. I then turn around, walked about 5 feet then heard a CRASH! Oh shit! I fell off the table on to its edge and slid across the concrete before crashing top down onto some screws, washers, rocks, etc. Right on the top of the lid, which I had been working on for 4 days, just after getting it perfect.


I ran over and picked it up, I pulled the paper off, there were some small nicks, scratches, and dents, it does not appear that anything major happened. I am going to have to block sand it again to make certain. But at this point I figured it would be best to just walk away for now.

oh man. thats not what i expected to read. hope it comes out better than your first look at it.

Hey flyboy I have been following your work from day 1 bodywork is the worst but one of the last steps to finishing hope your trunk lid isn't to bad.

Here is the rest of the trunk work, it was not original to the car and it had some seam rust. I sanded down everything underneath, made it ready for primer. I wire wheeled the rust out, scraped the old seam sealer out, I then coated all the areas with rust converter, I then sprayed it with black Rust Encapsulator.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1171.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1172.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1173.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1174.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1372.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1370.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1371.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1373.jpg

My decision on what scoop to install on my Dart was made today when I found a brand new Hemi scoop at a swap meet this morning for $100. Here is how I installed it.

Like an eager little kid, as soon as I got it home, I had to set it on the hood to see what it looked like. ;D
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1294.jpg

First I made a mounting stud and base outline with a piece of cardboard. I set the cardboard with the flat edge across the front of the scoop, i used a rubber mallet to pop the holes for the studs, then I cut around scoop and had a perfect outline of the scoop with stud holes.

I first found the center of the hood and the center of the air cleaner stud, I marked these on the hood. I then measure the scoop and the hood and found the side to side center, I marked these on the hood with tape and a sharpie. I then looked on the bottom of the hood to find out where the studs will fall. The biggest consideration was the four rear studs, I had to make sure that they were no farther forward than big underhood brace. I also wanted to make sure the air cleaner would be centered in the scoop when I cut the opening in the hood a little later.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1350.jpg

I set the scooop template in place and located the rear edge 3 1/2" from the rear center. To locate the scoop straight and square across the hood I measured in 13" on each side of the rear edge of the hood and marked it on some tape. This is important because the rear edge is curved. I them measured forward from those marks and came up with 26" to the front edge of each side. This made the scoop square. From this mark at 26" forward of the rear I measured across the hood, then subtracted the width of the scoop, then divided that number by 2, I now have exactly how far frome each side of the hood the scoop was, I marked this on the tape. I taped the template in place.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1351.jpg

Now I set the scoop on the template to make sure I liked it.

I likey! ;D
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1352.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1353.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1354.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1355.jpg

At his point I marked the centers of the studs with the scoop in place with X's to make sure the holes were accurate. I took the scoop off and drilled 3/16" holes in the center of each stud location, and down through the bracing below. (by the way I hit 8 of the 10 holesnthrough the braces) I then used a stepped bit to open up the holes top and bottom to 5/16". The front two holes I actually cut out to 7/8" since they came thorugh the center of the brace.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1358.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1359.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1360.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1361.jpg

I also drilled a hole where I measure out where the air cleaner stud should be. How close did I get? WHen I drilled the hole, the drill bit went down and hit the center of the stud and created a divot in the stud.
:toothy1:
:wav:
Yes, I know, please hold the applause until I finish! ;)
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1366.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1369.jpg

Here is the finished product, I still have to cut the hole for the air cleaner. I am going to use a K&N X-stream 11x4 filter and make a baseplate with some foam so it can seal against the bottom of the hood.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1362.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1363.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1364.jpg

looks awesome. are you going to use the little vertical supports lie the scoops on the ss darts? if the car is red, the scoop might look sick in black.

I am going to work on the supports today, I found some real nice black button head allen bolts yesterday. I am probably goung to buy some 3/8 aluminum rod, cut it to size, the drill and tap it for the bolts. I am also going to cut the hole in the hood. I also figure that that scoop is going to pull up on the hood pretty hard, so I am also going to add a set of hood pins too for extra security. If I come across one pretty cheap, I will add a fiberglass hood later.

Here is part II of the hood scoop install, fresh air. I figured that I have enough room between the braces to fit an 11" x 3 1/2" K&N X-stream filter. I will be making a baseplate with a seal to keep out underhood air.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/knn-66-3140_w.jpg

If it was a fiberglass hood, I would have just cut a large round or oval hole, but for budget reasons, I am keeping the steel hood. I wanted to make it look neat, and not just hack up the bracing. I started by marking the hole I wanted to cut, I then drilled 3/16" holes in all the corners.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1384.jpg

On top of the hood, I laid down some tape, then drew lines between all the holes.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1382.jpg

I then cut the lines with my dremel tool and some extra large cutoff wheels. When I was done, it was time to take a shower because my neck and arms were covered with itchy metal grindings, I hate that stuff! I used some 120 grit sandpaper and a sanding roll on my dremel to clean up the opening.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1386.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1388.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1390.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1392.jpg

The second part of what I did today was do some more sanding, I finished sanding around the driver's side driprail, the edge of the windsheild frame, the cowl panel, and about 1/2 the hood.

Trivia question: How do you sand the little slats in the cowl, all 60 of them?

Answer: One at a time!

Two and a half hours later I finished. I had to get a sanding sponge and wrap it with 320 grit sand paper, fold it in half, and sand on for a couple of minutes. Repeat 60 more times.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1398.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1396.jpg

I got about 1/2 done with he hood and my D/A sander and 180 grit sandpaper.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1395.jpg

I also blocked the scoop top and sides to get it as flat as possible.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1397.jpg

wow you have some ballz! Not sure if I could cut away on the car like that.

Once I got the scoop, I was comitted, I was not going to have a scoop and not have it be functional. Its just a stock steel hood, not like it was a GTS hood. Eventually I might get a fiberglass hood for a little weight savings.

Can´t wait to see it finished!:hello1:

looking good.

My God your pace and ambition are awesome, and the scoop looks great. Can't wait to get back at mine. Looking at your progress is definately an inspiration, thanks for the pics!

Ambition? Is that what you call it?

My lazy ass spent the day watching TV on my day off yesterday.

test.

Looking good! Nice progress.

Hey Flyboy01, I see the rust inside the trunk lid (on the photos), did you do the same thing here & the hood as you did on your fender; flood the Evaporust in those areas with the aquarium pump & hosing & then encapsulate as well ? Just wondering... Would that be necessary ?

The rust was just very light surface rust, I flooded it with rust converter then covered it with encapsulator. The camera flash makes the rust look much worse than it is.

I did some practice this weekend, and made up a test panel with the etch, primer, base, and clear I will be painting my car with, I also wanted to get a feel for my paint gun, and how the paint sprays out and behaves. I learned a lot.

The gun I have I bought a few years ago, HVLP, it needs 8.4 CFM at 30 PSI, my compressor is not having a problem keeping up with the gun. It has a 1.5 tip, the spray pattern is very uneven, it comes out more oval than cigar shaped, and it has extra spray out the bottom, the spray out of it is a little too coarse, I think the paint droplets need to be finer.

I have a 20 Gallon Compressor, 25 gallon, 2 running HP, oil lubricated, large piston, fast recovery. 8.6 CFM at 40 psi. My compressor is able to keep up, just fine, the problem is, my gun was not atomizing fine enough. I spent a lot of time seting up, rechecking, and adjusting the spray pattern. Unfortunately I just could not get the spray fine enough, It gets finer when I turn down the mixture, but then I am hardly getting any paint, I tried higher pressure (40psi), but it did not work as well as 25-30psi. My paint calls for 1.3 to 1.5 tip, 25-30 PSI at the gun.

I ended up doing some test painting with the best settings I could manage, I ended up with a lot of orange peel. I sprayed primer, base, and clear, all with the same results.

I am almost sure it is the gun, so I went ahead and ordered an Astro EVO4014 LVLP gun from spraygunworld.com today along with a diaphram regulator for it. Hopefully it will give better atomization, also its requirements are below what my compressor can produce it is supposed to be comparable (almost a direct copy) of the Iwata $450 gun. It came highly recommended by a lot of paint pros.

Pictures of my test panel.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1424.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1432.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1437.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1439.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1442.jpg


I tried wet sanding my test panel today (i did the right side) and hand buffed it to see if I could get rid on the orange peel. It worked ok, its a lot shinyer now. Not perfect, but it was just a test.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1445.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1444.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1452.jpg

Great paint photos, good luck with the new paint gun.
Regarding the rust encapsulation inside the hood & trunk lids; how did you coat inside those areas ? Foegive me if you have answered this before, I may have overlooked that post.

Great paint photos, good luck with the new paint gun.
Regarding the rust encapsulation inside the hood & trunk lids; how did you coat inside those areas ? Foegive me if you have answered this before, I may have overlooked that post.

I just spray what I can reach. I tend to flood areas I cant reach, like the inside seams with rust converter. On my trunklid, its pretty much 2 solid sheets of steel, you cant do much to treat the insides, unless you take everything apart. The trunk has lasted 40 years with just surface rust in between, I have a feeling it will last 40 more with what I have done.

Was just looking at the photos from your #47 post on the trunk area. That last photo got me wondering (it's always dangerous when ya start wondering), wonder if 69 Roadrunner tail lights would fit in those tail light opening ?
What would that look like ? Not saying you should do that, now if I only knew how to use PhotoShop. Shame on me for having customizing thoughts...

Was just looking at the photos from your #47 post on the trunk area. That last photo got me wondering (it's always dangerous when ya start wondering), wonder if 69 Roadrunner tail lights would fit in those tail light opening ?
What would that look like ? Not saying you should do that, now if I only knew how to use PhotoShop. Shame on me for having customizing thoughts...

Nope, totally different buckets.

Good job on the hood and the black and red will look fantastic!
Bob

Looks like you used Eastwood Rust Encapsulator dark grey finish on your rear axel parts, but your third member is a darker color. What did you use on it? How does the Eastwood Diamond Clear you used on the calipers look compared to the Rust Encapsulator for color and sheen? Have you tried their Detail Grey or Spray Grey paints?

Looks like you used Eastwood Rust Encapsulator dark grey finish on your rear axel parts, but your third member is a darker color. What did you use on it? How does the Eastwood Diamond Clear you used on the calipers look compared to the Rust Encapsulator for color and sheen? Have you tried their Detail Grey or Spray Grey paints?

I used Duplicolor Cast Iron engine paint. It was really just a temporary cosmetic, lipstick on a pig, type of deal. The 3rd member will be replaced in the near future with a limeted slip and deeper gears. When I do that, I will be painting it with diamond clear, it is clear, so whatever color the metal underneath is, thats the color you get. Most paint. as long as the surface is clean, will last forever if you are not driving the car everyday in wet and snow. Any paint will do as long as you are happy with the finish.

Its been a couple of weeks since I last posted, but I have been getting stuff accomplished.

Next on my listwas the hood. I needed to prep the top and bottom for paint. I started by sanding the dark green paint and what was left of the clearcoat off the top. This actually took 2 days with a D/A sander and 120 grit paper. What was underneath on the whole car is some good high-build primer (dark red) over the factory green paint. SInce the factory paint was laquer, and the surfacer was laquer, and my new paint will be laquer, I am leaving the stuff underneat, as there are no adhesion or rust issues. After spending many hours with the D/A, I was pretty convinced that the hood was now super flat and ready for primer.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1458.jpg

I took the hood off the car and flipped it upside down on my table. There was lots of dirt, grease, carbon, and grime underneath, as well as some surface rust, but no rusthrough. I wiped the whole underside of the hood with laquer thinner several times and finally got the grunge off. I started to sand off some of the rust and noticed that a lot of the paint was chpping off near the back of the hood, so, besides sanding any rust down, I went at any loose paint I could find, down to bare metal.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1459.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1460.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1471.jpg

After I gut the problem areas to bare metal, I sprayed on some rust converter.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1478.jpg

WHen done, I sprayed the bare areas with etching primer. Underside done.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1480.jpg

I flipped the hood back over for the final prepwork. I looked at the front edge and decided that I needed to get rid of the "DODGE" letters. I welded the holes shut, ground down the beads, then coated the area with filler. I threw on a coat of surfacer to fill in some of the scratches and and help with the final blocking.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1502.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1506.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1509.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1512.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1518.jpg

Remember when I said that I was pretty sure the hood was perfectly flat, well, this is the reason you need to block sand everything. Now it is flat, but check out the pattern. Goes to show you, you cant trust your eye.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1519.jpg

Next on the list was finishing the cowl area, the engine compartment will be done after the paint. I need to keep the engine functional so I can move the car. As soon as the paint is done, I will begin working on the 383, when I pull the 318, I am going to paint the engine compartment. RIght now, I am just going to paint above the seam.
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1482.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1486.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1489.jpg

Today's project was stripping the front fenders, I bought a can of Aircraft Stripper, some paint brushes, and had a lot of fun. Not actually that bad, just messy, and I had to wear double nitrile gloves to keep mu hands from burning. After I finished scraping, after 4 applications, I had all the paint, primer, and filler off. I washed the fender down with a scotchbrite pad and laquer thinner. I now have to fill in all the little dents and prime it. Total work time, 3 hours.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1526.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1524.jpg

Do you strip paint inside your garage with a respirator ?
How bad are those chemicals on your lungs ?

Yup, my dumb ass did it in the garage. I had a fan exhausting to the outside, and I wore the reperator for the first hour, but then finished without it. I now have a migrane that has lasted since yesterday. :sad1:

The chemical is really bad, and I should have worn it, I learned my lesson. Also, get thick chemical resistant gloves, the nitrile ones I was wearing, I had to double up, and my hands were still burning, I had to keep switching gloves every coat. It took about 4-5 coats.

Things did not go so well afterwards. It was just one fender, but toward the end I was starting to get a bit of a headache, I just didn't have the energy to do the second fender. I went in the house to cool down figuring I was just overheated. It went downhill from there. Overnight I started getting flushed, there were dark circles under my eyes, it felt like I had a blood vessel pop in my head, and I had really bad arm and leg cramps. What happened? It turns out that Aircraft paint stripper is some real nasty stuff. Whats in it? METHYLENE CHLORIDE. Its vapor is toxic, flamable, and forms hydrogen chloride. It can case fluid buildup in the lungs, nervous system depression, brain damage, etc..., and that is from breathing it. Shin contact is a whole different story, even the vapor can burn your skin! WHat happened to me is I had about 3 hours exposure which cause some of these, basically, its like having a very bad case of carbon monoxide poisoning, I am finally feeling better today, after 3 days. I learned my lesson, wear a respirator!

Man I am so sorry to hear this happened to you, shouldn't you go to the doctor ? You could have died, glad you quite using that stripper stuff when you did. Lesson to us all and thanks for sharing your close call with us. Please take care of yourself. Do you think you should contact poison control about what you have been exposed too ? Keep us posted !

I did some research, and found out that since I stopped when I did, the effects were basically the same as carbon monixide posioning. It takes about a week to recover because the chemical I was breathing reduces the ability of the blood to carry oxygen. I am actually going to do some more stripping this weekend, but this time I am going to wear a face sheild and a resperator, no matter how hot it gets.

sorry bro but your car ain't worth your health. plus it's not any good if your too sick to drive it. take care of yourself and let us know how the resto progress goes AFTER YOU USE YOUR RESPIRATOR.

Whoops i hit the button twice sorry.

Wow i hope you are feeling better. Good luck with the next fender and make sure you wear all your stuff next time. Working in the heat cant be as bad a breathing in all those fumes. Just take your time and take a few breaks to get fresh air next time. Justin

Wow, this thread is freakin awesome. Good stuff!
By chance, did you ever figure out why you had the orange peel with the test panel? I sprayed some of the duplicolor paint also, and had the exact same problem. Did the new gun help?

Wow, this thread is freakin awesome. Good stuff!
By chance, did you ever figure out why you had the orange peel with the test panel? I sprayed some of the duplicolor paint also, and had the exact same problem. Did the new gun help?


I have not sprayed with my new gun yet, but I know it will be better. My old gun was crap. I am also going to try thinning it down some more. I sprayed the red, primer, and clear as-is, they had the most peel. The black I thinned down because the lid got left off overnight, and some evaporated, so I thinned it with pure acetone. It is somewhat the paint that can cause the peel, since it dries real fast, it does not flow-out well. DUplicolor tech specialist told me it was normal because of the ultra fast drying nature of the paint, it starts drying as soon as it is sprayed. It is possible to get it smooth, but it takes the perfect conditions. if its too hot, it will dry too fast, it the air is too dry, it will also dry fast. If the the humidity is too high, it will blush, and if the temp is too low, it won't dry. Most paints are tricky, but this one has its own set of pitfalls. Ideal conditions are supposed to be 70F and 30% humidity. Pretty hard to find unless you live in the high desert. I am going to be doing some spraying in a couple of weeks. I am starting with the inner fenders, underhood, under trunk, and door jambs, this will give me enough time to get used to the new gun and paint, then I will shoot all the body panels seperatetly. (not to be done with metallics)

FlyBoy01, Regarding you dash panel post # 101.

What is the size, brand & model are those gauges ?
Your mockup looks really great !

Sorry for not posting anything for a while, I started a new job a few weeks ago and I have been really busy.

As far as the dash, they are Autometer 3 3/8 and 2 5/8 Ultra-lites.

Thanks for the info ! The speedo & tach look larger than that in the photo.
Hope your new job goes well for you. And I hope you will make more $, work will be less stressful & you will get more quality time with the Dart, when things clam down !

Its been a while since I last posted, but I have been working on the car nonstop. Here are some pics of the right front fender, which is now done, I am about 70% done with the left fender right now. Primer should be going on soon!

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1529.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1531.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1540.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1542.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1545.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1552.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1555.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1556.jpg

looking good man. seems like you'll get it sprayed soon.

Just updated myself on all the work you have been doing.
You've got it on the run flyboy01. Nice:cheers:

Looking good man. I like the attention to detail. She'll be nice and straight.

I certainly hope so. Its amazing, when you start black sanding how many little waves you find, even if it looks straight to begin with.

Update: Yesterday I finally finished all the bodywork and sanding on my body! Next step is to primer, I am going to shoot it with Evercoat's Featherfill G2 High Build primer. I am going to blocksand it when I'm done, then its time for paint.

Actually before I do that, I need to clean up the winter wonderland of body filler dust that is as this as 1/2" in some places on the floor. I am going to have to pull the car out, take everything out, vacuum everything, vacuum everything, then vacuum everything, put up plastic sheeting and cardboard on the floor. Its going to be a messy weekend.

yeah but your near the end if your vacuuming. i hope you vacuum everything.

When the vacuuming is completed, you can STOP vacuuming the area that you just vacuumed, but dont forget to vacuum the areas that have yet to be vacuumed with your vacuum... Just thought you should know.

wow! props to you man!

i LOVE this body style, and LOVE the black and red scheme.

your work is amazing, and i one day, hope to take on a project like this...i just need to find a 68 Dart...

keep up the great work!

Really nice work and great progress, those panels look arrow straight. Your attention to detail will pay off when the paint is applied. Then you will be glad you spent all those hors blocking. Awesome job your getting there way faster than I am.

Wouldn't you know it, 3 beautiful days of sunny 80 degree weather this weekend and I was so sick I could not stand without falling over. 3 days wasted being sick! :mad:

I did manage to get a few hours of prepping the insides of the fenders and doors with Eastwood's Rust Converter for a little bit of light surface rust. I am going to try and spray primer over the thanksgiving weekend, but it might be too cool to do it. I have to wait for at least 70F weather.

Well, it was cold and wet the whole Thanksgiving weekend, so no paint, no bodywork. The temp pretty much stayed around 40F and rainy all weekend. I did manage to get the garage cleaned out and set up a heating system in the Garage, its good for keeping the temp in there up to 80F, so I may be able to do some spraying this weekend. I ended up checking out the trunklid for the first time since I dropped it on concrete, it does have some damage around the edges and a dent in the top, so I am redoing the bodywork on it. I have also been cleaning up all the dust on the Dart, so it is ready to spray on a moment's notice when the weather gets better.

Was wonderin if you looked at that dang lid.. glad its not too bad.. stuff like that makes you want to just "walk away"

well walk away til your not pissed and/or frustrated. its best to do that and come back with a fresh positive mindset.

man.........12,000+ views????? this thread is hot!!!!!!!!!!!

As of today I have owned my Dart for one year! \\:D/ I got it Nov 27, 2006. It came off the trailer, got pulled into the garage and I started stripping it down. I have actually never driven it on a public road, just around the parking lot. I missed my goal of getting it on the road before a year was up, but paint is coming very soon.

Now on to the work again:

I block sanded the trunk lid the other night to check for flatness, I found a dent and some dings, tiny, so a little glaze took care of them.

I put up another flourescent light to have a little more light to spray by, then I opened the the garage door, crunch! I hung the light from the door opener brackets, but I forgot to check for clearance. Oops! :scratch: I am going to have to move it to keep the door from hitting it.

Once I do that, I am going to do a final dust vacuming, wipedown, then tack ragging, then I can mask it off.

This weekend I am going to spray the car in Featherfill G2 primer. All the bodywork is coming to a rapid end. Sometime in the next few weeks I will spray sealer, then paint. I will post pics when its in primer! :thumblef:

well walk away til your not pissed and/or frustrated. its best to do that and come back with a fresh positive mindset.

man.........12,000+ views????? this thread is hot!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Crap! How did that happen? Guess there must be a lot of bored people to be watching me sand and bondo my Dart! :wink:

Keep up them High spirits sir!! Seem's like My younger brother did the same thing years ago to a 8 ft florescent getting ready to spray my truck.
I Hope this week end turns out to be your strong end flyboy01.:thumblef:
This has been a great build you have been sharing with us.
Hope you feel up to the week end and all go's well.
Go ahead and make a sign that reads " Keep out wet paint don't even think about taking a peek" Your hard work and dedication is inspiring.:notworth:

As a former paint and bodyman/antique car restorer for 20 plus years,i have to say you are doing an awsome job,keep it up.I do have to ask,youre not planning on using that cheap paint on your car are you?For all the hard work youve done so far,you will be very dissapointed ,very quickly.I can promise you,it will not hold up long at all.Get some GOOD paint,even if it is single stage urethane,then when you sand and buff it,it will last many,many years,and you will be very proud of what youve done.I hope you have been using a good brand urethane primer on that thing.Just my advice,keep up the good work!

ITS IN PRIMER! WOO HOO! All one color right now.

Unfortunately I can't get into Photobucket right now, I will post pics as soon as possible.

I am going to try attaching some small pics.

now the hard work is paying off.

As a former paint and bodyman/antique car restorer for 20 plus years,i have to say you are doing an awsome job,keep it up.I do have to ask,youre not planning on using that cheap paint on your car are you?For all the hard work youve done so far,you will be very dissapointed ,very quickly.I can promise you,it will not hold up long at all.Get some GOOD paint,even if it is single stage urethane,then when you sand and buff it,it will last many,many years,and you will be very proud of what youve done.I hope you have been using a good brand urethane primer on that thing.Just my advice,keep up the good work!

I know you mean well, but I have specific reasons for using laquer paint. I cannot afford to have someone paint my car for me, I have to do it myself to save money, and I have to do it in my garage. People harrass me all the time about this. So I will list my reasons.

1. I live in an apartment and I am spraying my car in an attached apartment garage. I chose Laquer because it is a new formula, which is acetone based, so the solvent makes this paint very eco-friendly and very low odor. If I try to spray anything Urethane, I will get evicted because of the smell.

2. The duplicolor paint is much better than the old laquers, it is actually made by Sherwin Williams automotive paint division. It is a basecoat/clearcoat system.

3. I know that it is not as durable, but it will have a good shine after I wetsand and buff it, I have already done test panels, so I know how it will come out.

If anyone in the Dallas area wants to volunteer a place for me to paint it, I will gladly take them up on it and shoot a urethane. If not I am going to spray the laquer.

Finally some pics.

These are pics of the final masking and how my garage was setup. I made my own filter unit with two furnace filters, a cardboard box, and a 3000 cfm blower fan.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1713.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1691.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1699.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1712.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1710.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1672.jpg

More pics.

This is about a coat and a half of Featherfill G2 Primer.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1719.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1725.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1727.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1720.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1715.jpg

Bro...thats is looking real nice... keep up the good work.

JAson

Thanks. Can't wait to see your Dart.

I am going to try and get my boss to give me a day or two off this week so I can finish priming it, I still need a second and third coats.

Whoa! As always, your progress is awesome to watch!

man you are doing a great job. body work scares me
i was wondering how much body work you've done in the past.....doesn't look like your first time thats for sure.

Today I finished up. I gave the whole car 2 coats on every panel, except the rear quarters, they got 4 coats for block sanding. More boring pics.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1749.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1747.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1746.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1745.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1741.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1739.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1737.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1732.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1731.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1730.jpg

can't wait to see color! i see alot of blood and sweat in there.

can't wait to see color! i see alot of blood and sweat in there.

... and I am sure a few tears as well. It looks great so far & like everyone else, am looking forward to seeing some paint on it.

Just wondering. Is there somebody we can't see in the background cracking a whip on your ass? I'm WAY too old to get things done as fast as you do without some real motivation & I think I want to see this thing in paint almost as bad as you do!

That looks freaking great man. I wish I could have done mine myself. You can come over and do my 68 Dart when you're finished. I'll even put you up in sunny SoCal while you work. haha

Wow FlyBoy, you are an inspiration to us all !

It is a joy to watch your project come along, you have put in a whole lot of hard work. Boy, bet you can't wait to get the ole girl finsihed & out on the road .

It still hard work and when you get it done you will be happy that you did ONLY Die Hard MOPARS

Dart64gt

Looking Good flyboy01.=D>
You have been keeping very busy on this project.
And I like the way you set up the fan.
This has been a great thread!! nothing boring at all.:toothy8:
Thanks for the great pic posts too.
Now take your time blocking and enjoy it as much as possible.
Keep up the great work and remember this is your peace of art.:glasses2:

I love how not only does he do amazing and difficult work, but he takes the time to take extremely detailed pictures of it all. Definitely a work of passion.

Looking GREAT flyboy. Those lines look great now, wait til they're blocked again.. Like everyone, waiting for color

Grant

Looks real good, Any plans to paint the trunk or engine compartment ?

This is coming along well, cant wait to see it done.

Looks real good, Any plans to paint the trunk or engine compartment ?
Nope, I like the patina. :toothy7:

Actually, As soon As I have the new engine together, I will pull the old one and drop the K-frame, paint the engine compartment, rebuild the front suspension, and then paint the K-frame. Probably sometime in Feb-Mar.

I was going to paint the trunk, but now I will wait until I get the minitubs done, after all, why cut and grind on fresh paint?

Just wondering. Is there somebody we can't see in the background cracking a whip on your ass? I'm WAY too old to get things done as fast as you do without some real motivation & I think I want to see this thing in paint almost as bad as you do!

Cracking a whip? Yeah, you guys! :blackeye:

Priming is done, time to start block sanding it with the 24" block and 220 paper on the largest flattest surfaces (fender sides and trunk lid), I used a smaller series of blocks with 320 paper on the rest, I followed it up with Maroon 3M Scotch-brite pads. Last night I sprayed the fenders and trunk lid with SEM guide coat, its better than paint or primer because it does not clog sandpaper and you can get a fine mist to cover a bigger area, I hold the can about 18" back. I also used a 3/16 fine line tape to define the fender lines, then I blocked up to the line. I found a few low and high spots, I am going to spray another coat and then block those areas again.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q23/red98dakota/100_1753.jpg

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A bit more blocking today.

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I picked up the paint and clear Saturday, and I got to see the guys 68 Chevelle that was painted with the exact same stuff. It looked good. Unfortunately I was not able to get any sealer, I will have to call around Monday.

Also, while blocking the driver's door, I noticed a series of dimples. I decided to grind down a little to see what it was, this is what I found. A bunch of cheap bondo and a crappy repair job. I did a little more grinding after I took this picture and it was even thicker on the top. I am going to keep grinding away until all the cheap beige bondo is gone. I will have to bang it out a bit, then weld the holes shut, and then lay in some good Evercoat filler.

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what the heck is that? bullet holes?

JAson

what the heck is that? bullet holes?

JAson

Worse, a jackass with a slide hammer. I knew the repair was there, it looked good and solid, so I left it, big mistake. The dimples were where the holes were, the newer stuff on top of old caused it to shrink. This was the only spot on the whole car where I left old filler. I should have gotten rid of the old Bondo and taken a look to see what was there. I am going to do it right and get rid of all the bad stuff, knock out the dents a bit, weld the holes, and lay down some quality filler.

kudos to you............paint work is long-slow work.............i respect someone that has the patience.

I have never had patience, but I have less money, so patience is a side effect. And I am afraid of people looking at my paint job and laughing.

Today I picked up a pint of PPG Omni 2008 Viper Red for the rear stripe. I am going to paint it on, mask the stripe, then spray the black, then spray clear over both.

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I finished stripping the door last night (I helps to have the right tools). I was stripping everything back wherever I saw that cheap tan Bondo, I used a stripper wheel. I started with a 7" wheel in my 19.2V drill, but I kep killing batteries and spent several days charging. I got frustrated yesterday and went down to Harbor Freight and picked up a 4" stripper wheel that fit my Grinder, I got the door done in about 20 minutes.

I found 15 holes, not just little screw holes, but monster size 1/4" holes. This morning I welded up the holes and spent about 2 hours trying to hammer the panels flat. #$%@^&! That was frustrating as hell. I have to admit that a hammer hits were done out of anger, rather than neccesity. :angry8:

I finally layed down a layer of good filler, I will start sanding it down tonight.

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wow that looks like the same color as my car! lol

I also blocked the hood yesterday, I found a few high and low spots. It goes to show you, no matter how perfect you think something is, there is only one way to know.

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Yup good catch there... W/a blk car everything has to be perfect...

Jason

I fell your pain bro. It is hard not getting too frustrated. I just have to keep telling myself it will get done.....just keep at it. Meticulous man. I like it.

it will pay off when you look at mirror like reflections in the paint. doing great man.

Dude it's never going to end EVER!!! Are we ever going to meet up at the strip?!? Well one thing for sure knowing your attention to detail, it's going to be beautiful!!!:thumbup:

Yeah, its easy to buy a new Ram and buy a few bolt on parts for it. =;

Yeah, its easy to buy a new Ram and buy a few bolt on parts for it. =;
Compared to what you're doing VERY easy. But I wouldn't consider heads, cam, headers, electric fan, converter, valve body, Caltracs, drop....etc just a few bolt on parts!! I got lots of blood, sweat, AND money invested in this truck!! So with that being said, hurry YO AZZ UP so we can start racing again!!! :grin:

Im still working on it!

I have stripped the drivers door down three times and tried to make it better, finally I used a torch and a wet rag to shrink the stretched metal on the door. It looks like it worked, no more oilcanning. :thumblef:

I'm back on track, as soon as I finish the door, its time for more primer, then paint.

I finished the door today, I think I got it pretty straight I used fineline tape to make sure the panel creases are perfect. It looks like I saved the door, now I just need to get it primed again.

I got the the 383 that I had machined prepped for hibernation, eventually it will be fitted with a stroker crank and aluminum heads, but for now, nap time.

I spent some time checking everything out on the new engine. The engine going in it next month will be the 400 shortblock I have with 9.25:1 pistons, I got the heads for it last week, portmatched 906 heads. Its getting a Mopar .509 lift / 292 duration cam, RPM intake, and a Demon carb. I have a lead on a set of 3.23 gears and I'm looking into high stall converters for the 727 trans I am going to have rebuilt.

ticl tock tick tock.....getting closer

Time is ticking away...13 months now. :clock:

This weekend will be warm, so I will be spraying another coat of primer so I can finish blocking it. Next will be the epoxy primer. Tick, tick...

good job on the body work its allot of work but it'll be worth it in the end. I know i gotta do this to my car, and im doing the same to a ford at work, lots of work but o well might as well practice on a ford before i do the cuda :D :thumbup: love the pictures keep us updated

I got the car completly 100% block sanded today, every square inch, crevice, nook, and cranny. Tomorrow I am going to shoot another coat of the filler/primer on a few panels that have a few low spots. If I have enough time tomorrow, I might even shoot the sealer. :thumrigh:

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wow! great work man! cant wait to see it finished up! youre getting closer!

It might be a few days before I can block it again, Sanding everything Saturday pretty much killed my bad shoulder, Sunday morning it felt like someone tore off my right arm, dragged to open would in salt, then glued it back on with hot glue, so I took some drugs and continued working, spraying the car. Now I think I need a week to recover, as I sit here typing, my arm is still twitching.

It might be a few days before I can block it again, Sanding everything Saturday pretty much killed my bad shoulder, Sunday morning it felt like someone tore off my right arm, dragged to open would in salt, then glued it back on with hot glue, so I took some drugs and continued working, spraying the car. Now I think I need a week to recover, as I sit here typing, my arm is still twitching.

thats to bad about the shoulder, it will all heal eventually when your driving it :D its good to see what people can do in there garage, and with alot of elbow grease, its gives me alot of motivation. So about how many times did you block and primer the whole car?

Unfortunately bad shoulders don't get better, they get surgery. Eventually I know it will get bad enough to where I have to get it done, for now, I'm too much of a wimp.

As for the car, it was blocked once over 3 coats of Featherfill G2 (one of the thickest sprayable), I sprayed a second 3 coats on the panels you can see, I hope this is the last time I block it. This of course is not including any bodywork, which was blocked many times to get it close to straight. The car looked god initially, but had so many waves, dips, and dings, it took me many months to get it straight, but I know better now, and if I did it again, I would not fart around with mixable filler, I would have gone straight to the sprayable stuff, its much easier to work with. If I did the car over again, I would have either blasted or chemically stripped the outer body panels, and then done the bodywork all at once, with the car assembled, rather than one panel at a time.

What grit are you blocking it with? I used to use PPG K200 and block with 80 grit 17" longboard sander. Could do an entire car in a day and prime it again. When straight, block with 150 grit, prime, and then 400 grit for paint.

lay off for a week or 2 or until the shoulder feels good. it ain't worth jacking it. your car is going to be straight as hell.

you're killing me with the anticipation of paint...........

Man flyboy that looks damn good. You are right shoulder injuries do't get better they keep flaring up as you get older it doesn't take much to aggrevate them. I unjured mine 10 years ago and it still bothers me every so often, no fun at all! You must feel good to be at this point of your project though. I know I would, can't wait to see it painted. Are you painting yourself as well?

Looking real good ! Still on my first go around with blocking. I know I'll be doing the entire car at least once more, most likley 2 more times.

Im doing 180 grit dry right now, 80 seems way to coarse for blocking primer. I think Im going to do another coat of high build and hit it with 180 again before blocking the last coat with 400 wet.

Once thing is for sure, Buying some nice blocks made a huge difference. I bought a 6 pack of Dura-Blocks for $30 off of ebay. Worth every penny.

Looking real good ! Still on my first go around with blocking. I know I'll be doing the entire car at least once more, most likley 2 more times.

Im doing 180 grit dry right now, 80 seems way to coarse for blocking primer. I think Im going to do another coat of high build and hit it with 180 again before blocking the last coat with 400 wet.

Once thing is for sure, Buying some nice blocks made a huge difference. I bought a 6 pack of Dura-Blocks for $30 off of ebay. Worth every penny.

If you think you are going to spray more than one coat of a good filler primer (featherfill G2 or Slicksand), then go coarser than 180, I used 120 grit on the bad areas, then blocked with a 220 on the straight areas, followed up with a red scotchbrite pad (about 350 grit) for the smooth areas. Once you are certain you have it smooth, go over everything with 400 and finish with gray (fine) scotchbrite pads (about 600 grit). Then you can spray the primer/sealer. I used epoxy mixed as a sealer (w/20% reducer). Next will be paint. I am going to paint the door jambs and hood & trunk this weekend.

FYI, want to practice before you spray the whole car, do the outside of the hood or trunk lid. WHAT!?!? No, i'm not nuts. If you screw up and have to sand it back off, the hood or trunk are flat panels and are easy and fast to sand.

Ive got the first round of blocking done with 180 all ready. I may just do the 1/4s again with 180 then the whole car with 220, followed by 400 wet.

Adam a 6 pack of Dura-Blocks for $30 Wow! What sizes were included, Depending on what you got seems quite a bit cheaper than Eastwood -
7 Piece Sanding Block Kit-$59.99 Dura Block Shorty 5 pc kit-$39.99
Dura Block Long Board 3 pc Kit - $79.99










This is what I would like but $189.99


15 inch board is $69.99 and 21 inch is $79.99 quite pricey has anyone used these? What was your opinion of them? Worth the money?

Its better to have a variety than fancy rods in them, go for the durablocks and guide coat, SEM or Evercoat work well.

Adam a 6 pack of Dura-Blocks for $30 Wow! What sizes were included, Depending on what you got seems quite a bit cheaper than Eastwood -
7 Piece Sanding Block Kit-$59.99 Dura Block Shorty 5 pc kit-$39.99
Dura Block Long Board 3 pc Kit - $79.99


Im going to make a thread about supplies later, I'll post a link to the auction.

I did a bit of block sanding today, the driver's door that gave me all that trouble came out pretty straight. The bottom charcter line come out ultra straight, the middle crease was a little soft, the top line came out flat too. I sprayed a little more Featherfill along the middle crease, I will sand it again tomorrow, it should come out perfect.

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I got in a little bit of trouble yesterday, my neighbors that live in the apartment above my garage came home to a stinky apartment from the primer fumes. That pretty much stops any spraying I can do in my garage. I did not realize that the smell was that bad, but they had to open all their doors and windows. Oh well, I was done with the filler/primer anyway. O:) I guess I am going to have to haul my car to the paint booth to spray the sealer.

It took them a year to smell the fumes ?

I think this is a blessing. The final paint will turn out better in a booth, regardless of how carefully you prep the garage.

A+ build. Pictures and details are so realistic it feels like I am standing there, smelling the filler fumes.....

you have not seen the booth, my garage is better lit and cleaner.

hey send them to six flags with a hotel room for the weekend and shoot your car

Well, I actually like where I live, I kinda want to keep living here. I narrowly averted it Sunday, I actually overheard them bitching about it through their open window, which is why I walked over and apologized and promised them I would not do that again.

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. So durablocks would be better to use? Man Flyboy Ican't get over how good your work is, awesome. What if you bought a couple of the Box lke fans and rig up an exhaust system where the garage door is. That should get rid of any fumes and overspray shouldn't it?