Demon Clone Project

I made the hard decision to use the 340 car for parts. Hasn't been cut just yet as I'm prepping the Dart first. Kinda funny, I'm doing what they did on the "Chop Cut Rebuild" Duster - left quarter and tail panel.

The Dart is stripped except the front and rear suspension. I cut the rear glass rubber, saved the glass, broke out the windshield since it was cracked, saved the rubber since it's in short supply. Got all the stainless trim off without damage.

I decided to document the quarter replacement since I could not find much on that here.

I started by "getting the lead out". I don't have a rosebud tip but my welding tip worked fine, just had to keep it moving. I scooped with a paint stick, and used shop paper towel to clean off the hot lead. I was impressed with how nice the factory lead work looks.

Removing the 1/4 was done with the tools shown (ya lots of HF specials but they're workin fine. Before cutting anything I tacked up angle iron braces across the door posts side to side and front to back. I screwed a 2x2 across the trunk frame.

An abrasive wheel worked well to show a lot of the spot welds. The biggest challenge is finding all of them (you can't) and drilling so the spot weld cutter is centered to get the whole weld. I drilled through the first layer with a 1/8" bit so the spot cutter stays centered.

Trouble spots: 1/4 meets tail panel; rear window frame meets trunk; rear post meets drip rail; 1/4 meets lower rocker;

In these areas I just cut around the spot welds with a grinder and cutting wheel. They are easier to deal with after the 1/4 is off. I did that all along the lower area since this area is less accessible.

I used mainly a small pry bar to work the seams apart. It's surprising how much pounding with a small hammer the cheap Chinese pry bar can take. Finding welds you could not see is part of the fun.

After I've finished removing the leftovers, I'll start cutting the 340 car. I'll likely do the same kind of cutting but on the framework rather than the 1/4.

Lots of rust inside that I'll treat with converter of some sort. I'll try spraying something in on the other side. I'm also going to leave some holes at the lower 1/4 inner frame, and make holes on the other side before sandblasting to help get sand out, then weld them shut.

Lots of rust under seam sealer. Not fun getting that stuff off. My method: pretent I'm a caged rat knawing like crazy. Nasty how it sticks in your teeth.

Its very cold to be painting but I want to epoxy (thinking SPI) everything after sandblasting. I think I'll paint until its too foggy, open the door and clear it out, re-heat and keep going. Researching products to preserve metal before priming just did not produce anything I found satisfactory.