Birth of the Blue Missile

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Here is the next step at the back of the cockpit. When I did the minitub I also set it up for a rear firewall composed of two sheets of metal with 3M 'Firestop" insulation between them. After I raise the tranny/ driveshaft tunnel, I will replace all the temp sheet metal screws with pop rivets. All penetrations through the wall will be in bulkhead connectors with intumesent caulking around the wires.
Andrew

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I spent a few hours this afternoon and fabricated the dash face. The pics are of what you would call a blank slate. The final picture takes up where the very first moc-up pic leaves off. This whole set up gives me room to put in three AC vents as well as the electronics. The screen is an 8" touch screen for the Nav unit/computer.The glove compartment door will be setup on a push/touch latch and a slow/down flap hinge (used in furniture making). Attached to the door will be a small keyboard for the computer a Navigator can operate.
Andrew

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Ya know it can be the little things that whop ya.
I spent an entire afternoon just installing the latch for the gove box.
This style of latch is designed to adjust to the swing on a cabinet door, say an 18" radius. it does not however respond well to a 4" radius. The final soultion was to mount the actual catch on a metal plate that pivots adjusting to the small radius. Pics included.
Andrew

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Guys,
Here are the pics of the rear quarter panel replacement and extension. I have always intended to add three inches of sheet metal to lower the rear panels and create a valance for the car. I banged out two and got one completely installed and bondo'd in today . Ill finish the other and create the valance tomorrow.
Andrew

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blue missile said:
Guys,
Here are the pics of the rear quarter panel replacement and extension. I have always intended to add three inches of sheet metal to lower the rear panels and create a valance for the car. I banged out two and got one completely installed and bondo'd in today . Ill finish the other and create the valance tomorrow.
Andrew
Click to expand...

Are you planning to route the exhaust tips through the rear valence? I think it would make for a really cool look. :thumbup:
 
Ask and you shall recieve:cheers:

Well, I was wrong about the size of the valance, it turned out to be 5" tall and the holes for the 4" afterburners do actually fit.
It got way too hot in the sun 101deg here in Texas, so Ill grind down all the welds and prime it tomm.
Andrew

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I dig it.......that rear valance is cool.

I have similar plans for the rear of my car.
 
Here are some pics of the rot repair I got done today, Im already getting tired of the triple digit temps here in Texas.

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Here are the first pics of the outer shell of the scoop. I originally was going to buy another hood and chop it up to get the same leading edge as the main hood. I want to keep that line about the scoop. It was too hot to play outside after lunch so I tried my hand at recreating the hood shape.
I still have to break the 1/2" flange so the scoop will be that much shorter.
It will also have something similar to an air grabber in the center of it for a ram air function.
Andrew

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I have been looking at all the front spoilers available on the market and none of them did it for me. They were either too narrow or didn't go with the lines of the car. So I put one together that mirrors the bumper, is 3" tall and goes from wheel to wheel.
Let me know what you think.
Andrew

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I want to first say to all of those who perceived the assembly as an air dam, BRAVO. you have caught onto the purpose for all the work. When the bumper was right side up it pushed air under the car and the original duster got 'floaty' at about 115mph. Flipping the bumper forces the air up and over resulting in more air flow to the radiator. The spoiler just adds to the effect.
I also added to, and straightened out, the front fenders between the bumper and the front wheels. closing gaps and tying the assembly together. when I put the end caps on and center fill in it will look better.

As far as those that think of it as a cow catcher-- If you're on the road, riding a cow, and I come up behind you--- Get the hell out of the way:iconbigg:

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Great progress, Andrew! I can't quite see the finished product in my mind's eye yet, but we're getting closer!
Any ideas for paint yet?
 
Captain,
so good to hear from you.
Yes I do.
First of all the body work that has been done still has to be filled and blocked, And I'm not yet completely done chasing rust. There are some small holes here and there and I have yet to pull the glass and see what the window areas have in the way of needed repair.I know the front one leakes like a sieve.
As far as the paint goes I will be setting the paint job up like the original except the body will be black metal flake on black paint and the stripe package will be blue candy over silver metallic faded from a very light blue up front to cobalt blue towards the back. There will be 'Mike Le Valley" style blue and white flames comming off the front edge of the hood and the hood scoop, and a large MoPar emblem on the front of the scoop.

I have also done the floor pans pics included. I did a 1"x1" skip weld around the perimiter and will use seam sealer over that.

Andrew

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Hey Blue - did you and Cap`n go to different schools together ? ? ?:mrgreen:

Good story - keep it comin`
 
You never know, Joe....

Nice progress, Andrew. I like your proposed color scheme, and your sheet metal skills are impressive! I envy the amount of work you're getting done....you're blowin' me right off the track this year! Keep it up!:cheers:
 
Here are the pics of the repair.
The firewall pieces were easy. But the cowl sheet metal buckled the first time and after removing it and again taking ANAL care not to heat the metal up past 105 ( the ambient temp) it buckled again but not as badly. portions of it have the feel of the top of a canning lid. Does anybody know how to get rid of the built up pressure, or fix the problem?
Andrew

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OK guys here is some more of the story that has been lagging behind the actual progress on the car. This bit is actually after the accident and before the motor shop, so insert it there.

ADDED CHUNK ​

About this time the CB thing wasn’t making enough money and I got a job working on the Miami River as a welder/general construction hand on a research vessel called the ‘Sea Searcher’. The one thing that has to be mentioned here is that the company doing the retrofit I was working for, was owned by my step-sister.

I moved to an apartment on the river and had a 50 yard walk to work, so the lag time needed to replace the car was not a problem.

There was quite a collection of characters in the crew, Bill was in charge, my brother in law Mark thought he was also in charge. Stanley was second in charge along with a crazy crane operator, and a wood smith who worked in the wood shop below decks. There were another couple of laborers and myself. The ship was 110 feet long and had a twenty foot beam. It was a lighting research vessel that we were retrofitting for mineral nodule research. At the time I arriver demo had just started. I will say that the ship was well equipped to do the work, which was about to become key in my survival. Mark let it be known that I was the owner’s brother and that was all the crew needed to find me the dirtiest job on the ship just for fun. Stanley came up to me with a grin on his face and told me that it was time to demo out the bridge. He said first to go had to be the head (toilet) behind the bridge. It had become known that sometime after the water been shut off, someone had taken a dump and had no way to flush. So it had become my chore to take a bucket and empty the offending substance so the fixture could be removed. I was not about to be put off by this obviously objectionable task and decided to turn the whole thing around to become my revenge. I went and collected the tools needed to pull this off. I got the obligatory bucket and long rubber gloves. I got a soda can and cut the top off of it to ladle what had become all liquid out of the bowl. I then went to the shop area and asked if they had a NIOSH style mask for painting. They did, so I borrowed it. I donned the gloves and mask and with bucket in hand slowly made my way to the head. Because everyone knew the chore I had been assigned, they all started to follow me to see if I really was going to do it. I walked into the head put the bucket down, opened the lid of the toilet and stuck my masked face in and took a good and long whiff. Because of the mask I smelled nothing. I then proceeded to empty the bowl into the bucket and walk as slowly out of the area as possible. I’m not sure why J but people seemed to run in the opposite direction and dive through hatchways to get out of my way. After I made my way off the ship I dumped the contents of the bucket into the porta potty washed it out at the dock and then took off the mask. They decided that that was enough fun for one day and they let me be about my business of cutting assorted steel out of the way of the new construction to soon start.


more on the ship to come, but please if you have any suggestions about the cowl let me know.
Andrew
 
I just found this thread a few days ago and I was hooked. Great writing, very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Good luck on the Duster. Its looking great!!
And its good to hear someone talk about there relationship with God and not be all backwards or embarrassed. I am a saved and born again, and every now and I drive my Demon to church......... but I leave it in the parking lot. LOL Its better to drive your Demons than to let them drive you.
 
72Demon,
sorry it took so long to get back to you, Its been very busy around here.So much so Ive gotten nothing done on the car.
Embarrassed is not in my gene pool, However backwards there is a story about that.

One day: Larry and I were going from the beach to the mainland. we took the 79st causeway west, and just as it hits the mainland it splits and goes around a spit of land before it intersects Biscayne Blvd. At the fork is a Burger King.
In the parking lot of the BK were two Miami city motorcycle cops just talking but right at the edge of the lot next to the street. I noticed them when I started to make the corner, I was going just 'slightly' above the speed limit so rather than hitting the brakes I decided I would downshift and slow the car down. I had put a B&M trick shift in the so I could safely downshift manually.
The problem was that I missed the shift and accidentally missed second passed first and landed in reverse. Since I was running M-50s the tires broke lose and smoked the entire turn before I could get the thing back in drive. Of course my thoughts were about the health of the tranny, Larry's thoughts were **** we're going to jail. As it turns out they just sat there and watched me go around the corner never batting a lash it was the time of the muscle car.

I don't do backwards very well 8)

Andrew
 
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