Paint or don't paint?

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72Dodge

72Dodge

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I think I've made up my mind on whether to paint the Dart or not, but was wondering what other's thoughts were.

Barn finds are all the rage, and was pretty much a barn find having sat in a concrete block garage since around 1997. Except for the front clip, it's original paint (GA4 Light Gunmetal Metallic), but much of the paint is baked off. The passenger's side actually looks better, as the top of the door is baked off like that also. The wheels are red and black, not rust.

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Even if I leave it like this, I'm doing a bit more to it, adding the emblems back on the fenders, doing something or other with the top, and I have a straight non-rusty front bumper too.

If I paint, it would be to stock GA4, with the 70 Dart 340 scoops and black bee stripe.

Whether I leave it this way or not, I think the car would look good like this with a real nasty drivetrain in it (and then wider steelies obviously). :burnout::twisted::burnout::twisted:

Opinions?

I am not offended by any opinion on the matter by the way.
 
Looks good to me., The paints only original once
 
Paint it! The whole "barn find" thing is just a fad and soon will go the way of those pastel monochrome paint jobs from the 80's. Not trying to be offensive, but to most of the general public, your car will just look like a junker. The patina look is for old race cars and trucks from 1960 and prior. JMO, but that's what you asked for.
 
No, that's fine. I'm looking for opinions. It's very unlikely to change my course of action either way, but I am just curious to what others may think.

Too bad I don't have a pic of the other side, it looks way better, but then to someone who doesn't like the patina look, it probably wouldn't make any difference either way.
 
lrazor said:
Paint it! The whole "barn find" thing is just a fad and soon will go the way of those pastel monochrome paint jobs from the 80's. Not trying to be offensive, but to most of the general public, your car will just look like a junker.
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I agree 100%

barn find , ditch find , apartment complex find , who cares ?

paint the car whatever color you want. it looks like a great start. hopefully they will run out of barns sooner or later....

its not like it is a superbird or hemi E body

i mean , unless you like the "junker" look , then clear coat it ....

LOL
 
I like to modify and drive them without paint for a while until I am satisfied with the car. The reason is that all those engine changes, shoulderbelt mounting mods etc can ruin a really good paint job and give you a lot of grief. But then again, I don't mind driving around in an unpainted car either as long as the rest is descent and everything works well. But nice paint is always better in the end.
 
Powerflite said:
I like to modify and drive them without paint for a while until I am satisfied with the car. The reason is that all those engine changes, shoulderbelt mounting mods etc can ruin a really good paint job and give you a lot of grief. But then again, I don't mind driving around in an unpainted car either as long as the rest is descent and everything works well. But nice paint is always better in the end.
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It's like you're reading my mind.

What's this about "shoulderbelt mounting mods"? I've never heard anything about this.
 
You can only get away with leaving it like it is if it does under 12 seconds in the quarter. :)
That magically transforms it from junker looking to really cool.
 
I would paint it if it were mine. Paint + a little work on the underside = extend life of the body. Besides, gunmetal is a very cool color (but I might be a little bios,lol)
 
Well, my plan is to do exactly what Powerflite (and lou3500) said. I actually enjoy this look (I think it looks way better in person, this picture really doesn't do it justice), so I will enjoy driving it close to like this for awhile, then drop the hot small block drivetrain in it (after painting engine bay), get all the bugs worked out and running perfect, then strip and paint it. I enjoy doing bodywork, and Gunmetal is one of my favorite Mopar colors, so this car will eventually be returned to full GA4 glory :)

Thanks for all the replies. Just thought it would be fun to see what people thought, as always.
 
I would paint it to factory color and remove the top for good and do the factory style hood blackout and black bumblebee stripe with dual snorkel scoop and not touch the interior.
Just my .02
 
ok well i am in to a clean nice paint job, but i think you should paint either way. if you are going for the barn find look you can put a matt clear on it keep the body good and build the crap out of it and have a real sleeper
 
74DartSwinger360 said:
I would paint it to factory color and remove the top for good and do the factory style hood blackout and black bumblebee stripe with dual snorkel scoop and not touch the interior.
Just my .02
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Exactly. The interior is cherry except the carpet that I already have the replacement for. I already have the dual scoops, stripe, epoxy primer, now all I need is time LOL
 
Throw some cheap clear on it to protect.
Build it to where it runs strong, spend your time getting the "bugs" out of it.
Make sure the steering, brakes, and handeling are up to todays traffic.
Then throw the color too it.
 
sireland67 said:
Throw some cheap clear on it to protect.
Build it to where it runs strong, spend your time getting the "bugs" out of it.
Make sure the steering, brakes, and handeling are up to todays traffic.
Then throw the color too it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, what he said!
 
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