Ready to Start...Again

[charliec]

I have owned my 68 Dart GTS (GTS pedigree questionable) for over 18 years. I drove it twice before I dismantled it with best intention of completing restoration in 2 years. Life happened!! It is still on the rotisserie. Now retired and more determined than ever to drive it again. I have access to all necessary parts, parts manuals, shop manual and plenty of time now. I have my own ideas as to how to proceed, but I will welcome anyone's advice or reference to literature as to some kind of logical progression of what to do first, second.... I know I have some challenges ahead, having been so long since I dismantled and began restoration, but I have a fair amount of technical ingenuity. I really just want to make every move count from here on and not have to backtrack because of doing something out of sequence.

 

[68original]

Great that you are getting the resto started again!
Good luck and post pics of progress, be cool to see it come back together.

 

[67Dart273]

We are going to need photos!!!! LOL

My 67 is apart for 3 years, my neighbor talked me into painting it. It was a "20 footer." I regret that, I wish I'd just drove it and had fun.

 

[Dartswinger70]

I wont get into how long mine has been apart, but I will say take your time and work logically, dont put anything back on that you will have to take apart later, for example, if your heater box needs rebuilt, do it now, dont tell yourself,"Ill do that later". if you are doing body work, expect to line all the panels up,1st layer of primer, body filler work, block sand, more primer, block sand. Remove panels, cut in the underhood/fenders/door jambs and trunk, re install align body panels, and not ncessarily in that order. Thats just how I am approaching it, I have my trunk, window openings,, and door jambs cut in, as well as underhood, but have to pull the fenders and paint the underside of them. I did do a final alignment of the doors, thinking that I will align the fenders to them later. Its all fun, and a learning experience for me. Body work is not my main trade. I realized at some point that the only way my car is getting done is if I do it myself. I also cant have it sitting at a body shop for two years. That is pretty much how body shops operate, if you aren't funneling money in to them, your car sits.

 

[charliec]

I will belie my utter ignorance with this response, but what are you referring to when you say "cut in" panels?

 

[Dartswinger70]

I will belie my utter ignorance with this response, but what are you referring to when you say "cut in" panels?

When I say "cut in" I am referring to the paint. There are a couple of ways to do these cars, one is to have the fenders and doors off the car and hanging on stands where you paint everything in pieces at the same time, then reassemble after the parts are dry. This method works well if you have room, like a huge paint booth where you can have the hood on a stand, and the doors on stands or hanging. The way I am doing my car is to "cut in" the trunk, under hood, door jambs, window openings, and then I will assemble the car and mask off the windows and shot the body last. It may not be the way someone else would do it, but it works for me because I don't have a lot of space, and the exterior of the car should be painted at the same time. I wouldn't paint the hood and doors on a different day as the rest of the body, but the door jambs, and under fender area can be done on separate occasions IMO.

 

[charliec]

I devised a strategy for going back together with a whole shitload of new/reconditioned parts (after 19 years of gathering dust in the attic and on the shop floor). I decided to take a "system" approach, i.e. take front suspension/steering and finish that before moving to another system. That would at least give me some firm benchmarks of progress to point to. Sooooo.....
Rather than just having a pile of parts, I now have a pile of ASSEMBLED parts. Tadaaaaaa!!!!

The assembly is from a '73 Duster that I will use in my '68 Dart. Nothing is torqued; I just wanted to see something that looks real.

 

[ramenth]

When I say "cut in" I am referring to the paint. There are a couple of ways to do these cars, one is to have the fenders and doors off the car and hanging on stands where you paint everything in pieces at the same time, then reassemble after the parts are dry. This method works well if you have room, like a huge paint booth where you can have the hood on a stand, and the doors on stands or hanging. The way I am doing my car is to "cut in" the trunk, under hood, door jambs, window openings, and then I will assemble the car and mask off the windows and shot the body last. It may not be the way someone else would do it, but it works for me because I don't have a lot of space, and the exterior of the car should be painted at the same time. I wouldn't paint the hood and doors on a different day as the rest of the body, but the door jambs, and under fender area can be done on separate occasions IMO.

Or you can do it like the factory did: fenders, hood, decklid mounted, doors off, body dropped over the engine once it was assembled. Doors hinges mounted to the body when you paint.

Frankly, I've found this to be the easiest way.