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Roof has been stripped. |
Cleaned out the junction between the roof and quarter panel
with sand blaster. |
Epoxy primed firewall |
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Location of "hidden VIN"
The stamp is VERY light. Sandblasting brought it right out. Scraping or
wire wheeling would most likely have destroyed it. |
I built a jig to roll the car around on. It makes things
much easier! |
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While I was making good progress with the '70 Dart, there
was still a LOT to do. As I stripped the car down to bare metal I found
lot's of hidden problems. Worst of all, the car needed a new rear
suspension. What was in there was a hack job. The 4 link was one of the
reasons I had bought this car, I didn't expect to have to replace it from
scratch. A leaf spring relocation kit had also been installed at one time.
It was also installed poorly and couldn't be used as is. I began to
feel that I wouldn't make my two year deadline with this car, but I kept
plugging away. Until... |
...While picking up a 440 block that I found on Craig's
list, I found a 1973 Valiant in the guys garage. The car had been entirely
media blasted, inside, out, and underneath. The car had practically no
rust. Media blasting had revealed a section of small pinholes in one of
the floor pans. Except for the 2x3 frame connectors which were installed
the car was unmolested and completely stock. Best of all the price. Only
$500, which included a $500 Art Morrison roll cage kit, 4 new tires, and
aluminum wheels. |
I have spent the
last few weeks getting the "new" car to the point that I had taken the
first car. That is, I filled in the firewall holes, windshield wiper
holes, cut the fenderwells for the Hooker Super Comp headers, and patched
the floor pan. I also filled in the seams between the quarters and sail
panel and at the cowl and A-pillar as well. The car is just about ready to
be entirely primed. I just need to give it a good cleaning
before it gets sprayed.
As for the '70. I covered the car in primer put a car cover on it, and
wheeled it to the backyard on it's jig. I
hope to finish the body once I'm done with this project. |
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Sorry for the long delay between updates. I have been laying down body
filler and blocking out every panel. That's a ton of work for one person
in his spare time. |
I picked up a set of used 29x11-15 slicks and wheels from an ad on Craig's
List. |
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Looks like they will fit fine in the mini-tubs. |
Swamp cooler lets me work for about 6 hours in the morning, before the
Arizona heat takes over. |
Large exhaust fan gets rid of fumes, dust, and the humidity generated by
the swamp cooler. |
Thankfully no HOA here!
The top black area is 3 plastic garbage bags still attached to each
other from the roll. That keeps hot air from being sucked back into the
garage.
The bottom black area is black "sun screen". It allows air to flow
through and covers the plywood providing a somewhat nicer appearance. It
all comes down every night. |
Firewall is coming along... I work on multiple areas at once, so I can
keep mixing, applying, sanding, etc... without running out of places to
work. |
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Filled windshield wiper holes. |
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This is how it sits on 6/6/2008
Blocking is nearly done for this stage. Next is to shoot
some high build 2k primer and start blocking it again! |
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2k primer is on and sanding has begun |
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2k primer prior to sanding 6/18/08 |
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Airconditioning!! Boy will this help!! |
We had a 2.5 ton package unit installed on the garage roof. |
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5/3/09
Time to catch up! It's been 11 months since I sprayed the car with 2k
primer. Since then I've got a lot accomplished, but the bodywork still
isn't finished. |
In the past year I have added the roll cage, subframe connectors, new
trunk floor, fuel cell, window net, and seat mounts.
I have accumulated nearly all the parts needed to put the car on the track
and the engine is now at the machine shop being machined and assembled. |
After I shot the 2k primer on 6/18/08 I found a lot of problem areas which
I needed to go back over. I was sick of bodywork so, that's when I skipped
to the fabrication end of things.
This last coat of primer shows the body looking better than last time, but
again there are a few problem areas which I need to work out before
I block the whole car out again. |
Mounting tabs for Dzus fasteners |
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Front end assembled for mock up with a lift off 6 pack hood, fiberglass
bumper and 1970 grill. |
Back to this stage again... Ready for primer. |
The roof needed a lot of work. When I got it it looked like some one had
sat on it in a couple spot.
I worked the dents out by "shrinking" the metal and using a slapper paddle
to get the crown back. After that I skimmed the roof with a mix of
Evercoat Extreme Rage and Evercoat Metal Glaze to thin it out. I was
pleased that it actually turned out pretty well. |
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Since I went down to bare metal in several spots I shot the car with
another coat of epoxy primer before hitting it with 3 coats of high build
primer. |
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Epoxy Primed Interior |
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2k Chassis Black Satin |
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Epoxy Primed Undercarriage |
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