'72 Challenger Saga

[rhamson]

Some more rust repair. The passenger fender was puttied and painted over by the former owners shop. This is a recurring theme. They did not take out the light buckets and fix the rust. I am in the process of getting all these pesky things out of the way. This is the back of the light bucket with huge scaling rust.

[rhamson]

Some more shots of the procedure.

[67vertman]

Nice work! 

Replacing or redoing previous owners work.....

[Edison1970]

I feel your pain.  Amazing how much rust can be in these old fenders.

[jimynick]

Looks good and like a nice job- but- how many hours of your time @ your rate, would it take to buy a new, unrusted one? I'm guilty of it too and sometimes we all need to consider cost effectiveness. Here endeth the sermon. 

[rhamson]

Looks good and like a nice job- but- how many hours of your time @ your rate, would it take to buy a new, unrusted one? I'm guilty of it too and sometimes we all need to consider cost effectiveness. Here endeth the sermon. 

You are right! How much money would it take to buy a pristine rehabbed shell? I knew it had problems from the history and the body filler I found with the paint gauge. But some of the stuff they covered up was deplorable. Here is what that fender looked like before I tore it apart.

[burdar]

Looks good and like a nice job- but- how many hours of your time @ your rate, would it take to buy a new, unrusted one? I'm guilty of it too and sometimes we all need to consider cost effectiveness.

This is a hobby for most of us.  If you have to pay someone to do the work, then you are correct.  It would be cheaper in the long run to just buy a nicer fender to start with.  If you have the skill to do the work yourself, you're labor rate is $0.  It's cheaper to fix what you have.  It looks like the OP has the skill to fix it himself so it's cheaper then buying a different fender.

[rhamson]

Here is a picture of an area around the rear window and what was underneath the "finished paint". There was a thread earlier about counting on stripping a car completely before proceeding because of the little time bombs others may have left for you. I agree completely.

[rhamson]

This is a hobby for most of us.  If you have to pay someone to do the work, then you are correct.  It would be cheaper in the long run to just buy a nicer fender to start with.  If you have the skill to do the work yourself, you're labor rate is $0.  It's cheaper to fix what you have.  It looks like the OP has the skill to fix it himself so it's cheaper then buying a different fender.

A funny side note is when people ask how much the car "will" be worth when it is finished. I always ask them if they mean worth to me or a possible buyer? When they say to a buyer I tell them it is worth just as much as any other 1972 Dodge Challenger in good condition. I will never get the money out of it for what I have put into it. As you say this is a hobby for most of us.

[HP2]

How much money would it take to buy a pristine rehabbed shell?

I think AMD, Good mark, or whoever it was, was quoting $20k for a complete, all brand new Challenger shell.

[rhamson]

I think AMD, Good mark, or whoever it was, was quoting $20k for a complete, all brand new Challenger shell.

Dynacorn had been promising them for awhile and they seem to be available for around $17,000.00. http://www.restorationperformance.com/search.php?_ss-t=1435686663000#/?filter.level_1=Mopar&filter.level_1=Mopar&filter.level_2=Challenger&filter.level_2=Challenger&filter.level_3=Body%20Shells&filter.level_3=Body%20Shells&filter.level_2=Multi-Fit

[HP2]

Cool, price has come down $3k since they were first announced.

 I'd love to get hold of a few of these to make race cars out of. Guess I'd better start buying lottery tickets again.

[dfrazz]

Dynacorn had been promising them for awhile and they seem to be available for around $17,000.00. http://www.restorationperformance.com/search.php?_ss-t=1435686663000#/?filter.level_1=Mopar&filter.level_1=Mopar&filter.level_2=Challenger&filter.level_2=Challenger&filter.level_3=Body%20Shells&filter.level_3=Body%20Shells&filter.level_2=Multi-Fit

That may have an interesting impact on the value of our cars.

[rhamson]

It's hard to say as VIN numbers should be the difference. Factory Five has not seemed to have any affect on Cobra sales.

[dfrazz]

It's hard to say as VIN numbers should be the difference. Factory Five has not seemed to have any affect on Cobra sales.

'70 Challengers are re-bodied everyday.  Now they just made it even easier.  I don't like or agree with it, just saying it is now easier to order a new one than finding, blasting, ordering body parts, welding, and fabricating one.