The Dark Horse project

[troutstreamnm]

Matt, you've got a great set of skills there.  Wish I could do metal work like that! 

[Bullitt-]

Nice Work 

[rtgambit]

Matt, you've got a great set of skills there.  Wish I could do metal work like that! 

Thanks trout! I'm still learning the process, so it's coming along slowly.

[rtgambit]

Ahhhh... time in the garage. Stay tuned for pics!

The latest toy can be seen on the bench, too. Got myself a 30" sheet metal brake!

[rtgambit]

Wish I had more time to play in the garage today, but the honey-do list had to be cleared first.


Got to finish welding the rest of the trunk lip today. I took my time and basically stitched the section to minimize on heat buildup.




After the grinder work. I've only got a couple of pinholes to close up. Getting better! 

[rtgambit]

Well here's a much needed update. Unfortunately no car work to show for it, though. The funds for the Challenger have gone a bit dry, so I made a deal with the missus. I've got a $1000 budget to finish off the Polara and get it sold (hopefully for about $4-5K). I can then use that money to put into the R/T and get it closer to reality.

The good news it that the Polara doesn't need a whole lot, just ball joints, windshield, and some misc stuff. I just got the ball joints in the mail on Thursday, so I should have it together sometime this week.

As soon as the dust settles I'll pick up on this thread again.

[willhaven]

Man, this project just keeps going and going and going and going, doesn't it?

Not sure I'd have the endurance for pain that you've got.

You starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

[rtgambit]

Man, this project just keeps going and going and going and going, doesn't it?

Not sure I'd have the endurance for pain that you've got.

You starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

Yeah, it does seem to be taking a bit longer than I originally thought. I bought it in Sept 98 thinking it would be roadworthy by the next summer. I guess life got in the way.

I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel though. There is very little rust left on the car, so my welding will soon come to and end (to be replaced with sanding, yay!).

[rtgambit]

Just a slight update to the project. I've been busy with a few other vehicles for the last month or two, so haven't really had a chance to take a peek at the car. On Monday I was out in the garage and thought I'd give her a once over. To my horror I found fresh surface rust over most of the body. To say I freaked would be an understatement. 

It turns out that my pressure washer had a leak in it, which made it's way under the plastic tarp and soaked into the sand from the media blasting. The plastic was then doing the opposite job and holding the moisture. 

So, down came the tarping, and all the sand was promptly cleaned up. I've had a fan and a dehumidifier running since Monday afternoon to pull the rest of the moisture out of the garage.

Hopefully it won't add too much extra work to the project.

On a brighter note, now the webcam has an unobstructed view of the car.

[rtgambit]

Wow, time flies, doesn't it? We've taken another trip around the sun, and my poor challenger has sat neglected. Hopefully this will change in the next month or two.

The webcam is active again, so hopefully it'll get my ass in gear to get this finished!

[Cuda_Kevin]

Dude! Great work on the car!  I've spent the last hour or so admiring all the work you've done!  I can't wait to see the next progress reports!  I've got similar work on my car that I'm going to start this summer, will definitely keep this thread book marked....  : )

Thanks,
Kevin

[rtgambit]

It's funny how I seem to be almost a year between posts lately.

Ah well, life can definitely get in the way of restoration plans, can't it? Our second daughter was born one year ago on 9/11, so things have been a bit more busy around the house.

I also sold the Intrepid and bought a 2003 Durango R/T. Black, of course.

Still at the same job, just more responsibilities and work.

I won't make any promises about restoration timeline (learned my lesson there   ), but it will be getting it's time in the limelight again. It's just a matter of moving a few other vehicles through the garage.

Stay tuned! 

[rtgambit]

If I'm getting serious about this again I should have the webcam back up and going.

The picture in my sig now shows the current view of the car (updated every 30 seconds or so).

[rtgambit]

At least I'm adding an update before a year has passed.

Lots happening lately. Went to school from Oct - Dec. Bottom fell out of the new house market in Jan, hours got cut at work. Sidelined the Durango and picked up a 99 Neon coupe to reduce fuel bill. Company got bought out about a month ago, lots of changes there.

Oh, and I got laid off on Monday. Yay me.

More in a bit.

[rtgambit]

It's been a while, a long while. About 7 1/2 years since the last update. New job started a week after my last update, left that in Aug 2019 to join the union, then in January 2020 I decided it was time to head out on my own, so obviously I've been a lot busier.

So, no promises on new updates, but hopefully I can get something happening on the car in the next year.