SURVIVOR vs. GROUND-UP RESTORATION!

[DodgeMaterial]

Dave, boy seeing those moldings made me remember the parts chase to find NOS replacements, and the process of removing them without destroying them.  I still have the broomstick handles with wire!  Those moldings were one aspect of this car that had me worried that we could find replacements or be able to reuse originals.  But we did! 

[resq302]

That combo is absolutely beautiful!  The blue really pops against the black!

[DodgeMaterial]

Dave - some great shots of the bumpers!  You are right; I do remember how the black brackets were different levels of gloss black.  It was obvious that they were painted at different times (probably different suppliers too.)  A mistake sometimes made in a resto is to paint everthing with the same paint at the same time (like brackets.)  Cleaning the back sides of the original bumpers was one of my first experiences with Evapo-Rust.  It really worked well on the bumpers.  Since you found the NOS bumpers we were better off using them though.  Re-chroming the originals would not likely have given the same appearance as a "Factory Chrome" job like the NOS or originals had.  Do you have any pictures of the NOS chrome?  A lot of restored cars get "triple plated" bumpers and they are beautiful - but usually too smooth and nice to be original.  Dave S.

[RamSRT]

Dave,

It was a blast taking thousands of pictures of " Project Valiant" . Can you post some more of the " Beauty " shots of the Valiant when it began its journey?

Tom

[resq302]

Nice pics of the rust and dirt Dave!  Any pics of how those areas look "freshened" up after the miracle wash?  Don't get me wrong, getting dirty pics is nice, but seeing the beauty of something clean and shimmering is just as nice too!   

[resq302]

Dave,

I noticed on the pic with the shackle and leaf spring, there was what appeared to be a tab with a stamped hole in it.  I noticed a similar tab with hole on our GTX vert.  What was the purpose of that?  Im sure that would have been way too flimsy and thin to be a tie down point?

[resq302]

Dave,

I must be going color blind or something.  I guess the rust changed the color of that yellow over the years.  That looks orange to me on the top of the third member.

[resq302]

Dave,

I think I might have found that "Fountain of Youth Car Wash"!   

Here are some before pics of the GTX prior to going into the "wash" cycle.

[resq302]

more pics of the interior prior to the wash....

[resq302]

but wait.... there's more!   

[resq302]

found some really weird markings when we started to clean off the rear axle...... if these cars could only talk!

[resq302]

pics of the trunk and inside it!

[resq302]

more factory details!

[resq302]

Wow, very nice!  We actually got the info back from Oregon Motor Vehicle and have a lead as to what dealership the car was actually sold from.  Funny thing is that the first (earliest) bits of paperwork have the car being titled to Chrysler Motors Corp in Portland, Or. with a title date of 3/17/69.  The vehicle must have sat on the lot for a long time OR had something happen to it while it was on the assembly line.  The sched. prod. date of the car is 10/3/68.  Thats practically 5 mos on the lot!!!!!The next bit of paperwork seems to go from Chrysler Motors Corp in Or. to a dealership which looks to be Barker Motors Inc. on 4/25/69.  So far we have a paper trail up till 2002 at least for Oregon!  Seems like this car was sold new in the area of Roseburg or Grants Pass, Oregon.  I gotta say, tracing the history of this vehicle is just like being a detective and it is exciting as all can be!

[resq302]

interior of driver side door showing dip line and the mastic.