And So It Begins.... 1970 340 Cuda Restoration

[loco340cuda]

Thanks Topcat

[loco340cuda]

Does anyone know the size of the hole on the driver door for the remote mirror cable to go thru?

[ShelbyDogg]

Just big enough to squeeze the adjuster into at an angle. Might want to make it bigger to not knock the paint off while installing the adjuster, like I did.  My original hole had a slight edge of filler all around it, after paint, that all came off when installing the adjuster.  The huge gasket will determine how big not to make it.

Have a mirror and gasket with you when you start drilling.

[loco340cuda]

Thanks ShelbyDogg.  My issue is that I don't have the proper mirror right now and was hoping to put off that purchase for a little while so I can buy some other things this car needs.

[ShelbyDogg]

You had the proper 70 mirror in your picture. Why can't you used it to drill your holes?

[loco340cuda]

Honesty I had never thought about using that mirror for anything (accept for metal recycling) no less for the hole placement due to it is not original to the car and because it is a complete piece of junk (I'm surprised I did not pitch it once I took it off the door).  On top of that I was not sure if it was correct for a 70 as I never verified the numbers on it.  I now have the hole placement dimensions so I guess i could use it to verify they are correct, but once I have done that the mirror is going into the scrap heap!   

[1970A-66Challenger]

The opening is 2cm on my 70 challenger.

[ShelbyDogg]

I now have the hole placement dimensions so I guess i could use it to verify they are correct, but once I have done that the mirror is going into the scrap heap! 

If the cables are good it is worth saving. I sandblast my chrome mirrors to paint. A new mirror will cost you $175.

[loco340cuda]

Unfortunately the cables are cut and the mirror is glued into one place (no adjustment).  On top of that the oval part of the mirror housing is JB welded to the post part that screws on to the door. 

[loco340cuda]

Okay, it has been a little while since I have posted an update.  I have both doors back from the body shop and hung on the car.  For those of you who have not been following along I had to get the driver door reskinned due to a really poor reskin job by a previous owner.  They also had a problem with a used replacement window regulator on the passenger door that turned out to be nothing at all with a little adjustment. 

I also received the hood hinges back from the place that rebuilt them and low and behold they did not fix them again properly (second time).     My body shop guy hired these guys and he is working it out with them and both parties said they will make it right so I am not going to get upset about it since they will try again when I bring in the car to get the back half body work done.

I have put the car back together again and took it out for a drive, first time in about two months.  The next step is to take the car into the body shop in a few weeks and have them do the rest of the body work (lower quarters, trunk pan) and put the rest of the car in primer.  Once that is done then we will wait until the fall and then take the car apart and get it painted.  To quote the body shop owner "We are slowly making it a better car!"   

Here are some pictures of the driver door at the body shop.

[loco340cuda]

Here are some pictures of the car with the doors and hood back on.

[dfrazz]

Lookin good!!

[hemiken]

And that is the correct way to repair a door, weather it is getting a new skin or not, i am a strong believer of removing the skin to get rid of rust and add a coating to the inner sections and also the folds that holds the skin to the door carcass or frame.
Excellent work

[loco340cuda]

Well guys, if you look at the date of my last post you obviously can figure out that my project has stalled.  The body shop who was working on the car lost their main body guy (a 3 man shop) and now the shop is down to two guys and they already have two full restorations that they are working on.  Last update I got from the shop a couple of months ago is that they are not sure when they can schedule my car.  At this point I am about ready to give up on them and move on.  The only reason I have been so patient is that it is my neighbor who owns the shop and I know i can trust him but I'm getting to the point I really don't want to wait another 6 months to a year before they can get me in and then wait another minimum of 6 months for them to finish up the bodywork and paint.  I really want to get some paint on the car and enjoy it before my oldest boy (the only other person in my house who cares about the car) goes off to school. 

So I'm posting to get some options on how much you guys think it would cost to get the car finished off from a body work and paint point of view.  From the pictures above you can get an idea of the current condition of the car.  Basically the hood, front valence, header panel, fenders and door have been completed.  They just need minor work to get them ready for paint.  As far as the rest of the car goes it needs to be stripped and have the lower rear quarters and trunk pan replaced due to rust. There is some minor rust in the windshield channel area and a little around the back window but nothing major.  The radiator panel will need to be straighten a little due to a low speed frontal crash from some time earlier in the cars life.

Here is a summary list of what needs to be done:
-strip body of car to metal (this does not include panels that have already been done)
-replace rust in lower quarters, trunk pan, window areas
-finish up body work on the body as well as the doors and front pieces
-prep front rubber bumper and get it ready for paint
-paint car
-paint rear axle and k-member

I will strip down the car and make it a roller so the paint shop will have minimal dis-assembly to do to help save money.

As far as the type of paint job I'm looking for, it will be nice driver quality paint job.  Something that looks good for a local cruise in night but not a show car.  This car will get driven so I don't want to spend a fortune on a trailer queen paint job.  For the bottom of the car, I'm thinking I will have them paint it black and not really spend any time down their except to make it look clean when you look under it.  I'm open to ideas on this area but I really don't want to spend much money on the bottom of the car.

So let's hear your opinions on how much you think it will cost to get the car finished off from a body work and paint point of view.  Let me know what additional information you need to know to help make an assessment.  The reason I'm asking this question is that I would like to have a ball park number in my head before I go out and talk to some shops.

In case you are wondering my neighbor was going to give me a break on the cost in return for some help I was going to give him but since that is gone I need to figure out what it will cost from a "retail cost" point of view.

-Thanks

[loco340cuda]

So nobody has any thoughts on this? 

How about you guys who have gotten your car painted in the recent past or maybe are going through it now, what are you seeing price wise to get the bodywork and paint done?

-Thanks