B Body stiffening

[Darius]

Are the charger rear brakes a bolt on or do they need a lot of mods. Thanks, Rene'

If you look back on this thread to the 2nd or 3rd page there are some pics of the mod we made to the caliper mount from the Charger to fit the 8 3/4 housing. There was other "improvisation" required as well. I would not call it simple but if you have the right equipment it isn't that difficult. FAR from a bolt on swap however.

 

[sparkie573]

Awesome Awesome Awesome stuff on here Darious. I am sitting here reading through all of this in Afghanistan and doing as much research as possible for when I get home, Although I have yet to find the right 70 RR or GTX which is aggravating... hopefully I will very soon after getting back. This is a lot similar to what I am wanting to build "except for probably the dash" lol. Lots of great work and a great build thread. I am sure that I will have many questions. A big thanks to everyone who posts all the good information on this site.

 

[Budnicks]

you do pretty good fab work for a carpenter

that's to funny...LOL...

I have read the whole thread now, very interesting to see how you've progressed, the car looks great... thread started 10-2008, some 5 years ago now... As a fellow carpenter, that knows how to weld...he he ha ha, {& you do know too}... I was raised by a car guy, he could do everything on a car, that was an Union Pipe-fitter/Welder, learned to weld & some fab work, at about age 10 or so, had to learn gas welding 1st, taught by my step father Bob... I'm also a contractor, mostly just part time now, kind of forced in that route, I'm 54 y/o now I know your pain, the Calif. economy & especially the construction market or workforce, is still really struggling here... I was based out of Rancho Murieta Ca. for over 10 years 1997-2007, 16+ years before that out of Concord & Clayton Ca. 1981-97 & mostly worked out of the East Bay Area, with contracts all over the west coast as far east as the Rockies & as far north as Alaska, South to Texas, mostly dealing with 125 strong Dealership group thou, HG Automotive & then 1st American Automotive, {now under another name/ownership}... I/we specialized in commercial construction mostly Automotive Dealerships/Facility Management, "from the front gate to the back fence", we did anything & almost everything, allot of remodels, after spec. building & doing some 1400 Kitchens & Bathrooms... Times are tough still, even now & it's great to see your getting near completion on your melding a 2006 Charger & a 70 GTX.... I love the ol' carpenter welding comments................ I love how you kept the project going... 2 thumbs up

I forgot to say don't diss me too hard on my welds, I never welded a thing in my life before I started this project last summer, I am a 55 year old fart Carpenter!

 

[Darius]

Awesome Awesome Awesome stuff on here Darious. I am sitting here reading through all of this in Afghanistan and doing as much research as possible for when I get home, Although I have yet to find the right 70 RR or GTX which is aggravating... hopefully I will very soon after getting back. This is a lot similar to what I am wanting to build "except for probably the dash" lol. Lots of great work and a great build thread. I am sure that I will have many questions. A big thanks to everyone who posts all the good information on this site.

Hey Sparkie, from one Vet to another, Thank You for your service!
Here is the one bit of advice I have for you. Find a decent "roller" to start with. It does not matter that the car is not "numbers matching" because you are changing the guts of it anyway. My GTX now has 5 pieces of original metal left on it! It was a running driver that looked great when I bought it but after I had it media blasted it was swiss cheese. Save yourself some money right out the gate.
It will NOT be cheap unless you can do EVERYTHING yourself or maybe trade labor for work you cannot do.

Budnicks, I was fortunate enough to have purchased most of what I needed before the "crash" and doubly fortunate with the awesome friend who is helping me with the build. My car sat on one of his 2 lifts for almost 2 years collecting dust! He wasn't doing gangbuster business either but I know there had to have been times when he could have used the lift. I have been able to repay him in many ways including paying him for the stuff I knew he would be doing anyway when we got there like the wiring harness, final body work, he is the one who did all the tedious taping and painting on the car so far.
It is getting close and I am really itching now. Business is back to where I can take a day or two a week to work on the car so as soon as it is painted it should come together pretty quick.

 

[Darius]

Progress!!!

Made it a roller again today. Going to the painter next Wed. He says I will have it first of Dec. We are shooting for Auto Rama in Feb.
I forgot my camera so these are from my phone.

I'm likin the blue suspension!

These look like crap, I will get better pics on Saturday

 

[cr8crshr]

Darius that is some mighty fine work you have done there. I have been following your project now since its inception on both forums. Just truly superior work...cr8crshr/Tuck

 

[Darius]

While I certainly won't dent I have an unimaginable number of hours into this car, ALL credit for the final body work and paint prep goes entirely to Dean Rockwell. It is his eye and touch that defines the lines.

 

[cr8crshr]

While I certainly won't dent I have an unimaginable number of hours into this car, ALL credit for the final body work and paint prep goes entirely to Dean Rockwell. It is his eye and touch that defines the lines.

Dean is located up in SAC I take it???

 

[Darius]

His shop is in west Sac. That is where I have had the car since day one. He has been "tutoring" me all the way along and doing stuff that is beyond my capabilities within any reasonable amount of time. He flat told me when we started that he wanted to do the body work. I have seen him build some awesome rides over the years, among them a 69 Dart complete resto mod and a 68 Roadrunner.

Side note Bill....got my first Reserve retirement check last Friday....YEEEE HAAAAAA!

 

[Darius]

The car is FINALLY at the painter! Supposed to have it back 1st week of Dec

 

[ilm65]

View attachment 151495The car is FINALLY at the painter! Supposed to have it back 1st week of Dec

From my personal experience, that could mean December, 201?

 

[snakeyes]

:beerchug:and now we wait :happy1::happy1:sixpack:

 

[conv67bdere]

:beerchug:and now we wait :happy1::happy1:sixpack:

Snakeyes . . . you sure we have enough popcorn and enough beer with only a 6-pack ? ? ?

 

[HYRDGOON]

Hey Darius,

Just went through this entire thread again after our conversation and am severely impressed with the fabrication and work you've put into this car! Can't wait to see it rolling soon.

It also brought me to think of a similar project in the June 2013 MOPAR Action magazine... It's the cover car called ROAD CHARGER SRT8 Atom smashing a 69 RR with an 08 Charger. Maybe you'll find it interesting,

Mike

 

[Darius]

FINALLY!! Paint!

Thsi is so strange. I have been waiting 5 loooonnnnggg years to get to this point and I thought I would be more excited, not that I'm not, just seems different than I have been imagining it would be.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE how the paint turned out. My painter used BASF paint for the color coat and 10 coats of clear, 5 and 5. The color match turned out a few shades lighter than the sample I had of a late '80s repaint B-5. It actually looks really great, It has a quality I have never noticed on a car that does not have a "pearl coat". It changes as you move around and you see light on it from different angles and shades of light.
Tomorrow it all starts getting re-assembled for good. We have a commitment to be in the Auto Rama In Sacramento in Feb. Should go pretty quick actually, biggest unknown is upholstery but he is the one who wants my car in his space.....at least he thought of it before Dean asked .....but Dean is into helping me make sure we get there.
I will post as we go, here are a few pics right after we unloaded the car tonite.

- - - Updated - - -

We will take the car back to the painter for the hood and tail panel black later.
For those who have not done something like this before (this is my first time). This table has nothing but stuff for this car. The floor beneath it has as much and there are parts and pieces elsewhere in the shop as well as at my house!
I thought I would post this to show how unbelievable it is how many parts there are in one of these cars!

 

[azmoparhead]

Car looks fantastic!! That IS a great feeling. I know what you mean, mine took 7 years of sweat and tears and when it was over it was more relief than excitement. The excitement kicked in when I started driving it and doing cruises, etc.

Very cool!!

 

[kevin403]

Nice work! Looks pretty close to where I am at on my build.

 

[conv67bdere]

WOW Darius ! ! ! Promised and delivered as promised the first week of December . . . and this year too ! !

The car looks great - I've got the same collection of parts all over my shop too ! ! ! I know the feeling ! ! !

Now's the time to get started re-building ! ! ! Can't wait to see the final product when you get it all done ! ! !

 

[tallhair]

The paint and finish looks excellent Darius and I'm really looking forward to seeing the stages as it goes back together

 

[hunt2elk]

That color looks fantastic. :headbang: We are at about the same stage with our cars and I know exactly what you mean about parts being everywhere. All my tables, benches and shelving is overflowing with Charger parts. Now the fun begins - or so they say.