My 69 Coronet project

[hunt2elk]

Great job with all the attention to detail. And here I call myself **** at times, but I think you have me beat lol. Your car is actually very solid imo. I don't know that I would have pulled the cowl apart on that one, but now it will be perfect. Don't know if you want to stay with a Mopar color, but 1970 K5 burnt orange is nice too.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Thanks for the mad props super-bee. I wish my credit rating was as high as your rating! It's been a fun project so far and I'm learning a lot - mostly that I'm real good taking things apart. We'll see how it goes putting it back together.

The Coronet is going to be really cool when I'm done - a resto mod while keeping the old school look. And the Dart is a lot of fun to drive - 360 with a Tremec 5 spd & 3.54 SG out back. Just today I drove it to work and after parking it I started rolling up the driver's side window and BAM! it slid back down into the door. So I'll be taking a break from the Coronet this weekend to fix the window - I'm hoping it's just the plastic anchor holding the glass in the lower frame.

- - - Updated - - -

Great job with all the attention to detail. And here I call myself **** at times, but I think you have me beat lol. Your car is actually very solid imo. I don't know that I would have pulled the cowl apart on that one, but now it will be perfect. Don't know if you want to stay with a Mopar color, but 1970 K5 burnt orange is nice too.

Thanks a lot H2E. I've read your Charger resto thread several times over, and when I talk about madd skilz on this site you're at the top of the list. Your thread got me going on the copper sunset color - and yeah, K5 is definitely a beautiful color and on the short list. As you had said, mulling over the color choices is half the fun.

 

[CoronetDarter]

More disassembly

With the cowl off and all the panels removed from the car, next was the engine and trans. In the beginning stages removing the drive train was not on the "to do" list, but now that the car's gonna have a full repaint the engine compartment has to be worked on too. There's a lot of rust and pitting by the battery tray but the rest of the engine compartment looks good, including the front frame rails. So I bought an engine stand at HF, borrowed my neighbor's cherry picker and Mike and I spent about 4 hours disconnecting everything. And when I first got the car home I knew at that time it was going to need a new radiator- it's only a 22", doesn't even have a pet cock for draining. And the p/n, 3736935 isn't on Moparts or any other rad p/n list(I pulled down a list on the FBBO Heating & Cooling forum). So eventually I'll be getting a new 26".
The removal prep was going so smooth until the last flex plate bolt. I was using a 12 pt box and Maria was applying counter pressure with a breaker bar on the crank bolt. The wrench points became rounded so off to Sears to get a replacement. Got back, tried it again, kept slipping off. I don't even want to say how long I spent on that one bolt. But once again, thank you to a FBBO member; I posted a WTH thread and was given the obvious solution - use a 6 pt. :eusa_doh:
Back to Sears, got the 6 pt, bolt came off first try. I love this site! :icon_salut:

Tip for first timers - if you have an automatic tightly secure a plastic baggie over the rear seal after removing the driveshaft 'cause ATF will weep out the back. I drained the tranny before starting the disassembly and there was still ATF everywhere - have receptacles handy. Here's a bummer though - the weekend before the tire incident I changed the oil and filter and used Mobil 1 synthetic with a zinc additive. Spent $50 and only drove it about 50 miles.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Now that the drivetrain is out, doors are off and the interior has been gutted I'm thinking this is a good time to come up with a plan. Especially since the original plan to replace the damaged fender with a donor and paint to match has been shot to hell.

The car will be a resto mod, keeping the 70's feel with some modern day upgrades. First the body - as much as I love the car as it was a few changes are in order. Since the 500 trim has to be removed anyway for painting, the trim holes will be welded and the car debadged. It's not going to be a R/T clone or tribute but I will add R/T emblems just 'cause I like the way they look. And the T7 metallic bronze needs some punching up. I've read dozens of FBBO restorations and the members on here have some wicked paint jobs, and to that end I'm leaning towards the Copper Sunset that I first saw in H2E's resto thread. There are about 4 -5 variations including 1970 FK5 on the list, with a gray/silver paint scheme a dark horse candidate. Either color will look good with the black vinyl roof. What won't be a good combo with the paint is a saddle tan interior, so it's going basic black. Some things will be painted, others replaced or recovered. I'll be adding a modern stereo system, A/C (if the budget allows), power windows and door locks. I'm adding a factory tach to the dash, by passing the alt meter and adding a volt meter.

As for the drivetrain, the 440 will get a 440 Source 4.125 stroker kit, Stealth heads, an as-yet unknown cam but most likely a hyd FT with around .510 lift and 240* duration +/-. I'm keeping the Eddy Performer intake and 625 carb for now understanding its a choke point, but again it depends on how finances go. Adding 1 3/4" - 1 7/8" headers with electric cutouts (that ones on you Dennis H!). Need a new 26" radiator. Relo the battery to the trunk, add headlight relays.

The tranny was shifting fine when this all started so I'm still undecided how far to take it. At least a shift kit and a higher stall converter to match whatever cam I get, trans cooler and temp gauge. The 8 3/4 was also good; the PO had all 4 brakes redone; the rears still look brand new with all new hardware along with the brake shoes. It's a 3.23 SG but my Dart has 3.54's and a Tremec so it can take a set of 4.11's and then I may swap the 3.54's into the Coronet. At the very least the housing will be stripped and painted.

On to the chassis - originally a 383 2V the chassis components are soft - 4-leaf rear springs and .89 T-bars. The rear springs will be replaced with the HD's that came on Hemi cars and the T-bars will be upped to .96. The PO had some front end work done including new tie rod ends. The strut rod bushings need replacing and while I'm at it the power steering box will be replaced with a Firm Feel Stage II along with tubular A arms. I'll rebuild the LCA. The front drums will be upgraded to PDB. Adding sub frame connectors and possibly torque boxes.

I'm not sure on wheels and tires but they will be 15", I'm liking the charcoal Torque Thrusts. Tires will be 295-50-15 and 235/245-60-15.

Did I miss anything? There's a hundred details I know I'm missing. I would really like to hear what you all think about the basic plan and appreciate all suggestions. Thanks for reading my thread.

 

[themechanic]

Nice thread.

Stereo, exhaust, interior color and color of vinyl top, if any.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Sent the front end pieces off to the blasters and in the meantime started attacking the rust. It looks like the car was stored outside most of it's life, maybe in a carport where the driver's side was against a wall and the passenger's side was open to the elements. The car is rusty mainly down the passenger side, behind the kick panel and inside the door frame, inside the C pillar webbing and up underneath the rear quarter in the trunk. The other rough spot was the LH inner fender where the battery was. There had been a few battery mishaps over the years.

So armed with a 4" rice cake, 2" wire wheel and 60 grit sandpaper I sanded the inner fender and firewall down to metal. The fender got etch primered and the inner firewall was painted with POR-15.
The brake cage was really rusty, it's going to be refurbished.
I thought the engine compartment could be detailed without taking out the steering box but after sanding the shock tower it was obvious the steering column and box would have to come out. For some reason I was resisting this for the longest time - probably because I wondered if I was going to ever be able to get them back in again. Since the box is out, I'll have to get a FF Stage II.
SEM black etch prime.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Got the parts back from the blasters. American Stripping in So Sac did a real nice job, had 'em primered too. Fortunately, no rot came through any of the pieces - except for the cowl. The corners where the cowl was leaded into the A pillar was rotted away, Mike was going to have to fab some patches. First order of business was the get the cowl back on. But first the bottom of the top and the top of the bottom :eusa_think: needed cleaning up and painted with POR-15. I taped off the edges on both upper and lower because you don't want to try an weld through that stuff.


Ran seam sealer around the two fresh air ducts and then started fitting the upper cowl.
Patch welded in place

 

[sleepar]

Nice ! My car was in great shape... but a little digging... and I'm doing a restoration... I don't like to be constantly hacking and fixing when it's easier to maintain a newly remanufactured car

 

[MT_Mopar]

Nice work, are you planning on going back with the original paint color?

 

[747mopar]

I'm curious to see how you seal the cowl up? I had to replace mine as well and it had some weird foam looking sealant from the factory in between the panels, must have been something they could still spot weld threw. I ended up using weld threw primer and then seam sealed it with brush on seam sealer by putting my hands up threw the fresh air ducts using cut off paint brushes but using just my fingers and latex gloves worked the best (what a pain). Your doing a hell of a job and can't wait to see if you come up with a better option for sealing that area.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Nice work, are you planning on going back with the original paint color?

Probably not; I liked the T7 while I was a originally driving it but now that the car has to be repainted I want to punch up the color, while more than likely staying in the brown/bronze part of the color wheel. I'm leaning towards the Dupont Copper Sunset that was originally in H2E's thread, but Harvest Bronze is also at the top of the list. Then there's the OEM colors - FK5 and T5 (the mechanic has a thread with pics of his awesome 69 Coronet). Chrysler and Toyota has some really nice modern-day copper bronze paints as well. I have some time to decide because my friend who's helping me with the bodywork is off on another project and I wanted to start concentrating on the mechanicals anyway.

 

[CoronetDarter]

I'm curious to see how you seal the cowl up? I had to replace mine as well and it had some weird foam looking sealant from the factory in between the panels, must have been something they could still spot weld threw. I ended up using weld threw primer and then seam sealed it with brush on seam sealer by putting my hands up threw the fresh air ducts using cut off paint brushes but using just my fingers and latex gloves worked the best (what a pain). Your doing a hell of a job and can't wait to see if you come up with a better option for sealing that area.

Hey 747, now you've got me wondering if I sealed it up correctly. lol. From the factory there was only seam sealer around the base of each air duct. Prior to the POR I scraped away the original seam sealer and then after applying the POR I went back and shot SEM seam sealer out of a tube with a chalking gun. With the air box out of the car I also shot seam sealer where the air duct meets the inside firewall, see the pic below. Is this what you mean or is there another area that needs sealing?

 

[CoronetDarter]

Some more pic's of the car.


Sanded the firewall down to bare metal. Used a wire brush, wire wheel and good 'ol hand sanding. You can't' tell from the pics but the floor pans are in excellent shape, still have the factory primer.

Applied POR 15 to the firewall and A pillars.
When brushing on POR there's always places you can't reach with a brush; behind the bracing on the front door frame by the hinges, inside the C pillar, body seams, etc. Here's a tip my body man gave me: pick up some disposable plastic spray bottles from the $1 store and fill about 1/4 to 1/3 full (you don't need much) and then add lacquer thinner to dilute (straight POR is too thick to spray). Once diluted spray away. Only use a much POR as you need because you can't reuse it. Have the area you want to spray mapped out ahead of time and work quickly because the thinner will degrade the plastic within several minutes. And cover up! The spray will get everywhere.

 

[MT_Mopar]

Looking good!

 

[snakeyes]

wow looking very good there thanks for the up dates :headbang:

 

[BigBlock61]

Hey Coronetdarter can I get you to do me a favor? I need to know what the measurement is across the trunk opening in the front and the back. Also from the trunk gutter to the floor at the tail light panel. If you could get that, it would be great. Thanks in advance. You're doing a hell of a job, keep it up.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Hey BB, I will measure either tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest and PM you. And thanks for the kind words - I'm enjoying following your build as well. You have a lot more work ahead of you than I do; your fab skills are amazing.

 

[CoronetDarter]

With the cowl roughed in we'll move on for now and come back to it when we do the finish bodywork. Next is removing the 500 trim and welding up the attachment holes. It took me a while to decide whether to keep the trim on the car or not. I like the trim work especially because you don't see it very often, but in the end I opted for the clean, debadged look. I will be replacing the 1/2 chrome wheel moldings with the regular moldings that encircle the entire wheel opening. Mike's doing all the welding.


The donor fender still needs some attention on the leading edge. it was the lesser of two evils between the dent on the donor and the crumpled original fender. With no fender repops on the market it comes down to 40+ year old OEM. I started painting the dash frame black.

 

[CoronetDarter]

Next up is the doors. Before the trim holes can be welded up the glass has to be removed. This is the one part of the resto that I'm really dreading. Looking inside the door and reading the FSM has me very intimidated. In fact getting the door mechanisms back together is more intimidating than rebuilding an engine. Part of the reason is that I'm heavily leaning towards installing power windows and door locks.

So it took me about 45 minutes per door to completely disassemble. Took lots of pictures; hopefully I'll be able to get everything back together. The driver's side mirror with remote adjuster knob - that feels like it's going to be a bee-atch to get back in. And guess what I found after looking inside the empty doors - more rust! You can see the perfectly straight line of undercoating the factory sprayed on - and missed about 1/2 the door. Mike got the holes welded up in no time, looks like another trip to the blasters!

 

[CoronetDarter]

It's been busy around here; not a lot of time to post. My younger son is moving back in and my oldest son is moving out so I've busy moving furniture. The good news is that more stuff is leaving the house than coming back. Gives me more room to store my car parts. I had to take all the interior parts and glass that was on my son's bed and move it all into my daughter's room - she just graduated from college and moved down to LA. Hope the interior is back in by the time she's up for the holidays. lol.

So while Mike was welding up all the trim holes on the car I started looking at the trunk. The PO had painted POR 15 in the middle of the trunk pan as kind of a half-hearted effort to contain the rust. The trunk pan wasn't in bad shape just a lot of surface rust. There was quite a bit of rust underneath the quarters and dutchman panel and also the package tray. At that point I decided to remove the gas tank to check things out. Good news! a new gas tank; one less thing I have to replace. Not too bad underneath just a lot of surface rust. The lower quarters are solid as are the quarter extensions.

Since the doors and trunk lid were going to the blasters anyway might as well take the rest of the car. We loaded the car onto Mike's flat bed trailer; sure wish I hadn't taken out the steering box yet, hard to steer with no pitman arm! I'm just having the back half blasted except for the outer quarters, which I'll sand down myself. The inside of the trunk all the way to the underside of the package tray will be done and underneath from the tail panel to the shock mount crossmember. The middle of the car is in great shape. The chassis has all its factory undercoating and I'll leave it on. The torsion bar crossmember has a patina to it, but I'll sand it down to bare metal and POR-15 it.

It's so weird having a garage with actual space to move around in!
While the car's gone it was time to work on changing the interior from saddle tan to black. The trim pieces are pretty grungy:


Originally I was going to use the new factory color spray paints from Herb's Parts but the shipping costs were prohibitive. And I was going black anyway and black is black. If I was going with a factory color I would have ponied up the freight. At this point I gotta say that finding a good automotive paint supply store, especially for a novice like me, is a lifesaver on a resto project. At first I visited a store in North Sac and they were OK, they helped me with my purchase and no complaints. Then I found Jerry's Paint Supply, also in Sac. Their main business is supporting the local dealerships and auto body shops but they also have a retail counter. Man, they have helped me out time and time again. They're really patient answering all my neophyte questions and they don't try to sell me more than I need. I recommend them to anyone in the area.

So anyway, there's lots of threads on changing colors in the Interior forum so I'll hit the highlights. It's all about cleanliness and surface prep. The pieces were first washed down with TSP and a sponge. After drying the surface was scuffed with a red scotch brite pad and then sprayed with SEM Plastic and Leather Prep. I scuffed it again then sprayed Adhesion Promotor and then immediately sprayed with SEM Color Coat. I used Landau Black, it has a nice finish without a lot of gloss. During the whole process wear gloves so you don't transfer oils from your hands. The Max 1K Adhesion Promotor is comparable to Bullfrog but 1/2 the price.


It takes 4 - 5 light coats to get the desired coverage but I'm real happy with how they turned out. The kick panels really look good 'cause the black hides 40 years of scuff marks. Next up: door panels.