My New Doba

[Doba76]

I'll let you know if there's anything I need, thanks very much! When you come out west, where exactly will you be?

 

[roadrunnerron]

Update

Since I've had the vehicle home, I've been getting is prepared for the body work, paint and new wheels. In addition I've revised some of my desired outcomes along the way. The final vehicle should be a 'living room on wheels' that you can drive from Oakville to Myrtle in comfort in addition to being a full time summertime driver. This objective has changed or altered the final product somewhat.

• the color will be charger pearl black. The green fleck is to hard to maintain on a vehicle in regular use.
• the 400 engine is being blue-printed by R & B Engines with a final compression ratio of 9.3 to 1 so that it will run on regular gasoline. Initially, I was thinking of a modern hemi crate engine. Engine work included balancing, KB 30 thou over pistons and a warmer can. The engine builder estimated final horsepower at 325 to 350.
• All of the pollution equipment will remain on the engine. While the vehicle is too old to be e-tested, it is possible that if pulled over by cops they could do an equipment check.
• Smaller rims to permit more tire sidewall and a more comfortable ride on the highway.
• Customize the console for modern amenities such as cup holders, GPS etc

During the summer I drove it regularly but now that weather has deteriorated, I've begun the work and have my first picture to show you. While the engine was being worked on the engine bay was cleaned up and repainted charger pearl black. The engine was installed today and we hope to have it running tomorrow. Other significant work done to date is a dual Maginflow stainless steel exhaust system and an 8 3/4 sure grip rear end with a 2.76 gear ratio necessary in order to convert to disc brakes.

 

[76 Doba]

Great to see one of these being done. The silver/black car is Ricardo Montalban's and I like the paint scheme on it as well. Have you figured out what size wheels you will do? 15-18 inch wheels will be better for this and make it less donk like. Any pics of Desoto? What colors are it? Matching colors with Cordoba would be cool. If you decide to use gold instead of cream, black and gold were popular Desoto colors in that era. Do you have any planned cosmetic mods? I'd be a fan of shaved peaks, redone bumpers(shaved rubber, split front either as two pieces or one piece with top center cut out to leave a larger grill), redone dash for full gauges, and height change(raise in back or lower front and back).

 

[old tired rebel]

Subscribed

 

[roadrunnerron]

Great to see one of these being done. The silver/black car is Ricardo Montalban's and I like the paint scheme on it as well. Have you figured out what size wheels you will do? 15-18 inch wheels will be better for this and make it less donk like. Any pics of Desoto? What colors are it? Matching colors with Cordoba would be cool. If you decide to use gold instead of cream, black and gold were popular Desoto colors in that era. Do you have any planned cosmetic mods? I'd be a fan of shaved peaks, redone bumpers(shaved rubber, split front either as two pieces or one piece with top center cut out to leave a larger grill), redone dash for full gauges, and height change(raise in back or lower front and back).

Thanks for your comments. There are no firm plans in place and are prepared to adjust and adapt as we go based on what meets our objectives. The owner of the body shop I’m working with also judges at local events and has an interest in how the final product will look. He is looking to enter it as an example of his work. Like me he loves the basic lines of the car and it will be different. He specializes in hydraulics and air ride suspensions and sees this body style as a great low cost entry point in that market. I find it amazing that so many high cost 300s, BMWs and Lexus’ are being tricked out this way.

Keep in mind that the final product is to be a reliable highway driver and perhaps a trailer hauler we’ve made some decisions. The car went into the shop today. This is what we’ve agreed upon.

• The car will be painted charger pearl black including the bumpers and trim parts.
• Bumperettes and rubber will be removed. The resulting holes will be filled in and sanded smooth. Bumpers and trim will be powder coated and painted.
• The bumper lines with the body of the car will be tightened by raising the bumpers and moving them closer to the body.
  After the car has been painted, it will sit for three weeks to let the paint fully cure. After curing it will be cut and polished. During that time we’ll look at grill treatment, headlight and taillight treatment and working on the fly as to what looks best.
• Before selecting tires and rims, the leaf springs will be checked for sagging and repaired if required. Tires will be fitted before lowering the body. I’m looking for a low profile tire that still has a decent ride. Towing a fairly heavy trailer means that body lowering will be modest. I’m thinking that 18 inch wheels will do the job at this point.
• As to the interior we are refurbishing the plastic parts –post, door panels and dash pad. The final interior is some time off and most likely next winter’s project. The only things I know for sure is that the mono eight-track and console are to be replaced with something better. The console doesn’t have a coffee holder and twice now my coffee tipped over and emptied into the tray.

You read my mind on the black and gold combo. This image is of a 59 but anything from a 57 – 60 will do.

 

[old tired rebel]

Any chance of the shop letting you take pictures of what he is doing?

 

[snakeyes]

I second that !

 

[roadrunnerron]

Any chance of the shop letting you take pictures of what he is doing?

I've been taking pictures all the way along and will ultimately end up with an electronic frame of the project. I will be in the shop at least weekly with my camera to take pictures and will post updates from time to time.

 

[old tired rebel]

It would be great if you can post the pictures up for us to follow the progress.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Just a note from the cheap seats here ...

If you're going to have your body guy do any powder coating on your most prized possession, make sure you see some actual work samples first. Bumpers and trim can be tricky; too many people out there get a hobby kit and quickly decide they're an expert.

 

[roadrunnerron]

Just a note from the cheap seats here ...

If you're going to have your body guy do any powder coating on your most prized possession, make sure you see some actual work samples first. Bumpers and trim can be tricky; too many people out there get a hobby kit and quickly decide they're an expert.

Thanks for the advice. It is appreciated. As it turns out I had looked into doing it myself and decided not to. I have seen finished products as you suggest and they look good.

I do have a question. Assuming paint over powder coat is properly done how will the wear characteristics of a finished bumper compare to re-chromed bumper again assuming the re-chroming is well done?

 

[70bigblockdodge]

I had a 76 doba 400 console white leather wish I still had it. If the car already has 8.25 in it and your making cruiser why not build it and steal disc off of a Cherokee?

 

[roadrunnerron]

I had a 76 doba 400 console white leather wish I still had it. If the car already has 8.25 in it and your making cruiser why not build it and steal disc off of a Cherokee?

Main reason is that I didn't know about the Cherokee alternative nor did the experts from which I sought advice. Now i know better.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Ron, your question is pretty much like comparing apples to oranges.

First off, why do you feel the need to paint over top of the powder?? The powder coating is going to be much more durable than paint, and with the vast availability of powder colors and textures these days I can't see any advantage to putting paint on top of it.

I honestly can't speak to the chrome plating aspect of the comparison because I've never been in that industry, though have had my own chrome work done on my Cuda in the past. My bumpers were one of the first things I had rechromed in the early 90s and they STILL look amazing, likewise to the early powder work I did back in the day.

The most important thing when dealing with finishing any metal is meticulous prep work ... it more than anything else is going to determine the finish's longevity and appearance. Any "slacking" done along the way is going to come back to bite you on the backside and will result in rework or disappointing results.

I hope this helps.

 

[callofthemopar]

I am still not impressed with powder coatings on pieces exposed to sunliight. A clear top coat helps a little. When i was in powder coatings the auto industry still did not use it as a top coat. some smart cars where coated on exterior panels with special and extremely expensive type of powder. The commonly used stuff now has more fillers and cheap from china based companies. This caused me so much grief as I was in quality control. My customers complained about the quality of the coatings performance lowered due to cheaper raw materials used by all powder companies. If you must use powder Valspar, Diamond Vogel and TCI would be my choices for suppliers.

Cudachick will respond to this defending powder coating. I am just trying to make others aware of what I come to know while working for 20 yrs. in the industry.

 

[CudaChick1968]

It's going to come as a surprise, but I am NOT going to defend the industry in any way.

I will instead wholeheartedly agree with you, especially as to the widespread usage of cheap raw materials from China. It's not getting better over the last couple of decades either (since you've been out of the loop so to speak) but instead has been progressively getting worse -- the advent of all the in-home DIY kits has opened the door for every Tom, Dick and Harry to try their hand at it and for every material supplier to try to take advantage of the situation as well. Most of those suppliers ARE from China ... and like you, I wouldn't touch that $hit with a 10-foot pole either. My biz email account gets invitations to try it almost every day and every one of them goes into my Spam folder.

Different suppliers supply powders to different industries for different things. There are many types, all designed and marketed for specific applications.

Since most of what I do is for the private sector in the automotive industry, I exclusively use the best of the best, Prismatic Powders from NIC Industries. Their powders are always produced in-house, are never recycled or compromised (I don't recycle my own either for a number of reasons), and they use only fresh, top-of-the-line materials.

I could sit here and type all day and know I still won't convince you to try Clear Vision on anything ... and that's okay too. But please keep in mind that not all powder coaters are created equally either and some are more educated, more knowledgeable, and even more concerned with longevity and customer satisfaction as you were when you were working in Quality Control.

 

[modernistsouth]

Nice! Makes me want a Cordoba again. We drove Cordoba's in high school- they were our grandmother's hand-me-downs. I forgot how nice those cars were.

 

[roadrunnerron]

Ron, your question is pretty much like comparing apples to oranges.

First off, why do you feel the need to paint over top of the powder?? The powder coating is going to be much more durable than paint, and with the vast availability of powder colors and textures these days I can't see any advantage to putting paint on top of it.

I honestly can't speak to the chrome plating aspect of the comparison because I've never been in that industry, though have had my own chrome work done on my Cuda in the past. My bumpers were one of the first things I had rechromed in the early 90s and they STILL look amazing, likewise to the early powder work I did back in the day.

The most important thing when dealing with finishing any metal is meticulous prep work ... it more than anything else is going to determine the finish's longevity and appearance. Any "slacking" done along the way is going to come back to bite you on the backside and will result in rework or disappointing results.

I hope this helps.

We are painting over powder coat to get a perfect match with the body color. Painting over chrome doesn't adhere very well. The correct powder coat yields a better base for paint adhesion.

 

[roadrunnerron]

project update

All of the bodywork has been done and the primer coat starts tomorrow. Other than some issues with rear splash panels, the body was/is in great shape. Other body work was due to filling in holes de-badging and removal of rear windows, antenna and side markers.

 

[Mopardik]

Nice Doba! Looks great so far!