AAR resto

[don selleck]

Thanks, should be looking really good with some primer next week

 

[don selleck]

hose was kinda short on the frame encapsulator spray, but seemed to get to all area's in the frame etc. had a little help with some tie wire wrapped around the hose

 

[don selleck]

sanding, sanding, sanding

 

[don selleck]

4 coat today 2 base epoxy (white) and 2 2k black. started with a broken gas line from last night when some concrete did some settling, lost my heat, was at menards at 615 am, for a gas line and some couplings. Torched thru 4 inches of frost found line and spliced done by 10 am masked the lift off and grabbed some supplies at the paint store, started spraying at 2pm finished at 8pm tonight my ass is spent, got a few bleed thrus, but will be shooting one more coat of 2k after body work and seam sealer. a mile stone completed, sand sand sand.

 

[moparlee]

Dang, that's the way it goes sometimes. This Michigan winter has been a cold one, but closer to normal I guess. I bet it feels good though to have another big milestone behind you. Looks really good Don!

 

[don selleck]

Dang, that's the way it goes sometimes. This Michigan winter has been a cold one, but closer to normal I guess. I bet it feels good though to have another big milestone behind you. Looks really good Don!

thanks, and that milestone sure feels great, got most of the metal working tools away already had a few out for a few missed welds that needed some grinding. A little more cleanup and organization, then make a big mess with some rage, sandpaper, and scotchbright. Went to my paint supplier to check on some more 2k and get the base/clear plum crazy coming. thinking 2 to 3 weeks max, should be all purple.

 

[don selleck]

some dry pics, with lights, got pretty good coverage went thru a gallon of black 2k

got a few missed spots and bleed thrus in some cracks. with some minor body work on some welds, will be shooting a few more coats with some reducer to thin it out a bit to smooth and fill, should work out pretty good

 

[don selleck]

well took several days off, got out there yesterday for about 6 hours, block sanded as much as possible, filled a few weld grinds, and finger sand the small crevices and odd transitions. doing extra in the trunk and engine compartment will be surfacing those areas with a few extra coats of 2k. Probably just one more under the car.

 

[Challenger RTA]

Doing a good job at keeping at it. Sometimes it's best to step back and see what is missed or something not to forget.

 

[don selleck]

yep, I've been going around and around, everytime I find more. my son was sitting in a chair and noticed the cowl area above the wiper motor was bent down a bit never would have found it walking around the car.

 

[don selleck]

well found some more crusty stuff on the underside of the cowl, sanded as best as I could get to it, had a can left of the frame rust encapsulater spray, so blasted it in pretty heavy, saw a few light spots in the new fender braces I welded in so emptied the rest of the can in there. My friend who owns the body shop where I've been getting my paint from, hid father went into hospice last friday, so haven't been bothering him abouy the rest of the paint system, so will be painting some chassis and steering column parts this week to stay busy.

 

[don selleck]

epoxy primer first coat, shooting a coat of Eastwood ceramic chassis paint in the morning. Breaking out the hellcat tomorrow for an oil change, Usually don't drive it in the salt but my old charger I sold 4 years ago, the owner called me and told me it was at the Richard Petty garage in N.C. He had a new fuel injection and an engine rebuild. So I'll be driving the hell cat down there to see it again and hopefully the King will be there.

 

[don selleck]

well got the 2k ceramic on over half the undercarriage parts painted, no change in look just 2 more coats, let them kick off and dry today and put them on the shelf. G

oing to go to my Granddaughter's solo & emsemble band competition at 130 today, she plays 3 instruments and has received several awards. She's going to the same High school I graduated from in 1985. Which is about 3 times the size now.

 

[don selleck]

just got back in town took the parts down and will be spraying steering column parts with a grey/black with flattening agent, have it left over from my charger project. Was at Petty.s garage to see my old charger I built and sold 4 years ago still looking sweet. It is the last car to go thru pettys garage. It got a new set of heads and a fast fuel injection, and I

got to meet the King himself pretty cool.

 

[don selleck]

got the steering column repainted and reassembled. found some paint mix left over from the charger that I painted the dash with was a grey/black mix with some matte flattener. seemed to be a little too grey on the charger so i put a black base under the paint on the column thinking it came out pretty close. got the bearing from bergman autocraft, to replace the lower column bushing, re greased the ignition mechanicals, very smooth, added some grease on the key to insert into the tumblers. Works very nice now. big difference from when I took it apart, the last guy blasted the engine compartment and left the column in, it was full of sand. ordered the rim blow steering wheel from classic industries should be here tuesday waiting to install the crush can making sure the old one fits the new wheel properly, it comes with a new one but I'm sure the paint won't match the rest of the column. NEXT!

 

[don selleck]

well ground off the bugger welds where the 2 stock layers met the new 10 gauge flat skid plate came together on the front and rear of the k member flattened the rivet welds which were decent but looking for the spot welded together look. will seam seal those edges wiping tight to leave a spot welded together appearance.

 

[don selleck]

the OEM rim blow steering wheel came in pretty nice piece, was going to install on column before install of it but thinking twice probably should wait, as long as I get the flat spot lined up for the wheel when sliding it onto the steering box. my column paint is flatter than the OEM crush can, but thinking my paint concoction is closer to the stock paint so will be using the original crush can that was painted

 

[don selleck]

I installed the Borgeson steering box on this car on the last adventure, before the oil pump vibrated loose, had an issue with the steering coupler cap staying on because of the angle of the box compared to the column. I talked about this on another site, and Peter Bergman chimed in and stated that a little unalignment is normal, which I agree. I put one on a 68 charger and it worked great, (this one on the cuda is also a big improvement), I wished I had taken a pic of the column attached to the box before exhaust manifold install, but didn't. Anyways I want to get this new box at least a little closer to true and help prevent the coupler cap from being knocked off. Was thinking of slightly tweaking the steering box mount on the K member since I'm working on it now. I was looking thru some pics and found one of the stock T/A box, and the alignment looks to be pretty true. I believe part of it is from the stock coupler being more forgiving. So that being said I believe I will have to shim and possibly grid and smooth some of the mounting face on the new box. That will keep the original angle of the steering box mount stock, in case someone wants to install the original back into it.

 

[moparlee]

well ground off the bugger welds where the 2 stock layers met the new 10 gauge flat skid plate came together on the front and rear of the k member flattened the rivet welds which were decent but looking for the spot welded together look. will seam seal those edges wiping tight to leave a spot welded together appearance.View attachment 137390View attachment 137391View attachment 137392

That plate should really reinforce the k-frame. Looks a lot thicker than 10 ga.

 

[don selleck]

must be the pic i had some thicker metal and some a little thinner actually went down to Alro steel and picked up a remnant, will be using the remainder to box in and gusset a few areas. Remodeling a bathroom for a friend in exchange for helping me with the rest of the paint venture on the Cuda. So no progress this week on the car.