Is there a Mopar Restore Bible??

[Lucky7]

Hey everyone,

I'm restoring a 70 Challenger. It started as an engine rebuild and I got to thinking with the engine out why not get the body into shape. I have been looking around for a good restoration guide. I know this forum along with other places on the internet provide a wealth of knowledge. Seriously there will probably never be anything better than these forums as long as a person is carful to discard the garbage. But I'm looking for something I can have in the shop open and getting dirty while I'm doing this. I have been using the How to Rebuild Big-Block Mopar Engines by Dan Taylor for rebuilding the engine. This is a great guide and maybe I'm spoiled to have it. I have come across the Challenger and Barracuda Restoration Guide, 1967-74 by Paul Herd but most of the reviews do not recommend this as a guild to restoration. Although it appears to be full of good information I need something functional especially if I going to pay $100. I know I could find something that details body work but I would like to have a mopar/Challenger specific book that covers... Is there a Mopar Restore Bible out there?

 

[burdar]

First of all...there is NO better reference material that YOUR own car. Every car is different. There are always exceptions to the rule when it comes to these cars. Take many pictures and document everything you take off the car. Obviously this doesn't help you if the car has already been worked on extensivly in the past but for an origonal car...that is the only way you can be sure what is "correct" for your car.

That being said, YES there are restoration "guides" that are very good. You can buy them here http://www.iccahome.org/

I have the fastener guide and find it very helpful. There is also an E-body restoration guide available. The resto guide will have pictures and descriptions of commonly seen marks and stamps. They are very complete but like I said before, your car is the best reference there is.

If you find some inspection marks on your car...awsome...put them back just like you found them. If you don't find a mark in a spot that the manual says there was one...leave it off. Your car didn't nessesarily get that stamp. Only put back the marks that you know for certain were there origonally.

 

[ramenth]

First of all...there is NO better reference material that YOUR own car. Every car is different. There are always exceptions to the rule when it comes to these cars. Take many pictures and document everything you take off the car. Obviously this doesn't help you if the car has already been worked on extensivly in the past but for an origonal car...that is the only way you can be sure what is "correct" for your car.

That being said, YES there are restoration "guides" that are very good. You can buy them here http://www.iccahome.org/

I have the fastener guide and find it very helpful. There is also an E-body restoration guide available. The resto guide will have pictures and descriptions of commonly seen marks and stamps. They are very complete but like I said before, your car is the best reference there is.

If you find some inspection marks on your car...awsome...put them back just like you found them. If you don't find a mark in a spot that the manual says there was one...leave it off. Your car didn't nessesarily get that stamp. Only put back the marks that you know for certain were there origonally.

burdar's got it right with letting the car be your source. Pop and I once a restored a '57 Coronet with 33,000 miles on it that was a gold mine of information for cars of that era. Let the car "speak" to you. The inspection marks, the history, will all be revealed once you start dismantling. As he said take a lot of pictures and fill a note book with what you find.

As far as a more generic approach to restoration, without being specific into Chryslers, there are some websites and resources out there that can help. www.jefflilly.com has a pages on pages for helpful hints on teardown, inspection, trim restoration, and the list goes on. More generic, but pages full of tips which just about every car needs for restoration.

The magazines, in my opinion, are good source, too. Mopar Action's "reference restorations" and "resto topics" sections always have something in them that I've yet to learn. Mopar Collector's Guide, Mopar Muscle, Mopar Enthusiast, usually have features on untouched survivors and OE judging winners which help with photos to study and learn from.

Pulling an amazon search I get a full page of pages for the E-body. As far as the books go, I'd almost recommend getting a few of them and reading them. Due to misprints and copy errors things can get fuzzy and if the books can agree on one point then that point, mostly likely, can be taken at face value.

Search for factory service manuals, too. www.moparmanuals.com. Having the information available to the dealerships, straight from the factory, when the car was new can go a long way in helping with the restoration.

Remember to start a restoration thread and give us some pics!

By the way, welcome aboard!

 

[CoronetRTguy]

I have both the B and E body restoration guide by Paul A Heard and I think it has a lot of good info.

I read a review on the B body one and it said that they didnt like it cause it didnt tell them how to do the work. I had to think for a second on that and if you have to ask how to do something the boards are a great wealth of knowledge.

Ramenth has helped me in answering questions on metal bonding something I dont think any restoration guide has in it.

Take the guides and use them for what they are a guide in telling you what color and number the part should have on it. I dont think they will be 100% but it will get you there.

I think if you follow it from the color points of the parts you will be ok but also look at how your car was done as you tear it down.

My Coronet R/T has the red stripe in the grill and I can not fine any info on it other then in the facotry brocures and a few adds and a few pictures on the net.

The guides are good and I would recomend them to anyone it helps you to learn more about the cars.

 

[knickerbocker57]

look at other cars take alot of pics but most of all have a good time doing it or you`ll burn out.

 

[CoronetRTguy]

yeah if something ticks you off on the restoration stop walk away and come back until you get it. That way you dont break hard to find parts that are not being reproduced.

 

[Lucky7]

Thanks

Thanks for the responses there has been nothing said that is not right on the money. In the end there is “no tell all” for a project like this. This is probably why we all dig doing these restores. I appreciate the insight and it has made me broadened my thinking as far as this project goes. I will check out that Paul Herd guide. Again thanks for the responses. I have attached some pics of the project.

 

[ramenth]

Thanks for sharing the pics. Looks like a nice project.