The Other 68 Dart Resto Project
More progress last weekend. I have the rear quarters done and blocked smooth, roof blocked and smooth, both doors blocked and smooth, drivers's door jamb is smooth, just need to finish sanding down the cowl panel and passenger door jamb, I am going to pull the door to do that since I am repairing the hinges with a pin kit.
Unfortunately, I started sanding down the trunk, and found some problems. After f*ing around with the trunk alignment for about an hour, I determined the the trunk lid had been bent in the past and the driverside of the lid had been smashed down from probably somebody jumping on it and the back edge was pulled out about a 1/4 of an inch from the pass side. ???
I know from the original owner that the original trunk lid had been hit from behind and was replaced with another one. I guess the replacement had been tweeked as well. It was repaired, and the repair was very smooth, except that the trunk lid is flat on one side and has the original crown on the other. After doing some thinking, I bought a come-along and managed to bend the back edge back, hoping it will bend the lid back also, but the top did not change. I might try to fix it with some filler, or I will try to find another straight smooth lid (probably impossible). I know I saw a few up in a junkyard in Denton, but I am willing to bet the yard want premium $$$ for it. Another option is an AAR fiberglass lid, which is $350, but truck freight would probably be another $150.
A final option is to just paint the lid as is, since I am painting all the panels off the body anyway, I can always paint a new lid later, and basic black is not too hard to match.
A final note, I have 95% decided on a paint scheme for the Dart. Since the panels are now smooth enough for it, this is what it will be:
More progress last weekend. I have the rear quarters done and blocked smooth, roof blocked and smooth, both doors blocked and smooth, drivers's door jamb is smooth, just need to finish sanding down the cowl panel and passenger door jamb, I am going to pull the door to do that since I am repairing the hinges with a pin kit.
Unfortunately, I started sanding down the trunk, and found some problems. After f*ing around with the trunk alignment for about an hour, I determined the the trunk lid had been bent in the past and the driverside of the lid had been smashed down from probably somebody jumping on it and the back edge was pulled out about a 1/4 of an inch from the pass side. ???
I know from the original owner that the original trunk lid had been hit from behind and was replaced with another one. I guess the replacement had been tweeked as well. It was repaired, and the repair was very smooth, except that the trunk lid is flat on one side and has the original crown on the other. After doing some thinking, I bought a come-along and managed to bend the back edge back, hoping it will bend the lid back also, but the top did not change. I might try to fix it with some filler, or I will try to find another straight smooth lid (probably impossible). I know I saw a few up in a junkyard in Denton, but I am willing to bet the yard want premium $$$ for it. Another option is an AAR fiberglass lid, which is $350, but truck freight would probably be another $150.
A final option is to just paint the lid as is, since I am painting all the panels off the body anyway, I can always paint a new lid later, and basic black is not too hard to match.
A final note, I have 95% decided on a paint scheme for the Dart. Since the panels are now smooth enough for it, this is what it will be: