Hyper_pak
Old School Chrysler Fan
I am still impressed by your efforts! It looks great.
1963 Dart 170 2 Door Post Resto
- Thread starter Mineallmine
- Start date
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Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Thanks
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Got a little further tonight. Got most of the passenger side sanded. Still have to sand inside the door and adjust it slightly but plan to do the body work needed and get it in sealer. Need to pull a couple dents in the fender a little better than I'm ready for a thin skim coat to smoothen everything out. Every step forward is a step forward.
Kinda wishing now I had pulled the trigger and got the entire car media blasted when I started but a little late now...lol. got a lot of block sanding in my future.
Kinda wishing now I had pulled the trigger and got the entire car media blasted when I started but a little late now...lol. got a lot of block sanding in my future.
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
So, had a little hiatus away from the car, with getting everything ready for Christmas and all, along with lots of hours at work. Finally got some time to get back at the car.
Decided to go a little different route than originally planned...the proper route you might say. I was going to sand one side, do all the body work, then seal that side, then move onto the next side, and so on. After more research I have decided the best route is to sand the entire car, pull the dents to the best of my ability (and patience ), then put the entire car in epoxy primer, then do the body work, then hi-build, then seal. I was originally taught to do body work on well scuffed bare metal. The more I read and agree it is best to epoxy the car to seal moisture away from the metal before applying the skim coat of filler, thus that is how I have decided to proceed. I know there is still debate on this but this is how I am going)
got the drivers rear quarter, rocker and lower door sanded now, and did some work with the stud gun dent puller on the drivers door. When I got the car, as I have mentioned before it appears a previous owner drove by braille, thus a long approximately 1/8" deep dent in the drivers door...crease and all. After a couple passes with the puller and hits with the shrinking disc to bring down the high spots I got it to where I am happy with it. I could possibly get it a little better but it will only take the thinnest coat of filler now to fill the small dents in between where I pulled the panel. The rest of the body line of the panel is near perfect, which is better than I expected or hoped for. Only a few more small dents to pull and the car will be ready for body once its sanded and primed, only needing the thinnest coat of filler to get it nice and straight. The rear roof line is where the most work will be needed, but's already a good ways along already. Can't wait to see this thing in epoxy. If I realized earlier I would have just sent the entire car off to be media blasted in the first place, but you know how original plans always snowball...lol. This was originally supposed to be get it drivable and enjoy it while working on my other projects and do this one later....well too late for that now.
Shown is the dent before, then dent with the etching primer wet to see if the panel shape was correct (shows the little remaining dents) and after
Any way, sorry for the long winded post. Hopefully more pics to come soon with less and less blue and a lot more grey.
Decided to go a little different route than originally planned...the proper route you might say. I was going to sand one side, do all the body work, then seal that side, then move onto the next side, and so on. After more research I have decided the best route is to sand the entire car, pull the dents to the best of my ability (and patience
), then put the entire car in epoxy primer, then do the body work, then hi-build, then seal. I was originally taught to do body work on well scuffed bare metal. The more I read and agree it is best to epoxy the car to seal moisture away from the metal before applying the skim coat of filler, thus that is how I have decided to proceed. I know there is still debate on this but this is how I am going)got the drivers rear quarter, rocker and lower door sanded now, and did some work with the stud gun dent puller on the drivers door. When I got the car, as I have mentioned before it appears a previous owner drove by braille, thus a long approximately 1/8" deep dent in the drivers door...crease and all. After a couple passes with the puller and hits with the shrinking disc to bring down the high spots I got it to where I am happy with it. I could possibly get it a little better but it will only take the thinnest coat of filler now to fill the small dents in between where I pulled the panel. The rest of the body line of the panel is near perfect, which is better than I expected or hoped for. Only a few more small dents to pull and the car will be ready for body once its sanded and primed, only needing the thinnest coat of filler to get it nice and straight. The rear roof line is where the most work will be needed, but's already a good ways along already. Can't wait to see this thing in epoxy. If I realized earlier I would have just sent the entire car off to be media blasted in the first place, but you know how original plans always snowball...lol. This was originally supposed to be get it drivable and enjoy it while working on my other projects and do this one later....well too late for that now.
Shown is the dent before, then dent with the etching primer wet to see if the panel shape was correct (shows the little remaining dents) and after
Any way, sorry for the long winded post. Hopefully more pics to come soon with less and less blue and a lot more grey.
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
So, once again it looks like plans have changed, or evolved if you will. As I was sanding the roof last night and was nearing another milestone of being ready for epoxy, the car sort of spoke to me. All I could hear in my head was "if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further". So now I've decided to pull the hood and trunk lid as well as the doors to do a proper cleaning and sanding of the jambs and underside of the panels. Today I will be sourcing the tubing to make my own panel stands...way cheaper than buying new, and can build them stronger and better this way.
This is not the first time I changed plans for the car...
When first purchasing it the main goal was get it running and driving and safe, go through the drive train and make sure it was all good. Then repair the back window area and get that area sealed and primed and install new back glass. Then clean interior and drive it while working on my other project car, then do a full redo on this one. My, how things have changed, lol.
Now, I have already completely gone through the entire drive train, rebuilding and repainting pretty much everything that was even slightly worn, or would be difficult to do later, gone through entire fuel system, rebuilt heater box, and stripped, cleaned and painted the bottom end of the car and engine bay. Interior has been gutted partially (more to come later) and wiring gone through with new connectors, bulkhead connector included. Also doing a full color change on the car. I have also now sanded the majority of the car. By the time I'm done the only part that wont have been removed is the K frame and front fenders...for now. Keep in mind, I am no expert and do this for a hobby, so this will not be a concours restoration by any means, just a nice clean driver to drive and enjoy. So yes, more than once I have heard the car speak to me, asking if you've come this far, maybe you are willing to come a little further...thus I'm thinking I may have to start calling this car project Shawshank. Who knows, maybe by the time I'm done I'll be making a run to Zihuatanejo. Here's hoping this letter finds you , and finds you well...lol.
Until next time. More to come...
This is not the first time I changed plans for the car...
When first purchasing it the main goal was get it running and driving and safe, go through the drive train and make sure it was all good. Then repair the back window area and get that area sealed and primed and install new back glass. Then clean interior and drive it while working on my other project car, then do a full redo on this one. My, how things have changed, lol.
Now, I have already completely gone through the entire drive train, rebuilding and repainting pretty much everything that was even slightly worn, or would be difficult to do later, gone through entire fuel system, rebuilt heater box, and stripped, cleaned and painted the bottom end of the car and engine bay. Interior has been gutted partially (more to come later) and wiring gone through with new connectors, bulkhead connector included. Also doing a full color change on the car. I have also now sanded the majority of the car. By the time I'm done the only part that wont have been removed is the K frame and front fenders...for now. Keep in mind, I am no expert and do this for a hobby, so this will not be a concours restoration by any means, just a nice clean driver to drive and enjoy. So yes, more than once I have heard the car speak to me, asking if you've come this far, maybe you are willing to come a little further...thus I'm thinking I may have to start calling this car project Shawshank. Who knows, maybe by the time I'm done I'll be making a run to Zihuatanejo. Here's hoping this letter finds you , and finds you well...lol.
Until next time. More to come...
abdywgn
dismantler
do it now, have no regrets and you can keep driving it confidently while working on your other project.
I have a soft spot for the 63 Darts since my first Mopar was a 63 270 car, keep up the good work.
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Little by little making more progress again. And again, more parts pulled off for better access to clean and paint. Found parts stands at eastwood for $46cdn delivered so I ordered 4 of those instead of making them. Got the dash pulled and the bulkhead connector replaced. Cleaned up the wiring and it's in great shape. Just have to replace one cracked connector. Got the outside of the car almost completely sanded. Now comes the fun part of sanding inside the doors and such. Also pulled the windshield and cleaned the channel. Found one small rust spot that will need a bit of welding but very small. The cowl vents as far as I can tell are Rock solid quick is great news.
66 Valiant wagon
Well-Known Member
Nice work! I've enjoyed reading this. Yep, that's how mine always go, I plan to do a quick fix and get them on the road and then $5,000 later... ha
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
A little more progress. Not a lot as life always gets in the way. Got the drivers door pulled and most of the door frame sanded... Baby steps.
Also finished a little side project...a dock traffic light my sister in law have me a couple years ago. I installed a timer and wired it to switch every minute. Made a mount and put it up on the wall. Has a switch wired in so I can turn it off when I leave the shop
Also finished a little side project...a dock traffic light my sister in law have me a couple years ago. I installed a timer and wired it to switch every minute. Made a mount and put it up on the wall. Has a switch wired in so I can turn it off when I leave the shop
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Getting a little more done each day. I haven't gotten a huge amount of time the last week or so due to shift work, but did get 5 or so hours out there Saturday (wasn't planned that long but we all know how time can get away from you in the shop...the wife had to come get me at 8pm for supper...lol). Got the inside roof all cleaned up from the surface rust. Ready for epoxy then sound deadening. Also welded up a couple cracks I found (one on each pillar behind either door...no bends, just a hairline crack) and then a patch for the drivers cowl vent.
At first glace it looked like a small pin hole (note the copper plate put behind it to do a "quick tack weld repair") turned into a moderate sized patch. All of the surface rust brown spots were paper thin and when you shone a light into the vent you could see light all over. Not totally unexpected. Even though its a Nevada car, it has sat a while and critters did make nests in the cowl that I had to clean out. Surprisingly the drains were nice and clear though. I didn't do a fancy job on the patch as it was a multi contour piece that will never be seen behind the shift unit and the and above the vent. Just needs to be water proof. Still have a bunch of cleanup and touch ups to do on the welds as my OCD won't let it stay this way, and had to chase a couple welds at the "top" of the patch (actually bottom as car is currently upside down) where I hit a couple more thin spots I missed initially. Also access was poor and time yesterday was very limited. Should look pretty good when I'm done, but most importantly, solid and weatherproof.
Not a huge amount of progress, but every step forward is a step forward right? At least that's what I keep telling myself.
Also decided I'm going to take the doors and hood and trunk lid to a buddy local to media blast the inside (and probably complete the outside as well while he's at it to save me the time of sanding all the nooks and crevices. That'll put me that much closer to epoxy primer.
And the Saga continues...
At first glace it looked like a small pin hole (note the copper plate put behind it to do a "quick tack weld repair") turned into a moderate sized patch. All of the surface rust brown spots were paper thin and when you shone a light into the vent you could see light all over. Not totally unexpected. Even though its a Nevada car, it has sat a while and critters did make nests in the cowl that I had to clean out. Surprisingly the drains were nice and clear though. I didn't do a fancy job on the patch as it was a multi contour piece that will never be seen behind the shift unit and the and above the vent. Just needs to be water proof. Still have a bunch of cleanup and touch ups to do on the welds as my OCD won't let it stay this way, and had to chase a couple welds at the "top" of the patch (actually bottom as car is currently upside down) where I hit a couple more thin spots I missed initially. Also access was poor and time yesterday was very limited. Should look pretty good when I'm done, but most importantly, solid and weatherproof.
Not a huge amount of progress, but every step forward is a step forward right? At least that's what I keep telling myself.
Also decided I'm going to take the doors and hood and trunk lid to a buddy local to media blast the inside (and probably complete the outside as well while he's at it to save me the time of sanding all the nooks and crevices. That'll put me that much closer to epoxy primer.
And the Saga continues...
abdywgn
dismantler
Great work! just think if you had to pay someone to do this.
Scamp Rhonda
Well-Known Member
Like your upside down pictures. It gives you a different perspective on things.
mygasser
Well-Known Member
i think it's on a rotisserie, stuff in the background is the right way up.
Scamp Rhonda
Well-Known Member
Yeah I know that, lol. It's just seeing it from different angles is what I like.
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Well, did some finish work on the repair I made in the vent area... Then I found it's big brother
.
The area just beneath the windshield up to the curve was full of little pinholes and bigger holes up by the windshield. Luckily the were inside only.
Cut out the corner brace for better access and welded in a larger piece to make it all solid again. Hardest part was getting into the opening advices the kick panel. Took a lot of work but solid now. Only issue is due to where where the metal meets the windshield frame is where the lead is at the panel join. You can guess where I'm going with this. Due to the heat from joining the metal patch in I melted out sooner of the lead. No biggie as I cleaned it up and will use fiberglass to fill it back in.
Primer reacted a bit so will have to sand and reapply but overall came out pretty good. Even got the corner brace welded back in.
Hopefully that's the last of the welding on the entire car
.The area just beneath the windshield up to the curve was full of little pinholes and bigger holes up by the windshield. Luckily the were inside only.
Cut out the corner brace for better access and welded in a larger piece to make it all solid again. Hardest part was getting into the opening advices the kick panel. Took a lot of work but solid now. Only issue is due to where where the metal meets the windshield frame is where the lead is at the panel join. You can guess where I'm going with this. Due to the heat from joining the metal patch in I melted out sooner of the lead. No biggie as I cleaned it up and will use fiberglass to fill it back in.
Primer reacted a bit so will have to sand and reapply but overall came out pretty good. Even got the corner brace welded back in.
Hopefully that's the last of the welding on the entire car
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Got some more done today. Sanded and reprimed my cowl repair today. Really happy with how it came out. Too bad you'll never see it once done...lol. Cleaned up the passenger floor today and got part of it in etch primer. Just the rear floor under seat area and trunk to do and one door opening, then onto hand sanding for the remainder, then finally into epoxy. Slow going but every step forward is a step forward. Oh, and yes, car is finally up right again
Scamp Rhonda
Well-Known Member
Looking good. Ya got a good record of your repairs going so you don't have to worry about never seeing your nice work that's buried under the carpet again, lol.Got some more done today. Sanded and reprimed my cowl repair today. Really happy with how it came out. Too bad you'll never see it once done...lol. Cleaned up the passenger floor today and got part of it in etch primer. Just the rear floor under seat area and trunk to do and one door opening, then onto hand sanding for the remainder, then finally into epoxy. Slow going but every step forward is a step forward. Oh, and yes, car is finally up right again
View attachment 1715676921
View attachment 1715676922
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Huge score today. I took a chance on an eBay listing last week for new carpet for a 63-66 dart. Said it was made by trim parts in black. Not much else said. Part number was listed but couldn't find a match on line. Had a buy it now of $13. Thought something was wrong but figured what the heck, is only $13 plus shipping. Carpet came today and I'm really happy I took the chance. Top quality carpet with backing attached. Fits great, just will have to trim off the excess.
I'd never heard of trim parts carpet but after I bought it I searched and found they used to be best for quality and fit for the a-bodies. I know they sold their carpet line to acc. This was a new old stock carpet in the box. Definite win!
I'd never heard of trim parts carpet but after I bought it I searched and found they used to be best for quality and fit for the a-bodies. I know they sold their carpet line to acc. This was a new old stock carpet in the box. Definite win!
Looooking Goooood !
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the encouragement. The part I like least about restoring a car is the sanding. I can't count how many times I have kicked myself for not getting it blasted to start with. Came down to a couple reasons not to after being so far along. One was the bottom was done and painted, as was the engine bay and didn't want to undo any of that. Other reason was that being on the rotisserie I would have to hire a flatbed to bring it to and from blasting, which would add a good chunk to blasting, and as I was as far along as I was it didn't make financial sense to do so, so here I am, plugging away, bit by bit. I'll get there, just takes more time.
Got the inside under rear seat almost dome over the last couple evenings. Some touch ups and hand sanding still needed but decent progress. Once I do the under dash area the inside will be ready for epoxy. Yay!! Doing most of the inside cleanup with a 2" roloc sanding disc due to the tight areas and the surface rust cleanup. Want a good finished product. Also scraped off most of the seam sealer as most was separating from the floor anyway. Will reapply once its in epoxy.
Hopefully early next week will see the inside of the car completely sanded, which includes trunk and under dash area. Then all that's left is finish one door opening, sand the other and final touch ups by hand in the tight areas the die grinder wouldn't fit, and onto primer
Got the inside under rear seat almost dome over the last couple evenings. Some touch ups and hand sanding still needed but decent progress. Once I do the under dash area the inside will be ready for epoxy. Yay!! Doing most of the inside cleanup with a 2" roloc sanding disc due to the tight areas and the surface rust cleanup. Want a good finished product. Also scraped off most of the seam sealer as most was separating from the floor anyway. Will reapply once its in epoxy.
Hopefully early next week will see the inside of the car completely sanded, which includes trunk and under dash area. Then all that's left is finish one door opening, sand the other and final touch ups by hand in the tight areas the die grinder wouldn't fit, and onto primer
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Good progress weekend. Got almost the entire trunk floor cleaned up. Just have to turn the car over to do the drivers trunk drop off and wheel well. Also got the rear valance and bumper area almost cleaned up as well as 3/4 of the trunk weatherstrip area. Just have a bit of hand sanding in the package tray area around the rear glass area and the rear of the car is all sanded. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get it in epoxy.
One setback however. After the cleanup of the inner roof I noticed a slight dent in the roof panel. Compared to outside and there is a definite slight crown in one spot. Presumably when the roof got damaged it pushed excess metal into this spot creating the bulge. Will have to hit it a bit with the shrinking disc to bring it back in line with the rest of the roof. Just have to be careful not to create any oil canning. Oh, well, one step forward, one step back. I'll get there eventually. Hopefully all the time I'm spending getting it all ready shows in the quality of the final product and holds up longer than a rush job.
One setback however. After the cleanup of the inner roof I noticed a slight dent in the roof panel. Compared to outside and there is a definite slight crown in one spot. Presumably when the roof got damaged it pushed excess metal into this spot creating the bulge. Will have to hit it a bit with the shrinking disc to bring it back in line with the rest of the roof. Just have to be careful not to create any oil canning. Oh, well, one step forward, one step back. I'll get there eventually. Hopefully all the time I'm spending getting it all ready shows in the quality of the final product and holds up longer than a rush job.
Mineallmine
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I wouldn't necessarily say ambition and patience...more like stubborn at this point...lol. It was never supposed to go this far. Was just supposed to be a quick cleanup and go though mechanical and drive and enjoy and do a teardown later. It just seems that I picked up the shovel and started digging and forgot to put the shovel down...and here we are.
Got a little more done today. Went out to the shop for an hour today. 3 Hours later
rolleyes I had the rear bumper area pretty much cleaned up, the car flipped to access the remainder of the trunk area, and unbolted the front valance to hammer out some dents. Funny thing is I found 2 different sized bolts (not from the same spots) when removing it. I guess when installing it the bolts got mixed in at the factory and they used what they grabbed as I'm pretty sure this has never been removed due to the low mileage of the car and the original paint was not broken. Couldn't remove it as I wanted as the rotisserie mounts go through the middle of it. Even used the shrinking disc a bit on the roof to take the crown out of the dent I noticed yesterday. Looks pretty good. I dare not try to go any further as I don't want to wind up with the dreaded oil can effect.Also surprised during the cleanup as to just how many sharp edges there are in these cars just from the expulsion from the spot welds. I've cleaned all of them up so far but some were in areas that were always exposed and where you could snag them just getting in and out of the car. But like I said, not an issue any more.
Plan is now to work from the rear, finish all the sanding needed there and work my way forward, finishing all the die grinder, palm and hand sanding as I go, so that this time once I reach the front I will be fully ready for epoxy primer. Seems to be taking forever, but seeing good progress this weekend has refreshed my drive to get this done. Will feel great to see it all one color again, and then things speed up.
More to come...
Mouse action
Well-Known Member
Some very impressive work going on there.
Like every picture.
Like every picture.
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