autoxcuda
Well-Known Member
- Joined
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yes, a CF double butt stripe would be complimentary. Or rear trim CF… but I’d think you’d have to be able to physically see at least two CF pieces at same time.
68 GT convertible project
- Thread starter burdar
- Start date
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yes, a CF double butt stripe would be complimentary. Or rear trim CF… but I’d think you’d have to be able to physically see at least two CF pieces at same time.
When I was rebuilding the dash, I removed the AMP gauge and installed an oil pressure gauge in its place. I still needed to be able to monitor the charging system so I had to come up with something. I was thinking about adding a cigarette lighter to the ash tray in the console so I could install one of those volt gauges that plug in there. Then I saw a post on another site about a small LED volt gauge that a guy used on his Pro Touring Cuda. It tells you what the system voltage is by changing from green to yellow to red.
I thought about adding it to the console but ended up mounting it to the dash by the map light. I think I should still be able to see it at a quick glance. Mounted down lower, it shouldn't be shining in my face all the time while driving.
While I was working on the dash, I decided to hook a battery up and check out how my LED dash lights worked. I'd tested them with the gauge cluster out of the car but never tested them with the dash completely assembled. I like the look. These cheap E-bay LEDs don't dim with the headlight switch but they don't seem too bright. Still, I might look for some that can be dimmed. Now is the time to change them...with the dash on a stand in the basement.
I thought about adding it to the console but ended up mounting it to the dash by the map light. I think I should still be able to see it at a quick glance. Mounted down lower, it shouldn't be shining in my face all the time while driving.
While I was working on the dash, I decided to hook a battery up and check out how my LED dash lights worked. I'd tested them with the gauge cluster out of the car but never tested them with the dash completely assembled. I like the look. These cheap E-bay LEDs don't dim with the headlight switch but they don't seem too bright. Still, I might look for some that can be dimmed. Now is the time to change them...with the dash on a stand in the basement.
I've been putting off working on the convertible top mechanism because it was intimidating. Finally got to the point where I needed to work on it so...
I started out by taking a lot of pictures and measurements. There are two main adjustment links at the back that have a lot of adjustability. Before taking the bolts loose, I staked both sides of the links so I could line up the marks during assembly. With all the measurements and pictures taken I took the mechanism to the back yard and power washed it.
Here are all the pieces of the top mechanism laid out after disassembly.
I started with the bows since those looked simple. The tack strip material on the sides were in decent shape but there were signs of rust underneath them so they had to be removed. The factory installed the tack strips into bare metal bows...then they were painted. The tack strip material in the rear bow was in bad shape so that was removed as well. I'll talk to a convertible top installer and see what they recommend before I reinstall any new tack strip material.
Original paint underneath a side bracket. SEM Trim Black looks like a perfect match to me.
After the three bows were sanded down and painted, I turned my attention to the front header. It looked like it was in really good shape with no sections rusted through. After taking out the old latches though, a bunch of scaly rusty crap came out of the hollow inner cavity. I bought a cheap endoscope for my cell phone so I could see deeper inside to assess the rust. It looked pretty nasty.
I found a good deal on EvapoRust at Walmart.com believe it or not. A 3.5 gallon bucket was only like $46. I bought three. Then I picked up some scrap 2x4 / 2x6 and OSB from work and built two boxes. One to soak the header and one to soak the side mechanisms.
I lined the long box with plastic and soaked the header in the EvapoRust for close to 24 hours...checking it and hosing it out periodically. The results were impressive.
before
after
After the EvapoRust bath I sprayed the inside with Ospho(actually Concrete and Metal Prep which is the same thing) which turned the remaining rust in the tight seams black. Then I masked off the latch openings and poured black paint into the cavity. I poured a lot in and made sure I got everything inside coated. Then let the excess run out the other end.
Somewhere(probably at a garage sale) I picked up a paint stripping wheel for a drill but had never tried it so I was skeptical on how good it would actually strip paint and rust. I wasn't looking forward to stripping the paint since paint stripping SUCKS! So, I thought I'd give that wheel a try. Wow, it worked awesome. I got the entire header stripped in about 15 minutes.
Then I hung the header panel on the garage door track and sprayed it with self etch primer and SEM Trim Black. Then I repeated the steps with the side mechanisms.(EvapoRust bath/paint stripping wheel/hand sanding tight areas around all the links/painting with SEM)
Just got done assembling everything. Sanded and polished the 6 side weather stripping channels and installing the weather stripping. I installed a new set of latches which didn't fit near as nice as the original ones...big shock I know. One side fit ok but the other side wasn't even close to fitting. I had to sand down the back side of the latch so it would bolt up. Some weather stripping needs to be trimmed and I just realized that I didn't installed the side wires(which I don't have anyway...they come with the new top)but it's basically done.
It's hard to get a nice picture of it since everything is black but it turned out nice.
I started out by taking a lot of pictures and measurements. There are two main adjustment links at the back that have a lot of adjustability. Before taking the bolts loose, I staked both sides of the links so I could line up the marks during assembly. With all the measurements and pictures taken I took the mechanism to the back yard and power washed it.
Here are all the pieces of the top mechanism laid out after disassembly.
I started with the bows since those looked simple. The tack strip material on the sides were in decent shape but there were signs of rust underneath them so they had to be removed. The factory installed the tack strips into bare metal bows...then they were painted. The tack strip material in the rear bow was in bad shape so that was removed as well. I'll talk to a convertible top installer and see what they recommend before I reinstall any new tack strip material.
Original paint underneath a side bracket. SEM Trim Black looks like a perfect match to me.
After the three bows were sanded down and painted, I turned my attention to the front header. It looked like it was in really good shape with no sections rusted through. After taking out the old latches though, a bunch of scaly rusty crap came out of the hollow inner cavity. I bought a cheap endoscope for my cell phone so I could see deeper inside to assess the rust. It looked pretty nasty.
I found a good deal on EvapoRust at Walmart.com believe it or not. A 3.5 gallon bucket was only like $46. I bought three. Then I picked up some scrap 2x4 / 2x6 and OSB from work and built two boxes. One to soak the header and one to soak the side mechanisms.
I lined the long box with plastic and soaked the header in the EvapoRust for close to 24 hours...checking it and hosing it out periodically. The results were impressive.
before
after
After the EvapoRust bath I sprayed the inside with Ospho(actually Concrete and Metal Prep which is the same thing) which turned the remaining rust in the tight seams black. Then I masked off the latch openings and poured black paint into the cavity. I poured a lot in and made sure I got everything inside coated. Then let the excess run out the other end.
Somewhere(probably at a garage sale) I picked up a paint stripping wheel for a drill but had never tried it so I was skeptical on how good it would actually strip paint and rust. I wasn't looking forward to stripping the paint since paint stripping SUCKS! So, I thought I'd give that wheel a try. Wow, it worked awesome. I got the entire header stripped in about 15 minutes.
Then I hung the header panel on the garage door track and sprayed it with self etch primer and SEM Trim Black. Then I repeated the steps with the side mechanisms.(EvapoRust bath/paint stripping wheel/hand sanding tight areas around all the links/painting with SEM)
Just got done assembling everything. Sanded and polished the 6 side weather stripping channels and installing the weather stripping. I installed a new set of latches which didn't fit near as nice as the original ones...big shock I know. One side fit ok but the other side wasn't even close to fitting. I had to sand down the back side of the latch so it would bolt up. Some weather stripping needs to be trimmed and I just realized that I didn't installed the side wires(which I don't have anyway...they come with the new top)but it's basically done.
It's hard to get a nice picture of it since everything is black but it turned out nice.
Just got the console done a few days ago. I modified the aftermarket shifter instead of modifing the console top plates. That way I can go back to the stock shifter in the future if the novelty of the aftermarket one wears off.
I posted these earlier but they are console related so... The console had filled up with water a time or too since the car was stored with the top down for years. Some "Iron Out" got rid of the rust staining.
Cleaned...just waiting on a few coats of SEM Landau Black
A few light mist coats of Landau Black.
New top plates and custom made tach mount installed. I used Meguires PlastX plastic polish on the clear shift indicator lense. It turned out really nice. The black metal piece underneath was just resprayed with some SEM Trim Black.
I posted these earlier but they are console related so... The console had filled up with water a time or too since the car was stored with the top down for years. Some "Iron Out" got rid of the rust staining.
Cleaned...just waiting on a few coats of SEM Landau Black
A few light mist coats of Landau Black.
New top plates and custom made tach mount installed. I used Meguires PlastX plastic polish on the clear shift indicator lense. It turned out really nice. The black metal piece underneath was just resprayed with some SEM Trim Black.
Starting to make good progress at the body shop. Door gaps are looking good. The filler work is done and the body has been blocked a couple times.
Bumpers have been fitted. The front fit OK. The rear did not. These are AMD bumpers. The rear was hitting the body just below the tail lights. There is a 3/8" rubber filler strip that goes there so the bumper was way too high. The bumper brackets were modified to lower the bumper.
The reproduction gas cap I bought didn't fit right. It sat a good 1/8" to 3/16" lower then the 1/4 panel. I made a point to look at a lot of A-bodies at the Mopar Nats and a lot of them had the same issue. I'm not sure if this is how they came originally or not. It doesn't look right/good though. The body shop fixed the issue.
Back on the rotisserie for some work on the bottom side before paint.
The bottom side was sprayed with a single stage greenish-gray paint that is supposed to mimic the factory dip primer.
Undercoating sprayed in the trunk.
The engine compartment was sprayed with the color the computer said QQ1 was supposed to be but it's too light. It looks more like B5. The color will be adjusted so it matches the factory paint that was left on the A-pillars.
Bumpers have been fitted. The front fit OK. The rear did not. These are AMD bumpers. The rear was hitting the body just below the tail lights. There is a 3/8" rubber filler strip that goes there so the bumper was way too high. The bumper brackets were modified to lower the bumper.
The reproduction gas cap I bought didn't fit right. It sat a good 1/8" to 3/16" lower then the 1/4 panel. I made a point to look at a lot of A-bodies at the Mopar Nats and a lot of them had the same issue. I'm not sure if this is how they came originally or not. It doesn't look right/good though. The body shop fixed the issue.
Back on the rotisserie for some work on the bottom side before paint.
The bottom side was sprayed with a single stage greenish-gray paint that is supposed to mimic the factory dip primer.
Undercoating sprayed in the trunk.
The engine compartment was sprayed with the color the computer said QQ1 was supposed to be but it's too light. It looks more like B5. The color will be adjusted so it matches the factory paint that was left on the A-pillars.
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Wowwwww, you have much to be proud of!
The rear end assembly is done. Everything is from Dr Diff. Gears, sure-grip, bearings, axles and disc brake kit. I bought the 741 housing cheap at a swap meet. It had a grenaded cone sure-grip in it and junk gears.
A buddy offered to blast and powder coat the case for me so that's what I did. It was blasted and coated with a clear powder.
The brake lines are from Fine Lines. I bought them years ago when I was planning on using a Wilwood disc brake kit. They are actually too short for the Dr Diff kit so I had to route the brake hoses differently. I drilled and tapped some holes in the axle tubes to attach the stand-off brackets. I used some thread sealer on the screws so I shouldn't have any leaks.
The housing is an old C-body unit that I had cut down. It's a little narrower than stock A-body width. Any shorter and the outer U-bolts would hit the housing ends. The perches were also moved in 1/2" per side for the Dr Diff spring relocation brackets. I stripped the housing, filled the pits and painted it with Eastwood's Extreme Chassis Black satin.
I added a drain plug to the bottom of the housing.
A buddy offered to blast and powder coat the case for me so that's what I did. It was blasted and coated with a clear powder.
The brake lines are from Fine Lines. I bought them years ago when I was planning on using a Wilwood disc brake kit. They are actually too short for the Dr Diff kit so I had to route the brake hoses differently. I drilled and tapped some holes in the axle tubes to attach the stand-off brackets. I used some thread sealer on the screws so I shouldn't have any leaks.
The housing is an old C-body unit that I had cut down. It's a little narrower than stock A-body width. Any shorter and the outer U-bolts would hit the housing ends. The perches were also moved in 1/2" per side for the Dr Diff spring relocation brackets. I stripped the housing, filled the pits and painted it with Eastwood's Extreme Chassis Black satin.
I added a drain plug to the bottom of the housing.
Since I like factory paint markings, I couldn't help but to soak the original leaf spring ends in EvapoRust. I was surprised to see that the marks were still there. (orange and tan)
I've got a new pair of MP Oval Track springs I'm going to use. I repainted them a semi-gloss black and just had to put the factory markings on them.
I did the same with the new 1.03 torsion bars.
I've got a new pair of MP Oval Track springs I'm going to use. I repainted them a semi-gloss black and just had to put the factory markings on them.
I did the same with the new 1.03 torsion bars.
HemiMark
Well-Known Member
super!
Spent the last month trying to find the correct color. Paint formulas have changed(toners discontinued) since spray outs were done in 2014. Multiple different paint lines were tried and they all came out too light. Even used a paint spectrophotometer to take a picture of the paint and it came back too light. Finally, the last week of December, the body shop found a paint line that worked.
This picture shows the new paint spray out in the middle and the old spray out from 2014 below it. The spray out on top shows how all the other test sprays turned out...too light. These were all compared to original paint on the A-pillar that was covered under weather stripping.
The trunk and engine compartment were sprayed last week. The under side of the hood was sprayed yesterday.
The car is off the rotisserie and back on the body stands. Fenders are back on. Once the door-to-fender body lines are perfect, it's ready for paint.
This picture shows the new paint spray out in the middle and the old spray out from 2014 below it. The spray out on top shows how all the other test sprays turned out...too light. These were all compared to original paint on the A-pillar that was covered under weather stripping.
The trunk and engine compartment were sprayed last week. The under side of the hood was sprayed yesterday.
The car is off the rotisserie and back on the body stands. Fenders are back on. Once the door-to-fender body lines are perfect, it's ready for paint.
Dart is looking real nice.
The white paint on the A-pillar/windshield trim, doors and rear panels was sprayed yesterday. The two metal corner trim pieces had some big dents in them from the factory. When the A-pillars were welded to the top windshield support, the welds ended up a little big and weren't ground down. When the corner pieces were installed, they touched the welds and were dented as they were being tightened down. I ground down the excess weld so that won't happen again. The corner pieces just needed a little filler after the dents were smoothed out.
HemiMark
Well-Known Member
just perfect! I love this build. nice work
redmay
Active Member
looks awsome
The car is back home. I need to let the paint sit for about 120 days before I can wax it. I'll probably wait that long before I start bolting on parts to the exterior. Until then I'll keep busy by installing things under the car and getting the glass into the doors and 1/4s. Once the glass is in and I make sure the doors don't need to be readjusted, the inner fender splash shields will be installed and undercoating will be sprayed in the wheel wells. Once the outside temps are a little warmer, I'll start installing the butyl sound deadener to the interior floor and inside the doors.
Late last week I installed the body plugs and set the tail light wiring in place.(man these A-bodies have a lot of body plugs...way more then my Challengers has) Saturday we had warmer temps so I decided to get the rad support blackout done. I set the old grill and headlight bezels in place so I could see which areas were visible through the grill. I didn't like how the factory blackout went all the way up to the top of the latch support so I decided to leave that area body color. The bottom of the latch support can be seen through the grill so the bottom was sprayed but not the top.
I think it turned out alright.
That was all the time I had to work on the car on Saturday. That afternoon I went to Disney on Ice with my wife and daughter. Then we rushed home at night to beat the severe thunderstorms and tornados passing through the area.
On Sunday I realized that the body shop had filled in the washer bottle mounting holes. I had them fill some extra holes on the inner fender but for some reason they filled all of them. After re-drilling those holes, I mounted the headlight relays to the battery tray and install that. Then I started running the new headlight wiring. The wiring was a little more difficult then I had expected though. I must not have tried fishing the plugs through the headlight bucket support during the test fitment stage. The aftermarket plugs are too thick to pass through the limited space available. I had to get out the cutoff wheel and cut a notch in the bucket support. About 1/4" more room was needed. Now the plugs will easily pass into the back of the headlight area. Once that was done, mounting the buckets and all the adjuster hardware went pretty quick. Later on Sunday I installed the brake/fuel lines and rear axle bumpers. Next thing to work on is cleaning up the gas tank and getting that installed.
Late last week I installed the body plugs and set the tail light wiring in place.(man these A-bodies have a lot of body plugs...way more then my Challengers has) Saturday we had warmer temps so I decided to get the rad support blackout done. I set the old grill and headlight bezels in place so I could see which areas were visible through the grill. I didn't like how the factory blackout went all the way up to the top of the latch support so I decided to leave that area body color. The bottom of the latch support can be seen through the grill so the bottom was sprayed but not the top.
I think it turned out alright.
That was all the time I had to work on the car on Saturday. That afternoon I went to Disney on Ice with my wife and daughter. Then we rushed home at night to beat the severe thunderstorms and tornados passing through the area.
On Sunday I realized that the body shop had filled in the washer bottle mounting holes. I had them fill some extra holes on the inner fender but for some reason they filled all of them. After re-drilling those holes, I mounted the headlight relays to the battery tray and install that. Then I started running the new headlight wiring. The wiring was a little more difficult then I had expected though. I must not have tried fishing the plugs through the headlight bucket support during the test fitment stage. The aftermarket plugs are too thick to pass through the limited space available. I had to get out the cutoff wheel and cut a notch in the bucket support. About 1/4" more room was needed. Now the plugs will easily pass into the back of the headlight area. Once that was done, mounting the buckets and all the adjuster hardware went pretty quick. Later on Sunday I installed the brake/fuel lines and rear axle bumpers. Next thing to work on is cleaning up the gas tank and getting that installed.
mopowers
Well-Known Member
That looks great! If you don't mind, what type of paint did you use on the core blackout treatment?
Still waiting until the 120 day mark so I can wax the engine compartment and start assembling things in there. For now I've been working on applying the sound deadener to the floor. I was concerned about the garage temps being in the 30s/40s but it installed easily. I was planning on using Kilmat but ordered some stuff called Siless by accident. It's 80 mil, made from butyl and came in the same quantity as Kilmat so I used it. I covered the entire floor pan and up the firewall to where the factory insulation starts.
I installed some under the rear seat but just in the middle. That's where the resonance was. The area above the frame rails were solid so I didn't think I needed anything there. The section of the floor pan where the convertible top will sit sounded really hollow so I installed some there as well. I put a couple strips of sound deadener on the seat back brace that spans between the wheel wells. It sounded really hollow too. The metal wire covers along the rocker area were really beat up and rusted through in a few places. Replacements seemed really expensive for what they are so I made my own. I just bought the thinnest sheet metal the metal company carried(20 gauge) and drilled some holes along the length. Then I dimple died it for strength. I thought about different ways to attach it but ended up just using the sound deadener itself to hold the pieces in place. Finally, I put some aluminum tape on all the seams. The edges of the sound deadener are exposed and sticky. I put the tape on it so the carpet doesn't stick to the floor when the temp warms up.
I also got the 1/4 windows installed. What a PITA. I downloaded the 67 and 69 service manuals(the 68 manual isn't online) and read how they are supposed to be installed. The instructions left a lot to be desired. I ended up having to completely remove the rear stabilizer and unbolt the front track in order to move the glass forward inside the 1/4 so I could get the rollers attached. Before I could do any of that though, I had to sand/polish the stainless weather stripping channel at the leading edge of the glass. On my Challenger, the stainless was still attached to the glass so I carefully polished it as an assembly. On the Dart though, the glass setting tape had lost its hold and the stainless was loose. The convertible uses rivets to hold the stainless to the lift bracket at the bottom. Once I drilled off the rivet heads I was able to tap them out and remove the stainless piece. Here are the rivets holding the stainless to the lift bracket.
I discovered that I could drill and tap the lift bracket holes for some 8-32 button head screws. This made reattaching it at the base easy. There was still the issue with the glass setting tape though. I was nervous since I've never dealt with that stuff before. While ordering some weather strip adhesive online I stumbled on a product called "windshield and glass sealant". Its designed to fix leaks between glass and rubber gaskets. The tube was only $6 so I thought I'd give it a try. The glass setting tape was still well attached to the stainless...it had just come loose from the glass. So, after cleaning the old tape and the glass, I ran a bead of the sealant on the leading edge of the glass. Then I pushed the stainless in place. After attaching the bottom with the allen head screws, I wrapped tape around the glass to hold everything stationary while the sealant dried. So far it seems to be working great. If it fails, I'll just have to install new glass setting tape. The windshield sealant is basically thin, flowable silicone. It's quite a bit thinner then regular clear silicone you find in a big tube. Here are the button head screws used to attach the stainless to the lift bracket.
I installed some under the rear seat but just in the middle. That's where the resonance was. The area above the frame rails were solid so I didn't think I needed anything there. The section of the floor pan where the convertible top will sit sounded really hollow so I installed some there as well. I put a couple strips of sound deadener on the seat back brace that spans between the wheel wells. It sounded really hollow too. The metal wire covers along the rocker area were really beat up and rusted through in a few places. Replacements seemed really expensive for what they are so I made my own. I just bought the thinnest sheet metal the metal company carried(20 gauge) and drilled some holes along the length. Then I dimple died it for strength. I thought about different ways to attach it but ended up just using the sound deadener itself to hold the pieces in place. Finally, I put some aluminum tape on all the seams. The edges of the sound deadener are exposed and sticky. I put the tape on it so the carpet doesn't stick to the floor when the temp warms up.
I also got the 1/4 windows installed. What a PITA. I downloaded the 67 and 69 service manuals(the 68 manual isn't online) and read how they are supposed to be installed. The instructions left a lot to be desired. I ended up having to completely remove the rear stabilizer and unbolt the front track in order to move the glass forward inside the 1/4 so I could get the rollers attached. Before I could do any of that though, I had to sand/polish the stainless weather stripping channel at the leading edge of the glass. On my Challenger, the stainless was still attached to the glass so I carefully polished it as an assembly. On the Dart though, the glass setting tape had lost its hold and the stainless was loose. The convertible uses rivets to hold the stainless to the lift bracket at the bottom. Once I drilled off the rivet heads I was able to tap them out and remove the stainless piece. Here are the rivets holding the stainless to the lift bracket.
I discovered that I could drill and tap the lift bracket holes for some 8-32 button head screws. This made reattaching it at the base easy. There was still the issue with the glass setting tape though. I was nervous since I've never dealt with that stuff before. While ordering some weather strip adhesive online I stumbled on a product called "windshield and glass sealant". Its designed to fix leaks between glass and rubber gaskets. The tube was only $6 so I thought I'd give it a try. The glass setting tape was still well attached to the stainless...it had just come loose from the glass. So, after cleaning the old tape and the glass, I ran a bead of the sealant on the leading edge of the glass. Then I pushed the stainless in place. After attaching the bottom with the allen head screws, I wrapped tape around the glass to hold everything stationary while the sealant dried. So far it seems to be working great. If it fails, I'll just have to install new glass setting tape. The windshield sealant is basically thin, flowable silicone. It's quite a bit thinner then regular clear silicone you find in a big tube. Here are the button head screws used to attach the stainless to the lift bracket.
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