My New FABO Reality Show...Rani, I'ma Callin' You Out!!!

[cosgig]

thanks, the cuda he is talking about was the same one i mentioned earlier that i got measurments from, for the four speed light. and i didnt tell him but i "borrowed" the four speed reverse light from that cuda also ops:

that cuda is a 340/ 4 speed car (A56 cuda)....been in his family since the mid-70s and its the car i learned to drive with......then i bracket raced it for a couple seasons.

sounds like more work now and another dash resto .....its been in a storage container partially disassembled for about 5 years

Line up that Cuda as your next project, it sounds like your cousin knows what he's talking about. If anybody could get it done and do it right, it would be you!!! Geof

 

[Princess Valiant]

Back to the prodution shop:

i got the frame and glove box door in its first coat of satin black......so within hours the frame will be cleared for installation. :cheers:

finally my blue interior will be on its way Ouuuuut

the bezel was sprayed with rust-o-leum reflective "chrome" in a can.

so far im very happy with the reflective properties, however there are some blemishes that showed up in the finish, but good news is that its an enamal ...so as soon as it drys completely, it will get a light color sanding and the blemishes repaired and a second coat.

i believe the color sanding will help bcoz, the main property of a mirror is being perfectly flat ...and already this was applied over a primer surfacer and now the color sand will aid in assuring its flatness......no way we can trust 40 year old plastic to be straight rotest:

 

[Princess Valiant]

i have to say that i see the light at the end of the tunnel and its been a long road so far .....almost there......now my family is aware of what im doing and they said i better get it done...so almost there :cheers:

 

[4spdragtop]

Ok, take 2 on the "chrome" for me. Im almost embarassed to post pics after seeing Ranis progress/success.....maybe I shoulda stayed a wallflower at this dance!

Anyway, my inital chrome sucked, black turned out good, so I wet-sanded the chrome, taped off the black with help from my new little toy. Thanks to pointers from this thread and from my other dash resto thread, I tried a few little "tricks".

I put the "chrome" spray bomb in water that I boiled. I also took a blowdryer to the bezel before spraying to warm it up a bit. I sprayed a little closer to the bezel. My 1st attempt I was too far away and it was "powdery". After each coat I took the blowdryer to the paint, keeping about 8-10" away, I was trying to get the chrome to "flatten" out to be more reflective. Here are some before/after pics, I will wait a day to do the touchups. Rani I am thinking I should have sent you my bezel. Yours looks great!! Same goes for the frame!

 

[jaimus]

Ohhh,...This is gettin exciting folks,....Looks like Niss Rani is doin some schoolin here,...I'm takin notes, Now I can't wait till the Spacer dash gets its makover...

 

[Princess Valiant]

i am prolly jumping the gun here .....but sometimes suspence is too much to bare.

i was worried about Natasha being down bcoz as many of you know she is my only transportation .......but since my cousin is now aware of what im doing ...he is loaning me a ford escort econo-box to use while my car is down for this swap .....but i have to be done by the end of the month which im sure i will be done way before that....beside any longer than that and i might break out in a skin rash from driving a ferd everyday.

i got the old dash out .....once the windsheild was gone it came out much easier than i remeber these coming out.

i am saving all the small stuff for my green 69 dart.

but pretty much i am at the point of no return now ...the car is apart and i am on a pinch to get it done....i may have jumped the gun but like my cousin told me "what are you going to do....wait for Santa Clause?" so i guess he is right ....no time like the present.....:cheers:

 

[Princess Valiant]

i really feel like i am tearing up my poor Natasha ...the whole time i was telling her not to worry my baby ...it will all get better.

plus i am really excited about the idea of getting rid of her original poo-poo wiring harness ....that dash harness is a lemon and was the root of most of the problems i have had with this car.

 

[cosgig]

In the words of the immortal Homer Simpson... "Doe, I Suck!!". I can see Rani and Steve's taillights, and yes, I'm stuck in the vendor vortex!!! All I can do at this point is wait for GCAR to complete my bezels before I can go forward on my end. I am ready to put the heater box back together, but I am also waiting for the big WPC swap meet to buy the bellflange rubber gasket before I can reinstall it. I've also started cleaning the window frame for the windshield install, but I'm gonna need some Goo Gone to remove all that sticky foam trim padding, it's a mess. I'll get some pics up later, along with (hopefully) our first ever VIDEO behind the scenes look at the making of "The Gauntlet"!! Need Nella's help with finishing it up, but she isn't in the best of moods today...girly stuff I guess!!

More later today!! Geof

 

[Princess Valiant]

I'll get some pics up later, along with (hopefully) our first ever VIDEO behind the scenes look at the making of "The Gauntlet"!! Need Nella's help with finishing it up, but she isn't in the best of moods today...girly stuff I guess!!

More later today!! Geof

hopefully little Nella Ma'am will feel better soon ....i been there done that......she might be in better spirits knowing that her fans are waiting to see her handy work rayer:



To Mr. Steve .....your bezel is looking great........dont be fooled by pics....my bezel actually looks better in the pics than in person ....it has some blemishes that im not really happy with ......it looks like we are in the same boat.

Either way it still looks better than faded, flaking original stuff and for as much money as i have going into it....i cant complain.

so far this whole swap has cost me around $60. in paint materials for the frame and bezel.....(paint is not cheap LOL)

and around $100. for the windsheild gasket that i dont have yet.

So in summary

paint = $60.

windsheild gasket $100.

living the dream and having my car the way i want it = PRICELESS :cheers:

 

[Princess Valiant]

i need help knowing which is the correct screw type that holds the cluster to the dash on a 68 cuda dash

the black one in the pic is the type i took from the old dart dash......it was on the radio bezel and cluster.

the silver one is the type i found as a stray on the floor on my cousin's 69 cuda.

so anyone know what i need to look for ?

 

[66340SEDAN]

Rani, I believe the screw on the right is the one used for the rallye style dash

 

[Princess Valiant]

Rani, I believe the screw on the right is the one used for the rallye style dash

and that is the answer i was fearing....bcoz the one in the pic is the only one i have LOL :banghead:

 

[ocdart]

The screw on the left fits into a countersunk hole. The screw on the right has a flat bottom so fits on a flat surface - either counterbored or just flat.
What do the screw holes on the cluster look like? Countersunk or flat-bottomed?

 

[Princess Valiant]

The screw on the left fits into a countersunk hole. The screw on the right has a flat bottom so fits on a flat surface - either counterbored or just flat.
What do the screw holes on the cluster look like? Countersunk or flat-bottomed?

your correct ...the dart bezels had countersunk holes and the rally housing has a flat surface

 

[66340SEDAN]

and that is the answer i was fearing....bcoz the one in the pic is the only one i have LOL :banghead:

All those cars and parts and you don't have any screws like that?? LOL

I think I have some extras, let me know how many you need and I would be happy to send them :glasses7:

 

[VDART]

most likely the screws that hold the top of the dash trim to the dash frame look like these pictured. the other ones might also have this style..

i do have some extra misc style-- you never know!!
Lawrence

 

[jaimus]

Holy Hardware Hunting, Batman...

 

[mosleyme]

dont forget a close up of your tach....even though i am not using mine in the dart ...i still want to compare them ...i always thought mine was a 67 bcoz i pulled it from a 67 cuda but now i think its a 68+ ....not sure

oops pic is a bit blurry

That is 68+

Here is a picture of the tach going in my '68. The tach was customized to match my engine. No worries though, I started on my dash a year ago and y'all are ahead of me now...

Rani - how are you going to do the VIN swap on the dash?

I may have to send my dash frame to Leanna - please show us how that turns out CudaChick.

 

[Princess Valiant]

That is 68+

Here is a picture of the tach going in my '68. The tach was customized to match my engine. No worries though, I started on my dash a year ago and y'all are ahead of me now...

Rani - how are you going to do the VIN swap on the dash?

I may have to send my dash frame to Leanna - please show us how that turns out CudaChick.

not sure where they came from but my cousin got me a pair of the correct rivits .....so i just ground the old ones off.

i tried knocking the center pin from the old rivit and squeezing them through to try and re-use ....but they sure make those tamper resistant bcoz i monkeyed with it for an hour and finally said forget this and just ground them off ......its not worth monkeying around with it, bcoz you risk bending or messing up your tag .....i have to paint my tag now bcoz i scratched it while trying that non-sense. LOL

 

[PapstXX]

I am Gonna follow this show to .

Nice idea Geof .

 

[CudaChick1968]

... I may have to send my dash frame to Leanna - please show us how that turns out CudaChick.

Don't worry Michael. I'm sure it will get lots of Gauntlet exposure and it will be tough to miss.

It would awesome to finally do some work for you. :-D

 

[Princess Valiant]

no update from camp rani in a few days ........school started monday for me ......so i been at the University a lot last two days.

Sunday night i stayed up late and tried a rally cluster on for size......i like the direction this is going :cheers:

sunday night i also finished installing the four speed hump so no more driving down the road and seeing the ground anymore.......i kinda liked that too LOL not the best welding i have done in my time but the welder was acting strange .....i think the nozzle tip thinger needs replaced again

so from now on if im not here then im prolly at school LOL.....cant wait till MAY.....graduation, then i can go back to life like it was this Christmas break.....during the break the whole point of my life was work on the car, now its a side project :banghead:

 

[66340SEDAN]

Wow, Rani is flying!!! Nice job.....

I always thought the a-body dash would look cool without a pad, fill in all the holes and fill it in smooth, some early-a cars came without dash pads, they looked cool and looked all business :glasses7:

 

[Princess Valiant]

Wow, Rani is flying!!! Nice job.....

I always thought the a-body dash would look cool without a pad, fill in all the holes and fill it in smooth, some early-a cars came without dash pads, they looked cool and looked all business :glasses7:

kinda strange that my lower dash pads looked ok on the old dash but now that the dash is getting freshened up the lower pads now look horrible.

i am going to have to re-use them bcoz thats all i have, but i dont really want to.....i am going to see how they look with some SEM black dye.

i am slowly getting rid of the blue interior bocz when i paint the whole car i am changing colors (plus i have a big dis-like for blue)......a dream come true is to have the car Y2 Sunfire yellow (my favorite color) with black interior. i want my car to look somewhat like the pic .....if my car looked like that now i wouldnt get any work done bcoz i would stare at it all day :cheers:

 

[4spdragtop]

Geez I better get my arse in gear!! Rani you are doing some awesome work there! rayer:But you really should focus on your education...give this ol' guy..AND Geof a chance to catch up!! :burnout:
Anyone else looking to join in?? Rockyjs??? C'mon..... we can make it a tag-team match! Ok back to "detailing" stupid *** frickin chrome....