Restoration page 1 : May 1998 - Dec 1998

Purchased car May, 1996

Baught the car in Toledo Ohio from Don for $1600 US.

Towed the car home using a tow-dolly and my Dad's van

The trunk had a sheet of stainless steel riveted to it.

The engine ran really well. Original rad. Whoever replaced this engine I guess used a small hoist and had to cut the rad support to clear it. All the electrical stuff works.

These are all the pieces we thought we needed to get, from Year One. Anyways, parked the car and went back to school for another 2 years.

Began restoration May, 1998. (First day after graduation) Really started to take the car apart and get a closer look.

Original emblem stuck to the vinal roof, which was in pretty good shape.

Another shot of the engine compartment. Found out that the headers didnt fit, so the previous owners left one side partially unscrewed so it could clear the torsion bar and steering box.

The front frame (where the torsion bar fits) is rotted on one side.

Shot of the front in the garage. Not much space to work.

Shot of the side.

Original AM Radio and single speaker in the front

Noticed a small hole in the wheel housing. Starting to realise how much we may have missed when evaluating this car.

The interior was in great shape. Dash great, seats in great shape. No cracks. Carpet chewed up by rats.

Cut out the trunk

Rear frame rails were both rotted out.

Removed the lower rear valence, the rebar was rusted out. Entire frame section needed to be replaced.

Went to National Moparts, got a rear frame section off a 70 Coronet. Excellent shape!

Stripped it, sandblasted it, and threw over several coats of primer.

Took all the tar off the underneath. It was not rusted through.

Sandblasted the underneath, primed it, and then welded the frame on. Make sure that the frame is 100% level with the rest of the body before welding it on. According to Chrysler they allow 1/4" of tolerance on the frame.

Welded on the 2 trunk panels. The first set we baught was so poorly made it didnt even fit together. We took it back to Cross Canada where we baught it and got us a better set.

Cut out the Left 1/4 panel

Blasted and primed under the 1/4 window, inside the rear window pillar, and under the top. Also welded on the outer wheel housing, and soon afterward the left trunk filler panel.

Welded on the 1/4 panel with the spot welder. Braised it every 3 inches. Didn't have a MIG welder. Mistake.

Window was pretty bad. Usual charger rust. Shaped some patch pieces and spot welded on. Came out really nice.

Braised along the roofline and deck because the base metal was so bad. This cause minor warpage along the roofline and severly fucked the window deck lid. Also burned a hole in the headliner by accident. Shortly removed and stored all of the interior after that.

The guys who did this did a OK job for temporary, but it had to be removed. They rivited some patch peices of metal underneath.

Stripped off the old bondo with a torch. The wheel housing was not too bad, but not strong enough to weld something to.

Cut out the right 1/4 panel.

Same deal here. Blasted, and primed. You can see the filler panel on here. Also, you can see where we patched along the inner wheel housing. This turned out real nice too. (had to do this on L and R)

Welded on the 1/4 panel here. These quarter panels were the worst pieces imaginable. They didnt lign up, didnt fit, and were esentially warped before we could get to em. It was a mistake buying these things.

Once the 1/4s were on, we welded the bottoms to the filler panels, and put on the end caps.

Fitted and spot welded the lower rear valence.

I shaped this amazing piece to connect the trunk latch tower to the floor. I was getting good! Also welded on the supports for the rear bumper, gas tank mounts, and spare tire mount

This is a shot of the front frame rail (where the torsion bars fit)

Cut out the piece with a torch and grinded the welds out from underneath.

Another piece from National Moparts. This one was from a 70 Charger.

Stripped and primed.

Fit it. But had to bend the ends out on one side to clear the rocker panels. How the heck else are you supposed to do this???

My uncle came over and welded this one in with a TIG.

The floor was in fairly good shape, other than some rust holes behind the driver's seat.

Made patch pieces and welded them on.

Wouldn't ya know it, the spot welder blew a transformer. Luckily we baught another one just like it from the paper later that week.

Sandblasted the underneath

And painted with POR 15.

This is the front frame rail, left side. It was in real bad shape. Like the rear.

Sandlasted and primed inside before my uncle welds on the patch panel. This panel came out Reeeal nice.

After the weld. He used Oxy/Acetylene and a thick rod.