 Charger21.jpg |
Here is the passenger side fresh from its cleaning bath. As you can see all the paint and rust is gone from the car. Many people always ask the best way to strip a car. The reasons I prefer dipping to media blasting are many and varied. When you get a car dipped you get it back nice and clean, free of grease, paint and rusted metal. It lets you see right up to the best remaining metal and will show you thin spots where you might have thought good metal was. None of the good remaining metal on the car was abrasive or warped from heat and the dip gets all the way into the frame rails, rockers, seams ensuring that all traces of rust is removed from the car, not just what you can see. As with any process a qualified professional must do this. I have had other cars dipped by other companies and have had results so bad that the seams kept oozing dip even after the car was painted. This is not the fault of the process but the fault of the person who does the job. When you have a car dipped you need to remember that it needs to be sealed. The company that dipped this car, Restoration Specialties in Milwaukee, WI, (414-529-1515) offers a complete program. They first dip your car and remove 95% of the paint and gunk then give it back to you to do your metal work. When you are finished with all your tinwork they re-dip it to remove all the surface rust that has built up in the time you were working on it. They also offer an e-coating process, which I highly recommend if you want the car to stay nice. They take the car and give it a negative electrical charge then dip it into a tank containing the coating, which has a positive charge. This electrically bonds the coating to every piece of the car, frame rails seams under all the bracing absolutely sealing the car from outside air. Once this is done the parts will not rust. This sealing is not possible with a blasted car and rust will keep developing in the frame rails and between the seams ensuring that you will have to do this again in the future.
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 Charger22.jpg |
Here is the bad news on the rear of the car. The entire taillight panel is rusted beyond practical repair so another must be found. I scored one off e-bay for $150.00 for a straight, rust-free one. When buying panels always tell the [person how you want the panel cut from the donor car. The best way to tell them is to cut a few inches outside the factory seam. This way you can separate the parts and ensure that they will be clean, straight and what you need. The person I bought the taillight panel from was great and separated it from the donor car by cutting the spot-welds nice and straight.
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 Charger23.jpg |
Moe bad news in this picture you can see the valence was pretty beat-up and rusted and this will be replaced with the repop that is available. I didn't know it at this time but that rusty valence was hiding a rusty rear frame piece also. Well it is a Hemi car but I feel like all I am going to end up with is a numbers-matching roof!
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 Charger24.jpg |
That's a trunk that certainly won't keep any luggage dry! Both the trunk pan and both extensions were shot due to the infamous "Mopar Leaky Rear Window Syndrome." I have bought the trunk floor and extensions in repop pieces and will have to cut all this mess out and put in all the new before this will work.
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 Charger25.jpg |
Thank the Great Gods Of Leaky Valve Covers that kept the engine compartment covered in grease that rust didn't have a chance. Actually this is probably due to the use of a solid lifter camshaft in the 66-69 Street Hemis. Since every 2-3 thousand miles the valves needed adjusted, the covers came on and off these motors so often that they always leaked. Look at all the shiny, clean non-rusted metal that I don't have to deal with.
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 Charger26.jpg |
Again a pretty clean panel with the exception of some small holes in the frame that if I had not gotten the car dipped would never have showed up. A few patches welded into cutout areas and this side would be as good as new.
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 Charger27.jpg |
No good news here on the passenger side. Not only is the lower quarter rusted through but also are the outer wheelhouse, trunk extension, and the underside of the rocker panel. The quarter will be replaced with a repop as well as the wheelhouse but the rocker can be patched. Also the rear lower corner of the doorframe is rotted out and will have to be made when before the quarter is mated up to the body. The other drag on this side is the top edge of the quarter panel around the trunk is also rusted through. Why there, I have no idea but it must be cut out and redone along with the rest.
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 Charger28.jpg |
Not too bad of floors if I wanted to pull a Fred Flintstone type of stop. Both the front floor pans all the way back under the seats are gone. The rear pans are pretty holy and will need to go and I need to score a new shifter cover as a previous owner cut this one with a torch for shifter clearance. They offer ¾ length floors for the front which is what I need since the seat areas are so bad. On the rear we will use repop pans but just cut out the bad parts and seam in the new ones.
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 Charger29.jpg |
Scary to think that people drive cars with floors this bad but I have seen an old street sign come out from under carpet on some.
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 Charger30.jpg |
The driver's side gave me no better news than the other one. The quarter panel was rotted at the bottom and all around the wheel well. Again the outer wheel well was shot and the extension was missing in some areas. I have a repop quarter for this side also.
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 Charger31.jpg |
No major problems her just a few dime sized holes in the frame rail which is an easy fix. There are a few soft spots at the front of the rocker that will have to be cut out and replaced but again no big deal |