71 RT Restoration

[DetMatt1]

Nice car! Love the Butterscotch but I think I would have to put a stripe on it.

 

[Kez]

Nice car! Love the Butterscotch but I think I would have to put a stripe on it.

Thanks! Yes, I have thought about a stripe, and would be OK with it if I knew it was easily reversible of someone wanted a true-factory car, but can those be easily removed without damaging the paint?

 

[DetMatt1]

I'm not sure how easy it'd be but I have to think is doable.
Anybody on the forum ever try removing a modern day tape stripe?

 

[Kez]

Also thought about doing some subtle pin striping to mimic the rub strip. I would think the tape stripe would come off with easy application of a heat gun, but care must be taken, and if the overall paint is sun faded even slightly, it would create a shadow where the stripe was... but maybe not!

 

[Kez]

When the block froze, it also took out the radiator and heater core. Took them both to Doug at Industrial Radiator in Santa Maria, CA - he was able to find high quality replacements and reuse original reservoirs and frames. Also did the checks on the AC condenser and evaporator coils.

 

[Kez]

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with Legendary vs YearOne for new seat covers? Legendary is 25% more, but they have a good reputation, so are they that much better than YearOne?

Also looking for a good quality trunk mat. I ordered one from Classic Industries, and while is LOOKED correct, it did not have the right texture. My old mat was textured, like rough burlap clothe that had been plasti-coated. What I got from Classic was smooth, like it had been photo-printed on paper.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

 

[76orangewagon]

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with Legendary vs YearOne for new seat covers? Legendary is 25% more, but they have a good reputation, so are they that much better than YearOne?
Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Unless something has changed in their vendors, Year One uses Legendary to supply seat covers.

 

[Kez]

Some not so great before and after pictures of the tail lights. I used some Meguiar's Mirror Glaze No 17 Clear Plastic Cleaner with a buffing clothe to get the fine scratches out, followed by Clear Plastic Polish No. 10.

Hard to see but I thought they turned out pretty good. Cleaned the housings before reassembly.

 

[Kez]

One thing I forgot to show on the body work - the seams where the roof is welded to body at the C-pillar were just plain scary looking. That was a pretty wide gap from the factory that they just filled with putty, and slapped the vinyl roof over it. You could see on my car where the putty had long cracked, and was probably the source of some of the water in the trunk. Every car I have seen that is unpainted with the vinyl roof removed shows this gap, usually in rusted and ragged condition. So we debated about what to do, and finally I asked Jesus just to weld them up. So second picture shows the fabricated metal strip used to fill the gap. Should hold up much better than the factory job did, and be invisible when completed.

 

[Kez]

Unless something has changed in their vendors, Year One uses Legendary to supply seat covers.

Thanks for the reply! Yes, I recall seeing something that made me wonder if YearOne was sourcing from Legendary, but then I couldn't figure out how they could possibly be underselling on price - can't recall if they were letting me apply a discount code or not. Has anyone bought covers from either place, and how happy were you with quality?

Also, has anyone tackled recovering themselves - is that a good job for an amateur, or should I find a local shop and just pay the guys?

 

[moparlee]

When I restored my 71 RT I purchased the seat covers, headliner, and vinyl top from Legendary. They were at the Mopar Nationals and had a good sale going on. Their quality is excellent and I had a professional install them for me. He did an excellent job, no wrinkles.

 

[DetMatt1]

I have legendary skins and buns in my Challenger and I wouldn't buy from anybody else. I had mine installed by an upholsterer, it was cheap to have done because it's easy.

 

[moparleo]

Nice project and great progress there. It is nice to be able to this fast with your project. Any idea of the cost so far ?

 

[autoxcuda]

Get a confirmation from Year One that the seat skins are legendary. Some of these parts houses are selling PUI and PG classic sourced skins.

Hope to see this car at a Spring or Fall Fling. You coming to Fall Fling on Oct 29 to look for parts and supplies.

I'm bringing a box Van full of E-body parts priced to move.

 

[Kez]

Hi everyone, thanks for the advice on the seat covers, I will get the Legendary covers!

Went by the body shop on Friday, and Jesus is hanging the fenders and doors to check panel gaps. He will set it down on jack stands to get the weight distribution correct for the final check. This car had tight gaps before disassembly, and they are looking fine now, so I don't expect problems with that.

Not sure how much I have into this car, and probably don't want to know! As you all know, restoring one of these cars is not usually a money maker, it's a labor of love. I fully expect I will have close to $50K in this car when it is done, if not more (body work is not cheap if done correctly, but skimping really shows). Will it be worth that much (to someone else)? Who knows, but it's worth it to me.

Spent Saturday scouring the local yards for door hinge bolts (for some reason cannot find one set) and the S-hook for one door hinge was missing. Found a set of hinges on a 71 Duster in Paso Robles, those will work just fine! Sunday, sanded and painted the rear axle (primed). Had hoped to just clear coat the thing to preserve the original inspection markings, but got some sort of weird reaction between the rust inhibitor and clear coat that caused the whole thing to turn white. Thankfully I have lots of pics to be able to restore the markings. Anyone know who makes the stencils for the numbers painted on the axle?

Hoped to go to Fall Fling - have it on my calendar. But grandson turns 1 and we may be headed up to Sacramento that weekend for the big bash. So maybe spring fling!!

 

[Kez]

Another question for the group - I noticed on my car, there is only one spring for the trunk lid. It held the trunk opened just fine, but I noticed the Duster in the junk yard had springs on both hinges. Do the Challengers all have one spring, or should there be a second one on mine? If you look at pics, you will see the left hinge on mine is just free floating.

 

[DetMatt1]

'71s only had one torsion rod for some reason and I still haven't found one that'll keep my lid up. Drives me batty.

 

[Kez]

Here is a picture of the rear axle stencils I will need to duplicate - does anyone know of someone reproducing these?

 

[Kez]

'71s only had one torsion rod for some reason and I still haven't found one that'll keep my lid up. Drives me batty.

I bet it would! I debated removing mine for blast and repaint and thought I might end up with a weak torsion rod, so left it in - your note makes me glad I did! That Demon I found in Paso Saturday had two, so if you want me to get them for you, let me know, I will remove and ship. Tell me your upper limit on purchase price.

 

[DetMatt1]

That's a nice offer but in the '71s the bracketry is only designed for a single and with the added weight of the T/A spoiler that ended up on mine back in the day the single is just not enough. I think there are 2 different bars, one with more spring for cars with the '71 spoiler but I haven't found one that'll hold my lid open yet. I've got all the parts to convert it to the double from a '70 model but I haven't decided if I want to do that yet. I keep hoping to find a sufficient single.