71 RT resurrection

challenger6pak · Aug 19, 2015

LOL. You should be in south Florida. It was cool for the time of year. Shop was only 95* with 75% humidity. I love your summer weather but can't take your winters. Great work on the car.

gdrill · Aug 19, 2015

Ha, thanks and no thanks! I guess I shouldn't complain as it is only 86* here right now. But I'm a little weird. I could live in 70-75* all day all year. Oh and without that high of humidity as well. We've had a hot summer here too, reaching the occasional 100* +/-. I don't know how you Southern people do it! This just makes it "seem" worse too out on my deck!

gdrill · Aug 19, 2015

I gave it a quick scuff with scotch-brite pads, than wax and grease removed, then self etched. That should give it some protection. Now to move to the outside.

moparlee · Aug 19, 2015

Isn't blasting amazing. Sure looks a lot better now that you got rid of that surface rust. BTW, nice containment area for the blasting media. Wear the proper protective gear, don't go breathing that stuff.

gdrill · Aug 19, 2015

Yes it certainly does look way better. I think once I get it all blasted and primed it will be a totally different car. When I got it the fellow said people had looked at it but were intimidated by the floor being out. I think he is right, but give me a couple weeks and it wont look so bad!

gdrill · Aug 21, 2015

It had to come off the trailer as I had to use it for something else. It was kind of a nice working height on there.

moparleo · Aug 21, 2015

Great progress there. Keep up the momentum.

Donny · Aug 23, 2015

You need to media blast that entire car body, at once. Then, put it in Epoxy primer, not Etch. Etch won't protect from elements. Epoxy won't protect from UV light, so, keeping it outside is the worst option to consider. Tending to one bad place here and there is chasing your tail. You will spend 10 hours on one end of a panel, then, will have endless repairs to tend to in other sections, but, if you blast it all off, then you can say Toss that panel for a new one. I see this all the time. drblast.com

desert cuda · Aug 23, 2015

wow thats looking great!!! what are you planning on doing for the quarters? full or skins? there is sooo much avail nowadays for the challengers! i am jealous.

gdrill · Aug 23, 2015

Thanks guys. Donny, if you're who I think you are, I wish I could have my car done by a pro. But it's just not in the budget right now. Now that I have the blaster I am going to do the whole car. I was told to put etch on directly over blasting. I think it should be OK as it will not be outside again?? I have epoxy as well but the guy I talked to said to use the etch. Man, it doesn't matter where you go, the opinions differ! I will hold off on any more primer until I get a solid answer which is the right way. I have only etch primed the engine bay and cowl so far. I will continue to blast until it is complete. Again I must say it was nice that it was previously blasted so I could see all the trouble spots but man is it a pain to re-blast. Makes sense though. Here are some pics of my "redneck" blasting area and what I did today. I did the outside of the inner fenders and started down the side of the car. I stopped at the door sills.
desert cuda, for the quarters, it looks like skins below the body line should do. We'll see about that though. The fellow I got the car from had a set of full quarters. MAYBE I will end up with them.

js29 · Aug 24, 2015

I have been using the method of etch primer ASAP on the fresh blasted metal for years now. the acid in the etch bites into the metal. SEM or Vera- prime by exalta formaly dupont will allow you to put filler over the top of it. had no come backs.

gdrill · Aug 24, 2015

js29, that is basically what the guy at the supply store said as well. I did specifically ask which was the one to use over fresh blasting, etch or epoxy. He had no hesitation in his response.

js29 · Aug 24, 2015

I have been doing bodywork for 30 years now and have found this way to work the best for me! as you get feather along I will be glad to share more of my life's little lessons.

gdrill · Aug 24, 2015

Got some more blasted. It is nice to see, actually quite motivating, as each piece is cleaned up the car looks way better. I am trying to get everything that was done previously re-blasted and in primer, excluding the stuff that will be removed.

gdrill · Aug 24, 2015

This is motivating.

gdrill · Aug 24, 2015

Finished inside on the firewall. I think that is about it for now. Once the quarters and inners are off I will get the rear frames. One of these days I'll drag it back out and hang it from the gantry to do the fronts.

gdrill · Aug 25, 2015

Well, everything I blasted is in primer now. It should be protected while I do some more repairs. I am considering tackling the torsion bar cross member next. It sure looks a lot better than when I brought it home!

gdrill · Aug 26, 2015

I decided to rebuild the area where the hood hinges mount next. They were basically the same condition on both sides. I made patches, marked them out, cut the bad out, tacked them in and then spent a couple hours spot welding. Then I rebuilt the bolt receptor. I'm just waiting on the weld through primer to dry and then I will weld them back in place.