Yeah, I ended up paying around 40k USD equivalent when I bought it. A good bit more than it would be worth in the states but after being imported, fully road legal and registered, etc it was a good deal for here. Would love a 70 cuda, will check it out.
73 Challenger Resto, Japan
- Thread starter Kuruton
- Start date
pschlosser
Well-Known Member
Yea, that reminds me. I thought Japan had strict emission laws, and laws that forced owners to replace their vehicles after a modest amount of mileage accrued on the vehicle. Isn't it called Shakon, or something like that? How are you able to get your car operating legally, under these conditions?
Lots of things are going to be mixed up in the timeline, but doors were stripped, all interior was stripped, front glass was removed, and lots of damage was found and repaired. Big one here was the right rear fender next to the trunk. This was in such bad shape he had to cut it out. I 3D scanned the left side, mirrored it, modeled it up and 3d printed a mold to press a piece of sheet metal into shape and he welded it in.
Also had a front left fender I had ordered when I got the rest of the sheet metal because the original had a large dent. Hardly any of the panels on the car were original anyways, so nothing lost.
Also had a front left fender I had ordered when I got the rest of the sheet metal because the original had a large dent. Hardly any of the panels on the car were original anyways, so nothing lost.
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While body work was still in progress we decided to take the front valance, and front fenders and completely finish them. Wanted to make sure the paint color was what I had imagined and it helped me get some early hands on experience.
Also had the original spare fender as a practice platform.
He started by stripping them completely, and applying a rust converter/prevention coat, followed by a chip guard on the insides.
Also had the original spare fender as a practice platform.
He started by stripping them completely, and applying a rust converter/prevention coat, followed by a chip guard on the insides.
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After we finished up the fenders and valance, he showed me the proper way of doing a cut and buff to smooth it out. He gave me the tips on balancing speed, ease of spray, orange peel, etc that is required while painting, and then the amount of time and effort on your cut and buff needed to achieve different results.
Don't have more pics of the painting process for the fenders (lots of videos, but can't attach them here)
Next came the floors. I had initially planned to do the floors back at home and just paint them later, but I decided I really should do the floors while everything is already out.
Don't have more pics of the painting process for the fenders (lots of videos, but can't attach them here)
Next came the floors. I had initially planned to do the floors back at home and just paint them later, but I decided I really should do the floors while everything is already out.
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Yeah, shaken (pronounced shaw-ken) is basically the (generally) bi-annual inspection that goes through everything from emissions, lights, suspension, recalls, fender widths, etc etc. It is pretty strict overall. Similar to the US 25 year smog rules, Japan has a few different cut-off years that allow exemptions for different things such as shoulder seat-belts, idle emissions, exhaust noise, and what not. Luckily being a 73, it's all pretty lax and I usually only need to make a couple small changes to make it through. What's wild is that basically you take it to their equivalent of the DMV and they run it through all the tests right then and there. However, 90%+ of people are so unwilling to take it to be done themselves and fear it won't pass that theres a huge market for shops that specialize in getting it to a pass-able state, getting the inspection done, then reapplying any of your modifications before giving you back the car if you had any.
pschlosser
Well-Known Member
not much dialog, is there?
spent a few days cutting out and replacing the floor. accidentally ordered 2 drivers rear pans rather than a front and rear so I had to fab up a new front floor pan with parts of the extra rear one and some some spare metal. During the process I accidentally cut the rear brake line, so I also took that as an opportunity to replace all the lines.
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