rusty challenger unites with a crashed one

[rustyacres]

hi all have been enjoying the other projects on the forum so thought I would start my own thread. I’m in australia, so AMD parts not so easy to come by and so expensive that i had to go a donor car instead.

I haven’t yet decided how I’m going to use the donor, entire interior out first, might pull the whole front clip and rails, then floor pans, and whatever else I can salvage.

Donor car:

Outside of the damaged area it is a very well kept vehicle- so lots of salvageable parts. I actually bought it sight unseen so haven’t had the chance to check the frame damage in detail, however from this I can surmise it’s likely game over for this car and unsalvageable. Grill, interior, and entire rhs body all in great condition.


Plan is to use the parts from the wrecked car to fix this old drag car- I got cheap because it has no interior and a stack of bodywork required.

I would be keen to hear opinions on a way forward. I will definitely be building a jig and it’ll be interesting to see how far out the frame is on the wrecked car. I know removing floor pans isn’t going to be as easy/pretty as buying new ones but the cost of shipping these days is ridiculous to australia, on top of a weak exchange rate- so extra work for me!

 

[Chryco Psycho]

At a glance I believe the wrecked on is salvagable also , , it doesn't look like it pushed it in that far , the rusted one may be far harder to repair

 

[pschlosser]

Welcome to the forums and thank you for including us in your project.

Access and availability of replacement panels seems to be the biggest concern to @rustyacres of Australia. I see his logic looking to the red? one as a donor.

The yellow car looks like it, too, may need rear quarter panel, rusty trunk bottom and/or wheel well work. If so, the red donor car may cost about the same to repair and restore.

I would not rule out access to AMD (or another repopped) sheet metal. It may take time and patience to get what you need, but it still seems possible enough to be fluid in your plans.

Just about any condition vehicle can be restored, given the desire, time and $$$.

Are there any other factors you can share about the two cars, in terms of their potential value after restoration? Is one a Hemi and the other a 318?

I'm sure pictures are coming, and I'm eager to evaluate the state of both the red and yellow cars, particularly the front floor pan, the trunk floor, and wheel wells. These are common areas in need of attention in many E-body restoration projects.

If the yellow car needs signification sheet metal work prior to paint, the scale may tip back to the red one is the keeper vehicle.

 

[413]

Might be better off fixing the solid car with 1/4 panel damage.

look it over and see whats really going on there.

 

[rustyacres]

thanks for the advice- personally I do hope the wrecked car is salvageable, it’s front end (suspension etc) is all in great shape and that would save me a huge amount of work!

I guess my first point of attention will need to see how much out of spec everything else is, because one concern is if that damage has had flow on effects across the rest of the car then I’ll be chasing my tail for the entire build!

I’m really looking forward to this project because my focus was previously on custom aluminium motorcycle fender and tig work, and some Australian Ford body work, so I have a lot to learn but that’s what it’s for.

Neither vehicle is matching numbers so I’m not concerned regarding which one I decide to go with- more just how I go about it! I have a 383 4 speed ready to go (other than Bellhousing), a Dana 60, and will look to stroke and cam the 383.

Some more pics of the wrecked car:

From this photo you can see how much the rear has come in and up- I can’t wait to put some straps on it and see how much pulls out just for fun!

 

[rustyacres]

oh and don’t get me wrong, we can ‘get’ repro panels here- it’s just at such a price that the tendency would be to patch and/or use a donor- unless they are smaller panels which are cheaper to ship!

 

[DetMatt1]

The orange one has a ‘71 grille, ‘72 and later front side markers and ‘70 taillights. So what year is the orange one???

 

[Challenger RTA]

JS OR JH Would be a factor.

 

[pschlosser]

Although not definitive, one inspection point is the passenger side door. Does it open and close freely? Do the lines, edges and corners along the door match those in the front to the fender, and in the rear to the quarter panel? If so, the frame may not be askew beyond the damage to the rear left.

It is not uncommon for the trunk bottoms to be rusty. Replacing those will often require cutting and removing a quarter panel on one side. In this case, the left quarter will be coming off, anyway. A bonus.

 

[rustyacres]

Ye

Although not definitive, one inspection point is the passenger side door. Does it open and close freely? Do the lines, edges and corners along the door match those in the front to the fender, and in the rear to the quarter panel? If so, the frame may not be askew beyond the damage to the rear left.

It is not uncommon for the trunk bottoms to be rusty. Replacing those will often require cutting and removing a quarter panel on one side. In this case, the left quarter will be coming off, anyway. A bonus.

Yes, door moves freely, and aligns at the front quarter no issues but rear I’m not sure yet- good point

 

[Cuda Hunter]

I would be keen to hear opinions on a way forward.

Can you post the fender tags of both. I'm sure there is an opinion as to the value of each body determined by what the car was originally.

 

[rustyacres]

I’ll have a dig around and post them

Can you post the fender tags of both. I'm sure there is an opinion as to the value of each body determined by what the car was originally.

 

[rustyacres]

Or

The orange one has a ‘71 grille, ‘72 and later front side markers and ‘70 taillights. So what year is the orange one???

It’s a 73- dressed up as a 71 (ish)

 

[Cuda Hunter]

nothing wrong with that!

 

[Challenger RTA]

Or

It’s a 73- dressed up as a 71 (ish)

Best of all years? Why not I would Do it to.