Plymouth Roadrunner Stripping - Mopar Project Car

In the December issue of Mopar Muscle, we provided a quick introduction to the Indy Cylinder Head 542ci engine combination that will be wedged between the fenders of Holley Performance Products Project Roadrunner.

Since we announced this project, John Balow and his staff at Muscle Car Restorations have been rockin' on the Roadrunner, especially as it relates to identifying the key sheetmetal needs and stripping away the 30 years of abuse that this particular car has seen.

With the ominous task of disassembly and cataloguing of parts complete, the next step was to deliver the unitbody to DeWayne Krumenauer and Randy Goettl's Progressive Stripping in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It was determined with the level of disassembly that this car has seen, that media blasting would be the most appropriate method to get the B-Body ready for additional metalwork.

In your efforts with your Mopar project, however, media blasting may not be the best choice. So what choices do you have? We'll use this opportunity to display our particular situation, while at the same time offering you some other choices as it relates to the first step of restoration-metal repair.

Another Option
Does the mere thought of stripping your ultra-rare, priceless Mopar have you shuddering with the thought of warped body panels from the media blasting process or the caustic nature of chemical stripping? Are you looking for a no-nonsense solution that will work with your very-straight, little-bodywork-required Mopar?

If so, the folks at PPG may have one of the best solutions yet. The process is E-Coat, and it not only neutralizes any rust on your car, it also proves to be the very first primer coat from which to begin your restoration process.

John Balow introduced us to E-Coat when he described the process used on Pete Matuszek's original factory '68 Hemi Dart, obviously a rare and desirable Mopar. John determined early on that this method would be the best for this car.

The process basically dips the entire unitbody through a series of 12 cleaning and preparation tanks. Finally, the unitbody goes into an electrostatically charged paint tank. E-coat stands for Electro-deposition coating. The car remains in the tank for four minutes, electrostatically charged. The car then goes into a reclaimer tank which removes excess paint and creates a uniform film that is approximately 3 mil thick. From there, the unitbody goes into an oven where it is baked at 375-degrees F. for an hour.

This is the same process for any replacement panel that you would get from an OE parts department. It remains the state-of-the-art process, despite the fact that it has been around for quite awhile.

A typical E-coat will cost in the range of $2,500 to $3,500. With the money saved in epoxy primers and rust inhibitors, the net difference is probably in the restorer's favor.

The paint is cured by heat primer. Upon removal, every exposed and unexposed part is covered in the hard-curing primer, while at the same time offering an excellent basis for working on.

The E-coat process can be used with any modern day topcoat, but PPG can only recommend its line of product. If you'd like more information on this process contact PPG Industries.