The task at hand is large....
The task at hand is large. Rebuild this long-forgotten Challenger into a respectable, modern musclecar in a year. Can we do it? Sean at Blew Devil Rods and Customs in Lakeland, Florida, says we can. Apparently, he's as crazy as we are.
A Bare-Bones Beginning
A while back, we introduced our Project Goodmark/Big Challenge, and asked you to help us devise a plan of what we should build. We got a lot of letters and e-mails; an overwhelming amount saying to make this a modern musclecar. You guys really are into updating your Mopars, and so it will be done.
The Big-Challenge
Challenger started life as a Dark Gold Metallic, 340 Rallye car, with an automatic and an 8-3/4 rear. When we got our hands on it, it was a pseudo dirt track racer wannabe (we use the term "racer" very loosely). An enterprising and very imaginative person installed a truck-type light bar inside, and mounted it (spot welds) directly to the floor and rear wheeltubs. The fiberglass racing bucket seats facing the full-width rearview mirror gave a hint of a previous owner's personality. But that doesn't matter because all that stuff is removable. We need only a shell, and we believe we have enough of this one to save it.
Plan of Attack
As we said, most of the responses to our question, "What would you like to see?" mentioned upgrading the car with a tubular front crossmember, a new-Hemi-style engine, and other niceties. So that's the plan, barring any unforeseen snags.
But before we can finish, we have to get started. Sean at Blew Devil Rods and Customs is a true musclecar guy. He even has a Charger of his own that he wants to start restoring, but, hopefully, we'll keep him on our Challenger first. He has been rebuilding and restoring cars for as long as he cares to remember, so we think we made a good choice. But let's quit talking about what we're going to do and get started.
Getting Blasted
Now that the car is disassembled, we need to know what we're getting into. If you are doing a complete restoration, or you just want clean metal to work with, media blasting is an inexpensive way to save a lot of time. Using paint strippers, or just doing the sanding yourself, could take quite a while to get the paint removed. Luckily for us, when we started the bodywork on the Big Challenge Challenger, we heard about Blast Off in Orlando, Florida. After we dropped off the remains of the Challenger shell, the guys at Blast Off proceeded on the paint removal.
This process does not involve sand for media. Sand is too harsh and will warp the metal. The guys at Blast Off told us they use two basic types of media: plastic and aluminum oxide. Plastic is used when metal warpage is an issue. Areas such as the roof, hood, and other areas of unsupported sheetmetal receive a plastic media blast because the plastic media is softer and doesn't generate heat during the blasting process.
Aluminum oxide is for areas not prone to warpage. Floor boards, inner fenders, and areas that are structurally "stiffer" than unsupported sheetmetal can withstand the harsher aluminum oxide. The process will take a day or so, but the results are definitely worth it. When you get the part, or car, back, you have nice, clean metal to work with-a nice way to start.
The Challenger before any...
The Challenger before any work begins. The car looks rough, but we had no idea how rough . . . yet.
The fiberglass seats were...
The fiberglass seats were leveled using 2x4s and were bolted to the floor with 2-inch-long 5/16-inch bolts. Yeah, that'll pass tech. The roll bar is believed to be from a 4x4 and placed in the car. It would definitely save someone's life ; it's simply tack-welded to the floor and rear wheeltubs.
In this shot, you can see...
In this shot, you can see the absence of the dash and most of the floor . . . what are we saying! we need to replace the floor from the firewall to the rear bumper.
The car did come with a spare...
The car did come with a spare center section. It's an open unit, but a spare housing if nothing else.
When Sean started to disassemble...
When Sean started to disassemble the car, we found things we hadn't planned on. If you look at the cowl area , you may be able to see the absence of metal and the holes of rust. We need to find a cowl. The driver's side is just as bad.
After removing the fenders,...
After removing the fenders, doors, hood, trunk lid, and even the quarter-panels, it looks like an average project car beginning.
Before the car was "blasted,"...
Before the car was "blasted," it looked really rough.
As soon as we got the shell...
As soon as we got the shell to Blast Off, they started tearing into it by cleaning the body and removing a few leftover pieces. We cut the quarter-panels off before we took it for media blasting so the underneath areas could be blasted as well. We also braced the door openings because we were just plain scared of how bad the body would be after the blasting.
Paint removal with media is...
Paint removal with media is nothing new. It's an economical way to ensure you have clean metal to start with. There are two types of media used: the media on the left hand is the aluminum oxide, which is a more abrasive media than the plastic on the right.
We are definitely going to...
We are definitely going to have to do some rocker replacement.
It took a few hours to completely...
It took a few hours to completely strip the body, but once it comes out, you can really see the areas that need to be fixed. This is the cowl area on the driver side.
What's left of the front floorpans....
What's left of the front floorpans. This is looking scary.
The rear floors aren't any...
The rear floors aren't any better.
Once we got the car unloaded...
Once we got the car unloaded from the Pace trailer back at Sean's shop, he said it came back in better shape than he planned. Man, were we glad to hear the guy that's doing the work make that comment.
With companies like Goodmark...
With companies like Goodmark remanufacturing parts for many musclecars, rebuilding a car from a rusted hulk has become much easier. Many cars that were in the same condition as our Challenger were simply overlooked for many years because of their rough condition. Now, cars like this are all that's left, and it's good to be able to get replacement metal.
So what's next on the list...
So what's next on the list for our Big Challenge-a lot of metal replacement. We will be working with Goodmark to replace all this rusted metal with new offerings from them.
And if you noticed how rough...
And if you noticed how rough the car is, you'll know that means a lot of tech articles, busted knuckles, and more than a few cooling beverages.