1969 GTX....The T stands for tetanus

[JimKueneman]

You would make a good door to door salesman Still have over 1/2 gallon

Trust me you will use this more than you think. I would shoot a coat to see how the body work was going, then add more filler on top of it. It sands so nicely that it becomes your goto primer. Plus Barry suggests you need a final sealer coat before the base coat... Just saying....

 

[threewood]

Make sure when you ship your motor to Kim at passion4mopar you get a firm date on getting it back. I felt like I got the run around on mine. 4-6 weeks turned into 3-5 months. I might be the exception but just letting you know. It was very nice when I got it.

You were soooooo right. That 24 hour turnaround for repair is bunk! I'm still waiting for it. She printed a usps label for it on the 14th, still not received by the post office. Got to call her......again.

 

[threewood]

More primer applied (much to Jim's approval!) and of course in the bright sunshine some spots were missed lol.

 

[threewood]

Messing around a bit ago on the engine that came with my GTX. Pass side valve cover was missing and the #1 exhaust valve is missing its' spring and keeper. No idea why it was taken apart until I get into it, valve is still good. Engine is stamped for a 1969 Charger R/T (XS29_9G191711) and is marked as such on the engine pad (440 HP, 10-9). Heads are 906 even though one looks to be stamped 908. If anyone knows the body this goes to, I will swap for another HP440 builder motor.

Every dang bracket on this thing is bent and spark plugs are broke off. One exhaust stud on #7 is broke off. I haven't figured what I am going to do with it yet but am leaning toward an Edelbrock top end package (heads, intake, carb), give it a good cam, headers and go from there. Not until my body is done though. Plan is to get the body work complete, get it in paint, start re-assembly while the engine is out getting cleaned and machined.

 

[threewood]

Well, I was planning on shooting the hood and trunk lid today but the wind is howling so no go on the primer. I continued teardown of the motor. Pulled the right side head, rust in #6 (probably from sitting outside as that was the side leaning toward the ground). Also found one of the missing rocker shaft bolts in the #6 intake lol. 4 of the intake bolts were missing so I figure the PO dropped it down there while the manifold was off. Vacuumed trash out and I am soaking the pistons in PB blaster. Crosshatch still looks good and no holes in the pistons so that is good.

I am still torn, clean up these heads or go Stealth? Going to be a street car, looking at 450-475HP

 

[JimKueneman]

Should have shot it anyway. Don't worry about wasting the primer in the wind.......

 

[threewood]

Should have shot it anyway. Don't worry about wasting the primer in the wind.......

You would like that wouldn't you lol. How's the weather out in Sonoita?

 

[JimKueneman]

Every time you say it is windy I think it is an excuse to not do work . I would expect it to be a tornado in Sonoita if it is windy in Yuma! It is not windy at all in Tucson.

 

[threewood]

#1 bore was rusty but #3 was real rusty and as it was down in the hole so there is more of it. Soaking in trans fluid right now. It won't rotate over so I will give it some time. Worse case, flip it over, pull the crank and free up whatever pistons are stuck from underneath. Only looks like #3 so far.

Thought I would be smart and prime the oil pump to get oil into the nooks and crannies. Problem #1, rust hole in oil pan. Problem #2, no oil filter so the oil showered out the front. Oil pump works though. Lifters are not coming out on their own. I'll wait until I get it disassembled and see if they will drop down into the cam gallery.

Above is the imprint of the steel gasket, Mopar 2536724. Maybe original? Doesn't appear to be signs that it has been rebuilt in the past. Hopefully it is the stock bore so there is some meat to bore out.

 

[threewood]

Got all the slugs out except #3, still soaking. I was going to pull the crank but Ma Mopar decided it needed 12 point 3/8" bolt heads on the rear main seal shell. Don't have one so I need to go get one.

 

[threewood]

Nice and sunny day, a little breeze but not bad. I finally have 2 days off in a row to get some body and primer work done. Pulled the hood and trunk out and set em up on the garbage cans. Ran the DA over them with 180 grit discs, SPI cleaner, tack rag and shot em. I thinned the primer out a touch and it lays out nicer at my settings. Actually, i accidentally poured in reducer instead of activator 50/50. So I let the epoxy separate and scooped out the reducer which pooled on top. The hood came out nice. The trunk has a few spots in need of repair. 1, Two covered up emblem holes on the top driver side. I need to weld them up. 2, small pin holes under the key cylinder hole which needs welded. 3, small dings in the surface to putty.

And I got both doors back on after blocking them down on the saw horses. They are in pretty good shape although each has a ding on the top near adjacent to the interior door lock. But they line up fine.

 

[threewood]

Got the hinges and hood back in place. Found a small crease in the leading edge of the hood which I will fill tomorrow along with the trunk lid. Pretty much walked around and filled in dings. Using SPI makes it easy to find the low spots as it is semi gloss when it dries. Block it down and the low spots pop out like bullseyes. I think I will continue to thin it down a touch as it laid out very smooth, no fisheye either.

 

[JimKueneman]

Looking good. Keep spraying out that primer! I told you you'd get addicted to using that primer for a lot of reasons. It's great stuff. <\Sales mode off>

 

[threewood]

Had to re-do the drip rail gutters. I had sealed it with 3M seam seal but it pulled away from the rail, cracked and wasn't very smooth. Looked like complete crap and wouldn't have kept the seam dry so out it came. Did some searching on line and found a self leveling seam sealer made by SEM. It was $29.00 shipped from ebay so it isn't cheap plus the specialized two part caulk gun made it a $60 project.

Word of advice, it flows very well so you need to stop applying at least 6" up from the bottom of the A pillar, depending on how thick you lay it. I taped up the ends and made fluid dams (as recommended) and I still got a waterfall of sealer hanging down the door jamb. So in retrospect i would tape up or wax the frame below the rail so the overflow just peels off.

This stuff is smooth and amazing, flows into the nooks and crannies well and leaves a nice finished product. I did have some lump on a few spots I re-applied to get complete coverage but it should hold up nice. This would have been the cats meow on the floor seams as it creeps into the cracks. Suppose to be sandable to a degree so I will see if the ends clean up a little better.

 

[JimKueneman]

We are going to LA in January... I could deliver that SPI primer to you door...... Just saying

 

[threewood]

How much you want for it?

Got the last piston out. It got pretty sporty. I had it soaking for 16 days in ATF + acetone + Kroil and it wasn't moving. Soooooo, I broke the drill out and relieved the piston with 6 holes around the perimeter. Flipped it over, bashed out the face with a Rem 700 barrel, and tapped the rest of it out through the top. Bore is a bit rough to the touch but will hopefully clean up. I'll drop it off to get cleaned, checked for cracks and see what pistons I need.

 

[JimKueneman]

I'll take $120 for the gallon of primer and activator . Not trying to turn a profit, just don't want to see it go to waste. I do need a little grey and don't want to order a quart when I have a gallon but I know 80% of the gallon will go to waste once I open it.

We are suppose to be in Hollywood on Saturday the 28th of January for a show so we will be driving out either Thursday or Friday (26th or 27th) and will be taking I8 to El Centro.

Jim

 

[threewood]

Getting prepared for the final push to get it painted. Have been scuffing everything inside and outside. Plan to shoot another coat or two of epoxy in the next few days, then mask off everything and paint the engine compartment and trunk. Followed by more blocking and then shooting the rest.

Bought my paint, Akzo Nobel Wanda, and euro clear from SPI. I'll save the color choice as a surprise for now. As it sits..

 

[threewood]

Making some headway. Got half my garage covered in plastic but I need to go back and get one more sheet to finish. Stapled the plastic to 1x2s, screwed the 1x2s to the ceiling. After I clean some more I will tape the sheets to the floor and hose it again. I plan on trying a neutral pressure booth as my garage is attached, maybe a little on the negative side. Stapled in 2 filters (20x30x1) in the back and will shoot with the garage door cracked open. Either pushing the air forward or pulling it forward with my box fan. Pushing will probably give me positive depending on how much I open the door.

I also bought 2 extra fluorescent 4' lamps to mount on both sides of the car near the floor for more light. Plan on shooting primer this Friday and Saturday.

 

[threewood]

Getting closer. Rolled the car outside, cleaned the garage and sprayed it down. Aired the car out pretty good and rolled it back in. Seems to fit pretty good as long as the plastic doesn't suck in. The back looks closer than it actually is, probably 3 feet of space. Seams are sealed with duct tape and I am probably going to use spring clamps to shut the "door." Still need to shore up the right side in my pictures. Bought a new fan and may try and use one to pull air in and one to pull air out. Also made my floor lights for pretty cheap. Have my space heater out there warming everything up for later this evening.