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Where's the 55??
Voodoo Rising - A Build Thread
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ckessel
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A relative to mine.
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What year of GG1 are you going to use? 66,67,68 are all slightly different. We had samples of 67 and 68 mixed to factory. Stayed with the67. Base clear.
Voodoo
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I'll see if I can nab a pic next time I go up that roadWhere's the 55??
Voodoo
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I just asked for '66 to match the year of the car, honestly didn't know there was a difference. The sample paint dot on the lid looks quite dark, which I am totally fine with. I prefer darker vs lighter. I am sure it'll lighten up when I start to spray it on the light grey primer.
I got the primer finished, so we are on track for color coat tomorrow AM! I was tired of fighting the spray gun so I just bought two more and will start fresh with a brand new one. Not risking it on the top coat.
Voodoo
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Voodoo
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Well I am exhausted, but we are DONE! I started with a brand new spray gun just to remove as many variables as possible. Yesterday I primed a speed shape, and today (after testing my pattern on a flat board) I practiced laying down the color on said speed shape. The color is really beautiful and varies a lot in the sun vs. shade. The paint is dry enough to handle in these pics, quite pleased with the level of sheen and gloss considering it is a single stage paint.
After getting a feel for coat thickness and how best to avoid minimize orange peel, I uncovered the car and got to work. Painting in the tight quarters of the engine bay was a real chore. I ended up "cutting in" each of the corners and tight areas, then working from the wet edge along each flat surface. There are some small imperfections (some orange peel here and there, some tiny spots missed in tight corners, couple of leaves fell onto the paint later in the morning) but all in all it went really well for an "outside in the back yard" paint job.
I then moved on to the floor pan. That one was definitely fun. Had to take the approach like mopping a room. I got in the car and handled the rear seat area, then the firewall area. Then I did the wiring channels and some of the harder to reach parts of the tunnel and brackets. Once I got it to the point where I could reach all the remaining areas from outside the car, I hopped back out and finished those out. MAJOR kudos to the guys at the paint store. Literally used every drop of both the epoxy and the paint, barring a really small amount left over that I can use with a brush for any last touchups.
I still question if it was worth doing the body color inside like this. It was a royal pain in the butt. It does look really nice, but it seems odd to then be slapping down some Dynamat and covering it with carpet never to be seen again. I could have worked with a much easier paint process and had it done a long time ago. Oh well, here we are. At least it is the nicest it can be for a "backyard job".
Mid next week I pick up the front end parts from powder coat, as well as the freshly rebuilt driveshaft. I'll be working on putting those in over the weekend. I think after that, I will flip the masking around and get the dash and pedals cleaned up and painted. I will be replacing the turn signal switch and wiring since the column is out. Was not fun last time, but I gotta do it. Still in the tunnel, don't see the light yet, but I know it is coming.
After getting a feel for coat thickness and how best to avoid minimize orange peel, I uncovered the car and got to work. Painting in the tight quarters of the engine bay was a real chore. I ended up "cutting in" each of the corners and tight areas, then working from the wet edge along each flat surface. There are some small imperfections (some orange peel here and there, some tiny spots missed in tight corners, couple of leaves fell onto the paint later in the morning) but all in all it went really well for an "outside in the back yard" paint job.
I then moved on to the floor pan. That one was definitely fun. Had to take the approach like mopping a room. I got in the car and handled the rear seat area, then the firewall area. Then I did the wiring channels and some of the harder to reach parts of the tunnel and brackets. Once I got it to the point where I could reach all the remaining areas from outside the car, I hopped back out and finished those out. MAJOR kudos to the guys at the paint store. Literally used every drop of both the epoxy and the paint, barring a really small amount left over that I can use with a brush for any last touchups.
I still question if it was worth doing the body color inside like this. It was a royal pain in the butt. It does look really nice, but it seems odd to then be slapping down some Dynamat and covering it with carpet never to be seen again. I could have worked with a much easier paint process and had it done a long time ago. Oh well, here we are. At least it is the nicest it can be for a "backyard job".
Mid next week I pick up the front end parts from powder coat, as well as the freshly rebuilt driveshaft. I'll be working on putting those in over the weekend. I think after that, I will flip the masking around and get the dash and pedals cleaned up and painted. I will be replacing the turn signal switch and wiring since the column is out. Was not fun last time, but I gotta do it. Still in the tunnel, don't see the light yet, but I know it is coming.
That's a lot of work.
Nice job
Nice job
Voodoo
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Thank you. If I am lucky in a few years it'll be half as nice as yours! Definitely sore all over, not excited to go back to work tomorrow haha.
Voodoo
Well-Known Member
I picked up the powder coated parts and the driveshaft earlier in the week. Decided to forge ahead with getting the K frame bolted in and see how much of the front suspension I could get installed. I wire wheeled the bolts and got the K frame up in place with a floor jack and cloth to protect it. The bolts are tight, but i need to bust out the big torque wrench to get them to final spec. On this car, I decided to go satin for the suspension components instead of gloss.
Unfortunately I discovered that the powder coating shop neglected to tape off ANY of the parts we discussed. They did a good job with the coating in general, and I have used them several times before. Just an honest mistake on this one. They offered two choices, I could bring everything back and they would strip and re-do everything, or if I could clean up the openings myself, they would coat more parts for me at no cost. I decided I liked the idea of the latter. I was able to successfully clean out the holes, just a small delay in the end.
I was able to get the poly LCA bushings pressed in, and I got the adjusters cleaned up and installed (had it threaded the wrong way in the pic, but corrected it when installing.) I am almost done removing the old inner sleeves from the pivot pins, then I will be getting those pressed in which will complete the LCA assemblies.
The driveshaft was professionally rebuilt and balanced by Precision Shaft Technologies with a new yoke from Brewers Performance. I had considered having a custom one made, but it simply wasn't in the budget. In general this isn't going to be a "sticky tire, high power" build so I feel like the driveshaft should be totally fine . Plus my father very kindly gifted me a safety hoop which will be in place just in case. Forgive the mess in the picture. I do all my work in a car tent, and a 128 square foot shop (glorified shed) that I built years ago. It's usually great, but when you fill it with half a Charger it is tricky to navigate.
I also finally took a moment to inspect the torsion bars I purchased a while ago. My intent was to get uprated ones, and I found a really good deal on brand new ones that I jumped on. It had been so long that I forgot the exact thickness I ordered. I was pleased to discover the new ones (right shiny thing) are notably thicker than the stock ones (left crusty looking thing).
I organized and pulled out all the relevant front end parts that will be needed to get it back on the ground, including the front disc brake assemblies. I hope to do more cleaning, prep and so on throughout the week so that next weekend I can start assembling. Aiming to have it sitting back on 4 wheels by the end of Labor Day weekend. More updates soon, thanks for tuning in!
Unfortunately I discovered that the powder coating shop neglected to tape off ANY of the parts we discussed. They did a good job with the coating in general, and I have used them several times before. Just an honest mistake on this one. They offered two choices, I could bring everything back and they would strip and re-do everything, or if I could clean up the openings myself, they would coat more parts for me at no cost. I decided I liked the idea of the latter. I was able to successfully clean out the holes, just a small delay in the end.
I was able to get the poly LCA bushings pressed in, and I got the adjusters cleaned up and installed (had it threaded the wrong way in the pic, but corrected it when installing.) I am almost done removing the old inner sleeves from the pivot pins, then I will be getting those pressed in which will complete the LCA assemblies.
The driveshaft was professionally rebuilt and balanced by Precision Shaft Technologies with a new yoke from Brewers Performance. I had considered having a custom one made, but it simply wasn't in the budget. In general this isn't going to be a "sticky tire, high power" build so I feel like the driveshaft should be totally fine . Plus my father very kindly gifted me a safety hoop which will be in place just in case. Forgive the mess in the picture. I do all my work in a car tent, and a 128 square foot shop (glorified shed) that I built years ago. It's usually great, but when you fill it with half a Charger it is tricky to navigate.
I also finally took a moment to inspect the torsion bars I purchased a while ago. My intent was to get uprated ones, and I found a really good deal on brand new ones that I jumped on. It had been so long that I forgot the exact thickness I ordered. I was pleased to discover the new ones (right shiny thing) are notably thicker than the stock ones (left crusty looking thing).
I organized and pulled out all the relevant front end parts that will be needed to get it back on the ground, including the front disc brake assemblies. I hope to do more cleaning, prep and so on throughout the week so that next weekend I can start assembling. Aiming to have it sitting back on 4 wheels by the end of Labor Day weekend. More updates soon, thanks for tuning in!
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I may have missed it or maybe you didn’t mention it , but are you keeping the factory upper control arms or going aftermarket ?
Voodoo
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I originally planned on refinishing the originals and putting in poly bushings and new ball joints. The ball joints are not playing nice, so I purchased new upper control arms to get the car on the road as soon as possible. I still plan on servicing the original ones and swapping them back in when I can.
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One of the best things you can do to make it drive great is as much caster as possible. Tubular uppers from PST, firm feel, or qa1 get you that . But factory with offset bushings can get you a few degrees
Voodoo
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Thank you for the advice, will see if budget allows for that. Seems like $450-475 for any of those three. Maybe if I can scrape some money together, and sell the original uppers when I am done refinishing them and putting in the new bushings and balljoints, I might just be able to swing it.
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I ran my stock uca for a couple of years before I was able to get tubulars , the car didn’t drive too bad , but it was definitely an improvement
As David Freiberger says, don’t get it right , get it running
As David Freiberger says, don’t get it right , get it running
Voodoo
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Exactly! I just need to get it mobile enough to get out to the Ocala show in early November. After that, I can get it to full "1.0" by early next year.I ran my stock uca for a couple of years before I was able to get tubulars , the car didn’t drive too bad , but it was definitely an improvement
As David Freiberger says, don’t get it right , get it running
Spent another hour on the car today, touched up some of the tight corners that the spray gun couldn't reach using a detail brush. Also got in one of the two engine well splash shields, and all by 4 of the floor pan body plugs. The 1" ones feel like they need some lubrication to get in properly. I plan on half attaching the drivers side splash shield until I get further along and have the Z bar etc. in place.
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