My Next Project (V Code 71 Roadrunner)

[jbojo]

Lars,

I got most of my body work tools from EastWood. I like their tools a lot. That metal brake that I got was from them too and it works perfectly.

Luke,

That is a 1978 Lil Red Express truck that I got as a wreck and fixed it up as a daily driver back in 1989. Dodge only made 2188 units for that year and a little over 5000 in 1979. I plan on redoing it again sometime in the future. Here is a article about this truck.

http://www.allpar.com/trucks/dodge/lil-red-truck.html

 

[Qcode351mach]

Looks good but your missing one tool that will take your metal work to the next level I have a video on doing a door crease and theres others showing how to use a shrinking disc one the best tools to use have for dent repair metal work in conjunction with a contour gauge

 

[jbojo]

Thx Scott those were excellent videos. I am going to get those Wolfe's shrinking disks this week.

Question, should I leave the door on when I try to pull the crease. It's about 25 inches long and in a V shape, the normal shape is a slight outward arc shape. I was thinking of welding the studs along the crease line and pulling 6 studs at the same time. I have 2 clamps so I can actually pull 12 studs at a time. Should I start pull from the center of the crease (middle) and then work outward or start from one end and work to the other end?

thx

 

[DK73]

Wow thank you John [WINKING FACE] [THUMBS UP SIGN] Regards Lars

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[Qcode351mach]

Thx Scott those were excellent videos. I am going to get those Wolfe's shrinking disks this week.

Question, should I leave the door on when I try to pull the crease. It's about 25 inches long and in a V shape, the normal shape is a slight outward arc shape. I was thinking of welding the studs along the crease line and pulling 6 studs at the same time. I have 2 clamps so I can actually pull 12 studs at a time. Should I start pull from the center of the crease (middle) and then work outward or start from one end and work to the other end?

thx

John,

You work from the area of least damage into the deeper worst damage usually that follows the same way it was mas made created. If the crease is the same depth all the way through then you could do 6 studs at a time BUT if it goes from shallow to deep I would do 1 at a time. If the other door is good just copy the contour /shape with the gauge to get it perfect. I also use a straight edge. The beauty of the shrinking disc is if you over pull not a big deal to shrink it down. Yes leave the door on gives you something to pull on..Once you rough out your pulls you can take off to do the finish work fine tune the metal.

 

[DK73]

Wow you sure have a big nollegh Scott! I'm so glad you are abord this awesome site sir! [TONGUE][THUMBS UP SIGN] Because of your incredible nollegh on how to do it right! I will always love your comments [TONGUE][WINKING FACE][THUMBS UP SIGN] Regards Lars

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[Qcode351mach]

Wow you sure have a big nollegh Scott! I'm so glad you are abord this awesome site sir! [TONGUE]?[THUMBS UP SIGN] Because of your incredible nollegh on how to do it right! I will always love your comments [TONGUE][WINKING FACE][THUMBS UP SIGN] Regards Lars

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Thanks for the compliment Lars ::thumb::

 

[DK73]

Well it's well deserved Scott[sMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES][THUMBS UP SIGN] Regards Lars

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[jbojo]

7/9/16

The passenger side rear is done and it came out very well. I am thinking that a primer/surfacer would block sand and not show any dings.

Started the drivers side door and got the dent out and the body contours back in. Started like Scott (Q) recommended and worked the dents out in reverse and everything started to pop back into place. Took about an hour to get it back to where I was satisfied with it. I can't get a dolly and block into the area so I won't be able to get a better finish on the metal but body filler will take care of that. Thinking it will only require an 1/16th of an inch or so. I had one of those contour tools (red in the last pics) and the numbers on the door is where I was transferring them from the passenger door.

I should be getting the shrinking disk on Monday and I will see if I can improve the dent repair on the door.

While I was working on the door I saw a rust spot in front of the rear wheel and decided to check it out, sure enough it looked fin from the outside but it was rotted. Decided to check out the rest of the car and found another spot. They both will be easy panel patches.

Some pics of the door work today:

 

[tony-muscle]

That looks awesome.... great work!

1971 M-code Mach 1

 

[Qcode351mach]

Looks great ::thumb::

Don't make the mistake of thinking primer surfacer will fill, it won't, they all shrink a little bit no matter what the can says. Better off to skim coat with polyester putty glaze. Once all your filler work is done and the car is in primer if you don't have access to a baking booth let the car sit for 2 weeks and if possible a few days in the sun before sanding. I like to let my final primer coat sit for a month before sanding. Although you can't get a dolly behind the dent you might be able to slip a flat spoon (like the one in my video) in there OR your can try a piece of flat bar stock sometimes you have to improvise make your own tools.

 

[jbojo]

Thx Scott for all your help here, much appreciated.

My plans are to do all the body work without using filler. Then strip it down to metal and spray with epoxy primer. Then I will do the filler work and when done follow it with primer and let it sit. In the meantime I'll work on other parts of the car to get everything ready for assembly. When I am ready to paint I'll block sand and then base and clear coat it. Then I'll be ready to start putting it back together.

 

[Luke]

John just fyi lil red express found it while I was checking on my own add.

http://www.justauto.com.au/justcars/cars-for-sale/1979-DODGE-LIL-RED-EXPRESS-TRUCK-JCW3881706?backurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.justauto.com.au%2Fjustcars%2Fsearch%3Fkeywords%3DDodge&backtext=Results

 

[jbojo]

John just fyi lil red express found it while I was checking on my own add.

http://www.justauto.com.au/justcars/cars-for-sale/1979-DODGE-LIL-RED-EXPRESS-TRUCK-JCW3881706?backurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.justauto.com.au%2Fjustcars%2Fsearch%3Fkeywords%3DDodge&backtext=Results

Wow, they are asking much more than I thought they are worth. I got mine for $400.00 but it was pretty much trashed. I fixed it up as a daily driver and it looks good but I really want to do a full on resto on that too. Maybe after I finish the RR I'll do a frame off resto of that truck. I need a shop for my projects

 

[Luke]

John just fyi lil red express found it while I was checking on my own add.

http://www.justauto.com.au/justcars/cars-for-sale/1979-DODGE-LIL-RED-EXPRESS-TRUCK-JCW3881706?backurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.justauto.com.au%2Fjustcars%2Fsearch%3Fkeywords%3DDodge&backtext=Results

Wow, they are asking much more than I thought they are worth. I got mine for $400.00 but it was pretty much trashed. I fixed it up as a daily driver and it looks good but I really want to do a full on resto on that too. Maybe after I finish the RR I'll do a frame off resto of that truck. I need a shop for my projects

I reckon its 8-10 grand over the market at the moment. there is a 1 owner 440 adventurer that has been for sale for most of the year at 15.5 and not selling. Cool truck but it will be around for awhile its roadrunner or cuda money here.

 

[Qcode351mach]

Thx Scott for all your help here, much appreciated.

Your welcome John ::thumb::

 

[jbojo]

7/17/16

Removed the front window and as expected there was rotted out areas although not as severe as the rear window. There are a total of 7 areas that I am going to have to address. Plans are to do all the welding repairs when I have it on the rotisserie. Next step is to start the dash and wiring removal. Some pics from today.

 

[jbojo]

7/23/16

Removed the front bumper, grille and all the other items in the front end. Also got most of the electrical in the engine compartment removed too, only the engine wiring for the charging system needs to be removed now. The major issue I had today is that all the bolts are rusted and it took forever to get them removed. A couple of them broke but they are the J nut type so no big deal, I was planning on replacing all of them anyway.

I took good pics of the areas so I can reference them when I start putting everything back together. Since all Mopars are painted in the body color I read that as the cars came down the assembly line there was a guy in the pit spraying the radiator core black as these cars used a black grille assembly. I took pics of this spray scheme so that I can reproduce what they did when the car was built.

Tomorrow I am going to try to get the front fenders off. Some pics from today.

 

[Qcode351mach]

7/23/16

Removed the front bumper, grille and all the other items in the front end. Also got most of the electrical in the engine compartment removed too, only the engine wiring for the charging system needs to be removed now. The major issue I had today is that all the bolts are rusted and it took forever to get them removed. A couple of them broke but they are the J nut type so no big deal, I was planning on replacing all of them anyway.

I took good pics of the areas so I can reference them when I start putting everything back together. Since all Mopars are painted in the body color I read that as the cars came down the assembly line there was a guy in the pit spraying the radiator core black as these cars used a black grille assembly. I took pics of this spray scheme so that I can reproduce what they did when the car was built.

Tomorrow I am going to try to get the front fenders off. Some pics from today.

Look good,

Just curious if your planing on having the car media blasted ? I would defiantly have it done. I really like the new dustless blasting http://www.dustlessblasting.com/automotive.html

If you have someone in your area with this setup its the way to go, they come right to your location.

 

[jbojo]

Yes that's the plan. I don't think that they have the dustless one here and I did find a place that soda blasts but that's about a 60 mile drive to get to it. Is it safe to haul a car on a rotisserie in a covered trailer?

I plan to get the K member and other pieces like that sand blasted. I have a small blast cabinet for the smaller pieces.

Oh yeah, should I do all the metalwork and plastic filling before I put the epoxy primer on? I heard to epoxy prime first then do the filling work and then urethane seal and prime and block sand before painting.