1970 Challenger progress..
Posted: 22 Nov 2011 19:47It's been "in the works" since I purchased it back in early 2006 and there has not been anything easy about this car and the pains of restoring it. After realizing that the previous restoration attempt was total crap at best, I attempted to work with a local shop where my brother-in-law was employed- hoping that having family involved would help things along. WOW was I mistaken! Here's a tip most of us already know...NEVER trust or rely on a family member when it comes to business!!!
Every little thing we decided to fix turned into another issue, and another and so on. What began as a simple engine replacement morphed into a year-long fight to replace, repair and restore not just the aged tired parts of this car, but also the hidden mistakes and corner-cutting that the shop did for me from 2006-2010. (I'm not going to mention the shop, but if any of you ever need any bodywork done in the St. Pete/ Hudson, Florida area- drop me a line and I'll tell you EXACTLY who to avoid!!!
In late 2010, I brought the car to a local shop and found a mechanic who loved Mopars as much as I did. The two of us worked on each problem, corrected the errors and have made more progress in thew past year than anyone has on this car in the past six!
I'm happy to say at this stage, the car is nearly ready to fire up and I'm growing extremely anxious! Sure, there will be a host of cosmetic stuff to tackle, but it's much easier having the car in your garage rather than someone esle's.
I'm thankful to everyone on this forum, to the friends and acquaintances I've made and for the priceless amount of advice and guidance I've been able to receive during my journey.
I've attached some "before and after" shots of some of the work and I'll be posting a more in-depth photo gallery of all the repairs in 2012.
Thanks all!!
Every little thing we decided to fix turned into another issue, and another and so on. What began as a simple engine replacement morphed into a year-long fight to replace, repair and restore not just the aged tired parts of this car, but also the hidden mistakes and corner-cutting that the shop did for me from 2006-2010. (I'm not going to mention the shop, but if any of you ever need any bodywork done in the St. Pete/ Hudson, Florida area- drop me a line and I'll tell you EXACTLY who to avoid!!!
In late 2010, I brought the car to a local shop and found a mechanic who loved Mopars as much as I did. The two of us worked on each problem, corrected the errors and have made more progress in thew past year than anyone has on this car in the past six!
I'm happy to say at this stage, the car is nearly ready to fire up and I'm growing extremely anxious! Sure, there will be a host of cosmetic stuff to tackle, but it's much easier having the car in your garage rather than someone esle's.
I'm thankful to everyone on this forum, to the friends and acquaintances I've made and for the priceless amount of advice and guidance I've been able to receive during my journey.
I've attached some "before and after" shots of some of the work and I'll be posting a more in-depth photo gallery of all the repairs in 2012.
Thanks all!!
