All of the exterior paint was removed from the body by hand. Typically this might be done by media blasting but we wanted to do it the old school way.
This is Part 12 of our ongoing story of the Restoration of our 1969 Dodge Nuremberg Daytona Project Car. (Start with Part 1)
All the exterior paint was removed from the body by hand. Typically, this might be done by media blasting, but we wanted to do it the old school way and not risk warping any panels.
We have given you a lot of general information on the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona as well as some background on our Nuremberg Daytona over the last few months. Now it is time to give you an update on our progress on the car itself. We first began with the removal of the complete suspension, front and rear. They then placed the car on dollies for easy movement around the shop. Next up was the removal of all the body paint and interior.
With the sheet metal visible, any previous body damage or rust was easy to spot. There were a few minor surprises, but these were all taken care of in short order. The body was now skim coated and block sanded and primed many times over to get it as straight as reasonable for what will be a driven car.
Before the underside of the car was tackled and the suspension reinstalled, the Nuremberg Daytona was placed on a rotisserie. This made the detailing of the underside much easier. The car was one of the few that had a complete factory undercoating installed. It was our intent to keep as much of the original undercoating as possible and attempt to restore those areas not covered and still maintain the factory’s original look. This actually eliminated a lot of work. The undercoating was extremely hard and complete. There were no bare spots. After much discussion, we agreed to keep all the original undercoating and protect it during the rest of the restoration of the underside of the Nuremberg Daytona.
The rear tail panel had received some minor body damage was had been incorrectly repaired in the past. The panel was pulled slightly and a small amount of skim coat was used to smooth it out.The complete engine compartment was cleaned and multi layers of paint removed with a wire wheel. Everything under the hood will be new.The complete interior including the dash was removed. The dash will be cleaned and dyed to match the new upholstery while the gauge cluster and radio were sent out for restoration.
The rear seat area was also completely removed and will be replaced with all new materials.This is the “hidden” number on the front radiator support. This is evidence that the front end body work is original.This is the view few every see. Look closely and you can see the original Charger rear window frame and sealant in the channel. The original Charger glass was simply removed, the channel was not cleaned out. The new Daytona sloping rear window plug was installed, headliner added and rear package tray cover used to hide all the original hints of the Charger.Here are the “hidden” body numbers found on the trunk inner lip that shows this sheet metal is also original to the car.This photo is the underside of the rear of the trunk lid. You can clearly see the splice where Creative Industries modified the original Charger trunk lid by cutting, shrinking, and splicing the parts back together to become the smaller Daytona trunk lid. This was necessary to make room for the enlarged sloping rear window.
I grew up and lived in Iowa for a good portion of my life before moving to Southern California. After 20+ years we now live outside Nashville Tennessee. I have been into cars since I was old enough to remember. I don't have a brand loyalty although I do prefer American Muscle especially the 1969/1970 NASCAR Aero Cars. (Check out our other web site at www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com site) As long as it has four wheels and an engine I get excited. Few men are lucky enough to be able to share their passion for cars with the woman they love. Fortunately, my wife, Katriana, is also a gear head and many of our activities revolve around the cars. We have a small collection that includes at least one car from each of the Big Three. It includes a Best of Show winner, a survivor, a driver with lots of patina and several others. Katrina prefers all original cars while I like to modify them so we have a few of each. When we aren't playing with cars we are out working with or showing our miniature donkeys. You can see more about that part of our lives at http://www.LegendaryFarms.com.
