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1971 Challenger R/T

The beginning...
The work begins!
The engine
Before dismantling
More before pics
Rotisserie
Parts cleanup
Floor replace
Page last updated: Thursday, May 25, 2000

Car work begins here!

On this page and the pages to come you'll find pictures and a blurb or two about the restoration I've gotten myself into.. :) Enjoy!

1.
Well, here she is, the work done so far: The doors were removed for safety reasons (probably would have been scratched by now); the bucket seats and rear bench were pulled out; headliner removed; carpet removed; and the car was thoroughly blown out with an air compressor due to over abundance of mouse nests and broken acorn shells.
2.
A close up on the damage to the drivers floor section (or lack thereof). What you can't see is the rest of the damage further aft in the passenger floor. There is very little left there. And yes, that is grass you see :).
3.
Ahh... here's the passenger floor area. Note the seatbelts - they were removed shortly after this picture and safely tucked away. Oh, and more grass.. :)
4.
Okay, everybody together now: ouch! As you can see, the trunk is very tired and will need to be ripped out and replaced with a new one.
5.
Yeah, not much to look at right now. Most of the corners are complete rust, and there's a few rust holes that go straight through. I'm hoping we can revive it, otherwise it's off to the wreckers we go!
6.
The metal work begins! That's me on the right, and my friend Brant on the left. Just finished stripping the old paint off the hood and now giving it a good once-over. That peculiar thing on the bottom of the picture is the grille to the Challenger. Behind me you can see all the extra parts that came with my Dad's dart. What a deal!
7.
The dash. Not much else to say. Note that Brant and I are still sitting near the hood talking about cars and women. :)
8.
The engine bay. Note the lack of an engine.
9.
Ahh.. there it is - all the way across the garage. :)
10.
Now ya might think that the fender closer to the camera is in better shape, but what you don't see is the piece welded onto the top just back from the grille opening. These two are pretty much scrap - unless I run short of cash and have to really work my body filler skills (which are non-existant.. hmm - that might be a problem..). Btw, those are the doors behind the fenders and the seats on the other side.
11.
What's that old saying? "It's always darkest before the dawn"? hehehe... I think the guy that thought that up never took on a Mopar restoration.
12.
Attached the doors and fenders and hood to check the fit in a few places. Everything looks okay. This also gives me a idea of what I'm going to be looking at again in a few months.
13.
Another shot of the assembled pieces. Plus a few tools of the trade. :)
14.
Started bringing the car down to bare metal and apply some good primer to it. Also wanted to check for bondo in weird areas.
15.
And finally the rear quarters of the car. Took the trunk lid down to bare, added a bit of body filler to some nasty dings and getting ready to prime.
The next section will be the suspension and underbody pics before I start pulling them off.

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