Bench Seat to Bucket Seat Conversion

I found these seats on CL last night and bought them.  They are out of a 1971 Dodge Charger.  I have read that these will "bolt right in".  I am not sure about that.  I already see some differences and have some concerns.  Maybe I should recover the bench seat and sell these.

Body Work Prep Continued

I thought the quarters, doors and fenders would be the biggest challenge for the body work, but the surface rust on the roof is worse than I thought.  I will use a combination of grinders, sanders, wire wheels and a sand blaster on it.  Once I get the rust removed, I will treat it with vinegar water and Rust Kon.  Then I can prime it.  I think the car had a vinyl top on it and those can cause a lot of rust. Every panel, except the roof, has dents in it.  There was sooooooo much bondo and primer and paint on this car..........at least 3-4 paint jobs.

After the Aircraft Stripper, I tried using 40 grit with a 6 inch D/A sander.  That worked ok, but was gonna take a lot of time.  I next switched to the Roloc 36 grit grinder, it worked a little better but was gonna be expensive (too many discs).  I went to Home Depot and got a 7 inch pad and put it on my buffer.  I attached a 50 grit abrasive disc and that worked much better........more aggressive and a wider path of destruction!   I have the sandblaster waiting if I need it.

Stripping Car of Old Paint and Bondo

I began taking off the old coats of paint, bondo, sealer, primer, etc using Aircraft Paint Stripper.  I apply it with a brush and then let it bubble for 15mins, then remove it with a large scraper.  You can see the large dent in the passenger side 1/4 panel that was full of bondo.  Also in the top picture, the original color/paint of the car back in 1974.  It was G2, Frosty Green Metallic.  There are way too many layers of old paint on this car.  I underestimated the layers and # of times it had been painted.  It also has had a new 1/4 panel put on it.  Kind of a patch panel.  One other thing:  this car is HUGE.  The panels go forever.  Big quarters, big doors, fenders, huge trunk.  A lot of work.

Got Engine Started!

I got it running.  I was battling 3 things:  My distributor was 180 degrees out.  The fuel pump was VERY stubborn about priming and working (but I finally got it) and I was dealing with a weak battery.  I got it going, timed it.  It has great oil pressure, 50 pounds at idle and over 80 pounds of oil pressure with some throttle.  It runs at 220 degrees.  And it took 2 gallons of coolant to fill that bad boy radiator!

Engine Install Continues

Painting the Engine Compartment and Motor

I sanded down the engine compartment and removed or temporarily "relocated" most of the firewall components.  I masked off everything else.  I degreased it with lacquer thinner.  I then used spray paint called "Hot Rod Green".  This was the closest rattle can match I could get to color I am painting the car (lime green).  For the 318 engine,  I used "Chrysler Blue", silver, black and whatever else I had laying around extra to detail the engine.  I think it turned out pretty good.

Numbers Matching Car

The VIN on the title matches the VIN on the block.  It also matches the VIN on the dash and the driver's side door.  The body tag is missing.