[Yellow Jacket 2012]

It must be so satisfying to get it to where you are so far. Based on what we see so far, the back will come together just as well.

 

[OregonScat]

Rear rail goes in from the side, that's the reason these total out so easy from a rear hit. There is a sectioning point but the damage is well beyond that, from what I can see.

PDR on the aluminum hood should be an adventure.

Obviously these rules only apply if you are doing a repair to a customer vehicle. On your own stuff you can do what you want.

It's interesting to follow.

 

[69DartGT]

A little update, we are swamped at work all of a sudden. So my plans of getting it on the frame rack this month are probably not going to happen. I did get my seat belts back from being rebuilt and my passenger side headlight torn apart.

Seat belts rebuilt and ready to be reinstalled.

The housing on my original HID light was not reparable. So I am taking the guts out it and putting them in a Halogen light I ordered of of Ebay. The first one came destroyed by the good old United States Post Office, so I had to find another one which should be here this week. I will have $250 in it when I am done which is a lot cheaper that finding a good HID light.

 

[dacuda]

what's your estimate of total cost when your done.?

 

[69DartGT]

I should have under $24K in it when I am done. That is with a SRT hood, functional ram air and new 275 tires on all four corners.

 

[dacuda]

Thats great if you stay at that budget. Have you ever painted plum crazy before ? I can tell you its not an easy color to get right. At least it will be an overall so no panel matching.

 

[69DartGT]

I don't paint, I am a body guy. But our painter at work is amazing, he is one of the best I have ever seen. He has done several PCP cars and they have all turned out great. Everything on the car except the roof is getting painted.

 

[69DartGT]

Well after a crazy 5 months at work and at home, I am finally getting back to my car. I should be able to stay at it until it is done now, my goal is the first of May.

This was a hood that came off a new SRT that had hail damage. I pushed the dents then primed and blocked it twice. It turned out really nice and was a free bee. You can't beat that.

Now the real fun starts, it is finally on the rack and ready to be pulled. I am also going to start tearing into the parts car, so pics of that will be coming soon.

 

[Moparrebel]

Best of luck with your project! I can really appreciate what you are doing! Look forward to seeing it completed!

 

[RTplus110]

Can't wait to see more...

 

[69DartGT]

Thanks for your comments. Had a very productive day today.

Did some pulling on it, everything went as planed with no surprises.

Removed the rear cradle to get access to the pinch welds for the trunk floor. It will also make it easier to remove the outer wheel well and rail that are getting replaced. We also moved the parts car into the building so I can start cutting on that after I get the trunk floor, rail, outer wheel well and quarter panel off of mine.

 

[69DartGT]

Had another good day today.

Started grinding and separating the pinch welds on the trunk pan.

Here we are drilling out the pinch welds and removing what was left of the rear body panel.

Grinding the rest of the trunk pan pinch welds and removing it. That is our oldest son helping me today, he was a big help yesterday also.

Trunk pan is out and you can see the section of rail that is going to be replaced.

 

[69DartGT]

More from today.

Another pic of the frame rail that is going to be replaced.

This is the donor car car. We took the deck lid off, removed the rear and quarter glass. Now we can start taking everything off that I need for my car.

 

[69DartGT]

Had a great week this, but I am exhausted now. This will be several post on my progress. First I want to show you the measuring system we use to make sure everything is within Factory specs.

We hang specific length targets from specified spots on the car, the targets have Chief on them. A laser spins under the car and reads the targets. On the computer screen it shows if the targets on within specs. If the the numbers are blue they are good, if they are red they are out of spec. So you have to make sure all the targets are blue, then you know the car is back to factory spec.

 

[69DartGT]

Had to do a little more pushing and pulling to get the target numbers to all turn blue. Then everything was to factory specs, now time to start cutting.

Here everything that gets replaced is cut off the car, now to cut the replacement parts off the parts car.

Parts are all cut off and ready to be prepped to be put on my car.

 

[69DartGT]

The parts are all prepped and ready go go on.

First we started with the rail which we did in two pieces so we could stagger the cuts for added strength.

You can see the target that is hung on the rail we are putting on. You just have to make sure the target is within the specs and you are good to go. Then it is time to weld it up, this measuring system makes it so easy it is almost like cheating.

 

[OregonScat]

The 3mm in the rear center section width are out of spec. You likely got a 3 point measurement alert. A 3 point measurement would isolate the damage (likely the right side).

With that said, it's not out by much. 1 or 2mm.

 

[69DartGT]

Once the rail is done, the rest of the parts pretty much fall into place.

Now the hard part is done, today we caulked all the seems and edged it out. Then tomorrow the cradle goes back in so it is drive able. I can then get it off the rack and go at my own pace and start the bodywork.

 

[69DartGT]

This is what we did today, caulked and edged it to prepare for reinstalling the cradle.

After all the progress we made this week, I am going to bed early tonight!

 

[z16z06]

Beautiful progress!! Just too much work for me.. lol.. can't remember what you said about that car but are you keeping that one? Excellent hard work sir! thanks for keeping us updated