Having done the dash a couple months ago now and installing it, hows it holding up? You said you had to trim some parts and add screws below. Is there any pointers for that process or something youd have done different? Looking to do this soon. Looks good!
BUILD THREAD 86 monte carlo ls basket case
- Thread starter Drkuhar
- Start date
One thing I would have done different is the adhesive I used. The eBay instructions said to use silicone adhesive. I think if I had to do it again I would use real glue or 2 part epoxy. That is part of why I had to put screw in places. The mold isn't the best and it would pull the silicone apart from not fitting curves properly and you can only trim so much.. I think these dashes swell and warp a bit and it might have been better to shave down the original dash more than I did so this would have laid down better
My eBay elcheapo just required so much trimming and cobbling that although it looks ok in pictures , up close in person it's fit is not very nice. The curves and bends don't follow the dash 100% . Durability wise I haven't noticed anything bad , no cracking or anything and it is a big improvement over what I had. On a budget definitely usable
I would use it again but be willing to shave down the original dash much more than I did and use different adhesive.
Been busy the past couple of weeks. Got my temporary exhaust made using the summit version of flow masters that came with the car sticks of 3" and some flex to hook it to the collectors. This will last until it can go to an exhaust shop eventually.
Got thepassenger door changed and primed. And stripped the roof, trunk and quarters of the old weather checked and cracked original paint. I basically had to almost strip sand it down and epoxy prime it . I found lots of little dings and rust holes behind the tires that are going to need fixed. It's so humid I kept getting flash rust on the bare metal spots so that's why I went ahead and primed it butI didn't prime all the way down since I have to weld up some rust repair.
Got thepassenger door changed and primed. And stripped the roof, trunk and quarters of the old weather checked and cracked original paint. I basically had to almost strip sand it down and epoxy prime it . I found lots of little dings and rust holes behind the tires that are going to need fixed. It's so humid I kept getting flash rust on the bare metal spots so that's why I went ahead and primed it butI didn't prime all the way down since I have to weld up some rust repair.
Wanted to show off the budget spoiler idea I saw on YouTube and didn't know if it would really work.
This is a 2008-2017 dodge Challenger spoiler from eBay for 45.00 shipped to the house. There are a couple of options such as straight across. Small center drop or large center drop. I went with the small center drop. Every bolt isn't in ( some reaming needed due to my holes not lining up) and I had to use a hole saw on the inside to make access holes that can be plugged nicely. Previously my car has a firebird spoiler and that has to go.
This is made of abs plastic filled with some foam. Has six nutserts on the bottom and included the bolts. I did have to notch the bottom center with a reaming tool for the center body line.
Overall for what it cost once it's bolted down and painted I think it will work fine. I am thinking about putting studs in the bottom instead of fishing bolts through. I was surprised the most by how it lined up so well raising up over the lights just a bit. And angled with the lights down. The curve is off just a bit but once painted I don't think that will stand out
This is a 2008-2017 dodge Challenger spoiler from eBay for 45.00 shipped to the house. There are a couple of options such as straight across. Small center drop or large center drop. I went with the small center drop. Every bolt isn't in ( some reaming needed due to my holes not lining up) and I had to use a hole saw on the inside to make access holes that can be plugged nicely. Previously my car has a firebird spoiler and that has to go.
This is made of abs plastic filled with some foam. Has six nutserts on the bottom and included the bolts. I did have to notch the bottom center with a reaming tool for the center body line.
Overall for what it cost once it's bolted down and painted I think it will work fine. I am thinking about putting studs in the bottom instead of fishing bolts through. I was surprised the most by how it lined up so well raising up over the lights just a bit. And angled with the lights down. The curve is off just a bit but once painted I don't think that will stand out
When you commented on the door crashing into the fender, my first thought was "Hinges" Those doors are heavy and tend to wear out the pins and bushings on the doors due to all that weight. Unless you've discovered that your current hinges aren't original then there is a good chance that they have not been pulled for rebuild either. The tip off for that is that rebuilt hinges tend to get fitted with the larger diameter bushings because the factory holes become wallowed out when the old original skinny bronze bushing dies before it can be replaced. so they have to be drilled out oversize and that means the heavier wall items.
Should you discover that the hinges are both original and in need of being rebuilt then, that in mind you can "pre-align" the hinges prior to removing them by using a 1/8th drill bit and drilling through both the hinge bracket where it sits on the A Pillar and the pillar face behind it as well, and then doing the same thing to the portion of the hinge that butts up against the door inner skin.
If you drill two 1/8 holes that way in each half of the hinge you can then use the holes with a pair of transfer punches or just 1/8 drill rod to reset them back to where they were before you took them off to dismantle them and replace those pins and bushings. With the fenders off as they are, you can hang the hinges, align them to the holes that you drilled, and then use a door jack attachment for a floor jack to lift the door into position.
Just a thought here.
Nick
Should you discover that the hinges are both original and in need of being rebuilt then, that in mind you can "pre-align" the hinges prior to removing them by using a 1/8th drill bit and drilling through both the hinge bracket where it sits on the A Pillar and the pillar face behind it as well, and then doing the same thing to the portion of the hinge that butts up against the door inner skin.
If you drill two 1/8 holes that way in each half of the hinge you can then use the holes with a pair of transfer punches or just 1/8 drill rod to reset them back to where they were before you took them off to dismantle them and replace those pins and bushings. With the fenders off as they are, you can hang the hinges, align them to the holes that you drilled, and then use a door jack attachment for a floor jack to lift the door into position.
Just a thought here.
Nick
Working on the front end, I sanded all the old cracked paint off and used 3m metal to metal to smooth off the seam in the fenders and fill the trim holes. Why euro fenders have a seam is odd. But chrome isn't going back on so it needed something . Then blocked those and topcoted and
sanded it to get it all under primer and one color. I found lots of little dings I need to come back and repair before the next coat of primer but it's still a step forward. Rust holes behind the rear tires are next .
I do my work on this car kind of out of order. I'm fixing all the big stuff and priming and will come back later for little dings and dents because I'm having an issue with flash rust if I leave it open for any period of time
sanded it to get it all under primer and one color. I found lots of little dings I need to come back and repair before the next coat of primer but it's still a step forward. Rust holes behind the rear tires are next .
I do my work on this car kind of out of order. I'm fixing all the big stuff and priming and will come back later for little dings and dents because I'm having an issue with flash rust if I leave it open for any period of time
Decided to put more of the interior together to get stuff off the floor and out of the trunk. Less chance to get damaged.
New carpet with heavier mass backing laid out unfolded for a week. Looks nice but not to impressed with the fit over the hump.
It's pre-formed so there isn't a lot to do but the floor section lay flat on the floor and the hump is loose and raising up off the steel. Not super noticeable till I bolted the shifter down.
Cut and spliced in the backup light switch so my backup lights are functional and found the hose to hook up the ball vent under the steering wheel.
I need to get new plastic sleeves for the seat belt latch part. But it is together
New carpet with heavier mass backing laid out unfolded for a week. Looks nice but not to impressed with the fit over the hump.
It's pre-formed so there isn't a lot to do but the floor section lay flat on the floor and the hump is loose and raising up off the steel. Not super noticeable till I bolted the shifter down.
Cut and spliced in the backup light switch so my backup lights are functional and found the hose to hook up the ball vent under the steering wheel.
I need to get new plastic sleeves for the seat belt latch part. But it is together
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