So, here is the story. I purchased this car a few years ago but the progress has been SUPER, SUPER slow. A lot of things seemed to happen shortly after I got this car that has hampered its progress. (Assigned to a ship for two years, a divorce, etc.....) Anyways, I have been SLOWLY chipping away at it. Progress is still slow but it is gaining speed. I will start from the beginning:

Some of you may have seen this car on the Cars in Barns website. It was originally in a dairy barn in Wisconsin with another A12 car. It changed hands a few times since those photos were taken and then it ended up in my garage. Nothing had really changed since those photos were taken.

Another picture as it came out of the barn. I have no information on what happened to the green A12 but I would LOVE to reunite the two cars together at some point.

After seeing it advertised, I did some research and decided to grab it. It just so happened that member 70440+6bbl was a friend of the owner and was a huge help during the transaction. My buddy Sean and I jumped in my '78 W200 with my trailer and headed north to a little above NYC. I had just rebuilt the 440 in the truck and it had less than 300 miles in it. That truck was a beast. 440, Lunati 60303 cam, Edlebrock Performer RPM intake, Holley 750, headers, super minimal exhaust, Dana's with 4:10's..... It was a crazy trip. We got between 6-7 MPG. It didn't matter if the trailer was loaded or not. But.... That truck had an amazing amount of power. It was insane. So, more pictures. This is what I saw when we arrived:

My buddy Dan found those cars, he also sent me photos of the lost maroon hemi car that was found last year about six years ago.

You mentioned the A12 car when you were doing the GTX but we never saw it.

moparpollack: Super cool! I hope I can do this car justice!

I checked the car all out to verify everything and it was legit. It is the "real deal". Here are some photos of us getting it ready for the trip back to Virginia.

Checking it out.

Loading it up.

Filling up the Power Wagon for the trip back. This truck DRANK gasoline at a crazy rate!!!!

Pretty nice man! My 69 R6 bee still has barn dust on it too! My 2011 hemi ram only saw 8-10mpg coming back from Wisconsin with my challenger so don't feel too bad lol

Here we are back in VA. So, let me tell you about the trip in that truck. Did I mention that it was July, the truck had no A/C, no radio, and had super loud dual exhaust with glasspacks that exited right in front of the rear wheels? I am suprised my friend Sean still talks to me. But, that truck had an AMAZING amount of power. We got on I-81 in northern PA and headed south. I put it in fourth gear and I NEVER had to downshift it once. It took those mountians in PA like they were nothing. The engine definitely got broken in on that trip.

So, for the next two years, all I had the time or money to do was to occasionally push it from one part of my property to the other to make space for other priorities.

It did have a pretty sweet trailer hitch, though.

So, here are the good points about the car:

Very nice build sheet and fender tag. Black interior, bench seat, 4 speed, Dana with 4:10's, etc. Typical cool A12 stuff.

Bad points: Missing the original engine and transmission. And, someone back in the day cut out the top portion of the radiator support to make engine removal/installation easier. Oh well. I am not going to loose too much sleep over it.

Fender tag.

Here it is finally getting ready to have some work done to it.

Way back when, someone started to install a 383 HP in the car but never finished it. First order of business was to remove that.

Looks better already.

Tearing it apart.

I bought the F6 car...hauled it home....found another that was in a lot better shape for about the same money as I'd paid for that one so I sold it to Darrel in OKC and last I heard he got divorced and it was on eBay and ended up in Texas...

Sweet project! I'm just looking for a run of the mill 383/4-speed car, then some day a coveted A-12.
Hope to see it look as good as your X!

I remember spying that one in the background on your GTX thread.
If it turns out half as sharp as the X did it'll be a real keeper!

That is one of my all time favorite projects! Best of luck with it!
Matt

Very cool, nice to see this car going somewhere now! I remember the barn pics back when it was found with the other A12! That find was a Mopar guy's dream!! Good luck, keep the updates coming!

will be watching this one. great find

yea love the R coded b5,, i'm pulling up a d21

i want a green one with d21 also!!!

...Wait you pulled the 383 OUT, it even had HP cast iron manifolds! B engines are WAAAYYYY better than RBs, that was a big mistake!

Now that I know where you're documenting your resto I'll be sure to check in. I'm sure this one will be as good if not better than your other master pieces (Dart/Charger/GTX)

Cheers!

One of my favorites on Cars in Barns.

I remember talking to someone on moparts that this car was for sale way back and considering buying as well simply for it story and of course it being a four speed A12 Bee! Good luck with the car.
Gotta love barn finds.

I'm glad to see the old girl getting the attention it deserves Stan! Keep us posted with updates as often as possible.

Nice car Stan! I didn't know you had it.

Any new news on the bee.. im looking for one to b

uy..
Or.info on that green one

OK.... I think I owe everyone an update on this car. I have definitely been putting some hours in on this car. I have cleaned out my garage and got rid of any unnecessary projects and am just focusing on the most important ones. As I dug into this car, it just kept getting rustier. But... It is on the road to recovery! This car originally came from Wisconsin and it literally rusted apart at the seams. Every where there was a pinch welded seam, it rusted between the two pieces of metal. I ended up drilling out ALOT of spot welds, media blasting the parts, and then welding the same parts back together again. It was a lot of work but I saved most of the metal and it is looking great. Over the next several photos, you will see what I am talking about.

Stan

I lost a bunch of photos (from my cell phone) of the work I had done on the car but you will see the majority of the work. Basically; cutting out rust, forming patch panels, and welding in the panels. VERY time consuming.

Stan

Another.

Stan

Another.

Another one.

More.

As you can see, I had to replace the RH kick panel area. That was a very difficult piece to replace. I had to cut the new piece into three pieces to get it to fit and them weld it back together. Pay no attention to my buddy Sean drinking the Miller High Life. Yes, the same Sean that went on the trip with me to pick the car up. He has been with this car from the beginning.
You can also see that I removed the RH inner fender. In the following pictures you will see why.

Stan

Rust.

More rust.

Even more rust.

I'd say it's in good hands

Any progress is good!

Fixing rust.

Fixing more rust.

Fixing more.

More!

Nice work Stan.

This is the main thing I always question when a restoration takes place and the shell is sand blasted......there is still all the rust between the seems and inside the frame rails.

Congrats Stan on the good work!
Matt

Thanks for the comments, everyone! Here are a few more pictures.

Superfreak: I had to drill a BUNCH of spotwelds apart on this car to get the rust out between the pieces of metal. Fortunately, I was able to save a lot of the metal that way. I ended up removing, repairing, and re-welding the two trunk gutters and tail light panel that way.

Stan

Welding in the new trunk floor.

Getting the car ready for media blasting. As you can see, I had to replace the entire trunk floor and RH inner and outer wheel housing.

Parts to get media blasted. Tail light panel, trunk gutters, K-frame, a couple of wheels, fenders and a door.

Getting pieces back from the media blaster and getting some epoxy primer on them.

More pieces.

Door and wheels.

Keep them coming! Love seeing another A12 come together.

Looks like you've been busy Stan. Looking Good.

Hey Bobby! I have definitely been busy. It looks like you have done a bit of work to yours as well.

Here are a few pictures on the day I picked it up from the media blaster. The RH inner fender turned out great.

Engine bay.

Bare metal.

I took it home, cleaned it up, and sprayed some epoxy primer on it.

I was very pleased with it at this point. Everything looked great.

So, it only took me YEARS to get to this point but I now have a rust free, clean, media blasted car in primer that is ready to go back together.

Time to get to it!

More of the floor pan.

Time to start mocking up the rear of the car.

Hanging sheetmetal.

Looking great!

Nice work, thumbs up and them some...

HR 20

Wow. Nice work.

Thanks for the comments! Starting to mock up the LH quarter panel. It fits very nice.

Yes, I had to set the hood on it and stare at it for a few minutes....

Well you certainly aren't wasting any time are you.

WOW!
KID

Thanks again for all of the comments everyone! Time to post some more pictures. Here is the finished floor.

I was able to save the original 4 speed tunnel. I did my best to duplicate the factory welds on the tunnel.

Awesome!

Sheldon

All welded together.

Stan

Time to start block sanding.

Let's get to it!!

Stan

You are doing a great job with it Stan. Keep up the awesome work.
You decided to go with buckets?

Dave,

I knew somebody would call me out on the bucket seat floor brackets!!

No, I am not going to put buckets in it. I am going to stay with the bench seat. The AMD floor pan came with the brackets welded on and I guess I was getting a little lazy. I need to take them off.

My goal is to block sand it many times over the winter and shoot some beautiful orange on it this spring!

Stan

Those quarters are a female dog to block out but you`ll get there.

Sheldon

Dam- Wish it would've been a driver -- rust sucks - but great progress ... Do you still have that blue Hemi car ?
Awesome resto! I wish I had the initiative ..
Can't wait for more progress.

Great to see work being done Stan! You will get it finished I have faith in you and it will be an awsome car when its done!
I cant wait to take a ride!
best of luck.
Matt

So, I have been a block sanding fool over the past few months. But, today it is done!!! And it looks GREAT! I am extremely pleased with it. Tomorrow I am going to put one more coat of primer on it and push it out of the way and wait for spring to come. Once it warms up, I will sand it one more time and shoot some color on it. I need to take a break!

Stan

Another picture.

Fully blocked quarter.

Driver's side.

Yes, I was using the A12 hood as a work bench....

The hood was very porous so fixed it up a bit and will block it one more time. I can't wait to shoot some paint on everything!

Stan

Looks excellent. It should be more fun from this point.

Sheldon

Yep looks great man! Can't wait to see the paint!
Matt

Nice save I remember considering that car.
What is your reason for putting rear end back in? Will it be coming back out to paint bottom?

Looking good.

Time for some updates. I had to wait for the weather to warm up before I could spray some paint. Here are a few pictures while I was cutting it in.

Stan

Q5_Ed: I currently have an 8 1/4 from a '69 Plymouth under it. I am restoring the Dana 60 and leaf springs and will slide them back under it later.

Stan

Hemi Orange!

Stan

Masked everything off and sprayed the exterior.

Stan

Masked everything off again and sprayed the inner doors black.

Stan

The steering wheel was in very rough shape. Lots of cracks. I V-eed out all of the cracks and used some 3M two-part epoxy to fix it up. I primed and sanded it and then sprayed it black. Very nice!

I also sprayed the radiator support area.

Stan

I then spent a bunch of time sanding the car with 2000 and 2500 grit and hit it with the buffer. These pictures do not do it justice. I am VERY pleased with this paint job. Not bad for a paint job in my 20'x 20' garage!

Stan

A few more pictures.

Stan

A few more.

Stan

sogtx:



No, I do not. I traded it for another car. I miss it VERY much. Very, very much. I had a lot of time behind the wheel of that car.

Anyways, I traded it for this. Yes, it is a Hemi. Yes, it is a four speed. Yes, it is a major project.

Stan

That looks excellent!

Sheldon

I'm envious that car is going to be killer!!!!

Your the Man Stan! I cant wait to see it in person, and if I know you the challenger will not be to far behind!
Looks great!
Matt

Here are some more progress pictures.

A few more.

More!