I have too much money in my charger and its not done. I am hoping to find a mentor in southern Idaho or northern Utah who can guide me on finishing my car. I have a basic roller with a Dana 60, home brew front discs, paint is 95% done, still need to do the blackout and I have to replace the lower radiator brace that was screwed up. I have some of the parts to finish but I am lost on how I need to proceed. I know that one part at time is like eating the elephant. I do have some budge and time but some of this is beyond my experience. So if anyone has any advice it would be appreciated. Best regards, Tim

Here is a list of how they should go back together. Try to make it a goal to put a few things on every week.

http://www.restorick.com/tech/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=58

I know I can do most of the mechanicals easily, it the cosmetic stuff that I have a problem with and I don't do well with interiors. I hate doors and windows, but give me a wire harness and a color chart and I am golden. Tim

I just did my first 30% off order from year one, ordered a few wiring harnesses, they are supposed to be the best! so I guess I will see. Tim

you sound like me. i get overwhelmed with the 'entirety' and can't get moving on any of it. it's called juggling to many balls. what i do was stated by neil. tackle small jobs that you can do easily and will boost your confidence to tackle more and more.

Tim, I am not close to you but you are welcome to call me and I will be happy to advise you. I retired from car restoration (Mopars) after 30 years and can probably talk you through your questions or direct you as needed. sharing my years of knowledge is my way to give back to a hobby (love) that took care of me for all those decades. PM me or we can talk. Larry And FYI Rick's assembly sequence above is a great way to go. Rick knows his stuff.

I understand wanting to finish out the roller but would switching gears and getting the drivetrain in & running be a viable plan for you? Hearing the eng roar to life will do wonders for your psyche (you will be pumped!)

Think of everything that needs to go together as an assembly I.e. K frame assembly, suspension, engine tranny etc.

Your list of what needs to be done is a good start. Here's what I did with my GTS resto.

I broke my list down into sections

Underneath the car

Engine compartment

Passenger compartment

Trunk compartment

Then I broke up my list into those sections.

K frame consisted of suspension, brake assembly, engine and tranny. Listed all items and tasks that had anything to do with that assembly. Make notes to your list such as sub assemblies that need to be put together, parts that need to be ordered etc.

Underneath the car I listed such things as undercoat, brake lines, fuel lines, gas tank, rear end etc.

Passenger compartment I listed things like floor liner, dyno mat, dash, headliner, seats etc


And on and on


I sat down at the putter and put the list on a spread sheet. As I completed each task I made notes to my list, checked of tasks that were completed and updated the spreadsheet on a continual basis. That way I eliminated sheets of paper that tend to get wet, torn etc. from laying around.

If you keep things in sections you'll be able to stay focused, stay organized and see progress on your project.

Putting a car together or taking it apart for rstoration is like doing a airplane Step back, thank hard and make a priority list ,What needs to be done first, whats second and so on I made the mistake of having my 1940 Ford Tudor Sedan painted before all the other fabrication works was done I'll never do that again
BTW, I'm like you , I know my strengths and I know my limits. I farm out all the paint and uphlostery also I have a freind who will and can do it all, he is really cheap also
To each thier own
BTW, PM me if you want,I'mm 300 miles west, maybe we can exchange phone numbers and see if I can be a resource for you or not

Thanks, for your support, I think that I am going to work on getting the body finished so I can get running gear operational. Fuel lines, wiring, I am going to also going to install a serpentine belt, different upper control arms and a few other options. I will pm everyone who helped and see if I can get a plan together. Tim

If you bring "everyone" into your build you will have nothing but multiple different opinions....

You need to pick someone who is competent and agrees with the direction you want to take your car..

What you are going through is why you see so many uncompleted cars for sale ( projects)

You are at a 50/50 impasse now on going further or selling whether you realize it or not... Been there.. Good luck

Pic of what my car looked like as I was going through a divorce ( had to move my car ( and me) and what it looks like now..

This is going to sound obvious but you basically just have to start the job before you can finish it. And you have to keep going, one part at a time. It sounds dumb, but most projects stall out because people stop working on the car. If you aren't working on it then it won't get done.

If you can get up the energy to complete one task then post it on here and get some positive feedback and then that will give you the energy to do the next task.

If you run into a problem just take some pictures and post a question on here and you'll get answers.

If the task is too big then reduce the task. Put the car back together as a driver even if the interior isn't perfect and/or the body isn't perfect. Then you can drive it to shows and stuff and somewhere along the way you'll run into someone who can help you finish off the stuff you don't know how to do.

Set aside some time EVERY SINGLE DAY. Even if it's a few minutes. I got burnt out and almost sold a couple of times. I've put the body together in flat black primer just to enjoy it. I will blow it apart and paint but I'm having fun now! I keep finding better parts and refining the quality rather than having put a perfect car together.

I agree with GY3, get it to the point of driving as quickly as possible.
If you wait to have everything "perfect" you'll never finish.
My car is a 20/20 as best but I really enjoy driving it.
So I pick little projects along the way as time and budget permits.
These little improvements and upgrades make it rewarding and spurs on the next project.

Well I will get a lot of opinions trying to get an idea, but where I get lost is I need screws for "insert trim/part here." I have the assembly book but sometimes I just want a mentor to push me a little and someone who knows Mopar's. I ordered the replacement lower core support sheetmetal bracket that I need to replace because my body guy messed it up. I have to pull the engine to replace it the way I want. While its out, I am going to install the serpentine belt kit from SD concepts and I have a lot of little things to do like move the car to the center of the garage. I also have a lot of tape to remove, there is still some masking tape on it from when it was originally painted. Tim

so is this the only thing? The lower rad support? or does the entire car need to be put together? When I bought this car from Cali it was a bare shell w/ paint. It had the glass in it but that was about it. I worked from the back of the car forward, I did the rear (center section, brakes, suspension), added the gas tank...

The car is a bare roller, but I have to replace that support before I can reinstall the engine and put in a radiator, etc. Ti

pick a side and start from there. Back to front, front to back. Or I guess you could do it by item...wiring, suspension, fuel, interior....and so on. Drill the spot welds out of the old support and hang the new one.

Support was shipped today, so I will have to get on this when it gets here. Maybe I can start making my fuel lines too. I am going with 1/2" rigid stainless...tim

just me I would want the easier to bend fuel line (I'd never do the hard stuff again)