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Project Charger. Larry Lyles
Читать онлайн.Название Project Charger
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781620080153
Автор произведения Larry Lyles
Жанр Сделай Сам
Издательство Ingram
PHOTO 13: As long as we are tearing down the bumper assembly we might as well remove the rubber bumper-to-fender filler. Also notice I have already removed the vibration damper as well as the bumper-to-fender bracket.
The tail lamp mounting bolts are inside the trunk. I remove the bolts, lift out the assemblies, and inspect both lens and housings for cracks. The cracked housing can be repaired and the reflective coating can be replaced using the Eastwood Company Reflective Aluminum paint #10005Z. A cracked lens must be replaced, so be sure to note the condition of all these parts on your master checklist before storing them.
In addition to the tail lamp assemblies, the Charger also has a tail lamp bezel that covers the entire rear body panel. Today this bezel is referred to as a finish panel. It’s bolted from the inside. I remove the bezel and note the condition of the panel on the checklist as good with a note that it needs to be polished and then refinished to remove a number of small scratches.
I also remove the front and rear side marker lamps as well as the backup lamps. I note the condition of each of the lamps on the master checklist, and then store them to be cleaned, polished, and refinished later.
Remove Moldings
Fortunately, from the standpoint of having to replace damaged moldings, the Charger has relatively few exterior moldings. I’ve already removed the door and quarter panel belt moldings as well as the moldings around the windshield and back glass. This leaves only the left and right quarter-to-sail panel trim moldings to remove.
Quarter-to-sail panel trim moldings are two-piece V-shaped moldings that wrap around each sail panel to separate the painted area of the quarter panel from the vinyl roof cover. Each molding is bolted and clipped on using plastic clips. The bolts can be found by crawling inside the trunk and looking up.
With the speed nuts removed, I like to use the door trim panel tool to gently pry the moldings free of the plastic clips. The right outer molding on my Charger is broken. I add it to the master checklist as well as to the salvage parts list in the hopes of finding a used one later on.
The drip moldings, not to be confused with the quarter-to-sail panel trim moldings, are narrow chrome covers found over the drip channels running along the sides of the roof panel. There are at least two drip moldings per side. Note: Drip moldings are fragile—very fragile—and if they are not removed correctly, they could easily be destroyed.
PHOTO 14: The tail lamps come out of the Charger as complete assemblies. You can find the mounting bolts by looking inside the trunk. Once you remove the bolts, you can remove the lamps from inside the trunk as well.
PHOTO 15: After I remove the tail lamps, I can remove the chrome bezel surrounding the lamp assemblies. The attachment bolts are found inside the trunk, but the bezel is removed from the outside.
PHOTO 16: As long as we are removing lamps, now is the time to remove the back up lamps as well as all of the side marker lamps.
PHOTO 17: Mopar is known for installing emblems and moldings where they are impossible to remove. This Charger script emblem on the sail panel is no exception.
PHOTO 18: The Charger script retainer nuts are recessed behind the structural members of the sail panels and are only accessible after the interior trim is removed.
PHOTO 19: Again, Mopar doesn’t make it easy. The speed nuts attaching these two moldings are found by crawling inside the trunk and looking up. Additional plastic attachment clips are located along the length of the moldings. I use the door trim tool to release the plastic clips and remove the moldings.
PHOTO 20: Drip rail moldings are fragile, so take care when removing them. The clip side of the molding is released by once again using the door trim tool and a body hammer.
PHOTO 21: Hardtop vehicles will have this style of roof mounted weather stripping. The weather stripping lies in a channel and must be carefully pried out to prevent damaging it. Both the door glass and the quarter window roll up into this weather stripping.
PHOTO 22: After I remove the weather stripping, I unscrew the channel and remove it from the car. This channel, like the weather stripping, follows the roofline from the cowl post to the sail panel.
Look at a cross section of a drip molding, and you will see that it is C-shaped and therefore must be snapped into place. Release the clip side of the molding to remove it. The clip side has a slightly upturned edge and is always on the inside or bottom of the molding when the molding is mounted in place. I release the clip side of the drip molding with the door trim panel tool. The wide double prongs of the tool make it ideal for removing these moldings without damaging them. I lay the tool against the upturned inside edge of the molding and gently tap to push the molding out and off the drip channel. I note the condition of each of the drip moldings on the master checklist, label each one right or left, and store them safely away with the glass for safekeeping.
Remove Roof Rail Weather Strips
Roof rail weather strips are found along both sides of the roof panel, beginning at the bottom of the windshield pillar post and following the roofline all the way back and down the sail panel. The door glasses and the quarter windows roll up into these weather strips. The weather strips are attached with screws to the pillar post and then locked into place along the roofline via a weather strip channel. Occasionally these weather strips are glued along the length of the channel, so be careful when removing them. I use a flat-bladed screwdriver to gently pry the weather strips out of the channels. Then I work on removing the channels, which are held in place by a series of Phillips head screws running the length of each channel.
Remove Vinyl Top Cover
When I first began this project, I noticed green coloring showing through the black dye on the vinyl top. If for no other reason than that a previous owner had dyed the vinyl top black at some point in its life, I will replace the top. I could list off a few more reasons for replacing this top, but the one that concerns me the most is the hidden rust. Check photo 23. That’s what lay under the vinyl cover on my Charger—bad news just waiting to bite me.
Despite its condition, I treat the old vinyl roof cover on the Charger with the same respect I’ve treated every other part removed from the car and gently scrape it loose using a 1½-inch-wide putty knife, which is actually easier than it sounds; most old vinyl roof covers are held on just well enough to prevent them from flapping in the breeze. I start by working my way around the edges of the cover where it is tucked into the drip channels or rolled over an edge of metal, and gently pull the cover back an inch or so onto the roof panel. Once all the edges are loose, I can use the putty knife to separate and remove the rest of the cover from the roof panel.
You can see the old vinyl cover in photo 25. Doesn’t look like much, does it? Its only purpose now is to give me something to compare the new cover to once I receive it. I don’t want to start installing a new cover only to find it doesn’t fit. Saving the old cover prevents this possibility.
Remove Rear Bumper
Like everything else back here, the four bumper attachment bolts are inside