1971 Dodge Demon 340
HOMEStraight from the farm to your breakfast table....OK, maybe not your table, but at least your driveway !
This is a barn fresh 1971 Dodge Demon 340. Factory Plum Crazy purple with white stripes. (Gus, the kitten not included)
Car is in for a full ground up OE restoration, with a few options added along the way...
After dismantling and removing about 5 lbs. of mouse poop, it doesn't look too bad, it's actually pretty solid...
With all the undercoat and seam sealer removed, it's time to let Fishburn/Proctor Media Blasting get to work on stripping the shell.
I cannot express the importance of having a car completely media blasted before any repairs begin. On this car, a lot of the areas we thought looked solid like the trunk floor, turn to Swiss cheese once blasted.
This is a good thing because now we will replace the entire panel and stop any potential further rust from forming.
The crew at Saunders Customs will have their hands full.
Well, I wasn't exaggerating, the more the crew dug into it, the more issues kept arising. However, perseverance and a lot of welding wire pays off.
With the new AMD panels installed the underside of the car is starting to look new again.
Saving as much of the original quarter panels as possible, the car is starting to look whole again.
A keen eye will spot the addition of factory style torque boxes in all four corners. This was a must to make the four speed conversion correct in every way...
Metal work finished, body work up next !
Countless hours of tedious filling and sanding to get the underside to look just as nice as the topside ! The shell is ready for primer now.
After weeks of sanding, the first coats of sealer and high fill primer are now on the body.
Check out those body on the quarters, the team at Saunders Customs never cease to deliver which each project better then the last !
Now comes the tireless part...Countless hours of block sanding and block sanding and more block sanding...Check out the number of different lines on this car that have to be sharp as a knife and straight as a razor....
...and now it begins, the painstakingly paint process, on stage at a time..First up in the underside in the factory grey dip with body colour over spray style. Then the interior gets coverage throughout ....engine bay and door jambs up next...
Look at that beautiful fresh FC7 Plum Crazy paint ! Unbelievable ....
The paint job looks amazing...
With the car now at my shop the fun begins ! It's re-assembly time !
First up in the fuel system and then the rear axle assembly. Has all the factory detail markings to satisfy the judges if need be.
Then comes the motor, transmission and front suspension.....then moving on the the grill and front end trim, tail lights rear trim etc....
Then up next will be the interior, look at that beautiful restored rally dash !
Exhaust up next. Dante and the crew at Budget Exhaust worked their magic once again with this 2.5" mandrel bent custom made stainless steel system.
So with the exhaust in place, I was able finish up the assembly of the interior, those white seats really pop against the purple and black.
....but just check out those blinding white stripes, talk about the icing on the cake !
I'm glad to say...that's a wrap, another one saved and another one back on the road !
ALL DONE !!
