Читать книгу Project Charger - Larry Lyles - Страница 5

Introduction

I originally wrote a 24-article series for Auto Restorer magazine. My intent was to take readers through a complete ground up restoration of a classic muscle car while offering real world information on how to accomplish such a restoration. This book is a compilation of those articles.

As a seasoned veteran of automotive body repair and restoration, I’ve attempted to lead you through a complete restoration without getting you lost or confused in the process. I’ve purposely stayed away from the usual heavy doses of mechanical information found in many other publications and instead have concentrated on the more prevalent aspects of automotive restoration. I’ve tried to meet the mechanical needs for restoration and, where I felt the mechanical needs exceed the expertise of the average garage restorer, I’ve always suggested the reader seek the assistance of a professional.

You won’t find a lot of information on which part is correct for a particular year or model, nor will you find a tutorial on how to read VIN plates. What you will find is a comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts book on automotive restoration containing the best information available on how to bring your car back to its original shine and luster.

Although this book focuses on the restoration of a 1970 Dodge Charger, you can employ the techniques and ideas I present here to restore any vehicle. Selecting a Dodge Charger as our project vehicle was not mere happenstance. I have a long history with the Charger, starting with my first attempt at restoration dating back to my high school days in the late sixties. That car was a 1966 Dodge Charger. The car was wrecked at the time I purchased it at a cost of a mere $50. I took my first step into the world of automotive restoration and modification by shaving most of the chrome and adding a pearlescent Fire-thorn red paint job.

That beautiful car helped fund my next project, a 1970 Plum Crazy purple Charger R/T with all of the go-fast an 18-year-old should be allowed to own. After its untimely death due to a multiple car pile up, I took my father’s advice and turned my attention away from cars to concentrate on higher academic studies. My hope was to become something more than just another wrench jockey in a grease shop. Unfortunately—or perhaps thankfully—math and electronics bored me to death while bending metal and spraying paint, which I continued to do at a local body shop as I sought higher education, thrilled me. By the time I finished college, I realized cars were in my blood and I could do nothing to change that.

The art of body repair soon led me to restoring Ford Mustangs for a local Baptist minister in the days before having a restored Mustang was cool. That, in turn, led to restoring Corvettes and that led to custom work on vintage rods and old Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Intermixed with these classic automobiles and motorcycles came hundreds of broken and bent late models.

These days I no longer work on new cars. I can’t tell a Honda Accord from a Chevy Impala. Or does Toyota make the Impala? Anyway, I divide my time among writing books on automotive restoration, producing articles for Auto Restorer magazine, and restoring old cars like the Charger in this project.

Like many people you find at the local car shows who restore old cars, I returned the Charger to its former glory simply because I could personally relate to the car, not because the VIN tag identified it as something rare or something special. Most of those vehicles have already found residence in climate-controlled museums whose access is granted to only a chosen few. This car doesn’t have many of the desirable perks associated with owning a classic Mopar muscle car. There is no Six-Pack under the hood and no four on the floor. I chose to restore this car for one reason: It has my name on the title and it reminds me of days gone past.

My wife, who, by the way, owned a 1970 Dodge Super Bee 440 Six-Pack on the day I met her, is more excited about this restoration project than I am. I suppose that’s what automotive restoration is really all about: taking a long-abused old car, returning it to its glory, and seeing all those smiling faces and thumbs up as you cruise along the highway.