Mr. Moparman

It's Testors Fiery Orange. It's part of their One-Coat Lacquer line.

OOPS! I completely forgot to stick that on before I took the picture. That problem is fixed now.

With this four letter exciter hung on the side, and that name on the rear quarter panels, I don't think there will be too many takers at the traffic lights. That's it! Everybody enjoy!

I think it's time to crank over that HEMI and let this bird fly! She's done! This is by far my best build yet, and with the issues I ran into I can say that I am extremely satisfied with the turnout of this model. It almost seems like I could jump in and go! Stay tuned for the next post....

I think it's time to crank over that HEMI and let this bird fly! She's done! This is by far my best build yet, and with the issues I ran into I can say that I am extremely satisfied with the turnout of this model. It almost seems like I could jump in and go! You may see more pictures in the Under Glass thread!

"Exhaust note normal, oil pressure stable, doctor." 'Ok, let's start this operation" I have begun surgery on the front end. I masked off the rest of the body, using a trick I learned from Star Trek models to prevent as many "tape-lines" as possible. I then started out with 600 grit sandpaper to get everything down level, then, using a Q-Tip and water to dampen the surface, I worked my way up to 2000 grit to smooth it all out. I then primed the area with Tamiya Surface Primer (bottled stuff). I then repainted the area body color and let it dry. I pulled the tape and volia! Good as new! I got a very faint tape-line down the side of the fender, near the bottom, but it's not that big of an issue to me. I am surprised I had this much success with the repair anyways. This photo was taken before I re-applied the clear coat, so you may see a very slight color difference. Now, in person with clear on it, you can't tell the difference. She now sits on all-fours! I now wish I had went with the race spindles in the kit, but I'm not ripping the suspension back out to replace them. I think the next update will be finishing her up! Enjoy!

So tonight I decided to put the car together, got the engine in the chassis, and the chassis in the car, and then DISASTER! I went to glue the front belly pan to the underside of the car, and a drop of liquid cement ran down the side of the front fender and ate through the paint. I am really bummed out about this, and it has trashed my esteem for this build. I don't exactly have a fix in mind yet, because the whole car is glued together, but I'm thinking maybe I could mask off the damaged area, sand it lightly back down to plastic, and then, using my airbrush, slowly add back paint to match the rest of the car. I don't know if this will work though. If you guys have any ideas, please let me know.

This is gonna be a very nice Challenger! Keep it up!

I have asked this question several times myself, to no avail. Personally, I would have bought it with Magnum 500's. But, when I was planning out the build, it came across my mind that I have never seen a Daytona, neither in scale or in real life with the Dog Dish wheels. So, I put it in my mind then that I was gonna pass up the Magnums for the steelies. P.S. - Sure they were available on the GTX! Mopar was notorious for giving people what they wanted without it being officially listed on the option sheet.

Ok! So my new HEMI came in the mail today, along with it's Torqueflite 727 transmission. I got the block put together, painted, and I painted and mounted the transmission to the HEMI. I then transferred the belt and pulley assembly, and distributor and valve cover assembly to the new HEMI. I put the engine in the car, stuck the air cleaner on, and it fits! The hood closes properly! I still have to attach the fan, exhaust manifolds and the carburetors/air cleaner to the engine, then it will be finished. I added simulated factory markings to the rear axle and differential. and added simulated heat stains to the exhaust system. Enjoy!

Looking very good! I am thing of a General as my next project, it's tied with Monograms '71 GTX right now.

No pics, but I did sand down the tread on the tires to make it look like it had been driven a little bit, but me and me stupid self, I sanded two tires more than I should have. Oh well, with a 426 HEMI in the car, who can't resist to do a few burnouts? If I had bought this car in 1969, I probably would have had the factory rubber burnt up before I left the dealer!

So now it's just a matter of waiting for my new HEMI and transmission to show up, so I went back and added a black wash to the wheels and the vent just below the windshield to darken them up some. I'd say the result was worth it! I also went back and removed the copyright information from the fuel tank, but for some odd reason I didn't take a picture of that. Enjoy!

I have came to the conclusion that the problem was a combination of both my distributor and me placing my fashioned motor mounts in the wrong spot. I already have disassembled my HEMI as I have a new one coming that I know will fit into the Daytona's chassis without issue. (Gotta love Revell for letting the '67/'68/'69 Charger kits share the exact same chassis and motor mounts.) All I'll have to do is assemble the new block, paint it HEMI Orange, and reattach the distributor/valve covers, (I removed it and the valve covers as one piece to not mess up the wiring) and the headers and fan/alternator/PS Pump assembly.

No I didn't, and so I went and tried to test fit it today. Guess what? The hood will not close because of the distributer, but the engine in the Dart kit is a RACING HEMI, and will not even fit in the engine bay!. Even if it would fit in the engine bay, the bottom of the racing oil pan they give you in the Dart kit scrapes the K-Member and pushes against the tie rod. Basically, this engine is useless in this car. I wouldn't have had this problem if I would have sourced out the HEMI in the Revell '68 Charger kit. Going to make a post in Wanted! and see what I find....

Thanks! I have time to kill while waiting on my transmission, so I may go back and remove the text from the fuel tank and add some black wash to the wheels. I also got to add some black wash to the vent below the windshield so I will be killing two birds with one stone.

I've put the suspension together today and got it mounted on the chassis. I'm gonna have to come up with something to extend the kit exhaust to the HEMI headers. I also mounted the radiator and horns to the core support, the painted the fan shroud flat black and mounted it to the radiator. I sprayed a light coat of body color paint over the photo-etch grille, bent it with a straight-edge, and cemented it on the car with Formula 500 Canopy Glue. The completed steel wheels. Enjoy!

Well guys, I've done just about all I can do before I can put the car together, and I need the transmission to put the car together. Never fear, because the transmission should be on it's way Monday so I probably can have the Daytona done before school starts. The interior is completed and ready to go in the car. Last night I hand-painted the headliner in the car and got the glass installed. I got one little-bitty spot on the rear window where a little bit of glue seeped out the edge, but it's not a big deal to me. I've also been painting and detailing the chassis. I hope to get the suspension painted and put together tomorrow. The rear valance is ready to go in. The HEMI power-plant is done! Now it just needs something behind it to turn them wheels.... Enjoy!

Thanks for all the great comments guys! The interior is shaping up! I almost flocked it, but then come to find out, I am out of flocking material and I have already depleted my monthly modeling allowance on this Daytona. I got the steel wheels painted up! The body has been Bare Metal Foiled and has had various decals applied such as HEMI badges, Charger badges, etc. I hope to get the photo-etch grille on tonight. Enjoy!

Very nice foil work. This is hands - down the best build-up of a '70 Charger I have ever seen!

...continued... Now on to the Hemi power-house. I got it painted today, put the valve covers on and wired up the spark plugs. The masking tape along the oil pan is only to protect the paint while I work with the engine. By the power invested in me by Ma-Mopar, I henceforth and forever more pronounce this Dodge Charger a Dodge Charger Daytona! Enjoy!

...continued... Now, this is an automatic car. This is what the console in an automatic car would look like. Here's the kit's console. Now, Missing Link Resins used to have a resin automatic console, but they have been out of it for ages. So, I have three options. 1. Scratch-build a new console. 2. Come up with a way to modify the existing console. 3. Convert the car to a column shift model. I eventually went with option 2. Here's how I did it. I just keep finding nice parts in Revell's '68 Dart kit, and what would you know that there's a nice center console piece in there than can donate itself to the Daytona. I cut it up to fit in the Daytona's console, and while I was there I grabbed the shifter too. I then glued the modified piece into the Daytona's console. [ Some paint detailing and volia! Automatic Console for my Daytona! Stay tuned for Part 3!

We've been painting today! Stay tuned for the next post!

Ok guys, after about an hour of research, I have decided that I am sticking with the Testors Fiery Orange for this car. After close comparisons using printed photos of two 1:1 Daytona's both claiming to be painted T5 Fire Bronze and my two test hoods, I decided that the Fiery Orange would be the better color, according to my eyes. To test my theory, I walked down the street to a local paint and body shop, where the friendly salesman let me compare my test hoods to a real paint chip of T5 Fire Bronze. The Testors Fiery Orange was the winner, again. To some people, the color may be a little off, but hey, this is what I would have ordered in 1969.

So, it has been pointed out that the Fiery Orange color I originally picked possibly was too dark and orangy to be a replica for the 1:1 cars T5 Fire Bronze. To test this theory, I brought out a can of Testors Metallic Copper and sprayed two junk hoods with each color. I do believe I am gonna go with the lighter Metallic Copper for the Daytona. I decided to get the Hemi out and do some work to it, come to find out, Revell moved the engine mounts to allow the engine to sit lower in the Dart's frame. In the Daytona, however, this would leave the oil pan scraping the ground. So out came the Evergreen and superglue/accelerator and I crafted a new set of mounts. Each side of the block took about 15 minutes to do, I redid them about five times before I finally got them where they should be. I believe it's ready for a coat of Hemi Orange tommorow! Now about that transmission...... Enjoy!