2017 Dodge Challenger SXT - Mostmint #45

[MostMint]

Quite a few updates this week

Car history:
I have discovered the location of the crash. I had attempted this before but this time it worked.

I revised my search to look for “accident report search”. I found this: https://ohtrafficdata.dps.ohio.gov/CrashRetrieval which required date of incident (on the Carfax) and last name (on the old title) for the search.

The report provided some interesting information, the most relevant for this find is the location of the incident, which happened on I-75 south at the 2.6 mile marker. I took that information to Google maps, presumed mile markers start counting up from the south end and found a spot close. Then I zoomed in a bunch and went to street view. Had to look around a bit but was eventually able to locate the mile marker. A quick look to the left showed the median and it has scratches from vehicle contact, but the kicker is there are small orange objects on the ground where the accident happened (presumably chunks of the plastic core support).

This place is far away but I feel like I may have to visit there with the car if I can successfully complete this rebuild.

The report also provided additional information:
• Accident happened at 6:30 AM on Saturday 9/24/22
• She was the only person in the car
• No other vehicles involved
• It was raining
• She was traveling 80 in a 65. I have no idea how they estimated that
• Driver was distracted by “other/unknown”

Frame machine
I bought some steel casters and installed them on the unit. The ball bearings for the swivel of the current casters were all long gone.

Hood
Separated the skin (outside layer) from the structure – this was definitely needed to make straightening the hood possible. First up was peeling up the edge that is bent over the structure to hold the skin in place. I experimented with a couple methods but the best method was using the air chisel at relatively low speed to pry it up then finish with pliers or the wide vice grip to bend it up the rest of the way.

The pieces are also glued together to avoid rattling all the way around the perimeter and at various touch points. I tried making a tool to manually pry but all that did was damage stuff. After regrouping, I put some heat to it. Most of it I was able to heat from the back, and while doing these I learned I could do this without damaging the paint. With a little heat the stuff let go quite easily. There were several of them where I could not get heat to them except through the exterior surface. It was a bit disconcerting putting the propane heat to the paint but it seems like there was no real damage. I just kept the flame 4-5” from the paint.

Once the parts were separated the work started. The skin sheet metal was buckled multiple ways on the driver side and the front corner of the hood was a solid 6” higher than it should be. There was one long bend that ran alongside the side scoop – once I straightened that I was able to take on the rest of the bends one by one. There was a fair amount of hammer and dolly, sometimes hammer and wood block, sometimes taping up the orange paint to avoid damage from the metal work.

The right front corner was easier and was taken care of using similar techniques.

Once I had it pretty well roughed in I went to work on the structure part. The only unique challenge was the LF corner where the underside of the hood had hit the barrier. A test fit with the skin uncovered a few more adjustments to get them aligned. I’ll need to make some minor adjustments to ensure alignment with the fenders – I’ll do that once I have the chassis fixed and the fenders on the car.

LF fender:
Did a little more work on straightening it – still a ways to go.

Driver door:
The door has a bend in the middle top to bottom, as the bottom of the A pillar was moved in the door was attached and really had no choice but to bend. There’s a solid inch clearance between the window and window seal at the top of the door. The inside of the door has a buckle in it as well. In order to fix this its going to need the same treatment as the hood – removing the exterior skin layer.

First I removed the interior trim panel, the window, mirror and other various things. Then I repeated the process of peeling up the edges of the door skin. The air chisel trick didn’t work so I had to pry it all up manually.

More to come.

[MostMint]

updates from the past week:

Frame machine:

To fix the leak I removed the swivel fitting that was leaking. When I removed the swivel from the hydraulic cylinder, no fluid came out. This prompted me to fill the cylinder with fluid. After disconnecting the swivel from the hose, I connected the hose direct to the frame machine. The first couple attempts did not do much. The cylinder moved but would not pull. To address this, I opened the air hydraulic pump reservoir and put fluid in there – after a couple attempts it was full and functional.

It was able to pull out the door hinge connect point on the A pillar, but more involved pulling it seem to bog down. I suspect the hydraulic pump is not generating enough pressure. Assuming this is a 10 ton hydraulic cylinder this will require about 10,000 PSI line pressure to get the full force. I debated getting gauges or rebuilding the current pump, but ended up buying a whole new unit for just over $100.

Driver door:

Finished removing the exterior skin – like the hood I was able to apply heat to free up the glue.

From there I went about the business of straightening the door frame. It was bent from top to bottom so it took a while to figure out how to undo all this. There are layers of metal at the top of the door on both sides of the glass which was the hardest part to get straight. Some of was solved with a piece of 2x4 in between – allowing me to move both layers by pounding on the top layer. For most of this operation the door frame was on a table. It was not practical to pound up, so every time I’d spot a low spot on a side I would have to flip over the door to the other side. I lost track of how many times I had to flip it. There’s still some final adjustments that I will make with a test fit on the car.

The exterior skin was bent though straightening this was a fairly simple operation. Work on roughing in the door was completed with a test fit to the door frame and some minor adjustments to each.

Driver side B-pillar:

There was damage here from impact with the wall but also the movement of the door bent the door frame where the door latch is. I wanted to get inside and see my options to access this from the back. After removing sound deadener and the seat belts (passenger side too so I could compare), I quickly learned there are several structural components in there making it difficult to pound it out from the back side. Looks like not too many layers of metal there so I can likely pull with the frame machine to get the latch back into place.
Most of the sheet metal is covered also so this LR quarter in front of the tire will probably remain as is.

[MostMint]

Left side frame structure

• The bottom of the side structure at the base of the A pillar is pushed in about 1.5”. I made several attempts to grab onto this and just pull it back but I could not get any significant movement out of it. Most of them ended making an imprint on the back side which is not a good result.
• To address this I separated the floor/firewall and it’s supporting structures from this frame structure. It’s all connected by spot welds so this entailed grinding out several dozen of them, and cutting a few pieces where I could not reach the welds due to accident damage.

• It took a couple attempts to find a place to pull where I could apply force but not bend anything. I found a gap in the A pillar where multiple layers of metal in the frame structure were in direct contact with each other and that did the trick. This is on the back side of where the lower door hinge attaches to the A pillar.
• The other challenge in making a pull is having a place to brace against. I did some early pulls bracing against the front subframe in the engine compartment, but those were on an angle. Then I found some reference material that showed for a side impact like this, the brace can be made with a chain attaching to the ends of the frame. Well this was for a full frame car so I had to adapt it. I ended up attaching the chain to the front subframe and in the rear I attached the frame machine clamps to the bottom edge of the frame structure on both sides, connected them with the new 78” pipe, and wrapped the chain around that.

• With proper bracing and pulling location, I put this machine to work. It took several attempts but I was able to move the left side frame structure outward and get the bottom edge straight again. The last pull was a bit too much and as it stands now I’m about 3/8” too far at the top of the rocker panel. There is a seam there where the metal comes together and the door seal fits on, and courtesy of the parts car I know that seam should be just under 62” from the matching seam on the other side.
• The inside part of this structure has been crushed in quite a bit. The only way I know to fix this is to pound it out from the inside. To do this I’m going to need to separate the layers so I started grinding out spot welds. Unfortunately, I discovered the piece I want to remove is a bit larger than I originally thought. To address I’ll have to remove some sheet metal first. Looking at the last pic here, there is a horizontal tape and tape on the right – these are where I’m thinking about cutting the sheet metal. The vertical tape on the left is on the panel that needs removed to get inside.

• As I get further into this I keep finding more things to straighten. I have ideas for most of them, just going to take time to get it all done.

Floor pan

• The floor on the driver side is buckled in various was all the way back to rear passenger seat floor. As I was straightening the left side, I did pound down some of the high spots to help get this back into shape. There is a lot of work left on the driver floor area but a few more tweaks and driver side rear seat floor should be in working order

Driver mirror

• These mirrors will fold up, but that assembly was broken on the driver mirror. I did have all the pieces though, so I took it apart and between plastic welding and glue I was able to put them together. Reassembly proved difficult though as there is a spring in there and its fairly beefy so I was not able to easily compress it. I put heat to it to shorten it a bit but the retainer is press fit and my repairs were not strong enough to survive assembly. In the end I’m going to bypass the folding feature and just glue the top and bottom together

Frame machine

• New air hydraulic unit obtained and installed. This really woke up the Damage Dozer allowing it to work properly

• Obtained a 2.5” OD .25” thick metal tube for bracing. The machine is supposed to have on of these for bracing. At 78” long this this is quite heavy and was over $200 shipped. The clamps to hold this bar to the frame are just over 2.5” diameter, but there were casting burrs in most of the holes making me wonder if the original pipe was slightly smaller or if these clamps were never used

• First serious pull lifted the end of the unit off the ground, and when I released the pressure it dropped to the ground and broke one of the new casters. The wheel is cast steel but the other parts were stamped metal that were not up to the task. I bought a pack of four so I swapped out the bad one
• So far I’m into this frame machine for about $1400 which is more than the winning bid for the car lol. Similar new machines are just under $2k so I’m not sure this was the best decision, though it’ll probably get me most of my money back whenever I decide to sell it.

Operating this thing puts the car under a lot of load and so I'm using the tire pile as a kind of bunker. Also not pictured - always cover the chain with a blanket/carpet to dampen chain action if something breaks during a pull

[Basement Paul]

The tire bunker is a great idea.

-BP

[MostMint]

On one of the early pulls I manage to break one of the new clamps. This gave me a chance to see what happens when the chain snaps back, and in this case the blanket did a great job containing the chain - nothing went flying. Still couldn't convince me to stand behind the thing when under load, and the bunker still seemed like a reasonable/cheap precaution.

[MostMint]

Video update # 3: https://youtu.be/bkX9nWABeHk?si=FkuFHHPmTZJWA1Zy

Last time I did a video was August so this one covers the major things since then.

[MostMint]

Major parts of left side frame structure removal

• Chose a section of the sheet metal at the bottom left of the door frame, grind out spot welds, made two cuts to make a section, and remove
(part A)

• Grind out spot welds and remove outside layer of this frame below and forward of the A pillar (part B)

• Chose a section of the left side frame structure to remove, ground out the spot welds and made two cut to remove it (part C)

More parts coming off

• Remove the front subframe and then cut off the left front shock tower and frame

• Remove the main HVAC assembly, shifter cable, sound deadener off the inside and outside of the firewall and under the tunnel
• Remove the rest of the front wiring harness
• Remove the inside rear view mirror and then the windshield

Repairs

• Straighten the lower side beam on the car with the frame machine. Call it less bent
• Straighten the floor for the driver rear passenger

• Pound out damage/straighten out/clean up sharp edges for parts B and C on the bench.
• Spent some time on part C and fitting it to the car
• Straighten the passenger side of the firewall

Further damage assessment

• The base of the A pillar at the top of the door seems to be a bit too far back: https://youtu.be/CCaLGp79iDU
• Pulling off the sound deadener off the firewall uncovered ripples in the firewall all the way to the passenger side
• The beam under the windshield (part D) also has some damage. Once the firewall and floor on the driver side are out I think I can straighten this beam from the bottom. This one had me concerned for a bit. I could use the beam from the Charger but this beam has the VIN tag on it so replacing it will add complexity of moving the VIN which is a sticker. https://youtu.be/TJp9FM8IHqo

• I measured the distance between the A pillar on each side and confirmed it is virtually the same between the Charger and the Challenger so I am not certain how part D is dented and yet this distance is the same

Plan next

• Had to review the damage to the floor, firewall, shock tower to decide what parts to save and what parts to replace. There are a lot of spot welds holding the shock tower and front frame rail to the unibody. Also to fix that cross beam I’ll need to reach it underneath. For these reasons I’ve decided to remove a major portion of the firewall and floor pan on the driver side, and replace them with the parts from the Charger.

Parts car

• Moved it into the garage to start removing the remaining parts I need, and to be a model to compare
• Started removing the spot welds for the section to cut out

[MostMint]

quick update:

Another video from last week https://youtu.be/GyMyypc6K9w this one is more in depth on how I'm straightening and fitting one of the metal structure components. It'll be the last from my current GoPro as it just died the next time I used it. Replacement is on order. It only lasted like 10 years.

I also managed to finish off my Craftsman cordless drill. It only lasted about 15 years. For the last couple I've been using a 20 volt DeWalt battery on a 19.2 volt tool. It didn't flame out it just stopped working. Purchased my first DeWalt cordless tool to replace it.

[Fred32v]

Great video, really enjoy your detail.

[MostMint]

Obtaining parts

• Made a trip to Pull a Part to get the front bumper and replacement part of the frame and the frame to bumper end plates – these parts are blue as you will see in the pics

• Put an order in for upper radiator support. Should have been easy, but many sellers did not show the Challenger SXT. I tried several Mopar sites to look up the current part # for the SXT (while not being able to imagine how they are different). In the end I looked on the part and found 68174972AA. With this info I went back to the Mopar sites and ebay and still found no matches. I had to use some deduction to get comfortable believing that 68174972AF is the current part # and will work with this car and that is what was ordered. Just another small time drain for the project. Turns out the only difference is the way the horn attaches – uses a sheet metal bolt instead of threaded bolt
• Ordered and picked up a windshield to test fit. I had a hard time finding a place that would sell me just the glass – most want to sell the glass and the install.

Parts prep

• With the parts car back in the garage, I started taking parts off the LF so I could remove the LF frame. At that point I realized this part is still attached to a car that is not wrecked, which would be a great opportunity to replace the frame part I used on the Charger.
• Prepped the newly acquired frame rail to bumper end plate and installed it on RF frame of parts car.
• Took time to remove the extra metal off the new frame rail piece.
• Spent a good bit of time trimming this frame rail section and the car frame rail to match, then between laser level and measurements confirmed the frame rail is in place.

Had this welded in place. After the weld I test fit the new upper core support and it fit well.

• Moved all the various parts off the old upper radiator support to the new one

• Went to work removing the LF frame/firewall/floorpan section from the parts car. Ground out some spot welds in some places, cut in some places leaving extra metal for later cleanup, and made precision cuts in a few spots. There were a few stubborn spots where hidden spot welds were holding me up but I eventually found them

Removing damaged parts off the Challenger

• Finally the time has arrived. With little fanfare I took a Sawzall within the damaged section and cut a big chunk off the car.

• This opened a decent working space and I then went to work removing the rest of the metal. Ground out the spot welds holding top of firewall to the crossbar, then removed the remaining strip of metal. Repeated the process to separate the last strip of metal from the trans tunnel as well. Most of the spot welds were removed with a drill.

• Removed a portion of the bottom of the lower windshield brace.

Other

• Cleaning/organizing – folded the broken windshield to where it would fit in the trash can, also moved a bunch of the damaged parts and piled them up on the trailer outside.
• Fix damage on the inside of the A pillar at dash level
• Straighten the floor under the driver seat
• Remove part of the bottom section of the windshield brace from the parts car. Test fit it into the Challenger.

• Kurt did some additional welding – some spots on the RF frame rail, finish the LF frame rail, attach the front seat brace to the frame rail repairing accident damage

[MostMint]

Video update #4: https://youtu.be/xAnePWTFsic

I have some new video editing software and this video is the guinea pig. I trimmed over 10 minutes out of this from the raw clips. I have not tried any of the extra effects yet.

[MostMint]

Prepping parts
• Clean up the rust spot on incoming left frame rail/floor section, fabricate a patch, have it welded in, prep up the rest of the minor surface rust and paint.

• Trim off extra metal on car and incoming frame rail/floor section.
• Sand paint off edges and spot weld spots, cleaning up seam sealer
• Remove most of the windshield sealer

Test fit the windshield
• Put some rivets in to hold lower part in place until it can be welded
• Made adjustments to lower windshield brace after the test fit uncovered it was touching the glass at the bottom edge. After adjustments I confirmed the lower part of the windshield is resting against the pads in the windshield brace (see pic)

Start accumulating parts
• Put together a list of what parts are needed, did some work on locating them and pricing them.
• Made trips to three different salvage yards acquiring seats, front airbags, driver side curtain airbag, hood hinges, cowl vent cover, both front knuckles, upper radiator brackets, wiper motor

• Ordered suspension parts and a few other items from Rock Auto
• Ordered a replacement dash it’ll be available to pick up early next week

The big nugget
• Had Kurt do some additional welding on the lower A pillar so the major LF frame/floor/firewall could be test fitted

• Test fit the LF frame rail/floor/firewall section to the car.

• Outer lower A pillar part needs some adjusting. Also had to adjust the bracket for the lower door hinge

• Did another test fit. Had to adjust the front edge of the A pillar, and trim just a bit of metal at the center of the firewall. The second fit uncovered additional problems – the main issue being the transmission tunnel on the driver side is pushed inward at least ½” which is causing the new section to not fit properly

Other
• Adjusted the door latch striker on the B pillar – just a light workout for the frame machine
• Plastic welded the driver door interior panel and a couple other pieces

• Took some time to take some stuff off the parts car and move it outside. With most of the LF missing it sits on three wheels

By next update I expect the LF frame rail/floor firewall part will be welded in and perhaps some reassembly will be underway

[wxo]

From our perspective out here in the hinterlands, an encouraging picture of significant progress in this restoration is forming. Great work and perseverance, Andy, keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to more.

[MostMint]

Thanks Walt. Here is the latest video: https://youtu.be/x3mvDOpJxPk

[MostMint]

LF frame rail/firewall/floor assembly

• Fit this into the car. Required multiple test fits and some adjusting of the car. As it turns out the driver side of the transmission tunnel was moved inward slightly during the crash. Also, as I lined up some sections, others would get out of line. Measurements on the car were telling me things on the original chassis were in alignment, but this piece was not lining up telling me they were not. I made sure the frame rail and the firewall looked right before any welding. In the end everything except the floor pan to frame rail lined up. I was able to tweak the floorpan a bit to close up the gap. Glad this is not a show car lol

• Made a small plate and bolted the two pieces of the main firewall support in the center. This will hold until welding can make it permanent <1

• Test fit the front subframe and found the LF frame rail is not straight, so the RF bolt does not go in
• Did some measuring to make sure the part was level with the other side
• Had Kurt weld some of this into place – major connecting points

• Went to work fitting the new floor pan to the transmission tunnel, to the old floor pan in front of the seat mount, and along the frame rail
• Installed the mounting for the crossmember and bolted it in place as well
• Used rivets and metal bonding adhesive to attach the floor pans in front of the seat mount, and at the center of the firewall. These are not structural

RF frame rail

• After the LF frame rail was welded in, I attached the front subframe at the 3 holes that aligned, and then used the porta power to push the RF frame rail into proper position. I used the bumper attaching points as a guide to get that rail back to the right spot.

• After this Kurt welded back in the various pieces I had cut out for straightening, and welded part of the fender support. During this process I had the subframe and the upper radiator support in place to keep things in aligned. It’s starting to look like something I can put back together

Acquiring parts

• Front brake pads
• Seam sealer
• Pigtails for clock spring airbag connections
• LF upper control arm

Other

• Spent a lot of time cleaning up surfaces for welding, then cleaning them after weld, and in some cases priming and painting them
• After cleaning, I labeled all the welding spots with masking tape to help catch them all during welding

• Scrapped the parts car. We had a couple decent days which I used to sort through what was left and keep whatever I deemed useful, tugged it up on the trailer with a come along, and took it to the yard

• Straightened and painted the front bumper end brackets. These had marks from grinding on the median during the crash. The RF was already replaced once.

• Pulled apart the rear end and installed the new halfshafts

• The LF was not this high but this pic with the original strut tower brace gives you an idea how bent this car was

• The only moving suspension part (besides springs and struts) not wrecked in the crash

There is still a bunch more welding to do so I’m taking care of other things until that gets done.