Stripping The Car
Let's get into it! Stripping, storing, removing, organising, stacking, it's a fairly quick process. The parts were labelled and put into make-shift piles ready for storage. Most of the original parts won't see the car again being brittle, old and definitely past their best by date. Considering the age of this car, we were very happy with what was underneath. It was a solid car for it's age (35+ years old at the time). It was an excellent platform for a very solid restoration project.
All the smaller stuff is removed first, make shift piles are made trying to keep it all in order. Organised chaos.
Taillights out, trunk lid off, rear valance and bumper removed.
More parts, moldings, rubber clips, interior trim and seats. All the parts that will be restored or required for reference are bagged and tagged.
Fenders, grille, front valance and bumpers all off. Note the fenders have a little surface rust from where the body side mouldings held moisture in.
The engine out and all other bolt-ons including the AC unit etc.
The numbers matching 440ci 4bbl Magnum after being removed. I still have this block on a stand in storage. I plan to freshen, paint and dress it up and display it in my barn / workshop on an engine stand next to the Challenger as a museum style art piece.
Showing where the fenders used to be. Grimy but solid.
The interior all stripped out. The column is semi attached for ease of moving the shell around.
Showing the rear section of the interior.
The headlinner area. As expected, very solid.
The stripped trunk and rear end.
A rolling chassis ready for the next stage... Body Work