This would have been one of my favourite stages in this restoration. Seeing the car emerge with her brand new coat of paint was fantastic! I was absolutely over the moon. She was a totally different car and from that point on, to me, she became Lucy. One thing's for sure, the Challenger's body lines are awesome! The Challenger's accent line is automotive art. You'll notice in the photos that the underside of the car is painted black using a special compound that reduces exhaust and road noise. It is also 3 or 4 times more durable than paint.

During this build I didn't want to be "factory correct" if it meant sacrificing durability and longevity. All the top designers, such as Chip Foose, Troy Trepanier and Julius, use this on their cars. Another added bonus using this compound is 1, 2 or 10 years later you can hoist it up, power blast the underside and it will be just like new again. Try doing that with a "factory correct" paint job. If I were building a trailer queen, painting the underside of the car would have been the way to go but I built this car to drive, not to park up or baby, so this was a must. I wanted a class 1 show car that would run all day in any condition 24/7/365.

The factory cars, to me, had a few "tacky" pieces and obsolete parts, as you'd expect from a car manufactured nearly 40 years ago. These cars were shoved out the door with all the attention on the big engines and speed items, so things like the interior were lacking craftsmanship. Wherever possible, these were replaced with modern pieces such as new electronic ignition, shocks, distributor, alternator, CD player, etc. The goal was to have a factory appearing car that used the best parts from then and today. Something I feel we certainly accomplished.