Taking notes as I progressed, the car was completely disassembled. All of the sheetmetal that could be unbolted was removed then treated to chemical stripping and electrostatic priming.  The multiple coats of paint on the body shell were removed with chemical paint stripper. In retrospect, media blasting would have been much easier.

Once the shell was stripped to bare metal and the bolt on parts were out being dipped, I sandblasted the engine compartment, trunk, K member and front suspension parts. It was a dirty, miserable job but there's no quicker way to get clean, rust free sheet metal. After the mess from the sandblasting was cleaned up, I turned my attention to the undercarriage. Many hours of scraping and scrubbing resulted in a spotlessly clean floorpan. Now it was time to shoot some primer on all of the bare metal to keep it from oxidizing. Using two forklifts, I raised the body shell and shot the underside with DP-40 Epoxy Primer.  Then I lowered the car and primed the trunk, engine compartment and body shell. After letting the primer dry sufficiently, the trunk, engine compartment and undercarriage were coated with black Ditzler Deltron urethane. Since my GTX is going to be driven, I chose urethane for it's durability. It's supposed to have better chip and chemical resistance so the underbody should stay good looking for a long time. The K member, front suspension parts and assorted small parts were also painted with Deltron.

All of the freshly painted front suspension parts made their way back onto the car. Everything was factory fresh thanks to the installation of  all new Moog components. I replaced the ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, pitman arm, control arm bushings, sway bar links and strut rod bushings.

Rounding out the front end rebuild, NOS Mopar torsion bars, torsion bar seals, retention clips, steering coupler, LCA bolts, jounce and rebound bumpers were supplied by my friendly local Dodge dealer.

The thoroughly trashed 8¾ rearend also got a thorough freshening up. Mancini Racing supplied the rebuilt "489" centersection containing a new Auburn Gear limited slip, Precision Gear 4.10:1 gears, a new yoke and bearings. It was more economical to purchase a rebuilt assembly and sell the used "742" centersection to help offset the expense.

The pinion snubber is a Mopar Performance adjustable unit. Both axles got a new set of the sealed "Green" bearings and new wheel studs. Of course, I completely refinished and detailed the rear axle housing prior to reassembly. The preformed stainless brake lines are from Inland Tube.

Not wanting to take any chances, the entire brake system was completely rebuilt. New Raybestos wheel cylinders, master cylinder and flexible hoses were used. The original steel brake lines in the engine compartment looked good so I cleaned them with a Scotchbrite pad and sprayed them with clear to keep them looking new. The brake line to the rear axle was in bad shape so I bought a 25' roll of brake tubing and made a new one. To keep it looking original, I reused the protective coil (bead blasted and clear coated to make it look like new) from the factory line.

The 11 inch drums only needed light machining to clean them up. New Raybestos brake linings were installed on all four corners. New front wheel studs were pressed in ( I wanted to do away with the left hand threads). Up front, new Timken wheel bearings, races and CR seals were installed for absolute piece of mind. After everything was buttoned up, the master cylinder was filled with D.O.T. 5 Silicone brake fluid and the system was bled. Since silicone brake fluid won't absorb moisture the hydraulics should last indefinitely. An added benefit of silicone brake fluid is that it won't harm painted surfaces in the event of a spill.