My 74 Rallye Charger Deserves The Best

[tfdub]

I bought my 74 b5 blue Rallye Charger in 1989 for $1200. I used it as a daily driver for several years, rebuilt the hipo 360 (#s matching) and auto tranny and then sold it. I regretted it and got it back a few years later after it had been (ab)used by a teenager. I started to take it apart in 2006, got it in primer, lost interest and there it sat in my shop until last week. I'd been using my 71 Challenger 340 shaker convertible ( I bought it in 1972 for $1950) for shows and just couldn't decide what to with the Charger. I'd been considering switching it over to a 4 speed, replacing the original bench seat with buckets, changing the blue interior to black, etc etc. Today, I finished removing the interior and there's not a spot of rust inside anywhere and it's the same with the trunk floor although I've primered the bare metal spots in the trunk. Removed the complete dash today and there's no rust at all on it's underside. It made me change my mind and now I'll restore it back to it's former glory. Unfortunately, the dash frame was hacked up to put in an aftermarket a/c unit years ago (not by me). I have another non a/c dash frame but here's the question. Should I get the original frame welded up to keep all the original metal on the car or use another different dash frame? No other metal on the car needs to be replaced. I don't even need to repaint the inside. I was going to change the shade of blue slightly but now I'm not even sure I should do that. Any suggestions? I'd take and post pictures but haven't been able to get the hang of it yet. If someone wants to, I can take some pics and email them to another member to post. I figure about $3500 to get it back to it's like new self. I have another 74 Charger 318 car I plan to build exactly like I want it and it also has no rust and has a/c. I'm glad I've got my interest in these cars back. Sorry it's so long winded but I'm excited to be working on my Mopars again.   
Terry
My email is terry.sherylwalker@frontier.com

[RallyeMike]

The dash frame has the VIN riveted to it. If you are really going for originality, I'd suggest hacking a parts car frame to restore the original one.

BTW, a 74 360 Rallye Charger is pretty rare sight to begin with, let alone that most any of them that were built have been chopped up, modified, and parted out.   

[ODZKing]

From the numbers I see, looks like 1,955 360's in Chargers in 74. Only 69 with 360 4bbl HP.
Just looking at the dealer sheets as well.  73 was the last year for 340 so 360 wasn't even available in 73 (below)

[bill440rt]

How bad is the original dash frame hacked, and what would it take to repair it?
Would the repaired areas be covered by any dash trim?
If you can save your original dash frame, by all means do so.

[tfdub]

Here's the data plate info:
V6X 28 End
M25 M31 N41 N42 R11
J25 J45 J52 J54 L31 M21
V4W U W57 B41 F18 G54
KB5 S1B6 000 114 110757
E58 D34 WH23L4G186XXX

It had the dual slotted exhaust tips without the cutouts in the rear valence. It has the Lagoon blue interior, the black side stripes power bulge hood with callouts that say MAGNUM. I've since added the dual cutout rear valence. The bench seats have the cloth inserts which are not available. I still have the original felt trunk mat but it's showing it's age and I've folded it up and put it in a box. When I replace the seat covers, I'll fold them up and put them away. I've boxed up the original exhaust tips and stored them - I'll put a repop set on. I've bought a dash pad cap but since I'm going to put it back to original as much as possible, I'll probably buy a new dashpad and dye it blue. Having the bumpers rechromed is a big expense. Fortunately, I have a good set of the rubber pieces that fill in the bumper to body gaps. I'll try to post some pics later today. I'll probably try to get a good TIG welder to save the original dash frame. It has a dealer installed cruise control which I'll probably leave. I still figure I can get it in great shape for between $3K and $4K doing the paint and interior myself.
Terry

[tfdub]

The dash frame was cut in 2 places for vents. One area will be hidden by the woodgrain dash insert on the passengers side. The visible one is to the left of the instrument cluster so a rectangular vent could be installed for the driver. It's worth a shot to save it.
Terry

[bill440rt]

Saving the dash frame sounds easy enough. Butt-weld in some patches over the holes, and then some simple fill/prime work & repaint. 

[Nacho-RT74]

VIN rivets are available around, not cheap though:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,28336.0.html

but if you ask me, worths to make it

dunno if you'll need to certify the job with some police or legal authority, BUT, if posible, I wouldn't repair the dash, and simply change the VIN Plate from one to another.

Actually is easier and allways will have a one piece dash frame ( which are not expensive to get ), instead a patched one

[ODZKing]

WH23:
Dodge Coronet,Charger
High
2 Door Hardtop

L4G: 360 245HP(net) 1-4BBL 8 CYL HP
1974
St. Louis, MO, USA

186XXX:   Sequence number

E58:    360 cid 4 barrel V8 245hp
D34:    Light Duty Automatic Transmission
KB5:    Lucerne Blue Poly Exterior Color
S1B6: Interior Trim - S1 Unknown, B6 - blue (sure that S isn't a B)
000:    ?? (should be something like M4B???)
114:    Build Date: January 14
110757:   Order number

V4W: Vinyl, white roof
U:    USA Specifications
W57:    Unknown wheels???
B41:    Front Disc Brakes w/Standard 10in RR Drum
F18:    65 amp alt
G54:    Outside LH Remote Chrome Racing Mirror

J25:    3 Speed Wipers
J45:    Hood Tie Down Pins
J52:    Inside Hood Release
J54:    Sport Hood
L31:    Hood/Fender Mounted Turn Signals
M21:    Roof drip rail moldings

M25:    Wide sill moldings
M31:    Belt Moldings
N41:    Dual Exhaust
N42:    Chrome Exhaust Tips
R11:    Radio Solid State AM (2 Watts)
V6X:    Longitudinal Stripes, Black

28:    28 inch radiator
END:    End

[tfdub]

Now that is interesting. It had a black canopy vinyl top on it when I bought it. It was black vinyl under the drip rails when I removed them and under the windshield trim.

[ODZKing]

V4W, it's called a canopy roof. E809JW1 is the part number of the material.
"W" always indicates white.
X is black.   

[tfdub]

Please excuse my lack of knowledge of the 3rd generation b-bodies and all my questions. I've restored 5 Challengers (three 70s and two 71s) and owned three 72 Challengers but this is the 1st Charger I've really got into and there are quite a few differences between e-bodies and b-bodies. What would be the belt moldings listed on the tag and what are the wide door sill moldings? Should I put it back to a white top? It would certainly look different with the black side stripes and a white top. My guess is the buyer had the dealer chage the top, install a/c and cruise control as they are Mopar parts ( even the under dash a/c) There were no belt moldings on the car. I'll repair the original dash frame and prep the non a/c spare dash frame I have and paint them both blue, then choose the best of the two.

[tfdub]

Ok, I've taken some pictures of the car because I know a post is worthless without pictures. So, most of the pictures are about 1MB each. I see the largest allowed is 250KB per post. Do I need to resize the pics or will they be done automatically when I attach them? What's the easiest way to resize?
Terry

[ODZKing]

No they won't resize, you'll have to or it'll give you an error.
here are your vinyl roofs with description from the 74 data book. You should hav the top one, yes?

[tfdub]

Correct,iIt is the top one I have on the car.

[ODZKing]

Some folks call the sill moulding, rocker moulding.  I am not 100% but I believe, if that is the case you have the wide one like this:

Not this:

[ODZKing]

Belt moulding (again I believe) is the moulding on the top edge of the door like this:

Not this:


Good thing it's slow at work today!  How am I doin' so far?

[tfdub]

I tried to resize the data plate but it lost definition in the process. I took the plate off and I looked at it from the back. It has M26, not M25  and A57 not W57 as I thought. it does have the moldings on top edge of the door.

[ODZKing]

I tried to resize the data plate but it lost definition in the process. I took the plate off and I looked at it from the back. It has M26, not M25  and A57 not W57 as I thought. it does have the moldings on top edge of the door.

M26 is wheel opening mldg
A57 is Rallye pkg

[VegasCharger]

No they won't resize, you'll have to or it'll give you an error.
here are your vinyl roofs with description from the 74 data book. You should hav the top one, yes?

Holy crap!!! I know these cars well but I NEVER knew that you could get an 73-74 SE Charger with a Halo Vinyl top!!! Good info Bob.

Good luck Terry with your Charger. I can help with posting pics for you, I have the time to do so. PM me if you want.

Bryan 

[tfdub]

Lets try the picture posting. The first shows the engine - notice it still has the original washer fluid bottle and coolant overflow bottle. The second pic shows part of the dash frame hack job near the center and the replacement frame behind it. Note how much blue is on the original frame but not much black on the spare frame. Must be the differences in assembly plants.

[tfdub]

 A couple more pics. The top pic shows a rectangular hole cut for the drivers side a/c vent - has primer around it. The second pic shows the coolant recovery bottle better. I found out these are not readily available. I don't want to replace the original yellowed washer fluid bottle and not the yellowed coolant overflow bottle. probably just clean them both up and leave them.

[tfdub]

 Some more

[tfdub]

Some more. The floor pans and paint are great inside. The discoloration on the drivers floor plan is where the jute backing was stuck to the pan. The second pic is the trunk area. I've primered the bare spots.

[tfdub]

A couple of more