1969 Charger RT ---- Done

[gtx6970]

Whats new fellas. Sorry for not getting on here much anymore. I had some major changes in my life. And as a result I decided to stay off the computer as much as I used to and concentrate on family and  my business. With me  no longer in the parts side of AM .. I  try to stay pretty steady with shop work.  Although I will browse thru here from time to time. But having 2 teenage daughters playing sports (school golf team, soccer, and volleyball) they  take up most free time we do have.

That said,, This one is FINALLY done.

Owner comes in this weekend with plans to drive it the 5 plus hours home.(weather permitting)

I've done or redone essentially everything on the car end to end,,except exterior paint and recovering the seats themselves.
All original drivetrain rebuilt to factory stock.We even retained the original 3.23 one wheel wonder rear axle.
The original column shift setup and buddy seat were restored and put back in.
Sound system is the original AM, upgraded by Turnswitch to modern internals. Now AM/FM with inputs to connect an ipod or some other external sound device.
All the brake and fuel lines are Finelines. Exhaust is a mix between Accurate and Dons Custom Exhaust.
Interior  is all Legendary ( ft seats were upgraded to leather inserts )
Trim parts carpet,,( fit could have been better) I'll go back with ACC next time.
All Metro weatherstriping ( with ZERO complaints )
And on and on and on.
From the beginning the goal was to make it a solid and reliable driver. It's not perfect, and it was never intended to be. Goal was keep it stock looking to the majority of the people looking at it. But with a few modern upgrades for reliabilities sake.

More pics in the facebook link below.

Thanks to the owner to allow me the opportunity. And to those who've answered my questions along the way when I had them. I've done far more to this car than any other car I've ever done. Trying new things, some I learned on ,,some I learned to never do again. Regardless,,the car turned out really, REALLY nice.

So, I'm on to the next one. A 1970 Challenger 440 six pack RT/SE. Not nearly as much work involved but same end goal in mind. As well as a full blown  ground up restoration  on a 1968 Charger R/T  440 4spd 4.10 Dana



Bill
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AM-High-Tech-Automotive/408528952539495

[Ghoste]

Silver RT, that is just stunning Bill. 

Would the new owner be averse to adding it to the 69 Registry?

[JB400]

Looks great

[hemi68charger]

Looks awesome Bill !!!   

[charge69]

Wonderful work on bringing this Charger back to life!  I am sure the owner is excited!  Congrats !!

[tan top]

 looks nice Bill    awesome job 

[hemi-hampton]

Looks nice. Good job LEON.

[Stegs]

come and do mine! 

[DixieRestoParts]

 

Missed you at Carlisle. Will you be going to the Nats?

[BananaDan]

Nice work as always Bill!   

[TUFCAT]

Nice work as always Bill!  

I really like A4 silver (also known as platinum is some cases).  Its like a chameleon in the sense that takes on whatever color is in the background. Note the greenish tint when parked by the trees. I've seen this many times, even a brownish-burnt silver tone - which is really cool.

At Carlisle I saw other 69 models in this color with rare interior colors like blue and even green!  

Its a great looking Charger color because it focuses your eyes directly on the body lines in the right light.  A few other members own Charger's like this (Spike's '70 comes to mind).  Beautiful!     
  

[stripedelete]

Nice work as always Bill!  

I really like A4 silver (also known as platinum is some cases).  Its like a chameleon in the sense that takes on whatever color is in the background. Note the greenish tint when parked by the trees. I've seen this many times, even a brownish-burnt silver tone - which is really cool.

At Carlisle I saw other 69 models in this color with rare interior colors like blue and even green!  

Its a great looking Charger color because it focuses your eyes directly on the body lines in the right light.  A few other members own Charger's like this (Spike's '70 comes to mind).  Beautiful!     
  

That chameleon quality drive me nuts.  It's more exagerated in photos than in person.  It was supposed to be A1 before it went in the paint booth.  Not sure what I got  (Bill didnt paint it)
Here's a pic of it in silver (instead of green) 

[Ghoste]

Thats the quality I love so much about the silver cars too Tuffy, especially at night.

[twenty mike mike]

Beautiful!

Is A4 actually a different paint mix and not just an updated code from AA1?

I didn't realize my A4/blue car is so rare!

[Ghoste]

I don't think it is but I'm not sure about it.

[jaak]

Looks great!

Wished my car had the tall bumperettes. I just think they look better, might have to hunt me a set one day.

Jason

[bakerhillpins]

That chameleon quality drive me nuts.  It's more exagerated in photos than in person.  It was supposed to be A1 before it went in the paint booth.  Not sure what I got   (Bill didnt paint it)
Here's a pic of it in silver (instead of green)  

I think it came out fantastic. I know you don't like that "feature" but I think it's pretty cool. Is it a base clear?  I bet it's the clear coat. Thinking that 1 stage wouldn't do that.  

Glad to see that you finally have it back home. Have you taken it out yet? What the Mrs think?  

When are you getting a set of Cragars? 

[stripedelete]

Well,  rolled into home about an hour ago.   Left Bill's in Burlington,KY, about 6:40am.  While I worried about rain and traffic when planning the trip, I never considered fog.  I had to pit north of Dayton to let it burn off.  Stayed off the interstate.  Drove through the "bergs" Springfield to Norwalk. 

It drove great!  Firm feel #2 was the right choice for me.  Happy I went back to column shift.  I'll take the armrest over worrying about the console any day.

It was like being the homecoming queen in my own parade for about 4 hours.  1st thing out of the gate, the gentleman operating the street sweeping truck asked permission photogaph it (the sun wasn't really up yet).  Almost didn't make the bathroom a couple of times because they jumped me as soon as I turned off the engine.

Noticed the back-in-the-day fans were much older than than they were 25-30 years ago. 

Final note:  examined the title before this adventure.  The car transferred into my name 7/17/1984.

[TUFCAT]

Wow. That second picture is mean looking and beautiful at the same time! 

[MxRacer855]

Gorgeous! Great color choice.

[Ghoste]

That car is so crazy beautiful!!!!!!

[TUFCAT]

That car is so crazy beautiful!!!!!!

[stripedelete]

That chameleon quality drive me nuts.  It's more exagerated in photos than in person.  It was supposed to be A1 before it went in the paint booth.  Not sure what I got   (Bill didnt paint it)
Here's a pic of it in silver (instead of green)  

I bet it's the clear coat. Thinking that 1 stage wouldn't do that.  

When are you getting a set of Cragars? 

Never considered the clearcoat.  I have to look into that.
Maybe it's about getting old.  I had the car so long I would probably have some type of issue with any other color, even a different silver.

Cragars?  You must have seen Ghoste's back-in-the-day pic?   

[Ghoste]

 

[gtx6970]

Beautiful!

Is A4 actually a different paint mix and not just an updated code from AA1?

What I'm told is AA1 has more blue in it and A4 has more green in it .

I will agree ,,,This car is one of the best driving old cars I have ever driven,,, bar none.

But, I want to go on record, this journey took so much longer then either one of us thought it would. But circumstances causing such - a shop move mid stream, lost a parent midway. And lost my dog. To be brutally honest,,, I went thru several months not wanting to do much of anything .
Ray was ever so patient along the way. Hopefully the wait was worth it. I sure know he was like a kid in the candy store when it pulled out of my lot this morning.
Glad its back home safe and sound, and like I told you.I wasn't worried about the car one bit.

Thanks again for the opportunity and enjoy the ride,
I did
Bill
But this was my last view

[Ghoste]

Wow, it looks great even leaving doesn't it?

[gtx6970]

come and do mine! 

Be easier if you brought it to me. 

[JB400]

No black marks  or tire smoke     Looks great

[tan top]

Wow. That second picture is mean looking and beautiful at the same time! 

   awesome charger   

[Stegs]

i like the size of the tires you have on that car.....do you know by any chance the size?

Im running little skinny OEM tire size on mine....I like the look of a fatter tire in the back, with a little bigger up front

[gtx6970]

Not 100% sure on this ,,but I think the are

Ft's are - 215-70-15  on a 6" wheel
Rr's are - 275-60-15 on an 8"  wheel

Nothing rubs anywhere on  any situation I had it in . It looks real nice . Rides and drives outstanding

[stripedelete]

Not 100% sure on this ,,but I think the are

Ft's are - 215-70-15  on a 6" wheel
Rr's are - 275-60-15 on an 8"  wheel

Nothing rubs anywhere on  any situation I had it in . It looks real nice . Rides and drives outstanding

Checked them tonight.  Bill is correct.

Rims were standard out of the box (no special backspacing). 

Went with the 6" in the front as a nod to the "old days" with the car.   

[stripedelete]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

I'm looking forward to getting to know the car all over again.

[PlainfieldCharger]

The car looks great!! LOVE the Silver Chargers