My '68 Charger resto/build!

[jaak]

Great work! Love threads like this!!! 

Jason

[MxRacer855]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it!  

Jaak - I would love for my car to sit like yours when it's done. Great stance!  

Charger Bodie - No problem...

I don't have it all planned out yet, but here's the big chunks I can tell you.

-Paint: Gloss black with "Galaxy Grey" R/T stripes (No vinyl top). Galaxy grey is a cool Charcoal color.
-Motor: Either an Indy Cylinder Heads 500" 440 block, or a 572 Hemi.
-Transmission: 727 Specialist built 727 with a shift kit, reverse manual valve body, and gear vendors overdrive 4th gear added.
-Suspension: Reilly Motorsports ("RMS") Street Lynx (4-Link) rear setup with coil overs, and their AlterKation kit up front (coil overs, power rack, re-designed K-member, etc)
-Brakes: Wilwood 11" rotors in the rear, 13" up front.
-Wheels: Billet Specialties 17x10" rims in the rear, and 17x8" up front. Since I'm going with the big 13" brake setup up front, I can't run a 15" wheel like I would like. Also, it was just too hard to find a 15" tire that could perform at high speeds for a long time. Not that I need that, I'm just saying that much more technology and options are put into a 17" tire and wheel.

Everything else I'll just make decisions on while I go. the car will be back from the body shop in a few weeks (all painted  ), so the suspension stuff will go on right away. I'm hoping to pull it all off by the winter... so a little under a year from now. Obviously I WON'T rush anything though. Car... then house. it doesn't seem to work the other way around.  

Jeff

[MxRacer855]

So once all of the metal work was done, sandblast time.

Remember, The bottom of the car was already blasted and primed, so I just needed to get the inside and outer shell blasted along with the doors, hood, deck lid, front valance, and fenders.

Once everything was blasted and all of the bondo/filler was removed, the front valance and fenders were in such bad condition that there was no way I was going to even try to fix them. Both the valance and fenders were replaced.

I forgot to mention, you can see all of the rear end stuff we replaced. I couldn't find pictures of that stuff when we put it in, but you can see it now (trunk floor, rear valance, trunk floor extensions, wheel housings, leaf spring perches, quarter patches, frame sections, valance to quarter corners, etc.)

[MxRacer855]

The sand blast shop that I went to, only blasts cars. They actually knew what they were doing. I think altogether... the guy said they used 6 types of media! I know they used some type of vinyl/acrylic on the roof to get all of the glue off from the vinyl top.

[MxRacer855]

Another view. 

[MxRacer855]

Back in the garage again after a week of blasting!

[MxRacer855]

So a few weeks after the car was blasted, it was off to the body shop where it sat for 5 months (all of the way up to this point). Picking her up in a few week.  

I borrowed an open trailer from my friend who helped me do all of the metal body work since it won't fit inside of my enclosed dirtbike trailer. You can see that it barely fit... 

[keepat]

Great progress and awesome job!
Pat

[MxRacer855]

Great progress and awesome job!
Pat

Thanks for following Pat! 

[MxRacer855]

When it got to the body shop (Mid West Customs off of I-294 in Alsip, IL), they immediately blew all of the sand out of it that the sand blast shop (Media Tech in Plainfield) may have missed so that they could get it into primer and NOT let the bare metal build surface rust. 

[MxRacer855]

Now time for the primer!

At this point, they look like stock cars! Tough and mean!

[moparnation74]

I vote for a 572 HEMI!

In any event you are doing a damn fine job!

[MxRacer855]

Inside pic.

[MxRacer855]

I vote for a 572 HEMI!

In any event you are doing a damn fine job!

Thanks Mopar! That's what I want to do, I just don't know that much about car motors. I have a few concerns in which I hope you guys can help me out when the time comes to make a decision on the motor. No matter what nNOTHING under 600hp/foot lbs of torque is going in!

Concern 1: Will an Indy Cylinder Heads 572 Hemi crate motor need a lot of maintenance. I've heard mixed things, but from sketchy sources...

Concern 2: The car is all fresh metal and in addition has torque boxes both in the front and rear along with subframe connectors. The Dana 60 has 3.73 gearing, 35-spline axles, and a sure grip/posi setup. The trans will be built to handle around 850hp... So I know all of that stuff can handle a powerful engine, but will the car itself be able to handle a 572 that's putting out 770hp and 720 foot lbs of torque? I don't want it to twist to the point where things warp and paint cracks. I'm NOT drag racing the car, just trying to build a fast/powerful street car. I guess occasionally a street/strip (we're talking once a year if that.. just to see times).

Any ideas?

Jeff

[MxRacer855]

Sitting in the shop with the new AMD fenders in it before the endless amount of body work happens.

[MxRacer855]

The body lines are getting built now. Making everything line up perfectly straight. 

[MxRacer855]

Just endless amounts of block sanding. I think it was in the block sanding/re-primer/re-block etc. stage for 2 months.

[moparnation74]

I vote for a 572 HEMI!

In any event you are doing a damn fine job!

Thanks Mopar! That's what I want to do, I just don't know that much about car motors. I have a few concerns in which I hope you guys can help me out when the time comes to make a decision on the motor. No matter what nNOTHING under 600hp/foot lbs of torque is going in!

Concern 1: Will an Indy Cylinder Heads 572 Hemi crate motor need a lot of maintenance. I've heard mixed things, but from sketchy sources...

Concern 2: The car is all fresh metal and in addition has torque boxes both in the front and rear along with subframe connectors. The Dana 60 has 3.73 gearing, 35-spline axles, and a sure grip/posi setup. The trans will be built to handle around 850hp... So I know all of that stuff can handle a powerful engine, but will the car itself be able to handle a 572 that's putting out 770hp and 720 foot lbs of torque? I don't want it to twist to the point where things warp and paint cracks. I'm NOT drag racing the car, just trying to build a fast/powerful street car. I guess occasionally a street/strip (we're talking once a year if that.. just to see times).

Any ideas?

Jeff

Hemi's will require more maintenance and mullah, than a stroked 512 440.  Just depends on which you want more.  However, I have always been a fan of the elephant and at any cost that will not change for me.  Only downside on my end both of my rides are completely matching numbers 440 cars.  My wife is always after me saying, "Just buy the damn Hemi and put in the GTX."  Imagine that right, thats why we have been married for 15yrs and going, lol.  

[MxRacer855]

She's a keeper! 

Well, I could go with a 440 punched out to a 572. It will take me a while to make a decision on it, but I have a few months before that stage.

That's the beauty of my project... NOTHING was date coded or numbers matching. Hell, the car wasn't even an original R/T. That's why I feel so free and good about building it the exact way I want to. I'm NOT destroying anything. On top of it, the 383 the car originally came with, didn't even come with the car. And if it did, I would for sure have at least thrown a 440 in it. Numbers matching or NOT.

I would definitely save some $$$ if I went with a 500" that makes 600hp and foot lbs of torque. Indy Cylinder Heads makes one of those crates for 10K even. A wedge 572 runs around $16,500, and the Hemi 572 around $17,000. They only make 170hp and 100 foot lbs. of torque more then the 500" punched out 440, but are merely twice as much. I know that is a lot more power, but for what I'm going to use the car for.. a 500" motor pushing out 600hp/lbs with 3.73 gearing should pull pretty hard!

[MxRacer855]

All done and ready for paint now! 

[MxRacer855]

She's straight as an arrow now!  

I know these pics have been posted at the beginning of the thread by request... but now they're in chronological order and everything is up to date! 

[moparnation74]

That's the beauty of my project... NOTHING was date coded or numbers matching. Hell, the car wasn't even an original R/T. That's why I feel so free and good about building it the exact way I want to. I'm NOT destroying anything. On top of it, the 383 the car originally came with, didn't even come with the car. And if it did, I would for sure have at least thrown a 440 in it. Numbers matching or NOT.

That is the beauty in my eyes of your thread!  

[MxRacer855]

It will look like shit on paper or in the KBB, but great in person! 

[moparnation74]

It will look like shit on paper or in the KBB, but great in person! 

Now that is a true MOPAR guy there

[MxRacer855]

It will look like shit on paper or in the KBB, but great in person! 

Now that is a true MOPAR guy there

I'm just following my dreams!    But really! A 2nd gen Charger is the best car ever made! It is classic, gorgeous, and badass at its finest! I'm beyond proud to join the club and own one!