guys, help, 1972 dodge charger

[sawyer440rt]

Charger guy, if that is your charger in the pictures, that is awesome, guys, no update today, not feeling well, head is swimming and i think I got the flu, can't keep nothing down, this sucks, but take care and as soon as im able, more pics and updates will be coming, THX for all the advice so far, much appreciated.

[Chargerguy74]

Well thank you. Yes, it is. It was my dad's first car. I came across it and purchased it 31 years after he sold it. It did a bit of a loop in those 31 years and wound up just 9 miles from home. It's a 400HP 4 speed Rallye.

Get some rest, hope you feel better soon!

[jaak]

Tune it up.

Change the fluids, belts, hoses, etc.

Go through the brakes.

Make sure none of the tie rods or anything else on the suspension is about to snap.

Patch the hole in the floor with a piece of tin, pop rivets and some roofing tar.

Give it a good scrubbin' inside and out.

All of this shouldn't take more than one l-o-n-g weekend.

Drive it around the neighborhood a few times.

Cruise it on over to the old guys place and make him happy.

Get the R/T.


Where are you ?

You might even find a volunteer or two to help you from this site.  

We've been working on these cars for decades.

Some of us since they were just new cars.

My thoughts exactly!

Jason

[sawyer440rt]

K

[lukedukem]

Guys still not feeling well, sorry, to answer eccentrics ?, yes the hole is in both, not sure why, but the barn did leak really bad, charger guy, like that paint job, and nice rescue yourself, pete in NH, what was that welder you recommend again?, to all the others on here that have given a ton of advice, it's much appreciated, was thinking about the dash and how cracked the top piece is, is it all one piece, or can i seperate it and buy a new top half??? Still feeling like my guts are on fire, will post more pictures soon with Luke's help. And THX luke for all your help again. I still have to get up, walk out and look at it and make sure I ain't dreaming, lol. Later guys, be safe out there.

i double checked my email this morning, and there were more pics that i missed posting for you, sorry. some you sent where duplicates, but here are the two i missed:

luke

[sawyer440rt]

K

[lukedukem]

THX luke duke, lol, you the man buddy, I think I have bit off more than I can chew with the car, lol, we will see.when I get to feeling better, can I send you some more pictures to put on here for me??? If it bothers you in any way I won't but again i much appreciate it bro, THX again luke.

yes, i will more than happy to help out.

luke

[Pete in NH]

The MIG welder I have is a Hobart Handler 140, I like it and it generally gets good reviews. I'm sure others will have recommendations as well. I bought it a few years ago when Northern Tool had a special sale price and threw in a free cart as well. My main thought was that many guys fall into the trap of buying a cheaper flux core only welder only to be unhappy with the welds they produce. If you do go for a less expensive welder that is a flux core unit make sure it can be upgraded later to a shielding gas type. Another consideration is can you get spare parts for the welder if needed. The Hobarts are made by Miller and parts and accessories are easy to find.

That dash pad is a one piece unit and is quite a big piece. Your 72 Charger is known as a third generation Charger and unlike the very popular second generation 68-70 cars there are not a lot of reproduction parts available. I would start looking for a good used dash cover pad. The gold is an unusual color so it may be harder to find one. You may be able to dye another color one gold but I really don't have any experience with that. Maybe some other third generation owners know more about the dash pad situation.

[EccentricMagpies]

Guys still not feeling well, sorry, to answer eccentrics ?, yes the hole is in both, not sure why, but the barn did leak really bad,....

Hmmm, yeah, I'd be taking your seats out to see how this whole floor looks.  Seats are held in with 4 nuts under the car.  Easy enough to remove them.  From there you can maybe take off the sill plate (tin things that run along the floor where the door closes over.) and pull the carpet back some.

Was the car parked on concrete in this barn/shed?  If that barn roof leaked a lot there might have been constant moisture under the car so it would be good to check that out.

[F8-4life]

My advise is just tune it and freshen it up to get it drivable. Forget the dash, you can inspect the floors from underneath the car without taking out the carpet/seats/belts.
That way the old man still sees a complete interior instead of just holes in the floor.

[EccentricMagpies]

Well, sure, if he only has stars in his eyes to get this '69 but he is investing in tools such as a welder so why not see what the full extent of damages are?

[F8-4life]

Well you know how cars are, one thing leads to another and this guy may get caught up in welding floor patches for a month when he could have already fufilled the deal to get the rt.

[EccentricMagpies]

Well you know how cars are, one thing leads to another and this guy may get caught up in welding floor patches for a month when he could have already fufilled the deal to get the rt.

Yeah, I agree. 

[ACUDANUT]

Sawyer, Remember you only have to get it running and give the guy a ride to be given the 69...Maybe another 72, would be a better one to restore (if that is your goal)

[sawyer440rt]

Guys, update, even tho my guts are on fire, I walked out this am to make sure the car was there and im not dreaming, as I walked into the house my son says, hey dad, its nice out, we working on the charger today, i said no, im sick as a dog, my own son said, that's not the marine dad I use to know, don't be a wussy dad, tell me what to do and I'll do it, yeah, like I know, lol, I do know a little I guess. Anyways guys, after a lot of medicine, my son calling me a wussy, we worked on it today, pics are coming, i sent them to luke to help me post them, now for the bad news. Eccentric, took pictures of the floor, it's bad on driver side, one bad spot on passenger side, but not thru. one bad spot on drivers side pillar, but not thru, tested it with a scribe. A few small pin holes here and there on car, but that's it. Pulled most of the carpet out eccentric cause it stunk like crap. Did pull on the carpet in the back, but that's not wet and still looks new, gold carpet color, yuck!! NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS. my son and I went to do the tune up, every one, and I know you won't believe this acudanut, but every dang spark plug top broke off. good news, we got them all out, changed the cap and rotor button, put the new plugs and wires in her, she runs like a champ. No she is not brown when you see the pics, she's rust colored. After we got done, my son was happier than pig in crap. Gave me a hug and kiss and said im proud of you dad, you made my day.

[sawyer440rt]

K

[sawyer440rt]

K

[dyslexic teddybear]

Guys, update, me and my son sat down tonight and made a wish list for the charger, my wife's idea, im talking tools, parts, paint, anything and everything, this might sound crazy, but the 72 has found a spot in my heart, yes the 69 is my dream car, but the more I work with my son on the 72, the more I love it. So we are digging in and digging deep, and eccentric, mr. Russell came over to night to see if we even have touched it yet, you were right eccentric, beav and a few others on here, made a great friend, went out turned it over, she fired right up, he revved it up a couple times and he got some tears in his eyes, he said when he looked at me, I see you are already in love, i said yes sir, my whole family is, we sat down for coffee, I thought I made a mistake when I said, I can't wait to tear into the 69 and show it the same love, he looked me straight in the eye and said he couldn't wait neither, hope that came out right or that i wrote it the correct way, ugh, I hope you guys understand what im trying to say there, I was shocked. I don't want to give him a ride yet untill I feel it's safe enough for my son to drive it down the road, he is more excited than I am. My whole family is starting to get into it. I am truely shocked because my wife who I thought would say it's a piece of crap, get rid of it is really getting into it to, she's trying to figure out a budget to put as much money into it as fast as possible as needed.

The connections that are forming here......you just can not put a price on. Cars can take on far more then just being something made of metal.

[lukedukem]

here are more pics that sawyer440rt asked me to post

luke

[lukedukem]

more.....

[lukedukem]

more....

[lukedukem]

more...

[lukedukem]

last one

[Charger-Bodie]

you have the perfect exterior conditions to make it a cool rat rod sort of thing. Some cool wheels......

[moparnation74]

Sure, car needs a lot of TLC.  Definately, worth 400 bones.

Sawyer, best of luck with both rides.  Great story by far.  Glad to see the car or cars are in good hands!