1969 Dodge Charger R/T restoration thread.

[1970gator]

I recently bought a 1969 Charger R/T, but unfortunately the fender tag is gone.  I'm trying to determine the original color.  The green in the pics below is the original color.  Is this the special order Rallye Green or another green?  Thanks in advance for the input.

[Charger-Bodie]

f6 spring green.

[Cncguy]

Cool project, welcome aboard.

[GOTWING]

looks like "spring green" 

[1970gator]

Thank you for the info.  I have a hard time with shades of green and just needed a better set of eyes to look at it, lol.  I'm honestly undecided as to what I'll do with the car or to what extent I'll restore it.  I has been on the drag strip and off the road since the mid 80's and really a solid car.  Floor pans and trunk are really solid and salvageable as well as the rear glass area.  The quarter panels will need attention though as they have some rust and the lip rolled for slicks.  Idk, I've got a 500 cu. in. stroker motor that needs a home...maybe I'll drop it in her and have some fun at the track this summer.

[twodko]

Welcome and congrats!

My vote..........mostly restore and drop in 500ci. 

[hemi-hampton]

Dodge called it Bright Green Metallic. Some call it Rallye Green (Plymouth). Code #F6. A mid year color for 69 only. LEON.

[Mike DC]

   
Looks like a nice car to work with.   


A General Lee fan will pay you good money for those wheels if you don't want them.  The rears may be too wide but the fronts will be in demand for sure. 

 

[tan top]

 hello & welcome  70G  

[Ghoste]

Welcome to the group and congrats on the purchase.  The floor pans look to be a darker green???

[comet_666]

I saw the first picture and was like...that is my car!
Def "looks" solid
nice find!

[bakerhillpins]

Of all of the pinstripes on 2nd Gen Chargers I have seen I have to say that's hands down the only one that I like.

[F8-4life]

F6 green on a solid 69 RT is an awesome start to a project- whatever way you decide to go with it.
I vote for putting a drivetrain in it and having fun. Also great wheels, btw

[Ghoste]

Reminds me of Comet666's car/

[skip68]

Nice.   I'm betting you'll find some low gears and a suregrip in the pumpkin.   
Seems like that F-6 green is kinda rare and talked about lately a lot. 
I like that color.   

[Homerr]

On the Charger I had the best original color paint on it was when the package shelf fiberboard was removed, may want to look there to see what it looks like.

[lukedukem]

I saw the first picture and was like...that is my car!
Def "looks" solid
nice find!

i thought that too... maybe you had sold it or something

but a good starting point gator, good luck

luke

[1970gator]

Nice.   I'm betting you'll find some low gears and a suregrip in the pumpkin.  
Seems like that F-6 green is kinda rare and talked about lately a lot.  
I like that color.    

Well, the rearend is a slightly narrowed 8 3/4" and it has strange 35 spline racing axles.  The pumpkin had a spool with 4.88 gears.  The previous owner kept the pumpkin but the strange racing axles with 5/8" studs are still there.  I've got a new 3.91 ratio suregrip that I bought from Mancini Racing a year or so ago and never have installed it in anything.  So, I'm thinking I'll use the strange axles for measurement purposes and get me a new set of axles to use with the new center section that I have.  I could just put a strange spool back in it but I think I'd like to be able to drive it on the street too.

I'm leaning toward hanging new quarter panels on it and keeping the mini-tubs under it with the narrowed rearend.  The narrowed rearend is perfect for those 10" vectors on the rear of the car.  10" vectors with a factory width rear are just almost too wide.

[1970gator]

I think this car was originally a 4 speed car. I believe it was probably converted to automatic for its drag racing days. Any thoughts?

Non AC firewall:



Z bar bracket:



Looks like they removed the 4 speed hump and scabbed in an auto tunnel and urethaned it in.



Clutch rod boot filled with urethane:

[Ghoste]

Well it sure does look like there is a bracket welded on there for a clutch Z-bar.  Is there also a reinforcement on the firewall near there?

[69rtse4spd]

I vote 4-sp. also, would have come with a Dana rear. Any idea how many owners befor you, owner you bought it from might have got it as a roller after someone else blew the motor, & sold the rear. He didn't know how to row a four speed & did the auto. Back seat didn't happen to have a broad cast sheet under it.  

[1970gator]

I vote 4-sp. also, would have come with a Dana rear. Any idea how many owners befor you, owner you bought it from might have got it as a roller after someone else blew the motor, & sold the rear. He didn't know how to row a four speed & did the auto. Back seat didn't happen to have a broad cast sheet under it.  

I've looked under and behind the front seats and under and behind the rear seat for a broad cast sheet with no luck.  The glove box and heater core were removed.  So, nothing there either.  I had a '68 Charger R/T years ago and I found a broad cast sheet above the headliner in it.  That's the only place I've known them to exist that I haven't checked.  I'll gently take the headliner lose and check behind it this weekend maybe but I think that's a fairly uncommon place to find them.  The carpet had been removed to install the roll bar and then replaced.  So, if it was under the carpet it's long since lost which is a bummer.

[charge69]

One of the build sheets I found while disassembling my Charger was just about where your roll bar is on the passenger side front.  It was under the carpet and had been sprayed with undercoating from the factory.  Took a while in a parts cleaner bin to clean it up enough to read it but it cleaned up. Sorry yours wasn't available there to look.

[472 R/T SE]

To touch on what Ghoste said.  On the firewall between the master cylinder & drivers inner fender is a space that's about 3-4" wide.  The factory put a brace there too for the 4 gear.  It's the backside of the brace, held on by 2 pins.

[1970gator]

To touch on what Ghoste said.  On the firewall between the master cylinder & drivers inner fender is a space that's about 3-4" wide.  The factory put a brace there too for the 4 gear.  It's the backside of the brace, held on by 2 pins.

Is this the bracket you are referring to?  That's why I love this site. I never knew about that bracket being on 4 speeds.

[timmycharger]

Yup, that's it.

[comet_666]

I had no idea either!
Just checked pics of mine and it's there.

[Ghoste]

And I believe its something that didn't begin until 68.  (not sure though)

[1970gator]

I've made another discovery about this car. I just keep discovering new details about this car. It's like a puzzle when you don't have a fender tag or broadcast sheet. This car had rocker panel trim. Was rocker trim SE only?

[tan top]

deleted by mistake     heres what I said in attached screen shot






 

[Ghoste]

Sometimes its a puzzle even with a fender tag.  Its fun to unravel though isnt it?

[1970gator]

Well, the restoration has begun.  I've disassembled, chemically stripped, sand blasted and began replacing sheet metal.  This is the part I enjoy most about restoring these cars!!!

Disassembly and stripping:

[1970gator]

Sandblasting:

[1970gator]

Installing new frame connectors after removing the poorly installed ones by the previous owner:

[1970gator]

On the right (passenger) side of the firewall/inner fender there is a large 'A1' or possibly 'AI' painted with a rather large brush.  I've stripped a lot of these cars and have never seen that marking before.  Any idea what it is?  These are poor cropped pics but I think you can make it out.  I'll get better pics in the next day or two.

[keepat]

Awesome welds! good luck with the build.
Pat

[tan top]

looking good !! keep the pictures & updates coming  

On the right (passenger) side of the firewall/inner fender there is a large 'A1' or possibly 'AI' painted with a rather large brush.  I've stripped a lot of these cars and have never seen that marking before.  Any idea what it is?  These are poor cropped pics but I think you can make it out.  I'll get better pics in the next day or two.

have a read here  


http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,110040.50.html

[1970gator]

Here is a better pic of the marking on the inner fender.

[freddyd02]

Great stuff! 

[hemi68charger]

Looking good !!!! 

[mopar4don]

To touch on what Ghoste said.  On the firewall between the master cylinder & drivers inner fender is a space that's about 3-4" wide.  The factory put a brace there too for the 4 gear.  It's the backside of the brace, held on by 2 pins.

Is this the bracket you are referring to?  That's why I love this site. I never knew about that bracket being on 4 speeds.

What excactly does this bracket do?
Are the pedals mounted to it from the inside?

[303 Mopar]

To touch on what Ghoste said.  On the firewall between the master cylinder & drivers inner fender is a space that's about 3-4" wide.  The factory put a brace there too for the 4 gear.  It's the backside of the brace, held on by 2 pins.

Is this the bracket you are referring to?  That's why I love this site. I never knew about that bracket being on 4 speeds.

What excactly does this bracket do?
Are the pedals mounted to it from the inside?

That is for the power booster if you had power brakes.

[mopar4don]

To touch on what Ghoste said.  On the firewall between the master cylinder & drivers inner fender is a space that's about 3-4" wide.  The factory put a brace there too for the 4 gear.  It's the backside of the brace, held on by 2 pins.

Is this the bracket you are referring to?  That's why I love this site. I never knew about that bracket being on 4 speeds.

What excactly does this bracket do?
Are the pedals mounted to it from the inside?

That is for the power booster if you had power brakes.

So it is not necessary? Do you have pics? SO the car in the pic does not have power brakes (I think) and the bracket is used to fill the holes??? I am switching my Charger from an auto to a 4 speed and need clarification please.

[dogpro]

That thing looks pretty rust free after blasting , Keep after it

[tan top]

  the two studs on the back of the bracket pass through the firewall & through the clutch pedal support bracket ,

[mopar4don]

Thanks tan top, this is great info.
Now I'll have to check my ride for this

[tan top]

 

have a look here , in hemigenos     awesome Daytona build thread

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,48725.1125.html

[1970gator]

Well, I had a week off and spent it working on the R/T and got a fair amount of progress made.  I'll make several posts and with a lot of pics of the progress.  The first pic is of the installation of the 4-speed hump.  The car was originally a 4-speed but they had did a relatively poor job of installing an automatic hump.  So, I used a portion of a hump from a parts car I had and an AMD 4-speed hump to get the 4-speed hump reinstalled.

[1970gator]

The trunk pan was really solid in the car but after I sandblasted it I decided to go ahead and replace the center portion of the trunk floor.  It pen holed pretty bad from the sandblasting.  So, here are a few pics of the new center portion of the floor pan installed.

[1970gator]

The area around the rear glass was solid with only a couple small areas of rust in each corner.  I fabbed up some patches and got them installed.

[1970gator]

Next on the agenda was the quarter panels.  Unfortunately, AMD was out of stock on any full '69 Charger quarters until the late June/July timeframe.  That was fine though really.  I just need a full quarter for the driver's side and the three quarter skin for the passenger side.  Luckily, they had '70 model full driver's side quarter panels in stock though.  So, the driver's side has a '70 panel installed that I will just graph in the parking light area from the original skin that I removed.

Passenger (right) side quarter panel fitment and installation.  I prefer a flange weld rather than a butt weld where possible.  So, the area where the three quarter skin was welded to the new panel was flanged with a flanging tool prior to installation and weld thru primer was applied to prevent future corrosion.

[1970gator]

Driver's (left) side quarter panel fitment and installation.

[1970gator]

These pics show the installation of the rear valance, corners and the graphing of a right side tail panel portion on from a parts car that I had to repair the rust on the taillight panel.

[1970gator]

These last couple posts show the prep for priming and its current condition.  Next weekend I'll begin the body work on the chassis.  Once I get the body work completed on the chassis, I'm going to bedline the undercarriage, paint the engine bay and drop my 500 cu. in. stroker motor and Hemi 4-speed trans in it.

[1970gator]

Epoxy DTM primer.

[keepat]

Good progress and great work!
Pat 

[JB400]

Looks good.

[tan top]

nice work ,  looking good 

[71_Charger_R/T]

Sweet!   

[72Charger-SE]

Very impressive work and attention to detail!  Great Job!   

[jessejames]

Dang!! Looks good!! You mig those quarters?

[1970gator]

Dang!! Looks good!! You mig those quarters?

Yes sir, it's just a slow process in order to make sure you don't warp the panels.

[1970gator]

It's been a while since I've had a chance to update this thread.  I finally got my drivetrain assembled and ready to drop in the car.  Here is a little video of it running and a pic.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6iIuMzKAis

[hemi-hampton]

Nice Job, looks good. LEON.

[mopar4don]

Owwww HEMI   

[lukedukem]

so when you screwed the panels on the car, are you using something to make the panels overlap together?

Luke

[1970gator]

so when you screwed the panels on the car, are you using something to make the panels overlap together?

Luke

Everyone seems to have their own preference as to whether they butt weld or overlap.  Personally, I believe the overlap is a much stronger union than a butt weld. The flange provides added strength to the panel and you have twice the depth of metal to burn into when you weld.  I use a pneumatic flange tool like the one below to offset the metal so that the panels meet properly.


http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200658740_200658740


You can see the flange in the photograph below.

[lukedukem]

cool, thanks for the reply. 

Luke

[DixieRestoParts]

It's been a while since I've had a chance to update this thread.  I finally got my drivetrain assembled and ready to drop in the car.  Here is a little video of it running and a pic.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6iIuMzKAis

Sounds sweet!!

[hemi-hampton]

I usually use the Flange tool also. As Rick Hunter would say "WORKS FOR ME" LEON.

[moparnation74]

Beautiful work!

[G-man]

Wow. First pic of car on trailer, i thought that was the completed car... looked good!... still does

[lukedukem]

i just realized you decided to go with a hemi instead of the 500. 

Luke

[1970gator]

i just realized you decided to go with a hemi instead of the 500. 

Luke

I decided to put the 500 cu. in. stroker in my '69 R/T SE.  It has a nice non-numbers matching 440 in it now....but, the stroker motor will be a lot more fun!  The stroker has a fully CNC ported set of aluminum heads that should help it make somewhere in the 650 HP range.  Getting that in the R/T SE and the Hemi in the 4-speed R/T will be my two big winter projects.