Timmycharger's 68 Resto

[timmycharger]

I finally got my wheels from Summit and had the tires mounted and balanced. I went with what I had before taking it off the road, mine got rusty in storage so had to buy them again.  

275/60/15 rear on 15x8 wheels.  Fronts are 235/60 on 15x7.  I spent a few hours with soap and water with rags cleaning the front suspension from all of the bodywork dust, touched up a few areas and installed my inner fender shield. Still need a patch for the passenger side so I cant do that one yet. I put in the front inner fender seals along with the plastic k frame shields and the long shield that bolts to the bottom of the frame rail.  Also did the same in the rear end of the car, tons of filler dust that needed to be cleaned.  I ended up using big aluminum rivets to secure the plastic shields.

[ht4spd307]

hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing 

[timmycharger]

hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing 

.


Good question! I am not sure if it's just on 68s or not, I have seen people omit them on 68 restorations I have seen. 

[Charger-Bodie]

hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing 

.


Good question! I am not sure if it's just on 68s or not, I have seen people omit them on 68 restorations I have seen. 

Yup 68 only. Phased out later in the run. Some 68 had it some didn't.

[ht4spd307]

yes i thought it may have been a 68 thing as my dad when he worked in the GMH General Motors Holden factory the company would pay employees incentive payments if they could think of things they could remove off a car which in turn stuff like this would save the company millions.On one model the early torana they removed all the front guard bolts and spot welded them on which saved them millions of dollars in bolts but a nightmare for the after market .

[timmycharger]

Been busy with home projects but have been able to pick away at some small things. I didn't take pics of everything, but since the last update:

Installed the horns and relay

Adjusted the quarter glass on both sides, got them as good as I could get them.

installed rear upper bolster pads and rear panels/chrome.

cleaned up and dyed the door jamb windlace

gave up on looking for a patch panel for my inner fender shield, ended up fabricating a small patch, welded it from the back.

Started on the restoration of the seatbelts. Many years ago I sold my original green set thinking I could easily find a black set. My originals were perfect, except the wrong color, should have kept them     Instead, I picked up a rough black set a couple of years ago that needed to be re dyed and I finally got to them.  First I washed them a few times with soap and water, let them dry and then used 2 packages of RIT black dye with some boiling water and a few cups of vinegar.  I still have to re paint the buckles so I will post the final results when done, but you can see the process.

[birdsandbees]

Lookin snazzy!!! Must be getting real good at the glass by now and you're welcome to come up and put mine back in!! 

[timmycharger]

If only I were close by, I would love to! I think I did more research on installing and adjusting the glass than any school paper or work project in my life

[TPR]

I've probably said this before, but this is one of my favorite threads.
Coming together nicely Timmy!
TPR

[timmycharger]

I've probably said this before, but this is one of my favorite threads.
Coming together nicely Timmy!
TPR

Thank you!!

[timmycharger]

Got the seatbelts almost finished, taped off the buckles and put the belts in baggies, shot them with some SEM trim black.  They are not perfect but much better than they were.  I have to sew on the straps for the shoulder belts but I am not sure how long they need to be, any feedback is welcome.

[timmycharger]

 

[68pplcharger]

Looks good I've still got to do that to my cars rear seats. How long did you let the seat belts soak in the RIT dye?

[timmycharger]

Thanks


I let the water come to a boil, then brought the pot outside since it smells bad with the vinegar, soaked the belts, buckles and all for about 30 minutes while stirring it with a stick to move them all around.  I probably would have left them in longer as they are not super dark black, some have a very dark purple look to them in the sun. 

[68pplcharger]

Cool thanks for the info

[timmycharger]

Getting very close to completing the car or at least completing it enough to enjoy it this year.   The interior is now finished, seat belts installed, the carpet trimmed and secure with the kick panels and sill plates put on. The console was screwed into place and all of the interior lights, switches, etc were tested.  My list of what is left to do is down to a handful.

1. adjust torsion bars
2. install stock pinion snubber
3. finish the repairs from the hood mishap, have re painted
4. fix a few minor sags/runs in the clear at the rockers.
5. clean/detail the car
6. get an alignment, have A/C charged

[BLK 68 R/T]

Very nice, just a handful of things left to do. Then it's..... time 

[timmycharger]

Very nice, just a handful of things left to do. Then it's..... time 

Yep! hopefully I can steal a few hours this weekend and knock off a few things off of the list 

[timmycharger]

Couple of new pics of the car in its current state. Still working on the hood repairs but the list is getting shorter for things to complete.  

[moparstuart]

hey tim just noticed your door cards the pockets have a little chrome finishing tab on each end is this a 68 thing 

.


Good question! I am not sure if it's just on 68s or not, I have seen people omit them on 68 restorations I have seen. 

Yup 68 only. Phased out later in the run. Some 68 had it some didn't.

my recent find , April 1st car  has them

[timmycharger]

   I wonder when they started phasing them out, maybe when they just ran out of the supply?

Amazing car by the way, congrats! Love the color, I think mine was the same when new, but my interior was green.

[timmycharger]

After almost a year of having my hood off the car since having the car painted, I finally finished the repairs and had it painted earlier this week.

I now just have to finish adjusting the valves, get an alignment and an inspection sticker and then its done enough for this year 

[VegasCharger]

 

EDIT (adding): You've come a long way since this day. You know the story, my first P/C desktop Charger picture back in 2000. I somehow feel attached to this car.

[timmycharger]

Haha Thanks Bryan!! That is still one of my favorite pics.  One of these days I will convert the old 8MM video I have of that burnout contest onto DVD or Youtube 

[VegasCharger]

Haha Thanks Bryan!! That is still one of my favorite pics.  One of these days I will convert the old 8MM video I have of that burnout contest onto DVD or Youtube