new to site, and my '68 Charger Project

[PlumBad70]

  WOW..What a resto, If mine turns out half as good as yours, I'll be one happy dude!!

SWEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!

[IBsmokin]

WOW! BEAUTIFUL!!!!!   Love the color skeem.  I am just glad you didnt give it a general lee paint job!!
I wish i had the resources like you have to do a restoration.  I salute you!!

[MoparYoungGun]

Damn, someones been busy! Welcome to the site , your '68 is looking great !

[gb70]

Very very nice... I'd like to go w/a silver on my car as well and from your pics, that's exactly what I want. Care to share a few more details about exactly how the paint was done, what colors, etc?

Thanks guys I appriciate it!

I did most of the blocking in my garage.   My old next door neighbor owns a collision repair shop.   I got with him on helping me mix a color that was not a typical off the shelf mix.   My old neighbors shop does alot of europiean (sp) type work, so he suggested a Mercedes Benz Silver Metalic.   I saw a sample and did not think that was good enough.   I asked him to mix it with Dodge's Viper Silver and add some heavy metailc flakes to it.   We played with that theme, and many mixes later we found the perfect shade.   He added some pearl to it so it is also is very deep.   I asked him if I could help shoot it on a weekend in his high tech booth and we went with 4 coats of paint. We painted the stripes on the car by the way.   I decided to wet sand the last coat prior to clear.   Later, he added 4 good coats of clear for me.   I will wet sand the entire car last when all the potential scratches will be over with.





I spent a lot of time wet sanding the floor pans.   Now, I have decided to use a product called "Lizzard Skin" to the floors, inside the doors, above the interior roof, on the interior firewall, and all the trunk area.   This is a product that is sprayed on as a sound dampening material.   It is pretty thick stuff.   It is much better than say Dynomat.   This will be the next step soon.   The mix is not cheap but the results will be like a new car.   No road noise, less vibration, less heat transfer.   It will be   a very good insulator!   I am very of excited about appliying it.   

As for the garage, I have since moved from that California home and miss that detatched garage space.   I kept my lift and just got it in my new garage here in Idaho.   I have a 5 car garage so space is good!

I am kind of a neat freak like Paul Sr. of OCC, just not as rude      I always clean and organize while I work and after.   It makes me feel better organized.   Some times I will stop, take a break, and just clean up around me before I finish.   Kind of weird huh?   I think it was the fault of my old chief petty officer from my US Navy days.   He would have us clean, clean, clean!   Field day is what they used to call it.   At least I have no inspections   

The Cuda I got from Matt Delaney back in Jan of 2000. Has anyone here on this board heard of Matt?He is the guy that also built the '68 Silver Charger that has the Viper V-10 engine in it.


It was in mags, and at Sema a few years back.


His latest is an AAR Cuda with a wicked Hemi in it, with full front and rear independent suspension.

He also had his '70 RR in Hot Rodding last month.

Matt is a great guy and really knows Mopars!   He was doing things with EFI's on Hemis before it was in vouge.   The Cuda you see here has a Ray Barton 528 Hemi with an EFI that I am running Accells Gen7 EFI software in place of dual carbs.   Runs strong, reliable, and gets 14 mpg!   The pic shows a 1000 cfm which I changed out to a 1250 cfm.



The 528 cid Siamese Mopar block is fitted with Manley rods, JE pistons, aluminum Mopar heads, Pro Flow valves, a Comp Cams valvetrain featuring thingy Landy stainless roller rockers, and an Indy intake manifold.






My new garage in Idaho

[Silver R/T]

thats a nice garage and even nicer rides, that cuda is hooked dude

[RD]

yes i remember the article on Matt and his V10 charger.  I also remember reading that he stated selling his cuda to finance that project, well now I know who he sold it to!     the charger looks great and so does the cuda.  did you take any styling cues from matt's charger and apply them to yours?

[mustanghater]

yikes!   the guys got his own coke machine! Now that's what i call a first post!
W E L C O M E   !   !   !     Nice Work!

I got one of those big coke bottles they use in the displays

[gb70]

yes i remember the article on Matt and his V10 charger.   I also remember reading that he stated selling his cuda to finance that project, well now I know who he sold it to!        the charger looks great and so does the cuda.   did you take any styling cues from matt's charger and apply them to yours?

Good memory. Matt later told me that of all the cars that he has done, he wished he would have kept the Cuda he sold me.   Matt has influenced me a lot.   I like his styling and his way of adding todays technology and putting it all together with old school Mopar.   As for the Charger, I like how that one he did sits.   It has just the right height.


He had to move the firewall back on that '68 in order to get that V-10 put togther if memory serves me correctly.


Under his Charger. Note the T-56 six-speed manual gearbox and Magnum Force's adjustable upper and lower control arms.



I really like his tire and wheel choices; Michelin's Pilot Sport in a 345/35/18 in the back,   Kinesis Wheels, a 18x12 for the rear and an 18x8 for the front (with a matching 245/45/18 Michelin Pilot).

narrowed 8 3/4-inch rearend (with a 3.91:1 rear ratio and Moser axles). and a set of 32-inch ladder bars


Check out his interior:



I like his color choice but I changed mine with a radical twist, but it's hard not to like this:


I talk to Matt now and then and he always has great advice.   He is a great mentor.   If I can build just 1/2 as good as Matt I would consider myself blessed.   He just blows people away with his designs!

[Brock Samson]

 

GB,..   let's trade, you allways really wanted a '69 anyways right?..   

[RD]

gb, how much did matt pay for those one off 5 lug viper style rims on that charger?  I was always curious about that.

[gb70]

gb, how much did matt pay for those one off 5 lug viper style rims on that charger?   I was always curious about that.

I never asked, but I know that they were special made by Kinesis Wheels of California. 

I am trying to decide myself what type of tires and wheels to put on my project.  It will be close to the last big $ I will spend, near the end of the project.

Any suggestions?

[RD]

look at username: NYCMille, you may like those. it may give you an idea anyways, i like em.

[gb70]

How do you like  (or not) these Budniks?



Such a hard choice....

[RD]

i like those.  i like them alot more than the one's matt has on his 68.  those are really nice, sleak, slender, if you have a good brake setup in front or rear (wilwood, baer) it will show of the system really well.  Cosmetically they are really nice.  I do not know much of the budnik brand, other than the fact that they are name brand rims though.  Might want to ask around here in a new thread about the quality and reliability?

[gb70]

i like those.   i like them alot more than the one's matt has on his 68.   those are really nice, sleak, slender, if you have a good brake setup in front or rear (wilwood, baer) it will show of the system really well.   Cosmetically they are really nice.   I do not know much of the budnik brand, other than the fact that they are name brand rims though.   Might want to ask around here in a new thread about the quality and reliability?

Ya, it is a hard call to make.  I will keep an open eye and mind, and I have time in which to decide.

It will probaly be the last call to be made. 

[Charger_Fan]

I'm in awe over how clean & organized your garage is & how well you've done on your car.
Very nice work!!
Can't wait to see the finished result, it will be spectacular!

I sure look forward to seeing the cool ideas Matt pulls off. He and a small handful of others are completely in a league of their own.
That's pretty cool that you were able to snag one of his cars.

[Telvis]

Not only is the car awesome but your garage looks pretty cool too!  I wish my garage was that neat and organized.  You are doing a spectacular job on the car.

[gb70]

I'm in awe over how clean & organized your garage is & how well you've done on your car.
Very nice work!!
Can't wait to see the finished result, it will be spectacular!

I sure look forward to seeing the cool ideas Matt pulls off. He and a small handful of others are completely in a league of their own.
That's pretty cool that you were able to snag one of his cars.

Thanks!  

Some of the things I plan on adding to the car are:
Aluminum Radiator
After Market A/C
Power Windows
Tint All the Windows before I place them back on the car
Put in a real powerful sound system
All new Red Leather Interior
New Style Wheels and Tires

Any other features to consider?

I will continue to post updates as progress continues.

As for Matt he is very busy trying to finish three cars now.   He has one that he will be showing at this years SEMA show.   He has invited me and I can't wait to check out his latest creation.

There are not many (except those in the know) that appriciate his talents.   I am very pleased to own the Cuda Matt had restored back in the late 90's.   I knew then that it was a very special Cuda, and after have owning and driving it, all I can say is buckle up     

[RD]

here is a pic of NYCMille's car so you can see the rims gb.

[gb70]

Those are cool 
They look great on his ride!

[PocketThunder]

Those are cool  
They look great on his ride!

i think he was thinking about selling them to go with something different....?

[ChgrSteve67]

Its beautiful.

and I thought my garage was clean.

Now I have to tell my wife I need a soda machine?

This keeping up with the Jones's is killing me.

Both of your rides are really sweet, congradulation and good job on the hard work.

[gb70]

Its beautiful.

and I thought my garage was clean.

Now I have to tell my wife I need a soda machine?

This keeping up with the Jones's is killing me.

Both of your rides are really sweet, congradulation and good job on the hard work.

You know the soda machine I got for 300 bucks, and it uses very little electricity.   It's fun to have in the shop/garage, and makes a great cooler for beers as well  

I miss my old garage for sure.   This one is nice but have to share it with my wife  

Check out the epoxy floor!   It is the best epoxy I ave ever had on a floor


I also built a one car detatched but I use it for parts storage. It is 10x20 behind my RV pad


Here is a shot of the Cuda at a local Mopar Club Show and Shine


One of my favorite pics of the car

[TheGhost]

The Camaro your's as well?  How many classics do you own?

[gb70]

The Camaro your's as well?   How many classics do you own?

Never enough    Really only the Cuda, the '69 Camaro, RS,SS,Z-28, and my project.  I just recently sold my '70 SuperBee. I found it and bought it years ago from the original owner.  She had owned it since day one and it had 214,000 miles on the original drivetrain.  I completely restored it myself.
The engine was tired and was never out of the bay until I got it.  I miss it just thinking aboutit, but that's cool.


I also found and restored an all original 1970 Chevelle LS6, numbers matching, POP, buildsheet, with 17,000 original miles!  A true LS6 collector made me an offer $$ I could not refuse.  Not as sad to see it go as Mopar bleeds from my blood.


As for the Z-28, I am working on trading another guy in Idaho for his all origianl '70 Cuda that has a shaker, 440 6-pack, sub lime green, all numbers matching.  Hope he bites...  I am also working on trying to find my next deal if that falls through, a '71 Cuda.  I love my E Bodies!