New 70 charger 500 se

[Faiginwells98]

Hi my name is Rob and I just purchased a 70 charger 500 se. It belonged to my uncle who bought it new and when he passed away it went to his son, my cousin.   I paid a bit for it, and it is not in as good as shape as I remember, but it is numbers matching.

The exterior has original paint and roof except for front driver's side fender. Interior is in pretty good shape as well.

I have never restored a car before and I have no idea where to begin. I know I want to restore it to its original condition as opposed to tricking it out or souping it up.

So after much searching and reading I thought I would start this thread for advise and guidance on my new project/journey.

So here is my first question where do I begin?

Do I repair the minor body damage and repaint the whole car or should I try to preserve the original paint?  Does original paint matter in terms of value?

Thanks for any input your willing to give on my new project.

Rob

[lukedukem]

You came to the right place. First thing to do is post pics. Not only for our enjoyment , but so others can help guide you on where to begin. It will let us get an idea of what your dealing with.
Welcome to the forum, we've been waiting

Luke

[Homerr]

Welcome!

Pics need a unique name across this entire site, which is a drag, and be under 200k.  Many just post using forum links from a photobucket account.

The Hamtramck Historical site has great literature:
http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/library.shtml

Decode your fender tag:
http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=87
http://www.stockmopar.com/mopar-fender-tag-decoder.php

Project Charger is a decent walkthrough of the whole restoration route. 
http://www.amazon.com/Project-Charger-Step---Step-Restoration-ebook/dp/B008BG93EY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460681376&sr=8-1&keywords=project+charger

[Faiginwells98]

Some engine pics along with the tag...

[crj1968]

Where do you begin?  well it depends. If you are talking about a true full restoration, then you start taking the whole car apart, I guess.

If you just want to "refresh" it then I'd start with the drive train and get it running/ stopping and electrical working and do the other stuff as you go.....but that's just me, I like to drive em' even if they aren't pretty.   

Congrats on the new ride.   

[Faiginwells98]

Problem is it's in pretty good shape physically with a few body problems for being almost 50. I looked at the 1970 project book and the first thing they did was tear it apart. Seems a shame tear it apart.

[crj1968]

Looks good!  It all depends on what you want to do with it, time and money-wise.

A full tear down and rebuild is not for the faint of heart or wallet. Which is why I do things the way I do them.  

I figure a decent looking, solid running driver is good for where I am in my life right now.

I've known many O' mopar guys with big dreams and have torn cars down to never put them back together.  And of course the opposite is true. You gotta know yourself I guess.

BTW my car is a 70 500 SE as well. 383 4bbl.  I dont think trying to keep original paint etc will add any value.  Very few cars have survived to be so nice and "original" that they should be left alone. 

My car is white with a green interior. Keeping those colors will not add value. 

[hemi-hampton]

Reminds me of my old Charger I just sold. Maybe just patch bottom of 1/4's & spot paint bottom of 1/4's & drive as is? That or it will take lots of time & money. LEON.

[Faiginwells98]

Exterior pictures

[Homerr]

Clean it up, detail it, get to know it.  Then figure out what to do.   

[VegasCharger]

I see Nevada plates, are you in Nevada? Vegas?

Nice car BTW. Clean it and drive it.

Welcome aboard 

[tan top]

hello & welcome    , charger looks good 

[Charger_Fan]

From what I see so far, I would make sure the mechanical items are in good working order & just drive that baby! Is the interior in as good of shape as the exterior?

[hemi-hampton]

1/4 panel looks better in this pic, If rust free Nevada car Just clean it up & drive it, That's what I did with mine in similar shape. I prefer my cars original over restored if in good condition. LEON.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

It's your car, you're call. But personally I wouldn't do a complete restoration on it. It looks like a pretty decent car as is. I'd make a good solid driver out it by correcting things that need attention/repair. Probably do some upgrades to the front and rear suspensions, and convert to front disc brakes (if it has drums now). Then if needed rebuild engine and transmission, etc. and then just enjoy driving it.

[Faiginwells98]

Here are some interior pictures....

[Faiginwells98]

Here are some pictures of the body damage that it has....

[Faiginwells98]

More body damage...

[Faiginwells98]

You came to the right place. First thing to do is post pics. Not only for our enjoyment , but so others can help guide you on where to begin. It will let us get an idea of what your dealing with.
Welcome to the forum, we've been waiting

Luke

Luke thank you for the welcome.  It took me a day, but I figured out how to shrink and post some photos.  They should give a pretty good sense of what I am dealing with. 

I feel a little lost in that if this was NOT an all original car, I would have no problem stripping it down, rebuilding it, and souping it up.

I think I want to restore it to as close to the original as possible, which I imagine means preserving as many of the original parts as I can. 

As you can see in the pictures, it has some minor body damage (supposedly due to three separate tire blowouts).  I would assume that any type of repair would involve having to have it painted after it is repaired.  To that end, I don't know if I should have the whole car repainted or just try and match the color.  I was really excited that it had the original paint, but other than my excitement, I don't know if that makes any difference in value, etc.

Thanks again for your welcome.

Rob

[Charger_Fan]

Well, as they say, "it's only original once". To me, original paint in decent shape on a car this old, is really amazing! Honestly, even with the minor body damage it has, I wouldn't be one bit ashamed to drive it. You may even be able to have a body guy fix the fold in the front fender & rear quarter without needing paint, or maybe a small touch-up. I would probably fix the two holes in the front fender, because they are small.

The tear on the leather seat could be repaired by a decent upholstery guy, and the rest of the interior looks great!

[lukedukem]

Dude is that a bullet hole in that one pic

Luke

[Faiginwells98]

Welcome!

Decode your fender tag:
http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=87
http://www.stockmopar.com/mopar-fender-tag-decoder.php

Project Charger is a decent walkthrough of the whole restoration route. 
http://www.amazon.com/Project-Charger-Step---Step-Restoration-ebook/dp/B008BG93EY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460681376&sr=8-1&keywords=project+charger

Hi Homerr,

Thank you for the links:

I did decode the tag:

XP29:
Dodge Charger
Premium
2 Door Sports Hardtop

N0G: 383 330HP OR 335HP 1-4BBL 8 CYL
1970
St. Louis, MO, USA

222729:   Sequence number

E63:    383 cid 4 barrel V8 H.P. 335hp
D32:    Heavy Duty Automatic Transmission
FK5:    Dark Burnt Orange Metallic Exterior Color
CRXA:    Trim - Charger, Leather Bucket Seats, Charcoal/Black
TX9:    Black Int. Door Frames
508:    Build Date: May 08
069989:   Order number

V1X:    Full Vinyl Top, Black
A01:    Light Package
A47:    Special Edition Package
B51:    Power Brakes
C16:    Console w/Woodgrain Panel
C55:    Bucket Seats

H51:    Air Conditioning with Heater
J25:    3 Speed Wipers
L31:    Hood/Fender Mounted Turn Signals
M21:    Roof drip rail moldings
M31:    Belt Moldings
R21:    AM/FM Radio (5 1/2 Watts)

26:    26in Radiator

I also have the original Chrysler Corporation Car Production Broadcast F Series 1970 sheet that came with the car.  It provides a lot more detail. 

A friend of mine gave me the project charger book, and I read through it thinking I was going to follow it step by step.  Then when I got 13 pages in and saw the teardown, I thought whoa maybe I should slow my roll a little bit so as to not ruin anything original that I can't ever get back.

Rob

[Charger_Fan]

Dude is that a bullet hole in that one pic

Luke

Okay, don't fix that hole.

[AKcharger]

Twins!

[dual fours]

F98, Welcome to DC.com, your very lucky that your Uncle showed interest in such a wonderful car and that your Cousin had the interest to keep the car. Now it's your turn to preserve the Charger. You need to know what you want and what you are capable of doing work wise on the car and how much time and money is involved in restoring to Factory appearance. It sounds like you have the whole kit and caboodle, build sheet, fender tag, matching numbers and don't forget to ask to look though your aunt and uncle's family photo album for pictures of the car, ask for repair slips. As of now, depends how long the car has been sitting, I'd go though the brake system, fuel and lighting, wash wax buff and drive. Excellent information on this site and on this site.   http://1970chargerregistry.com/
Oh my it's Triplets.