Bought a 1969 Charger Survivor

[70B5Cuda]

I've owned quite a few Mopars and have been working on a heavily modified 1970 Barracuda restomod for the past 8 years. It will have a Gen 3 hemi, TR6060 6 speed manual trans, RMS Alterktion suspension, and much more. Here's a link with lots of pictures if you're interested: http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php/352986-70-cuda-w-6-1L-and-TR6060-6-speed

I'd been looking for a 68-69 Charger but everything was so far gone, super expensive (for what it was) or BOTH. I finally snagged a 1968 R/T a few months ago and was resigned to do a full blown resto on it when this 69 became available with a pretty cool back story. I always ask people if they know of any old Mopars-even people who aren't car people. I asked my father in law if there were any old Mopars in the town he had lived in for 30 years. I had been in the town hundreds of times and its total population is all of maybe 200-250 people. He said there used to be a red Dodge and he thought it was a Charger that used to be in a chicken coop for about 20 years but that he hadn't seen it in over 10 years. I asked for the owners name and went to work. I tracked the guy down and showed up on his doorstep. He now lived in Wichita. He wasn't at home but his wife answered. I said, "you don't know me but my father in law said you used to have a red Dodge Charger. Is there any chance you still have it?". She said, "We just moved it home. Do you want to see it?" Me: "YEAH!?!?!" It was dirty but complete and I immediately fell in love with it!!! I talked to the owner over the phone and he was not interested in selling. It was his first car that he had bought in 1977 while he was in high school. He had driven it through high school, college, and on his honeymoon. He had taken it off the road in 1985 and stored it out of the rain ever since. It spent 20 years in the chicken coop and then 10 years in a building he had leased for his business. It has 95% original paint, seats have never been recovered, and the 383/2bbl has never been out of the car. He didn't want to spend the time or money to restore it but didn't want to sell either. I begged him not to repaint the car but told him to get the paint professionally detailed and enjoy it like it is. I offered to buy it, restore it, and if he ever wanted to come see it or drive it, he could come to my place and do that. He passed on my offer...
Every couple months I would text or call him and he would say he didn't want to sell. About 8 months after I first made contact, he contacted me out of the blue and says he'd like to hear my best offer. I showed up with a trailer and cash.
Him: "You brought a trailer...."
Me: Yes, Sir."
Him: "You don't want me to change me mind do you?"
Me: "No, Sir."

The owner had researched Haggerty's values for 1968 Chargers so he was prepared. We settled on a price we were both happy with and I hauled it home. The seller was a very nice guy. It was a pleasure to do business with him and I promised him he can come over any time!!

I plan to detail the paint and drive it like it is. I have replaced the master cylinder, all wheel cylinders, all brake pads, fuel tank, fuel sending unit, all soft fuel lines, fuel pump, spark plugs, cap, rotor, points, and plug wires. The carburetor was rebuilt. I fired it up last weekend and it ran hot, so I pulled the radiator and took it in to a local shop. It was plugged and had multiple leaks so I had it recored. I'll replace the water pump at the same time. I bought all new tires and new Moog ball joints. Hopefully I'll replace the ball joints next week and have it on the road permanently!!

Part 1: The purchase

Part 2: The wreck...and the cancer that was found by E.R. imaging

[70B5Cuda]

It's got lots of door dings and scrapes, but I don't care. The car had a dent on the leading edge of the hood that was repaired and spotted in. Also, the previous owner had the rear sail panel corners leaded in and had the Dutchman's panel repainted in the early 80's and there are no signs of rust returning so it was done right.

[ralley72]

Great score, sometimes persistence does pay off.
you know, more pictures are needed.

mike

[70B5Cuda]

Last tagged in 1985...



The 383 has never been out of the car:

[70B5Cuda]

The interior hasn't even been so much as wiped off for these pics. The mopar materials they used smell so good. It's even a better smell then new shoe smell!



Even the white headliner is in great shape!

[70B5Cuda]

The interior is original except for 2 things. The carpet was replaced and when the instrument panel clock quit working, it was replaced with a Stuart Warner Tachometer.



Even the dash lip pad and the glove box liner are super nice!!

[70B5Cuda]

[70B5Cuda]

The car was undercoated and is rock solid

[70B5Cuda]

All I did was rinse the car off with just water and a sponge for these pics. Once I got it running I had the paint professionally detailed.

[kokxville]

Awesome 

[Lennard]

Wow, awesome find! Congratulations! 

[6spd68]

Not going to lie, extremely envious of your score 

[daveco]

Too cool! Congrats!

[moparnation74]

Beautiful ride and score to say the least, very close to a true survivor!

Are you going to get that original looking MC restored? Are the wheel cylinders if original?

Are those the original ball joints and are you sure they are toast?  Good originals/NOS ones are nearly impossible to find these days

[charge69]

What an awesome find !!  Congratulations and bravo for just touching things up and driving it!  It appears to be a clone of my Charger with R6 Red body and White interior and Vinyl Top.  Mine is a R/T so, it also has a White R/T Stripe.   I couldn't see if the fender tag is there but I would assume it is.  Please take a picture of it and share the codes on it.

Mine has the console but it is an auto.  I really hope it drives good with minimal work to get it there. Again, congrats on a very nice find!

A couple of pics of mine for comparison!

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Not bad at all!   

[cavemanno1]

Congrats!What happened with the '68 r/t?

[tan top]

      good buy ! looks good !!       awesome stuff , congratulations   

[Cncguy]

Nice find!

[70B5Cuda]

Beautiful ride and score to say the least, very close to a true survivor!

Are you going to get that original looking MC restored? Are the wheel cylinders if original?

Are those the original ball joints and are you sure they are toast?  Good originals/NOS ones are nearly impossible to find these days

I boxed up everything I removed from it and put them in the attic, including the gas tank-the tank doesn't have any holes and looks quite solid, but its nasty inside. I will rebuild the MC and wheel cylinders eventually as they are originals. I plan to install the Moog ball joints for now and inspect the ones I remove to see if I can spruce them up and reuse them later. For now, I want to drive the thing

[70B5Cuda]

What an awesome find !!  Congratulations and bravo for just touching things up and driving it!  It appears to be a clone of my Charger with R6 Red body and White interior and Vinyl Top.  Mine is a R/T so, it also has a White R/T Stripe.   I couldn't see if the fender tag is there but I would assume it is.  Please take a picture of it and share the codes on it.

Mine has the console but it is an auto.  I really hope it drives good with minimal work to get it there. Again, congrats on a very nice find!

A couple of pics of mine for comparison!

you've got a really beautiful car! Here is my fender tag...

[70B5Cuda]

Congrats!What happened with the '68 r/t?

I haven't decided which way I'll go with it. I've got a couple 6.1L Gen 3 hemis laying around.......but I don't think I could bring myself to modify a 68 R/T that much. I may end up selling it if I can find a base model that's just as solid. For now its hanging out in the garage with some other 68-70 B body projects...

[ACUDANUT]

Cool Story. Did you prime the oil pump first ( to get everything lubed up) BEFORE you started it ?

[70B5Cuda]

Cool Story. Did you prime the oil pump first ( to get everything lubed up) BEFORE you started it ?

I pulled all the spark plugs and sprayed marvel mystery all over the cylinder walls and let it sit for a few days. Then I turned it through several times by hand and sprayed more MMO in the cylinders. I let it sit several more days and then turned it through by hand a few times. Then I primed the oil system and cranked the engine with plugs removed to spit out any extra oil and bits of rust before installing plugs and starting it.

[charge69]

I am surprised to see the picture of the fender tag and it showing it is an early St. Louis build. A few days cleaning, buffing, and shining things and fluid and belt replacement and, maybe, it will run just fine!