My dream came true! Finally a 68! My trip from sweden to germany

[euroZ06]

Hello,

So i joined this forum about 5 years ago in hopes of finding a 68 charger. At the time my funds were slim, and i could only afford a rust bucket. So a 73 came across that i really liked, it was 4speed manual, with a 440 from a 68. It was a bit moded, restored at some point in dudes garage. So a few things needed attention, and over 2 yrs of ownership i have done some maintanance (engine mounts, rear diff, number of seals, radiator, etc). I got orders to germany, so i took my 73 here, and that car was a rock star, it attracted a lot of attention, and after 6 months i decided to try and sell it.


I sold it pretty good to some german, and decided to start looking for a 68 again. And to my surprise, prices grew significantly, where in the past  i could get a nice big block for $25k, now they are closer to $50k. My budget was $35k and nothing came up, one sold from under me, another few had some shady history. I made a post on this board about looking for one, and a member told me that he could sell me his (he lives in sweden). After 3 months of back and fourth, i finally decided to pull the trigger. Car was described as a fully working and operational, with everything being in working condition. So, i got my plane ticket, funds arranged and set of to sweden (it was easier for me to travel there and check out the car, then drive it back, than dealing with flying to the states and then shipping). The price was more than i wanted to pay, and the car is in worse condition than i imagined. I dont think seller intentionally misrepresented things, but i have a certain standard in mind for the price, and after having my 73 i know whats ok and whats not. But in the end, i just couldnt resist the urge to have a 68, and being there and sitting in the car made me want to pull the trigger.



So, i set off from gothenburg sweden, to ktown germany, 800km trip (plus 14 hour ferry) in a car i just bought. I took a bunch of tools with me, in case something goes wrong. I test drove around the village, and didnt really get it past 50mph, everything seemed fine, but once i set off on my way, i noticed some kind of vibration past 60mph... It doesnt seem like the wherls, almost like the drive shaft is out of balance or hitting something (though when looking under the car, it looked new, all the joints and everything). So there i was, no more than 60mph then :/ my old 73 had 3.23 posi, so i always cruised at about 60mph (around 3k rpm), and i hoped that the auto transmission car would be much lower on the rpm, but i dont think it is. Seller told me it is also 3.23, tach is not working, but by the sound of it at 60mph i think im turning over 3k. Oh, and at 60mph im getting 10mpg my 73 got 12. Aside from that, the car drives well, but the heater system is not working and controls are not connected. U can manual let the heater corculate by turning a switch under the hood (its installed on the hose), and it just lets hot air in, but there is no motor regulator. Under the dash it seems like components are there, but perhaps just not connected (im dreading trying to figure this out and connect everything). So here i was, driving an hour through sweden, all windows down, 85f. Got to the port in sweden and loaded the car onto the boat. Car def gets attention with everyone asking about it.

[euroZ06]

Finally get into germany, and every few minutes ppl honk at me and give me thumbs up. From the port, navi said 6 hours, but in reality it took me 9. A. Because i couldnt go more than 60, and B because i hit a few traffics. Good thing is that the car doesnt overheat (my 73 did). A cool feature installed on the car is the electrical cut outs, the car sounds menancing with them open, and decent when closed. Although, one of them broke in open position after i opened it for the 10th time. So i really need to fix it soon, cause polizei dont like that kind of music. Any ideas? Can i just manually close it for time being?



About an hour away from home i hit heavy rain (which sucks, but forecast showed for rain most of my trip, so im glad i only caught an hour of it). With this heavy rain i discovered a new issue, the car is leaking!! To the left of the steering wheel, it was dripping pretty bad onto my foot. Normally i dont plan on driving it in the rain, but its germany, and rain can happen any time. So i need to figure out where the leak is coming from.




At the gas station i checked all the fluid levels, it doesnt eat engine oil, but the tranny fluid seemed high (though i checked it 5 min after shutting down the motor and it says to check while motor is running).



The speedo is very optimistic, almost feel like they tried to conver it to km/h, but it shows a bit less (so 80 on speedo is about 86km/h).




Overall the car rides better than my 73, the steering is tighter (on 73 the steering box was shot), so that makes me happy. The brakes are horrible, im think of converting to disc brakes.  Once i got the car home, i put it up on jack stands and crawled under the car, looking more precisely at everything. Tranny seems to be seeping oil, but it looks like it was rebuilt, paint is fairly new. Other than that, everything looks better than i expected, it will prob need new tie rods, but other than that its all good. No rust, seems solid. Again, tried to move the drive shaft around and there is zero play and it doesnt look like its hitting anything... Hmm..

















Also crawled a bit under the dash, but everything is different than on my 73, it looks like the car was equipped with an ac, but i could figure out how to make heater motor work manually.







One of my tail lights stopped working, so need to diagnose that (the previous owner installed new led's), perhaps just a loose wire.

Car doesnt have seatbelts, the seller said 68's never came with them. Can anyone confirm? Ze germans can be pretty tought on inspection.

Im happy the car matches my corvette.







What is this btw



And this relay?


Sorry the report is a bit broken up, but that is all i have for now. I need to get the car ready for a german inspection, i hope all goes well with no major issues.

[Lennard]

Congrats on finally getting your 68. It looks awesome except for the emblem collection on the front grill.
1968 Chargers came with seat belts. I don't know if you are talking about the line in the picture?  That looks like an oil pressure gauge line to me.

[euroZ06]

Well shoot. Now i need to figure out how to instal them

I want to take the stickers off the hood, but i dont mind rt badges on the grill. Was the charger emblem not supposed to be there?

Another thing i forgot to mention. Car was originally a 383, but a 440 was put in when it got to sweden. The seller said he didnt know the year of the engine, but its def not a 250hp... Now, i looked up the engine code and it seems that its from a 73 werent the 73's 250hp? Its hard for me to compare to the 73 i had, cause that car was modified, and a manual, so it was pretty fast (about 450hp), this one feels slower, but doesnt feel like 250hp. Hmm... Wtf.

[keepat]

Congrats on your new 68 charger!  Nice story, sounds like a fun trip home. there's always little things to fix on old cars that's the best part enjoy!
Pat

[cdr]

the relay thingy , is the voltage regulator for the charging system
the coiled looking wire is for the temperature gauge .

my grill emblems are how an R/T charger should be, non R/T has the emblem like yours in place of the rt emblem, but your Charger emblem is in the wrong place, All 68 Charger emblems on the grill should be like mine in my picture.

COOL CAR!!!

[68X426]

'68s are the best.  Congrats. 

[DixieRestoParts]

 

[euroZ06]

the relay thingy , is the voltage regulator for the charging system
the coiled looking wire is for the temperature gauge .

my grill emblems are how an R/T charger should be, non R/T has the emblem like yours in place of the rt emblem, but your Charger emblem is in the wrong place, All 68 Charger emblems on the grill should be like mine in my picture.

COOL CAR!!!

Thanks! Ill try to adjust them. Normally i wouldnt be a poser, but the door skins have rt engraved into them, so i figured id stick with it.

[euroZ06]

'68s are the best.  Congrats. 

Agreed! There were better deals to be had with 69/70, but i just love 68

[euroZ06]

Guys, few questions.

1. In the underside pics taken in february, the exhaust looks clean (past the tranny), but when i looked at it prior to purchase it had the burn oil resedue (quite a bit). I didnt pay attention to this at the time, but now im a bit concerned. So, at the gas station i checked the tranny fluid level (car was shut off for about 5min), and it showed above max (almost 50% above by the stick). There is seeping through the tranny gasket (id say excessive), plus the burn oil on exhaust. Oil looks new (i.e red color, very clear). So i prob need to drain it (cant find the drain plug), but could this have been causing my vibrations after 60mph?? Would i have done any damage by dricing like this?

2. I want to put a black piece between the tail lights, but i dont know what its called. Can someone tell me pls?

[cavemanno1]

Congrats,
It was ballsy of you to drive her home and not trailer her home.Guess you were really lucky that you didn't brake down.Most guys would take a bunch of parts and that black box relay(voltage regulator) is on the list.

Can i ask you how much you paid for her,if it's not too personal?Just wanna know a going rate for a '68 charger here.
Now let's put in a 4 speed transmission

If i remember correctly you are in the US Army,right?


Enjoy!

[cavemanno1]

What do you mean you want to put a black piece bettween the tail lights?The area is painted matte black and the charger logo with the R/T badge(if it's a r/t)go there.

The shaking over 60mph could be a lot of things but i doubt it's something to do with the tranny fluid level.

[cdr]

to check the trans fluid, car has to be running in neutral, best to have someone in car with foot on the brake.

[lukedukem]

And there's no drain plug. Need to remove all bolts for the pan, it gets messy

Luke

[euroZ06]

Congrats,
It was ballsy of you to drive her home and not trailer her home.Guess you were really lucky that you didn't brake down.Most guys would take a bunch of parts and that black box relay(voltage regulator) is on the list.

Can i ask you how much you paid for her,if it's not too personal?Just wanna know a going rate for a '68 charger here.
Now let's put in a 4 speed transmission

If i remember correctly you are in the US Army,right?


Enjoy!

It came with a spare one, thats why i asked about it

Im done with 4speeds on old cars, clutch too heavy.

U can pm me about the price.

Im in the USAF

[euroZ06]

What do you mean you want to put a black piece bettween the tail lights?The area is painted matte black and the charger logo with the R/T badge(if it's a r/t)go there.

The shaking over 60mph could be a lot of things but i doubt it's something to do with the tranny fluid level.

Ok cool, so i can just plasti dip it too easy. Its not a true rt, but has a few other rt accents, so i might stick it on.

Its almost like the driveshaft needs balancing, but underneath it all looks pretty new.

[euroZ06]

to check the trans fluid, car has to be running in neutral, best to have someone in car with foot on the brake.

Ill just engage the hand brake. But good to know.

[euroZ06]

And there's no drain plug. Need to remove all bolts for the pan, it gets messy

Luke

Whaaaa... That doesnt seem practical :/ my 73 had a drain plug... Maybe i can just loosen it a bit to let it drain a bit.

[b5blue]

  I like your car!  Fun to drive home road trip style. You can buy a pan that has a drain plug in it. The fluid is not changed often and if it is the filter is changed with it so the pan must be removed anyway.

[M5Ivan]

Awesome story!! I remember you posting a little while back about ones you were looking at. Glad it worked out and enjoy!!! 

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Congrats.

[nvrbdn]

very nice find.

[Baldwinvette77]

Nice car 

[1974dodgecharger]

SPEECHLESS!!!!