The Build - My 1968 Dodge Charger R/T

[Offblue]

Hey guys, i'm Michael, picked up a 68' Charger last year off a friend who's had it over 15 years, him being the second owner. I've kept her stored in a warm, dry place for over a year and now i'm ready to delve into this over the winter.

Little bit about it, she's got a 440HP (0.40 over) not number matching but exactly what she's supposed to have, 727 Automatic trans, complete cast iron engine (water pump, heads, etc), 750 Holley carb, 15" original cragar rims (favorite part haha), black from front to back (considering orange), black interior (seats need re-upholstering, no head liner, brand new door/wall panels, original console, felt instead of carpet (switching to carpet), original headlights/taillights, solid trunk ... and above all else, rust free, and she drive-able as well (with some small stalling issue). (might have missed some stuff, oh well). Oh, have a few panel alignment issues as well, mainly hood, driver side door, driver side front fender but those should be easy to fix.

Well when I originally made this thread I was conflicted with going partial original and pro-touring ... I've decided to stick with what she's got with some modern day necessities ...

Things I'm still considering ... alum heads, fuel injection, overdrive or a newer A518 trans. (considered not bought)

What I've decided on, dual electric fan, alum rad(bought), alum water pump(bought) new wiring harness, interior is staying all original, and over time I'll be working on replacing with reproduction parts (only the weathered and cracked stuff), and all new fittings, hoses and gaskets.

What do you guys think? I'll add pictures of her later today. Feel free to ask questions.

-M out.






As promised, (and requested) haha.

Forgot to mention, that I'm already in the process of dismantling. Removed rad, alternator, carb, pulley's, most of the wiring ...




Next the engine is coming out to be repainted (repaint is on hold until spring, having hard time deciding to keep it orange), probably repaint/clean the engine bay too. Clean up instrument clusters, install door panels, look into disc brakes.


Forgot about this little gem ... how would you guys feel seeing this (I was not happy) ... turns out it's all just built up and nothing is in the engine (whew). If i started the engine back when I bought her this would probably have been blown right in ...


Original water pump, to this day i still haven't been able to get the pump off the housing haha.


Beware the cragars ... honestly I love these things, they're original from back in the day ... not to shabby.



Disc action.




"By my deeds I honor him ... V8"

[Mytur Binsdirti]

[John_Kunkel]

My opinion.........build it the way you would like it limited only by your imagination and checkbook.

Disc brakes and EFI will add to the driving pleasure but suspension mods...maybe not that much.

[M5Ivan]

Pics please!!!!

[Homerr]

What if you built it somewhat stock, enjoyed it, and then decided how far to go with it?

[ws23rt]

Welcome Michael.  The fun of owning your "new" charger can be many things.  For some the moving satisfaction comes from building up a vision.

My thought is that you get it running and get aquainted with the car and the driving/ showing experience for a while.  From your description It sounds like the car is very close to being a fun driver.

When you have gathered a good solid idea of how the car should be for you and understand that it will take much time and money while you can only look at it in pieces- you will let go of the driving fun for the building fun part of the hobby.

[Mike DC]

                        
There are some decent-driver things that you will end up wishing the car had, regardless of whether you keep it near-stock or go pro touring:



--  Disc brakes at least on the front.  (And this makes you want power-assist more because discs require more pressure.)  Modern roads are literally twice as crowded as they were 50 years ago.  Modern drivers are used to having twice the braking & tire grip.        


--  Aluminum radiator.  Modern gasoline runs hotter than the old stuff did.  A stock 50yo cooling system in perfect condition will have a harder time doing the job than it used to.  


--  If the motor is original then it will need hardened valve seats, and you will probably want slightly lower compression.  These are more changes just to accommodate modern lower-octane unleaded gasoline.  The compression ratio is a BIG, LONG subject so you want to understand that a lot more before you start spending money.  Both of these changes may have been done already if the motor has been apart before even if it was 20+ years ago.

These are cylinder head issues.  You can crutch the compression problem with bottles of octane booster added to the fuel tank and/or putting thicker head gaskets on the motor. 
The valve seats are a long-term issue.  It won't stop you from putting a few miles on the car before dealing with the heads.   

When you add up the machine shop's estimate for totally overhauling a set of 50yo heads you may decide to buy new aluminum ones instead.


--  Radial tires, if it doesn't already have them.  If the tires are more than 5-8 years old then it would be a good idea to replace them even if they look good.


--  Modern tires call for different alignment specs.  As forum member HPP often says, tell the alignment shop to aim for early-2000s Mustang specs and get as close as they feasibly can.    


--  Add a couple more degrees of caster alignment (by using either offset upper control arm bushings or aftermarket upper arms.)  More caster gives the steering that urge to return itself to center when you let go of the wheel (while the car is rolling) like modern vehicles all have.  The steering demands less of your attention when you're just casually cruising around.

[JR]

How do you like to enjoy the car? Looking at it parked, or driving it?

If you're the drive it a couple times a week to the local cruise in, and stare at it from behind in your lawn chair, you'll probably want it stock.

If you actually enjoy driving the car, modify it, no doubt. The stock settings from 40 years ago don't work in today's traffic.

The best modifications I've made to my 70, (after everything was rebuilt to stock RT specs) were 17 inch wheels on sticky tires, front/rear sway bars, and FiTech EFI. Enjoyment per dollar spent, those mods gave the most immediate, gratifying payoff. No more tuning and tweaking the stupid carb, no fuel smell from the exhaust, the modern rubber actually grips the road so the suspension can do its job, and the sway bars reduced body roll and terminal understeer under hard cornering immensely.

Just stick with bolt ons of you're concerned about going back to stock. Do your homework, and you can simply bolt on the right parts that will totally transform the way the car drives.

Oh, and everything Mike said above is a MUST! And I can't recommend the power disc brake conversion enough.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Congrats.  First and foremost... you have the luxury of having a non numbers matching car...   you're free to do as you wish!     Nobody will bich and moan about what you do.

If you're going to try to pro-touring...   take the suggestions of 17" wheels and sticky tires.   Disk brakes are a must... at least in the front.  If you love the Cragars as I do, ... that's great. I went with 612P 17's and 18's on my black car after finally getting over the 15" deal.   Don't worry - somebody will buy your 15's to help finance upgrades.

Anyway...    create your own vision and go for it.

[tan top]

hello & welcome   

[comet_666]

Welcome! Nice looking ride!!
Other than the basics of oil change, plugs, wires, tires, shocks and correcting any obvious problems...
I would start off with alum radiator, wiring, and disk brakes in the front. Look at a firecore RTR setup instead of the MSD.
Further down the road, pull motor and build it the way you want to. Don't go crazy if its just a street car.

Good Luck!

[Offblue]

Well the battle continues, I've taken off my manifold, rocker arms, push rods, and lifters and timing belt. Cams just about ready to come out, been considering putting in a new hydraulic tappet setup instead of a roller.

Brief glance at the brakes, look like they're disk.

Well that's my update, TTFN.

PS. Was thinking of adding overdrive to give me that 4th gear for highway driving, a "gearvendors" unit, but that will probably end up on the wishlist real quick.

[Offblue]

Well another week gone buy, and more things i don't actually need.

Took apart the brakes and found they are factory (or the like it came with) spindle disks.
Took out the cam, it's still in good condition (laid it out, out of the way, so i know how to put it back in, and as it seems to be a law of nature, someone goes and drops everything so i no longer know the order.)

So I've been thinking that I don't really need a whole lot of new stuff. As it sits what I'm looking to do for sure ... is still the same as the stuff up top.

With Overdrive and EFI still in thought.
As well as some suggestions I've been given from you guys which I still need to read up on.

[Offblue]

Been a while since i last updated, been sitting on my money, making decisions, and now shes got a new water pump and housing, with radiator and dual fan on its way. One thing i'm stuck on is the front brakes, i've been able to find drum/disc conversion kits but no spindle/disc kits, anyone have some knowledge on the matter. Is there a conversion kit? or is it better to just replace the system entirely?

[lukedukem]

Been a while since i last updated, been sitting on my money, making decisions, and now shes got a new water pump and housing, with radiator and dual fan on its way. One thing i'm stuck on is the front brakes, i've been able to find drum/disc conversion kits but no spindle/disc kits, anyone have some knowledge on the matter. Is there a conversion kit? or is it better to just replace the system entirely?

Give Dr. Diff a call, any questions about brakes he has the answer and parts. http://www.doctordiff.com

Luke

[alfaitalia]

"Aluminum radiator.  Modern gasoline runs hotter than the old stuff did.  A stock 50yo cooling system in perfect condition will have a harder time doing the job than it used to."  


Only the very high ethanol stuff (which luckily we don't get in the UK!).....otherwise it burns at the same temp it always did....if its in the same engine at least!! Common misconception.

[Kern Dog]

Been a while since i last updated, been sitting on my money, making decisions, and now shes got a new water pump and housing, with radiator and dual fan on its way. One thing i'm stuck on is the front brakes, i've been able to find drum/disc conversion kits but no spindle/disc kits, anyone have some knowledge on the matter. Is there a conversion kit? or is it better to just replace the system entirely?

I thought I read that your car is a factory front disc brake car? Not sure why you mention a conversion kit if you already have discs. An increase in rotor diameter may require an aftermarket kit though. I ran the 11"front discs for years. Great stopping power for a street car. Dr Diff is a great vendor. Magnum Force also has a spindle/knuckle based on the 1973-76 A body version. This knuckle serves as the foundation for many aftermarket front disc kits.

The lifters do need to go back on the exact same lobes as before but the pushrods do not. They are all the same length and do not mate together in the same manner that the camshaft lobes and tappets/lifters do.

[Challenger340]

Car looks great Michael 
Do with it what YOU will be happy with, because it is YOUR Car !

[Offblue]

It occurred to me the other day, that I don't remember if the guy i bought the car from mentioned whether the car still has it fender tag or not, and I cant seem to find where it might be located ...

Does anyone know where they put the fender tag on a 1968 charger R/T ?

[70 sublime]

The fender tag sits on the flat part of the inner fender just behind the back corner of the battery
Should be 2 holes there for screws if the tag is gone

[Offblue]

Dang, hoping it might be somewhere else ... definitely gone, not even any holes there. Oh well, least i know mostly how the car came.

[Offblue]

Now to  bring this back almost full circle to overdrive ... last time i was contemplating a overdrive unit from gear vendors, but further research shows it would be cheaper to get a a518 transmission ...

been looking at these guys as a potential solution

http://www.monstertransmission.com/Heavy-Duty-A518-46RE-Transmission_c_4456.html

Also
http://www.napc.ca/automatic-transmissions

Then again i could buy a plain a518 and ultrabell like everyone else and save money doing the work myself, but I've been having troubles finding one in Canada (if I didn't mention that earlier, I am in Canada)

Any advice? That is not buying a whole car just for the trans.

PS - I did originally say it had factory spindle/disc brakes but further inspection shows it might be an old aftermarket set.

[garner7555]

Been a while since i last updated, been sitting on my money, making decisions, and now shes got a new water pump and housing, with radiator and dual fan on its way. One thing i'm stuck on is the front brakes, i've been able to find drum/disc conversion kits but no spindle/disc kits, anyone have some knowledge on the matter. Is there a conversion kit? or is it better to just replace the system entirely?

Check out this thread for disc brakes.  There are pictures of my car with the 14" brembos. 

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,122780.0.html

[Offblue]

Been a while since i last updated, been sitting on my money, making decisions, and now shes got a new water pump and housing, with radiator and dual fan on its way. One thing i'm stuck on is the front brakes, i've been able to find drum/disc conversion kits but no spindle/disc kits, anyone have some knowledge on the matter. Is there a conversion kit? or is it better to just replace the system entirely?

Check out this thread for disc brakes.  There are pictures of my car with the 14" brembos.  

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,122780.0.html

Yeah, i figure that's where I was having trouble, see my spindles are 3 bolt, modern ones are 4 bolt so i think i'd have to replace the spindles to get what i want.

PS - I've added more pictures above.

[Offblue]

Been a while since i last updated, been sitting on my money, making decisions, and now shes got a new water pump and housing, with radiator and dual fan on its way. One thing i'm stuck on is the front brakes, i've been able to find drum/disc conversion kits but no spindle/disc kits, anyone have some knowledge on the matter. Is there a conversion kit? or is it better to just replace the system entirely?

I thought I read that your car is a factory front disc brake car? Not sure why you mention a conversion kit if you already have discs. An increase in rotor diameter may require an aftermarket kit though. I ran the 11"front discs for years. Great stopping power for a street car. Dr Diff is a great vendor. Magnum Force also has a spindle/knuckle based on the 1973-76 A body version. This knuckle serves as the foundation for many aftermarket front disc kits.

The lifters do need to go back on the exact same lobes as before but the pushrods do not. They are all the same length and do not mate together in the same manner that the camshaft lobes and tappets/lifters do.

I was afraid it would come to that ... see i laid everything in order in a place with little to no traffic ... the odds of someone kicking the pile was less than 5% ... but lucky me i got the one guy in that equation who obliterated that pile, that was a quick expensive lesson in being lazy vs properly labeling. So i guess I'm looking at a new cam and lifters.

[XH29N0G]

I missed your original thread.  Nice car.  It will be fun to watch it come together.  I don't know the answer about the lifters.  Someone Here will be able to advise whether you can just break in new lifters with the cam you have or not.  My impression though is that there has bene a lot of development in cam profiles so you may want to change that out anyway, depending on what you want from the engine.  So all might not be lost.  I know all too well the sinking feeling when something nicely organized gets knocked out of order and is unrecoverable.  We all feel the pain.