'68 charger as a base for a daytona, possible?

[eberhama]

I'm new to the world of mopar, so please be gentle. I recently found a '68 charger hull in a local junkyard for a good price, and am planning to purchase it. While '68 is not my year of choice, this looks like my only chance for a charger at a cheap price. I'm aware of the tail lights, side markers, and tail panel being diffrent, but is there something I'm missing that would be a major stumbling block on the road to a daytona recreation? I've searched the board, and see '69s and '70s used, but no '68s. Is it just the tail light panel thing? Is swapping to a '69 tailpanel allot more work then it would seem? I'd also like to know if the front clip would work for a starting point, or would I need to track down a later one for the swap? Any guidance would be appreciated.

    TIA, Matt

[Blown70]

Yes, you can use it, you should swich the side markers, tail pannel.  Also, 68 doors have the lock in a different place on top of the door.

The basic body is about the same.

Tom

[daytonalo]

YOU NEED A 70 FRONT CLIP , 69 OR 70 QTR'S FOR CORRECT SIDE MARKER AND YOU NEED AN ENTIRE TAIL PANEL FROM A 69 OR 70 DONOR CAR . I'M JUST FINISHING MY HEMI DAYTONA CLONE . I STARTED WITH A 70 , WORD OF ADVICE START WITH A 69 OR 70 , YOU CAN BUY THEM AS A BASKET CASE ALL DAY LONG FOR AROUND 5K .  LARRY

[Blown70]

I should have stated that too.  I agree if you can find reasonalbe 69 or 70 would be better.

Tom

[eberhama]

The car is a little rough, and somewhat stripped(not unsavable), but for the $400 asking price, I'd like to try to make this car work. The doors are missing, but I found a pair of '69/'70 doors cheap, so thats not a problem. The car will probably need quarter skins an a tail panel anyway, so I'd just replace them with '69 repos, right? I see the tailight area is "currently being tooled", so I'd need one cut from a '69? Thanks for the fast responces!

     Matt

[hotrod98]

Hopefully someone will step up and start reproducing 69 tail panels some day. That would make the 68 conversion so much simpler. Those 69 tail panels are kind of hard to find and a little pricey sometimes.
The most difficult thing for you will be findng some of the interior components. You can spend a fortune buying all of the stuff needed to complete a car when starting out with a bare hull.
I always suggest trying to find as complete a car as possible. If you're planning a daytona conversion, the 70 model is the absolute best way to go since you will already have the correct fenders and hood and generally the 70's are slightly cheaper than 69's anyway.
Another idea for using the hull is to build a nascar daytona clone. You wouldn't have to locate as many stock interior parts that way. Would save you a lot of money. One of the guys here on the board (Howie) is building one of each, a nascar daytona clone and a regular street daytona clone.
Hang in there...we need more clones. Keep us posted.

[Blown70]

Well I have a 69 Tail pannel but it is rough.  But useable.  I know a good body guy could fix it.  It may end up one Ebay soon.

Tom

[Howie]

I could sure use a tail panel. Someone beat mine all up and must have used a sawzall to cut out the trunk key!

[eberhama]

Well I have a 69 Tail pannel but it is rough.  But useable.  I know a good body guy could fix it.  It may end up one Ebay soon.

Tom

I won't be needing a tail panel any time soon. I'm going to focus on gathering up parts to make it into a complete car, before I worry about converting it to anything. Just out of noob-ish curiosity, whats diffrent about '68-'69-'70 fenders that makes '68 not work for this?(besides the side markers)

Matt

[Blown70]

Well I have a 69 Tail pannel but it is rough.  But useable.  I know a good body guy could fix it.  It may end up one Ebay soon.

Tom

I won't be needing a tail panel any time soon. I'm going to focus on gathering up parts to make it into a complete car, before I worry about converting it to anything. Just out of noob-ish curiosity, whats diffrent about '68-'69-'70 fenders that makes '68 not work for this?(besides the side markers)

Matt

Becasue of how the nose mounts.  If you look at the front of a 70 Fender is has a lip where the bumper (which was wrap around in 70) goes.  That is why.  The 69 and 69 had a rounded sheet metal nose that is painted.  It will be obvious when you seen them

Tom

Let me see if I have a pic of  a 70 Fender.  TOP PIC IS A 69,  68 being similar with a round sidemarker.

THE BOTTOM IS  A 70  see the lip and side marker differences?

[hemigeno]

DC.com member Arigmaster has a '68 that is prepped for a wing too.  I just saw a picture of it today, and noticed the wide Daytona stripe and the holes drilled for the wing mounting.  I can't see what's up with the nose though.

Tom's right - '68 or '69 fenders will not work with the Daytona nose.  Ya gotta use essentially a '70 Charger front clip, although the fenders will still need to be modified to work with the valance.

Good luck, and keep posting your questions since there are a lot of guys with wing car & clone experience on here.  Be prepared though, as even clone parts are not cheap.

Here's Arigmaster's pic I swiped from a thread on General Discussion:

[eberhama]

Ok, I see the diffrences now. Only 791 more dumb questions, and I'll have it. 

[myrt70]

The one dumb question that I can answer for you,is if you can buy a usable second generation Charger body,for $400.00 Then buy it.

[Blown70]

Ok, I see the diffrences now. Only 791 more dumb questions, and I'll have it. 

We are here to help.  Better to ask, your other option would be to find out the hard way,  some of (well a lot) of knowledge has been had that way....

Tom

[Howie]

 ;DLook at the thread Howies Nascar Daytona creation and you will see how Larry is converting my fenders to accept the daytona nose. More pictures to follow.  I didn`t have any interior so race trim here we go.

[Old Moparz]

I say use whatever you have that fits your budget. If you can get a '68 for $400 then don't hesitate, just buy it. Even if you change your mind & don't convert it to a '69 for a Daytona, it'll still be worth buying. I started out planning a conversion of my '68 Coronet ragtop into a '69 Charger, but after locating a '68 Charger body I changed my mind.

I realized the work to convert it was beyond my capabilities after having both cars side by side to measure & compare. Another factor was that the Charger I found for $1200 a few years ago already had $2200 worth of brand new sheet metal installed & was a rust free car. It wasn't a '69, but for the price I didn't care. My current plans are to make a Daytona from it & use a '69 NOS tail panel I have.

Here's a piece of info I learned by buying the NOS panel. The sheet metal for the tail panel does not have the tunnel-like extensions in the tail light openings. These were separate & are necessary so that you can mount the tail light housings to the studs that are pressed in or welded to these extensions. If you get a used tail panel, make sure the extensions are okay.

I'm sure they're welded in & sealed somehow, & not something that looks easy to find, fabricate, or even remove from the tail panel. I cut a pair from a '69 parts car I had & saved them in case I do the '68 to '69 tail conversion. There's always a chance I won't, but it may be quite some time before I know. There's already dibs on this panel from last year if I don't.

[sweetseventy]

maybe sum1 should build a what if car? a 1968 charger daytona that would be cool with 68 interior,tail lights and install 68 marker light on the 70 fenders

[Mike DC]

 
--  The 1969/70 taillight panel is coming from Goodmark eventually.  In the meantime you can either dig up a used tailpanel or re-cut the 1968 piece to work with a little measuring, cutting, and MIG work.  (Yeah, the swap can be done.  Half all the "General Lees" used in the old "Dukes of Hazzard" episodes were really 1968 Chargers with their taillight panels hastily re-cut for 1969 lights.)


--  Yeah, you really do need the 1970 fenders & hood for a Daytona conversion.  Nothing on the '68/69 front end interchanges with the 1970 front end at all.  Look at the grille/bumper area on the different years.


--  The 1970 Charger, while never CHEAP, is usually a bit cheaper & less sought-after than the 1968/69 cars.  You might wanna really try for a trade or something before building the '68.  (But go ahead and purchase the 1968 car soon, no matter what you end up doing.  If you're getting a complete 1968 Charger body with solid framerails for $400 then you're getting an absolute steal on any terms.)


-- There's a whole bunch of little stuff that's different on every year of Charger.  (Grain patterns on the vinyl & plastic, keyhole & lock locations, small wiring changes, etc.)  You may not care about this stuff, and more power to you if you don't.  But if you think you'll ever want a PERFECT  clone of a factory 1969 Daytona, then don't start with a wrong-year car.  You'll end up paying to replace half the parts on the car because of stupid little crap that only another Charger owner will ever notice.

[69charger2002]

buy the car for $400. and worry about the rest later. my best advice
trav