Phew! Limey finally has a Charger again - check it out!

[limey]

Well folks, I have finally got myself my Charger. It all happened very quickly, for sale only 35 miles away from me. Totally straight, totally solid....I had to have it there and then.
It's a '68 with an original but rebuilt 318, A904 Transmission rebuilt with heavy duty race components, 8 3/4 rear with 3.23 gears.
It was imported into the UK in 2004, all the bodywork and paint was done in the USA - the quality of the sheet metal repairs is very good, Paint is not perfect but on the whole very good..a very small amount of orange peel in one place, and a couple of runs on the lower rocker panels. Here are some pics of the car when I got it home.



and



finally



It has a new Edelbrock 600cfm Performer Carb, Holley Chrome Pie pan air filter, Offenhauser inlet manifold, a slightly warmed Comp Cam.
Also new is the carpet, headlining and sail panel trim and the Leather Race seats (I have the originals) It has 15 spoke "vector" type wheels. The metalwork is solid as a rock and straight as a die, headlamp doors function perfectly, All door trim is present. It has an alarm fitted and a Pioneer 6CD autochanger in the trunk.

The bad bits...the speedometer dial was so badly corroded that the previous owner has faced it with an incorrect paper type face. It reads accurately, but is...cr*p...basically! .....Also as I tried to adjust the door mirror, the mirror glass fell out and cracked..it had been bodge fixed. The hazard flasher switch and the oil pressure gauge switch/sender do not work properly. The rear seats have not been properly re - upholstered, but have a leather effect stretch cover...yuk.

The car was a good deal (for the uk anyway) - £11,000 thats $20k. I know it seems a lot for a 318 car at USA prices, but over here, its fine. Even more than in the States, the price for 2nd gen Chargers is going through the roof.

Anyhow, I will post more pics when I take them, just enjoying driving a Charger again. I have a massive smile on my face ALL the time...I guess you all remember that feeling! As for it being a 318, really its not too underpowered for me to cruise around in. If any of yuo have driven an American car in the UK, you will know what I mean....I find the concept of trying to drive a hopped up 440 in the morning rush hour quite scary. Catch you later guys..

(Can't stop grinning!...)
Limey (Nick)

PS....just seen how rubbish the pics look with that level of compression.....looks like it has been painted with a wallpaper brush....
Will get you some better pics tomorrow....N

[terrible one]

Congrats man! NICE charger! Good luck with it. 

[Mefirst]

Nice looking ride.. Enjoy it 

[General_01]

Congrats Limey. The car looks great. Have fun cruising around in it.

[dkn1997]

you may have to move to a bigger neighborhood to fit that car!!

[Shakey]

She'll get you home from the pub mighty quick!   

Well done.

[Plumcrazy]

I'll bet it really turn heads.

[Silver R/T]

nice ride, congratulations

[CB]

that car looks like the one a board member had. It was a General, out of a 68. Damn, I could swear it is the same car

[Chryco Psycho]

Congrats Nick
good to se you back finally
CP

[blackcrowe]

nice one mah man!i saw that in classic american for sale
will you be at the nats???

318 ll be fine.. especially with optimax at £1.01 a litre!

[limey]

Thanks for the comments guys...I know a lot of you will be saying "Hmmm $20k?" for a little 318, but everything over here is relatively expensive...Example Pump gas coming in at about $10.35 per US Gallon....!
That little house that I live in..... about $354,000....I remember talking on Instant Messenger to another board member from D-C.com  when I bought that house, and he nearly died laughing!!

I think the UK based guys on here will agree that I got a good deal...I talked my way down £1500 for a start!!!
Still loving the car, a great turnkey driver.
Will get some better pics up soon so you can see the paint, under the hood etc. Taking it to my mate who has a garage on Saturday, will get in on the four post lift and take more pics then....

BlackCrowe.....Can't go to the Nats this year...I am a teacher and going on a round the world trip for my six week holiday on July the 22nd...the Nats are on July 27th..is that correct?
Cheers
Limey

BTW CB, any light you can shine on the cars history would be great...could you find out what the VIN was of your friends car, if it matches.....very long shot, we could be on to a winner! All I know is that it was imported into the UK and registered in Early 2004, at that stage all the body, paint and mechanicals had been done, but it had the original bumpers and very little interior...

[Jon Smith]

It looks a lot like the car the guy who has dodgecharger.co.uk has (sensacom on the old board i think), but he still has that and its being restored

http://www.dodgecharger.co.uk/

nice charger anyway

[limey]

It does...mine has been in the North East since its import.....Also...and it doesn't come across in the pics very well, mine is PP1 Red, not EV2 Orange....Funny how everyone sees "Orange Charger" all the time....

BTW...UK owners - what do you run your Chargers on....I'm currently using LRP (Four Star)...Black Crowe..you mention Optimax...do you use a lead additive in that, if so, what? The previous owner used regular unleaded with octane booster and lead additive, but I'm not convinced...I put it in my 1962 Land Rover....but..it's not quite the same is it? That things more like a tractor!!
Limey

[Jon Smith]

got ally heads so its not relevant what i run now
but i used to run the old 383 on standard unleaded and never had a problem, it was running strong with no signs of valve seat wear when i sold it, didn't put a lot of miles on it though

[ChargerRob]

Very Nice!  Congrats. 

[THE COLONEL]

GREAT LOOKING CHARGER!!!!!   Are there any others Chargers around you?

[limey]

Dont know yet. I'm in the process of joining MMA UK (Mopar Muscle Association UK) where I hope to find likeminded guys....I know there is a mainstay of the movement near me....he has a nice Challenger.........

[MGBRingo]

Looks like a very nice car.

Telll us a little about what it is like owning/driving a Charger in the UK. 

[Jon Smith]

MMA uk is a great club

[Doc74]

Sweet ! Congrats Limey that's a real nice charger.
I've lived in many parts of the UK for the better part of a year, travelled around a bit and there's not all that many mopars as compared to the continent so that price you paid is..we.. a steal !!
Seriously you didn't overpay, I've just seen some prices here in Belgium and a few leads in the Netherlands and Germany, ouch.
That 318 may not be the fastest around but I feel it's a blessing, it has as you said more than plenty power for UK roads, especially with the amount of traffic cameras you lot got ! That still as bad or worse as ten years ago ?
The 318 is also known to be bulletproof and altough not comparable to European 4 bangers, it'll give you a lot better mileage than even a stock 383.
If you plan on driving it daily then you might want to check lpg altough I don't know of availability and price over there but you won't even have to change the valve seats so it's a one time investment and it'll make your charger as cheap as a mini.

Real nice ride, forget about the details, go waste those tires !

[Jon Smith]

I've lived in many parts of the UK for the better part of a year, travelled around a bit and there's not all that many mopars as compared to the continent so that price you paid is..we.. a steal !!

lol! I saw about 10 last night at the local cruise and that wasn't including either of mine, they must be everywhere on the continent

[blackcrowe]

loadsa chargers over here for sure huh jon??? jeez we outnumbered the mustangs at that show remember

limey... i sometimes put in some of the castrol valvemaster....dont think ill be buyin any more though..its about 10 quid for a bottle and only increases octane by 3 points..i.e from 98 to 98.3 ..probly be better gettin hold of some 100LL AVgas

[Doc74]

I've lived in many parts of the UK for the better part of a year, travelled around a bit and there's not all that many mopars as compared to the continent so that price you paid is..we.. a steal !!

lol! I saw about 10 last night at the local cruise and that wasn't including either of mine, they must be everywhere on the continent

Ha typical but I forgot to mention I never went to any shows, and never saw any mopar on the streets.
Same thing here, most just go to shows and then you see how many there are but there's some to be seen here and there that are driven regularly.
Heck I only saw about 4 classic cars in the US even.
Never been to Sweden but I think there's quite a few there and every time I'm in Germany I see some classics, saw plenty chargers there, same for Holland.

If only gas wasn't so high right now, it's even worse in the UK than here.....anyone find a way to get these babies running on tap yet ?

[JMF]

I would say £11k is a good price for that over here in England, 318 is still a huge engine anyway, have you got a garage?

[Khyron]

congrats! 

she looks great!

[sean68charger]

sweet ride, best thing to do is join the MMA, fantastic club
mines a 68 too!

[BigBlockSam]

I tried to adjust the door mirror, the mirror glass fell out and cracked 

thats great, my rearview mirror did that when i bought my charger. congrats on the new charger, looks great. good luck with her .Rene

[limey]

Telll us a little about what it is like owning/driving a Charger in the UK. 

Actually Ringo, I will do, because its f**kin hilarious...american cars in general (and chargers in particular) are so rare outside shows that you can't drive anywhere without everyone's jaws hitting the floor. I might start a thread describing our general crap roads and the 7ft long euroboxes with 60ci engines...and exactly how in the world an 18ft 2ton automobile fits in.....
Limey

PS JMF - yup I've got a garage..its 16ft...go figure...
I plan to lay the Charger up over winter in my Father in law's massive garage....keep it away from the road salt which gets liberally sprayed all over the UK from November to April....

[JMF]

Agreed, owning a musclecar in England is good, you can't be too shy as people constantly ask questions, take pictures while driving along side of you, thumbs up, waving

[tan top]

nice charger  ( limey )

[moparfied]

Nice car, I hope you enjoy it for many years. Its nice to see Mopars are liked on the other side of the pond!

[Charger_Fan]

Congrats on your Charger score! That's gotta feel pretty good driving around, inflicting whiplash on all the passersby.

[RECHRGD]

Limey, Good to see you back in the game.  Life goes on.  Bob

[limey]

Sure does Bob.......this new Charger gives me closure on the past. - though I'm less worried about driving at crazy speeds these days.....
Just cruisin' like a strange pimp and having my photo taken everytime I park up.!
Eight...EIGHT! people were gathered around it at the petrol (gas) station yesterday with their camera phones...heheh!
L

[Brock Samson]

 Cool Car,.. I like that it's a smooth top and red too! great man,.. keep us aprised of her progress and again congradulations!