Seeking Suggestions: R/T SE needs a rebop... again..

[Brock Samson]

 well, i've been driving my Charger alot these past cople of months and i've noticed some bubbleing under the pass side door,..
nothing that needs immediate attention but there are some serious issues that do need to be delt with...
The  fire wall is badly oversprayed, & the electrical stuff is shady,.. the seats need recovering... and the suspension is dicey out on the highway,..  great from a standing start it but only handles well under full acceleration... at idle coasting along it likes to dart a half lane over to the right in a heartbeat! 
  Now  since i have all the major components in place, motor,.. drivetrain,.. etc... it really needs to be taken down, and rebuilt from the firewall out,..
No, not a simple or cheap job, but at least I dont need to hunt for parts other then the a/c and a sure grip dana...
so, alot of you guys know my baby, and I think I'd like to have Mr. Droptop do the job...
and as the R.R. should be done by next spring,.. I think i'm gonna have my R/T rebopped again (third paint job).  Any suggestions?... :
Or, what would you do?..
I'm asking for suggestions here folks,.. Gear vendors o.d. tranny? convert to four speed?.. return to stock configuration?..
...give it to you?..   

so here's the assignment...
you have a 1969 charger R/T SE mostly intact,.. what do ya' do?.. 

[Troy]

Drive it.

Troy

[70charginglizard]

I agree. Drive it. Those things can wait a while longer till you have the funds, drive and resorces to deal with it. Major undertakings like that are going to put you out of commision for quite a while. You ready to deal with that? I say unless you absolutely sure you can get it all done and payed for before spring, hold it off.

[Brock Samson]

no there's no rush,..
and i'm gonna have the runner up to snuff by spring,... so i won't be exactly hot rod less... 
i'm just asking for suggestions...

[bull]

I'd sell it and buy a '68.

[MorePwr]

you have a 1969 charger R/T SE mostly intact,.. what do ya' do?..  

Personally I wouldn't change a darn thing with your car, it's sick!

If I had started with a relatively stock charger. as yours looks to be, I'd have left it that way. Other than a few reversable updates like ignition, carb and tires, to make it more driveable..Leave it. keep it as close to 69 as possible

Aaron

[Brock Samson]

mine was a basket case,.. i bought it stripped in '84,.. didnt get it to what ya' see till '99..
first day on the road, the front clip was cruched by a.... er,.. woman in a miata, making an illeage trun in front of me...
first day after about 50 miles....

[moparsons]

As far as looks go, your charger is one of my favorites.......leave it!

I would take it one project at a time. Less cost at one time and you could drive it still.

For instance....recover seats....drive and save....upgrade steering/suspension.....drive and save......tackle wiring.......drivve and save...etc.

[MorePwr]

You did alot of work! your charger is , like i said earlier it's "sick"

I too bought mine as a basket case and no sooner did I get it driveable and looking good, A.....lady in a mitsubishi while leaving my house, on a hill nearly as steep as yours, let her car roll back about a car length and obliterated the glass nose on it.. They seem to be a magnet for dumbass drivers!

[moparsons]

Stop it....You guys are scaring me!!!!!!!LOL!

[Todd Wilson]

Part it out and send whats left to the crusher!     



Todd

[Chris G.]

I'd sell it and buy a '70.

Damn, Bull is getting smarter and smarter by the day.   

Seriously Strat, you are getting the RR painted? That's a damn shame if that car was truly a survivor. 

[greenpigs]

Fix the wiring first and suspension after that then buy another 69 Charger.

BTW a car is original only once and if the RR is a survivor your a goober for repainting it.

[Brock Samson]

who told ya' i was painting it?... 

[Lowprofile]

Are we going to see a GL IN San Francisco?  That would just be Fabulous!

[Schuler]

Hey...sounds kind of like my car. My RT/SE has 38 year old paint on it, no rust though. I'm just going to drive it for awhile. $25,000 a year for college makes a paintjob unaffordable. I still get compliments w/ the old paint, so I guess its ok.

[69 OUR/TEA]

Hey Brock,whats the original colors on your R/T SE ? And you said ready for third paint job? You would be stripping it down to metal again ? My opinion,get the RR back,gut the charger and send it off to Droptop,and do the best job as your wallet will allow.As for your RR,I have never seen it,or heard any descriptions about it ,only what I am reading here,and as being said it is a survivor original paint.If you are not painting it ,great,but if you are I fully understand, as the nicest survivor could be,the factory paint,in my eyes is terrible.Just like that survivor 70 Hemi charger on E-bay,the engine compartment was nasty,and needed to be fully detailed,and if this was done,oops not a survivor anymore.A survivor should be just as titled,not a thing done other than maintenence just to  keep it running!! That means no painting of parts on the engine,radiator,suspension,etc.Then you have the people doing concourse restos with the primer undersides with "the correct overspray".Thats fine ,but why are they not using acrylic enamel on the body then,like original ?? I'm sure there is probably a few that have done that,but most do a cut and buffed urethane job,totally not like factory appearence.Thats what I would do,as these cars are now and should be show pieces .For those who cannot afford to shell out the $$$$$ for a high end job,and only can affford driver quality , at least they are still gettting a piece of the action and having there fun with their rides.

[BigBlockSam]

Drive it.

  but first fix the front end. that could be dangerous. than smoke em if you got them. 

[Charger_Fan]

Hey Brock,whats the original colors on your R/T SE ?

Yeah, what color was it originally?


Was it that ONE color??

[Brock Samson]

Medium bronze (T-3) like Neal J's with a Tan V. top, the Black int. and stripe delete....
i seriously concdered going back to stock,.. but i couldn't find anyone who made that tan top color.. in '98..

T-3 is ok i guess just not my first choice... 

I really like the dark blues, and i took a chance adding the red tint to the paint cause i knew it was gonna be a realitivly short lived paint job..
i'm not afraid of Mods... lol..

just Moderators.. 

  http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,13984.0.html
the "Keeping it real" thread: Stock Vs. Modified)

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,14126.0.html
the "road runner got rear ended"thread  (includes the early pics.. and the insults...)  

[69 OUR/TEA]

As I have posted before,T5 is my fav,but T3 is also real nice.If you can't get the tan v top,how about going with black.A friend had a 69 RR T3 W/black vinyl.Looked great!!!

[tan top]

( Brock) ,  i would build yours  same as i built mine    strip it to a body shell  & rebuild it , new harnesses , ball joints / polly suspension bushes  etc . 1" torsion bars , heavy duty strut rods , 1-1/8  &  7/8  sway bars , torque boxes & chassis connectors , i would put it back to its original color combination ,

[Brock Samson]

yeah, that's a good way to go, and may even be possible since all it needs a frame off resto... ( )

[Brock Samson]

I'd sell it and buy a '70.

Seriously Strat, you are getting the RR painted? That's a damn shame if that car was truly a survivor. 

i'm gonna open a seperate topic on the runner since it's a different car,..
it's not gonna be a garage queen or be exhibited at shows as a survivor,..

[Brock Samson]

  Enough time has passed that I have a better idea now of what i "Could" do to the charger...

Nothing is written is stone of course but ONE idea is to have Droptop prep. the skunk..
and then have Barry Winfield Master of the "fade" paint the car in the three color sunburst stratocaster style with the roof smoothed and done in a red tortise shell finish...
something like this...



   http://members.tripod.com/gtrkev/dixie/pictures/MVC-280F.JPG  (a link to a three tone sunburst finish with tortise shell pickguard)

another link.. fender custom shop...
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0119700800

alot of painters i have talked to and i've talked to half a dozen or so now, have rolled their eyes when i suggested the idea and some flatly refused but i think done right it would be awsome!
dont beat me up too bad you mean old stockaholics,..