Restoration Project.

[dystopia]

Hey!

I have a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 that I would like to fix up. I'm planning on picking it up in a few days.

I was curious about how much I can expect it to cost to fix up, and also, where is a good source of parts for it?
Also, Is there anything else I should know or expect before I start restoring it?

Its not the in the best condition. But it was kept in a fairly dry, desert environment so rust isn't a huge issue. It most likely runs with a little repair, hose replacement, etc.

[Mike DC]

 
"Fix up" is such a vague term . . . In 1986, a "restoration" on a 1968 Charger might have meant a paint/body job, some seatcovers, and a fresh engine/tranny.  But these days it's a whole different story.

A "total restoration" these days tends to mean the car gets essentially hand-rebuilt from top to bottom.  Many thousands of dollars invested (10-15K easy, not counting the price of the car you started with).  And it often ends up being 2-4 years of work if you're a home-restorer and you're not paying a shop to fix your car full-time.  But if you're building a "street cruiser" rather than trying to build a time-capsule restoration (for entering national contests), then the end results are a car that is usually faster, better-stopping, smoother, and longer-lasting than the car was originally.

It's partly due to rust repairs, and partly because there's been so much progress in terms of actually improving these cars from the way they were originally built.  And whether or not the car was abused, after 35-40 years virtually everything on the car is at the point of failure.  The rubber items biodegrade, the plastic gets dry & brittle, the carpeting & soft stuff rots, the wiring builds up resistance just from age, etc.  You're gonna be dealing with a lot of things that were never "broken" but still need major work to be seviceable again.

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Don't get me wrong; Your car looks like a GREAT restoration candidate.  Way better than most these days.  The originality, the factory R/T status, the lack of rust . . . those things are a real 1-2-3 punch in favor of restoring that particular car.  (If you resold it, I guarantee you that the next buyer would give it a full-tilt restoration right away.)  Don't get discouraged about that car at all.

I guess what I'm saying is that muscle car restoration is a primary life-obsession for many of us, and there's a TON of variables to learn before tearing into that car.  The Charger restoration game is absolutely night-and-day different from where it was a few years ago.  And as you learn more about this stuff, your own expectations may change in regards to what you want to do with certain issues.

   

[dystopia]

Thanks for your reply.

I'm planning on fixing it up to "street cruiser" status. In my opinion I would prefer to drive it around and enjoy it rather than have it sit around looking pretty.

[Shakey]

Looks like you've got a great car to start with.  Looks as though everything is there and it looks pretty straight as well.

A coat of paint and some mechanical and interior work should get you on the road if that's all your looking for.

As far as where to find parts - figure out what you need and start researching this site before you buy anything.  All the answers you are looking for have most likely been posted, you will find them if you dig deep enough.  If you can't feel free to ask the questions.

As far as how much it will cost you - first you need to figure out what parts you need to get it running and roadworthy.

Good luck and welcome to the site. 

[Chatt69chgr]

I am assuming that the car you have found hasn't been messed around with. 

First off, photo document everything before you take it off or apart.  And don't throw anything away----at all.  Your car is one of 20,000 made and is most valuable if it is all numbers matching.  What I am saying is that when you eventually sell it, you want to have all the original parts even if you had to replace them.  Don't turn in any original parts as cores.  Pay the core charge.  Some items on your car will be surprisingly valuable.  Example is the original 4-speed/440 radiator.  They are extremely expensive.  No matter if your radiator core is shot you can salvage the tank top with the all important numbers on it.   You can buy a new radiator for use now and just hang the old one up for the future.  One area I would make a change to is probably the front brakes.  If yours are disc, you can upgrade them but save all the old parts like spindles and calipers for the future.  I would even save old hoses just for the numbers on them and for matching for later.  Try to document all factory paint marks on parts before you obilterate the markings.  This will be extremely valuable later.  You can fix the car up like you want now and that's fine but you will be money in the bank to have the future option of restoring the car properly.  If you buy new bumpers, save the old ones for future rechroming.  I know all this sounds crazy but you will be a happy camper later if you do these things.

[Mike DC]

   
I agree  --  Keep EVERYTHING you remove from that car.  Alternators, radiators, hoses, belts, mufflers/exhaust parts, etc.

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If you want a street cruiser, then you're probably after a mostly stock restoration.  Maybe a milld "restomod."  The term is for cars that are a combination of a restoration and modifications.

Most people who wanna drive a '68 car these days end up wanting to build it to look & feel 90-95% stock, but take advantage of a few things different from stock that are reversible in the future.  Modern radial tires and some type of front-wheel disc brake setup are almost a MUST for such a valuable hunk of original sheetmetal on public roads. 

Rust repair & prevention wasn't given much thought back in the 1960s-70s, but rust has probably killed more of these cars than anything else in the last 40 years.  Nowadays it's become one of the primary issues the old-car hobby is immersed in.  Even with a low-rust car like yours, you'd be wise to eventually plan for a total disassembly & repaint just to get all the surfaces of the body covered with a modern paint/coating.  (Modern body supplies are all WAY-Y-Y better than the stuff from the '60s.  Longer lasting, more scratch-resistant, more UV-resistant, etc.)  If you've got money, that body shell might be even be a prime candidate for EDP coating.

In a lot of other areas, you can get "stock" 1968-grade parts but there are later-model improvements that make the car easier to live with. (Electronic ignition, electronic voltage regulator, hardened valve seats & a bigger radiator to compensate for weak modern unleaded gasoline, etc.)  Electrically, these cars were crap to begin with and 40 years hasn't helped at all. 

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The whole car is a lot of decisions to make.  But it's a great starting point, so you're good to go.

 

[hemihead]

All it takes is lots of time and lots of money! 

[konigcharger]

All it takes is lots of time and lots of money! 

the more you have of one the less you need of the other 

[dystopia]

Well, Its finally arrived. Here are a few more pics.

I'm not finished cleaning it up, But I'm part way done.

The worst part Is the roof AFAIK.

[dystopia]

A Few more. Most of the damage is from someone stealing stuff from it before I could get it. The entire dashboard was stolen, the air intake cover, The Tag in the engine compartment. etc.

[Chatt69chgr]

All that stuff they stole can be found.  It may take a while.  What is really great about your car is that a lot of the very difficult stuff to find is there.  You have the original radiator.  They are very valuable.  You can save the tanks and have the cores replaced.  The brake booster and master are on the hard to find list.  They can be rebuilt.  Use the folks that supply rebuilt brake parts to NAPA.  They are out of Texas.  You have the option steering wheel.  And the chrome trim around the rear window.  Also, the glass is non tint I think so be careful with it.  It's not available anymore.  And the seatbelts should be saveable although they do appear on EBAY ever so often.  Also, your grill looks good.  The biggest problem you are going to have is sorting out the dash mess.  That is going to take you time and patience.  But you have a real nice car to start with so it will all be worth it.  There are probably folks on this site that have spare instrument panels they would sell.  The dash plastic is all available new again.  You shouldn't have too much problem finding a glove box door.  Your best bet would be to find someone who has a parts car pretty much complete but badly rusted out.  You could get all the stuff you need and see how it is installed at the same time you take it out.  Good luck.   

[terrible one]

Definitely a good start. It does suck about people stealing stuff from your dash. Like Chatt69chgr said, you can get everything you need, it's just that it will be expensive. Glove box doors that are nice can be had for like $10.00. You might as well buy a cluster that has been rebuilt and refurbished, which will be a few hundred dollars. The plastic is available from I think PG Classics or some place like that. They sell on Ebay, and from what I've heard it's really nice stuff. I see a few spots where sunlight is peaking through the roof. how about a shot from the outside? there are a few here who have patched and replaced their roofs who can tell you about that, but that's definitely, as you said, going to be the hardest thing. Still, the rest of your sheetmetal looks GREAT. the desert climate definitely helped. How about the trunk floor?

[OttawaCharger]

Welcome aboard!
That's a real nice starting point you've got!  Stick around here and you'll learn lots. 

[The70RT]

Nice car to start with 

[tan top]

looks a real nice charger to start a restoration on .......... i seem to recognise it  i think it was on moparts (cars in yards) .  would like to see more pictures as you progress

[dystopia]

looks a real nice charger to start a restoration on .......... i seem to recognise it  i think it was on moparts (cars in yards) .  would like to see more pictures as you progress

Yea, Its up there. A family friend who is into mopars put the pictures up there.

[41husk]

Keep us posted with some progress pics as you go.

[dystopia]

Keep us posted with some progress pics as you go.

Yea, I will. I'm currently sanding the body, getting as much of the rust off as I can. After that I want to get it running and take it to get a estimate on the body work + painting.

Also, Anyone have any pics of what I'm aiming for when sanding the body? I've gotten down to bare metal in some areas. But some other areas are pitted and there is rust in them, Ill try to post some pics later today.

[The70RT]

On the pitted metal you need to wire brush it out or have it blasted or it will come back to haunt you. The roof looks like another story. Take the trim off to check it out. You won't like what you see if you have rust up farther towards the middle. If you have done any welding & or metal fab that will be a plus. I am trying to do what I can do. The body and paint is what will set you back a bunch. Here is what mine looked like 


http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,26598.0.html

[dystopia]

Been working on sanding the roof. It doesn't seem to be going very well. I'm using 40 Grit Silicon carbide sandpaper on a Orbital DA sander. Does it just take forever or am I doing something wrong?  Picture is after about two hours of sanding.

[Mike DC]

Yes, sanding takes forever. 
Be careful with power tools on the body.  EVERY INCH of the sheetmetal on that car is better than any replacement part you'll ever get for it.   


Honestly, if spending two hours stripping paint off the roof annoys you, then maybe you shouldn't be messing with the body at all. 
A good restoration-grade body job can take hundreds of hours even on a low-rust car, and patience simply cannot be an issue if you want good results.

 

[The70RT]

That won't sand out. Use a wire wheel. I used a metal conditioner also. It dissolved some of it but I ended up blasting it to get all of it. I sent mine out for blasting but I did all my metal work and wanted to see where I had to weld in metal. If you aren't going to do any welding you might as well have your body man take out the rust where welding will have to be done. Those holes are minor compared when you remove your trim 

[Lurker]

i have heard that using a wirewheel on areas with pinholes is a bad idea as it will heat up the surrounding good metal and just "smear" it over the unseen pits etc. i might be wrong i am no bodyman just a hobbyist but it kinda made sense when i heard it so i have always avoided using one.

[dystopia]

Yes, sanding takes forever. 
Be careful with power tools on the body.  EVERY INCH of the sheetmetal on that car is better than any replacement part you'll ever get for it.   


Honestly, if spending two hours stripping paint off the roof annoys you, then maybe you shouldn't be messing with the body at all. 
A good restoration-grade body job can take hundreds of hours even on a low-rust car, and patience simply cannot be an issue if you want good results.

 

No, It doesn't annoy me. I just would rather spend the time doing it right rather than find out there is a better/faster way of doing it. But if hundreds of hours is what it takes, I'd better get going.

[terrible one]

I've used a wire wheel on pitted metal parts, etc. and it hasn't seemed to do anything but go a lot faster than sanding! Again, just my personal experience. Russ or someone that knows what they're talking about needs to tell you the best way to get that rust gone.

[JimShine]

Wow! A factory headrest equipped 1968! Those are rather uncommon!

[chargercraig]

wow great looking car to start with. use the build sheet and your car will be real valuable 

[dystopia]

Been working on the inside too. The back seat should be fine. Just some TLC. the two front seats aren't in very good condition. The leather is cut and the foam is obviously bad.

[terrible one]

Been working on the inside too. The back seat should be fine. Just some TLC. the two front seats aren't in very good condition. The leather is cut and the foam is obviously bad.

New seatcovers are available, and you can cut some foam yourself or have an interior place/person cut it for you and/or install the seat covers.

[The70RT]

Been working on sanding the roof. It doesn't seem to be going very well. I'm using 40 Grit Silicon carbide sandpaper on a Orbital DA sander. Does it just take forever or am I doing something wrong?  Picture is after about two hours of sanding.

Here is a thread on roof rust I started a while back before I did mine.....by the way mine turned out to be satisfactory to me. Now just the finish work is left........doing that as we speak. Hope this helps. A lot of help on the site by some guys that have done some excellent work.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,26182.0.html

[scottmiller]

You have a nice solid car to start with from what can be seen in the pictures.

As far as cost goes, here's what I recently learned:

1)  Rough together some numbers on a spreadsheet by coming up with a list of what you need to have done and want to buy. 
2)  Add all those figures together to come up with a total.
3)  Take the total sum and multiply it by 2.  That should get you close to a final #. 
4)  Keep that number to yourself (very important)
5)  When/if the wife asks "how much is this going to cost", multiply the original sum (from step 2) by 50% and give her that figure. 

The beauty of this system is that the 50% figure gets her initial "buy-in". 

Once you burn through that $$, you are beyond the "point of no return" and the rest of the money simply has to be spent to get the thing off the blocks in the front yard.

I love it when a plan comes together.

-Scott

[konigcharger]

listen to this guy he is a very smart man

[dystopia]

I just want to say thanks for the good advice, Ill try to post some progress pics in a week or two.

[skip68]

Nice car.  looks real good and solid.  great score.    Chuck............

[gordo1968charger]

as scott said,the wife will be the big stumbling block,they ll never understand.
rule 1: hide money,never tell her about it ever!
rule 2: get any parts delivered to your workplace.
rule 3: graft your knackers off to pay for all your parts,without getting into debt.
rule 4:stop drinking beer,charger restoration parts are better value for money.

hope this helps.i ve got 4 kids.
gordo