changing a 69 to a 68

[blade68]

Can any help me out? I would like to know how hard and if it is possible to take a 1968 Dodge Charger and turin it into a 1968? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks........... 
Brian..

[69bronzeT5]

Can any help me out? I would like to know how hard and if it is possible to take a 1968 Dodge Charger and turin it into a 1968? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks........... 
Brian..

Telling by your name....do you plan on making a Blade 68?

[zerfetzen]

I'm as new as they come, but I think the dash is different too, if that's important at all.

[bull]

The best way to convert a '69 to a '68 is through magic, especially the magic of craigslist or Ebay. This special magic will transform your 1969 into cash which you can magically transform back into a 1968 Charger, without ever having to cut or weld. It's a snap!

[Old Moparz]

You might want to trade your '69 for a '68 & save a lot of work.

By the way, I just happen to have a '68, but would rather have a '69. Seriously, what kind of shape is your car in?

[Charger1973]

Theres alot of people with 68s wishing they were 69s so they can build General Lees.  You shouldnt have trouble finding a 68 to trade for, or like mentioned before sell the 69 and use the cash for a 68. 

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Theres alot of people with 68s wishing they were 69s so they can build General Lees.  You shouldnt have trouble finding a 68 to trade for, or like mentioned before sell the 69 and use the cash for a 68. 

[blade68]

69bronzeT5 - yes im planning on making one like it but with my own twist, its going to match my 68 GTO.

Old Moparz - i dont know what kind of shape its in as i have never seen the car, im away at skool and my mother bought the car for me. but from what she paid for it and what my friends back home say its pretty bad.

[Old Moparz]

69bronzeT5 - yes im planning on making one like it but with my own twist, its going to match my 68 GTO.

Old Moparz - i dont know what kind of shape its in as i have never seen the car, im away at skool and my mother bought the car for me. but from what she paid for it and what my friends back home say its pretty bad.

Okay, mine isn't for sale so there's no rush on anything. If you get a chance to get back to where the car is & could take a couple of photos, that would be fine. My '68 is a disassembled shell right now, but it is a totally rust free car with lots of new sheet metal. Maybe your's is in bad shape, but bad is a different point of view from one person to the next. Feel free to send me a PM when you get around to it.

Thanks, Bob

EDIT: By the way, changing from one year to the next can be simple or complicated. It all depends on how accurate you want it to be. There are so many small differences that will go mostly unoticed, but that also depends on who's looking. Some people, like myself, wouldn't worry about the unobvious. I'd be content with a swapping the grille, tail light panel, & 1 or 2 other things, but others will want even the radiator hose to be date coded correctly.

[Ghoste]

Wasn't there someone on here recently looking for info to change a 68 into a 69 so he could make a GL?  Why don't you two just get together and trade cars? 

[Brock Samson]

Can any help me out? I would like to know how hard and if it is possible to take a 1968 Dodge Charger and turin it into a 1968? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks........... 
Brian..

Can any help me out? I would like to know how hard and if it is possible to take a 1968 Dodge Charger and turin it into a 1968? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...........
Brian..

69bronzeT5 - yes im planning on making one like it but with my own twist, its going to match my 68 GTO.

Old Moparz - i dont know what kind of shape its in as i have never seen the car, im away at skool and my mother bought the car for me. but from what she paid for it and what my friends back home say its pretty bad.

welcome to the site in anycase... how about some pics of your Goat?..
there have a great number of folks who have asked the same question here,.. ussually the other way around..
in fact we had a guy here who owned two of the actual  BLADE chargers,.. but he didn't last long at all...

good luck.

[blade68]

Old Moparz - i dont want to buy another car or sell the one i have im not trying to make it a numbers matching car either, its going to be very modified, big engine either 440 or a hemi, not sure yet. i wouldnt want to buy a rust free car either because 1 i dont have that kind of money, 2 i like building something from the ground up, 3 i wouldnt want to cut up a nice car to make it the way i want the car to look.

[Khyron]

Old Moparz - i dont want to buy another car or sell the one i have im not trying to make it a numbers matching car either, its going to be very modified, big engine either 440 or a hemi, not sure yet. i wouldnt want to buy a rust free car either because 1 i dont have that kind of money, 2 i like building something from the ground up, 3 i wouldnt want to cut up a nice car to make it the way i want the car to look.

read the bold letters.... and think about what you just said.

Bottem line ...sell the 69 and buy a 68. you'll be better off if you have little money. the front grill alone for a 68 is going to set you back quite a bit. not to mention the overall depreciation of the car by chopping it into the wrong year.

my advice. Don't do it.

I'm all for making a car what you want. hell, I have a 71 color on my 69, but that can be undone. chopping the car is just plain silly / stupid IMHO. 

[69bronzeT5]

gotta agree with Khyron

[Ghoste]

Me too.  It seems like it shouldn't be THAT hard to find the year you want.

[CB]

  Sorry it doesn't feel right to me.
A '68 is a '68 and will always be a '68, no?
I had a '68 before, I liked the front of the '69 better so I sold that one and went looking for a '69.
I agree with Khyron, don't do it. Sell the car and look for a '69, a real one 

.
(It reminds me to much of the Haplg rapers too  )

[bull]

I wonder if Chevy and Ford guys discuss this? Do they sit around trying to talk people out of converting '67 Camaros into '68s or '68 Mustangs into '69s?

Blade, I just don't understand why anyone would go through all the trouble to convert one car to another when there are plenty of '68s out there for sale. There's also the moral dilemma of hacking one Charger to make another, at least on this board. I think '68s look better but I don't think it's worth sacrificing a '69 to have one. Just let it go. Sell the '69, buy a '68.

[69bronzeT5]

Sell the car and look for a '69, a real one 

he has a 69...he wants to convert it to a 68

[Nacho-RT74]

I'm agree, go for the right deal a 68. You can get a 68 selling the 69 easilly. there are ppl who likes more 68 than 69 like you and viceversa.

on a side note, for accurate cloning doors are different on lock knob location, wiring is diff ( no light on on 69s sidemarkkers but yes on 68s ) parking lights keep on when turn on headlights on 69 and 68 no, beside of course tail lights panel and grilles. Also seat covers are diff as far I know, center console plate, and as stated cluster is SLIGHTLY diff on finish and some other touchs up.

[Ghoste]

To answer your question Bull, yes.  There is a guy a couple of blocks away from me who is now working on converting his 2nd first gen F-body from a Pontiac to a Chev.  He took a Firebird convertiable and made it into a "pace car" Camaro and got big bucks for it.  The local GM guys went nuts.  He didn't care because he made money, enough money to encourage him to try it a second time.  I think he's converting a hardtop this time but the local GM fans are none too happy about it.
Me?  I'm just glad he isn't into Mopars anymore.  He put a few phony Pentastars on the market in years past as well.

[blade68]

well tell ya what if i find on near me ill sell the 69 and get a 68. cool?

[Brock Samson]

i think it would be alot less hassle in the long run...
cause dash pads are different (pointed in he middle on '68s and flat straight across on '69s, why the hell did they do that anyhow?..    )
and a biotch to correctly change no matter what the yr...
upper door pads are different with the locks forward on '69s, and hard to find... '69 ussually had head rests too which are expensive..
grills  sidelights and tail lights are totally different,.. not to mention back up lamps... seat design and console and dash facias too...

then you'd also have to put up with all the explaining to the purists.. who examine vins and notice things like this...
that alone would be a major pain,.. 
I still think it's funny that ussually it's the guys with '68s who change their chargers to '69s to make them bogus General Lees.
sorry... "clones".. 

were here to help, get the info pics and fender tag info from your '69 and put it out there here on the board and i'm sure with some time all of us will pitch in to help you trade for the actual Yr. you need to match your GTO...
  again welcome to the best place in the vertual world... 

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

here are some links to the blade chargers

Pictures i took

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,4353.0.html

Pictures the owner of the B3 charger took of the other car

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,12086.0.html

[Old Moparz]

well tell ya what if i find on near me ill sell the 69 and get a 68. cool?

I'm going to get some heat on this, but I never cared anyway, you should see my '69 Satellite convertible with it's mix-matched parts from several years. 

I'm basing my opinion here on the fact you said your car is in bad shape. Don't sell it because some strangers on a forum told you to, it's only a handful of opinions & they don't count as much as your own. I like a lot of the people on here, as well as respect their knowledge, but if they all ran off the edge of a cliff together I'd still be at the top watching them hit the bottom.

If your '69 is a rough project & you already know you have to repair & replace the tail panel, then to convert it to look like a '68 could be done without too much effort. The same goes for the grille, either center section will fit, it's just about adding the trim to it for whatever year. Chances are you will need a dash pad, so getting one & replacing it with a '68 pad will be the same work as a '69 pad.

It all comes down to how many details you want to appear "correct" on the Charger to give it the impression it's a '68, the one you prefer. If it's only the tail panel & grille & they need to be replaced anyway, then I see no harm in putting the parts on you'd rather have. The biggest job & only permanent one, is the tail panel. All the rest is basically nuts, bolts, screws, & clips.

I understand the whole idea & logic of changing it, you already own it, it already needs work, & you don't have to go through the hassle of selling it & dealing with dozens & dozens of tire kickers. Don't forget, you also will have to go out & find the one you want & make 387 calls, 1245 emails to go look at junk yard gems that were supposed to need "minor work" & a cleaning.

If the tail panel on my '68 Charger wasn't mint, I'd have no trouble putting on the NOS '69 panel I have in it's place. It's my car, my money, my parts, & my choice. (I may still do it yet, but the aftermarket panels make more sense.) I only stumbled across a '68 when I was looking for a '69 that was so cheap, I'd be dumber than a former member named "Unholy Darkness" if I passed on it.

Changing it over will be expensive, but so will restoring it correctly. Look at lots of Chargers for both years & give your own a really good look before you make up your mind. It might grow on you & you'll want to keep it.   

[Brock Samson]

don't listen to him, he's senile..