Finally stopped looking and started joining!

[Kevin68N71]

Just wanted to say hello, Kevin from CA here.  Have been off and on this site for a while, finally thought, hey, I have some Mopars, maybe I should join!

I got my 1968 Charger in 1978 when I was 16.  It was very straight (the hood bend, dent in fender, etc I put on!), and I got it for $750!  Of course, I wanted a 1969 after seeing "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" (seems like I am not the only one out there) with a 440 but "settled" for a 1968 with a Mopar Parts replacement 1971 383.  Never did find out what happened to the old engine.  I bought it off the original owner.   It is an oddball light green that I think is a 1974 Dodge color, I seem to remember seeing mid 70s Satellites painted this color.  The original is the dark green.  It has a white vinyl top and white interior, all original.  The only a-hole thing I ever did to the car was cut the metal parcel shelf to put in speakers, but I was smart enough to retain the original rear speaker (yeah, one speaker!) and I have the original AM/8 Track Stereo.

I drove the car as a daily driver through high school, into college, then intermittently as a spare car.  In later years, I always had trouble with fouled carbs and just went through one carb after another.  Finally the car sat for a long time--big mistake.  In 1994 I fired it up and it just popped and backfired and would not stay lit, and I put it all on ice, not having any money or time for it--but I kept it in the garage.

Last year, I pulled the car out just to see what was really wrong with it.  The electronic ignition was on it and a rebuilt carb that I never did get running right.  I pulled the gas tank, and found out what the  problem was the whole time.

I had put down stupid, rubber foam backed carpet in the trunk.  Because of typical Mopar trunk leakage, that carpet got wet, retained the water and rotted holes in the bottom of the trunk.  That leaked water onto the tank, and the tank developed holes.  Pieces of that rubber disintegrating carpet got into fuel and consistently fouled the carbs.  I could not believe it.  By the time the shop was done dipping the tank it had so many holes in it it was not repairable.

That said, I pulled the last carb apart and the pump and everything looked good.  I put a little gas tank on it and wired the ignition module back on.  The car started right up, but ran lousy.  Found out it was running on 4 cylinders.  Replaced the plugs and BOOM! the car started right up.  It sounds just fine.  I can't believe it.  After all these years, its back.  The trans even--so far--works.

I have a new tank and have to redo lines, brakes, etc.  I cannot believe that I didn't even have to touch the timing or carb.  It is totally smooth.  I don't know yet if it will be smooth under real load, if you know what I mean.

This is why I like Mopars!   I also have a 1971 Super Bee with a later model 440.

If interested, I can post some pictures.

[69bronzeT5]

Welcome to the site! Of course, POST PICS!

[Ghoste]

If interested?  Yes, we love pics!

[1969chargerrtse]

Just wanted to say hello, Kevin from CA here.  Have been off and on this site for a while, finally thought, hey, I have some Mopars, maybe I should join!

I got my 1968 Charger in 1978 when I was 16.  It was very straight (the hood bend, dent in fender, etc I put on!), and I got it for $750!  Of course, I wanted a 1969 after seeing "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry" (seems like I am not the only one out there) with a 440 but "settled" for a 1968 with a Mopar Parts replacement 1971 383.  Never did find out what happened to the old engine.  I bought it off the original owner.   It is an oddball light green that I think is a 1974 Dodge color, I seem to remember seeing mid 70s Satellites painted this color.  The original is the dark green.  It has a white vinyl top and white interior, all original.  The only a-hole thing I ever did to the car was cut the metal parcel shelf to put in speakers, but I was smart enough to retain the original rear speaker (yeah, one speaker!) and I have the original AM/8 Track Stereo.

I drove the car as a daily driver through high school, into college, then intermittently as a spare car.  In later years, I always had trouble with fouled carbs and just went through one carb after another.  Finally the car sat for a long time--big mistake.  In 1994 I fired it up and it just popped and backfired and would not stay lit, and I put it all on ice, not having any money or time for it--but I kept it in the garage.

Last year, I pulled the car out just to see what was really wrong with it.  The electronic ignition was on it and a rebuilt carb that I never did get running right.  I pulled the gas tank, and found out what the  problem was the whole time.

I had put down stupid, rubber foam backed carpet in the trunk.  Because of typical Mopar trunk leakage, that carpet got wet, retained the water and rotted holes in the bottom of the trunk.  That leaked water onto the tank, and the tank developed holes.  Pieces of that rubber disintegrating carpet got into fuel and consistently fouled the carbs.  I could not believe it.  By the time the shop was done dipping the tank it had so many holes in it it was not repairable.

That said, I pulled the last carb apart and the pump and everything looked good.  I put a little gas tank on it and wired the ignition module back on.  The car started right up, but ran lousy.  Found out it was running on 4 cylinders.  Replaced the plugs and BOOM! the car started right up.  It sounds just fine.  I can't believe it.  After all these years, its back.  The trans even--so far--works.

I have a new tank and have to redo lines, brakes, etc.  I cannot believe that I didn't even have to touch the timing or carb.  It is totally smooth.  I don't know yet if it will be smooth under real load, if you know what I mean.

This is why I like Mopars!   I also have a 1971 Super Bee with a later model 440.

If interested, I can post some pictures.

Welcome to the site!!   Glad to have ya, send pics.    And Cody, how come you're always the 1st person on a new thread?  Never mind.

[The70RT]

Welcome  I bought my Charger in 78 and I was 16 too.    Yeah put up some pics.

[mikesbbody]

great story kevin! welcome 

[LeeBoy]

Welcome, and of course we are interested in pictures.

[terrible one]

Welcome aboard! That is an awesome story, can't wait to see pictures! 

[TruckDriver]

Welcome

[Kevin68N71]

Thanks guys for the welcome, I just took some pictures.  This is today, 3/28/2008.

Here is a picture of the back of the car, and a comparison with the early C3 Corvette.  I read on other threads that the weirdness of this is not lost on other people either.

Also, here is my original AirTemp sticker.  This car came with air, and I actually used it the first two years I had it!  Then the compressor seized and I engineered a 1/2a$$3d single belt system that never did work all that well.  I was always a "keeper" so I kept the original compressor, the condenser, drier, and all the hookups and hoses for eventual refitting.

[andy74]

welcome aboard, the first rule is lots of pics,and no fat chicks!

[Kevin68N71]

Here is the front and some other pics. 

Some minor bumps scrapes and paint peelings, but all in all, not too bad.

[Kevin68N71]

Here are some interior and engine shots.

Interior--White over green!--that's right, it looks black but it's a dark green wheel, console, carpet.  The bizarreness of that is only passed by the fact that my 71 Bee is ALL green inside--seats, dash, carpet, wheel, everything.  I know some hate green, but I kind of like it.  I always loved the white seats.  The pass seat has lost some white coloring on the ribbing but is intact, the drivers has always been ripped, but somehow, the door panels and back seat survived too.  Odd.  Usually these interiors seem to disintegrate.

Engine--hey, I was young and didn't know what I was doing.  Yes, that engine bay is sprayed flat black.  Yes, the valve covers are black and the intake manifold was sprayed silver.  Yes, those are 1978 Hedman headers!

[Kevin68N71]

Here's something the experts might want to weigh in on.

I always thought these body side moldings were added by the owner or were some sort of accessory.  A recent decode online of my fender tag seemed to pick up "30: Body Belt Moldings".  I don't remember seeing this on another.  It is hard to tell in the pic, but the vinyl/plastic is textured similar to the vinyl roof.  I have only had to reglue one section back on before.  I just thought it odd that it might actually be an option for the car.

Finally, here is the Progressive Mag I got years ago.  I had first replaced the rear wheels with Western Mags (remember those) and I could not find any years later to do the fronts.  Yes, I was one of those guys with mismatched rear and front rims for years.  The car came with all original Magnum 500 wheels--unfortunately, I ended up ruining all the originals one way or the other.

[Charger_Fan]

I think it looks beautiful, spray-bombed engine bay & all!
Congrats for hanging onto it for all these years, that's quite a feat in itself. I love all the little "back in the day" touches on it.

[Kevin68N71]

Yeah my first wife tried continuously to make me sell it.  In the early 80s, I remember a dinner with her "friends", an obnoxious couple.  The boyfriend actually made a living selling hot dogs in Venice, I kid you not.  He was bagging on my car for being a gas guzzler, and why didn't I do the smart thing and buy a Honda.  I was too polite back then, nowadays I would ask him why he didn't buy bridgework, because he was going to need it.

Instead, I explained to him that muscle cars were going to become very collectible. They were already going up a little by that time, but I based my assumptions on what had happened to AC Cobras, rare Corvettes, etc even then.  I remember they all laughed.  Well, they ain't laughing now, I don't know how many things you can have in your life that give you so much pleasure and good times while giving you a 2000%+ return on your investment.  Call me stupid, I would love to make more stupid decisions like that in my life.

Well, that ex is long gone, thank God I didn't have kids with that jerk.  My wife of 15 years has given me two car loving sons, and while she is not into cars, she is fine with whatever I want to do, as long as it doesn't bankrupt us and, in her words, "I can get my car out easy without having to move anything".  So she is a gem.

[tan top]

hello & welcome   nice looking  68    ..mmmmmmmmmm slot mags

[mikesbbody]

did you say you have a 71 super bee? pics please! and check out the third gen website 

[Kevin68N71]

did you say you have a 71 super bee? pics please! and check out the third gen website 

Yes, thanks Mike.  Here's a picture from about 4 years ago at our old house.  Believe it or not, I took it with a Brownie Hawkeye 620 Camera that I got completely dirty and messed up for $5 at a swap meet.  Took it apart and took a few photos with it!  So if you wonder why it isn't super bright like digital....

I will try to get some fresh pics of it this weekend.

[69charger2002]

wow welcome to the site! cool pics and story. another charger lover is always welcome here!
trav

[Kevin68N71]

The 1971 is one of the few cars I ever bought from a dealer, a guy up in Santa Barbara.  I drove up with my wife and then 4 year old boy and bought the car, driving back to LA when it started to pour.  Unbelievably, my right rear brake started to lock up when I put the brakes on.  Scary as heck, with my wife not knowing what was going on following me in our truck.  2.5 hours later of intermittently thinking I can pull over and have it towed, and then seeming like it was getting better and changing my mind.  Plus, not being used to the car at all, and on and on. 

I got a pretty good deal on the car back in 1998.  It was $6999 with new paint (not the best but ok) and new decals, although I didn't realize at the time that the side stripes were missing their upper and lower ministripes.

A brake shop turned my drums with no luck, my car would brake fine and then skid out of nowhere!  It was really bad.  Finally, I just broke down and bought two new rear hubs, end of problem.  This is why I typically do all my work myself, but of course, don't have a brake machine.

That said, within two years, this was the worst luck car I ever had.  Two fuel pumps (can't blame the replacement failure on the car, but oh well), oil pump, water pump, fan clutch.  Carb secondaries stopped working.  The linkage was so screwed up that I wasn't get the last 20% of pedal!  My valve covers, some really lousy Holley's I could never, ever get to stop leaking oil, so I bought Mopar chrome ones, and that nightmare ended (driving down the highway and suddenly, Mopar Volcano.)  Then somehow I lost first gear.  So I had a guy I used before completely rebuild the 727, and he replaced the cracked bellhousing case too.  Somehow that only cost $1000 so I felt lucky.

Just last year, I am driving and all of a sudden I smell what seems like burning clutch.  I look out my back window and smoke is everywhere.  I realize I am dragging my rear brakes.  I could not find the problem after about 2 hours, and then it hit me.  The rear flexible hose had become clogged, and kept the pressure on the rear brakes after the last brake application. I replaced the hose, problem solved.  I had this same problem on an AMX once, I advise everyone to keep an eye out on that damn hose.

The body is very good, I don't think it was ever dented up, there are a few rust bubbles that I will have to tend to.  Solid floors, original trunk pan, etc.

The WORST news was a year a two ago when I finally decoded the engine.  The seller was honest and told me it was not an original engine, and I knew before from the tags that it had been a 383 car.  What I didn't know, and really made me feel bad, is that the 440 engine is something like a 1976 version, and I think it has a damned cast crank! (I will have to go find my notes when I decoded, don't remember exactly) No HP block here, or even a good 440, probably the worst 440 they ever built.  Backward damned water pump (you know what I mean if you have a 440 in a motor home, the hoses and radiators are backwards). I was depressed, but what the hey.

Although all this sounds like I am describing a terrible car, believe it or not, it's not!  I do not know what the previous owner did to this 440, but it's no smoggy motorhome engine.  This is every bit as fast as any stock/mild modified 440 I have ever been in.  It will smoke the tires down the street and chirp 1-2 and sometimes 2-3.  On the highway it will go from 55 to 100 in a heartbeat.  It has the bulge, non induction hood that is in perfect shape.  Original interior fair.  And it's an original air conditioning car!  Someone changed to a black vinyl roof, and I think I know why.  I can't imagine how oddball the original GREEN vinyl roof looked on a white car with black stripes.  That just doesn't seem right.

The other thing I would like to change is the "SE" style grill and lights.  Since there is no motor for the lights present, my guess is the previous owner banged up the Charger grille and got this out of the junkyard.  The light covers are wired open.  If I come across a standard Charger/Bee grill, I am going to swap it out, as the hood release is not right either (twisted wire).

All that said, the car is a ball to drive.  It needs alot of small things, but, hey, that's vintage Mopar fun for you.

[Kevin68N71]

wow welcome to the site! cool pics and story. another charger lover is always welcome here!
trav

Trav, if I ever get down where you live, can I come over and just wander around in stupor in your backyard for a few days?

[Magnumcharger]

Welcome to the site.
After reading your various "stories" I'm very happy to extend a hand of welcome to another Charger enthusiast!
And even MORE deliriously happy to see that unlike some of the troglodytes here, you can spell, type AND string a sentence!! Bravo!!
And congratulations for having the presence of mind to hang onto that '68 for all these years!!
(And for dumping your first mill-stone!)
Lastly, as you were 16 in 1978, that makes you the same age as me...way to hang in there! 

[Kevin68N71]

Welcome to the site.
After reading your various "stories" I'm very happy to extend a hand of welcome to another Charger enthusiast!
And even MORE deliriously happy to see that unlike some of the troglodytes here, you can spell, type AND string a sentence!! Bravo!!
And congratulations for having the presence of mind to hang onto that '68 for all these years!!
(And for dumping your first mill-stone!)
Lastly, as you were 16 in 1978, that makes you the same age as me...way to hang in there! 

Thanks!

[Troy]

Welcome to the site!

There was an oddball light green available in 68 as well. The 68 Charger that I had when I was 16 was originally that color but it was painted flat black by the time I got it.

Troy