New to the world of Chargers and restoration.

[drumman]

SO glad i found this site.  I'm lost as to how to start a project.  Does anyone have any starting point advice?  Also what are the differences between a 68 and 69 R/T?  heard most of it was how the tail lights where and that the 68 was a little shorter.  I have always drooled over the General Lee, and that is what i want, not a Genereal Lee persay, but the 69 R/T.  I know for the tv show they used modified 68s to look like 69s.  Anyways really looking forward to checking this site out more.

later,

james

[MoparManJim]

Hi welcome to the site, if you are going to tare things apart, make sure you label everything as it will help in the end when putting things back togother.

[skip68]

   Welcome to the site James.  A 68 is the same body as the 69 and not shorter.  Tail lights, Side marker lights, grill, dash pad and door locks are the main areas that are not the same from 68 to 69.    Do you have a car ?  If so, post up some pictures.         Chuck.............

[Mike DC]

The 1968 and 1969 cars were nearly identical in function and when looking from 20 feet away.  But if you know them, there are TONS of little infuriating differences between the years.   There is NO POINT in trying to take a 1968 car and then do a truly 100% perfect conversion to looking like a 1969.  (I know you probably think "well I'd be more committed than most" but you gotta realize that we're talking about re-purchasing 2/3rds of every piece of the car.  Trust me, it's simply not worth it to try to make it look 100% swapped.)


But if you don't sweat the specifics, then it's not difficult to swap years. 


Like "Dukes" did frequently.  The studio's producers told the mechanics they wanted a fleet of visually matching GLs that could all be shot from any angle.  They didn't care about "correct" anything, they just wanted continuity.  So the mechanics started eliminating ANYTHING to give away one car from another.  Optional chrome trim, badges, the different years, etc.  They slapped 1969 grille dividers (sometimes not even the whole grille, just literally a chunk of the middle of a '69 grille) and the 1969 taillights into the 1968 cars.  Other than that, a '68 car was basically delivered to the set in the same condition as a 1969 car would be.  They were all used 100% interchangeably by the filming crew once the cars were initially built.  (The directors would shoot 1968 interiors close-up, the mechanics would swap 1968 parts onto wrecked 1969 cars during repairs, etc.)

[1969chargerrtse]

Welcome.  To start use the search box.  Make sure you search for engine info on the engine section, etc....

[mikepmcs]

Welcome

[400/6/PAC]

Welcome James

[Tilar]

Welcome to the site! There is a plethora or knowledge here when it comes to not only Chargers, but many things. Like mentioned before, put things in ziplock bags and label where they came from. Pictures are good in the tear down process and will really help you when you start to go back together.  If you take something apart and a bolt or fastener looks a little different from the others, take a pic or make a note where it came from.

And if you don't learn anything else here, you'll learn that pictures tend to sooth the natives. 

[drumman]

Thank you all for the responses.  I was wondering what or how you chose the car that you did to restore?  DId you all restore from the ground up or did some of you buy the car pretty much finished?  is that a bad way to go, just buy one that is already done?  I feel restoring from the ground up might be too much work.  Whats a good manual or book that can help?

James

[MoparManJim]

Thank you all for the responses.  I was wondering what or how you chose the car that you did to restore?  DId you all restore from the ground up or did some of you buy the car pretty much finished?  is that a bad way to go, just buy one that is already done?  I feel restoring from the ground up might be too much work.  Whats a good manual or book that can help?

James

Buying one that is already finish could lead you to somthing like this if your not to careful http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,50620.0.html . 

Mostly when doing the work on your end of the things, you know what goes into the car and not guessing at what is underneith that paint (any color) that you can't see. 

[Foreman72]

man...give him the 171 page thread to read huh 

[1969chargerrtse]

Thank you all for the responses.  I was wondering what or how you chose the car that you did to restore?  Did you all restore from the ground up or did some of you buy the car pretty much finished?  is that a bad way to go, just buy one that is already done?  I feel restoring from the ground up might be too much work.  Whats a good manual or book that can help?

James

Many of us have a Restoration thread.  I bought mine 2 years ago for 30,000.00 when they were bringing big bucks.  I had lots of issues with it and have solved almost all of them.  Here's my thread.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,34954.0.html

[Mike DC]

Generally, it's ALWAYS better to buy a finished car than to restore one to that condition.  Restorations are virtually always money-losing projects no matter how capable & smart the owner is.  Restos only really become financially beneficial to the owner when the unrestored car he bought has a lot of value because of rare factory options and the serial number making it collectible.  (this is a relatively small percentage of all the Chargers out there.)

It's certainly possible to get burned on a purchase with a misrepresented/camoflauged car.  But the same thing can happen with a project car too.  You're better off spending as much as you can on the initial purchase of the car. 

--------------------------------------------------------



Learn this, and heed it well:  RUST IS EVIL. 

We didn't lose most of the Chargers that were ever built because of accidents, or blown motors, or worn out seats.  We lost most of them because of long-term rust problems destroying the body/frame.   

Rust is EXTREMELY troublesome to repair compared to something like engine trouble or upholestry.  Even compared to accident damage, rust is usually worse.  In the wetter & colder portions of the country, an old Charger body shell left outdoors for decades will literally rust until it bends in half and collapses.

So don't buy a rusty car.  Buy the body in a condition that's as close to what you finally want as you can afford.  Don't worry about the price of repainting it, worry about the price of redoing the sheetmetal.  There are very few truly "original" cars left these days so that does not need to be a stipulation.  Just make sure you get one where the repair work was done correctly.  Bad repair work is worthless at best and it can sometimes leave the car worse off than if it had not been done at all.

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Lots of good advice allready offered here. Personally I always look for cars that are solid unmolested complete units. But that kind of car is getting more and more difficult to find, but they are still out there, you have to beat the bushes and be somewhat patient in your search. And if/when you find one it may be more costly up front to purchase but less money in the long run.

If you are capable of doing much of the work yourself and have a garage or shop to work in you'll save money. Sure you'll have to fork out considerable cost for equipment, tools, supplies, etc. and then learn how to properly use said equipment, but after the car is done you'll know exactly what work was performed and how well it was performed. And you'll still have all that equipment and tools to do another restoration or even sell if you choose. That was my approach 17 years ago and four restorations later, I still use the equipment for various jobs. Its not for everyone but it worked out good for me.

Good luck.

[69*F5*SE]

If you decide to go the restoration route do the research on the car you want. Find the car you want (an R/T car) and take pics of every move you make when tearing it apart.  Label every wire, hose, nuts, bolts etc. Take pics of everything for reference for later on when you need to put it all back together.  Take pics of everything you do.

[Belgium R/T -68]

Decide why you want the car and what you want to do with it. If you don't want to spend years in the garage and constantly be without money,
buy a nice driver. If your hobby is wrenching look out for the rust like Mike stated, it can be terrible to your motivation not to talk about your wallet.
using this forum is the best school and don't think there is any stupid questions.
Personally I'm putting in way to much money in my Charger, money I will never see again but it keeps me from the alcohol and I'm happy with it.

Per