OK. So youre Charger is finished.?

[resq302]

Oh man, I got my hands full now. My '69 is seemingly just taking forever. And ever. And ever. I just asked myself this morning, will it ever be done?? So much to do, so little time and money.
Yet I find there's always something to do on the other cars, too. My red '68 always needs a little tinkering here and there. My '70 R/T will now need new mufflers come this spring, the repro Hemi mufflers are shot from the inside. And, there's always the endless cleaning and detailing to keep them looking as fresh as possible.
I also find that taking my young son to car shows, cruise nights, etc keeps it exciting and new. It's fun to teach him about old cars, I hope he likes them as much as I do! We were driving home just the other night. It was really crappy out, with the snow coming down and the road covered in salt. Wipers were on, snow plows going by, a wintery gloom. Out of nowhere, my 4-year old son turns to me and says, "Ya know what Daddy, I wish we could go to a car show right now." That was all the motivation I needed to hear.

Good luck, Brian! Don't get bored! 

Bill, on your 70, did the mufflers start rattling inside them like the baffles broke free?  My one muffler seems to be starting to do that.

[1BAD68]

Talk about a sad state.  My car is about 85% done but...

Thats awesome, kind of reminds me of the movie "Christine"

My car isn't done but I've been driving it ever since I got it. I always make sure its mechanically sound and I do a little work on the body here and there.
For some reason I prefer it this way, its not very pretty but I can count on it when I want to jump in and take it out.
Every spring when its time to take it out of the garage and I idle it for a couple blocks to loosen up the bearings then get into it a little bit and feel the tranny shift through the gears, windows down, gas and exhaust smell in the air, find an open country road, smash the pedal and hear the tires screaming for mercy, oh man! I cant wait, when is winter going to be over I'm sick of this cold, icy crap everyday.

[Magnumcharger]

My car is not done yet but when it is complete, i will probally get bored with it. I have had a few project vehicles in the pass and when they were done i tend to get bored real fast. During the restoration its the thrill of finding the part you need, the many road trips to collect parts and the intresting people that you meet.

Geez...sounds terrible.
Tell ya what Eldon, we'll trade cars and you can have the '68 you really wanted, and I'll get the '69 of my desires....then all you have to do is finish the '68!! He he he

[Back N Black]

My car is not done yet but when it is complete, i will probally get bored with it. I have had a few project vehicles in the pass and when they were done i tend to get bored real fast. During the restoration its the thrill of finding the part you need, the many road trips to collect parts and the intresting people that you meet.

Geez...sounds terrible.
Tell ya what Eldon, we'll trade cars and you can have the '68 you really wanted, and I'll get the '69 of my desires....then all you have to do is finish the '68!! He he he

Maybe i will change out the tail panel and put a 68 one in there.

[69hemi]

My car is not done yet but when it is complete, i will probally get bored with it. I have had a few project vehicles in the pass and when they were done i tend to get bored real fast. During the restoration its the thrill of finding the part you need, the many road trips to collect parts and the intresting people that you meet.

That is the same Symptoms I have! Is there a cure? 

I think the disease is called "Moparitis"

More Cowbell?

[Belgium R/T -68]

Interesting thread! I am affraid to finish my -68 because my hobby seems to be searcing for and buying parts and working on the car.
When I was younger it was driving that was the pleasure but not anymoore, am I abnormal? 

[69_500]

Well I don't think my car will every actually be finished. You saw it already Brian, its far from finished, but I do enjoy it. I'd love to tear it down and go through it and make it super sharp. But I also like the idea for now of having one I can jump in, drive, enjoy, and beat on occasionally if I feel like it. And the good thing is that if something breaks now, it would have probably been replaced when/if I ever do actually tear it all the way down and go through it.

[resq302]

Well, there are a couple options you have once you achieve the level of restoration desired.... Like me, I am pretty much done with my resto and aside from things that need to be repaired if they break, I am on a quest to find spares of hard to find parts right now.  I just located the last of my disc brake parts to have a complete second set of the replaceable items (excluding lines and such since they are readily available).  Now I will probably just get other items such as common problem areas such as vacuum head light switch and such.  (BTW- Just got my latest Mopar collectors Guide and Vans Automotive repro parts now makes the complete vacuum switch and headlight switch for our cars).

And there is always the option of taking my car from bone stock and slightly putting some performance parts onto the engine, , ya know for when I get bored with the stock look.

[Belgium R/T -68]

Just my thought aswell resq302, mine will be a little bit my own style but since it's a matching R/T I can maybe make a new project of it
within some year building it bone stock.

[AKcharger]

If you think the resto is exciting wait till you drive it. There is nothing like getting thumbs up  on the road and driving it to shows and talking to people. Having a finished car is MUCH better than restoring one. Now instead of replacing a 1/4 panel or doing endless hours of block sanding I spend leasurely weekends doing "easy" projects like replacing a speedo cable or a slightly bigger job like vinyl top...

[Johnnys70SRT]

 NO, my Charger is FAR from done. It has been apart since 1989, no thanks to my friends. They took it apart promising me would would have it painted and back together in 1 year. It is now on it sixth tour of trying to get the paint/bodywork finished. I have lost alot of money giving deposits to bodymen who said they would do the car for me but realistically just pushed it in a corner and never worked on it at all.  The current shop has actually made progress as the bodywork is completed and now my charger is patiently waiting for paint. They seem to be dragging their feet now and it's driving me crazy. I just want the car back so I can start putting it back together. I have a long road ahead of me as you will see if you look at the images I have attached. I can now see how people get disgusted with a restoration project and just end up selling it before it is done. It takes a whole lotta money and patience to deal with this. After all, I have been waiting for 20 years for mine to come back together and I WILL complete this project so that I can enjoy it. I'm just upset at all the years of enjoyment I missed out on.
Wordslikebullets, I wish you luck on your Charger. You did the right thing spending time with your Dad while he was recovering. There is nothing that can replace time spent with your parents. I'm happy to hear he is doing well. Like you, I was with my Dad when my Charger was for sale. I could not get a loan by myself at the time, so my Dad helped me get one through his credit union for the Charger. Not sure if I ever thanked him for helping me get that loan. He rode in the car a few times while I had it and really enjoyed it. Well, unfortunately he won't get to see the completed project, since he passed away in 2004, but I am dedicating this restoration to him because without his help, I would have never had the chance of owning my Charger. As long as you are happy with your Charger then it does not matter what anyone else thinks. So go out and enjoy it.

[resq302]

Johnnys70srt,

Welcome to the best site on the web (with a whole lotta thanks to Troy!)

[Back N Black]

My car is not done yet but when it is complete, i will probably get bored with it. I have had a few project vehicles in the pass and when they were done i tend to get bored real fast. During the restoration its the thrill of finding the part you need, the many road trips to collect parts and the interesting people that you meet.

Well my predication were correct, i posted in 2009 that i would probably get bored and three years later I'm bored. There is not a lot of guys in my area to go cruising, so when i do go out I'm usually alone. With work, family and the honey to do list it sits in the garage.

[myk]

Not finished.  Never will be finished. I will always look back on the 5 months my car spent in the body shop as one of the worst periods of my life.  The kicker is I didn't even take it down to the shell and every last nut, bolt and fastener like some of you guys did.  I will keep installing, repairing, modifying and enjoying; it's a way of life.

NO, my Charger is FAR from done. It has been apart since 1989, no thanks to my friends. They took it apart promising me would would have it painted and back together in 1 year. It is now on it sixth tour of trying to get the paint/bodywork finished. I have lost alot of money giving deposits to bodymen who said they would do the car for me but realistically just pushed it in a corner and never worked on it at all.  

Summarily I received the same treatment at my body shop.  I guess we weren't cute enough?  A friend of mine told me that's pretty much how these sorts of businesses conduct themselves, and that they're like artists: they pick and choose when and how they work unless you're close to the people...

[Kern Dog]

Mine was "restored" in 2001-2003. Since then I have tinkered here and there, swapping a few things around.
2012 has been a banner year though.... I added a Gear Vendors overdrive unit and changed to 3.91 gears. I welded in frame connectors and torque boxes. I installed a stereo with 4 speakers. Theres a new windshield in there along with new dash vents.

[myk]

Wow-how's that Gear Vendor's OD?  How does the car run now? 

[Bob T]

Good story wordslikebullets, cant get that time back any other way. Good luck with the 74

Sold my old 68 in Jan 11 and got this one in Aug 11, only owned this car for 11 months, 5 months waiting for it to get here and 6 months getting it sorted and road legal.
Now its running I've done 400 fun miles in it and a few burn outs and I cant wait for summer to get here for Family cruises and Club runs and car shows. Its amazing the amount of thumbs up's or people stopping me at the gas station it gets
I dont plan on doing anymore major work to it until next winter at the earliest, it just took so long to wait for the planets to align, I just want to enjoy driving it
Hats off to the guys with long term projects, what a grind- endless amounts of dough and time, but the outcome will be worth it

[Magnumcharger]

My car is not done yet but when it is complete, i will probably get bored with it. I have had a few project vehicles in the pass and when they were done i tend to get bored real fast. During the restoration its the thrill of finding the part you need, the many road trips to collect parts and the interesting people that you meet.

Well my predication were correct, i posted in 2009 that i would probably get bored and three years later I'm bored. There is not a lot of guys in my area to go cruising, so when i do go out I'm usually alone. With work, family and the honey to do list it sits in the garage.

I'm home all the time now Eldon. Feel free to call or drop on out with the Charger and check out my new shop!

[Dino]

Mine was "restored" in 2001-2003. Since then I have tinkered here and there, swapping a few things around.
2012 has been a banner year though.... I added a Gear Vendors overdrive unit and changed to 3.91 gears. I welded in frame connectors and torque boxes. I installed a stereo with 4 speakers. Theres a new windshield in there along with new dash vents.

It is a beautiful 70 my friend!

[Dino]

Part of me wants to take the car apart and do a proper resto, hence my slap me thread.  Part of me wants to just drive the pants off of it, which I am doing now and another part of me wants to quietly tinker while driving it and make some improvements and I think that's the path I'll stick to.  I need to get rid of any leaks, any gas or exhaust fumes and so so brakes and steering.

[Charger_Dart]

I decided to take your third option Dino and enjoy doing it that way. Fix or upgrade things, some major like an overdrive tranny and 3.91 gears, others like today I swapped out the voltage limiter for a RTE limiter. I like taking her out for a cruise as much as possible, but there always seems to be something on the car to try and improve on.

[Dino]

I decided to take your third option Dino and enjoy doing it that way. Fix or upgrade things, some major like an overdrive tranny and 3.91 gears, others like today I swapped out the voltage limiter for a RTE limiter. I like taking her out for a cruise as much as possible, but there always seems to be something on the car to try and improve on.

There sure is but that's part of the attraction.  Don't get me wrong, I would hate to have the car break down, I do need it to be reliable but I love that the car has personality.  When I drive my Charger I'm really driving it and I enjoy every second.  When I drive my daily I'm playing with the radio because there's nothing else to it.  It's a great car but it lacks that certain something if you know what I mean.

At this moment the thing that bugs me more than anything on the Charger is that it has no cup holder so that's not a bad spot to be in.   

[70charginglizard]

Im getting very ver close. fix a minor issue with the universal on the drive line and then replace the tank,sending unit and upgrade to 3/8 in fuel lines and thats pretty much so it for me. After that it will be just things to dress up things that are already correct and funtional. Might have the woodgrain dash panels redone real nice and the upper door pads restored/replaced with new ones and perhaps maybe a new dash pad put in.  Would be nice to get the front seats professionally done with new springs, foam and leather someday.

Guess Im not really almost done am I ...lol

[nvrbdn]

never-be-done 

[cdr]

drivin my charger,rush 2112 cranked up on the stereo,beautiful women smiling & waving, wanting me to stop,but i cant,my car wont stop,oh crap that was a dream,just like my charger ever being finished  unless brian wants to help me finish it