'68 Charger R/T #'s Matching Rebuild

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Well, figured I'd start my thread tonight.  I'm in the beginning processes of restoring my Charger.

A bit of history, my first car was a 66 Coronet 500, 383 2 bbl w/727 given to me by my father.  He worked a lot to get that car and from the time I was about 11 or 12 it was my dream to own.  Washed and waxed it just for fun, hoping someday I'd get to drive it.  Never thought I'd truly own it.  Well, turned 16 and that morning my dad handed me the title as I was eating breakfast before school.     Words can't describe that moment.  Anyway, it needed some work by now and we slowly started working on it.  I put a 440 I got from a 68 Imperial in it and about 2 months later a wind storm came through and dropped a tree on it.  I was devistated.     A couple years later I found another body that was really solid and had it painted like mine.  But then, getting out of technical school and trying to make a go of it I ended up running into money problems and had to sell them both.  

For the next 6 or 7 years I let life lead me away from the love I had for cars.  My dad passed away in early '02 and I tried to get the cars back but things didn't work out.  I moved on but started to realize later that it was a void in my life that I couldn't let continue, and with the memories of my dad and I going to car shows, working on cars, and RACING cars (when mom wasn't around!  ) I had to have another car.  Not only for my enjoyment, but to keep the feeling of dad around.  Well my cousin's fiance worked at a Mopar shop in town and they had a bunch of sweet Mopars, especially his blown, 1060 HP 69 Hemi Charger!  So, I told him I was looking for a car and my favorite since I was a kid, even before the Dukes believe it or not, was the Gen II Charger.  My dad lived and breathed Mopar so he definitely had his influence.  He dragged a 71 340 Demon, and a Duster, and he used to race dirt track too.

Ok, getting back on track, my cousin's fiance started calling me when he acquired something I might like.  He found an orange 68 Charger with a 383 Magnum but it needed more work than I had time for, at that time, and it was not something that was a strong driver until I could work on it.  Then he showed me a 73 Charger that was actually quite sharp but I wasn't as into that style, so I passed again.  Then, along came Blue.  He called to tell me about it and it was out of the price I wanted to spend but it was a numbers matching car and, with the "family discount" it was a deal I could not pass up.  Not only that, but it ran strong and didn't need to get into the shop immediately.

So, I bought it and now, a year and a half later, my best friend Aaron and I are working on tearing it down and restoring it.  I'm 1400 miles away at the moment, but will be returning over Easter weekend to take some pic's to share.  Currently, all the panels are off getting soda blasted.  Once they're returned and cleaned up, then the shell is off for blasting.  Once we get that back, and repaired, it's time to start putting it all back together again.     Here are the pics I have of it prior to tear down and then two of the shape it's in now, from a very cheap camera phone.  Anyway, after Easter I'll have much more to post but here we go!

P.S.  The plates were from the previous owner!  

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Here's a few more.  You'll notice some rust in these pics, especially in the rockers.  As well, some body work in the rear quarters and someone previous to me and my friend owning it decided to put 69 rump stripes and R/T emblems on the back.  That will be changed and I'll have a couple emblems for sale soon, any takers???   

I also have different wheels on it now... well, not now but since these pics.  I have the same design but in 15's, the backs are 15X10 I believe, and very tall.  Eventually I'll change those too.

[Charger-Bodie]

Mark,

That looks like a great project! Should be a ton of fun building that one back up.

[tan top]

looks a nice charger to start with     keep the pictures & updates coming 

[mopar_nut_440_6]

Very nice. It wil be nice to see it on it's way. Good luck with the project. 

Cheers,

James

[gideup]

Hey man that looks like my car!  I know it's my garage, what gives?  Sorry man had to say it.  Glad to see things are going in the right direction for you.  I will keep an eye on this link to see the changes to my, I mean your car.  I am still suffering from whip-lash from my first ride in this car, but I hope I can still get a ride when this beast is done

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Hey man that looks like my car!  I know it's my garage, what gives?  Sorry man had to say it.  Glad to see things are going in the right direction for you.  I will keep an eye on this link to see the changes to my, I mean your car.  I am still suffering from whip-lash from my first ride in this car, but I hope I can still get a ride when this beast is done

Beast??? Shhh!!!  Don't talk like that! She might hear you!  And by the way, if you were a good host you'd have been underneath scraping off all that undercoat so Aaron and I didn't have to!   

People, it's hard to find good friends these days!   

[69*F5*SE]

It definitely looks like a great car to start with for a project.   

[jdiesel33]

Great looking ride. Love the color.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Hey F5 and Jdiesel   , thanks for your remarks.  It is a really solid car, it should be a pretty fun restoration.  There is a floor board issue on the drivers side, and a few spots that will need some work, but nothing like what I've seen others have to struggle though.  I'll have more pics in about 10 days or so.
Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Mark   

[Dans 68]

I do love the QQ1! Take lots of photos for all of us. It should be a beauty. 

Dan

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Ok, so I was able to get back to the car over the weekend for some pics.  The fenders, doors, hood, and trunk deck are still at the soda blaster.  Hoping to get them done this week.  This is what I have to work with for a main shell.

I'll start with the front fender wells.  They were rusted beyond repair so you won't see them here, they hit the garbage immediately.  On the driver's side, there was some rust that someone previously tried to fix with fiberglass.  We found fiber glass in a few areas, but that's not too much of an issue I guess.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Here's the rear window.  There's a little patch work to do but WAY better than we expected.  These have really been a bad spot with many, including the '69 that I just bought.  Oh, did I tell anyone that yet?  I just bought a '69 Charger to build after this.  That one isn't #'s matching so I'm building that one the way I want.  This one I can't justify customizing considering its numbers matching.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

This doesn't look too bad for the battery area, despite the area I've pointed out with the arrow.  That will be a pain to try to repair just because the metal is folded and so thin.

As for the fender tag, can anyone tell me what the additional tag specifies?  I'm not familiar with the additional tag.  Any input will be much appreciated!  

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Here is one area of concern.  The floor pan had some major battles with Minnesota salt.  Someone bolted these plates in and caulked around the edges.  I knew this was here when I bought it, I just hate looking at it.  Well, it shouldn't be too difficult.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Ahh yes... and if any of you saw my post in the paint and body section of the sight in regards to the rear valance, here's a good shot with the bumper removed.  Aaron tapped on the corner to see how bad they were.  Tap, tap , POP!      Yeah, they were bad.  Looks like there's new metal all the way around the back.  Sounds like AMD does ok on the valance, am I right?  It's just the corners that can be a pain from what I've learned on here.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Here's a shot of the roof.  Gotta love the 70's, huh?  Why couldn't he have just got an antenna with a magnet???     Instead he drilled a hole in the roof.  Breaker-breaker.... NOT COOL!     Oh well, at least it's easy to fix.

And below is the drivers rocker panel.  That seam has seen better days.  Aaron said we'll probably just make one rather than buy a full one.  We have access to a small brake.  Hopefully he remembers to keep his fingers out of the way!   

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Finally, here's the trunk floor.  There's a few peek holes in the vicinity of the arrow but not bad otherwise.

Unrelated to the bodywork... what the heck is this???  Was it popular to put ugly carpet in the dash to replace missing components?  Anyone got the part that goes here?  I'm in the market!    I don't even know what the piece is called.

[tan top]

made a good start     ...good pictures    love looking at stuff like this

[PocketThunder]

I might have that radiator support piece on my parts car.  I can cut it out for you if its still in good shape.  I'll have to check the next time i go to my Dads shop back in Wisconsin.

Paul
in Minnetonka

[moparstuart]

I might have that radiator support piece on my parts car.  I can cut it out for you if its still in good shape.  I'll have to check the next time i go to my Dads shop back in Wisconsin.

Paul
in Minnetonka

[BLUE68RT4ME]

I might have that radiator support piece on my parts car.  I can cut it out for you if its still in good shape.  I'll have to check the next time i go to my Dads shop back in Wisconsin.

Paul
in Minnetonka

That would be great Paul!     Thanks for the offer.  Please let me know if you go back and what you find.  I'll be happy to compensate you for it!   

I slipped through MTKA last weekend on my way to and from seeing my family in South Dakota.  Hopefully I'll be able to take some time and relax next time I'm back!  Look out Big Island!   

[gasoline_24]

I have the two dash end caps.  I ordered a set from PG Classic for an A/C car and they shipped these too.  If you are interested let me know and I can post some pics.

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Yes, please do!  I'd like that.  Either post them on here or include them in a PM.  I'm definitely interested!  Thank you!   

[gasoline_24]

Here is a copy of the pictures.