Found my project Charger ('71 SE w/383)

[Mr.Woolery]

Well, after looking for awhile, I found the right long term project car for me.  It's a 1971 SE hardtop model with a numbers matching 383, console auto & hideaway lights.  It runs, but it'll need some work before I can drive it with any kind of regularity (it's a barn find).  Looking forward to learning more about the car as I start to dig into it & find it's flaws (and correct them).

Here are a few pics of my find:

[triple_green]

very cool!!

[captnsim]

Great place to start  Car looks fairly clean. 

[WingCharger]

  Nice third gen!

[bigred68]

 Awsome find!  
Do the minor mechanical stuff, make it safe, roadworthy and drive the crap outta it! For a little while anyhow, till ya figure out a game plan. (Figure out what you want to do with it, how you it want it to look, purchase parts etc.) Keep us posted! Good luck! and WELCOME!!

[skip68]

    Looks great.  Have fun with it. 

[Silver R/T]

Cool project

[bk72]

nice car. where is it from? my mom had a 71 charger se years ago and it looks like that one

[NHCharger]

congrats
My first Charger was a 71 SE, 383 slapstik auto, hemi orange. Still have it.

[bk72]

congrats
My first Charger was a 71 SE, 383 slapstik auto, hemi orange. Still have it.

where did you get your charger from. i would like to find my moms old one

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Hideaways, rear valance with cutouts, rallye dash....nice find!  What color was it originally?  I wonder if someone swapped out it's original bulge hood for that '72 hood it has now?

[Ghoste]

Loving the T-handle slapstick, that is going to be a great car!

[mikesbbody]

Nice find!  Fitz73, it wouldnt have had a bulge hood being a SE (only RT's and Super Bee's had them in 71) I have a tach just like your! is it a old sun tach?

[Charger666]

Nice find!!!
That's one sexy car!

[mopar73]

great find, good luck on the resto.

[Mr.Woolery]

nice car. where is it from? my mom had a 71 charger se years ago and it looks like that one

I got it in Santa Rosa, CA.  It's lived it's whole life in that area...it's a two owner car (well, now a three owner car including myself).  It's been mostly parked for the last ten years, only driven occasionally to keep it from deteriorating.

Hideaways, rear valance with cutouts, rallye dash....nice find!  What color was it originally?  I wonder if someone swapped out it's original bulge hood for that '72 hood it has now?

The car was originally light metallic blue.  I don't know if it originally had the power bulge hood on it or not, but I eventually plan to put one on the car, along with a chin spoiler.  I also plan to rake the body, install R/T tails, and maybe even put on '71 R/T or '72 Rallye doors (if I can find and afford them).

So far I've been spending time exploring the car looking for rust & little details.
 
The Good:
-All body panels look straight with good panel alignments (as far as I can tell)
-Undercarriage doesn't look rusty at all.
-The car doesn't leak (no puddles when parked)
-Drivers side floor only has minor surface rust (haven't yet checked the rest of the floors)
-Trunk floor only has minor surface rust
-All four power windows work
-No oil in the water, no water in the oil
-Interior lights & dash lights work
-A/C appears to work (or at least the fans do)
-Still has stock radio, but it doesn't appear to be connected.
-Headliner and most interior trim looks to be in good shape, just needs a refresh.
-All the original hubcaps are present.

The Bad:
-The engine bay needs extensive work, probably needs a full rebuild even though it's running and I can drive the car (so far I've only driven it a total of 2 miles just to evaluate it's condition).
-The coolant NEEDS to be flushed (just rusty brown water in there)
-Minor wisps of smoke coming from engine bay after car is run until it warms up...I'm fairly certain this is due to oil weeping from the valve covers onto the headers.
-The hideway lights don't work...for that matter, none of the headlights work
-Turn signals don't flash, they just come on solid
-Parking lights don't work
-A ding in the driver side quarter panel
-A 6" dent in the passenger side quarter panel right behind the rear marker light
-Passenger side door sticks if you open it all the way...it catches too much on the mechanism meant to hold the door open.  You have to kinda force it to get it to release and close.
-Power windows switch panel falls out of the door panel
-A/C controls kinda fall into the dash
-Clock doesn't work
-Passenger main power window winds up slowly
-Seats need to be recovered.

The Ugly:
-Rusty cancer spots on both bottom corners of the rear window & top corners of the trunk area.
-Rusty cancer spots on rear rockers just fore and aft of the wheel well bottoms (some bubbling of the paint)
-Rusty cancer spot on the roof just above the window gutter on the driver side

The Fortunate:
-A friend/neighbor of mine happens to be an expert welder/fabricator/classic car restorer, and he says all the cancerous areas can be easily rectified and is willing to help me cure my Charger of rust cancer.  WOOHOO!

I'm really pleased with the car overall thus far.

[captnsim]

Dosn't sound to bad!  The chin spoiler, lenses, and bulge hood will really spruce it up. So will the 71,72 doors if you can get a set for a good price. What color are you thinking of going with?

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Fitz73, it wouldnt have had a bulge hood being a SE (only RT's and Super Bee's had them in 71) I have a tach just like your! is it a old sun tach?

Yeah I wasn't sure about that.

Mr. Woolery, don't forget to change our sig to say '71 SE!

[Mr.Woolery]

Haven't made any decision on color, and probably won't for some time.  That decision will likely be influenced by how the project pans out.  If the interior is in as good a shape as I think, then it'll stay blue and will most likely mean the rest of the car will also be a shade of blue (or a color which goes well with a blue interior).  If swapping out parts from the interior make it easy to change color, than that will open up the car to other possibilities.

I'm also considering doing a two-tone scheme, slightly reminiscent of the Richard Petty car (though different--no numbers, no sponsor tags, slightly different proportions and more subdued colors), something that looks less NASCAR and more "streetable", but still recognizeable as a Petty homage.

[skip68]

    Petty blue is a nice color. 

[Mr.Woolery]

Fitz73, it wouldnt have had a bulge hood being a SE (only RT's and Super Bee's had them in 71) I have a tach just like your! is it a old sun tach?

Yeah I wasn't sure about that.

Mr. Woolery, don't forget to change our sig to say '71 SE!

Done!  Thanks!

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Fitz73, it wouldnt have had a bulge hood being a SE (only RT's and Super Bee's had them in 71) I have a tach just like your! is it a old sun tach?

Yeah I wasn't sure about that.
Mr. Woolery, don't forget to change our sig to say '71 SE!

Done!  Thanks!

You have an Ariel Atom!?! Pics! 

[Mr.Woolery]

Yeah, I have an Atom.  Here are a few pics of my other cars, including the Atom:

1990 Mazda Miata turbo project car (top pic taken at Cars & Coffee, bottom pic taken during a race at Laguna Seca):


2007 Ariel Atom..this is my "it's a really nice day, let's go for a hoon" car.

[69*F5*SE]

Very cool cars and congrats on finding your project Charger.  It sure looks like a winner.   

[Mr.Woolery]

Oh one other pic of my Atom that recently made the rounds on the intardnets: