Rustymuscle's Street/Strip '69 R/T

[Rustymuscle]

Inspired by many of your own "Build Threads," I thought I'd share a little bit of the progress being made on my own '69 Charger project.

Part I: The Set Up

Starting Off


Purchased for $1200 on my 23rd birthday in 2001, landing this B-Body was surprisingly easy (I've always been tired of people saying the "good stuff" is all gone, I've found two more 69's since just as easily). Having grown up in a GM family, it was expected that after the sale of my high school '73 RS Camaro and post-high school 454-powered '70 Nova, that my next car would be another Bow Tie.

Rather, having harbored a love of the sleek, angular Coke-bottle shape of the Second Gen (68-70) Chargers (thanks to an early viewing of Bullitt at age nine or so), I went about trying to purchase my first Mopar. I even test drove a rusted-out triple green '68 with a bench seat, A/C, 8-track, and column-mounted automatic, but the $6,600 price tag was ludicrous in my opinion.



Instead, my older brother put me on the trail of a fabled '69 Charger up in Bakersfield, California. Tucked underneath an oak tree, the Charger in question sat on four deflated tires with a rusted out trunk pan, Dutchman panel, and cancerous lower right-hand quarter. The story goes that Brandon, the second owner, purchased the Charger from a neighborhood kid's father who bought it new. Brandon, hopelessly blasted on Grad Night, ran into a motorcyclist. The biker, climbed off the hood, pulled Brandon from the car and beat the inebriated teenager senseless. Bruised and embarrassed, Brandon limped the Charger home and left it to sit for 15 years...

Getting to Work


First to go was all the cancer-riddled steel. A new trunk pan, gas tank, lower quarter and Dutchman panel were ordered and installed. With an aircraft-grade sand blaster, I stripped the patchwork paint job (the previous owner drunkenly spray-painted Chevrolet Hugger Orange on 2/3 of the body - including chrome, glass, etc.) and applied a coat of Rustoleum Red. Additionally, I coated the interior floor and the underside of the trunk pan (before painting it black) with POR15 rust inhibitor.

Due to the Charger's size, wanting to get the big B-Body to run 10's on the motor would require some work and I knew that the right wheel/tire set up was imperative. To my recollection, I had never seen a street/strip Second Generation Charger that was set up (at least in my opinion) "right," meaning enough wheel and tire to fill up the Charger's wheel wells. Wanting to eliminate the "elephant on ice skates" look, I went as big as I could before any tire swell would rub the well lip.



A pair of Weld Racing 90 Draglites 15x8s fitted with Hoosier 30x9 slicks filled the factory wells perfectly. Turning to the master, Dick Landy, for inspiration, a pair of 15x4 Pro Competition skinnies in front kept the 60's-era height.



Without a frame, I knew that my goal of mid-10 second passes on pump gas would twist the unibody like a pretzel. A call to Competition Engineering landed me a six-point cage, sub-frame connectors and boxes. Additionally, with the A/C out, I patched the firewall, and blended it to look factory flat (sans heater hoses). Since I have this moronic idea of driving the Charger with my kids in the backseat, I opted to make the cross bar removable, allowing access to the rear bench.



Also non-NHRA legal were the bent rear supports. The idea was to keep the cage as tucked and hidden as possible. The center pillars are hidden by the chrome strips when the windows are rolled up. I even painted the cage in semi-gloss flat black, all in the hopes that people 30 feet away would think, "Hey, that's a pretty nice looking Charger" until they got closer and realized that it really was.

I'll continue on this thread with Part II shortly. Stay tuned!

[aone415]

WELCOME to the Board...

Great project!!! And let me be the first to say... "MORE PICS!"

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Welcome & register it if you havent already

www.1969chargerregistry.com

[dodgecharger-fan]

Nice project and great narrative.   

[FlatbackFanatic]

Welcome!! Nice project! Great story...We'll be waiting for part II.....

[tan top]

Welcome!! Nice project! Great story...We'll be waiting for part II.....

      ..................................

[Rustymuscle]

Great project!!! And let me be the first to say... "MORE PICS!"

You're right, Aone! Let me show some greater detail...

Step II: The Devil's in the Details


Setting up shop in an unused corner of a warehouse (of a previous job), I commandeered the use of an electric/pneumatic lift, a rolling work bench, and some empty shelving, I began the step-by-step process of eviscerating the Charger. Artists don't typically start with a used canvas, so stripping the car down to barely nothing seemed like a logical step (not that I'm calling myself an artist by any means). Fenders, doors, the deck lid, basically anything hanging on hinges or bolted to the body came off.



Gutting a Fish


While the majority of my interior was already removed (I purchased new Camel Tan bucket and rear bench seat covers, headliner, and package tray two years earlier), it was necessary that all of the delicate electronics be removed and/or bagged. First to go was the steering wheel (I had the good fortune of finding an R/T wheel in the right color as well as a 9-way adjustable driver-side seat track from a Charger 500). Then came the dash itself. Since the big stroker wedge 540 will be using aluminum rods (on the street, no less), I'll be winging it pretty high, needing a good eye on my rpms. Eventually, the gauge cluster will be sent out for "refreshing" (re-screened gauge faces, re-chromed trimming).





Not wanting to hack up the factory dash, I removed the back, removed the giant clock (this Charger didn't have the tic-toc-tach) and installed a black-faced Auto Meter tachometer with an adjustable, internal shift light. Surprisingly, the Auto Meter monster tach slid in perfectly, needing only a small bracket to be fabricated to hold it in place. To dampen any potential vibration, I wrapped the tach's outer jacket in a single-sided adhesive rubber strip.



Since the A/C is gone the way of the dodo, I pulled all the A/C vents and A/C-friendly dash padding. Although I haven't purchased the A/C block off plates for the sides nor the front dash padding, any evidence of the factory "Airtemp" air conditioning will all be erased (if any of you guys know of anyone looking to sell any of these items, let me know!).





Additionally, since 3-inch pipes cut off before the differential won't lend themselves to listening to tunes while driving (a 650-700 hp motor is all the rock 'n roll I need), I removed the factory AM radio and speakers. I too, am going to replace the radio plate with a smooth block off plate. (I'm looking for one of those too!)

Getting Stripped
The idea was cleaning years of built-up grime, dirt, rust, etc. from the car (no matter how much prep I did before sand blasting, I kept finding sand in crevasses and corners). I used a couple of spray bottles of Ospho Rust Treatment and muriatic acid to strip glue, rubber and weather coating from the panels. Then, with the acid eating at the contaminated panels, I used a gentle power washer to blast off everything and neutralize the corrosive chemicals.







Put a Coat On


While the final result looks terrifying, you can rest assured that the metal in question is cancer-free, and as clean as you can get besides acid dipping the car. I then went over all of the virgin surfaces with sand paper, and green and red Scotch Brite pads (differing grades). Scrubbed clean (almost shiny), I could then attack everything with several Rustoleum and Semi-gloss rattle cans.







Up Against a Wall


I mentioned it before, but filling in the firewall was key to erasing evidence of the A/C. Cutting out the panel was easy. Welding in the patch wasn't too hard, as long as I spaced out my welds enough to keep the panel's temperature steady enough not to shrink. Well, it shrank, and therefore, distorted. I spent a couple days filling, blocking, and sanding the firewall, just to make it look right.



OK, that's enough for today. I'll pick up where I left off in Step III

[BigBlockSam]

it's looking great 

[Rolling_Thunder]

Isnt that the "Brazen Charger" from Mopar Muscle ?

[Blakcharger440]

Isnt that the "Brazen Charger" from Mopar Muscle ?

Thats what I was thinking also! It seems i have seen that car or one alot like it in one of the car mags.

[69*F5*SE]

Welcome to the site.  Nice build you've got going on.   

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Just an FYI...the A/C & non-A/C dash frames are totally different....you cant just take out the side vents & pop on the block off plates, they wont fit....

[Rustymuscle]

Isnt that the "Brazen Charger" from Mopar Muscle ?

Actually, yes. Good eye. I'm Kevin Shaw, former Associate Editor of Mopar Muscle.

[69bronzeT5]

Isnt that the "Brazen Charger" from Mopar Muscle ?

Actually, yes. Good eye. I'm Kevin Shaw, former Associate Editor of Mopar Muscle.

Do you still work for Mopar Muscle or?

[Rustymuscle]

Do you still work for Mopar Muscle or?

Nope. I left Mopar Muscle in March of 2007. Working with MM was a lot of fun which lasted just a little over two years. My wife and I chose to move back to Southern California where I am now the Editor for Personal Watercraft Illustrated, America's leading PWC enthusiast publication (think Jet Skis and Sea-Doos).

When asked why I left Mopar Muscle, Tech Editor (and very good friend), Dave Young, defended, "Listen, would you rather spend your day sweating under the Florida sun at the race track with a bunch of dudes choking down stale nachos and warm beer, or on the water with a bunch of chicks in bikinis? Kevin made the right choice."

Here's some sample covers:

[Rustymuscle]

Just an FYI...the A/C & non-A/C dash frames are totally different....you cant just take out the side vents & pop on the block off plates, they wont fit....

Really? I can't just do this:


And replace it with one of these?

[69bronzeT5]

That's cool. Good luck with the new magazine I actually submitted myself for the Young Gun section twice with no reply

[Rolling_Thunder]

Nice to see another Southern CA guy on the boards...     I am in Torrance, CA myself   

You ever need a hand let me know.   

[jaak]

Isnt that the "Brazen Charger" from Mopar Muscle ?

Actually, yes. Good eye. I'm Kevin Shaw, former Associate Editor of Mopar Muscle.

I thought it looked alot like the "Brazen Charger" also.... I was wondering what happened to it no more articles on it, I guess thats why when you left, Brazen Charger did also. Well anyways welcome to the site, now we can keep up with the progress here.

Jason

[SeattleCharger]

 

[Hemidog]

This is a very interesting thread with lots of pictures and info! 

[tan top]

good  progress  pictures    love looking at stuff like this  keep the pictures coming 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Just an FYI...the A/C & non-A/C dash frames are totally different....you cant just take out the side vents & pop on the block off plates, they wont fit....

Really? I can't just do this:


And replace it with one of these?

Nope....hole is bigger for the vent....try it and you'll see.  They are 2 totally different frames

I have done half of what you are trying to do as well to my car as well

[Rustymuscle]

I was wondering what happened to it no more articles on it, I guess that's why when you left, Brazen Charger did also.

Actually, Jason, it's the other way around. When the articles were stopped was the moment when I decided to leave.

Nope....hole is bigger for the vent....try it and you'll see.  They are 2 totally different frames

And doing some quick homework, I discovered that you're right, 6T9 (which really sucks). You know, it's surprising that nobody is making these block offs for people with A/C adapted dash frames. You'd think they'd make their money rather quickly. Oh well, right?

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Whats cool about this site.....learn something new every day

[SeattleCharger]

Nope....hole is bigger for the vent....try it and you'll see.  They are 2 totally different frames

And doing some quick homework, I discovered that you're right, 6T9 (which really sucks). You know, it's surprising that nobody is making these block offs for people with A/C adapted dash frames. You'd think they'd make their money rather quickly. Oh well, right?

hmm , leave in vent and cover it from behind, would be non functional vent, but would look ok, who would know,     or cut one of your own from a defunked dash somewhere, any kind that is black and sort of similar texture pattern,  only you or maybe some dudes here or there, are rarely ever going to notice

    thing about doing your own car, you will know where any little imperfection may be,  but most people looking at the finished product will just see an overall sweet charger.   
    You know how you may have bought a used car before and it looks nice overall?, but after you wash it a dozen times you notice little things each time you didn't ever see before?       just saying, restoring your car, or with other projects we do, as you approach the "limit" its called in math, or 100% perfect, the time and energy goes up exponentially.      But to the average viewer of these things, they look great.  They do not ever see the little imperfections.
   

[BROCK]

Why not weld up the A/C vent holes & dispense using the covers all together?

[Rustymuscle]

Why not weld up the A/C vent holes & dispense using the covers all together?

That's a legitimate idea, but I do want to retain as much of the stock appearance as possible. I've never been a fan of custom dashes when the stock one is well enough.

[mopar73]

Do you still work for Mopar Muscle or?

Nope. I left Mopar Muscle in March of 2007. Working with MM was a lot of fun which lasted just a little over two years. My wife and I chose to move back to Southern California where I am now the Editor for Personal Watercraft Illustrated, America's leading PWC enthusiast publication (think Jet Skis and Sea-Doos).

When asked why I left Mopar Muscle, Tech Editor (and very good friend), Dave Young, defended, "Listen, would you rather spend your day sweating under the Florida sun at the race track with a bunch of dudes choking down stale nachos and warm beer, or on the water with a bunch of chicks in bikinis? Kevin made the right choice."

Here's some sample covers:

I think you better install a trailer hitch also to get you to the beach faster with the jet skis and sea doos

[Rustymuscle]

I think you better install a trailer hitch also to get you to the beach faster with the jet skis and sea doos

Actually, I once purchased a '69 Coronet to turn into a Six-Pack clone that had a trailer hitch. Needless to say, it was the first thing to go.

Well, since I'm here, I figure I better keep the ball rolling with this build journal!

Step III: Following the Leader


Since I've been "outed" as a one-time staffer of Mopar Muscle, many of you might pick up on this stuff from previous technical articles. With the final goal of my '69 Charger to be a quasi-stock looking street car with the manners and capacity of a mid-10 second, pump gas B-Body, I knew there were tricks that I would need to learn to make this goal a reality. Thankfully, luck shined on me early 2006, when I was assigned to do an article on what could only be a chance of a lifetime.

At The Foot of The Master


Word came bubbling up that Dick Landy's fabled '70 Charger R/T had been found, and to many, revealed that it even existed. Even Landy himself had forgotten about the unflappable B-Body although the Charger was the first of DLI's Super Stock automatics to run a one-off dual-plug Hemi. Anyways, MM editor Randy Bolig called me into his office. "Hey, you're a Charger guy. You might like this," he said, sliding a manila envelope across his desk. "Looks like some guy had been sitting on Landy's one and only '70 Charger for 30 years without knowing it. I want you to spend some time and do a full write up on it."

Having looked to Dick and Mike Landy for my personal inspiration in building my Charger, being given the opportunity and full access to interview then-owner Ron Sites, make a couple calls to the Landy family, and dig through bits and pieces of the Peterson Museum archives was all too much. As all of you are all "Charger guys" as Randy phrased it, I'm sure you all remember that late 2006 issue where I wrote about the reveal and detailed breakdown of the DLI Charger (see "The Rarest of Finds," it's still on MM's website here: http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/mopar_car_history/mopp_0612_dick_landy_1970_charger/index.html).

Frankly, its one the things I'm most proud of when I look back on my short time with the magazine.

What was most interesting to me wasn't the history of the car (although it was really storied), but the small modifications, the minor tweaks, and quiet mods that Mike and crew made to get the big B-Body to hook up and haul. Apart from the extensive acid dipping to the front wrap around bumper, hood, and fenders, DLI also performed some easy-to-do modifications that were still street worthy.

Tied Together


You guys already know about the cage, the subframes and the torque boxes, as they were featured in one of the first "Brazen Charger" articles titled "Garage Guerrilla Warfare." All of these were ordered from Competition Engineering and were rather easy to install, so I won't waste time going on and on about them again.

Getting Framed


This too, was featured in a technical article, but I wanted to show just a few more extra images. Since I planned to use a motor plate and use some pretty large tube headers, I removed the forward battery tray and motor mounts from the K-frame. Where the battery tray sat was some corrosion, so that was first to go.



I fabricated a battery box out of some spare stock for the trunk and weaved the battery cable through the subframe connectors all the way to the trunk.





The K-frame measurements were taken from a Milodon rectangle race pan while hanging the 440 block from a Competition Engineering ride plate. It's getting late so I'll let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy!



















Boxed, filled, internally gusseted, and smoothed, the modded K-frame allows me more pan room, more header room, and more adjustment in my engine placement. Plus, DLI swears it saves weight, but I'm sure with all my welding, it's probably the same. Maybe I should have weighed the K-frame before and after...

Anyways, that's it for tonight. I'll be on the road for a few days, so stay tuned for Step IV

-Kevin

[69bronzeT5]

I thought Ron still owns the car?

[Hemidog]

Kevin, I'm guessing you've seen this thread? Just checking.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,13625.0.html

[Rustymuscle]

I thought Ron still owns the car?

When I wrote it, Floridian collector Todd Werner was desperately trying to buy it. That was nearly 3 years ago, so I simply don't know.

-Kevin

[TexasStroker]

Awesome build!  Keep up the good work 

[moparheater]

Sweet thread, looking forward to more! 

[justin1987]

 

[Rustymuscle]

Well, I'm back in town (went to Lake Havasu, AZ for work), but thought I'd drop back in and toss in another update.

Step III: Dental Surgery


When I purchased this Charger, it did come with a grille, but it was in sorry shape. Like I mentioned before, the previous owner had collided with a motorcyclist (thankfully, the biker was OK, although the bike in question was in worse condition than the Charger). The grille frame, actuators, and vacuum-operated door hardware were all together, but the chrome and plastic were all but ruined. Since rebuilding a '69 Charger isn't like building a '67 Camaro (whereas the aftermarket re-pops every imaginable thing nowadays), the mission was to find all new plastics...

Word-of-mouth led me to an elderly gentleman who said he had stores of "old Dodge $#!&" in storage. Although barren of any worthwhile Hemi stuff, he did have several complete (and incomplete) '69 Charger grilles. When I asked how he came about it all, he laughed and said he knew of an old storage yard behind the Hollywood hills where "tons of these things were baking under the sun." He explained that he was allowed to part out some of the worst ones and do with the parts as he wished. Although he never copped to it, I believe he pulled these grilles (I purchased four of them) from the old CBS storage lot.

Yeah, you read that right, possible real General Lee grilles. But with no proof, I simply smiled to myself and drove back home.

Here's the booty:






Anyways, with my original frame intact, I pieced together the best grille (and top plate) from the batch. The rest of the group were sold off over the next year. Since the aftermarket didn't have the center "I" pieces available at the time, I took all of the "I"s to a Long Beach chrome shop on Cherry Avenue (I forgot the name) and had all of them straightened and polished. Not knowing exactly what they were to look like, a pair of the "I"s came out "soft," but the third had good sharp creases and fit the plastic center perfectly. That was my winner.



I also noted that more often than not, the first bit of plastic to go are those little drop-shaped plastic tabs that jut out of either side of the ends, designed to follow the curvature of the wrap-around bumper. Thankfully, three of the replacements still had those tabs.



With my choice grille components selected, it was time to go to work. While we all make jokes about JB Weld and duct tape, the prior was instrumental in putting my grille back together (I'm not planning on ever entering my Charger into any beauty pageants or comparing it to those more dedicated restorers. Please don't crucify me for using such rudimentary means). Splits and hairline cracks were opened up with a dremel tool, filled in with the quick-drying filler and sanded down flush with the natural contours of the plastic.






[note: For the rounder contours, I wrapped sandpaper around a socket]



With all the cracks filled and smoothed (and reinforced using trimmed bits of steel metal and bonding them to the backside of more brittle or susceptible to breakage parts), I purchased a couple sheets of porous Scotch-Brite and started scuffing. With a couple rolls of painter's tape, butcher paper, and a can or two of Chrysler-correct Argent paint (Year One), I masked off all the right spots and painted my internal trim line and external grille surround. The process was repeated for the doors and when dried, reversed for the Semi-gloss black paint. Sure it was all with rattle-cans, but the end result (when done right) looked pretty dang good for gub'mint work.







All the hardware for the trim and plastic (if it I didn't already have it) was pilfered from any of the previous grilles. Notice there's the lack of the nondescript Charger insignia or "R/T" tag. At the time, I hadn't decided it I was going to go ahead and add the "R/T" badges as stripe. For any of you who've seen the final painted product, you know I went ahead with the stripe.



Oh yeah, forgot something. Since I knew a 540 cubic inch Wedge with a .628-lift solid camshaft wouldn't be making an ounce of vacuum - vacuum necessary to operate the headlight doors, I started getting creative. I popped open these vacuum canisters, spot welded on some hooks to the centers of the actuators, drilled a single hole into the bottom of each canister, and will (when I pick out the right stuff) run Lokar cables into a split, where I plan to use an ordinary "VENT" pull tab under the dash to open the headlight doors. Sure, the lights will turn on using the regular in-dash switch, but the doors will be opened manually. When I finish that, I'll show you guys how.

[tan top]

intresting story on the grills  hmmmm makes you wonder    good lot grill stuff  clever idea on the vacuum pods 

[69*F5*SE]

The grille turned out very nice.   

[69bronzeT5]

That looks alot like my car! The grille turned out GREAT!

[jb666]

Awesome thread!! I love the story and the narrating along the way, and I look forward to the rest of the saga!!

Hey, what did you paint your roll bar with?

[Rustymuscle]

Well, that was going to be a short post, but yeah, just some good ol' fashioned etching primer, a quick pass with the green scrub pad and a couple coats of semi-gloss black rattle can.

[jb666]

Cool, looks great! They tend to be a royal PITA to paint so I was curious how you tackled yours.

[r_biccum]

 

[Rustymuscle]

Update time!

Step IV: Prep Work


Since most of you have done this stuff before, there's really no reason to go into a ton of detail. Needless to say (which I always felt was an equally needless saying), the more work you get done and the more you disassemble the car before paint, the more time your painter can focus on his job, namely, painting the friggin' car.



Since A/C, power brakes, and power steering are for your wife's Honda Accord, I patched up the firewall to hide any evidence of the factory-supplied creature comforts. Since the goal is try to make it look like this was a "Body in White" '69 Charger (no such thing existed, of course), I spent some time on the engine compartment to cover my tracks.













Two things happened at this time. First, all of the lazy-arse couch potatoes working at the magazines suddenly took notice as I began converting my worthless pile of miscellaneous parts into an actual car - and thusly started complaining that I was making a mess (which was a blatant lie; I'm unabashedly OCD about my workspace); and second, I got my then-fiance-now wife of nearly three years, Heather, to help out. Here's the proof:




Geez, I'm a dirtbag...

Anyways...

So, again, the idea was to get as much done before the real painters needed to beat the living daylights out of nearly every square inch of my battered Charger, so I thought I'd cut the jambs, engine compartment, trunk, and decklid so they wouldn't have to.











And the paint... (Yeah, I'm doing this in the parking lot around 9pm. Don't tell!)
















I really have no idea why I went ahead and painted the floors. I mean, hell, I covered them in carpet like a week later.

Now, before the car gets wheeled off to the real painters (to undo some of my shoddy paintmanship (not a real word), I'll have to put it back together and get her rolling again. But that's for another time. Alright guys, until next time!

[Hemidog]

Looking good! Did the paint run a little where you modified the firewall? 

[Rustymuscle]

Actually yeah, but that was not the modification's fault. I'm just a lousy painter. 

[PocketThunder]

What color is that?  T7 Bronze?  I didnt see it mentioned earlier in this thread.. 

[69*F5*SE]

A cute wife AND she helps with the car.  You must be doing something right.  Keep up the good work.   

[RAC95054]

What color is that?  T7 Bronze?  I didnt see it mentioned earlier in this thread.. 

Looks like T5 in the pictures.  T7 is darker (look at my avitar pic... that's T7).

[Rustymuscle]

Actually, I mentioned it at the beginning of this whole thing, but yeah, it's T7.

[Rustymuscle]

Since this thread has fallen down to the fourth page and I'm still way behind on updating, I figured it was time to get down to the good stuff...

Step V: Paint and Body


As my time at Mopar Muscle drew to a close, I was left with the quandary, "What to do with the Charger?" See, the problem at hand was that my wife and I were thankfully moving back to California after living in Florida for these few years. Besides the rental truck loaded to the gills with all of our worldly possessions, we had my truck and my wife's car to contend with (not to mention the classic Mopar sitting in the back of my old job's warehouse).

The decision was made over lunch to leave my Charger at JD's Paint & Body (a regular fixture of nearly every single issue of Mopar Muscle magazine). JD made me a deal that if I paid him a couple hundred bucks a month like a credit card that the car would be slowly beaten straight and painted over the course of a year or two. Although a little unnerving to leave my car on the other side of the continental United States, it was the best decision for us at the time.



Thankfully, work (as editor of Personal Watercraft Illustrated) has me bouncing from one side of the country to the other on a regular basis, thereby allowing me regular visits to the car. It was a slow process, but the Charger's rippled and battered panels slowly straightened and my Rustoleum red primer gave way to light gray primer and eventually T7 Tuscon Bronze. It was a regular joke that there was no more than a single 10-square-inch of straight steel on the whole car.

For those who haven't read the whole blog, it was noted that in the late 1980's the previous owner - drunk during his grad night - hit a motorcyclist. With the Charger parked on top of the bike, the motorcyclist (whose helmet dented in the front of the roof), climbed off the car, pulled the teenager out from behind the wheel, pounded him to a bloody pulp, put the Charger in reverse, and backed the big Dodge back over his bike, allowing the biker to walk his wheels back home. Dents from the helmet, footpegs, and handlebars could still be found on the car.













Here you can notice that the rear tail light valance was painted to the match the rest of the car by mistake. With some quick thinking, and quick-kicking semi-gloss black, JD painted the tail to a more factory-correct look.





Painted, color sanded, buffed and reassembled, the Charger needed one last little touch, the tail stripe. Since I had no qualms in converting my 383, A/C, PB, PS Charger into a stripped-down R/T clone, the coup de gras would be the iconic stripe (which also helps to break up the Charger's acres of sheet metal).







We reinstalled the front and rear glass, struggled with the front windshield gasket, installed the rear window trim (one corner elbow refuses to fit right - "bodyman error" I like to call it), and reinstalled the grille, the Charger was ready for pick up via car hauler. The driver met us at JD's shop around noon on a Saturday with a standard flatbed trailer. Once loaded aboard, the Charger would be transferred to a double-decker open car hauler (I know, "open" sends shivers down your spine) to be driven cross country.






For those who picked up on it earlier, the hood pins are factory Six-Pack Super Bee pins, pads, mounts, and hardware on a flat, race-weight factory-looking hood.



With the Charger loaded up and strapped down, all that was needed now was to wait the week (and a half!) for the car to make it across (safely, I hoped). Tune in next time for the Charger's homecoming!

[69*F5*SE]

The Charger's looking really good.  Hope it gets home safe.

[PocketThunder]

Did you think about a white stripe instead of black?  My car is original black stripe but every tells me to go white.   

[69bronzeT5]

I think a black stripe looks best on the T5 & T7 cars. Hey Kevin, I just realized...I talked to you a couple years ago about getting into the Young Guns section at Mopar Muscle. Not sure if you remember me....I couldn't do it because I was 14 at the time and you need to be 16 to be put into the section. I also remember you tried selling me a bunch of T7

[Rustymuscle]

I also remember you tried selling me a bunch of T7

Yes, I do remember you and no, it was only a gallon of it. During one of the five emails you sent to me, you mentioned that you needed it, so I offered you the gallon at my cost. I also saw the posts you put up here making fun of me for doing so. Sorry for trying to help a brother out...

Did you think about a white stripe instead of black?  My car is original black stripe but every tells me to go white.

I did, but since I'm running a very tall tire combination, no vinyl top (it was tan), and blacked out the back valance, the semi-gloss black stripe was the best decision. With all the chrome back on it, the black stands out even more.

[mikepmcs]

Amazing work!  I just have one question. 

Does your wife have a twin?

Kidding aside, very nice story, kept me hooked.  No mistaking why you work where you do.

[69bronzeT5]

I also remember you tried selling me a bunch of T7

Yes, I do remember you and no, it was only a gallon of it. During one of the five emails you sent to me, you mentioned that you needed it, so I offered you the gallon at my cost. I also saw the posts you put up here making fun of me for doing so. Sorry for trying to help a brother out...

Making fun of you for doing so? I don't remember that? If I did though, I am very sorry. I'm sure I was just joking around. I do appreciate the offer

[HighFlyingWedge69]

Good looking Charger.

Do you have any more grills you would part with?

[Magnumcharger]

Good job on the resto!
Having actually had DLI input to your efforts must have been great! I actually had hopes that along with the DLI inspired mods you were performing, you'd go all the way and paint 'er in the classic Landy colors!
(I guess I have to step up to that plate, huh?)

What mill are you going with?

[Rustymuscle]

Glad you guys have enjoyed the posts. Unfortunately, not a lot has been done over the last month as my wife recently lost her job. Expensive hobbies like ours sometimes have to take a backseat when life throws us curveballs...

Unfortunately, all of the extra grilles I had months ago are long since gone. Sorry.

As for a DLI clone, she's a '69 not a '70. Doing a clone wouldn't be right, like building a General Lee clone out of '67. Rather, the idea was to build a street Charger that has all of its DLI-inspired work hidden beneath the skin. Why show all of your cards up front, right?

[Magnumcharger]

Uhhh....Landy had several '69 Chargers.....

[Rustymuscle]

Yeah, I know, but his single '70 dual-plug was the inspiration for my '69. I mention it a couple times on earlier pages.

[Magnumcharger]

Hmmm....just for all you listeners who just tuned in, here's a few threads about Dick Landy and his Chargers!!
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,59097.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,31613.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,42152.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,23138.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,33261.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,17482.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,11712.0.html

[BigBlockSam]

looks great 

[ozziemoparnut]

That was an awesome read very well done I like your thinking 

[elacruze]

So...did it run 10's?

I just bought a set of 29x9 Goodyear slicks, was searching threads to be sure they fit ok in the wells.