Rustymuscle's Street/Strip '69 R/T

[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).