When old and new collide

[Ghoste]

I know there are some pics posted of this car on the Mopar Nats thread but I wanted to post a couple more of it for a couple of reasons.  The first being that I had mentioned a while back about hearing rumors that this car existed but I couldn't locate it.  As it turns out it does exist and I had to drive 6 hours to see a car that is only 15 minutes away from me at home.
This is a 2007 Charger wrapped up in 1968 Charger sheet metal.  It belongs to a guy local to me named Dan Verellen who I've known of but only in an offhand way for a while.  This isn't exactly my cup of tea but he also has a 68 Charger RT that is a real nice car so that is a redeemer too.

[FlatbackFanatic]

Looks very cool!!

[Ghoste]

He wants to start a business converting new ones to look like old ones.  I'm not sure if the market is there or not but hats off to him for jumping in.  There was a lot of work involved and it won't be cheap to do.  But yeah, it was pretty cool, and odd in a way too.

[69bronzeT5]

So it started as a '07 and then he added '68 sheetmetal?

[Ghoste]

Basically yeah.

[69bronzeT5]

Basically yeah.

Wow, that had to be one tough project!

[MoparManJim]

Sorry, but I don't buy it being a 2007 Charger with 1968 sheet metal warp around it. It's more like a 1968 with 2007 stuff in/on it. The wheel base looks like a 2nd gen charger wheel distance also.The door jabs also somethinge. The front clip area looks like a 2nd gen foundation as well just wit ha newer motor planeted in the bay is all. I already seen photos of 2nd gens with 2007 charger interiors in them and this looks just like one of them is all. 

[Ghoste]

Could be, I wasn't there when he built it.  I will add that it has the 07 complete drivetrain not just the engine and it has the new cars suspension as well.  I believe he once had one or two 68 parts cars sitting around his property so if one entire parts car is missing then this could be it.

[MoparManJim]

Could be, I wasn't there when he built it.  I will add that it has the 07 complete drivetrain not just the engine and it has the new cars suspension as well.  I know he once had one or two 68 parts cars sitting around his property so if one entire parts car is missing then this could be it.

I think he took a 68 charger and added what you said it had on "in" it and then told you it was the other way around. Because the 2007 charger is smaller then the 1968-70 chargers are and for him to warp the 1968 stuff around the 2008, he would have to either trim the rear skins down, plus the doors, and all to intercept the 2007 wheel base. But anyone can take a new car parts and mod them into an old car though (which is what I think he had done). Plus the interior in the newer cars are bigger then the old stuff is also. 

If he had two parts cars and if indeed one is now missing, we all know where it went to 

[ZSmithersCharges]

Its hard to tell without pics of the supension towers in front... otherwhise everything else under the hood lines up with an 07 charger perfectly... minus the rad support.  Either way very cool car, rather have the 68, but very cool car none the less.

[ChargerSG]

Westcoast customs did that for an Csi guy(who got shoot) it did turnout good.
Should be a clip on youtube or something, they showed it on Discovery channel(Europe).

[tan top]

intresting & a lot of clever fabrication stuff for sure    , i'm betting  , with out seeing any bulid up pictures & under side shots , the guy has just cut out the rear frame with the suspention mountings & front inner clip & fire wall   also  then welded them  into a 2nd generation  

[TruckDriver]

I like that   It is something I'd do too if I had the money. Classic looks and todays performance. The best of both worlds if you ask me.

[Ghoste]

Tomato-tahmahto for me personally as far as whether he stuck 07 guts in a 68 or hung 68 panels over 07 guts.  Either case would need a lot of fabrication to blend together and at the end of it I'm still one of those guys who likes the 68 for what it is.  I guess I prefer it's warts to mutating it with something newer.  That may sound odd coming from someone who has always been an open critic of the new Charger based on it's styling but if I want the comfort and convenience of the new car then that's what I'll drive.
I like the styling of the old Chargers but I also like the more intangible thrill they supply with the noise and heat and smells.  I'll admit freely that anytime you can get better mileage it's good.  If I drive six hours with my family to a cottage up north, it's nice to get out of the car somewhat feeling good.  But when I drive my Charger six hours to the Mopar Nats and I get out feeling like a limp dishrag, there is some sort of sick masochistic pleasure in that too.  Each has it's place is what I suppose I'm saying.
(you have probably guessed by now that in spite of being critical of the new Charger's styling, I am also not one of those people who thought Dodge should have duplicated the appearance of the 2nd gens for the new one-wierd huh?)

[ZSmithersCharges]

Well whatever your thoughts on the styling you have to admit that the interiors not bad... even in a 68' shell it looks right at home so +1 chrysler... now ad that to your -999999999999 you guys'll even it out someday I promise 

[charger_fan_4ever]

Saw it at Moparfest this past weekend. The photo layout under the hood said it was a 68 r/t that had the new charger drivetrain added.

1st pic was dragging it out of the field looke dlike a few years ago.

[Ghoste]

So he basically was at this for a few years??  I never knew that and shouldn't be surprised I guess.  There had to be a lot of work to it.  Did the photo layout say anything about the newer car?  Was it a wreck or did he strip out a brand new one or what?

[Troy]

It's most definitely all new underneath - not just a drive train and interior swap. I have some pictures of the wheelhouses in the trunk and you can see the extensive mods done to make it fit. I did hear the mention the wheel base between the two cars is about 3" off which made getting the wheels centered was difficult. On a different conversion that I saw a while back (some tv show?) they tried to just drop an old Charger shell over the new Charger and had horrible problems with the taller sides of the car and dash placement. I'm not sure how these guys handled that. My biggest issue with this particular car is how high it had to sit to clear the wheels. Otherwise it is very nicely done.

Troy

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I always wondered how it would look if I did a wheel swap

[Ghoste]

Although too small, I have to say that I like the appearance of the Road Wheels and Redlines on your new car better than the new wheels on the 69 Chris.  I especially like the look of the redlines on the new one.  Might be something to consider 

[ChargerSG]

The one that Westcoast customs did build(2007 and 1968 Charger) only found a chopped up show, they dont show any of the build allmost http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vCMtYQKEZ4

[dodgecharger-fan]

They had the build pics in a photo album at MOPARFest.
I didn't go through every picture, but what I saw was an 07 body being chopped off and 68 skin going on.

A friend of mine did go through every photo and his description was along the lines of "the dropped a 68 body over a new Charger" and he's a guy that has built a few Chargers of his own and really knows his stuff. He wouldn't say it that way if it's not what he meant.

[TUFCAT]

I like it.....but I gaurantee is wasn't a cheap build.

For the money invested there's lots of equally cool cars out there to consider.  I wonder if the owner ever thought about getting his money out of this project if he decided to sell? 

[Ghoste]

Well, I don't want to be held to this number but as I mentioned, he did say he wanted to do these conversions as a business and for some reason the price he tossed out that is sticking in my memory is 200K.   If my recall is correct all I can say is...    (it's a tad more than I have on me at the moment)

[Troy]

Well, I don't want to be held to this number but as I mentioned, he did say he wanted to do these conversions as a business and for some reason the price he tossed out that is sticking in my memory is 200K.   If my recall is correct all I can say is... 

That's what he said Saturday afternoon by the grill.

Troy

[Ghoste]

So I wasn't that beer fogged after all.  I guess by the time you track down a pair of donor cars and spend a couple of years or even a year doing the labor but still, I'm not so sure there are all that many people out there right now who would pony up that sort of cash.  Are there?

[bigred68]

 I really liked that (those) Chargers also. But, it kinda' seemed to me that the fabrication wouldn't be THAT difficult?   What I mean to say is, start with a decent '68 Charger body and a decent possibly wrecked, or stolen/recovery LH platform car, (any one of them would work, right?). Cut out the center section of the floor pans of both cars, weld the center section of the LH car into the center section of the B-body, 'VOILA. I know I may be WAAAY over simplifying, but, really ,isn't that what happened here? Actually, I was thinking the front end sat a little high, and the wheel diameter was little large for my taste. Also, not to hijack this thread but did anyone else notice the 10.98 second Cherry red '69 parked next to it at the NATS? REALLY nice car, nice guy, (from Colorado).

[six-tee-nine]

Every time i look at the pictures there pops the same question inmy head....

A modern engine in an old car i can get somehow, but who wants an ugly modern dash in a great looking old car......
IMO the Mopar ralleye gauges were the best looking dashes in the muscle car era...you just dont replace that.

[Ponch ®]

Something about the stance of those cars that just looks odd to me. Same thing with the one WCC built. Part of it is that the wheels have to be of a certain size (17's at least) and of certain offset to clear LX brakes.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Something about the stance of those cars that just looks odd to me. Same thing with the one WCC built. Part of it is that the wheels have to be of a certain size (17's at least) and of certain offset to clear LX brakes.

I agree...those 20's look too large on there...looks like they did try and fatten up the sidewall though compared to mine...

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well I am knee deep with a similar project with a buddy of mine - We used a 2008 SRT8 Magnum and a 68 Dodge Charger...   The amount of fab work needed is higher than giraffe ****y...         We used the entire floor pan from the Magnum and all the suspension - granted our project is still in the midst of a build and is currently on a budget of $30,000 so it is nowhere near as nice as that one but the principal and work is the same....      The newer cars use a different type of steel than back in the day and it simply EATS spot weld cutters and is rather difficult to weld...    the harder parts is mating the stock 08 floors / wheel houses to the 68...       All the A/C, Firewall, Dash and such need to be trimmed and modified as well...    Inner fenders, structures, EVERYTHING needs to be worked on... 

[Mike DC]

    

Modern drivetrain & front seats & rear independent suspension is cool, but they lost me at the 2006 dashboard.  



These cars really force us to re-examine what we think we want in a resto-mod.  Just about the only difference from driving a 2006 car and this one is gonna be the looks that other people give it.  Is this the goal?  It seems like they might as well have just put chrome bumpers & trim on a modern 2009 Challenger type of retro-model.  


IMHO too much of the original car's character has been lost.  I don't find any single one of the changes too objectionable by itself, but I would not want the whole package.

 

[Ghoste]

Very good point Mike.  In some ways it isn't all that far removed from those Rolls Royce front end kits you could stick on your VW Bug.

[Mike DC]

In some ways it isn't all that far removed from those Rolls Royce front end kits you could stick on your VW Bug.

Yes, that's a good analogy.  The baseline car is better than a beetle and the project is more extreme, but the jist is the same. 


It's not unlike a "kit car" where you reskin a Fiero like a Lamborghini or make a Beetle chassis look like a McLaren racecar.  Imagine if this guy had used a one-piece fiberglass mold of a 2nd-gen instead of manually welding on the 40yo steel Charger panels.   

I don't hate it, but it's a few steps farther than I would want to do.

   

[Silver R/T]

not fan of interior of those ones

[mauve66]

it might help if they had changed to some other rims that fit the LX hubs but might be a little more nostalgic, might have helped the look of the wheels/wheel wells

[Mike DC]

    
I like the subtle wheelwell work, though.  He stretched those front wheelwells upwards a bit and it really doesn't show if you're not looking for it.  It helps the car swallow the huge wheels without losing the good stance. 

[Bill Howell]

I have seen similar builds in the camaro world. Like others, I don't get the dash change, the car's exterior doesn't match the interior. IMO.
My 72 has the same type changes as this as far as drivetrain goes, fabbed to fit the old car, not the other way around. I know some will not agree with this, but there are much better suspensions out there than even the late model Charger frontend. My decision to go with the XV stuff was more costly than if I had found a new style donor, but I feel the end results will override the cost.
My car does have a DANA 60, another thing most purists demand in a restoration, whether it be original or resto rod, it has to be a dana.
You can stuff plenty of wheel and tire under the original body with just a little foresight. Better than new IMO.

[mikesbbody]

I like it not sure about the wheel and tire combo though...