getting my charger 68 today

[moparstuart]

 I would imagine in aruba they could care less about the vin .  Wow  good luck with that one look like you have your work cut out for you.   Good thing BE&A and AMD are around .
 

[OneofNoneRT]

That engine compartment shot looks odd.. Not like my 68.. big round plate? Rectangular above that?  Heater delete?? But what about AC?? 

[OneofNoneRT]

Ok.. Next thread I looked at showed it on a 69  ..

[BLUE68RT4ME]

Congrats on the purchase, no matter what year it is.  And that 400 can be built to about anything you want it to be... just look up Firefighter (Ron) for his wealth of knowledge.

Considering you live in Aruba, if you need help you may find a lot of us volunteering to come down and lend a hand!  lol   

We look forward to seeing the progress!   

[c00nhunterjoe]

looks like a factory ac car...... nice

[john.v]

I would imagine in Aruba they could care less about the Vin .  Wow  good luck with that one look like you have your work cut out for you.   Good thing BE&A and AMD are around .
 

yes, cars with this age they do not care that much about the Vin until it completely restored, i know that AMD will be very glad with me 

[john.v]

Congrats on the purchase, no matter what year it is.  And that 400 can be built to about anything you want it to be... just look up Firefighter (Ron) for his wealth of knowledge.

Considering you live in Aruba, if you need help you may find a lot of us volunteering to come down and lend a hand!  lol   

We look forward to seeing the progress!   

pass by anytime any day 
all you guys and girls are welcome 

[skip68]

Now let the fun begin John.        Time to start cleaning it up and see what you got.       Are you doing the work yourself or taking it to a shop ?

[john.v]

Now let the fun begin John.        Time to start cleaning it up and see what you got.       Are you doing the work yourself or taking it to a shop ?

the fun started de day i got the car, happy with the car. just need to figur out if it is a 68 or 69 but never the less i will start on it.
yes , will do most myself. friends here tell me i am crazy but that pushes me more to get the car done 
will start from the ground up. need to order floor pans and trunk or do i need to soda blast the compleet car first?
at this point there is no floor in the car.

[skip68]

After watching Jeff's (jb666) car, I would say blast or strip that car first and see how much you need.      AMD is great stuff and you can get every panel now.   Roof, fenders, hood, door skins, full quarters, tail panel, floors, trunks, trunk lid and deck panel....  And a few more I think.    You will have the best ride on the island in time.       

[john.v]

After watching Jeff's (jb666) car, I would say blast or strip that car first and see how much you need.      AMD is great stuff and you can get every panel now.   Roof, fenders, hood, door skins, full quarters, tail panel, floors, trunks, trunk lid and deck panel....  And a few more I think.    You will have the best ride on the island in time.       

thanks for the tip, stripping and blasting it will be first. 

[john.v]

Just made contact by mail with Stefan from ""Elite Custom Body & Paint "" ( http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,60901.0.html )  ho is a AMD Dealer in Florida.

until now everything is going smooth. 1. have my Charger 2. found this great website ""dodgecharger.com"" 3. have some great friends like you guy's to help me out giving me tips ect ect 4. found Elite custom to deliver my Metall.

so, like Skip68 told me .....let the fun beginnnnnnnn..

  oops,, needed to put on number one, that my wife let me do this project..  Thank you honey 

today i am going to ask the soda blaster for a quotation for blasting or to see if he rents the machine to me.

[tan top]

thats some project you got going there   ,  do you know any history on the Charger !! was  it a export car ??    , long way off i know !! but what are your plans , stock type rebuild  ?? color etc etc
keep the pictures & updates coming     

[Belgium R/T -68]

Welcome to the club. Always nice with another restothread.

Per

[PocketThunder]

thats some project you got going there   ,  do you know any history on the Charger !! was  it a export car ??    , long way off i know !! but what are your plans , stock type rebuild  ?? color etc etc
keep the pictures & updates coming     

Ya do you know when it came to the island and how it got there? 

[4forty]

good luck....nice little project you got there, only one on island is very cool

[john.v]

    OK, have salvage the left fender tage and decode it on the internet ( http://www.stockmopar.com/mopar-fender-tag-decoder.php )
really looks like its a 69 model but it has 68 front and rear, have taken a good look at the rear quarterpanel and these have been change but can not imagine myself of why change the model from a 69 back to a 68.
can it be that this car is build in 68 (see code C18 ) model year 69 and they where still using the 68 front and back because of an EXPORT ??( see code 8 )

also have replace the right front tire because it was flat, so the car is now a easy roller 


-------------------------------------------------------------   
Decoding of Fender Tag: Bottom to Top, Left to Right

Code Description
E44 318-2 Barrel
D31 Light Duty 904 Automatic Transmission TorqueFlite
XP29 X = Dodge Charger
P = Premium
29 = 2 Door Sports Hardtop
F98 F = 318 230HP 1-2BBL 8 CYL
9 = 1969
8 = Export
245555 Sequence Number '245555'
B3 Paint Code: Light Blue Metallic
C6W Trim Grade/Style/Color
C = Charger
6 = Vinyl Bucket Seats
W = White and Black
W1 Upper Door Frame: Unknown At This Time
C18 Date Built: 12 / 18 / 1968
026240 Order Number: 026240
B41 Roof Type OR Color:  Front Disc Brakes Some Yrs. Power
B51 Power Assisted Brakes
C21 Center Seat Foldown Armrest
C55 Bucket Seats
G11 Tinted Glass All
H51 Single Air /w Heater
M21 Roof Drip Rail Moldings
M31 Belt Molding 69-70
R22 AM w/ 8-Track
V1X Full Vinyl Top - Black
Y09 Built to Export Specifications
26 26 in. Radiator
END End of Codes
-------------------------------------------------------------

regards

john

[Dans 68]

 ...can it be that this car is build in 68 (see code C18 ) model year 69 and they where still using the 68 front and back because of an EXPORT ??( see code 8 )

No. It is a 69 Charger, with a build date of December 18th, 1968, and with the front and back changed out sometime after it left the dealer to the best looking year ( ) Don't change a thing (except to fix everything, or course  )

Dan

[john.v]

 ...can it be that this car is build in 68 (see code C18 ) model year 69 and they where still using the 68 front and back because of an EXPORT ??( see code 8 )

No. It is a 69 Charger, with a build date of December 18th, 1968, and with the front and back changed out sometime after it left the dealer to the best looking year ( ) Don't change a thing (except to fix everything, or course  )

Dan

i must agree, i really like the look of the rear tail lights and complete black front grill, it makes it a more aggressive looking charger.
but ho the h*ll changes a Dukes of hazard looking car and go to a older looking car 
so you can call my car a undercover celebrity 

just search on line some more and it looks like this car was not manufactured in the us but on a Dodge assembly plant outside the US??

7 digit (assembly plant) of the Vin is #8 EXPORT. mmm, more research for me to do at night 

but nevertheless the car will be build as a 68 

[john.v]

OK, i must really go to sleep now, i now see that my charger was build in ""Hamtrack=B"" 
Fender plate and Vin number is getting me confused 
its time to leave the vin alone and start on the car..

[b5blue]

Cool!! Got a sway bar?

[john.v]

Cool!! Got a sway bar?

yep, i have seen something like a rusted sway bar underneed the car.

[challenger70]

Just made contact by mail with Stefan from ""Elite Custom Body & Paint "" ( http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,60901.0.html )  ho is a AMD Dealer in Florida.

until now everything is going smooth. 1. have my Charger 2. found this great website ""dodgecharger.com"" 3. have some great friends like you guy's to help me out giving me tips ect ect 4. found Elite custom to deliver my Metall.

Stefan is a good guy, he sold me 1/2 a Charger 1 piece at a time.

[john.v]

Just made contact by mail with Stefan from ""Elite Custom Body & Paint "" ( http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,60901.0.html )  ho is a AMD Dealer in Florida.

until now everything is going smooth. 1. have my Charger 2. found this great website ""dodgecharger.com"" 3. have some great friends like you guy's to help me out giving me tips ect ect 4. found Elite custom to deliver my Metall.

Stefan is a good guy, he sold me 1/2 a Charger 1 piece at a time.

wel i will be needing all 1/2 a charger in 1 time because of shipping cost.
need to work extra hours to make some extra money 
have spoken with the person today for to soda blasting about a quotation and he told me that it will cost me $30 per bag to blast the charger, he also calculate the car will use like around 4 to 5 bags of soda.
but............ they are out of soda and are waiting for the soda bags to come from the states, told me that they are already on the island but still at the customs to be cleared.
that will take another week before they get it.  ok, i must wait for the phone call.

today in my break i have remove the front bumper and rear bumper and also the front grill.  wow do that front grill needs work. the bumpers only need a shine. the front Valance is a trow away and the radiator suport also.

in the weekend i will do some more and will post more pix.

[b5blue]

How will you protect the steel after blasting?