New guy from Camp Lejeune!

[sanders7981]

  Hello everyone!!  Just wanted to post up some pics of my 69 Charger that I picked up in November.  I plan on restoring it into a General Lee with some help from my wife.  I have always wanted one and stumbled upon this one after wrecking my 2003 Ford Lightning    I bought it form a guy in Greensboro, NC.  He had already had it media blasted, epoxy and polyurethane primered.  I hope to have it complete, minus by the time I deploy in June.  It was originally a 318 car, but the previous owner put in a 400 BB.  I am going to beef it up with a 471 Stroker Kit.  Most of the rust is located around the front and rear windshield channels.  The front floors and trunk floor will beed to be replaced too.  There is some pitting along one of the upper 1/4 panels on the body, rear deck valance, and roof seams...but it is over all a solid car.  I was pretty excited to find one in such good condition with an almost perfect grille!!!
 
 It was also brought to my attention that someone on here had taken my pics and posted them on Car Domain and here claiming it was his car, but some of you called him out on it.  Anyhow, look for more progress pics after the new year.  Later!  -Chris  

[bull]

Welcome. I see you got those fancy factory chrome valve covers. Good luck on your resto.

[sanders7981]

Welcome. I see you got those fancy factory chrome valve covers. Good luck on your resto.

LOL Yea.. I will replace those with the black crinkle ones with polished MOPAR letters

[Ghoste]

An air car too.

[b5blue]

Good find! Good Luck on the build and keep us posted. 

[FlatbackFanatic]

Welcome!! Looks like you have a nice start there.   Good luck on the resto.

[PocketThunder]

Nice start you have there.  What was the original color and interior?

Be sure to register it at the www.1969dodgechargerregistry.com

[twodko]

Hey Chris,

Welcome to the site! Your car looks pretty straight in the pix. Good luck on the resto, have fun and keep us in the loop.

Tom

[sanders7981]

Nice start you have there.  What was the original color and interior?

Be sure to register it at the www.1969dodgechargerregistry.com

Not sure on the original color.  I will take a look at the VIN tomorrow and decipher what it had.  I will definitley register it though!!

[69charger440]

Semper Fi!!! Welcome aboard! Car looks like a fun project! Reminds me of when I started mine!! 

[tan top]

Nice start you have there.  What was the original color and interior?

Be sure to register it at the www.1969dodgechargerregistry.com

Not sure on the original color.  I will take a look at the VIN tomorrow and decipher what it had.  I will definitley register it though!!

  hello & welcome 

[sanders7981]

Here is an update on my restoration... took forever before I could get started on it.


http://www.cglfc.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=24594

Anyone know where I can get a glove compartment box door and lower dash pad? 

[BB1]

Hey Hello friend. 

[PocketThunder]

Here is an update on my restoration... took forever before I could get started on it.


http://www.cglfc.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=24594

Anyone know where I can get a glove compartment box door and lower dash pad? 

I think i have a glove box door you can have.  I'll try and remember to check tonight.

Paul

[RangerDan440]

hey man Im also at Lejeune out at Courthouse Bay

[Brock Samson]

  Welcome! 

[ACUDANUT]

 Don't drink the water at Camp latrine.

[THE STIG]

Semper Fi devildog, I did my bit at Camp Pendelton many years ago. Enjoy your build and dont be to depressed over losing the Lightning you've got a much better ride now.

[PocketThunder]

Here is an update on my restoration... took forever before I could get started on it.


http://www.cglfc.com/wforum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=24594

Anyone know where I can get a glove compartment box door and lower dash pad? 

I think i have a glove box door you can have.  I'll try and remember to check tonight.

Paul

Found it.  PM me your address and i'll send it out if you want it.
Paul

[sanders7981]

Thanks for the offer, but I found mine... it was buried among the other parts in the trunk.     I also found the damn tail light chrome pieces that are insanely priced at $400 + in EVERY catalog I have looked in!  I need to send them out to get re-chromed though.  Didn't know they were pot metal    wonder how much that'll run me ugggh! 

[sanders7981]

  Well I got the floors welded in... was gonna start work on the trunk floors soon, but the forecast calls for rain over the next 3 -4 days!!  But that is not the kicker... I got a notice from the base housing office, which was privatized back in 2006 or 2007 and is run by civilians, that I am not allowed to have an inoperable vehicle parked in the community, or do any major automobile "mechanical work" on in my driveway or under the carport!  WTF!!! 
 
  Technically, I have not done ANY "mechanical work" on the vehicle because that would mean that I am working on the engine or drive train...  They cited the page in the housing book, but when I looked it up in the one that they provided to my wife when she signed the lease... it was not on that page!  Maybe it is in a newer edition... any how, they said that I need to remove the vehicle from the premises in 24 hours or it may be towed at my expense...  For the $1400 dollars that I am allotted for a basic housing allowance, which goes directly to them for this shitty house, I should be able to store a damn vehicle here inoperable or not!  Hell, it has been under a cover any time that I have not been working on it... its not like it is an "eye-sore" for the community.   And none of my neighbors have complained about it.  Sorry for ranting... but they have pissed me off!!:mad:   I think that was the last straw... I can get a much bigger house for less than $1400 a month out in town, plus  my wife wants to buy a house.. looks like we will be house hunting sooner than I thought.   

[Brock Samson]

 That Blows!  But on the good side your digging right in and making progress! 
maybe someone objects to the truck sticker?. 

[RangerDan440]

thats why I dont live in base housing anymore!

you can store it at my place if you want until yall get a house, only problem is its in VA...

[sanders7981]

thats why I dont live in base housing anymore!

you can store it at my place if you want until yall get a house, only problem is its in VA...

Thanks for the offer, but that would severely limit my working on it when I have time lol!  I am just going to ignore the notice, like I did when they cited me for not weeding and maintaining the flower beds last summer... they said they were going to charge me and have someone do it... but never did.  I have better things to do than yard work... especially when they get $1400 bucks in BAH from me.  Use that to pay for the flower beds ya bastards because this 1155 sq ft house damn sure ain't worth $1400 a month, nor do I use enough water or electricity to warrant all that BAH to go to them.

I think that they just do this shit to make themselves feel some sense of authority... because they damn sure suck ass in the maintenance dept.  My wife has called numerous times to get the m to come out and fix things, but they rarely do...not to mention the mold growing around the inside window sills.

[b5blue]

Be on guard! The jerks can have it towed away and "mechanical" work is really anything other then changing a tire or getting a jump start! I live where  the nutwads pay to have the streets re-painted black (costing 16k) and have all the same bla bla bla stupid rules also yet ignore other real issues.  Good Luck to ya!

[sanders7981]

Be on guard! The jerks can have it towed away and "mechanical" work is really anything other then changing a tire or getting a jump start! I live where  the nutwads pay to have the streets re-painted black (costing 16k) and have all the same bla bla bla stupid rules also yet ignore other real issues.  Good Luck to ya!

Will do... I don't think that they will actually tow it without notifying me.  I do live on base housing and if I have a problem, I will bring it up the chain.  If it gets nasty, I will get command involved and make sure to bring up the piss poor performance that this new privatized company swears they don't have.

[b5blue]

GOOD LUCK! You have been doing excellent work, is there no base/fort auto shop?  We had a killer one at Keesler AFB.

[ACUDANUT]

 Last time I was stationed there, there was a Base hobby shop.  They charge by the day, so I guess that could get expensive.
Gunny M.

[sanders7981]

Last time is was stationed there, there was a Base hobby shop.  They charge by the day, so I guess that could get expensive.
Gunny M.

They still have that, but I would never be able to get up there to work on it as much as I could in the driveway.  Its a nice shop, I plan on painting the car there.  The offer Sherwin Williams Paints and it will cost me about $900 to rent the paint booth and paint the car.  Storage costs about $5 a day, and they are closed Mon thru Wed, and open Thu & Fri 1400-2200, and Sat & Sun 0900-1700.  Its not a bad deal, but it would take me a few weeks to do what I could have in my driveway in a few days. 

I haven't heard anything from housing since the notice... so I am not sweating it.  All I have left to do is install the dutchman panal and the trunk floors.  Its a nice day, I think I will go out and do some of the work to day.  Once all the cutting and welding is done, I can just focus on body filler work.

[b5blue]

I meant to use it as a fall-back position rather than getting towed. 

[sanders7981]

I meant to use it as a fall-back position rather than getting towed. 

I got ya bro.  It will eventually end up there.  I just wanted to get as much of the body work done as I could before I take it up there.  However, I did get the dutchman panel taken off.  I need to do some rust prep and protection before weld in the new one.  Also, I did notice that AMD offers the upper cowl for sale now!! WOOT-WOOT!!!  So, If I can repair mine, its good to know that they finally make one I can order.

[b5blue]

That is good news! 

[sanders7981]

How's every doing!!!     I am kicking it overseas in the 'Stan and wanted to drop a line to everyone with an update.  I never got on here to fill everyone in on my housing woes... but my wife and I bought our first home back in April, which I got to live in for about a month before deploying.  We lucked out and found a brand new 3/2 bedroom/bathroom house with attached garage and a bonus room over the garage.  2300sq ft, including the garage, on 2.5 acres ou tin the country!!!  Anyhow, we got the Charger moved and settled in to its new residence... the garage!  The builder allowed me to come in early and lay down a garage floor coating about a week before bringing the charger over.  I used U-Coat-It and it came out awesome!!!  Great product and super easy to use if anyone is interested.  Besides the point, the car is now garaged, my wife and i have a great place to work on the car and it is safe from the elements til I get back.    

Now, can anyone tell me where to find a stock 69 RT Steering wheel?  The one with the semi-circle center connected to the horn.

[Tilar]

I have one like this one. It has the horn ring but I don't have the center "button". Needs to be restored. I'll try and get a pic of the one I have tomorrow and if you want it PM me an address.

[sixty8charger]

Hey Gunz!

Good to see Marines with Chargers!
Especially local ones! 

I'm over at Cherry Point, living in New Bern working on my 68!
trying to start my body work right now.

Let us know if y'all need anything over there!

Sgt Feeney

[Tilar]

Here is the one I have. It is scuffed up a little and the horn ring has pitting. Let me know if you can use it. Just pay me for the shipping and you can have it.

[sanders7981]

Hey Gunz!

Good to see Marines with Chargers!
Especially local ones! 

I'm over at Cherry Point, living in New Bern working on my 68!
trying to start my body work right now.

Let us know if y'all need anything over there!

Sgt Feeney

Thanks bro.  By the time I get back, you may have yours finished, keep me posted.  I hope to get mine completed by the end of summer, middle IF I can get enough time off to work on it.  I'll be in touch.

[sanders7981]

Lower dash pads... does anyone know where I can find these?  I have a set, but they are pretty beat up, and were painted black... originally were a saddle color.  I am looking to replace them with new saddle colored ones if they are avaliable.     

[twodko]

Gunny,

Check out BE&A and/or YearOne. They will be pricey from either source and YO rapes you on shipping. Other members may know of other options as well. Keep us posted, hydrate, watch your six and more some hydrate.

Tom

[ACUDANUT]

 TWO Gunny's  ?? COOL
Semper Fi, Do or Die.

[sanders7981]

Gunny,

Check out BE&A and/or YearOne. They will be pricey from either source and YO rapes you on shipping. Other members may know of other options as well. Keep us posted, hydrate, watch your six and more some hydrate.

Tom

I try to stay away from YO, they are really pricey and do kill on shipping.   No luck on BE&A, but I emailed them.  We'll see what happens. 

TWO Gunny's  ?? COOL
Semper Fi, Do or Die.

I know... pretty mythical huh? 

[Memphis Mopar]

Sanders maybe I missed it but what is you MOS.  I was at Cherry Point with Marine Air Control Squadron-6 from 91-94.

[sanders7981]

Sanders maybe I missed it but what is you MOS.  I was at Cherry Point with Marine Air Control Squadron-6 from 91-94.

I didn't post it, never do.  I am not one to talk much shop online, but I have been at Lejeune since 2000.  Just been lucky, or unlucky depending on how one interpets it, to be able to stay in one place so long.  Just PCA'd to a few different units after lat moving out of the MOS 0811.       

[sanders7981]

Update of the build.... It's been a slow go, but I got the real 1/4 feeling almost like glass.  The hardest part was getting the line right.  I think the other side should go a lot quicker as there was not as many waves in the panel.    I have been using Evercoat Extreme and Gold body filler and sanded with 32 grit, then 80.  I hope to have it ready for paint by late Aug.  

[b5blue]

Good to see progress, how did the dutchman repair work out? (I'm not looking forward to doing that on mine.) 

[sanders7981]

Good to see progress, how did the dutchman repair work out? (I'm not looking forward to doing that on mine.) 

The Dutchman repair was actually not that bad.  I got new metal from AMD and the install is pretty easy.  I had some concerns at first because I thought the panel was warped from the factory.  It looked warped or slightly bowed from the window to trunk when you clamp it all down, so I called AMD and they assured me that all were made that way.   Once it was all welded in place, it looked right.

[sixty8charger]

Awesome Progress!     right now I am saving for metal and I'm going to make the attempt to weld in the new pieces.  Just had it sandblasted and primered up! 

Welcome back from Afghanistan by the way 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Welcome Home.. Keep up the great work.

[ACUDANUT]

Welcome home Devil Dog.

[scamper340]

Camp Lejeune?  I know that place!  This was taken back in 1989 maybe 1990 down by officer's country.  You can barely make out the base sticker on the windshield. 

[sanders7981]

Camp Lejeune?  I know that place!  This was taken back in 1989 maybe 1990 down by officer's country.  You can barely make out the base sticker on the windshield. 

DAMN!!! That looks like ages ago!!!  There have been A LOT of changes since then!!!  I used to live in Berkely Manor, SNCO Housing, but moved out last year to be closer to Stone Bay.  I have been here since April 2000 and the whole base has undergone many changes/renovations.   

[Old Tired Rebel]

Any updates?

[twodko]

Outstanding work guns! You make it look easy. This progress will be duly noted in your quarterly review. hahaha 

[sanders7981]

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted up some pics and updated my progress on here.  The last year has been pretty busy for me and the only major thing I got acomplished was completion of the body work and paint job last summer.  Sticking with my plan to do all the work myself, I constructed a makeshift paint booth on the front of my garage and spent a few days spraying slicksand, epoxy primer, and sealer.  Then followed up with Big Bad Orange in Nason basecoat and Southern Polyurethanes Universal Clearcoat.  SPI is GREAT stuff!!  Tell you why later.  I wasn't expecting a "Show Car" finish as this was my first paint job.  I used some cheap HF and ATK paint guns for the primers and slicksand.  Bought a Finex 3000 for the BC/CC.  Basecoat came out awesome, but I ended up with a few runs, orange peel,  and typical dirt/trash in a few places on the clear.  Wetsanded the entire car and removed the majority of orange peel, trash, and runs.  Then it sat until I was able to cut/polish/buff in late January.

Did I say that SPI Clear was great?  This is why, I thought I had wetsanded enough last summer, but I didnt.  I was afraid to take too much more off, so I was not very aggressive with it. So I wetsanded again, and then polished it all out.  I get a new Dewalt 849x polisher for $170!!! (Steal of a deal) in January, and some 3M polishing compound to finally make it shine vice the dull chalky wetsand look that is has sat in for about 5 months.  There are still wet sand scratches in the finish, but from a couple feet away, you cannot see them.  I guess I could go back and cut more on the clear, but like I said, I was not expecting a show car finish.  For a daily driver, it should look pretty good.  I was quoted $5,000 and $8,000 by two different shops here in town, did it myself for less than a grand!  I also installed a PST super front end kit to replace all the worn out bushings and what not.  

 The past few days I have been doing little odds and ends like seam sealer on the floors/seams and spraying some ruuberized coating in the wheel wells before I deploy again in a couple weeks.  I convinced my wife to let me order the decals so we could see the end result.  Got them here, http://crzycsglgraphics.bravehost.com/index.html.  Did alot of reading on graphics, and decided that CrzyC had a superior product.  Easy to install and looks freaking awesome!  Hit him up if you need GL decals, or any other decals because I am sure that he can make them.  I know I said I would have this done by last fall, but between work, field exercises, deployment workups, and most importantly time with my wife and two boys, I had very little time to do much more on it.  Once I get back, its engine, trans, wiring, interior and brakes.  Pics of the work, enjoy! 

B-Quite interior matting


3/4 of the roof polished


Front polished, rear was covered for tail light panel black trim paint.

Polished hood, vs unpolished fender

Finished results

polished hood/fender vs unpolished door

CrzyC's decals installed




   

[JB400]

Looks great

[A6USMC]

Semper Fi  Devil Dog, I just came across your thread, your doing great work and you know I love the color,,,and thanks for your Service  

[projectanimal]

Well done!  Great project!!!! 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Looks great and Thank You for your service.

[Bob T]

Looks sharp, keep bangin at it man 

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Oorah

[sixty8charger]

Dang,  that came out nice!  Mine is going to get the shop treatment.  I am off to oki end of this year and figured I might as well pay a shop..  instead of paying for a monthly storage unit fee.  Yeah, so maybe mine will be painted with all the body work done by 2016 when I come back to NC.

[ACUDANUT]

 Great job DD. Come to KC and paint mine now...Carefull on those tail lamps. They don't look too stable on that shelf.

[sanders7981]

Dang,  that came out nice!  Mine is going to get the shop treatment.  I am off to oki end of this year and figured I might as well pay a shop..  instead of paying for a monthly storage unit fee.  Yeah, so maybe mine will be painted with all the body work done by 2016 when I come back to NC.

Ohhhhh Oki got you huh?  I have been dodging that bullet for a looooooong time.  Good call though on the shop treatment.  Where are you taking it?  I know there is a pretty. Popular Mopar restoration place in Greenville I think.

Great job DD. Come to KC and paint mine now...Carefull on those tail lamps. They don't look too stable on that shelf.

Those are the old lamps.  Just replaced them earlier today with some that are near perfect I bought on eBay last year.   I have more pics to post up when I get some time tomorrow.