XP29H9C273905 - 69 Body on a 08 Frame - General Lee Converstion

[SRT-68]

My usual problem with these conversions is the flat faced wheel.....Yours pulls it off because the design of the spokes gives the illusion that they arent like that even though they are still in that range of offset. 

I may have to get new fronts with a little more offset down the road, but I do like the "dish" look of these.

[Ponch ®]

My usual problem with these conversions is the flat faced wheel.....Yours pulls it off because the design of the spokes gives the illusion that they arent like that even though they are still in that range of offset. 

That's what drew my attention to it the first time I saw it (at the LX Spring Festival last year). It's the first of these conversions where the wheels / wheelbase looked right. One thing about that particular wheel design is that they clear the big Brembo brakes on SRTs. I heart those wheels...I have the same ones (but 22") on my '08.

[bull]

Ya know what, i have a 69 SE parts car       How do i get this thing to Arizona.. 

hey thats my car , stop it PT

Not the speaker tray. That piece is in my garage.

[bull]

Here is the finished graft. I drove the car to sema and back with no problem. Got 22mpg at 80 mph with the A/C on.

That's funny. Back in 1986 I took a 4.5 hour trip in my '70 383 Charger and got 22 mpg at 80-90 mph. I had the four-sixty A/C though.

[bull]

It's the best looking LX Charger in existence, bar none.

Not gonna argue that one...

Really? Wow. We agree on something regarding the looks of an LX Charger. Somebody make note of this moment please.

[SRT-68]

Here is the finished graft. I drove the car to sema and back with no problem. Got 22mpg at 80 mph with the A/C on.

That's funny. Back in 1986 I took a 4.5 hour trip in my '70 383 Charger and got 22 mpg at 80-90 mph. I had the four-sixty A/C though.

Not that funny when you consider it's a 4001 pound, 525hp car with the a/c going. 5.7L swaps in the 390hp range are getting over 26mpg. The old technology falls way short when it comes to power with MPG.

[Dukes69]

Car look excellent John!   

[clanton]

Im still waiting for someone to build an entire Charger with only Repopped parts.....

[Vainglory, Esq.]

That car is beautiful! The naysayers who think you "butchered" a 2nd gen Charger to make this project happen should at least take an LX for a test drive. The new Charger is MUCH better handling and the SRT8 could quite easily blow the doors off of any stock Charger ever made. Now, thanks to enthusiasts like SRT 68 and moparmagic, they have found a way to graft the much better looking 2nd gen body onto the LX. You definitely get the best of both worlds here. I would love to know what it would cost to have my SRT8 converted, because I could finally have my dream car that I could actually drive everyday.

This also begs a question: If a few guys could get together and build a car like this in a garage, why the hell can't Chrysler?

Plum floored creatiuons out of AZ will be making turn key cars for $55k also here is a link to the moparmagic car http://www.djscustommopars.ca/1968Charger.html

Wait, time out.  Is this $55k total, or $55k, plus you provide your "cores," i.e. an old Charger body and a new Charger drivertrain/frame/etc. ?

[dkn1997]

That car is beautiful! The naysayers who think you "butchered" a 2nd gen Charger to make this project happen should at least take an LX for a test drive. The new Charger is MUCH better handling and the SRT8 could quite easily blow the doors off of any stock Charger ever made. Now, thanks to enthusiasts like SRT 68 and moparmagic, they have found a way to graft the much better looking 2nd gen body onto the LX. You definitely get the best of both worlds here. I would love to know what it would cost to have my SRT8 converted, because I could finally have my dream car that I could actually drive everyday.

This also begs a question: If a few guys could get together and build a car like this in a garage, why the hell can't Chrysler?

Plum floored creatiuons out of AZ will be making turn key cars for $55k also here is a link to the moparmagic car http://www.djscustommopars.ca/1968Charger.html

Wait, time out.  Is this $55k total, or $55k, plus you provide your "cores," i.e. an old Charger body and a new Charger drivertrain/frame/etc. ?

Even if that price is on top of providing both core vehicles, that's still a deal.  you couldn't get a shitbag 2nd gen project restored to stock for less than that anyway. 

[Ghoste]

I'm not sure I agree with that.  Remember one of those cores has to supply the body.  You either buy a shitbag 2nd gen and bring it up to par for the project or you pay for one that is already in great shape.  Either way you have to have a good body plus a not so inexpensive drivetrain and 50k to mate them.  I don't see where you would save any money over a normal restoration.
Unless you just want to put the crapped out rusty body on the new car backbone.

[dkn1997]

I'm not sure I agree with that.  Remember one of those cores has to supply the body.  You either buy a shitbag 2nd gen and bring it up to par for the project or you pay for one that is already in great shape.  Either way you have to have a good body plus a not so inexpensive drivetrain and 50k to mate them.  I don't see where you would save any money over a normal restoration.
Unless you just want to put the crapped out rusty body on the new car backbone.

The new donor car wouldn't be that expensive.  5 grand?  bear in mind you are talking about something that's likely a salvage totalled out car.  I'd say the best bet would be to bargain shop for a complete car that needs floors, framerails, quarters but is solid everywhere else. That describes a lot of charger projects you see for sale.  I don't think it would be that unreasonable to expect to pay 10k for car that needs this type of work.  so for 65-70K you could have a car like this?  If you started with a 15K charger and paid a shop to do all the work, body (10K would be cheap for minor rust repair and paint) and add up the bucks to fuel inject and rebuild your motor (10-15K), alterkation  /coilover rear suspension (6K installed?)  subframe connectors, new interior (replating everything, cluster restore, seat covers, door panels, headliner, carpet) bla bla bla... kind of getting to modern standards..... I don't think it could be done for much less, and you still have an old car.  If you push your junk into a shop for all this, you'd be at 50K in a heartbeat...again still have an old car.   I'll give you that you could  buy a complete "old" car with all those mods for less, but how much? 

This all assuming you are farming out all the work, which you  have to in order to compare conversion vs. restore  because how many of us can do the conversion work?

and if the 55K includes everything, then it's definitely a win win.  a new car with a classic old body on it. 

[ac_knight]

I think this car look just Bad A$$.  I have talked to John and I am in the process of trying to find some donor cars to do one of these.  I dont have 55K to drop all at once, but could probably do one of these over a year or so.  I think it is the best thing for someone who wants to daily drive an older style Charger.  I am now just waiting for John to send out the cd he was talking about with this thing.  I have talked to a body guy, and he is excitied to try this.  I love the color on the car, and I think this was a great project.  Like I said, I am definetly looking at doing this. 

By the way if anyone gets a chance to talk to John, he is a good guy.  I spoke with him for about 30 minutes or so on the phone about this conversion.  He took time out to answer my questions, all while trying to get the car ready for SEMA.  Thanks John for talking with me, and I hope to someday have a car like this in my driveway.

[Ghoste]

I still disagree.  In either case if you start with a rusty 68-70 car, you have to fix the rusted parts and repaint.  It doesn't matter whether you turn around and mount them to another chassis or fix them on the chassis Dodge shipped it wiht, the rust has to come out of your project.  The drivetrain parts whether rebuilding originals or using latest generation stuff will require a similar investment.  If you buy a salvaged out car, you must assume that you are able to find one that has only suffered exterior sheet metal damage or you will be looking at repairs to suspension and chassis as well before putting your 68 body on it.
Whether you pay a shop 50k to restore your old one, and yes I agree you can get into a 50k restoration bill in a heartbeat, or pay someone 50k to marry your rusted 68 to your accident victim 09, I cannot see anywhere that the marriage will end up being the least expensive way.  If the 50k is just for bringing the two bodystyles together, I think you are ignoring far too many hidden costs to assume it would be a significantly greater price to restore the 68.

[ac_knight]

I have to say, I dont think this is a cheaper way of restoring a car.  I think it is a different way of doing it.  I have a Charger right now, that I will not use for the convesrion.  It is a 69 with a 383, body work done, just straightening out the small stuff, but I am still looking at doing this.  I dont think anyone looking to restore a car should ever consider this, but if you are looking to have an awsome car then you should.  This wont be for everyone, but thats ok, nothing is.  I think this is one of the best jobs done, and it gives people that want the style of a classic muscle car, with modern day performance.  Like I said before I cant wait to get started on my own project, once my wife gives me the ok that is.

[dkn1997]

We strayed a bit, but my original argument was you couldn't pay someone to restore a clapped out project for less than 50-55K. my imaginary starting poijnt was If I had a project car and pulled up in front of two shops, restoration joe's or conversion joe's.


I agree that there are costs I may not be considering, but there are plenty you aren't either.  I disagree that the body work would cost as much since so much of it goes in the trash and doesn't have to be fixed.  this is where careful choosing of a project would come in.  If you were doing this, you might pass on that gem with the vinly roof rustout and  solid frame in favor of the one that sat in the muck and rusted from the bottom up
The drivetrain parts whether rebuilding originals or using latest generation stuff will require a similar investment.  If you buy a salvaged out car, you must assume that you are able to find one that has only suffered exterior sheet metal damage or you will be looking at repairs to suspension and chassis as well before putting your 68 body on it.
gotta disagree there....if you were patient, you could find a wreck that didn't need a ton of work.  The magnum used in this thread didn't look like it needed much of any type of repair.

I'll back off that overall it's less money to convert... but when you take into account everything that goes into a stock type refurbish, I think the dollars are closer than you think...assuming that 50-55k number is accurate... although i don't know where  that 50-55K number came from.  I thought I read somewhere that a place was doing them for over 100k. 

food for foder anyways. it's a good discussion and a sweet job on the conversion. 

[Ghoste]

I guess I still disagree but it's pretty much a pointless debate anyway (outside of pure conjecture for the sake of discussion of course) since the only way to determine it would be to have two 68's with exactly the same rust on them and then have one converted and the other fixed and both would have to be done by the same shop.

[Mike DC]

                          
I'll bet the cost totals aren't too far apart.  


You really don't need a great Charger shell for this deal.  Write a big check to AMD and you can reskin just about anything these days.  And with a 2006 conversion we're only talking about the sides & top of it.   No subframe rails, floorpans, wheelwells, etc.  

I'm not saying rust isn't a problem, but I'm saying there's a built-in limit to how much trouble that step can turn out to be.  IMHO you might get yourself in deeper with expenses trying to use a shell that didn't come with enough of the trim & smaller stuff.  

 

[dkn1997]

I guess I still disagree but it's pretty much a pointless debate anyway (outside of pure conjecture for the sake of discussion of course) since the only way to determine it would be to have two 68's with exactly the same rust on them and then have one converted and the other fixed and both would have to be done by the same shop.

you don't want to keep going?  now I'm really pissed!    

[SRT-68]

The difference between a restore and a conversion is the level of technology. If you restore a charger you get a "new" '60s technology car. What looks to have been missed in this thread is what it would cost to update a '60s car. Either way you have to fix rust, do body work and so on to your charger and those costs are the same. The difference comes in to play if you want a pro-touring or restified type of car. The cost for updated suspension, big brakes, rack and pinion, AC and then engine and trans mods are quite high. Not to mention the fact that if you tear a wheel off of a car equipped with aftermarket suspension you find yourself waiting for new parts from a single source. If you tear the wheel off of a conversion car you can go to the dealer or hit the forums for used parts.
The $55k number comes from Plum floored based on what I have taught them and what they have learned from two other conversions they have done. They are working with AMD to help keep costs down.

Now for the guys who are willing to do the work themselves there are huge advantages. The bulk of the conversion is filling in the places where the two cars don't just fit. Once the cars are welded together the assembly process is quite simple. The end result is a 390-500 horse car that drives like a dream, can be serviced and repaired at any dealer and uses off of the shelf parts.

[Ghoste]

I guess I still disagree but it's pretty much a pointless debate anyway (outside of pure conjecture for the sake of discussion of course) since the only way to determine it would be to have two 68's with exactly the same rust on them and then have one converted and the other fixed and both would have to be done by the same shop.

you don't want to keep going?  now I'm really pissed!    

Nah, the off topic forum is the fight zone and I try really hard to avoid that mess as much as I can.  This is supposed to be the peace and love area where we all just get along. 

[SRT-68]

I still disagree.  In either case if you start with a rusty 68-70 car, you have to fix the rusted parts and repaint.  It doesn't matter whether you turn around and mount them to another chassis or fix them on the chassis Dodge shipped it wiht, the rust has to come out of your project.  The drivetrain parts whether rebuilding originals or using latest generation stuff will require a similar investment.  If you buy a salvaged out car, you must assume that you are able to find one that has only suffered exterior sheet metal damage or you will be looking at repairs to suspension and chassis as well before putting your 68 body on it.
Whether you pay a shop 50k to restore your old one, and yes I agree you can get into a 50k restoration bill in a heartbeat, or pay someone 50k to marry your rusted 68 to your accident victim 09, I cannot see anywhere that the marriage will end up being the least expensive way.  If the 50k is just for bringing the two bodystyles together, I think you are ignoring far too many hidden costs to assume it would be a significantly greater price to restore the 68.

This man brings up a good point. If you have a POS 68 and a destroyed 2006 then you will be out some major money. That said, there are many really nice 318 chargers that can be had for less than 12K. I have seen perfect 2006 RT chargers sell for about the same. Now you sell off all of the parts not needed from both donor cars and you get a few K back. Now if you take the shells to your local body/fab shop and plunk down another 12k you now wind up with a very nice charger for less than 36K.  With some shopping around and doing the fab work yourself you can have a trouble free daily driver for about 20k.

[bull]

If you tear the wheel off of a conversion car you can go to the dealer or hit the forums for used parts.

The end result is a 390-500 horse car that drives like a dream, can be serviced and repaired at any dealer and uses off of the shelf parts.

That would be fun, actually. I'd take that thing to a different dealer each month for service just to see their reaction when I say, "I need you to check the computer for fault codes, reset the ABS light and clean the fuel injectors on my 68 Charger." Huh?

[dads_69]

My reply to this topic, worth 2 cents, maybe.. Dodge *originally* NEVER built a 4 door charger, so why start now? Can you imagine a 2005 plus newer 4 door Mustang/ Corvette? Not.
I almost fell into the new dodge 4 door hemi, but thank goodness I lost out on the deal let alone sobered up.
Do I even own a charger/mopar now, no, but my point is, this ride that has been built on a new chassis is a waste of time and a joke, ugly car......
end of rant as some would say.......

[tan top]

I think the car looks awesome! Great work on everything.    The wheels work with the paint and the look of the car. any interior pics?

Here are a few more.

   !! damn dude , thats some clever stuff there  awesome job