Bull's 68 Charger restoration thread

[chargergirl]

Ah Harbor Freight...in a pinch! Sure you don't live in FL Bull? We took the car out to wash it and had to run it back into the garage before we could wash the engine bay...Everything is looking great!

[bull]

that'll teach ya to be a cheap skate!.....

I never seem to learn. But still, can I justify spending $50-$100 on something I'm only going to use once?

[Long Island RT]

Hey Bull - really nice build thread.

Gotta love the black! 

Keep up the good work - I can't wait to see this thing finished 

[CDN72SE]

Any updates Curtis?

[Charger_Fan]

Boy, here's another thread I missed out on. Bull, your car is looking great, keep at it!!

[charge-it]

Looking great! I've been where you've been and to follow the process through to the finish is quite a feat. Your almost there and will be banging gears in the summer of 2011!

[bull]

Well, things have definitely slowed down since the onset of winter but I do have some items to report. I've been picking up some items here and there for use in the future, and if any of you recall a slight debacle I had with trying to get some door panels from a craigslist ad in Boise, that has been resolved. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,76963.0.html Hellbent on getting a decent deal I found the same seller on Ebay and gambled on the minimum bid to get a set for $170. These are the aftermarket sets that are not exact reproductions but look the same only they are padded. However, upon inspection I found that the passenger's side front panel had a pucker so I notified the seller who promised to build me a new one and send it right out. I'm still waiting for it to arrive before I give the seller a "good guy" label but so far I'm very impressed with the product and service.

I also set the engine down on the k-frame and started the assembly process of the front suspension. Part of that was the evil task of assembling the stock sway bar and brackets with new bushings. I decided to go the difficult route on that because I had the brackets and sway bar plated instead of painted, therefore, I did not want to cut and reweld the brackets so that leaves you with having to fight them back on. The way I did it I think is a little better than the typical way in that I installed the new bushings into the brackets and then put them on the sway bar rather than try squeezing the bushing inside the bracket while on the bar. The right side was fairly easy but the left side was like fighting a grizzly bear to the death. But after screwing around with it at home for quite a while I took it someplace where I was able to put the sway bar in a giant bench vise and then use all the strength I had in me to get it over the eyelet.

Along with the sway bar and brackets I had the Z-bar, tie rod connector, tie rod adjuster tubes, strut rods and related hardware and the fuel tank straps all plated with electroless nickle. They turned out fine but when you have them sand/media blasted and then plated with that stuff they turn out looking like silver paint with zero shine.

The engine to k-frame went well until I got to looking at it afterward and noticed it was crooked but after posting a rookie question about it I was assured that's the way it's supposed to be. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,77696.0.html

Anyway, here's a few pics:

[charge69]

Just in here quickly to say it is looking so very nice and you must be proud  of the progress. The pics look really, really nice and a great job.

Carl

[jaak]

Looks great ,Bull 

Jason

[bull]

Thanks. Another thing I don't believe I mentioned yet is that I put my new gauge cluster lense on. My original lense was shot so I pitched it, and the bezels were rusty and I was reluctant to deal with them http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,76813.0.html After fussing about that for a while I realized I had bought a used lense on Ebay a while back that fortunately had a pair of nice bezels attached to it so I used those and installed the new lense. Unfortunately now there's some crap stuck to the front of the lense from when I wrapped it to store, and it won't come off with glass cleaner, so now I'll probably end up having to polish the new lense already.

EDIT** Didn't have to do anything special. The stuff came off with a little extra elbow grease.

[Dans 68]

No tic toc tach?    Are you doing an "as built" by the factory?  Mine originally also came without but I have one in there.    And you still have the original Inland?

And I see that the odometer is zero'd...did you inform the DMV?   

It is looking really good, Curtis.    I'm  

Dan

[A383Wing]

just wondering if this car is gonna get done and running before I die??

[bull]

You already said that on page 2. I think it's time you exercise the gray matter and come up with a new line.

Wondering if I will ever see this car done before I die....    

A lot of that depends on when you die.

[RallyeMike]

Damn. This car is going to be so nice you will have to put it in your living room with velvet ropes around it.

[A383Wing]

You already said that on page 2. I think it's time you exercise the gray matter and come up with a new line.

Wondering if I will ever see this car done before I die....    

A lot of that depends on when you die.

could be this year the way things are going

so get off yer ass and get busy

[PocketThunder]

Um, your garage floor is way too clean!         

[bull]

Um, your garage floor is way too clean!      

Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment of my photography skills. It's all in how you frame the photos.

[bull]

And I see that the odometer is zero'd...did you inform the DMV?   
Dan

It's actually got 3/10ths on it which is probably about the distance I've driven it since I bought it.

[elacruze]

Sure is nice detail work. Makes mine look like teenagers did it.

[grdprx]

Sure is nice detail work. Makes mine look like teenagers did it.

Meticulous work!   

[472 R/T SE]

that'll teach ya to be a cheap skate!.....

Hey, that little purple gun has a decent reputation.  I've had mine for at least a decade & for what little I use it has paid itself off long ago.




Your attention to detail is outstanding.  I imagine you could have had it on the road already if you just threw it back together.  I think that's what I thought you were gonna do.  I'm pleasantly surprised & impressed.   

I have a set of real nice auto skates, 2 of them available.  Yesterday I went up to HF & got a couple mover's dollies.  They're available, 2 long term & 2 short term if you might need them when it comes time to stab mate the body up.

How you planning on assembly?

[Troy]

Looking good! It's nice to see individual parts coming together.

Troy

[71ChallengeHer]

Bull, Looking great.   

[troutstreamnm]

That is awesome work.  That will be an award winning car for sure.  Wish I had that type of patience and attention to detail that you have.  Congrats 

[bull]

Your attention to detail is outstanding.  I imagine you could have had it on the road already if you just threw it back together.  I think that's what I thought you were gonna do.  I'm pleasantly surprised & impressed.  

I have a set of real nice auto skates, 2 of them available.  Yesterday I went up to HF & got a couple mover's dollies.  They're available, 2 long term & 2 short term if you might need them when it comes time to stab mate the body up.

How you planning on assembly?

Thanks. I'm going to try to get by the the two I have but time will tell. I plan on doing the install from below. There are several guys here who have done it that way, including you I believe, so I'm going to try it with these two HF furniture dollies. You can see the one under the k-frame in the pics. Once the frame was sat down on it I had about 3/16" of space between the cross boards and the pan. Kinda close but so far so good. Once I get the tranny installed I'll put the other one under it and then see if I can move it. At that point I can raise the car up and slide the whole mess underneath.