Advice on where to start

[Darkman]

All I can say is that most of us Mopar freaks "Down Under" have 2 choices:

1: Buy a completed car from the US (average price $30K US), import it, and then work on it as necessary. This will end up costing a fortune

2: Buy a project car for next to nothing, rebuild it and put in personalised touches to make it your own and then make all the other Mopar guys that drive Aussie built Chryslers cry like little school girls because they spent $45K on a 318 valiant charger that looks nowhere near as good as the Dodge!

We don't have the luxury of just buying or rebuilding Dodge Chargers as you guys over there do so we take what we can get. IMO the Aussie Muscle car market is somewhat boring and is flooded with Mustangs (which are nice but too common). It is either Ford vs Holden (GM) here, and Chryslers get overlooked.

I am a very hands on person, who would be very dissapointed in buying a classic and not have anything to do on it. If I want a car to just buy and drive, I would buy a new car from the showroom and not a classic! How many "resto's" are out there that are bad and well disguised by a decent paint job? Unless it is a new car, or you have done it yourself, you can never be 100% certain of what you have.

Give it a go Bucko81! Good luck and keep posting up progress shots as we are all interested.

[SFRT]

when i bought my car it was basically a hole. everyone thought id lost my mind. the guys I share my shop building with where all 'you'll never get it done in your lifetime'. 1 year later I was burning rubber out front. I went the route of doing as much as I could myself, cause some of the prices i was qouted where insane. I learned to weld....etc. when i did farm out stuff i couldnt do I called in favors and got it done for very fair prices then triple checked it all again myself. I put in maybe 800-1000 hours myself in that year doing all the grunt work. end result, while not a concourse vehicle is a really good looking rock solid car that is pretty damn fast for a street car thats 40 years out of date.

I know every single fastener and inch on that damn car.

would i do it again?

in a heartbeat. that car is mine. truly mine, flaws and all.

so I say spend the money on the bestr parts you can and try to do as muchg as you can yourself. if you mess it up, do it over. theres nothing cant be fixed on one of these cars.

[Texaco]

^^^^^ What he said.

Think about it this way everyone learned at some point. You live once and die once. This site is obviously full or experience that is priceless and will help you along the way. Given I am new to this site but looking around its apparent there are very experienced guys and gals on here who can help with almost anything. I also agree this project isnt easy and watching alot of people realize what they have gotten into by buying something they didnt know what was involved. (Hoping to capitalize on one of those mistakes soon) I think most of the guys sees someone new and think omg if he only knew. The point im trying to make is dont be scared of what others tell you. Expect ups and downs but I promise you this will be the most rewarding thing for you and your daughter. I bet my ass she never sells the car as long as she is alive if it was both you and her who worked on it. That in itself is to me is worth every damn penny I will ever earn.

Its not just a car... Its what you get to experience with the car.

[SmashingPunkFan]

Im right there with buck, Its gonna be a challenge, but itll be worth every cent!

[68RRFlyer]

I rode down and checked out bucko81's Charger today.  He bought a few parts from me and yeah, it's a project.  But I drove a similar one into my garage that the wife, neighbors, passers by, and I even think the resident stray cat that wanders around here now and then,  looked at and laughed.  But I paid no mind and dove right in.  Rewarding?  Yes.  Time consuming?  No doubt.  Worst financial decision I ever did?  Tell me something I don't already know!  But when I finally laid down the last weld it was such a rewarding feeling to stand back and say, yup; I did that myself and stuff lined up!  This site and moparts was an invaluable source of info for me.  And when the 68 R/T I'm doing now gets done this summer, I think I'll be starting to lay some welds on bucko81's 69.     Should be a fun one and if I can help get another Charger on the road and shut up some laughing neighbors, then sign me up!!!!    See you soon 

Cheers   

[Patronus]

'I know every single fastener and inch on that damn car.'
amen brother

[ktneifert09]

I can see this either way.  I think what you have to do is decide what gives you the most personal satisfaction.  I get my thrills from all the new stuff I learn while I'm going through my car and it looks about the same as yours.  Last night when I was welding some extensions onto the inner wheelhousings that I made with my own two hands and the trunk floor fit right up to them, I couldn't beat that feeling for any amount of money.   I even made my WIFE check them out and you can imagine how thrilled she was...But that's just me.  So you decide what's YOU and then do THAT. 

[AKcharger]

My pal just sold a VERY nice '68 440 4 speed charger complete and done for $17K, you keep your eye open and there are deals, I promise

In any event keep us posted


In case your wondering he needed $$ to buy a hemi car