New Member Intro

[daveco]

Hello,
Actually a bit late on the intro as I have already posted a few times, but like they say, better late than never. I'll probably be posting frequently in the coming months since I will be helping an old friend with some major structural repairs on a '69 Charger he is restoring.

Personally, I've been Charger-less for about 15 years now . I've owned two Chargers, both '69s. The first (my high school ride), was a B5/black top/blue int. 318 car. My second, (bachelor days) was a B3/white/white R/T. Both long gone, and I've lost track of them.
I've had other Mopars for brief periods, a 68 Barracuda, a 68 Coronet, a 71 Demon, and I was half owner of a 70 Challenger R/T (Plumb Crazy R/T SE) that a friend and I bought, fixed, and resold just a few years before the prices really went nuts. I'm a "Mopar Guy" and all of my daily drivers and pickups have been Chrysler Corp. products.

I'll be trading my efforts on the repair job for a '69 Charger R/T "project" car. It's fairly rough, I guess it could be considered very rough... OK, it's basket case. All that matters is I'll have a Charger again (it is a genuine XS 440 car ). I'll be posting a LOT when I start work on that car, as it needs pretty much everything.

I really enjoy just observing here and following the other members projects. There are some amazingly talented folks on this board.

Looking forward to participating more,
Dave.

[skip68]

Welcome to the site Dave.  We love pictures.   Chuck.....

[tan top]

   hello & welcome Dave  

yep as Chucky said !! need to see pictures & stuff 

[daveco]

Welcome to the site Dave.  We love pictures.   Chuck.....

Thanks Chuck (good looking GL there)
Thanks TT,

I'll not be stingy with the project photos, and here's one from the way back machine...


My R/T, dang I miss that car.

[tan top]

Welcome to the site Dave.  We love pictures.   Chuck.....

Thanks Chuck (good looking GL there)
Thanks TT,

I'll not be stingy with the project photos, and here's one from the way back machine...


My R/T, dang I miss that car.

good picture  
nice looking R/T   love the slots  

have you checked with Chris in  the 69  registry  

[daveco]

Welcome to the site Dave.  We love pictures.   Chuck.....

Thanks Chuck (good looking GL there)
Thanks TT,

I'll not be stingy with the project photos, and here's one from the way back machine...


My R/T, dang I miss that car.

good picture  
nice looking R/T   love the slots  

have you checked with Chris in  the 69  registry  

Yes, I've sent Chris (super nice guy b.t.w.) what I know/remember (and this picture) about the car.  I was in the middle of a resto-destruction of the car when I sold/gave it away (sad story, don't wanna go there).  As far as I know, it's in Oregon somewhere.

[doctor4766]

Hi Dave.
Nice lookin' Charger you had back then.
Good luck with your new project, I'm sure it'll be even better than your old one!

Paul

[daveco]

Thanks Doc

[Tilar]

Welcome Dave, Nice looking car. Almost as cool as a 68.     

[daveco]

Thanks Dave, fine lookin' 3g there..

[elacruze]

Hi Dave!

Every time I see one with Slots I keep thinking I may have to put my own back on...I guess as long as I have them I can try them out right? I really like the white top over that blue!

[400/6/PAC]

Welcome Dave.
Good luck with the project.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Welcome to the site Dave!   Hopefully one of the cars turn up someday.

PS--thanks for the kind words! 

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Welcome to the forum Dave!  I have been hoping that you would start posting more.  I have known Dave since the mid 1980s when his B3 Charger R/T was an absolute screamer in stock form.  I remember the first time I saw it run at an event at Carswell AFB, I had to park my `Cuda 440-6 and keep quiet...

Dave will be helping me save my 1969 Daytona which was wrecked by a previous owner in 1979.  The car apparently hit a telephone pole (so I was told), bending the front sub-frames and driving the 440 into the firewall.  Most people's first reaction is to say the damage is not too bad, but I want the repair to be virtually undetectable... and the damage is worse than it first appears.  Enough about the Daytona, there will be plenty seen of it after the repairs start.

As Dave said, he will be receiving a 1969 Charger R/T project car for his talented efforts to resurrect the Daytona's unibody.  First I will let Dave introduce his new project with some pictures that I took and will have to explain after they are posted...

So post away Dave!       

Allen

[daveco]

Thanks elacruz, 400/6/pac, & Chris. You folks know how to make a guy feel welcome
Hi Allen, looking forward to getting your Daytona back in shape (and lightening your Charger burden by one car ). I may actually be the only person who has worked on the car for you (back when I temporarily welded in the K-member) so I guess this job has already taken 20 years .

[skip68]

Well Dave, you seem like a great guy.    You're new here so just so you know, I can post good things about you for $19.99 a week.   There are other members that will do it cheaper but my post are better.  Hahaha you belong to us now... Hahaha

[daveco]

...good things for $19.99 hmmm

Here is the bait Allen is using to bring me back on task:

Yes, that is a tree

[daveco]

... when his B3 Charger R/T was an absolute screamer in stock form....Allen

Good times,...and good elapsed times

13.4 @ 109 and I was driving it to work every day. It really was a beast from 60-120mph

[tan top]

...good things for $19.99 hmmm

Here is the bait Allen is using to bring me back on task:

Yes, that is a tree

 

... when his B3 Charger R/T was an absolute screamer in stock form....Allen

Good times,...and good elapsed times

13.4 @ 109 and I was driving it to work every day. It really was a beast from 60-120mph

great stuff , 109mph could of had a few  10ths left in it still  

[daveco]

Here's one of myself (many moons ago), my car, and The Man, Dandy Dick Landy!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

I may actually be the only person who has worked on the car for you (back when I temporarily welded in the K-member) so I guess this job has already taken 20 years .

With my track record on restoration time, that is almost still on schedule... 

I will dig out some pics of you welding on the Daytona and maybe a pic or two of your old B3 R/T...

I can't believe how quickly that "tree" grew... nothing else grow well around here!  Maybe it is the rabbit colony that lives under the Charger... keeping the soil well fertilized.  Attached are a few pre-tree pics of the R/T...

[daveco]

Wasn't the R/T on the brink of becoming a dirt track car when you rescued it?

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Wasn't the R/T on the brink of becoming a dirt track car when you rescued it?

The previous owner (pictured below) rescued the car from a dirt track racer who was already stripping it to get the car ready...   

[Magnumcharger]

Here's one of myself (many moons ago), my car, and The Man, Dandy Dick Landy!

Was that at the 1988 Cowtown Mopar Round-Up show?

[daveco]

Was that at the 1988 Cowtown Mopar Round-Up show?

Sure was, were you there?

[TylerCharger69]

...good things for $19.99 hmmm

Here is the bait Allen is using to bring me back on task:

Yes, that is a tree

Say!!!  Would that blue driver Charger fender be for sale by chance??   or is that a rear quarter?

[daveco]

It's rear quarter.

[drifter69]

Welcome! I love seeing these cars have a second chance at life. God luck with the resto's. So are you doing both cars at the same time or is your car the first to see the doc.

[doctor4766]

I may actually be the only person who has worked on the car for you (back when I temporarily welded in the K-member) so I guess this job has already taken 20 years .

With my track record on restoration time, that is almost still on schedule... 

I will dig out some pics of you welding on the Daytona and maybe a pic or two of your old B3 R/T...

I can't believe how quickly that "tree" grew... nothing else grow well around here!  Maybe it is the rabbit colony that lives under the Charger... keeping the soil well fertilized.  Attached are a few pre-tree pics of the R/T...

Judging by pic number 2 ya'll got some big seagulls round your way

[daveco]

Welcome! I love seeing these cars have a second chance at life. God luck with the resto's. So are you doing both cars at the same time or is your car the first to see the doc.

I'll get Allens Daytona done first, the yellow car will be a long term project.

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Here is Dave making temporary repairs on the wrecked Daytona about 20+ years ago...

[daveco]

That boy needs a haircut...

[xs29j8Bullitt]

Welcome! I love seeing these cars have a second chance at life. God luck with the resto's. So are you doing both cars at the same time or is your car the first to see the doc.

I'll get Allens Daytona done first, the yellow car will be a long term project.

Dave is going to do the unibody repair on the Daytona, basically replacing the front sub-frames and firewall.  Dave will later explain the planned approach to complete a virtually undetectable repair with all dimensions within factory tolerances... actually he plans to do even better, his standards are better than mine in this case!  

[xs29j8Bullitt]

BTW Dave, did Dale mention that I have two Werther brand used car lifts that I will throw in for FREE if you want them... they used to reside at Peterson's.  The attached pic shows my `Cuda on one at Peterson's...

[daveco]

The repair really should be undetectable since I will de-construct the damaged areas and reassemble with undamaged parts exactly as the factory did.
This will entail building a proper body alignment fixture and modifying a spot welder to allow placing the welds in the factory locations. easy-peasy

[daveco]

BTW Dave, did Dale mention that I have two Werther brand used car lifts that I will throw in for FREE if you want them... they used to reside at Peterson's.  The attached pic shows my `Cuda on one at Peterson's...

Consider the lifts properly disposed of

(It'll be kinda cool having lifts from Petersons )

I guess you could say you are making it Werther my while

[xs29j8Bullitt]

BTW Dave, did Dale mention that I have two Werther brand used car lifts that I will throw in for FREE if you want them... they used to reside at Peterson's.  The attached pic shows my `Cuda on one at Peterson's...

Consider the lifts properly disposed of

(It'll be kinda cool having lifts from Petersons )

I guess you could say you are making it werther my while

The only downsides are 3-Phase electric requirement and the lifts are electrically sync'd side t side by limit switches.  I will be soooo glad to get them out of the way... they take up a lot of floor space when broken down for transport.  Ready for immediate pick-up!   

[moparstuart]

awesome great story the barter system is alive and well   

[1969chargerrtse]

   Great story and pic's looking forward to more.

[Magnumcharger]

No, Allen was. I just put two and two together!!

[xs29j8Bullitt]

No, Allen was. I just put two and two together!!

Robin saw similar pictures that I posted on Facebook... with a note saying where and when they were taken.

[Magnumcharger]

Guilty as charged!!!!

[daveco]

Ah, no secrets on the internet eh

That was a good car show, perfect weather and a pretty good turn out. Mr. Landy was a really nice guy, personable and friendly.

[Magnumcharger]

Ah, no secrets on the internet eh

That was a good car show, perfect weather and a pretty good turn out. Mr. Landy was a really nice guy, personable and friendly.

Nope! And I wouldn't have posted that unless I expected the results I got!
I'm deeply envious of you (and Allen too) for meeting Dick Landy.
He is possibly one of two racers I would have loved to have had a chat with. Alas, that opportunity is gone. :-(

I'd considered painting my beloved 1968 Charger R/T in his colors, as a tribute. That still might happen.