New User - 69 Charger

[XP29H9]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site and just want to introduce myself and my Charger.  I'm JT and I've got a 1969 Charger that I've inherited from my Father.  It's not in perfect shape, but for one that's been sitting for 20+ years, it seems alright to me!  The car was originally bought by my Great Uncle's Father on January 29th, 1969.  Bought from him by his son, my great uncle in 1972 and then bought by my Father in 1995.  It wasn't running when it was brought to the house and has been sitting at the end of the driveway since then.  The tags have 1988 stickers on them, so I figure it was last running in late 87/early 88. 

The Charger is an original black car that had a gunmetal vinyl top.  383 magnum 4bbl and a 727auto tranny.  Air conditioning, center console and bucket seats.

It's definitely got some rust and needs some work, but I'm going at it one step at a time to see how far I can get with it.  I've recently within the past week or so sanded all the rust spots down and sprayed it with primer.  Cleaned up the interior a little bit and put it up on jack stands.  Some used tires that hold air are the next items on my list.  I'd just like to get it up off the rims.  I remember when I was a kid that the tires had air in them sitting in our driveway, so I know it hasn't been but maybe 10 years that it has been sitting on flats.

Here are a couple pictures so you can see what state it's in.  I'm trying to take a picture every time after I do something to the car so I'll have somewhat of a record of my shadetree restoration ha. 

I've been to a lot of different site's looking for info on Chargers and what I've found is that this is the place to be.  I'm just wanting to talk to, share stories, and share my Chargers story with some guys that really appreciate what the 69 Charger is.  From what I've been reading, this is the place to do that.

  -XP29H9

[XP29H9]

before - as it sat when i started.  just cleared out the stuff around it.

[XP29H9]

before - as it sat

[XP29H9]

after some rust sanding

[XP29H9]

primer over the rusted spots and up on jack stands

[greenpigs]

Welcome

Like you said take it one step at a time.

Primer will not do anything to prevent rust, you need to seal the bare metal even a crappy spray paint is better than nothing.

[XP29H9]

Primer over the rust spots.  I did the entire roof.  not a professional primer job, but hopefully it will have stopped some of that rust!

[1969chargerrtse]

Wow. Great story and pictures. Please keep us updated.

[bull]

Welcome. And good move posting pics right out of the gate.

[tan top]

hello & welcome JT 
good project by the looks of it ! whats the plan stock type resto ? or ??

[resq302]

welcome to the best charger site out there!  Im sure you will get a lot of helpful info on this car.  Black with factory gray top huh?  Nice combo.

[six-tee-nine]

Hello and welcome.
looking at the pictures, that car needs a ton of work (and AMD sheetmetal) but how cool would it be to keep and restore a car that was family property for over 40 years....

[doctor4766]

G'day mate.
It can be a little daunting at first when you get your hands on a car that needs a lot of work.
Persevere though and you will be blessed with a car that many less fortunate than us would kill for.
All the best with your project.

[68blue]

Started a project like that two years ago, a 68 with a lot of family history. Keep at it and good luck, I'm just getting to the paint.

[Charger-Bodie]

Awesome History. Welcome to the site! 

[400/6/PAC]

Welcome
Nice project car.

[bill440rt]

Wow. Great story and pictures. Please keep us updated.

Took the words right out of my mouth. 

WELCOME to the forum!!! Looks like you have a great project car to start with. You've found a terrific resource here for help & info.
Can't say I've ever heard of a factory gray top before on a '69?? Is that legit?? 

[resq302]

Bill,

I seem to recall a white 69 r/t that had a black tail stripe and a gray vinyl top.  I think gray was one of the rarer colors as I have only seen 2 or 3 of them over the years.  Two were white paint and I think one was black.

EDIT - well, I just double checked my 1969 Dodge Dealers Data book and it does not list gray in there.  Not to say that it was not a late addition or anything as we all know when it comes to Mopar, you can never say never!

[41husk]

Welcome to the site, lots of knoledge and good people here.  I would suggest you get it inside or at least covered up.

[twodko]

Welcome to the site! You've got some big pluses with your car from what I can see ie:

Both bumpers appear to be in great shape including bumpettes.

The tail light lens and bezels appear to be in good condition.

The grille on that car looks to be very good with no big issues, the trim looks good too
and I can't see any damage.

Good on you!

[XP29H9]

Hello to everyone and thank you for the welcoming!  I really appreciate it!  It's nice to become part of a community of some knowledgeable Mopar fans!  Thank you for the comments on my Charger.  I will always take and appreciate any and all input towards the bettering of or preservation of this car!  

greenpigs - I've taken your advice and went to Autozone today and bout some black spray paint to hit what I've already primered on the car.  Makes sense now that I think about it.. that primer not sealing anything in, but just giving a better surface to the paint to stick to.  Thank you for your input!!

tan top - My plans for this restoration is to get it as close to stock and I can.  I want to ride around in that car and it be just like it was back in 1974 when my Dad was riding shotgun with my Uncle driving down the back streets of East Nashville!

six-tee-nine - I agree. I believe the car needs quite a bit of work too.  A new quarter, lower quarter, door patches, patches around where the Roof and Trunk meet, and possible a door shell.. along with a floor pan or two!  Not to mention all of the other unseen problems.  Just like greenpigs confirmed though... one step at a time lol.  It'll be well worth my effort to me just to hear the engine start up!

bill440rt   -  Thank you sir! It's great to be here.  I went outside and took a double look at the Fender Tag on my Charger and low and behold, V1X.  I thought it sounded weird it being a gray top car also because every story I've ever heard about this Charger is that it had a BLACK top.  That it was a "triple black" car.  So, leave it to me to write something down wrong and stir a gray top craze haha.  But, yes, I was wrong.  It is an original BLACK top car.


Thank you to everyone else who took the time to post on this topic!  It's great to feel welcome and to be amongst other Charger fans! Or should I say connoisseurs?

I will post up more pictures and some more information about the car later this afternoon.

[tan top]

oh right  close to stock as you can !!    sounds a good plan  
 
looking forward to seeing pictures & stuff as & when  JT  

[XP29H9]

So its been about 20 minutes and I'm already back on here to post some pictures.  I just went outside and took these so they're as fresh as they get! I hope ya'll enjoy!!

Here are some pictures of the INTERIOR.  The cloth in between the vinyl on the seats is so old that it will split if your not careful (found that one out the hard way :/. )   But, for whats been done to it, or not done.. I think it looks great!  And that's an FM converter above the console/below the dash by the way. 

[XP29H9]

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[XP29H9]

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