Charger Newbie - Advice please

[outatime80]

Hi Guys

Wanted to say hello as this is my first post on the forum and also ask a little advice please.

I have always been a big muscle car fan pretty much since I moved over from England six years ago, my car is a 2005 Mustang GT with a lot of apperiance modifications, I have been recently thinking about buying a real classic Muscle car and I really like the look of the Charger especially after watching it more and more on TV in Burn Notice and the Fast and Furious movies.

My original plan was to buy one falling apart to slowly restore over time but after looking around it seems I might be able to pick up a bargin if I bide my time.  I really don't have any experince with restoring although as I am in no rush I figure I can learn as I go with help from the internet like from members here.

I have seen a lot of different Chargers for sale on the internet
for example

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge-Charger-440-727-1972-Dodge-Charger-big-block-low-reserve-/250820784665?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3a66157219#v4-38

and

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/2377543921.html

Trouble is I am not sure right now what is a good buy or not, I bought a book about restoring Chargers from Amazon but its not arrived as yet.  I see so many different versions of chargers from over the years its tough for me to be able to pin point exactly what I am looking for or if what I like the look of is fanacially possible or if its one of the rare breeds that one appear once in a while and sell for big money.  Does anyone know of a book or website to help me tell apart what Charger is what?

If anyone can please give me a heads up I would really appricate, you all have such beautil cars and would love to be able to add another to the group.

Thank you

Stuart

[Brock Samson]

 Welcome ! and,..  if it's Chargers your want to learn about,..  stick around,.. Off Hand, without knowing much about you, your plans, budget or capabilities I'd suggest you not start from scratch restoring one, and buy one allready or mostly done - as it's a very steep learning curve. 

[skip68]

Welcome to the site Stuart.  1966 to 1974 are the best years for a charger.  Look at the thread "post a picture of your charger" at the top of this section.  You will see lots of sweet rides.  

[tan top]

hello & welcome Stuart 

[doctor4766]

Welcome to the site Stuart.  1969 to 1969 are the best years for a charger.  Look at the thread "post a picture of your charger" at the top of this section.  You will see lots of sweet rides.  

Fixed

[doctor4766]

And Hi Stuart.
Welcome to what's probably the best site dedicated to classic 2 door Chargers.

[tan top]

Welcome to the site Stuart.  1969 to 1969 are the best years for a charger.  Look at the thread "post a picture of your charger" at the top of this section.  You will see lots of sweet rides.  

Fixed

 

[skip68]

 

[outatime80]

Hi Guys

Thanks so much for the fast warm welcome, regarding budget that a tough one as I am still trying to work out what I want but I really want a cool car to take out on a Sunday for a ride around the area not an everyday runner...thats my 07 Sport Trac   It would be nice to buy something I can work on with my father and I have a little boy on the way too so I was hoping it might be something of interest to him one day too.   I have a garage I can store it in and work on it slowly although that means the 05 GT might be moved onto the driveway.  I don't know much about engines although I did get half way through a Whipple Supercharger install once...don't ask long story but the blower was damaged so I changed my mind and got my money back and kept it stock.  

Quick question, whats does R/T mean?  Not seen any R/T's for sale as yet.

Thanks

Stu

[Brock Samson]

Welcome to the site Stuart.  1969 to 1969 are the best years for a charger.  Look at the thread "post a picture of your charger" at the top of this section.  You will see lots of sweet rides.  

Fixed

                 
 

R/T stands for Road and Track, the thought being you could drive it everyday and still win at the track...
S.E. stands for Special Edition, a 1969 option package that adds leather interior woodgrain dash fascias and other special trim to add luxury appointments to the interior.

[outatime80]

Thank you sir

So the R/T was an option when buying or was every Charger an R/T?   With the S.E is that something members have upgraded themselves or could do aftermarket to upgrade the interior and call it an SE?

Sorry for all the questions appreciate the help

Stuart

[Brock Samson]

 sticking with just '69s here...
stock base chargers - some 6 Cyl. a lot of 318 Ci, 383 2 Bbl. 383 4 Bbl. motors.
Charger S.E. Pakage could supposedly be ordered on any '69 Charger.
next highest in the hierarchy the 440 Charger R/T, R/T and SE could be combined for a R/T SE. like mine. Rather sought after but they made a bunch. Mostly automatic Trans cars there are some four speed models.
 Now S.E. or R/T or Daytona upgrades to regular Chargers are concidered "Clones" and there are a bunch.
 R/T HEMI, pretty rare but they made a few hundred. R/T HEMI Four speeds are perhaps the most sought after '69 Chargers especially in black or red or Blue.
mid Yr. '69 the 500 was released with aerodynamic smoothing for the NASCAR Stock Car Super Speedways.
late in the Yr. the DAYTONA was released, a 500, with a longer nose and 3' tall rear wing and front fender vents to achieve speeds in excess of 200 MPH. In March of that yr. it achieved that goal.
hope that helps a little.  
 
 

[Darkman]

Hello and welcome  

The only advice I can give you (other than buy a 68   ) is to buy a driver that needs some work (paint, interior and some mechanical). Then make it your own by taking a few things off, cleaning them painting them and refitting them (or upgrade). This way you get to drive and know your car before you pull it to bits.

If you don't have much knowledge about working on cars, then it could be overwhelming buying a project car that needs a lot of work and you may lose interest after a while.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[outatime80]

Hi All

Thank you so much for your posts last week, I have since been doing a lot of reading and bought a couple of books to go through, I guess the hardest part is actually finding a car for me, they either seem to be rust buckets or top end which would be out of my budget, keep on searching craigslist and ebay I guess.

Slowly learning and will be reading here as much as I can, thanks again for the advice.

[RTDaddy]

Not sure of you location in the country, but going to a couple of Mopar shows (Chryslers at Carlisle and Mopar Nationals) might get you a feel for what is out there, what it might cost, and what restoration parts are available.  I would not recommend buying a basket case in your situation.  When doing those, it is best to have a barn full of parts, as it always seems that "one itty-bitty part" is missing, and it's not being reproduced yet.  Not sure what yesra you would be looking at, but the 71-4 was available without the hidaway headlight doors.  While the hidaways look good, they can be a hassle keeping operational.  68/9's (as well as the Daytona and Superbird) were vacuum driven.  70-2 were driven by an electric motor. (Same motor set-up was used on other models, mainly the C-body cars).  Good luck.

"IF YOU'RE UNDER CONTROL, YOU AIN'T GOING FAST ENOUGH."

[68blue]

Having a buddy who can help and guide you is a great asset as the project can get overwhelming. I am now at the point where I am putting the various sub projects back together into the main project, but breaking the jobs up helped keep me moving.

[bull]

Welcome to the site Stuart.  1966 to 1974 are the only years for a charger.  Look at the thread "post a picture of your charger" at the top of this section.  You will see lots of sweet rides.  

Fixed

Refixed.

Anyway, so what year do you want? You posted an Ebay ad to a third gen. above so is that what you're looking for?