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1968 Charger Restoration

Started by pkianka, September 08, 2011, 11:16:55 AM

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pkianka

Hi folks - Been a member of this awesome site for a few months now but never posted anything.  I recently made the decision to restore my 68 Charger which I've owned for 24 years.  It was once my daily driver until the original 318 self destructed.  I replaced it with a 440 from a 74 New Yorker, but it was never the same and has been mostly sitting in storage for many years.  It's now in my garage at home and I'm in the middle of stripping all the parts off of it in prep for abrasive blasting.  I'll post some photos soon.

-Pete

Magnumcharger

Hurry up and post pictures!!!!

We're all addicted to pictures on this site!! It's like crack to us!! :2thumbs:


And welcome to Dodge Charger.com!
1968 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S 340 convertible
1968 Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi 4 speed
1968 Plymouth Barracuda S/S clone 426 Hemi auto
1969 Dodge Deora pickup clone 318 auto
1971 Dodge Charger R/T 440 auto
1972 Dodge C600 318 4 speed ramp truck
1972 Dodge C800 413 5 speed
1979 Chrysler 300 T-top 360 auto
2001 Dodge RAM Sport Offroad 360 auto
2010 Dodge Challenger R/T 6 speed
2014 RAM Laramie 5.7 Hemi 8 speed

pkianka

I have a ton of pics already -- I'd post them faster but I have to re-size them all since the site only allows 200k max.

Here are some of the recent deconstruction work... engine/trans out, rear glass out, interior out, doors off.

-Pete

tan top

  hello & welcome  :cheers: :cheers: :yesnod: :2thumbs:

whats the plan on the resto ??  looking forward to seeing more pictures  :yesnod: :popcrn:
Feel free to post any relevant picture you think we all might like to see in the threads below!

Charger Stuff 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,86777.0.html
Chargers in the background where you least expect them 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,97261.0.html
C500 & Daytonas & Superbirds
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,95432.0.html
Interesting pictures & Stuff 
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,109484.925.html
Old Dodge dealer photos wanted
 http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,120850.0.html

41husk

1969 Dodge Charger 500 440/727
1970 Challenger convertible 340/727
1970 Plymouth Duster FM3
1974 Dodge Dart /6/904
1983 Plymouth Scamp GT 2.2 Auto
1950 Dodge Pilot house pick up

pkianka

The color is actually LL-1 as far as I can tell per the attached PPG color sheet for 68.  Medium Dark Turquoise Poly.

The end goal of the resto is a straight, rust free car, repaint original color, overhaul the 440 with some goodies, mostly stock look.  It is not a numbers matching car and never will be, but I want it look mostly stock but with performance upgrades where they make sense.  I've even thought about turning it into an RT clone (emblems, tail stripes, etc) not sure yet.

After I strip all removable parts off the body, I'm probably going to send it out for media blasting.  A good friend of mine (with some welding experience) and I will attempt to do most, if not all the metal work (floor pans, partial quarters, etc).

In the pics... windshield and dash out, heater box out, look how good the firewall looks! Strange for how rusty the floor is.

-Pete

Charger_Dart

Looks like a good project. Can't wait to see updates on your progress.
68 Charger R/T & 68 Dart GT Convertible

pkianka

Just removed the grille/headlight assembly and front fenders today.

I think I'm down to just removing the brake lines, fuel lines, suspension, exhaust, and some trim.

-Pete


pkianka

Quote from: terrible one on September 08, 2011, 02:42:23 PM
Great project, great COLOR  :popcrn:

Thanks!  I have always loved the color as well.  A lot of folks I know don't like it much and suggest I change it but I'm 99.9% sure I'm going to stick with it!

-Pete

pkianka

Problem -- Found some nasty rust around the spot-welded seam of the right side shock tower today.  Anyone have experience with repair in this area?  This worries me a bit -- wondering what needs to be done to make this repair. :'(

...on the bright side, the steering column is out and I built some new shelves in the garage to accommodate all the parts coming off the car!

-Pete

earnie

Quote from: pkianka on September 09, 2011, 10:33:55 AM
Problem -- Found some nasty rust around the spot-welded seam of the right side shock tower today.  Anyone have experience with repair in this area?  This worries me a bit -- wondering what needs to be done to make this repair. :
yup you can sell me the car and then ya wont have to worry about it
seriously amd sells what you will need
overall that rust does not look that bad

charge69

Welcome to the board, pkianka and ask any questions you need. Lots of knowledge here and they don't mind sharing. Your '68 appears to be a non-a/c, manual brake car too. Keep the pics coming as everyone loves pics and just keep working on it and, suddenly, one day, it will be ready to roll again. Nice color too and it will be beautiful restored with the original color.

Charger-Bodie

Quote from: pkianka on September 09, 2011, 10:33:55 AM
Problem -- Found some nasty rust around the spot-welded seam of the right side shock tower today.  Anyone have experience with repair in this area?  This worries me a bit -- wondering what needs to be done to make this repair. :'(

...on the bright side, the steering column is out and I built some new shelves in the garage to accommodate all the parts coming off the car!

-Pete

Cut it out.Clean it up really good and weld in a nice new fabed piece. It will be pretty easy and its fairly common.
68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

pkianka

Thanks guys!  Really appreciate it.  I will definitely be asking a lot of questions soon -- I like to give back as wel,l and hopefully posting my progress with this project will help others.  Watching the progress of others has taught me a lot and inspired me to start this whole effort (not to mention my recent trip to Carlisle, PA).  I was an auto mechanic for 12 years before switching careers 12 years ago, so I'm pretty handy and have tons of tools -- although I have never completely restored a car nor taken one apart to this level.

Bob T

Welcome and good to see you are into the resto in a big way.
This site is a great resource of information of all things Charger, chances are if you are stuck then heaps of people have already had that same problem , sorted it out and put lots of pictures up.

Neat colour , havent seen too many of them out here

:cheers:
Old Dog, Old Tricks.

pkianka

Quote from: Bob T on September 10, 2011, 03:06:29 AM
Welcome and good to see you are into the resto in a big way.
This site is a great resource of information of all things Charger, chances are if you are stuck then heaps of people have already had that same problem , sorted it out and put lots of pictures up.

Neat colour , havent seen too many of them out here

:cheers:

Thanks, really appreciate it.

I got the rear off the ground this morning and pulled the exhaust and fuel tank...






Trying something different with the pictures, hope it works.  I have an album on Picasa with ALL photos I've been taking if anyone is interested -- URL below...

https://picasaweb.google.com/PeteKianka/201168ChargerRebuild?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Thanks - Pete

pkianka

A few more pics from the rear...





Got my work cut out here...


-Pete

68blue

Looks like you have a good place to start, best of luck on the resto. I remember being at that point, now I'm slowly closing in on completion. :2thumbs:

vancamp

from the pics looks like a great project keep them coming :2thumbs:

pkianka

Not much progress since last post besides a few minor things -- pulled the e-brake pedal/release handle and cable, front to rear brake line, front to rear fuel line, and rear axle bump stops.  Hey, at least it's something.  I try to do at least something each day even if it's just something minor --- saw another thread on this site where folks post how they manage to get in their Charger time.  Tough for me with job, wife, three young kids, honey-do,etc. so I squeeze in wrench time where I can.  Getting close to ready for media blast.

-Pete

pkianka

Ok, final items have been removed and off to media blast.... it will never look the same again!!!

-Pete

The night before going to media blast - 9/22/2011...



On the rental trailer ready to go...


That rental was actually a nice trailer; wish I owned it!


Finally at the media blast shop -- no turning back now!!!


I'll post more pics when it's done -- I'm having them epoxy primer it w/DP-90 as well, so it should be black when complete.

Thans - Pete

Charger-Bodie

68 Charger R/t white with black v/t and red tailstripe. 440 4 speed ,black interior
68 383 auto with a/c and power windows. Now 440 4 speed jj1 gold black interior .
My Charger is a hybrid car, it burns gas and rubber............

projectanimal

Nice pictures!  :cheers:  I used the same Uhaul trailer to pick up our car and also wish I could buy one!   :coolgleamA:  good luck with the paint and reassembly!  look forward to more pictures. 
northwest CT

pkianka

Ok the media blasting is done and I had an opportunity to get a look at it and some photos before the primer.  Really interesting how the metal looks after the blasting -- not shiny at all, it almost looks like gray primer.  When it's in that state of etch, they call it "white metal".  They will be prepping and priming later this week and should be ready by some next week.  -Pete







Windshield channel rot -- not sure what to do about that yet...


Sail panel/rear window rot...


Unexpected rocker rot -- must have been some bondo covering that up since I never saw this before...



Odd place for rust/corrosion...


Finding new rust pinholes all over the place!


If you want to see more pics, the complete photo album link is below:
https://picasaweb.google.com/PeteKianka/201168ChargerRebuild?authuser=0&feat=directlink