Restore to original or clone?

[whitehatspecial]

New to this board and hope to educate myself from the members advice.
I own a 1968 Charger which has been in the family since it was new. The car is not a performance model with a 318 engine and single exhaust, nor does it have options like A/C, or power brakes. The car does have some very good things going for it though: 47,000 original miles, very nice original interior and drivetrain, original invoice and paperwork. Car is dark green with a white vinyl roof (which I understand was called a white hat special). 
Overall the body is in good to excellent condition since a repaint about 20 years ago.
The car needs an exhaust system, brakes, and the engine could use a freshen-up (a top-end rebuild).
I would like to know if I should restore it to its original, build up the 318 add dual exhaust, power brakes, or possibly go one step further and make the car an R/T ? I would like to give the car some pizazz, performance and styling wise.
I'm a Corvette guy and we usually are very sensitive to changing a car's originality so I'd like some opinions from Mopar guys. Thanks.

[Blown70]

I always say it is your car do what you want.  I personally like more performance out of a car. I say take the 318 out and crate hemi it.  If someone really wants the 318 if you ever sell it give it to them.....Of course this is my opinion.  In addition, understand you are not destorying a 68 hemi charger to start with... You are going to make a better car at least IMHO.

I suggest not doing anything otherwise to destroy the cars look... IE, fender flares, etc.

TOM

[triple_green]

hot rodding a 318 car won't hurt it's value. Might even raise it.


3X

[RD]

yeah, what they said.  welcome to the board, nice username.  its "clone" not recreate hehehe.  barrett-jackson and their terminology gives me a good laugh.  you have some vettes?  do you have a pic of your charger and your vettes?  I would love to see both.  welcome again.

[rare69]

do to the car what you want, your not going to regret building your dream charger by swapping out the 318 unless there is some serious sentimental value to it. but don't throw away Any original parts, store them away just in case.

[Johnny SixPack]

do to the car what you want, your not going to regret building your dream charger by swapping out the 318 unless there is some serious sentimental value to it. but don't throw away Any original parts, store them away just in case.

My "69 is a 383 4-bbl car and I also plan to move up the food chain in the engine department in the near future.

But since the 383 is the car's original block, I'm definitely going to be saving it just in case I ever have to sell the car.

Heck I did the same with my "70 R/T SE's original 440.

They're only numbers matching once. 

[greenpigs]

Well it depends what you want out of the Charger.

Some more pep a mild rebuild of the 318 should do and you could keep it stock appearing. If I had a fairly low mileage car I would hop up the 318..dual exhaust..mild cam.... 3.23 gears.

How hot are your vettes?

If your vettes are the lower performance years and stock then the "hot" 318 should feel fine. If you have some toasty version you may be disappointed by the 318 even modified.

[Silver R/T]

hot rod it and keep original parts just in case you sell it

[whitehatspecial]

Well it depends what you want out of the Charger.

Some more pep a mild rebuild of the 318 should do and you could keep it stock appearing. If I had a fairly low mileage car I would hop up the 318..dual exhaust..mild cam.... 3.23 gears.

How hot are your vettes?

If your vettes are the lower performance years and stock then the "hot" 318 should feel fine. If you have some toasty version you may be disappointed by the 318 even modified.

Thanks for the replies. I own a '58 Corvette which is a Duntov Award winner and pretty much a show car, not a driver. My other car is a '70 Corvette roadster 350/350, 4 spd, which is a nice low mileage car but unrestored. I feel comfortable driving it on nice days or even on some weekend getaways with my wife.

I'd like the Charger to be a nice driver (I don't intend to sell it) in which I bring along my kids or other passengers for a cruise. Hopping up the original 318 seemed like the least expensive solution to me initially but maybe dropping in a new 360 or 440 or ... (sorry not up on the latest block designations) high performance crate engine might not be a bad solution. I would have the piece of mind knowing that the engine is new and can handle some abuse.

Next question would be where do I start looking for a reliable source for an engine in the Northeast?

[jaak]

Whether its a low buck 318 car or a rare 1 of 1 hemi car when you purchase it....... it yours to do what you want with it.  Build YOUR dream car.

Good luck on your project,
Jason

[Paul G]

I may be able to offer up some advice. I too have a Corvette and a Charger. My Vette is a 96 LT4. It runs low 13's basically stock. The Vette is cool but the Charger just has way more appeal. I find that I get a lot more attention in the Charger than I do the Vette. If you leave the Charger stock I think you will be disappointed. A 318 car just wont have the performance you are getting with the 70 Vette. Modifying the Charger will not hurt it's value since it is not at the high end anyway with the small motor. If cash is an issue build the 318 up if it needs a rebuild anyway. If you have the cash get rid of the 318 and put something in there with power just keep all the original pieces. You wont be sorry about having extra power. If you can swing a crate Hemi or 440 you will most likely stay even on the cars value. $12 to $15 thou for a crate Hemi is money well spent. Even a new crate small block will have more power than your rebuilt 318. Check out http://www.mopartsracing.com/parts/blocks.html for a basic price of crate engines. Use the search feature here and read up on what it will take to do an engine swap. Unlike Chevy, swapping a small block to a big block is just a little more involved with Mopar. But well worth it.

Whichever you decide to do it's going to be good. It's still a Charger and they are soo cool! 

[70charginglizard]

Do what you want. Its your car.

Do what makes YOU happy.

Thats what I did. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks.

[rare69]

for that motor help your looking for, check out speedomotive.com they will set you up. mild to wild and free shipping. very good engine builder august will help with all your questions. tell him Shannon O'Sullivan sent you.

[Danny Gutierrez]

  Your story sounds alot like mine.  My 69 was bought brand new by my parents ad was given to me in high school.  I ended up pulling the 318 and giving it to my brother.  I swapped in a crate motor 360 and upgraded the suspension, electronics, brakes, transmission (904 to 727), rear-end(7 1/4 one legger to 8 3/4 sure-grip), etc.  But I kept the stock color and white vinyl top because I always loved the look.  Good luck with whatever you decide and welcome to the forum!!!

[Nacho-RT74]

I would keep original on look because I think the white hat special package is a nice one and will add some extra power underhood without change the engine... for a driver the 318 is more than EXCELENT engine with good mileage. You don't need to change too much, just a 4bbl, some camshaft and mettallic headgaskets; upgrade to electronic ignition and that's all

IMHO...

[69_500]

My opinion is this, if you intend to drive the car and enjoy it, yank the 318 and at least go with a 360 crate motor. If you decide to go with a 440 or a crate hemi that would be nice too for sheer power and fun while driving.


However if you do pull the 318 DO NOT sell it, keep it, and allow it to go to a future owner. Even though it is only a 318 car, numbers matching is a big selling point.

[RT DAVE]

Pull that 318 and put almost anything else (340, 360, 383, 440, 426, 5.7 or 6.1) in it ASAP.   It will be worth more and also more fun IMO.   

[67_Dodge_Charger]

Like the others stated keep the original engine and other parts.  You have a great car.  White Hat Special with low miles and numbers matching.  Do what you will with the Charger but keep all the original parts. 

Welcome to the site.

-Robert

[Mike DC]

Another vote for the same things:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--  Big-block Chargers are seen as more collectible with their original motors, mainly the R/T Chargers with 440 & 426 Hemis.  But most people in the Mopar hobby would consider a 318 Charger with no pecularities to be fair game for modifications.  As long as the car's sheetmetal remains uncut, go for it.

--  If you yank the 318 & drivetrain, keep it stored somewhere.  The only time that motor will ever be worth anything is when it's with your car.

--  That car will be fun with any bigger motor.  I don't need to tell you about 440s & Hemis.  If you wanna do this on the cheap, then you could throw in a 360 or something without redoing half the drivetrain.  Or else just do the big-block swap.  The better years of 4-barrel 383s will actually run surprisingly hard for that amount of displacement.  (425 ft-lbs of torque, and that's with the factory stock setup.) 

.

[89MOPAR]

 Keep it bone stock original.

318's can handle plenty of abuse.

I'd be much more impressed if I saw your car at the gas station, and we started talking about it, and you said it has the original 318 powering it.
How about keeping some of these cars true to their original intentions; stylish family haulers + get to work cars ?

Any chucklehead can cram a big motor into a car that was designed to fit one in the engine bay anyhow. 

But, hey, your not building/ keeping the car for my sake.
Be aware you'll want to upgrade the tranny and suspension to handle the extra weight and power + provide a measure of safety to your passengers, if you put in a big-block

That's right I called all you engine bay molesters chuckleheads !       hahaha

[whitehatspecial]

Keep it bone stock original.

318's can handle plenty of abuse.

I'd be much more impressed if I saw your car at the gas station, and we started talking about it, and you said it has the original 318 powering it.
How about keeping some of these cars true to their original intentions; stylish family haulers + get to work cars ?

Any chucklehead can cram a big motor into a car that was designed to fit one in the engine bay anyhow. 

But, hey, your not building/ keeping the car for my sake.
Be aware you'll want to upgrade the tranny and suspension to handle the extra weight and power + provide a measure of safety to your passengers, if you put in a big-block

That's right I called all you engine bay molesters chuckleheads !       hahaha

89 Mopar

After a 4 year frame up restoration (the first car I have ever attempted to restore) on my '58 Corvette several years ago, I gained much respect for people who take the time to do things right.

Although the Corvette people are a bit anal in their interpretations of original parts and their condition, they deserved appreciation for their love of the hobby and zealousness to keep cars for people to admire in the future. Most Corvette restorers firmly believe they are simply custodians of these cars and want them to remain intact for future generations to enjoy. A 3-speed on the floor 1968 small block gets just as much attention as 1967 427/435 car.  The NCRS has gone one step further to keep original cars the way they are by creating a "survivor" catagory which is all about leaving nice original cars alone and letting them be judged on their originality.

I guess Charger people are different judging by most of the responses I've received. I'm not saying that's good or bad, but goes against everything I learned doing my '58. It is hard for me to change my present mindset.

I appreciate your comments and have to agree with them. I'm definately leaning on leaving the 318 engine in the car, having it rebuilt to more modern standards, and adding some other goodies like sound system, disc brakes, dual exhaust, etc.

I also intend to document everything with photos and numbers should anyone be interested in the future.

I like the idea of cruising all day long without watching the gas guage drop and just enjoy driving a classic/ great-looking car.

[Troy]

Well, Corvettes and "Mopars" (in general) are totally different things. Corvettes are almost all collectable I'd think (at least the older ones). There are many different models of Mopar cars and some are more collectable than others. The Corvette didn't share a body or frame with any other vehicle in GM's line but the Chevelle did. You won't find too many 6 cylinder Chevelles restored to the same level as an LS6 for the same reason you don't see a lot of concourse restored small block Chargers. However, on the limited production or high performance models you'll find a different attitude than what you think you are reading here. Keep in mind that not everyone thinks the same way and there are plenty of purists and numbers guys in the hobby. They may not have posted much in this thread but don't be too hasty to make any judgements of an entire group. If you had a numbers matching 4-speed R/T and wanted to tub it out, chop the top, and put a blower on it you'd probably get a much different response (even better if you want to stick it on a 4x4 frame with mudders). I'm sure most everyone here would enjoy any Charger whether it's a full blown restoration or everyday beater and it doesn't matter what powerplant it has. You said yourself that you wanted to "give the car some pizazz, performance and styling wise" and I seriously doubt if anyone really has a problem with that - as long as you keep the original parts and don't do anything irreversible.

Troy