I'm new! Finally found my '69 Charger....

[Surf Charger]

Hey guys...I'm new here so I'm sure I will have a ton of questions in the near future. Been searching for a '69 Charger for quite sometime and as soon as I gave up, I came across this one.

1969 Charger w/ R/T badges. He mentioned it was a 383 Magnum.....I'm not sure if it was originally a Magnum but when he bought it in 1981, the previous owner had rebuilt the motor w/ a mild performance cam, edelbrock Torker 383 intake manifold and edelbrock 4-barral carb along with headers. I don't know about the heads themselves. And I also do not know if anyone did a torque converter in the tranny or the different rear axle gearing ratio. I emailed him to get a bit more detailed info on what was done to the motor if he could remember. As of now the engine runs great.

Only rust issues are around the rear lower fenders and bumper area. No rust anywhere on frame on underneath. All floor pans are perfect. Trunk floor has surface rust and one spot in the upper left corner that rusted through..about the size of a quarter. Other than that, floor of trunk is fine. Some typical surface rust issues here and there. Not bad considering it sat outside for 31 years.

Numbers match on the title, dash, fender tag (from what I can make out), motor, tranny. Unfortunately I do not have a broadcast sheet or window sticker (haven't had a chance to look under the back seat yet) so I do not know details on the motor or overall original looks. From what I can see in the trunk area, the original color was a light blue. I could also see where the original carpet was blue and the door cards were blue, and dyed black at one point. The headliner was also originally a blue color. 

The only modifications he claimed to have done over the years was put the R/T badges/stripe, '68 grill, electronic ignition, and a paint job. He replaced some of the old cracked interior dash pieces with the padding from a spare '68 he used to have. The center console is out of a '71 which he said was already there when he bought it so long ago. At some point, I'd really love to find an original '69 console. I'm not sure what happened to the original console or original front seats.....I can't wait to get rid of the ones that are currently in it.


He was a pretty standup guy..but to be honest I'm not sure that he knew too much mechanically. All he knew is that he drove it for 31 years....tried to give it to his 18 year old son to restore (who did not want anything to do with it), and decided to get rid of it. Its been in smalltown North Carolina for the majority if not all of its life.

I'm not sure that I plan on restoring this to showroom quality like a lot of people plan on doing. I plan on driving it as much as possible. I do plan on having some good body work done to it...replacing metal with metal and getting rid of all the rust. I mainly wanted a good daily/weekend driver.

Anyways, look forward to speaking with you all. I've enjoyed reading all the different threads. Should be fun!

[XS29LA47V21]

 
Welcome fellow charger dude 

If I am reading it right... a B3 car, do not see that color much, cool.  my $0.10 is keep and slow down that fender tag rust. 

[Tilar]

A 69 with a 68 grille? You need to find a nice 69 grille and send me that ratty old 68 grille. 

[moparstuart]

welcome looks like a great project ,

[Surf Charger]

A 69 with a 68 grille? You need to find a nice 69 grille and send me that ratty old 68 grille. 

Hah. I'm sure you would like that. I always told myself if I ever found a '69, that I would put a '68 grill on it. Lucked out and already found it!

[Surf Charger]

Welcome fellow charger dude  

If I am reading it right... a B3 car, do not see that color much, cool.  my $0.10 is keep and slow down that fender tag rust.  

Well its officially garage kept now so it won't be seeing any rain. Any tips on preserving whats left of the fender tag...or any ways of removing the rust without damaging it further? Electrolysis or something similar? Wish I could read all the characters so I could figure out what everything is suppose to look like.

[vancamp]

Welcome fellow charger dude  

If I am reading it right... a B3 car, do not see that color much, cool.  my $0.10 is keep and slow down that fender tag rust.  

Well its officially garage kept now so it won't be seeing any rain. Any tips on preserving whats left of the fender tag...or any ways of removing the rust without damaging it further? Electrolysis or something similar? Wish I could read all the characters so I could figure out what everything is suppose to look like.

take it off and turn it over usually can still make out the numbers from the back, you could let it soak in evapo-rust to get rid of the rust thats on it and prime it. good luck with it.

[Surf Charger]

Welcome fellow charger dude  

If I am reading it right... a B3 car, do not see that color much, cool.  my $0.10 is keep and slow down that fender tag rust.  

Well its officially garage kept now so it won't be seeing any rain. Any tips on preserving whats left of the fender tag...or any ways of removing the rust without damaging it further? Electrolysis or something similar? Wish I could read all the characters so I could figure out what everything is suppose to look like.

take it off and turn it over usually can still make out the numbers from the back, you could let it soak in evapo-rust to get rid of the rust thats on it and prime it. good luck with it.

I will look into this. Thanks!

[Dino]

That looks like a fun project!  Go find yourself a new center dash pad cause you got a/c buddy!  Code H51.

Your original engine is a 383 2bbl, HD 727 auto.  B3 blue in and out, One code looks like C21 which is the buddy seat so you had the column shifter.  G15 is tinted glasss, windshield only.  M21 and 31 are the roof rail and belt moldings.  That's about all that's legible.  Like Vancamp said, flip it over to decode the rest of it.

[41husk]

Congrats!  Lots of potential.

[terrible one]

That looks like a fun project!  Go find yourself a new center dash pad cause you got a/c buddy!  Code H51.

  I saw where the holes in the firewall had been covered by some type of plate but didn't notice that they had changed the dash pad too.

[64dartgt]

I was wondering where the slapstick / console came from.  Didn't think it was a factory option in '69.

[41husk]

looks like a 70 E body console and knob

[Dino]

Buried in the first post: 

'The center console is out of a '71 which he said was already there when he bought it so long ago.'

[tan top]

looks a good project  !!   don't know if its just the pitcure of my computer screen !! but that blue looks bright , has some pearl in it maybe 

[Surf Charger]

That looks like a fun project!  Go find yourself a new center dash pad cause you got a/c buddy!  Code H51.

Your original engine is a 383 2bbl, HD 727 auto.  B3 blue in and out, One code looks like C21 which is the buddy seat so you had the column shifter.  G15 is tinted glasss, windshield only.  M21 and 31 are the roof rail and belt moldings.  That's about all that's legible.  Like Vancamp said, flip it over to decode the rest of it.

Yeah it seems that someone in the past did quite a bit of changing things around. Definitly no more A/C compressor anywhere to be found. I could tell the steering column was different as well b/c the current column was red at one point and was painted black. I can also tell the interior was all blue and dyed black somewhere in the murky past.

And yes, that console is out of a '71. He mentioned it was in there when he bought it back in 1981. I personally would like to have a '69 console, but now that its been pointed out to me that it was a column shifter at one point, I'm not sure what will need to be done to take that '71 console out and try to match up a '69 console.

I am going to remove the plate this evening and try to decipher the rest of the codes on the back of the plate.

Thanks for all of the info!

[F8-4life]

That dads kid is a fool

[Surf Charger]

looks a good project  !!   don't know if its just the pitcure of my computer screen !! but that blue looks bright , has some pearl in it maybe 

He painted it with some type of cheap paint about 10 years ago....mitsubishi blue is what he called it. Original vehicle color was a pale light blue. I've had so many people tell me to keep it the current darker blue color so maybe I will. Not sure where I want to go with it yet. I'm just so excited to actually own a classic Charger now.

[41husk]

I would be proud of it!!!

[ChgrSteve67]

Welcome fellow charger dude 

If I am reading it right... a B3 car, do not see that color much, cool.  my $0.10 is keep and slow down that fender tag rust. 

Well its officially garage kept now so it won't be seeing any rain. Any tips on preserving whats left of the fender tag...or any ways of removing the rust without damaging it further? Electrolysis or something similar? Wish I could read all the characters so I could figure out what everything is suppose to look like.

take it off and turn it over usually can still make out the numbers from the back, you could let it soak in evapo-rust to get rid of the rust thats on it and prime it. good luck with it.

I will look into this. Thanks!

I took mine and put it on my scanner, then reversed the image si I could read it.
then sent a picture to data tags and got a repo made for the car.
The origional is in my safe for safe keeping.

[CDN72SE]

Congratulations on getting the car you've always wanted. Good luck on the resto.  So you are keeping the '68 grille?

[Surf Charger]

Welcome fellow charger dude 

If I am reading it right... a B3 car, do not see that color much, cool.  my $0.10 is keep and slow down that fender tag rust. 

Well its officially garage kept now so it won't be seeing any rain. Any tips on preserving whats left of the fender tag...or any ways of removing the rust without damaging it further? Electrolysis or something similar? Wish I could read all the characters so I could figure out what everything is suppose to look like.

take it off and turn it over usually can still make out the numbers from the back, you could let it soak in evapo-rust to get rid of the rust thats on it and prime it. good luck with it.

I will look into this. Thanks!

I took mine and put it on my scanner, then reversed the image si I could read it.
then sent a picture to data tags and got a repo made for the car.
The origional is in my safe for safe keeping.

thats a great idea!

So I pulled the fender tag off and discovered quite the pile of rust underneath it. However I was able to decipher about 99% of it. I'm missing one digit in the "order number".

R11 26 END
C21 C55 G15 H51 H21 N21 M21
B3 B3 C6D B7 A24 _05225 (missing a number at the beginning of this 6-number sequence)
E61 D32 XP29 G9B 18661

Here is what I have come up with so correct me if any of these are wrong:

Code Description

E61 = 383-2 Barrel
D32 = H-D A-727 TorqueFlite Trans / Some Years A-998
XP29:
   X = Dodge Charger
   P = Premium
   29 = 2 Door Sports Hardtop
G9B:
   G = 383 290HP 1-2BBL 8 CYL
   9 = 1969
   B = Dodge Main, Hamtramck, MI, USA
18661 = Sequence Number '18661'
B3 = Paint Code: Light Blue Metallic
C6D - Trim Grade/Style/Color:
   C = Charger
   6 = Vinyl Bucket Seats
   D = Dark Blue
B7 = Upper Door Frame: Medium Blue Metallic
A24 = Date Built: 10 / 24 / 1968
05225 = Order Number: 05225
G15 = Roof Type OR Color:  Tinted Windshield Only
H51 = Single Air /w Heater
H21 = Heater w/ RHD
N21 = Air Pump
M21 = Roof Drip Rail Moldings
B3 = Light Blue Metallic
R11 = Music Master Radio AM
26 = 26 in. Radiator
END = End of Codes
C21 = Center Seat Foldown Armrest
C55 = Bucket Seats

[bakerhillpins]

However I was able to decipher about 99% of it. I'm missing one digit in the "order number".

Try putting a piece of paper over it and doing a rubbing of it. That might help get you that last digit of the order #.  Use a pencil or a crayon to do the rubbing.

[Surf Charger]

However I was able to decipher about 99% of it. I'm missing one digit in the "order number".

Try putting a piece of paper over it and doing a rubbing of it. That might help get you that last digit of the order #.  Use a pencil or a crayon to do the rubbing.

I actually did try this. Unfortunately the backside of the plate is so pitted and rusted that its impossible to make out that digit.

[bakerhillpins]

Did you try to clean off some of the rust with a wire brush or some fine sandpaper? Or are you worried about it disintegrating.