Rustymuscle's Street/Strip '69 R/T

[Rustymuscle]

Actually, I mentioned it at the beginning of this whole thing, but yeah, it's T7.

[Rustymuscle]

Since this thread has fallen down to the fourth page and I'm still way behind on updating, I figured it was time to get down to the good stuff...

Step V: Paint and Body


As my time at Mopar Muscle drew to a close, I was left with the quandary, "What to do with the Charger?" See, the problem at hand was that my wife and I were thankfully moving back to California after living in Florida for these few years. Besides the rental truck loaded to the gills with all of our worldly possessions, we had my truck and my wife's car to contend with (not to mention the classic Mopar sitting in the back of my old job's warehouse).

The decision was made over lunch to leave my Charger at JD's Paint & Body (a regular fixture of nearly every single issue of Mopar Muscle magazine). JD made me a deal that if I paid him a couple hundred bucks a month like a credit card that the car would be slowly beaten straight and painted over the course of a year or two. Although a little unnerving to leave my car on the other side of the continental United States, it was the best decision for us at the time.



Thankfully, work (as editor of Personal Watercraft Illustrated) has me bouncing from one side of the country to the other on a regular basis, thereby allowing me regular visits to the car. It was a slow process, but the Charger's rippled and battered panels slowly straightened and my Rustoleum red primer gave way to light gray primer and eventually T7 Tuscon Bronze. It was a regular joke that there was no more than a single 10-square-inch of straight steel on the whole car.

For those who haven't read the whole blog, it was noted that in the late 1980's the previous owner - drunk during his grad night - hit a motorcyclist. With the Charger parked on top of the bike, the motorcyclist (whose helmet dented in the front of the roof), climbed off the car, pulled the teenager out from behind the wheel, pounded him to a bloody pulp, put the Charger in reverse, and backed the big Dodge back over his bike, allowing the biker to walk his wheels back home. Dents from the helmet, footpegs, and handlebars could still be found on the car.













Here you can notice that the rear tail light valance was painted to the match the rest of the car by mistake. With some quick thinking, and quick-kicking semi-gloss black, JD painted the tail to a more factory-correct look.





Painted, color sanded, buffed and reassembled, the Charger needed one last little touch, the tail stripe. Since I had no qualms in converting my 383, A/C, PB, PS Charger into a stripped-down R/T clone, the coup de gras would be the iconic stripe (which also helps to break up the Charger's acres of sheet metal).







We reinstalled the front and rear glass, struggled with the front windshield gasket, installed the rear window trim (one corner elbow refuses to fit right - "bodyman error" I like to call it), and reinstalled the grille, the Charger was ready for pick up via car hauler. The driver met us at JD's shop around noon on a Saturday with a standard flatbed trailer. Once loaded aboard, the Charger would be transferred to a double-decker open car hauler (I know, "open" sends shivers down your spine) to be driven cross country.






For those who picked up on it earlier, the hood pins are factory Six-Pack Super Bee pins, pads, mounts, and hardware on a flat, race-weight factory-looking hood.



With the Charger loaded up and strapped down, all that was needed now was to wait the week (and a half!) for the car to make it across (safely, I hoped). Tune in next time for the Charger's homecoming!

[69*F5*SE]

The Charger's looking really good.  Hope it gets home safe.

[PocketThunder]

Did you think about a white stripe instead of black?  My car is original black stripe but every tells me to go white.   

[69bronzeT5]

I think a black stripe looks best on the T5 & T7 cars. Hey Kevin, I just realized...I talked to you a couple years ago about getting into the Young Guns section at Mopar Muscle. Not sure if you remember me....I couldn't do it because I was 14 at the time and you need to be 16 to be put into the section. I also remember you tried selling me a bunch of T7

[Rustymuscle]

I also remember you tried selling me a bunch of T7

Yes, I do remember you and no, it was only a gallon of it. During one of the five emails you sent to me, you mentioned that you needed it, so I offered you the gallon at my cost. I also saw the posts you put up here making fun of me for doing so. Sorry for trying to help a brother out...

Did you think about a white stripe instead of black?  My car is original black stripe but every tells me to go white.

I did, but since I'm running a very tall tire combination, no vinyl top (it was tan), and blacked out the back valance, the semi-gloss black stripe was the best decision. With all the chrome back on it, the black stands out even more.

[mikepmcs]

Amazing work!  I just have one question. 

Does your wife have a twin?

Kidding aside, very nice story, kept me hooked.  No mistaking why you work where you do.

[69bronzeT5]

I also remember you tried selling me a bunch of T7

Yes, I do remember you and no, it was only a gallon of it. During one of the five emails you sent to me, you mentioned that you needed it, so I offered you the gallon at my cost. I also saw the posts you put up here making fun of me for doing so. Sorry for trying to help a brother out...

Making fun of you for doing so? I don't remember that? If I did though, I am very sorry. I'm sure I was just joking around. I do appreciate the offer

[HighFlyingWedge69]

Good looking Charger.

Do you have any more grills you would part with?

[Magnumcharger]

Good job on the resto!
Having actually had DLI input to your efforts must have been great! I actually had hopes that along with the DLI inspired mods you were performing, you'd go all the way and paint 'er in the classic Landy colors!
(I guess I have to step up to that plate, huh?)

What mill are you going with?

[Rustymuscle]

Glad you guys have enjoyed the posts. Unfortunately, not a lot has been done over the last month as my wife recently lost her job. Expensive hobbies like ours sometimes have to take a backseat when life throws us curveballs...

Unfortunately, all of the extra grilles I had months ago are long since gone. Sorry.

As for a DLI clone, she's a '69 not a '70. Doing a clone wouldn't be right, like building a General Lee clone out of '67. Rather, the idea was to build a street Charger that has all of its DLI-inspired work hidden beneath the skin. Why show all of your cards up front, right?

[Magnumcharger]

Uhhh....Landy had several '69 Chargers.....

[Rustymuscle]

Yeah, I know, but his single '70 dual-plug was the inspiration for my '69. I mention it a couple times on earlier pages.

[Magnumcharger]

Hmmm....just for all you listeners who just tuned in, here's a few threads about Dick Landy and his Chargers!!
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,59097.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,31613.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,42152.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,23138.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,33261.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,17482.0.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,11712.0.html

[BigBlockSam]

looks great 

[ozziemoparnut]

That was an awesome read very well done I like your thinking 

[elacruze]

So...did it run 10's?

I just bought a set of 29x9 Goodyear slicks, was searching threads to be sure they fit ok in the wells.