Safety ideas for teen proofing the 68???

[carsnguitars]

So made a deal with my 17yo boy, based on grades that he can occasionally drive one of the my "old cars" under 2 conditions, he gets the grades and keeps them, and he does most of the work on the car as well.

Wife is nervous because of lack of safety issues and reliablilty.
So I decided if he does the work and gets the grades, I decide to let him enjoy the 68 charger. Since I cannot air bag it, I need to do something...soo
Car is all original , but 383 was replaced years back with 440, and has electronic distibutor.
Short of a full cage haha, Some safety ideas I had:
Down size carb, maybe limit throttle?
Replace drivers seat with a better seat with harness?
Got front discs already, maybe up size?
Replace all bushings in front.
Reliablility, well I figured go through electrical good, and make sure engine running smooth and not getting gas boiling or anything.

So what other safetys measure should I be looking at? Ideas appriciated....

[Alaskan_TA]

Remove the gas tank.

Remove the wheels.

Take the back seat out.

Hide the keys.

[carsnguitars]

Remove the gas tank.

Remove the wheels.

Take the back seat out.

Hide the keys.

Haha...Although if I remember that far back, lots of us were driving around in these cars as late teens back in the day and most did just fine! Plus, a car is meant for driving and if he works on it, he will learn alot and appreciate it more!

[Indygenerallee]

440 and a teenager just don't go together, I know what I did as a teen and would never in a million years let my son drive a 440 Charger as a daily btw how is he gonna pay for gas plus the speeding tickets!!?? 

[Chryco Psycho]

at 17 my first Mopar was a 440 4 speed Chall R/T , never had a problem , some kids can handle it some can't youneed to be the judge
just adjusting the throttle cable forward can limit the throttle to 40-50%

[Alaskan_TA]

I had my first one at 16, but I bought it myself.

All kids are different, but from what I have seen the kids that pay their own way generally have more respect for the car.

My folks should have taken the advice I posted above.   

[carsnguitars]

"some kids can handle it some can't"

Exactly! Kids can do stupid things without a car, plus a kid can take his honda or 4 banger truck and speed and loose it just as easy. The only difference for me, is modern cars have better safety features and usually more relaible runner. How many times we break down & trying to get it running again with a handful of tools, and few chioce words!

I like limiting the throttle, thats a for sure!
I am sure ole charger will see some bumps and briuses, but since it has em now, add more character!

[carsnguitars]

Btw...it wont be a daily! He earn it with working on it and grades! Teach and appriciate it!

[BlaineKaiser450]

Depending on what kind of kid he is, I wouldn't do anything. If you're worried to the point where you want to modify the car to make him more responsible with it, then he's not ready to drive it. I am 17 myself and my dad has no problem letting me drive his srt8 or our plymouth with a built 440, just because I have never done anything to prove him otherwise. It all depends on his responsibility

[Rolling_Thunder]

440 six pack intake with the outboard carbs removed...     MSD 6AL2 - rev limter set to 3500rpm   

[A383Wing]

change out the engine to a slant 6

[Mike DC]

I agree that some kids can handle it.  I had a hopped-up 383 Mag with bad brakes when I was 16, and I didn't wreck it.


I'll tell you one thing that helped make me a better driver at that age - the shitty unassisted 10" drum brakes with leaking lines.   Just the physical difficulty of pushing the pedal to make abrupt stops forced me to watch several cars ahead leave big gaps.  I had enough leg strength to floor the pedal if I had to, but it was unpleasant to do it every time I wanted to stop.

Nobody is gonna recommend literally giving kids brakes with weak stopping power.  But maybe there is something to be said for not giving them the power assist for a while.  (I don't know if the lack of power assist alone would be enough to wear out their leg as much as my experience though.  It might also take a shortened brake pedal throw for the full effect.)  

[doctor4766]

change out the engine to a slant 6

Heyyyyyyyyyyy, you read my mind.

[BrianShaughnessy]

DISC BRAKES and TIRES !   

[Cooter]

Btw...it wont be a daily! He earn it with working on it and grades! Teach and appriciate it!

Take it from me.....I too thought about putting my own son in a 440(450 HP) 4-speed, Dana 60 1966 Plymouth...
(IMO There's only one reason when your 16 Y/O to want a musclecar that is about 250 HP BEHIND today's musclecars. I believe it is to try and prove something bout the "old skool VS New skool")
Of course, I scolded him bout the grades thing and NO STREET RACING, etc. Know how long all this lasted around peer pressure?

About three months before I almost put the '66 on the road. Got a speeding ticket. Ok, tried the "Good, calm, no yelling, parent thing about that one as it was a slower speeding ticket(45 in a 35 zone).....

Finally, I was so proud to have told everybody here on this board, how "Responsible" I thought my boy was.
Bottom line? Kid crashed his buddies car doing dumb sh*t, had TWO underage girls in the car when he was 19 Y/O, NO ONE had on a SEAT BELT!??!, then acted like it was some kind of my fault for getting upset at him this go round.

He decided that since he had a little hair on his balls, he'd simply leave rather than deal with the problem, as he put it, he "didn't need to hear it right then"...
So, after all this, I think his ride might be sold. and he's out the house.

Came back about a week ago talking even more sh*t bout how he was "Moving back in"..I had to explain how it was up to ME whether he "Moved back in" IF he moved back at all. All this drama because he wanted to show off...As if having a powerful Musclecar from the 1960's wasn't even enough now-a-days?


So, next time you are thinking bout trusting your kid, remember, the good times you had with them long before Facebook..After that, they seem to get "Ballsy" and begin to think they can disrespect you, sh*t on you, break that sacred trust, etc.

Don't be surprized if all that work goes up in smoke with the distinct smell of burning rubber and the sight of bent and twisted metal..Just hope your kid is as lucky as mine was.....Of course then, your wife will say something like "I told you so"..Take this for what you paid for it....

[Dino]

Take your kid to a driving course first.  Let him find out what goes and what does not, especially in a Charger.

Some of the teens back then indeed did fine and lots of them were reduced to minced meat as well.  Don't take a chance, this is a powerful car with no safety features.  Don't let the size of the car fool you, it will crumble like paper when you hit a tree.

As for the car itself, make sure the brakes are good so yes get the discs on now.  Seat belt is crucial, if you have the mounting hole in the roof you can get the xv motorsport belt, getting a seat with harness is of course a viable option as well.  Lap belts...well you might as well tie a string around your wrist so not to forget to avoid the windshield in a collision...

When you give him a chance to play with the car on an empty lot or at a driving course or whereever, you reduce the chance of him doing it on the street.  I would make it clear that there is a time and place to play and it's not on the public road.

[bill440rt]

Depending on what kind of kid he is, I wouldn't do anything. If you're worried to the point where you want to modify the car to make him more responsible with it, then he's not ready to drive it. I am 17 myself and my dad has no problem letting me drive his srt8 or our plymouth with a built 440, just because I have never done anything to prove him otherwise. It all depends on his responsibility

Good kid! 

I learned to drive on my mom's ol' 4-banger Omni, but also had a 318 Charger we were restoring. But... my daily high school ride was a 440-powered '71 Road Runner. I didn't get my first speeding ticket until I was well into my late 20's.... in a 4-banger Mitsubishi (it was late & I was only in a rush to get back home).

KNOW your kid. If you are nervous, don't just hand him the keys after a good report card & say have fun. RIDE ALONG with him. Teach him the in's & out's of driving one of these cars. Let him learn to drive on a simpler newer car, and explain how an older car is MUCH different. He'll learn to respect it as well by working on it, I know I did for sure.
Good luck! 

[kikgas01]

a

Remove the gas tank.

Remove the wheels.

Take the back seat out.

Hide the keys.

agreed, get him something different for as while.

[41husk]

I think if he keeps his grades up and does what he is supposed to using the charger every once in a while would be nice.  My dad had an old convertible Sunbeam alpine he let me drive some times.  I came squeeling around the corner I think the 3rd time I had driven it.  As soon as I pulled in my drive way he took the keys and calmly said driving is a priveledge and you just lost it   I never drove the Sunbeam again and it was a couple of months before I got to drive the 73 charger.  I did not get my own car until I moved out.  I think thats why I have had so many since! 

[1BAD68]

Most likely he will have good intentions about driving his dads car but it just takes one time with his friends and some peer pressure.
If it was me I would let him drive when I'm in the car with him, no exceptions.

[GOTWING]

I had some powerfull cars when i was very young and i never got speeding tickets, i got one for no turn signal lane changing,backing down a one way street,chirping second gear, all dumb stuff. I was lucky to not get caught doing the real dumb stuff. I would let him drive it as it is, if he is going to EFF up it doesnt matter the carb,harness,brakes etc. You know your child better then we do, just use your best judgement and let him know you do not want to be disappointed. My son is 11 and he will get my first car i had when he is older and would not have to drive it everyday as i did. These cars are no longer 10 year old cars, they are 40 plus, like me!
Good luck.

[440]

Too bad you can't install a data logging telemetry or gps . I'd hate to do it to my kid but it's the only way I'd know for certain how he is behaving on the road and treating my  cars.

There's also trust but it doesn't always work.

[Aero426]

Remove the gas tank.

Remove the wheels.

Take the back seat out.

Hide the keys.

I agree.   The only way to teen proof it is to not let him drive it alone.   Horsepower in a 40 year old car and inexperienced drivers are a bad combination. 

Look at the crash pics of that '65 B-body posted here yesterday, and how poorly that car held up in a real world high speed crash.  

[stripedelete]

440 and a teenager just don't go together

I was 21 before I owned/drove a v8.  I was pissed at my dad for a long time.  But when I got a little older, I realized what he had seen,  and who's kids were in wheel chairs,  and or badly burned , or flat out dead.  It happened a lot back in the day.   They were just teenagers that made one bad decision one night.   

Thanks dad. 

[charge69]

There is no such thing as "teenproofing" your '68. If you let him drive it, no matter what he says to you , he WILL crash it. Count on it !

If I had made such a dumb promise to my kid , the ONLY way he would ever get behind the wheel is with me in the car , NO EXCEPTIONS.

These cars just are too powerful with inadequate brakes and handling befitting a 40 year old car for a newby teenager to drive without strict , in car , supervision. Even that will not prevent someone from running in to you while not paying attention.

[XS29LA47V21]

  but really  

I got my first 440 at 14, honestly a couple time between the ditches and getting lucky not wrecking somehow probably served me well.  I am starting early with opportunities with wheels way before they are licenced on the roads and would imagine the wife getting mad when she see us in the pasture doing doughnuts (as a time and place example).  We love cars, I hope to pass on that love .... if that is what they want to get into as hobby.  I will worry waaaay more about meth and the drugs then my kids ability to make choices (hope they are good choices by the way).  

[Cooter]

Too bad you can't install a data logging telemetry or gps . I'd hate to do it to my kid but it's the only way I'd know for certain how he is behaving on the road and treating my  cars.

There's also trust but it doesn't always work.

Whoa! Careful how you refer to "Big Bro" looking in here. There are those who might not see the benefit of GPS tracking.

[skip68]

I think it's a tremendous amount of responsibility to put on on teenager.  It all depends on the type of kid you have.  Is he the more popular, football, go out all the time type or the band/choir geek (more responsible) type?   It's a hard call either way because things happen (showing off) even with the best of kids.  Accidents happen!   Then again there are the kids that would be over protective of dad's car and freak out if somebody even leaned on it.  Bottom line is it just depends on the kid and none of us know him so we really can't make that call.  

[HeavyFuel]

The kid's occasional drive will not provide him enough experience to get the 'feel' of these type of cars, and get really good at driving it.  Driving it every once in a while will most likely create a 'white knuckle' experience for everyone involved.

Don't forget, people expect every vehicle on the road today to handle like.....well......modern vehicles.  The newer stuff all has great handling, brakes, acceleration.......even most full size pickups probably out perform a typical B-body.  So...these cars have targets on them all the time. 

The public's driving habits are based on what todays cars are capable of.  People pull crap now they wouldn't dream of doing 40 years ago, because they know they can get away with it.  A guy pulls out in front of you, or blows through a light, or one of a hundred other things.

A muscle car has a short life expectancy with an inexperienced driver behind the wheel.  I have 2 teenage drivers.....so far so good....and the charger is not in their immediate future.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

Brakes and tires are job 1.

Secondly, I would make damn sure that you're in the car with him at least the first several times he drives it. Be the worst possible backseat driver you can. I think that, even when kids aren't really listening, they're listening. If he "hears" you when he's alone, he should be more careful with it.

[ITSA426]

Send him to an SRT driving course or another similar school.  Brainerd International Raceway offers a StreetSmart teen driving course near us.  I put our loaner teen through it right after she got her learners permit.  SkipBarbers Racing School offers courses for new drivers.  Well worth the money.

My Son went through an SRT driving course, but he was already in his 20s by then.  As a teen he learned to drive in my old Chargers as well as the other vehicles I've owned.  His first road trip was 600 miles each way in a '66 Charger to a meet.  When his grades were good he could drive one of my 66 Chargers to high school.

If your son's judgement is so bad you need to "teenproof" the car I'd say put it up on blocks and drop the insurance until he moves out.  Otherwise just make him responsible for whatever happens to the car while he is in it, and sit back, relax and let him enjoy the car.  Have rules and consequences you can both live with. 

You can also talk to your insurance agent about one of those cameras to monitor his driving.  It's even easier to just lie to him and tell him you had a black box installed any to record unusual events like acceleration, braking or hard turns.

[Darkman]

Depending on what kind of kid he is, I wouldn't do anything. If you're worried to the point where you want to modify the car to make him more responsible with it, then he's not ready to drive it. I am 17 myself and my dad has no problem letting me drive his srt8 or our plymouth with a built 440, just because I have never done anything to prove him otherwise. It all depends on his responsibility

I agree with this 100%! It also depends on how you were as a driver yourself and how you drove cars with your kids in the car at young ages. My Dad had a Chrysler Valiant growing up and I loved that car. He was a responsible driver - always made sure we had our seatbelts on, never thrased out the car, obeyed the road rules. Sometimes he would plant the foot with some encouragement from us kids, but he did it in a controlled environment. All of that rubbed off on me so when I was finally old enough to drive it, I treated it like a baby. Very gentle with it as I didn't want to smash it. I only got the keys when Dad trusted me enough to look after it.

I grew up washing that car every week, helping Dad service/repair it. Last thing I wanted was to lose the car!

[carsnguitars]

Lots of food for thought guys....and teen proofing it was more for safety, yeah a lil throttle limit would be good.

Just to clarify things:

My 2 goals, were to motivate on the grades, as well as teach him about working on cars, & appreciate them.
I am thinking it will take 6+ mos of working on the car together, short drives and lessons. He be almost 18 by then.

I want him to respect the car, the effort required to make it look nice, and learn about cars, all while getting good grades.
My plan was to be with him on some drives and allowing him to run errands and in town drives. I told him no friends in the car at all!

I agree with the peer pressure point, heck I remember me and my friends on some rides!! haha.

Each kid is different, and I wont fully know till we reach that point. I think the bonding and the journey will be fun, and the rest, well time will tell.

[Darkman]

Lots of food for thought guys....and teen proofing it was more for safety, yeah a lil throttle limit would be good.

Just to clarify things:

My 2 goals, were to motivate on the grades, as well as teach him about working on cars, & appreciate them.
I am thinking it will take 6+ mos of working on the car together, short drives and lessons. He be almost 18 by then.

I want him to respect the car, the effort required to make it look nice, and learn about cars, all while getting good grades.
My plan was to be with him on some drives and allowing him to run errands and in town drives. I told him no friends in the car at all!

I agree with the peer pressure point, heck I remember me and my friends on some rides!! haha.

Each kid is different, and I wont fully know till we reach that point. I think the bonding and the journey will be fun, and the rest, well time will tell.

[FJMG]

If a newer car would make you and your wife more at ease then pick up an 06 charger r/t with the curtain airbags.  or a 3.5 l if you really are concerned. Heck just the weight of that car might improve the odds of survival in the event of an accident. Anybody who has registered a car knows that under the age of 25 the odds of an accident are considerably higher. Then reserve the rides in the 68 to family outings.

Notice I did not mention an srt8 

On the other hand, I have let my 17 yr old daughter drive my Srt8 while I am with her and once in a while, on a lonely hwy with nice shallow ditches and no other vehicles in sight I let her "get on it" from about 20 mph, and man the look on her face when that sucker downshifts and the tach swings to 6k is pure heaven.

Now would I let her take friends for a ride without me? Honestly, I am not sure because I do trust her but would probably say no. My only reason would be is that we daily drive old saturns that require a sail to accelerate and until more experience behind the wheel of something with plenty of hp is acquired, I may then feel better.

Fwiw I feel your hesitation.

[Indygenerallee]

And that new SRT8 has traction control whereas that 68 can get squirrelly REAL quick!!

[Kern Dog]

It seems to me that if you want HIM to do most of the work on the car, stuff like limiting the throttle or a rev limiter can be reversed easily. BY HIM.
Tall diff gears, a 318 and an automatic can help.
Regarding safety.... I think that too many people are getting hornswaggled by that crap. EVERYONE on this board has driven an old car and survived. Many of us have wrecked, rolled or burned a few and also survived. The crash worthiness of these cars is pretty good. If I had kids, I'd start them off with an A body though. Many kids get in a few scrapes, and the prices of 68 Charger fenders is about 6 times the cost of used Duster/Dart fenders.

[FLG]

You want him to respect it? Have him buy one.

Im 23 (had my charger since i was 18-19 or so), i fixed it, i paid for it, i put gas in it, i pushed it, i cut and burned my hands on it, and in the end if I wreck it cause im being stupid...its all on me.

I think its not the parking lot showing off that really gets kids killed, its thinking there going to take a 2 ton car with out dated suspension and run it on the highway like its a go kart. Yep i had my occasional highway fun, wound her up to 130mph...best be sure there wasnt another car on the road when i did that.

Have him go to a racing school, he needs to learn not how to handle the car when all is good and dandy...but when the shits hitting the fan.

Ive had tons of fun with my charger in empty parking lots, burnouts, drifting around and having some safe fun. That helps when its slick from rain or you punch it on a turn and have the rear come round the side...you learn the car you know how it should react and you compensate for that and dont go sideways into a pole, you dont know how much grip those tires have until you push them past that limit...and the only way your going to be able to react in those situations is if youve pushed them to those limits before.

Generally youll respect a car if your the one who put the money, blood, sweat and tears into it...otherwise its just as good as driving a rental.

In the end no matter how much work he puts into it, its your car...if (hope it never happens) he wrecks it, he didnt wreck his car he wrecked yours.

[Brightyellow69rtse]

when i was 17 the engine blew in my thunderbird. it had a 3.8 v-6 and i wanted to put in a 302. my dad would only take the loan out for me if i replaced it witha  3.8. having looked back at that many times it was definatly a good move on his part. i understand many kids drive powerful cars. but imo its just safer if they dont have the option 

[1974dodgecharger]

My first car was a 1984 300zx and I won every street race since not many kids could afford such jap cars back then and YES the other big 3 that I raced lost too at the time. I once went 145mph in that car for 5 miles straight and everything was at a stand still....I look back it was scary as FCK!!!!! I got lucky lets put it that way I didnt hit a pebble and go crashing......

You just gonna have to trust your kid....not to be stupid like me....

[Kern Dog]

I once went 145mph in that car for 5 miles straight and everything was at a stand still....

I call bull crap on this one. Cars were limited to the speed rating of the tires by the computer. The BEST OEM tires of that time were the Goodyear gatorbacks or Michelins, and even THOSE had a 130  "V"mph rating. The "Z" rated 149 mph wasnt available until 1988.

[FLG]

I once went 145mph in that car for 5 miles straight and everything was at a stand still....

I call bull crap on this one. Cars were limited to the speed rating of the tires by the computer. The BEST OEM tires of that time were the Goodyear gatorbacks or Michelins, and even THOSE had a 130  "V"mph rating. The "Z" rated 149 mph wasnt available until 1988.

I dont...im sure you can get close to that speed with the right gearing, my charger hit 130 without issue and on 118mph "T" rated tires with room to go. Even if he went for 5 miles at 145mph its only going to take around 2 minutes, the tire just dosnt blow up because your passing the speed rating. Also im fairly certain they base the speed rating in the case that the tire is at its full load rating as well.

Also 300zx's of the time had a speed limiter of 137 (not far from 145) and a quick snip of a wire with those cars removed the limiter.

[1974dodgecharger]

I once went 145mph in that car for 5 miles straight and everything was at a stand still....

I call bull crap on this one. Cars were limited to the speed rating of the tires by the computer. The BEST OEM tires of that time were the Goodyear gatorbacks or Michelins, and even THOSE had a 130  "V"mph rating. The "Z" rated 149 mph wasnt available until 1988.

NOPE it was 145 reading my speedomoeter at the time dont remember the tires I could try to dig up some old pictures it was the 5 speed manual 84 version. MY EYES were NOT bull crap that day I can recall it because after I was done I was scred afterwards, but not at the moment.

[Cooter]

I didn't handle my boy acting like an idiot very well because I was staring at three different sets of lawyers because of him...
Remember folks, today everybody wants to get rich from suing. Years ago, we did dumb sh*t, but noboday had theor f*cking lawyer on speed dial like today....I hope you the best, but I fear the worst. Be prepared to recieve some paperwork form a lawyer if he acts stupid and hits/wrecks/etc. into someone else. Some will say that's what Insurance is for, but remember, most today only have the minimum coverage on their kid, or the one suing wants WAY more than insurance will pay.

[1974dodgecharger]

Just got done doing some reading and googling the N.A. ones had a REV LIMITER, but not a speed limiter and the Turboes had a REV and SPEED limiter. I had the NA. motortrend disabled their speed limiter to hit 153mph top speed in their turbo white version I believe

I once went 145mph in that car for 5 miles straight and everything was at a stand still....

I call bull crap on this one. Cars were limited to the speed rating of the tires by the computer. The BEST OEM tires of that time were the Goodyear gatorbacks or Michelins, and even THOSE had a 130  "V"mph rating. The "Z" rated 149 mph wasnt available until 1988.

I dont...im sure you can get close to that speed with the right gearing, my charger hit 130 without issue and on 118mph "T" rated tires with room to go. Even if he went for 5 miles at 145mph its only going to take around 2 minutes, the tire just dosnt blow up because your passing the speed rating. Also im fairly certain they base the speed rating in the case that the tire is at its full load rating as well.

Also 300zx's of the time had a speed limiter of 137 (not far from 145) and a quick snip of a wire with those cars removed the limiter.

[Charger-Bodie]

When I was 15 and My Dad and I were building my first 68 Charger,I told him I wanted the 383 to go in instead of the 318 he had in mind. He told Me "The only way you will have the 383 in that car is if there are toilet paper in two of the goles instead of pistons". I got into plenty of trouble with the 318 ,never did wreck it though.

[model maker]

A teenager today has too many things to distract them from paying attention, cell phones & texting while driving, i see it ALl the time. They do NOT have the experience to be using a cell phone while driving, they need to pay extra attention because of their INEXPERIENCE. Put him in a 440 it won't be long before some kid in a newer car with ABS etc. will challenge him because he is in an old car & he will just have to prove something. the car has to much power & not enough stopping power BAD COMBINATION when mixed with INEXPERIENCE, CELL PHONES, TEXTING WHILE DRIVING & PEER PRESSURE. he can promise anything all he wants but as soon as he is by himself, you will never know & he knows it.

[lloyd3]

My biggest worry is my only son's fascination with my '68 R/T.  You folks that trust your sons (and daughters) to drive them are hopefully, very-much in touch with the personalities of your children.  As has been mentioned here before, it's a different world out there now. The 60s and 70s were extremely innocent by today's standards, and the distractions are now almost endless (smartphones w/tweeting & texting and video, more sexually-aggressive and more scantily-clad young women, much heavier and faster traffic, etc.) and.... these cars argueably fit under the legal definition of being "an attractive nuisance" (this is the same legal theory that mandates fences around swimming pools).  They attract a surprising amount of attention, and not all of that attention is good. Combine all of that with 45-year old braking and suspension technologies and, IMHO, you're begging for a disaster.  My child is pretty predictable when it comes to the basic human instincts and emotions (as was I), and my track record includes several fairly spectacular automotive disasters.  Thankfully, nobody was killed or severely maimed.  And, quite frankly, because my father was a police officer I was spared some of the usual repercussions of my stupidity.  I somehow lived through my dangerous years, but not all of my peers did.  

When I'm going down a lonely road listening to that big American V-8 digest gasoline, I sometimes think about those that didn't make it.  I'm fairly certain that my son will never get to drive this vehicle unsupervised.  Maybe when he's in his mid-20s, but not before then.

[XH29N0G]

A teen even in one of the less impressive cars is still a problem  I was, and still am, a nerd, not a risk taker. 

I count myself lucky to have avoided killing myself first with a mild 2 bbl pontiac lemans and then with my fathers 383 4 bbl charger. 

The bottom line as I see it (and I have a 14 year old now) is to keep the kids alive and to have them do the right thing if something goes wrong.  I have not decided how to deal with my son, but I am watching.  I suspect it will involve doing stuff with him and hopefully teaching him to respect what the cars can and cannot do, and where his limits are.

Detuning only works to a point.  I would have found a rev limiter or detuning and I do not think my kid would not do the same.  I detuned my dad's 16'9" boat when he gave it to my brother in law to keep him safe.  That lasted until he took it to a shop where they fixed it and told him they took it to 95 mph. 

Another consideration is how they will take it if something happens.  I had a friend who shot himself after wrecking his dad's 427 68 corvette - I think because his dad loved the car, and he was scared of the consequences.  Not saying that will happen again, but it is worth thinking about.   

James
 

[69finder]

Maybe already mentioned;

1) Take out all the seats except the drivers seat.
2) Put a bollix or something that blocks all cellphones, texting etc.
3) No stereo.


DONE! 

And put a rev limiter in er.

[General_01]

All I know is that I got into plenty of mischief with my mom's 4 cylinder '83 Omni and my dad's '77 Volare' with a slant six. 

Only you can judge the situation because your the one who has to live with whatever the outcome is.

[HANDM]

I have the very same dilemma with my daughter, I have promised her that the Challenger will ber hers to drive when in high school. She about floored me when out of the blue she asked when she could start driving it.
She has the grades and the driving skills (I trust her with my/ her Caddilac) it is just going to be the Insurance, fuel and potential breakdowns that I am worried about

The boy, on the other hand wants the Cuda but at least I have five years to deal with that one!

[Mike DC]

                

"Detuning" can be undone pretty quickly.  But if the car has a 318, the kid isn't gonna pull over and swap in a 440 a few blocks away from the house.


I'd probably just go with a carb-swap when the kid is gonna have the car.  Put a little 500 cfm carb onto it and he won't be able to get the speed up too fast.  


And if there's one thing that novice (hell, MOST) drivers cannot handle - it's bald tires in bad weather.  Replacing tires early and keeping the tread depth DEEP is cheap insurance.  Novice drivers have a real habit of learning the car's limits on dry pavement and then driving like it's no different in the wet.  You might not intend for the kid to ever have the car in the wet, but all it takes is one unexpected rainfall to get him into trouble.    

 

[myk]

Honestly I wouldn't let any young, inexperienced driver behind the wheel of an older car, definitely without supervision.  Cars like these, especially when they're closer to stock, are a handful to handle and require complete attention, both-hands-on-the-wheel type of driving.  Younger more inexperienced drivers are completely distracted and don't or won't drive in this alerted state; considering the lack of safety equipment in these cars, not to mention their sub-par handling and braking is just a disaster waiting to happen.  

Now, let's just say for discussion's sake that we have a highly competent teen driver that can handle an older car in a heightened state of awareness; what happens when the "stupid" friends or people come into the equation?  And all kids have stupid friends that are more trouble than they're worth.  It's a miracle what some people will do when they're being egged on, never mind when they're kids looking for approval.  They say that vintage cars are an old man's hobby.  Well IMO that's true for not only the financial part of it, but the added responsibility as well.  Just my  

[johnnycharger]

Change the speedo gear so that when he is showing how easy it hits 100mph, he's only doin 75!

[FastbackJon]

Change the speedo gear so that when he is showing how easy it hits 100mph, he's only doin 75!

That's a good one!

To sum up what everyone else has said.... good tires and brakes and....

It depends on the kid. If you have a smart kid that has a history of making good decisions, then I don't think there's a problem. If you have a "dumb" or immature kid with a powerful car, then you have a problem. And you can either attempt to solve it by dumbing down the car (detuning) or smartening/maturing the kid. I prefer the latter.

And as others have said, get him his own car that needs work before it's drivable. It will teach him a lot more. My dad had a nice restored '68 Charger R/T 440 when I was 13, but the first V8 I believe I ever drove was the rough primer '66 Charger 383 project we bought when I was 16. I learned to work on that car and fix a lot of things that I wouldn't have learned on the already restored car. Plus, having worked on it, a typical person takes more pride and is more careful with their own stuff than someone else's.

As for breaking down, I've been broken down many many times in that and later old cars! But again, it just builds character.

[440]

Ha ha, breaking down is all part of the adventure 

[Cooter]

Change the speedo gear so that when he is showing how easy it hits 100mph, he's only doin 75!

in a perfect world this would work well, but in the real world, all this does is cause the kid in question to realize that he was doing 100 MPH with a 318 2BBl and "Still had half pedal left". once his croney buddies find this out, they are gonna want to "See it proven". Well, here then lies the ever growing problem. Basically, it gets the kid caught "Fudging" his "Bench racing sessions" and embarassed. I've witnessed this personally with "Fake" dyno sheets at cruise night.

One guy had one on his windshield and was exclaiming how his BBC almost "Broke the dyno" it had so much power.
I slid up to the sheet and saw 1058 HP....I know it's bogus and waited for the mayhem to insue. Sure enough, dude was "Challenged" to prove his 1000 HP by a little Dodge Dart with a 360 Stroker in it.
Sure enough, the Dart came out on top. Dart's owner now "Exclaims" at every cruise night that his "Little" Dart smoked a 1000 HP Chevy.

[c00nhunterjoe]

I started saving every penny at age 12. By 15 I had 2 grand saved up and bought my charger. At 15 9 months I had a permit and started learning. At 16 I got my license. The big block charger was my daily driver all through high school. I burned out, I did donuts, I was even dumb enough to jump it one time. Other then the 1 instance of sheer stupidity jumping it, I behaved in it- respectivly. if I wanted to go 100 mph, I went to the track. If somebody wanted to race me, we went to the track. I'm now 28, and have yet to get a ticket in the car. The best thing you can teach him is common sense. Take the speeding and racing to the track where there are no crosswalks or grandma's pulling out in front of you. 

[lloyd3]

It's really a very simple equation. Young, inexperienced driver plus high-horsepower, low-technology car equals a huge learning curve, and this usually results in a smashed car or cars and injured kid(s).  Save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache, help him find a slant-six pickup with a nice paint job and let him learn reality in that first.

[model maker]

Very well said lloyd3
Bert

[GOTWING]

At 16 my first car was and is my 1973 Dodge Charger S/E 318 ( now has 340 ) anyway back then even that would do a honest 120mph top end. My father almost let me have a 63k orig mile 383 Roadrunner for $3000 but my Charger was only $1,200 used from the dealer back in the day. I was fine with the Charger,it was like new, i had duals put on it with Thrush turbo's and Cragar SS's mags with air shocks, it looked and sounded great, if i had the 383 roadrunner i would have most likely got in trouble with it, street racing etc. having a 318 Charger i was a cruiser kind of kid.