'69 Charger Build - It moves!

[chaos52]

 

[ProDartGTS]

 

[rt green]

is that a mr gasket shifter?

[Mopar Nut]

Looks good.

[chaos52]

is that a mr gasket shifter?

It says Hurst on the side. Not sure what it's from. Obviously not the factory Hurst shifter.

[rt green]

we used to see shifters like that in the 70's.  they had a real short throw.

[chaos52]

Decoded my fender tag...thought I'd share.

Code   Description
E63   383-4 Barrel
D32   H-D A-727 TorqueFlite Trans / Some Years A-998
XP29   X = Dodge Charger
P = Premium
29 = 2 Door Sports Hardtop
H96   H = 383 330HP OR 335HP 1-4BBL 8 CYL
9 = 1969
6 = Newark, DE, USA
W1   Paint Code: Unknown At This Time
W1   Unknown At This Time (2 W1 codes = White Roof + White Body)
C6D   Trim Grade/Style/Color
C = Charger
6 = Vinyl Bucket Seats
D = Dark Blue
B7   Upper Door Frame: Medium Blue Metallic
103   Date Built: 1 / 03 / 1969
106170   Order Number: 106170
C21   Roof Type OR Color:  Center Seat Foldown Armrest
C55   Bucket Seats
G33   Left Hand Outside Mirror - Manual / Chrome
H51   Single Air /w Heater
L31   Hood / Fender Mount Turn Signal
M25   Wide Sill Molding
M31   Belt Molding 69-70
N85   Tachometer
R13   Astrophonic am radio
26   26 in. Radiator
A01   Light Package
M21   Roof Drip Rail Moldings
END   End of Codes

[Rosco]

Definitely gonna be keeping an eye on this!
I'm going to have some very similar work to do around the rear window when I get mine home and get stuck in to it!

[chaos52]

Definitely gonna be keeping an eye on this!
I'm going to have some very similar work to do around the rear window when I get mine home and get stuck in to it!

Awesome! Best of luck on your build.

[projectanimal]

VERY impressive!!!!     Keep up the great work and picture updates!

[chaos52]

Here's a cool before and after comparison from last summer. More current updates coming soon.

[JB400]

Quite the improvement.   Looking forward to seeing some more progress

Don't worry, I don't throw popcorn

[tan top]

Here's a cool before and after comparison from last summer. More current updates coming soon.

  you sorted that out !! nice job 

[Baldwinvette77]

This build reminds me of another charger i know    Awesome job!! and must say you defiantly got the better end of that trade 

[lexxman]

Looking good ,big change.

[djcarguy]

      wow looking great compared to what ya guys slide off the trailer. big   to you and ya dad,lots of great progress so far. an all the best on rest of your build.  dj

[tsmithae]

Here's a cool before and after comparison from last summer. More current updates coming soon.

Quite the difference you've made on that!  Awesome work, glad to see another one coming back to life!

[70 Charger RT]

Nice progress so far.  Here's a shot of my W1 before and after.

[Mopar Nut]

Nice work!

[djcarguy]

      Like the hemi dart ,cuda drag cars.was going to post an suggest cutting the rear wheel well big to get rid of rust and make room for big tires an old school  drag car look.  but ya patched an posted pics of all the work ya did on quarters an it looks good so i kept my idea to myself.    well ya car is sure coming along,keep up the great job of saving ya charger..    any grill plan,, i like the c 500 68 cornet grill .with quick light covers an a nascar look. 

a blue one is pictured on new thread     ---  nascar shot by member-- nascar ______???latter DJ

[skip68]

Excellent work.      

[sixty8charger]

Wow!

I feel like these last two summers I have done nothing but mutilate mine.  Weather beating it up.  I go out to try and fix what I had previously "fixed".. never ending battle.

and just when I get a little momentum, I lose weeks- to a month with Corps stuff.

then .. it feels like I have to start all over.

Much respect to your progress!  wish I had a couple hands to help me out throughout these years.  My wife quit on me after one day of helping and then she tried to slam the trunk lid with a tool in the channel and I might have yelled at her for a second about paying attention or we'll have to back track and fix S*#t that isn't broken....    that was 2 years ago.  she never let it go.

keep the photos coming!  Loving them!

[djcarguy]

      Like the hemi dart ,cuda drag cars.was going to post an suggest cutting the rear wheel well big to get rid of rust and make room for big tires an old school  drag car look.  but ya patched an posted pics of all the work ya did on quarters an it looks good so i kept my idea to myself.    well ya car is sure coming along,keep up the great job of saving ya charger..    any grill plan,, i like the c 500 68 cornet grill .with quick light covers an a nascar look. 

a blue one is pictured on new thread     ---  nascar shot by member-- nascar ______???latter DJ

    Sorry i have been following 3 builds,yours,SRT *daytona and late one nite this post for 68 with amnesia but somehow i spaced an posted this here,,sorry dude. i have been  watching your build an posted afew times.  glad too see ya back for summer an hoping too see more good progress on ya 69.ya come along way ,keep up the good work.latter dj 

[chaos52]

Finally getting around to updating this. I've been working steady since I graduated (yay!) in May and have gotten a lot accomplished. My plan is to have the car in paint this fall and on the road next summer.  Grad school is (hopefully) in the near future and I know if I don't finish the car now it may never get done.

Since I wasn't able to finish the trunk floor over Christmas I started with grinding down the welds and smoothing things out with fiberglass. I also had to finish welding where the floor connects to the wheel wells. The driver's side needed a couple patches there where it had rotted through. I sprayed the trunk area with rocker panel stuff to give it a nice texture.

I already bought the new drivers side quarter skin over Christmas, so I hung that next. It went pretty smooth compared to the other side. The driver's side was just rusty, so there weren't as many fitment issues to worry about. I did have some issues where the skin connected to the rocker panel. The skin was too short for the pinch weld at the bottom to connect properly. I squeezed it together as best as possible, but it caused some warping on the underside and I had to do some filling.

The rocker was hit from underneath toward the front. The driver's fender I have was also bent so that caused some issues with fitting the door to make sure the new quarter skin was hung properly. Dad worked on the fender a bit and we found that the front of the rocker was sucked in about 1/4 inch from the impact. The front half of the rocker needs to be replaced anyway, so that will be an easy fix.  I'm making a new piece for that right now.

After the quarter done I started working on the rear valance. The area between the quarter panel extension and the taillight on the passengers side was still pretty messed up from the collision. The "L" shaped trim piece was against the quarter extension instead of having the proper. 3/8" gap I had to drill new holes so it fit properly, then fill it with fiberglass so it looked nice.

Next up was to finally finish the valance corners. Ugh. Last summer Dad started making a new one for the passenger's side. I had to finish welding a couple pieces on it before beginning to fit it.  After welding it in I spread fiberglass across both gaps to the quarter panel and to the rear valance. After sanding it smooth I used a hacksaw blade to cut the proper gaps.

The top inch or so of the driver's corner was still good, so all I had to do was make a new lower piece. I used the same method to create the proper gaps. The rear valance was bent pretty badly. I spent a lot of time getting the lower edge straight and pounding out/filling dents. After what seemed like forever I was finally able to prime the entire back end and drivers quarter panel.

[chaos52]