Re: NHC's 68 Charger resto/thrash-update- it's alive

[bakerhillpins]

Dino your right I just checked. My car had the 69 cap that says FUEL. I actually like the 69 caps better

Looks like you bought the wrong year then.  Better dump that hunk of junk in my yard so the wife doesn't get mad at you. 

[jaak]

Diggin' the tuff wheel too.

Jason

Another member (JB666?) had one. Thought it looked good in a second gen. Also installed a Flaming River tilt steering column. The one I got was stainless steel so I just polished it up for a bit of contrast in the all black interior. They're pretty simple to install.

I have the grant wood grain tuff wheel in my 69. I had a 73 Rallye with a factory tuff wheel. I just think tuff wheels look great in 2nd gen chargers (or any Mopar for that matter).



Jason

[NHCharger]

Started the initial shake down runs. Took my first "drive" today. ten miles   
Still have a small never ending list of punch list items. This is the first 2nd gen I've driven so I didn't know what to expect compared to my 3rd gens. This car has upgraded suspension/frame components and 500 HP. definitely louder 
Still dialing in timing and carb adjustments.

A BIG thank you to Firefighter Ron. Who had the patience to answer numerous questions and guide me through the engine build. He's still answering questions on the carb adjustments.

[NHCharger]

Couple more pics.

[fy469rtse]

Are you going to be painting the inside of the door frames black to match the interior or leaving them body color? 

Uh-oh. I took reference pics of two different 68's at Carlisle. The ones that I used because the lighting was better showed it body color. When I checked my pics of Rarefish's all original 68 it shows it black like the rest of the interior. Too late at this point to change it.

What really irritates me is this. Box says 67-68 gas cap, looks like a 69 to me. I bought this two years ago, so I'm stuck with it for now.
Also when I took the trunk mat out of the box today and laid it in the trunk I noticed it had all the perforations for the cut outs in the wrong spots. They have all the cut outs reversed/mirror image. This is a REM product I bought two years ago at Carlisle so again I am stuck with it. Thats 68 cap , 69 has fuel on the top, so correct cap, by the way car looks fantastic

[bakerhillpins]

Started the initial shake down runs. Took my first "drive" today. ten miles    
Still have a small never ending list of punch list items. This is the first 2nd gen I've driven so I didn't know what to expect compared to my 3rd gens. This car has upgraded suspension/frame components and 500 HP. definitely louder  
Still dialing in timing and carb adjustments.

A BIG thank you to Firefighter Ron. Who had the patience to answer numerous questions and guide me through the engine build. He's still answering questions on the carb adjustments.

I've got to say Brian, you did a great job on the paint/body work.      Looking forward to seeing it this year.

[nh_mopar_fan]

Beautiful, Brian.

Nice, NICE work.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

That is a good looking '68!  The vectors look good on the car even though its blue!

Look forward to seeing it at Carlisle this year?

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Awesome work man! Ron is a great asset to this board and I also have asked him countless questions over the past year or more. How do you like the seats? They look comfortable but how is the height? My head touches the head liner with the stock seats but they aren't comfortable at all.  Again great work!

[Troy]

Troy

[bill440rt]

That came together great! Looks really good!
Can't wait to see it as well at Carlisle! 

[tan top]

 

[NHCharger]

That is a good looking '68!  The vectors look good on the car even though its blue!

Look forward to seeing it at Carlisle this year?

Here ya go Chris   Actually wanted to see if the rim/tire combo would fit on a 3rd gen- it did.

Planning on Carlisle with the 68 this year.

[NHCharger]

How do you like the seats? They look comfortable but how is the height? My head touches the head liner with the stock seats but they aren't comfortable at all.  Again great work!

Marc, The seats are OK, comfy but on the cheap side. found them on C/L ten minutes from my house for $150.00, the owner said the yellow stitching didn't go with the exterior color on his Chevelle.
I have the opposite problem you have, at 5'6" I sit to low in the car and yes the stock seats aren't comfortable. I built a base for the seat tracks to sit on out of 1" square tube stock (way overkill), then installed the seat in the car and blocked it up to where I was comfortable with the position. Then had a friend try it out who is 6'1" to make sure her head didn't touch the headliner. Had to compromise a bit on the seat height. I also installed a tilt steering wheel column from Flaming River, so that along with the tuff wheel I think really fit the interior of the car well and with this combination I don't feel like I'm at the wheel of a school bus.

[RIDELIKEHELL]

School bus  I know where you are coming from! I need a tilt wheel as well. Love the paint!!!! I have the flaming river rack and pinion with the stock wheel.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Looks awesome!   

[ionracer24]

Been plugging away. Just when you think you cannot remove anymore parts off the car - you do.
These cars rust in the weirdest places. Must have been a mouse house inside the frame. Right side was fine.
[/quote

U ain't just a whistlin dixie freind.  My 70 was rusted out along the whole driver side half of the car, but the passenger side was fine.  Weirdest thing i've ever seen!!

[Dino]

Been plugging away. Just when you think you cannot remove anymore parts off the car - you do.
These cars rust in the weirdest places. Must have been a mouse house inside the frame. Right side was fine.
[/quote

U ain't just a whistlin dixie freind.  My 70 was rusted out along the whole driver side half of the car, but the passenger side was fine.  Weirdest thing i've ever seen!!

Very common on any car.  It was likely parked in a position where it was lower on one said and it retained more water.  Growing up in Europe where you parallel park everywhere, it's a very common thing to see.  Having one side of your car parked in a gutter inches above running water doesn't help much either.

[1970Moparmann]

Awesome work man! Ron is a great asset to this board and I also have asked him countless questions over the past year or more.

X2 about Ron!

Car looks great!  Congrats!

[resq302]

Brian,

Car came out looking AWESOME!  Best of luck with it!  And yes, the rims do look really good on there also!

[firefighter3931]

Fantastic job Brian  That blue really pops out in the sun 

Sounds like all the bugs are getting worked out 

It's going to be lots of fun when you finally lay into it !   


Ron

[Nickrc3]

Brian, you have done a remarkable job on this restoration.Thanks on sharing it with us.

Question: How did the sub-frame connectors fit? I'm assuming their US Car Tools - http://store.uscartool.com/b-body-chassis-stiffening-kit.html.
And their other chassis components? I'm thinking about ordering the complete kit for my 68'. Were you able to weld a continuous bead, or tack, tack and more tack typical with light metal?

$600.00 a gallon for Deltron? Pricey, but like everything else, you get what you pay for. Being of high-solids, did you use a full two gallons?

Talk to us about the engine. What modifications did Ron recommend? Compression ratio?  I noticed the Edelbrock heads - nice.

Keep up the great work!

[NHCharger]

Nick- Yes, sub frame connectors from US Car Tool. Fit real nice, spent an hour or so on each trimming it to fit the floor as close as possible. Had to stitch weld to the floor pan so I didn't warp the pans. since it's hard to get a nice smooth bead when stitch welding and that inside angle is tough to grind down smooth I covered the joint after with seam sealer, then some rattle can undercoating. Also added the lower body core stiffener to the radiator support. If I had known i was building a stout engine I would have also installed the torque boxes, still can just a pain to do after the fact.

Yes two gallons. I used Omni which is the cheaper line of the PPG for the back of the doors, engine bay, under side of hood and trunk lid to save a few bucks.

Yeah the engine broke the piggy bank . It ran when I bought it but I didn't test drive it except on and off the trailer. Ended up doing a total rebuild. There were some new parts in the engine that we used, connecting rods, steel crank, Eddy Performer Intake, almost new valve covers and timing chain cover, everything else except for block was tossed. Went with the Eddy RPM heads (couldn't believe the weight difference to the stock heads), KB pistons, VooDoo Lunati cam, Mellon high output oil pump, double roller timing chain, new water pump, aluminum radiator, Proform 750 DP carb, FireCore ready to run distributor/coil/plug wires, Doug's Headers, Pypes Crossover system, Dymomax Ultraflow muffs. Compression is right at 10:1

Still dialing in the carb. Didn't mean to hijack your carb thread in the engine section. Have you been able to get your carb dialed in?

[darkside]

what brand headers?

The engine was the wild card. I was able to compression test all the cylinders when I bought it except #3 & 5 because the headers were tight against the plugs, couldn't even remove the plugs. Well had a blown head gasket AND cracked head, guess where . Also four of the pistons were damaged. Engine builder said they appeared to have been dropped before they were installed. He said someone did a half assed rebuild just to get the engine back in the car. found plenty of that all over the car.

So since I was going to have a blank canvass I contacted our local engine guru (Ron- Firefighter) and he cooked up an nice engine package that my engine builder said should produce 500-525 HP.

Even the Denzo mini starter was still a tight fit. Had to remove the bolt extensions and even grind down the starter bolt so it didn't hit the block.