73 Charger SE in Norway

[Purplecharger]

Hi guys!

Found this forum while searching for charger info, and it seemed like a nice place to hang :-)
So many nice projects here!

After wanting a charger for years (but finding none in my budget range) I stumbled across a 73 Charger (318 SE) a few weeks ago, got a nice price and took it home. Car is sold new in Norway, and due to road salt and heavy winters there is a "bit" of rust. Original owner did some repairs over the years (driver sider quarter panel etc), but I guess there is more to be found... Previous owner decided to paint it purple in his backyard, with not so much focus on bodywork.

I'm not an experienced mechanic, but I'm gonna try my best. Several times if that is what it takes... I'm also planning to use some local help when I can, always depending on how much cash in my pocket :-)

My plans for the car:

Paint: Car is originally brown, with tan interior. I want it sprayed black, with black interior. This week I have a friend of mine who is a car-painter giving it a few quick sprays of black.
It is meant to be somewhat of a temporary thing, while i find my way around the car.

Interior: I ordered a new headliner, front seats, backseat cover, doorsides, carpet and sunvisors. All in black. They will be shipped on boat from usa, so probably 30-45 days. Also have a "Tuff Wheel" arriving shortly.
Original parts will be stored, and I will try to avoid making "unreversable" damage to anything. Some kind of stereo will be built, looking over the options now.

Engine: The engine is an original 318, with less oomph than my 1.8 litre S-Max diesel. A local engine builder is currently putting together a mildly tuned 360 for me, and he will install it next week. Fuel pump, battery and starter will be changed also.

Wheels: still undecided, but I'd like to get some new 17 inch wheels, like a modern twist to classics. Will browse as many pictures as I can to find some I like.

Besides that I like chargers with a pretty low stance, so will see how it works out when wheels are ordered.

Technical: work trough the car and make sure everything is working as intended. Upgrade or replace as needed.

Rust: Get the car in a garage, and start probing to find out how bad it is...

A few quick pics, will type up some more later.


Paint is "Matte", and not so well put on. Lots of small dents, and bad masking.



Interior looks pretty good, except drivers seat



Dashboard in ok shape (only one small crack in vinyl). Id like to replace guages with mordern ones.



"Dual exhaust"... not so dual as I thought (I only noticed when I got back home...)

[moparstuart]

  dual exhaust 

[Purplecharger]

Got the car back from painter today, slightly nicer color in my mind ;-)

[moparstuart]

  wow very nice what a difference

[tan top]

hello & welcome 

looks  mean , in black 

[surmanajaja]

looks better now! 

[Indygenerallee]

  I like it (not the fake dual exhaust however )

[TK73]

WOW
Black helped!!

[irish_in_ny]

Same colour interior as my car! Parchment! Very nice, best of luck with your Charger!

[Purplecharger]

Had to find a new garage, as the previous one suddenly was fully booked. On top of that works has been super-busy, so car had to sit by itself...

Finally got a few hours of work in last night. Removed the horrible excuse for an exhaust pipe, and removed the rear bumper. I plan to paint it black, and touch up the tail-lights. I was also curious to see exactly how much rust was hiding in there.

I guess could have been worse, trunk is good, frame is ok (except possibly an inch at the end) and rear quarter panel is just as bad as expected. Next step is to clean off as much of the rust and old gunk as possible, then see if I can get someone to give me a crash-course in welding... Considering that I'm a complete novice I will do patch up work now, and not dismantle the entire car. I need to split the project up in smaller manageable tasks, owise will just end up with a pile of parts and no car.

Any pointers to the "correct" way of attacking the rust?

[Ghoste]

Thats an ugly mess in that last photo isn't it?  You're sure its only the last inch?

[1974dodgecharger]

dual exhaust 

laughing at his exhaust is very mean....I mean seriously last time I checked that might add extra 10HP or something...the imports add stickers to their cars and those add roughly 1HP for each one.

[Purplecharger]

Thats an ugly mess in that last photo isn't it?  You're sure its only the last inch?

I meant to write "last few inches" - but I will know more this weekend when I clean out more "red stuff that used to be metal"... Pretty certain it will not be less rust than expected, considering the car was built a few months before I was born ;-)