What areas to check on a 68-70???

[1carcrazyguy]

Was planning a to look at a Challenger this weekend and I heard about a 68-70 Charger that is within a 40-50 miles of where I will be.  Anyway I am going to swing by and take a look at the Charger (hope it is a 70 for my Dad!!)   Anyway what areas on these cars do I need to check really good???  I know the area around the back glass and the trunk floor but anything else that is a "hard to fix/ hard to find" area on these cars??? 

thanks in advance!

Can you get repro 1/4 and patch panels for these car??

[Mopar2Ya]

Some other rust prone areas: lower rear section of fenders, lower front of doors, lower qts(yes, they do make patches & qtr skins, no OEM completes yet), tail light panel, around windshield seal, & obviously floorpans. The most important to me is that the frame is solid, especially all vital mounting points, torsion & leaf.

[Troy]

Well, the expensive parts are front fenders and grilles (especially 69), vinyl top trim, grille trim, upper door pads, wood grain steering wheel, 68 and 69 side marker lights/reflectors, and the radio bezel (especially 68 ribbed, 69 black pebble grain or 69 SE woodgrain). Certain engine compartment items are tough to find as well (HP manifolds, max cool radiators, valve covers, etc.) but it depends on whether you want to return the car to stock. Get as many original parts as you can since scrounging for all the finish parts and little trim pieces can really blow a budget. The spots to look out for rust have been covered but also check under the battery tray to see if the inner fender is rusted out. The rear valence and corners always seem to be dented/dinged and they are somewhat challenging to fix. Check the wiring for any hacking or strange splices.

Troy

[Mike DC]

     
Yeah, these guys have just about covered the worst spots.
Here's my version of the critical list:

---------------------------------------------------------

PARTS:
--  Front fenders
--  front grille plastic
(These parts are rare/expensive in ANY  condition now.  And no repros.)

FRAME/FLOORS:
--  The typical "everything behind the rear axle"
--  Torsion bar mounts in the tranny crossmember.
--  front subframe rails, just below the battery area (both sides)

OUTER SKIN:
--  Rear window corners & channels
--  Taillight panels (mainly the '69/70 panels, right around the taillight assemblies)

CHROME/STAINLESS TRIM:
--  Vinyl top trim
--  Taillight panel surrounding trim
--  rear window trim

INTERIOR:
--  woodgrain steering wheel (factory optional)
--  Upper door/quarter pads
--  Dashboard pads

             

[1carcrazyguy]

Thanks for the details.  Now keep your fingers crossed for us.      And I will let you know what I find out at least by Tuesday (if not sooner). I might just plan the trip on my day off, if I can wait that long.

[DodgeChargerNeeded]

Don't forget to look in the hood hinge area I've seen some bad stuff there

[472 R/T SE]

A magnet or bondo depth gauge is a must for me 

[bull]

A magnet or bondo depth gauge is a must for me 

I have a question about that. I have used soft fridge magnets when looking at Chargers but I'm wondering how thick the bondo generally has to be before the magnet won't stick? I would assume it wouldn't take much.

[1carcrazyguy]

Well after no sleep last night, I found out more about the car today. And it is not good. The car is from "UP NORTH" and the floors, frame rails and torsion bar mounts are all needing repairs.  There was no back glass (for no telling how long) and the filler panel between the back glass and the tunk lid is "really rusty".  I was also told the the inner sail panel area of the roof had about 3-4 inch diameter rust holes.    So it did not turn out to be the car that I was hoping for.        It is getting harder (if not impossible) to find solid B or E bodies that can be bought by the average guy.        

[472 R/T SE]

I would guess to say there's not many cars that don't have some amount of bondo in them, skim coats, ets.  You should know that by now bull, although your little surprise would have taken an overly thorough prior examination IMO?  I mean I'm sure Smitty would have told you,  .

Depth gauges are just what they're called.  A fridge magnet is a cheap man's version, (me).  If there's a broad area that's not sticking, you know where to look and try to see how repairs were made.   This is how I do it, and not gospel.  Any good flipper will most likely carry a gauge tho.

[moparsinbarns]

I dont like the sound of that much rust. how much does the owner want for it?

[1carcrazyguy]

I dont like the sound of that much rust. how much does the owner want for it?

He was asking $4300.  So I fiqure he was hoping to have someone offer $4k.  But I don't think it was worth 2k IMO.  It was missing side glass on the passengers side the back glass, seats, and the front bumper and grill.  And not that it matters to much to me, but it was a column shift 318 car.