Please help my husband

[Patronus]

Where is the car?

[Lord Warlock]

The most important thing to do, is to bite the bullet and force yourself to go out and work on it a little each day, or each weekend.  Some parts of it don't need a lot of money to get done.  Like many here, i've owned my 69 charger r/t now for 37 years, and it sat in storage forever with nothing getting done to it.  There was always other things to spend money on, in my case it has been my kids, or fixing the house, dental work, being unemployed for long periods of time, etc etc.  This last summer i decided since i was out of work (again) I'd spend a few hours a day working on the charger, and this involved cutting the rust out of the lower rear quarters (a dremel tool, and a few cutting wheels and i was able to cut out the bad parts of the quarter panel, then I grinded out the rust on the inner panel, bought a patch panel, borrowed a welder from my dad, and managed to weld in a new panel, all without anyone telling me how to do it, just trial and error, if you mess it up, do it again, a little research will show you how to weld a panel in place.  Removing the trunk floor is a future project for me, but after the fender, i'm no longer worried about welding anymore.  By September, i had the cars exterior done, and had repainted the car myself, again something i trained myself to do over a few years, practicing on other cars before i did the charger. 

This site is a wealth of information on restorations, and we'll be happy to answer any questions you have, direct you to sources of replacement panels, what parts are what, and where to get them.  Check your local area and see if there is a mopar enthusiast collector group around, if so, they could be a source of additional help, i know my local club is more than happy to come over and help out on some projects, beer and hamburgers are a cheap price for a weekend help session.  I've held car gatherings at my house where we pulled someone's transmission out replaced a clutch and put it back together in a single afternoon and evening, i provided the tools, they did most of the labor.  (this was on an import turbo car where i would normally hesitate to do more than a plug change myself).  Even today i'm willing to help out with something similar if someone needs help to do something locally,  not an expert, but also have some experience doing engine swaps and tuning of older cars, and not afraid to try things i've never done before.  More than likely there somebody nearby you can get to help you out, i'm sure there are quite a few that'd like to work on an old charger for a change. 

Post your questions, we'll be happy to answer, even if it means digging thru our photos, or going out and taking photos of our own cars to help you put it back together.  Just don't use the excuse that there is never enough time, it won't fix itself, you have to step up and start on it, set a goal of what you want to get done, then work on that section till you finish it, then move on to the next goal.  I set weekly goals on my car projects, sometimes i miss the goal, most of the time i meet the goal, just be sure to set a realistic goal of what you want to get done in each phase, and you'll be surprised how much you can get done.  At the current time, i wouldn't be embarrassed to open the garage door and show off the project charger, as i would have been a year ago.  And i've been doing this while i've been unemployed and have no money to spend on it.  Anything that costs more than a token amount gets backburnered till i can scrape the funds to move on it.  When a job comes, then i won't have the time to spend, but i'll have the money to buy a few parts.  Which i will do, the kids will just have to earn their own college money.  (already prepaid their tuition and fees for 4 years each)

[mchlharp]

trying to upload some picts but it says file is too large idk

[jessejames]

Hang on to that car brother! Half the battle is finding one! Took me years to find a decent 69 rt

[Supercharged Riot]

Yep
Keep it if you got the time and money.
or get another one if you dont have time to put in the work for it.
It took me 6 years to catch one.
I'll admit mine wasnt the most perfect catch, it had its shares of good parts and bad body work.
You might catch a good deal now a days, but be prepared to compete with other people about buying

Sometimes I look online and see better deals than what I got mine for 

[mchlharp]

i cant seem to get any of them to load but if anyone wants to they are on my fb page its facebook.com/michael.harp.104

[Lord Warlock]

instead of loading them here, link them instead,  go to your facebook page, put cursor on the picture, right click, then select properties, then in the pop up window, select the url/address line, highlight it, then right click mouse select copy, then click the ok button to make the pop up disappear, then in the text box to post here, click the image button, (2nd icon, 2nd row paste the link in between the image tags like so:  



threw this in because i have a challenger also:

[Lord Warlock]

lol, sometimes its easier to just do it, than to explain it, first attempt didn't work with the small photos, i had to go to each main photo, by clicking the picture, then when it showed the full picture, then i used the right mouse button and select properties, copy the url, close the popup, then click the img button, put mouse in between the img and /img tags that appear in the text window, right click and select paste, just got to make sure the [] are still surrounding the img tag or it won't work.  

So is the challenger a v6, or v8? doesn't have the r/t emblem in grill or the srt8 badge, so assuming its a six.  could be an srt8 though, it has a black spoiler.  I have a Detonator yellow 2010 RT classic.  There is a good challenger forum for info on those, can go to either http://www.challengerforumz.com/index.php or http://www.challengertalk.com/

Charger looks like it wouldn't be too hard to get fixed up, just have to sand out the rust spots in the hood and fenders, prime and paint it, course many showing some rust likely are rusting around the back window also, really need to pull the back glass to get to the channel and see how bad the rust is there,  you can buy replacement sail panels if the piece between window and decklid is rusted bad, mine just had minor rust in the corners, i had to grind out part of the window lip, and weld in a small piece of metal to replace the rusted out piece, grind it smooth then prime and paint it.   rear wheel quarter panels usually rust as well, depends on how bad its rusted there, as to how much metal needs to be removed, you can get skins, or patch panels, depending on how much is bad.  Pics don't show that area so can't really tell, just expect there would be some there since there is minor rust on hood and front fender.

removing the front fenders isn't that hard either, if you decided to take them off to do the work, getting the grill out is more involved than getting a fender off.  Either way, looks like a perfectly good starter to work on, all that you need is to break out the tools and get started on it. 

[TUFCAT]

Actually your Charger doesn't look that bad at all ...we've seen a lot worse around here! 

[mchlharp]

C:\Users\sabine\Pictures\2012-05-02 ca

[hawkeye]

put the motor in it and drive!!!  if everyone waited until their cars were perfect to drive them, there would be damn few on the road.  as you have the time and money you can gradually fix it up.

[mchlharp]

wished i could drive it when i got it the man i bought the car from said it had ben sitting for 20yrs so instead of trying to crank the beast of a motor and messing some thing up i just decided to start tearing it down and getting the resto started had the car tore down in a week the block stripped and on the way to the mechine


there aint a day that goes by i wished i would have tried to drive it before i disassembled it lol

[Dino]

wished i could drive it when i got it the man i bought the car from said it had ben sitting for 20yrs so instead of trying to crank the beast of a motor and messing some thing up i just decided to start tearing it down and getting the resto started had the car tore down in a week the block stripped and on the way to the mechine


there aint a day that goes by i wished i would have tried to drive it before i disassembled it lol

It's reversible.  Put it back together, it doesn't have to look pretty.  Focus on function.  Once you're driving it, you will care a lot less about the looks of it.  Besides, spray cans of flat black are cheap.

[Skyview69]

wished i could drive it when i got it the man i bought the car from said it had ben sitting for 20yrs so instead of trying to crank the beast of a motor and messing some thing up i just decided to start tearing it down and getting the resto started had the car tore down in a week the block stripped and on the way to the mechine


there aint a day that goes by i wished i would have tried to drive it before i disassembled it lol

See if you can put it back together and get it running...then do the real stuff later....finally gort mine on the road after 7 years...only cost me $800 to do so...wish i would have done it sooner...good luck 

[mauve66]

one year waiting is nothing in this hobby, you did right bagging everything though, it'll take some thinking to get it all back together after awhile (i'm not to 21 yrs yet like some)

[mchlharp]

Even if I were to put it all back together there is no floor in the car I would have to flintstone it lol

[Dino]

Even if I were to put it all back together there is no floor in the car I would have to flintstone it lol

No floor at all or trunk only?  Assuming all floors need work, focus on getting all structural components fixed but neglect the skin for now.  Holes in the bottoms of the quarters don't do all that much as long as the frame is alright.

[Patronus]

I prefer to resto a car from the inside out. Since you have the motor pulled, do the engine bay. This is a great part of the process since it involves small projects that get you working on a painted finish quite quickly. Plus it's a great start for one guy, and a great place to learn. Get it covered and get a thread going in "Paint and Body" to help us help you.

[mchlharp]

The floor in the cab has a bunch of holes and is completely rusted the drive shaft hump is fine but both sides are pretty bad

I have started pulling things off the fire wall just haven't taken them completely off yet

[lukedukem]

Here's some info on my charger
1969 dodge charger rt all numbers matching
440 bb bored 60 over shaved .030 off the heads with new springs and valves
Was going to go back all stock except for the motor and tranny
Original color was ivy green was going back with triple black
4 link suspension in rear

#'s matching. yeah, don't sell. just read and listen. 

luke

[duanesterrr]

No way I would sell that car.  Put it back together and drive it.  Having the coolest unrestored car at the local car show is something to be proud of.

[70moparman]

Maybe he could use a perspective change? A torn-apart charger is better then a running Camaro

[cdr]

Maybe he could use a perspective change? A torn-apart charger is better then a running Camaro

thats what i have ,soooo true

[Ghoste]

F8, that should be on a t-shirt or motivational poster or something.

[Inspector71]

I am in the same boat with my 68 Charger. Got most of it torn apart and was blind sided by my X coming out of the woodwork after more money. Short version is she skipped going to court but filed with social services in Texas who filed with Missouri up here. She admitted I owe nothing, it all ended when the girls turned 18, but wants more anyway. Long story short, social services treats all these cases like dead beat dad cases. What's that got to do with you? Even before the hearing, the state garnished my wages at $1250.00 a month and I am not exactly keeping my head above water. The car sits and waits. It is driving me nuts. But, I know if I sell it, I may never get another one. This is my second one and I regretted selling the first one so won't do it again. I'd keep it and hold on for better days. Again, I know how tough it is. I've lost my phone service and other "items" but will hold on to my car. Don't let the dream die.