IT RUNS NOW! AWESOME FEELING Update w/pics 3/19/13

[charge69]

Well, I went over to my buddy's home and shop to take most of the fluids for my engine as I knew we were getting close. Arrived there to see he had already mounted and wired up the MSD Digital-6 box and fabricated a custom coil mount for the MSD Blaster coil where a normal coil would go. He had already finished installing all the new wiring harnesses for the car and, when he installed the MSD Digital-6, he made sure all of it could go back to stock, if I wanted it.

Then, he said, " go get some super and lets just start it up" ! So, I went to the nearest gas station and got 2 5-gallon jugs full of Premium and brought it back. We siphoned the gas out of the jugs into the new and dry fuel tank and saved about 1/3rd gallon to prime the carbs and ... IT LIVES! It started right up and ran like a top for the few minutes we ran it. The front fenders, hood and Grill are not there yet as he said it would be easier to get to problems if we had any but ..... no problems! Doggone it, I did not have my camera with me as I did not expect it to be started today so, no pics for now but, WOW, does it sound nice and I hope to have it on the road in a couple of weeks!

I am really excited to get the old girl back on the road! It's gonna be tearing up the neighborhood soon. Plenty of pics to follow for you to see it. Damn, it's a beautiful car!

[lukedukem]

I know how that feels. Your grin will get bigger when you get to drive it 

Luke

[JB400]

Glad to hear   But, that's still no excuse for not taking your camera

[charge69]

Yeah, I know! I should have had the camera! Oh well !  here are a couple of older pics to set the stage.

[cdr]

that is awesome!!!!! very happy for you   

[Fred]

I share your joy. I know how it was for me when I first heard mine come to life. Man what a feeling.   

[WHITE AND RED 69]

   That is one hell of a motor! Looks great and bet it sounds even better.

[tan top]

      awesome stuff     

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Nice numbers.  Now, who here once said that Hemis suck & don't make any power? 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

R6 looks yummy! 

[projectanimal]

Very COOL!!!       Pretty soon you'll be leaving nice black strips all over the place!!!

[bakerhillpins]

R6 looks yummy! 

   

[Cooter]

Nice numbers.   Now, who here once said that Hemis suck & don't make any power?  

HUH???

Don't know bout that, but I know when it comes to power/per dollar, they suck.....

Congrats Bill! I know all too well bout the first fire up. NOTHING can compare to that. Enjoy it, as there ain't too many times you get to in this life.
I'm waiting on that first test drive.

[bill440rt]

R6 looks yummy! 

   

x3    

Oh, and the Hemi looks great, too! Congrats! 

[charge69]

Thanks guys, the Charger looks a lot better than the picture from a few months ago as the engine compartment is, basically, complete now. I still have to have my wiper motor restored. It doesnt look bad but it is not "restored-new" looking. We mounted the digital-6 box just ahead of theradiator on the passenger-side radiator support but with no airflow interference to the radiator. Love it! A small screwdriver and you can change a lot of parameters. Total timing, timing at startup, timing at ildle, rev limiter, etc. It wasn't necessarily the cheapest way to go but, it is an awesome system.

I'll go over the motor specs again as it has been a while since I posted them. Original crankshaft, just cleaned up the journals, Custom JE forged pistons at a true 11 to 1 compression (actually measured 10.95 to 1), Manley H-Beam rods & Caps, ARP bolts thru-out the engine,  Manley SS valves w/ 3=angle valve job on heads, New OEM rocker arms (damn, about $124.00 each), custom one-off Comp Cams hydraulic roller and complete spring kit,  Custom cut pushrods for the hydraulic roller cam, both original carbs rebuilt and plated by Dan DaVinci and tuned separately on a big-block Chevy dyno mule in his shop (he is actually a Holley and Chevy guy but did this as a special favor to me) Timing was set at 30* total on the dyno and, as you can see, it was still climbing when we shut it down. We set the MSD box at 30* also and noticed no pinging so far! Idles at 850rpms with a great loping idle and instantly revs up to 6000.

Everything is a very clean installation and looks fantastic. My car is being built to drive, not just look at, and it is going pretty well . I will have some pics up next week as I am going to Louisiana in about an hour and my wife's Aunt in Sulfur dosn't have internet so, I will be out of touch for a couple of days.

P,S.   It has complete TTi ceramic-coated headers with a 2 1/2" x-pipe exhaust system including the SS tips all the way back. Not too loud but very menacing!

[68RT4ME]

Man that is nice. I'm sure you're all stoked about getting it out on the road. I'm lovin that color too. 

[Brightyellow69rtse]

when i fired up the 440 the old man across the street came outside to see what i was yelling about.

[charge69]

I am back from Louisiana and can reply now. The color DOES look fantastic. Actually much better in person than pictures show. It was painted with single-stage acrylic enamel like the factory used then hand wet-sanded and buffed to a mirror shine. It looks so shiney, people seeing it think it is a basecoat/clear coat paint job. It's not. We used middle-of-the-road costing paint and, by the time we used 4 gallons, including hardener and reducer, I guess it cost a little over $600.00 a gallon. Yeah, after paint supplies (various weights of sandpaper) various tools to use the sandpaper, paint and he bought a new paint gun (almost $700.00, my paint job with no labor cost involved, was about $3500.00. It BETTER look nice!!! Ha!

We will now finish restoring the grill, and reinstall the fenders and hood on the car and check the paint over for flaws and do some more buffing and "shining" on the car. If things aren't right with the paint (any differences in the shades of the quarters, hood, fenders etc. we will put one more coat of paint on the totally assembled car and get it shining again!

I will still have some things to restore on the car but that can be done after it is running and back home. We tried to use as much original stuff as we could so, some of the original chrome-plating looks pitted but it will eventually be right. Even tried to clean up, replate and use as many of the old fasteners that were original to the car. When we could not reuse some fasteners, new reproduction or original nuts and bolts from my buddy's stash were used to have the correct Chrysler markings are on them.

It is an original Hemicar so it has all the extra bracing on it anyway but my friend installed Extra-heavy guage tube-type ( 3/8th inch pipe that is 2 1/2" diameter) frame connectors on it for more structural rigidity. He welded them in but only welded the ends of them and nothing to the floor so it would be simple to remove them. Installed them before painting the car so they are painted and blend in so naturally, they look stock!

[Back N Black]

Beautiful Charger! congrats 

[charge69]

Thanks to all who replied and I am sure it will be a great moment for me when I get to drive the Charger again. Should be very soon and pics of it will be here.

[charge69]

Here is a very small pictorial history of my car.

In the driveway before restoration.            



After dipping and starting restoration.



Welding and finishing wheel wells (only first4 " of new wheel well were used, rest is original) Gotta love those plasma cutters!



Fitting rear quarter panel.

[greymag]

Congratulations-Can't wait to come up & see it!!!!!!!

[charge69]

Thanks, those wheels and tires (69 magnum) were put on the car to move it as the original 15" wheels had bad tires on it and we were afraid to even move it with the others installed. These weren't a lot better but, at least we could move it around. The original wheels have been restored and Firestone F70-15 wide oval tires from Coker Tire are on them.

My buddy is gonna make a pure racecar out of his '74 Chally and we, most likely, will put the Ansen slot mag reproductions that are on his Chally now on my Charger. At least to see how they look and drive. He has B.F.Goodrich Radial T/A's on them now that are factory blackwall tires and they look pretty good and he will not be using them for his racecar so ....... I am gonna try out the look and buy them from him if they look good to me. I will try to have pics of both the Firestones and the B.F.Goodrich installed.

Here it is with the trunk floor, extensions, and last few outer inches of the wheel wells being installed.



One more with the rear panel being installed.

[charge69]

Here is just one more motor shot from the front.

[r4daytona]

I'm usually over in the aero cars but saw this today and had to say that looks great!  Going to be an awesome car!

[hemi68charger]

Dang Carl !!!!  Looks great !!!!  He needs to do my 500 !!!! ( paint and body, I'll do all the rest )........... 

[charge69]

Ha! Thanks again. Still no pics of it now but I will have them soon.

Sorry Troy, he is burnt out doing restorations and cannot wait to finish mine so he can "gut" his Challenger (74) and make a racecar out of it. He will put the numbers-matching engine and tranny(727) back in his '69 Roadrunner and put the current motor in its' place. That motor is a 451 stroker that has a solid roller cam among other things and already pushes his Roadrunner 11.2's @ 120mph thru the mufflers on street tires. He installed TTi headers and custom cutouts ahead of big Cadillac mufflers on his Roadrunner and put stock exhaust tips out back! And when I say "he" did this, I mean HE did it, not a muffler shop!  A little more tweaking and installing in the Chally and it should be a high 9 or low 10 second car and that is what he wants. The Chally ,currently, has a nicely built and thoroughly reliable built up 383 that is a consistnt high 12 second car for the street.

No more restorations for him for a while and he even has a '70 Cuda 440-6 w/shaker hood in good shape in his garage! We'll see how long he waits to start another resto! He takes his time and does an excellent resto though and know about things I have no clue such as painting a car, electrical systems (all new electrical harnesses throughout my car), and, obviously, body work, including fabrication and welding of anything we couldn't find.

My car is his first Charger but not his first MOPAR restoration and he definitly knows what he is doing!

Some pics from long ago of getting it to the place that acid-dipped the car

[charge69]

Notice the German Shepherds in the background on the last pic? They are very well trained guard dogs that, to this day, I will not go in his backyard without him out there. Years of being around me and they are still too intimidating to be around my Charger without him there! When he is around, I can play, pet, and call the dogs over for some attention. If he is not outside, they still bark at me and I just wait for him.

[lexxman]

wow the car is looking great.

[charge69]

Went by this morning and had a chance to take a couple of pics of my Charger now.  Grrrrr doggone pine pollen is everywhere down here but, it IS going to be about 89* here      Enjoy !!

[cdr]

WOW that is a fine lookin charger you got there,lookin forward to meeting you and the car   

[charge69]

Thanks and we will meet soon with the cruzin' season coming up. Looking forward to it also.

[FlatbackFanatic]

Wow! Looks great. You're doing a great job.

[tan top]

    looking awesome         

[Mytur Binsdirti]

Grrrrr doggone pine pollen is everywhere down here but, it IS going to be about 89* here      Enjoy !!

I still have 3' of snow in my front yard & pine pollen season doesn't hit us until May & June.


Oh, and the car looks good! 

[projectanimal]

Looks awesome!!!!     

[charge69]

Sorry about the snow ! Cool front blew thru here last night and it is 56* now and only supposed to get up to 73* today !!

Lots of little things to do here yet such as install the front bumper guards, paint the fender bolts R6 and the front reflector housings R6 and the rear ones white. Install the windshield and rear glass ( both will be done today or Friday), put the rear stripe on it, etc.

I have to have the headrests re-dyed as it just doesn't look right and the seat-hinge covers are too white (reproductions) and need to be sprayed to better match the white interior. I guess it never really ends!

Hopefully it will come home in a week or two. More pics when it comes home, for sure!

Thanks for all the compliments as a lot of money and time has gone into this restoration!

[lexxman]

The car looks great,you must be going nuts waiting to get it home. Now if this dam snow will go away all will be good.

[DixieRestoParts]

Looks great !!!

Love the R6.

[charge69]

Thanks for the compliments on the R6 paint! We used a single-stage acrylic enamel similar to the factory paint job and it came out great. One more final buffing of the whole car when it comes down off the jackstands.

This fellow my friend knows that owns a glass shop came out yesterday to install a new windshield and put the original back glass on the car. He will only come out for my friend and does this as a special favor for him. Well, he got the back glass installed and was almost finished with the front glass when he broke the glass (windshield) near the top-right corner! All parties were pretty bummed out but he shook it off and ordered another windshield and will put it in Friday. I even offered to pay for the broken windshield but he just said "things happen" and ordered the new one.

My car is coded for tinted front glass only (G15) and the windshield is the only glass I replaced. It was a little cloudy and sand-blasted from being in the car all those years and we just broke it getting it out anyway. All the other glass is original to the car and will be used again. The side and back glass is actually in pretty good shape but not as nice as new repro glass. I just wanted to use as much of the original as I could and it looks pretty nice for 44 year old glass.

Oh well, one more picture couldn't hurt for now. Taken a couple of days ago also.

[charge69]

We started my car up today and brought it up to temp for the first time since everything was put back together. I put a 180* thermostat in it and it came up to temp, opened the thermostat and held 170* on the guage just fine. The original radiator and fan was used and worked perfectly! Just a couple of drops of oil underneath from around the dipstick tube we used. Could be that it has a little too much oil (a little less than 1qt.) in the motor now. It is not an original style as we could not get one to fit after the headers (TTi polished and thermal barrier) were already installed. We did not want to unbolt the headers after installation as they were just real close to the dipstick tube opening anyway.  No problem as it can be fixed like it is now. It actually has a custom made tube for a BB Chevy in it now.

My buddy loaded it up on the trailer he has and took it to a Dodge dealership to get the front-end aligned but they did not have the time to do it today. They said we could leave it and they would get to it first thing in the morning! HaHaHaHaHa! It ain't leaving our sight! You should have seen the crowd it drew at the dealership! Lots of Oooohs and Ahhhs as it should. The engine compartment with the HEMI and all the nice detailing does look stunning! Dan (my buddy and restorer) will go back to the dealership tomorrow at 8am and get it aligned. Paint just needs a final buffing and the R/T stripe put on and it is just about finished.

Gonna be a great day when I get to bring it home again!

[bobfist]

Sweet!

[charge69]

New pics as of today 4-12-13.   It is about ready to come back home! No wheelcovers on it yet as they are still at my house and I am reluctant to scratch up the paint on the wheels.   I am thinking of mounting some new Cragars with Mickey Thompson tires on it and save the bias-ply redlines for later. Anyway, just a couple of new pics for you.

[cdr]

VERY     

[projectanimal]

WOW!!!  SAWEEET!!   
You must be so excited to get her home!!!! 

[charge69]

You gotta know I am !!

[Back N Black]

Very NICE!   still has the factory plastic on the seats. 

[charge69]

That's funny B n B but my friend did cover the seats while doing the rest of the interior and we just left the bags on them.  Does kinda look factory! Ha!

[bzabodyn]

Man, that looks great! A long time coming and truly well deserved - cant wait to see some video with the exhaust - I've contemplated swapping out to TTI headers/exhaust for cruising and factory for show but it's too much work. I know yours will sound nuts though!

BZ

[dads_69]

Yikes! That is sexy...69' HEMI Charger.. dang color combo is awesome, gave me the shakes just looking at pix...congrats! 

[charge69]

Just a couple more pics from today, 4-13-13. 

[bsakal]

Holy canolli that's beautiful! 

[charge69]

It's going to be fun times ahead!  Thanks for the reply.

[charge69]

Thanks for all the positive replies, members and it will be a good summer.

To Bzabodyn about the headers: The headers really add HP to the build and are fairly painless to install but, after they are installed, they are a PITA to work around if you have any issues with the lower end! I just packaged up my original exhaust manifolds and put them away but, if I were you, I would forget about switching between stock and TTi headers as it would be a major headache! No  provision for a heat tube for the choke on the TTi's either and you would lose a couple of other "correct" factory parts. I am happy with them but, I would NOT enjoy switching them for factory manifolds regularly! I love them but, they are on there for the long term.

P.S. None of the "usual suspects" of the clique here have posted in my thread and I am lovin' it. Just goes to prove my point I, and others, made earlier! Ha!

MY Charger is done the way I wanted it to be finished and it is Awesome!

[FlatbackFanatic]

It looks great, have fun!!

[charge69]

Thankyou, I plan to FBF! I hope your Charger is as much fun as mine! I like the "flat black" look also!

[DadsCharger00]

WOW...... AMAZING CAR 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Oh my Carl, how did I miss this one!?!?   She is looking GREAT!   That R6 is to die for.   When my R/T goes back under the knife one day, the original R6 will be put back on.  Stellar job!! 

[charge69]

Thank you sir,  It has been a long journey getting the Charger to where it is now. Also, a LOT of money that I have been blessed to have, has been thrown at it but, it has all been worth it!  Thanks again for the compliments, Dadscharger00 !

[charge69]

 While I was typing my reply to Dadscharger00, you posted your reply!  Thank you, sir, for the reply and, yes, it is stunning in person! Thanks again for the compliments, Just 6T9 CHGR.  It means a lot!

[dyslexic teddybear]

MY Charger is done the way I wanted it to be finished and it is Awesome!

Well put. It's your car.

I do not judge others cars, so others have no reason to judge mine.

It is an awesome car! The color......is making me rethink red. With the interior/top/stripe

[charge69]

Thanks friend!   I go to few car shows but the ones I attended, before and in the future, are to see how others finished their car and enjoy talking to them and watching the pride in their ride show in their face! People are genuinely happy to talk about their cars no matter what make they are.

I know my ride is a fairly rare beast as it still has the original motor and drivetrain except the tranny must have been replaced before I acquired the car. The tranny (727 auto) has the identification pad but, it was never machined and, obviously, no numbers are stamped there. Possible it is the original as it is date-coded Dec 18,1968 and has the correct one-year-only (1969) part number but, it's just as possible it was replaced early in its' life.  It is not important to me now as it has all been rebuilt and no longer original anyway.

I used to drive this car all around here (north Houston) when I first bought the car (1976) and had a ball doing it. Can't tell you how many times I got "curbed" by people wanting to look at the Charger and making offers, even back then. I put it away for good to be restored sometime in my future in 1982 and it has taken this long (numerous life-changing situations later) to get it restored like I want it. It is now a great looking car to me and everyone that sees it. A lot of people are actually afraid to touch it now it looks so good. Ha! I'm gonna drive the snot out of it!

[DadsCharger00]

Dreams occasionally become reality.  It's rare.  Not just the car,  but the reality of the car.  These cars, can do many things.  Bring families together...... and tear Em apart.   Make friends,   make enemies.   But the whole idea of these cars, and the most important factor involved in these cars, is how they make US feel.  It's how ya feel when ya open the garage door and see her parked there.   It's the memories they spark. The stories they remind us of.  At some point, it's not about anyone else.. It's about you and the car. She's amazing sir.  Congrats on her and doing it your way.   

[charge69]

Thanks for the kind words and, yes, it is like a dream-come-true to have it back on the road.

This year started out rough as my wife got very sick in late-Jan. and, unrelated to being sick except for the timing, had to have hand surgery in early Feb. that kept her out of the game , even up to now as she just had another surgery yesterday. This was on her right hand and kept her from using it at all for more than 2 months now. She is right-handed so, a lot of things fell on me to do and it was tough on both of us. I managed to work on the Charger a little but left most of the work to be done by my friend and restorer. He did a fantastic job and I will be eternally grateful to him. My medical problems made him not trust me to do much finish work anyway so he would not have to do it over! Ha!

Keep your head down and go forward and you too will get there eventually.

[dyslexic teddybear]

I don't think I could drive the snot out of an original Hemi.....

I know that's what it was made for. Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing you, and I do like to see them driven. It's just from a history standpoint, I can't do it. Maybe a better way to explain it.....I have some tools that passed to me from my grandfathers, father, and brother. I still use them, but so, so carefully. I really can not stand the thought of losing the history. I'd do the same with an original hemi.
So the answer for me.....non-original hemi. Then I won't feel guilty about exercising it properly. Non-original......may as well make it a stroker. And then.....you know how that goes.
In the meantime, I have a Challenger to do. I got that car in 77, parked in 85. Needed a family rig.....and wisely kept it. Needs a lotta work, hope to start this fall.
Seems we have some other things in common too. I feel for your wife, as my lady had knee replacement surgery 6 weeks ago. So I know some of what you both are going thru. Mine's doing well, and I hope your wife is doing as well too.
Again, congratulations on an awesome hemicar.

[charge69]

I understand your reasoning. The Charger sat in my garage for more than 25 years before I could start on the restoration and when the bores were miked, the motor needed to be bored 0.0030 to be right. I put custom JE forged pistons in it and had them made at 11 to 1 compression then had Manley H-Beam rods, SS Manley valves with hardened seats, ARP bolts throughout the motor and a special CompCams hydraulic roller cam installed with new OEM rocker arms. All original parts to the motor was saved.

This motor's bottom end is an 8000rpm motor easily but the digital-6 RPM limiter is set at 6000 so, I am not worried at all about the motor or its' bottom end. I suppose, something could happen to the car but, I just have to drive it like I did when I got it.

[dyslexic teddybear]

Not quite your normal OEM hemi spec motor is it.....

Drive it. Enjoy it. Then enjoy it some more.

My Challenger, a 73 Rallye 340 4 speed will likely be somewhat close to stock, kinda going for a nice cruiser. About like it was back in the day.
Not sure just how, leaning to an aero clone, but I will have a hemi after the Challenger is done. One I will not be afraid of........hurting.
So I get if that's the way you drove your hemi before, drive it that way now. After all, that IS what it was built for.

[cdr]

DRIVE IT 

[charge69]

In the "old days" as we call them, actually just the mid to late '70's, I drove it aggressively all over town and did not wory about it. Stoplight drags were common and it had blown-out glasspacks on it making it LOUD. When I started it in the garage, the whols house would rattle! Never raced it top-end, though because I was aittle afraid of the brakes at top speeds. It has 3" manual-drum brakes on it from the factory. Right now, they stop the Charger surprisingly well. Better than I remember but they are completely rebuilt ,front and back!

Quick story .... I was down around Crosstimbers road (near northside of Houston) at an eastbound light and my good friend that had a '72 454 corvette that he let me drive also was driving and we realized we were in the wrong lane to go north on I-45. We needed to move over one lane to get in a turning lane although we were 1st in our lane at the light . Immediately next to us were two ladies in a Ford LTD chatting and not noticing us but we needed their lane when the light turned. Well, the light turned green and my buddy treated it as a "Christmas Tree" light and floored the Charger as soon as the light turned. The look of horror and surprise was priceless as the Charger lept ahead of them. We laughed sooooo hard at the look on their faces but both agreed we felt bad about scaring them so bad. They were just oblivious to us before the light turned! Man. did the old girl hook-up right!

I won't be doing stunts like that again but, I WILL have some fun.

[charge69]

To Just 6T9 CHGR :  Painting a car these days, especially single-stage acrylic enamel, has begun to be A major operation! My paint store had to call Corporate hdqrs. to try to find the right formula for R6 Red as they did not have it in their computer and could not find it anywhere. They eventually found it and mixed us up some but that was only because my friend knew the man at the paint store. They really were not supposed to sell this particular paint to us as it was not supposed to be available to the general public anymore!

The paint is actually classified as an industrial paint now,probably for "green earth"reasons and is not generally available to the public but he sold it to us. Middle of the road paint but used 4 gallons at $600.00 per gallon. He (My restorer and painter also bought a paint gun there for about $700.00 also.) Then there were all the supplies needed to get the body ready for paint! We went through hundreds of dollars worth of tools and supplies quickly! As you can see, it gets expensive real quick and my paint is not the most expensive you can buy by any means.  Anyway, the paint is wet-sanded and buffed now and it is as shiny as a base coat/clear coat job but can be touched up or repaired much easier.

If you ever plan to go back to the color on the fendertag, better hurry if you are going acrylic enamel!

[GOTWING]

 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

To Just 6T9 CHGR :  Painting a car these days, especially single-stage acrylic enamel, has begun to be A major operation! My paint store had to call Corporate hdqrs. to try to find the right formula for R6 Red as they did not have it in their computer and could not find it anywhere. They eventually found it and mixed us up some but that was only because my friend knew the man at the paint store. They really were not supposed to sell this particular paint to us as it was not supposed to be available to the general public anymore!

The paint is actually classified as an industrial paint now,probably for "green earth"reasons and is not generally available to the public but he sold it to us. Middle of the road paint but used 4 gallons at $600.00 per gallon. He (My restorer and painter also bought a paint gun there for about $700.00 also.) Then there were all the supplies needed to get the body ready for paint! We went through hundreds of dollars worth of tools and supplies quickly! As you can see, it gets expensive real quick and my paint is not the most expensive you can buy by any means.  Anyway, the paint is wet-sanded and buffed now and it is as shiny as a base coat/clear coat job but can be touched up or repaired much easier.

If you ever plan to go back to the color on the fendertag, better hurry if you are going acrylic enamel!

Wow!  Sadly I dont think a resto is any where in the near future! 

[charge69]

Well,  you have a beautifully restored Charger even if it is not the color on the fendertag.  Kinda goes like restoring the way YOU want, doesn't it? Ha! I would not worry about it one bit. Like I said, your car is a stunning example of a restored Charger anyway!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]