Gramp's Last Gift for Me...a 68 Charger!

[garageguy]

Hey Guys,

First post here so bare with me...

My late Grandfather recently passed away at the age of 99.  He had purchased a 1968 Charger (383, 4bbl, auto, air, P/S, P/B) brand new and has had it all these years.  It is now been passed down to me.  In fact, my dad drove this car new off the lot in 1968!  The car has 69K, original motor, a California car with original black plates, zero rust and no dings/dents.  It's got a decent white respray with new green vinyl top and green interior (original color combo).  The tranny was replaced in 1979 (I have the receipt).

Anyway, the car has been modestly freshened as mentioned above but toward the end of my grandfather's life, he hired a guy to take the car apart and clean/paint all the parts especially in the engine bay.  Unfortunately, this guy was unable to finish the job so I now have a car plus 1000 pieces.  Everything is clean and ready to bolt back together but I'm not sure where to begin especially with the order of assembly (torsion bars scare me a little as I haven't dealt much with them).  So, I ask you guys for your help here.  Here is what I have and what suggestions do you have to assemble (order is important!)...pics to come later:

1)  Car has rear end and tires but up on jack stands in the front
2)  K Member and all front suspension is out of the car
3)  Bumpers are off
4)  Engine is separated from tranny and out of car but is not in itself, disassembled
5)  The front suspension is all separated out (including torsion bars, LCA's, etc.)
6)  Door handles are out, console is out, steering wheel is off

So, where do you begin?  K-member attached to engine and then install or do you install the K-member first and then lower in the tranny/engine?

I have to get this into a roller as the car isn't at my house and I have been asked to move it ASAP.

Appreciate any feedback....

[Kern Dog]

Welcome to the site. Sorry to read of the passing of your Grandfather. I can only guess that he enjoyed his many years on the planet.
Congratulations of the car. the 68-70 Charger is considered by many as THE best looking muscle car ever built.
Reassembly of a car isn't very difficult, but having a well thought out plan is a huge help. Consider buying "Project Charger" by Larry Lyles. It is a restoration book, but it also has some good info on disassembly/REassembly. The factory service manuals are a big help too. Without these, you may wish to look into contacting the local Mopar car clubs and see if any members there are willing to help.
As far as getting it to the point of being a "roller", yeah the front suspension/K member has to be put back together. At that point it absolutely must be flat towed on a deck.

[Mopar Nut]

Welcome aboard!

Sorry to hear about your grandfather.

[tan top]

 hello & welcome ,  ,
sorry to hear about your grandfarther

[six-tee-nine]

Sorry for your loss.

Buy the 1968 service manual, big help for sure. It is reproduced by Year one but you can probably buy one from almost any classic muscle car restoration parts vendor, or take a peek on Ebay.

If you are limited on working space or laque a quality shop. I'd suggest you put the K frame in place along with the front suspesion so you have the body safe on its 4 wheels. Then you can rent a engine hoist (better if have your own) and put the engine and tranny in both toghether.

Take a look at the members resto threats here, alot of (inspiring) stuff with alot of pictures wich can be used as a guide or reference.

Good luck

BTW you said its a CA car, there are a few members here from CA maybe anyone would be glad to come and help putting it together if you put a few beers in the cooler....

[hawkeye]

sorry for your loss and welcome.  first, take a deep breath and step away from the car.  what are your goals for the car?  are you going to do any kind if restoration?  if so, now is the time.  a few things i would concider doing are,  having the motor and tranny checked by someone who knows what they are doing.  hopefully they are fine but now is the time to find out, not when they are back in the car.  if you are doing a repaint, now would be a good time to paint the engine bay.   if you know anyone who has done a restoration (especially mopar), they would be able to look at the car and maybe give you some pointers.  if not, check to see if there are any mopar clubs in your area.  most car guys would rather look and talk about cars than eat.  do ALOT of research and don't be afraid to ask questions.  i know you are anxious to get the car on the street again, but a little time and planning now will pay off big time in the future.  

[Charger-Bodie]

Sorry to hear about your Grandpa. I too lost someone very close and important to me recently and its hard.

As for the car. If time is of the essence, I would just build a front end folly to attach where the k frame bolts. That way you can get the car and its parts loaded and how ASAP.

[Hud]

Sorry for your loss.  Its very nice that he was able to leave you such a terrific gift!  I hope everything works out for you with this car, and you have it for many years.

When I lost my father I was overseas, and wasn't able to make the funeral in time.  I didn't have this on my mind at the time, as I just wanted to make it home from Iraq but he had a terrific stash of high dollar mopars and parts cars. Though it didn't bother me immediately back then my mother had sold them all before I got home. In a way your Heirloom inspires me, and hopefully, I will be able to leave my children something extraordinary one day.  Ill make sure its in a will though.

Im sure your grandfather would be extremely happy to see you on a quest maintaining this vehicle to cherish as he did for all those years.

[70 sublime]

Sorry to hear about your Grandpa. I too lost someone very close and important to me recently and its hard.

As for the car. If time is of the essence, I would just build a front end folly to attach where the k frame bolts. That way you can get the car and its parts loaded and how ASAP.

I was thinking along these lines also
Just make up a small U shaped section that will bolt up to the bumper bolt holes with or without caster wheels to hold the front up just to get it moved then take your time getting it back together

[Homerr]

Sorry to hear about your grandfather, must have been a cool guy.

If you want to finish the job started before driving the car and time is short you could get some bolt-on caster wheels to get the body up on a flatbed tow truck.

http://store.uscartool.com/Mopar-ABE-Body-Front-Pair-Car-Moving-Body-Wheels_p_23.html

I just got a service manual from Amazon, had it in two days.

Torsion bars are really easy, much easier than springs.  With the front end up in the air and no weight on the suspension they will slip right in.  Just a C clip retainer on the body end holds them in.  Lower the car and adjust the lower control arm end bolt for ride height (may not need to adjust if they weren't altered from original).

Would love to see some pics in whatever state the car is in!

[skip68]

Bitter sweet deal.    All I can say is get it out of wherever it's at ASAP.   These things can go bad depending on where it's at.   Are you close to the car?    Start boxing parts and haul them out.    Good luck to you and welcome to the site.   

[resq302]

Welcome to the site.  and sorry to hear about your loss.     At least you will have a memory that was passed down to you that you will be able to cherish and remember him whenever you work on or drive the car when ever you may finish it. 

There is a ton of people on here with more knowledge than I can ever imagine, so don't hesitate to ask any questions.  We are like one giant family here.

[moparstuart]

welcome from kansas  , post up some pictures of what you have   

[69 OUR/TEA]

Welcome garageguy !!! :cheers:As others had said,get yourself some casters for the front suspension so it can be moved quickly,US Body Tool or Autotwirler has them.

[model maker]

Sorry to read of the passing of your Grandfather, What a great gift from him to you. You have grown up with this Charger and i bet you will never want to part with it, such a great link to your Grandfather. I wish you the best of luck and yes, now is the time to do any restoring or updating.

[garageguy]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the outpouring of support!  Much appreciated.  I basically have about a month (working all weekends) so if all the parts are there I think I can get it into a roller and back down to my house.  It's about 3 hours away so I need to work wisely.  And yes, I do have access to a hoist.

Ultimately, I'm faced with a big decision here....

I don't have the space to keep two cars.  I have a completely restored 57 Chevy BelAir (sorry) that I spent 4 years building and did EVERYTHING myself (including paint).  If I keep the Charger, I'd have to part with the 57.  If I keep the 57, I'd have to sell the Charger.  I'm torn because my wife loves both cars.  But parting with the 57 would be brutal and so would selling the Charger.  Tough place to be.

Knowing you guys are partial to the Mopar's, I know what you might do here.  But, those that have built a car from scratch know what I'm talking about too!

[Old Tired Rebel]

Welcome and my Condolences. What a great project,start a build thread here with pictures to help keep a record.

[Old Tired Rebel]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the outpouring of support!  Much appreciated.  I basically have about a month (working all weekends) so if all the parts are there I think I can get it into a roller and back down to my house.  It's about 3 hours away so I need to work wisely.  And yes, I do have access to a hoist.

Ultimately, I'm faced with a big decision here....

I don't have the space to keep two cars.  I have a completely restored 57 Chevy BelAir (sorry) that I spent 4 years building and did EVERYTHING myself (including paint).  If I keep the Charger, I'd have to part with the 57.  If I keep the 57, I'd have to sell the Charger.  I'm torn because my wife loves both cars.  But parting with the 57 would be brutal and so would selling the Charger.  Tough place to be.

Knowing you guys are partial to the Mopar's, I know what you might do here.  But, those that have built a car from scratch know what I'm talking about too!

Any way to put the 57 in storage so you can keep it?

[six-tee-nine]

Well, about the 57 story....

From my own expierience : I wil never ever again sell a car that I dont want to sell, been there thone that. If you sell a car you like to keep no matter how nice the keeper is you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

I know life is'nt always that simple, but If I were you I'd be on the lookout for a space to keep one of the cars....

[duanesterrr]

Sell the 57 and keep the Charger.  The Charger is a family heirloom at this point and should be kept (unless life throws a curveball at you of course).

[moparstuart]

Sell the 57 and keep the Charger.  The Charger is a family heirloom at this point and should be kept (unless life throws a curveball at you of course).

    Your grand pa bought it new  ,Keep the charger its a family member . You will make new memories rebuilding it .   

[dyslexic teddybear]

Keep the Charger. Not because it's a Charger.....but because you can NOT say '' My grandfather bought it new" about the 57. After you are done with Charger you can say "I did it myself" and have it both ways.

The family connection is something you do not want to regret losing.

[bull]

Attempting to answer your first question, the k-frame, front suspension, engine and transmission can all be installed at the same time. In fact that's the way I recommend it be done. Essentially you can bolt the entire front rebuilt suspension right on to the k-frame on the floor, set the engine trans down on it and then install the whole mess together.

Here's my mess: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,67850.125.html

[garageguy]

Here are a couple pics...

For the K-member, what are the "isolators" and what do they look like?  1 per corner for a total of 4?

[resq302]

If you want to keep both cars and have the space, get one of those Cover-it garages.  It will keep the elements off of the car till you get the chance to get a more permanent garage built for either car.

I also agree with what said that the charger is a family heirloom and you can eventually say "My grandfather bought this brand new and I personally restored it in his honor!