`68 Charger build Restomod

[phantom]

Thanks

Did the other corner yesterday.

[keepat]

Nice job!
Pat

[phantom]

Thanks
Started on the front of the car couple of weeks ago.

Prepared the upper cowl for installment




My first cowlpanel came like this  


Poor fitment.


Tried the lower valance to see how it fit.


Obviously need some tweaking


The left front corner was just a joke. Here the valence is screwed together on all of the other mounts, on the other side it meets the 47 year old original front fender, and it fits pretty good, and still this corner, where it meets the new AMD fender,  needs complete readjusting. Have to cut and re-weld.

[phantom]

*doublepost*

[Stevearino]

Beats working with rusty old original sheet metal. Looks like you are getting it handled just fine.

[phantom]

Thank you
So, did some more work on the front. I spent three or four evenings just trying to get the panels to match with even gaps, but whatever i did, the hood made contact with the right side fender. I used the radiator support that came extra with the car, which you see in my previous post.

This support is not from a `68, but i figured they would be the same dimensions. I was wrong.

So i went and got the original support, that i was gonna throw away because it was full of dents. Fitted it between the fenders and the framerails, and what do you know: The hood closed just fine!


Turns out the original is a half inch wider at the top, where it meets the inner fenders.
The right fender was the problem-area, now it fits nice


But now i got a problem with the left fender, the gap between the fender and rad support was almost an inch




So i had to section it in a bit.


Better:


Used the best parts from both supports, and made a Frankenstein  


Using lazer to position all the parts straight before welding the rad and inner fender.


Maybe someone can identify this rad support from the numbers?

[phantom]

Hello all, and a happy new year

Been a while since last post, family and life is happening right now. Watching my 10 month old daughter growing But i'm on daddy-leave for 10 weeks now, so i hope some more progress will happen this winter.

Anyways, done som stuff in between.
Cut out rotted metal and replaced with new


After that, i sprayed two fat coats of 2k Epoxy underneath the whole car.






Found out i had the weakest of the 8-3/4 (741), so i am going to order a brand spanking new one from Moser along with a friend of mine that is also building his '70 as a restomod.


Went and bought a used 440HP from my buddies '70, as he got himself a '13 Hemi from a Challenger.


Also got a 727 Torqueflite, exhaust, radiator and driveshaft.

Went ahead and fixed the famous gap between the QP and the end caps








Also on the way over from the states is a complete air ride kit from Ride Tech, 4-link in the rear. Also waiting on Wilwood 13" in front and 12,19" rears to be sent from USA  

[tan top]

   looking good , nice work 

[keepat]

Great work! Nice seeing your update! Are you adding frame connectors?
Pat

[phantom]

Thank you

For chassis stiffening, i am considering the Tubular double rail subframe connectors, sold by Magnum Force.
http://www.magnumforce.com/magnumstore/shop/item.aspx?itemid=20

For the front, i have these inner fender braces:


They create a triangular brace, that stiffens up the front body, reducing side to side flex, and more importantly, since i am going to run airbags, they distribute the spring-load from the shock towers

[ht4spd307]

Why is there a hole beside the keyhole? Anyone seen that before?

looks like it may have had a LP gas unit installed at one time. that hole looks like were the filler neck may have been installed

[keepat]

Thank you

For chassis stiffening, i am considering the Tubular double rail subframe connectors, sold by Magnum Force.
http://www.magnumforce.com/magnumstore/shop/item.aspx?itemid=20

For the front, i have these inner fender braces:


They create a triangular brace, that stiffens up the front body, reducing side to side flex, and more importantly, since i am going to run airbags, they distribute the spring-load from the shock towers

I installed those Magnum force frame connectors on my silver charger and I think they're one of the best bolt on frame connectors  as they also bolt through the floor pan not just either end, but it would be best to weld them on.
I also have recently installed the US car tool front inter fender supports,  Nice part and certainly will add a lot of rigidity to the front of your car.  Check out page 17 post 413 for the right side and page 19 post 467 for the driver side.
Good luck with your builder and happy new year!
Pat

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,110212.400.html

[phantom]

I've been checking out your build thread, but i must have overlooked your installment of the inner fender braces. Nice work Looking forward to welding them on 

[phantom]

This week i prepared and fixed the left inner fender area, some surface rust and a hole, that i cut out and re-welded in a new plate.




I also fitted the inner fender supports from US car tools












When i prepared the supports, it got me thinking of how much space i had left for the wheels, as they sit over the brackets between the inner fender and shock tower.
Did a test with my 20x9" wheel for my BMW, and it barely clears the bracket, with aprox 1,5" to the outer lip.
This will be when the bags are fully deflated.






Thanks for watching

[cbrestorations]

its amazing how poorly these panels fit, i too have had issues but they advertise and tell you how great everything fits and lines up... great job though getting everything fitted

[keepat]

The backside of your BMW wheel looks great on your Charger!
Pat

[phantom]

cbrestorations: Thank you And yes, every single AMD panel needs som tweaking. Wonder if its the same for other cars, like Camaro or Mustang.

keepat: Thanks, and yes, they do look good, with those massive lips 

[cbrestorations]

i had to lengthen a fender for a 68 camaro last year 1/4" by the door. after getting the whole front clip squared up and hood siting nice there was a 1/2" gap at the door so i cut the skin and lengthened it. that was also an amd panel

[Hemidog]

Hallå!

Nice to see another 68 in Norway, looks like you're doing some good work there 
Where in Norway are you located?

[phantom]

Hallå ja

Thank you. I am located near Jessheim, not far from Gardermoen airport You? Have a link on your car?

[moparstuart]

for the dent in the floor. Get in the car with tough soled shoes like work boots and stomp the dent right out.

fancy body man tools , right there

[phantom]

for the dent in the floor. Get in the car with tough soled shoes like work boots and stomp the dent right out.

fancy body man tools , right there

I know right?  Worst thing, it worked  To some degree anyway.

[phantom]

i had to lengthen a fender for a 68 camaro last year 1/4" by the door. after getting the whole front clip squared up and hood siting nice there was a 1/2" gap at the door so i cut the skin and lengthened it. that was also an amd panel

Read several restoration threads on this forum that struggle with the same problems on their Charger. One had to add 1/4" inch to the deckfiller panel, and one guy had to add half an inch to the quarter i think, to reach to the door-opening. Luckily, all i had to add metal to, was the corner caps. I read Goodmark corners are a better fit.

[phantom]

I would like to smooth out my firewall.



What holes can i weld up on the left side? The big one is for the A/C right? I have no need for that, so i can close that up, right?

[phantom]

Pulled the fender tag off, pretty rusted on the backside, plus it has rusted through couple of places. Can new ones be ordered somewhere? 


Treated the backside with some rust-neutralizer.

Then i started with my doors. The passenger door is from a '69 i think, because the door lock mecanism is different than the driver side door. This door was better than i feared, no larger dents og rust, just a hole that i have cut out for patching.




Little concerned with the gap between the door (and fender) to the new cowl. I may have to add a lip to the cowl to get the desired gap i want. I'll get back to that later.


Then came the driver side door, which i thought werent in such a bad shape from the look of it. Turns out someone did their handy-work here. Bondo...


Why cut out bad steel, when we can fill it up with bondo? 




Grinded the bondo-areas to bare steel, the area by the door handle covered up some minor dents, the area beneath covered up one big one. Hope i can stomp it out a little. Just hope the right front fender doesnt surprise me the same way