68 Charger restoration

[holanae]

Dang, I just back from the UPS store.  Sent it into Steer & Gear to have it rebuilt to their Firmer Feel upgrade.  Sticking to my Build Rules, Rule 1:  Separate the needs from the wants.  Rule 2:  Don't sacrifice cost for safety.

I wish I had know about the local shop, I would have definitely taken it there.  Are there any other shops in our area that do good work for our cars?

[tommymac]

Nice build,what kind of shocks did you use,and rear brakes did you use.Id like to up grade mine from drums.Also were you planing a rear stabilizer bar, Thanks TMc

[holanae]

I went with KYB shocks. Found them on a good sale.  There are mixed reviews on here about them, but since i am not taking the driving to the extreme i didnt see the problem.  Just wanted something above Monroe shocks.  Kept the rearend stock for now just cleaned it up really good.  I plan on upgrading to a posi trac rearend after the build is complete.  When I am ready for my rearend upgrade I plan on going with DoctorDiff's setup.

[green69rt]

I went with KYB shocks. Found them on a good sale.  There are mixed reviews on here about them, but since i am not taking the driving to the extreme i didnt see the problem.  Just wanted something above Monroe shocks.  Kept the rearend stock for now just cleaned it up really good.  I plan on upgrading to a posi trac rearend after the build is complete.  When I am ready for my rearend upgrade I plan on going with DoctorDiff's setup.

FYI, I did the Dr diff route also, got the 3.91 rear gear with the suregrip ( some like the locker but I've heard that has its own draw backs.  I kept the rear drums, just didn't see the need to do discs on the rear.)  The total cost was about the same as a new s60 from Strange Engineering so maybe do a little comparison shopping..   The gear is steep for highway cruising, but plan to swap in some 3.23 gears or go the GV route.  Who knows, things change.  I like your setup so far.

[holanae]

Rear disks are mainly cosmetic, so that is why I went with drums for the meantime. 

[holanae]

I got the gearbox back from Steer & Gear, and installed it in the car.  Can't say I was entirely pleased with the rebuild.  They sent a different bolt back with the gearbox.  No huge deal, but when I called they swore up & down that is what I sent them.  I inventoried everything I sent them, and the top of the heads of the bolts have etch markings in them.  Very specific to the gearbox.  I haven't noticed any other bolts on the car with that head pattern.  I could tell when torquing the bolt that it was inferior metal.  If there is a next time, I will be going with Firm Feel.

[holanae]

About to send the car back to Paint for touch ups and finale coat of clear, so I started working on misc. items.  My redneck version of console repair.  The console was broken into 5 different pieces.  The trick is tension, position, and applied weight to close up all the cracks.  That and Gorilla Glue.  I like the Gorilla Glue because it is strong as hell, and it expands while drying.  Keep an eye on it and press the glue down around the crack while it is drying and it acts as a filler.  Once painted, you can't tell a difference.

[holanae]

Bought a Dash cluster from a guy on Facebook.  The Bezel got damaged during shipping.  UPS paid out the full amount of my shipping insurance which was what I paid for it.  Turned around and bought a TIC TOC TAC, and a full set of bezel.  I made out like a bandit on this one.  I was to excited so I put it together; however, I will probably take it all apart and polish the lenses.

[holanae]

Back on all fours after being on casters for 17 years.  Getting ready to go back for touch up.

[Baldwinvette77]

Damn that looks good, im loving the wheels 

[holanae]

Those are the wheels that were on it when I drove it way back then.  Going with something different.

[VegasCharger]

Nice Charger (68's are the best)

Nice rims even though you're not going with them

And nice garage

[tan top]

     

[Fitz73Chrgr]

That color looks awesome!

[MxRacer855]

 

[Charger440RDN]

 

[holanae]

Time to get caught up on the progress I've made since I last posted.  Rebuilt the A/C box.  Before and After.  I'm also working on the dash, inner firewall, and the grille.

[holanae]

Dash Rebuild.  Unfortunately, the center lower dash pad shrunk.  Nothing I can do about it right now.

[holanae]

Top side & Back Side

[holanae]

A little bit of work on the Firewall.  Need to figure out how all the A/C ducting fits back in there.

[holanae]

Currently working on the Grille.  Had to glue some cracks shut.  Alot of sanding and prep work.  Painted the silver, then masked off and painted the black.  Sat there and cut out every louver of the grille so that the tips of the louvers would stay silver.  But in the end, it worked out perfectly.  I have a few more pieces of the grille to prep and paint, then I will seal everything.

[holanae]

Grille pieces after.  Still need to seal everything.

[mightywing7]

Loving the resto!  Great work! 

[tan top]

 looking good 

[keepat]

Nice job! grille looks awesome!
Pat