'68 R/T ohio shops?

[ds440]

First and foremost, thank you to all the contributors and posters (and administrators!) of this awesome, awesome site.  I was a "lurker" on the old board and then it crashed.  I feared it was gone forever.  Thankfully, you guys have brought it back to life.  

I'm from the Cincinnati, Ohio area (actually Hamilton) and am the proud owner of '68 Charger R/T 440 auto.  The original engine was replaced with a '75 truck 440 cast crank engine ("5T 440 E" is stamped on the pad).  I purchased the car in '97 and drove it for awhile - went to the 'Nats a couple of times in the late 90s.  I worked on it here and there - new carb, new manifold, worked over 452 heads, etc.  Well then I got busying doing silly things like getting married, buying a first home, etc, and the car sat under what I thought was a quality car cover.....I was wrong.

The car sat for 9 months and suffered unbelievable rust damage.  The body, the frame(!), etc.  I was absolutely gutted.  Well, now the car is safe and sound in my garage, but it needs "saving".

That's where my desperate plea to you folks comes in.  Is there anyone from the Cincy area who knows of a quality resto/body/frame/mopar place to have a quote done on repairs?  Anyone want to do it for free?!  LOL!  I had to at least ASK!    

Background on the car:
Original R/T, white with a black vinyl roof, red interior, and stripe delete (which I found a previous thread that stated this was common - really?).  I plan on restoring it back to original looks, but with (hopefully) a high 12 second motor.  I can list the options if anyone's interested(?).

The previous owner placed the non-mopar wing and had the car painted a faux-plum crazy (and yet left the red interior - ewww).  I have since removed the wing.

I have SO many questions for you guys, but for now I'll settle on simply introducing myself and asking if anyone has any recommendations to the aforementioned body shops....

Thanks...   

[ds440]

An engine pic....

[Doc74]

Firstly, welcome to the site !

Second, Troy, the man who stomped this site of the ground and his keyboard is just around your corner and so happens to have a '68 or....12.
Hopefully he can help you out.

If you're going to shows I'd find the nicest cars and ask the owners who did the resto.

[ds440]

Thanks for the welcome and for the reply, Doc.

Yeah, I've asked a few guys at some local shows, but most of them have done the work themselves, or were lucky enough to find cars that were in good shape to begin with.  Everytime I've been to the Nats most people give me the names of some of the more prestigious shops (that I simply can't afford).

I want a nice driver, not a concours correct show winner....

And being that Mopar owners are generally a close knit community, I was hoping that there was someone on this board who owned a shop that catered/specialized in Chargers/Mopars.  Never hurts to ask - you know?

Troy's from the Cincy area?  Wow - small world   And he ONLY has 12!?  HA!

Thanks again.

[hemi-hampton]

If you dont mind bringing to Detroit I'll do it. Let me know. hemihampton@wowway.com  THANKS, LEON.

[Troy]

Yep, I'm actually in Hamilton (well, outside almost sort-of in Hamilton). Finding a shop around here is an absolute pain but I can help with some of it. Send me a PM (look for the little computer screen looking icon under my name next to this post ). Nice looking car and I'd love to see it in person!

Troy

[ds440]

Thanks for the offer, hemi-hampton.  I'll certainly keep you in mind.

Troy, I just PM'd you.  Thanks for any info you can provide.  The car looks decent in the pictures, BUT...those were taken before the "rust-outbreak".
It's definitely a 20/20 car.  20 feet away at 20 mph.....