Hello, new here. Have a question...

[Rack]

I have a question...off base from the topic....but  what are you going to do with those rims on there???

There's a local guy that is interested in them (he also has a General Lee). If he decides he doesn't want them I'll sell them to you. And don't worry, I'm not a con artist nor would I ask for loads of money for them.

there is a article in this months hemmings muscle machines about a scum bag that did the same thing more than once,swapping vins etc-if you decide to pursue it in court i would look over the article and have all of your facts,including the e bay auction description to back you up-just my 2 cents,Andy

Thanks, I'll definitely do that.

I'm still willing to stay with the car if the guy gives back a fair amount of money. If not, I'll be taking him to court.

[TylerCharger69]

sounds great to me!!!   I've been looking for an original set of those for a long time!!!     I have a set of six 13 spoke version vectors  that I'm willing to trade for four of the 10 spokers.   I'll have to resize a picture to show them to you.

[TylerCharger69]

Here's the rims I have...I have six of them

[Rack]

Awesome car, Tyler!


I'm not sure if the ones I have are originals. Judging from teh guy that sold them to me I'd be skeptical. How could I even tell?


Here's some closeups of the wheels...

Left Front...




Left rear...



Right Rear...



Right front...

[TylerCharger69]

They look great to me......are they 14" or 15"?     They look like I can easily refurbish them with just a moderate amount of work.

[Rack]

They look great to me......are they 14" or 15"?     They look like I can easily refurbish them with just a moderate amount of work.

Not sure.


I just measured them: The rears have just over a 16" diameter, and the fronts are just over 15".

[694spdRT]

From the tire sizes in the pics you have 15" in back and 14" in front.

[8WHEELER]

Dan,

In 1968 isn't it the case that the Vin# will not match the body stampings? The body stampings will match the order number located on the fender tag and if he doesn't have a fender tag or broadcast sheet there is no way to tell.

Starting in 1969 the Vin# will match the body stampings.

  OOPS....... Rack, I wanted to say fender tag numbers    should match the body numbers, FOR 68.

I have known this for more years than I care to admit, and I still wrote it down wrong, I should have been in bed when I wrote that.

So withought a fender tag or build sheet you can do anything to the car you want to, so nothing will change right 

SEE CORRECT NUMBERS BELOW..........

Dan

[Rack]

Ok so false alarm, right?

Glad I didn't send a message to the squaretrade mediator demanding all my money back! lol


I guess I'm still where I was before. The mediator didn't have anything to say today. Hopefully this will get settled next week. I'm dying to get started (eventhough I really have no clue what to do first. Probably should type out a "plan" for this, but since I've never done it before I really don't know how to plan it).


Also, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all their help/replies. I wish I had found this place BEFORE I bought that car.


Really though, you all have been great. Hope you don't lose your patience with me when I start asking dumb question after dumb question when I finally get started on the car. 

[8WHEELER]

YEP, I HAD SAY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU MEAN DECEASE LAST NIGHT, GLAD I WAS CAUGHT 

I just don't think this guy knows the difference between a 383 and a 440, I can't tell you how many people
I have seen and that I know, that have know idea how to tell. He could have been told it was a 440 and
never figured out how to tell the difference......... just a thought. But good luck with the car after this mess
is all over, I have been there, I have a problem worse right now, but I really don't want to think about it 

Dan

[Rack]

The only reason I got suspicious of the engine and decided to check the casting numbers is cuz a mechanic came over to look at it. He turned the fan on the engine just to see if it was seized. He said it wasn't but that it seemed to turn a bit easy for a 440. That concerned me a bit eventhough he told me it's probably nothing to worry about.


Anyway, the rest is history (well, not quite yet, but hopefully soon).

[TylerCharger69]

He turned the fan??...or the crank???

[Rack]

He turned the fan??...or the crank???

I think he used the fan to turn the crank. He had just come by to look at it, he didn't have any tools with him.

[TylerCharger69]

well..if it turned that easily  by just turning the fan.............well  you know the rest......It should take a breaker bar at the crank to turn the engine by hand.....Even with the plugs removed  it should be harder than that

[Rack]

Well he had to put some muscle into it, but yeah  he told me the same thing (that it turned too easy).


My 440 won't have that problem.   


Pretty soon I'm gonna start trying to form a "Game Plan" for my restoration. Like I said, I've never done one before and I've had very little experience working on cars in the past (I did change the oil on my 81 camaro once).

I'm not worried or intimidated by the knowledge or work required though. I know it ain't gonna be easy, and I know I'll run into a few unexpected problems (already ran into one lol).

I've already bought a few tools and I've read like 5 books and numerous articles about restoring cars. Obviously there's no substitute for experience so the reading can only do so much for me.

So pretty soon I'm gonna be starting up a "Stupid questions" thread that a lot of you all will probably find a bit funny.

There's no doubt I'm gonna get the job done, and the job won't be crap either. It's gonna get done right. Any advice/instructions any of you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, that's for another thread so I don't want to go OT in my own thread.

I'll keep this thread updated with any new info regarding the situation with my engine/refund.


I'm gonna jot down a few questions on a piece of paper then start up that other thread in the general questions forum later on tonight. Be prepared for some pretty stupid questions. 


Better yet, is there a "restoring/modding your '68 charger for dummies" book out there anywhere? 

[TylerCharger69]

Sounds like a plan!!!   Just totally strip the car down to nothing  I mean everything.....doors, hood, decklid...etc....wiring....sigh.....I can go on and on....fenders.....blah blah blah...lol.....then  you can see what exactly you have to work with.   We will help you every step of the way....but remember this...and I've said this before....there are NO stupid questions, but there IS stupid mistakes....so don't feel bad about asking us questions.  There are some seriously knowledgeable folks in here.   We can call this..."The Forum's Restoration"  since everyone will be giving the best advice possible....lmao.   Don't be afraid to ask questions.   Besides.....that car looks pretty solid!!!

[Rack]

Thanks!

Yeah the good news is I already don't have any wiring in the car so that's less work for me already. lol


If it weren't for this problem with the seller I'd already have the car dismantled.

[TylerCharger69]

Well...due to the dwindling numbers of these cars that still exist....I'd keep it, even though it isn't what was posted on the auction.  If the numbers start with XS....then you have something for sure!!!   Mine starts with XP  (383 non-R/T)   It may have had a 440 in it at one time  and somewhere down the road was replaced with a 383.  On the 440 blocks...if you look right in front of the intake manifold  kinda offset to the right a slight bit on top....you will see a rectangular pad where the stampings are.   On a 383 block....the stamping is kinda underneath the distributor on the left side but the pad isn't raised.  It's right near where the head and block meet.   Mine says  E-383  (originally a 2 bbl car)  361, 383, and 400  are all the same blocks (B).....413 and up to 440  are all raised blocks  (RB)  I'm willing to wager that it is an R/T car that you have,  I just think the 440 toasted somewhere down the road and that 383  was put in it's place.   But  the guy selling it on Ebay....if he was "restoring " it...he should've known it was not a 440 engine.   Tear out the back seats and see if perhaps a build sheet still exists in that car.   That would be most helpful!!!

[Rack]

Yeah I found the pad. The numbers aren't stamped in very clear, but one part that is clear is the "383". I would probably be able to see it better if I removed the paint.


I already removed the backseats hoping to find the build sheet but with no luck. I did, however, find a lifetime supply of nuts, and a whole lot of - what I am guessing is - Mouse crap.

This is just in front of the seat. I found the motherload under the seat.

Funny, another thing the seller claimed about the car is that is was "Clean". If this is his idea of clean I don't want to see his house when it's dirty.

[TylerCharger69]

wow....that's a lot of mouse crap.....lol...but those floor pans look nice and solid though!!!

[Rack]

wow....that's a lot of mouse crap.....lol...but those floor pans look nice and solid though!!!

Yeah they look solid, but that's cuz they're covered with a bunch of, what I'm assuming is, sound deadener. Trunk is the same. It kind of looks like a weak form of tar.

[Rack]

The mediator at squaretrade closed the case (in less then a week) cuz " the sides were to far apart"  or something like that, even after I posted that I was willing to negotiate.

There's $100 down the drain.


Now I have to wait for ebay's vehicle fraud protection to do absolutely nothing (and I know it will do absolutely nothing) then I'll take legal action.

[dodge freak]

If you know a lawyer talk to them about it, I see no reason why you have to wait, but I not a lawyer.Hopefully you know one , form wills, house closing, etc. cause some won't even talk to you for free. I like to see that jerk have to refund the money. What state are you in, and is he in a different state, if so what state you would sue in not sure, I think his state cause it was sold there. Thats going to make it hard. If you do not know of any lawyers you might have to move on, no point in spending a grand or two on a maybe case, you might land up getting nothing. Don't ask e-bay what to do, they told me when somebody sold me fuzzy hard to see dvd's copy's to go though all these steps to work something out. I just told my credit card company what happeen and they-chase-gave me a refund right over the phone first time I called them.

[Rack]

Yeah if it comes down to that I'll try and get all my money back. The car's body is in solid shape though so I kind of want to keep it.


I'm in Texas, the seller is in Fresno, CA. I'm hoping to be able to take him to court here that way I don't have to fly to CA. Plus, maybe I'll get one of those old fashioned texas judges that hates Californians. lol

[TylerCharger69]

I'm  in Corpus Christi...what part of Texas are you in???