lennards 68 rat muscle build

[cbrestorations]

here is a little project im doing for lennard, he gave permission to post this. im going to be building a little ratmuscle driver out of his base model 68. in light of my rat muscle project it sparked lennard to use this base model car he had just sitting, to make a fun driver out of it as he knows his 69 r/t is going to take much more time and money to finish. this car is not going to be a full restoration but rust will be fixed and all aspects of a reliable driver will be done plus a few performance mods. he has a 440 lying around from his 69 r/t that i will be building for it aswell and i think i have him talked into a 6 spd swap aswell behind the 440 as im going the same route on my rat muscle project "daisy". ive done them before in mopars using a t56 and a tr6060 (tr6060 was a lot more involved)  thats just a quick run down of whats going on, ill get more in detail as it goes on.

2-7-16
car was dropped off





2-8-16
got the car stripped of all chrome, glass, bezels, wiring, bumper and front body. then drilled the spot welds for the driver quarter and removed it.
the car needed both quarter skins, rear window patches, trunk pan, right hand corner and a passenger outer wheel house at first glance but after cutting into it i found it also needs a package tray, rear window filler, valance, driver outer wheel house and driver corner. a little more than expected but he agreed it needs to be fixed right. im going to cut all the metal away and get it blasted in all the rust areas. my "daisy" project is also going to need all the same metal so both will have panels removed and blasted at the same time.

[RallyeMike]

I hope you are saving those rear wheels. They are unobtanium!

[Mike DC (formerly miked)]

           
The fronts are nothing to throw away either.  Plenty of General Lee guys want 'em.  The new repro Vectors are okay but they don't look quite the same. 

[cbrestorations]

I'm trying to talk out of a pair of those 15x10's....hint hint lennard lol

[crj1968]

wow how long was that car sitting in the weeds?
 Very cool that a car that not long ago would be considered a total loss will be on the road turning heads again!

[Lennard]

@ RalleyMike: The rear wheels stay.  The fronts will be swapped with 15x8,5s when the project is finished and then the 15x7s will be for sale.

@Chris: I'll trade them for labor.  

@crj1968: I bought the car in 2005, so it's been sitting at least ten years. It was already turning heads "as is" when I trailered it to Chris.

[RallyeMike]

Soon to be another Charger on the road. Cool project 

[tan top]

     looks a mean mutha already with the rear wheel & tire combo 

[Lennard]

I already knew...but I'm finding out again that there is no cheap way to put a second generation charger together.
I need almost everything new sheet metal wise for the rear.

Example:
Deck filler panel for a '68 Charger: $250
Deck filler panel for a '68 Camaro: $45

 

[cdr]

are you doing 1/4 skins, or complete 1/4 ?

[Lennard]

Skins on both sides. It doesn't need full quarters.

[cbrestorations]

@ RalleyMike: The rear wheels stay.  The fronts will be swapped with 15x8,5s when the project is finished and then the 15x7s will be for sale.

@Chris: I'll trade them for labor.  

@crj1968: I bought the car in 2005, so it's been sitting at least ten years. It was already turning heads "as is" when I trailered it to Chris.

ok ill do that lol

[Charger_Fan]

I don't know if I have seen Vectors that wide before, those are cool!
Nice looking project, it's nice to see another one coming back to terrorize the streets.

[cbrestorations]

lets go 6 speed...heres the last one i did, had to make the factory console work with the six speed and shape tunnel to contour the console with mounting brackets. then modify the shifter to come out the 4 speed shifter boot.

[Lennard]

  you're messing up my budget! 

[cbrestorations]

lol ok, are we going to use the 4 speed you have out back or auto?

[Lennard]

6 speed! I just upped the budget.  
There goes my plan for a low budget rat muscle build.

[cavemanno1]

Cool project  ,wish i could have a rat charger!
Tell me about mopar prices  i even needed full rear frames,basically everything from the back seat to the rear valance!

Nice work going there cbr!

[cbrestorations]

didnt tinker much on it today, but did get the other side ready for blasting

[orange383]

Those rear wheels look great!
I had some 8.5s on my old charger.
I have the new versions now. They're nice but I prefer the old ones.

Looking forward to seeing this one evolve.

[F8-4life]

I just sold a pair of the same 15x10 original vectors on ebay for $500, but they were chevy lug pattern.
I'd love to find a mopar pair. Just wondering, are yours legit 4.5 mopar or unilug?

[Lennard]

They are unilug.  I've never seen a 15x10 vector with just mopar bolt pattern. Only Chevy and unilug.

[cbrestorations]

there needs to be a vector wheels love thread now lol

[Lennard]

I'm their biggest fan. I have 3 classic cars and all 3 roll on Vectors.  

[HANDM]

They are unilug.  I've never seen a 15x10 vector with just mopar bolt pattern. Only Chevy and unilug.

 

I have the exact set and they're 4.5 are not unilug but the lug nuts have sleeves or whatever that slip inside to holes.... I don't think I'll ever use them but they are cool to look at.