DodgeCharger.com Forum

I've been a member of this great site for ½ dozen years or so, and have really appreciated all of the tips, advice and experience that is offered up .  Thank you very much.

This website is like a crutch for me, and using it makes many of the tasks involved with this car infinitely easier to accomplish.

My car was at paint/body for years, and in that time I tried to rebuild/recondition whatever parts that I could for reuse on the car, as I'm shooting for a result that is as close to  factory appearing as possible.

The painted body has been back in my garage since mid July, and I've got 'er put back together enough to warrant posting some progress.  I'll try to post before and after shots as much as possible, as I've enjoyed seeing that type of thing on other pages.

Here we are, starting from scratch, brand new body work and paint.  It took a while to get back from paint, but hopefully it was worth the wait.

The body lines and gaps turned out pretty well.  I had to re-adjust a hood hinge a couple days ago, to get one cowl side to settle in lower to the rubber bumper.  Everything else is pretty good.

The engine waits patiently for its turn to be installed.  All in due time.

I tried to duplicate the way the factory did things as much as I could.

A clean slate..... but not for long.

This paint over the undercoating is one of the several goofs that the painter did.   I'll fix it  with undercoating later.

Wish mine looked that good right now.  What color is that? It looks salmon in the pics.

The factory undercoating was in pretty good shape, so we scraped/ground off the loose stuff, and filled in those areas, then went over the whole thing for a uniform effect.
Torque boxes and subframe connectors were welded in and ended up looking like they were born with the car.

The guts got more paint than the factory put down, but that's OK.  A small panel of floor on the driver side needed to be replaced, the repair job is so nice, you can't even tell.

The factory paint patterns were duplicated for the doors.

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on September 11, 2012, 04:47:18 PM
Wish mine looked that good right now.  What color is that? It looks salmon in the pics.

MM1 Bronze

The trunk ended up with way better coverage of paint than the factory put down.....and no runs.

I learned a lesson when I attached the trunk latch.....do not re-attach things using the old wear marks on the item as gospel.  When I closed the trunk lid, it came a 1/16 from rubbing on the right side, due to the lid shifting over to get into the latch slot.  A small shift of the latch to the left fixed it.  Too easy.

The left rear quarter had some damage in a previous life, and was replaced with a Chrysler full qtr. The sticker was on the inside before this work was done.  We tried to duplicate the sound deadener/undercoating pattern (we copied the right side) .  It turned out pretty decent.

The floor center was a little rusty, so a repo center was patched in.  We didn't go with a complete floor, just the lowest part (that has the stamped depressions) was cut out and replaced.  It turned out nice.

The black panel was put down over the top of the clear.   I don't know how that's going to hold up.  I wanted to do it a different way, but the painter said it would be fine.  We'll see.

I tried to use as many of the factory original parts from this car as I could.  This is the original rubber bump stop, complete with the original waxy coating still on.

Many parts were media blasted and coated in some fashion.

The body guy missed a couple of small holes in the wheel well, so I patched them over with some JB Weld putty, and will undercoat over that.  Hopefully that will hold up.

I tried to reproduce the original colors of components as much as I could.  I messed up on a couple of parts so far, but most are right, I think.

The shock mount plate under the spring should be natural metal color.....I missed that one.  I'm gonna leave it black, it looks OK....but it does bug me a little.

more

Here we are getting a few things put in under the hood.  Pretty much everything is getting gone through before reinstallation, but I'm not going to post each and every thing, naturally.

If the original finish on a part was intact, without rust, I kept the part original, as can be seen in this A/C motor.

The booster was sent away for rebuilding, then mated to a new master cylinder, which was painted up with the lid and retainer on, as the factory did it.

As mentioned before, torque boxes and subs were added, so it was necessary to cut the fuel lines to get them snaked through.  That was a total pain.  But the location of the line splices will make them not very noticable.

My dash was in pretty decent shape, and besides a repair job on the bulk connector, just needed a good cleanup.

I obtained good used bulkhead connecter, and transferred all of the connection over.  The usual spots were toasted...the red and black wires that went to and from the ammeter.  I repaired those areas, and will be doing the bypass as described  by Ebooger to lighten the load through the connecter.

I found some good insulating/sound proofing material from Thermo Tech.  It is really similar to one of the Dynamat products and the price was pretty good.  I will only go as far as shown since my car is pretty stock, and has the undercoating.  I don't want it too quiet!

My heater box was in nice shape....that is the original paint.....but I tore it totally down to replace all the foam/seals, and clean it up.  I also pulled out the A/C components, and fabbed up a fake panel to channel air as the original parts would have.  We'll see how it works.

The dash is pretty nice, will just need good cleaning.  I didn't have to paint the top area behind the pad or anything, and the pads all look good.

I've  had to contact my local source for a few original parts that I need, like a couple of plugs that live underneath the package tray in the floor.  I busted the originals, when I took them out.

Naturally, my car has it's share of repo parts on it, when good original stuff is just not available.

These shields are original, just sandblasted, POR15 until it gets tacky, then shot with SEM Trim Black. Pretty durable, and not as shiny as the pic shows.  The rubber part at the top is original.   

I'm not gonna want to mess these up with undercoating later, but it's gotta be done.

The painter didn't shoot much paint on the roof, but then neither did the factory.

Great job! I am sure you are proud, I would be.

very cool,mine started life jj1 gold also,LOOKIN GREAT

Holy Crap that's ALOT of work!! Looks amazing though..Very nice.

LOOKS AWESOME

You are doing a fantastic job with the restoration!! Great before and after pics as you get things done. Beautiful color and the Charger will be stunning when you finish. Congrats !!

 :iagree: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Looks great!!  :cheers:

Amazing!   :o

Thanks, guys. :2thumbs:

I have more done, I just ran out out of time to post.  Stay tuned tomorrow.  The vinyl is on, and the tail is done.   :yesnod:

Looking forward to the next installment then!

WOW You are doing a great job with your attention to details!  Gonna be a sweet car!   :2thumbs:

very nice       

     very cool
                         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVT8t0oHdWY

   


             

VERY beautiful!
Definitely something to be proud of!  :cheers:

I followed a recommended sequence to put on the top, and modified it a little bit. It turned out pretty well for my first one.  I learned quite a bit, and although I hope to never have to do another one, my next would turn out better.

I tried to follow the factory processes for gaskets, retainers, etc.

The texture on the panel was a shot "from the hip".....hopefully it's close.  You can see the difference between it and the SEM Trim Black on the tail light housing.

It just keeps getting better and better. :2thumbs:

My constant shadow.


And my wife thought this was a funny position.  She obvoiusly doesn't spend enough time helping me on the car.  Many others have been way funnier.

Definitely nice work and progress.  I'm not into the reproduction/restoration side of things but your efforts do make the idea very attractive...

looks awesome  :2thumbs:  nice work  :yesnod:

Um.... WOW!   :o   I can only aspire to pick up on the details like you have. Nice work indeed!   :cheers:  :popcrn:

Holy Crap that is a nice build!   :2thumbs:

that looks great. Love the before and after pics.

Excellent way of showing the progress  :2thumbs:

Quote from: RIDELIKEHELL on September 12, 2012, 12:03:14 PM
Excellent way of showing the progress  :2thumbs:

:iagree:

AWESOME JOB!!!

Quote from: moparstuart on September 11, 2012, 08:34:56 PM
very nice        

    very cool
                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVT8t0oHdWY

   


           

I was to post the same LOL, but by some restriction about my location, I can't see the official video, so this was one of  my options:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP0NjHT31XQ

Thanks for sharing those great pics. The car looks beautiful! :2thumbs:

That turned out great. What did you use for tailpanel satin black?

That car looks great! Excellent job!

Quote from: Silver R/T on September 13, 2012, 09:03:46 PM
That turned out great. What did you use for tailpanel satin black?

I'd have to ask my painter that question....and I don't plan on ever talking to him again, if I can help it.  Let's just say that he had my car for way too long, and we parted ways on "so-so" terms.  Sorry.

Did a few things over the weekend, one was the door handle installation.
I'll give you the play by play, maybe it'll help out a few folks.....the second side took about 1/4 the time as the first.

-  Clean up all handle parts and components.  I was pretty lucky and my stuff is in pretty nice shape.  The black buttons had some scarring from sliding back and forth on the rough edges of the handle holes, so I smoothed out the hole edges with a file, and sanded and polished the buttons.

The stainless exterior of the tumbler looked pretty tough, so I polished that up.

-  Check fitment of handle and tumbler.  I had to clean the bodywork slop out of the hole before the tumbler would go in.  Be careful with the file, and always push it into the hole....you don't want to take off a chunk of paint.

-  Detroit Muscle Tech makes a good gasket set and their size and fitment is superior to the originals (top).

-  Attach handle and tumbler.  There is a right and left on the tumbler, note the position of the small pivoting lever attached to the rear.

The main mechanism should be installed as described.

This is the factory finish on the latch parts.  I've seen most of the pivot bracket screws on other cars in silver, but mine are cad yellowish brown.

The striker is the factory finish as well, and I had to remove one of the two shims that was originally there.  I found that interesting....we'll see how the clearance is after the car is all together.

I checked the alignment from inside the car, slowly closing the door, and observing the alignment of the latch and striker.  Keep making small adjustments in the location of the striker until you get a smooth closing door that sits fairly tight after the second click of the latch.  Of course your rubber door bumpers should be in place .

Also observe the body lines from the outside.  Hopefully your lines are good and the door closes tight.

I was gonna save the gas cap till later, but I couldn't wait.

Starting to get burned out on the car......been at it pretty solid since I got it back from the painter in July.

Original galvinizing on the tube...still looking pretty good.

The last pic shows what remains of the original black paint in the grooves.  It's gonna stay just like this for now, I can always detail that later.

That's the problem with doing a factory correct resto.  But it will definitely be worth it in the end.  Doing a great job. :2thumbs:

The lower windshield clips varied in size for the different B bodies.

Here is the R/T Specialties clip, and one of my originals.  A perfect match.



An upper clip installed.  The originals were green zinc chromate.

The look of the tail light changes fairly dramatically when you add the black ring.  I tried to cut this corner, but couldn't get myself to leave it.  The end product did vary a little from original...I didn't leave the small ring of chrome inside of the black ring, right up against the red lens.  I couldn't figure out a good way to etch just the recessed area.  It still turned out pretty nice.

Is that the original chrome on the fuel bezel ring?
If so that's fan-flippin'-tastic!  :drool5:

Lookin' good!

PS - You can probably just remove the extra black paint on the inside of the tail light bezel with a quick wipe of a rag with some lacquer thinner. Just remove the bezels first as not to damage the lenses.
:Twocents:

Quote from: bill440rt on September 17, 2012, 04:10:43 PM
Is that the original chrome on the fuel bezel ring?
If so that's fan-flippin'-tastic!  :drool5:

Lookin' good!

PS - You can probably just remove the extra black paint on the inside of the tail light bezel with a quick wipe of a rag with some lacquer thinner. Just remove the bezels first as not to damage the lenses.
:Twocents:

Hmmm.....I never thought about using thinner......we'll see.


That is the original chrome on the cap and ring.    Not even polished...just cleaned thoroughly. :yesnod:

I only had two of the three special screws...so I went with stainless. (edit.....those screws are now replaced with re-po's....thanks to the group buy :2thumbs:)

It looks new, very nice piece.

thank you for all the pics,it will help me on putting mine back together

Okay, I finally installed my back glass.  It was quite a process, mainly because (a) I've never done one before, and (b) I'm a picky SOB.

1. Here are the original clips and spacers, none of which will be re-used (except for a couple clips).

2. You can see how the white spacer fit into the metal brackets, and I guess they performed as spacers, along with the black rubber spacer blocks.

3. Here is where they were located on the back glass.

1. The original clips had either a glue or sealant on the back between the clip and the glass channel.  I used 3M Bedding and Glazing for this purpose.....it should seal things up, hopefully keep my trunk dry.

2. The green clip is an original one that I installed in place of the white rubber/metal clip spacer.  I needed something to fill those two holes, and many of my old clips were still mint.

3. The new rubber spacers that hold the glass centered on the hole (from roof to lower channel) are fabbed out of a solid rubber block and needed a corner taken out in order for the trim to pass nicely from clip to clip.  They are sitting on some thin rubber material to elevate them to the installed height of the glass.

I didn't take a pic of it, dammit, but the bottom of the original rear glass is cut very unevenly.  You have to be careful on the placement of the spacer blocks, because an inch back and forth, one way or the other matters.  Mark on the tape where the block goes after aligning your glass in the opening.

That glass can be a chore...great Job!

The alignment of the glass should be done before the dam is installed.  You need to do this so that the fitment can be checked between the glass and pinchweld that it rests on.  Hopefully, it will pretty tight, straight and even all the way around.  If you find some uneven gaps, make sure to take those into account when you place the dam and sealant (more on that later).

1-2. Here you can see the side to side spacing, with the dam in place.  Be sure to have a sufficient amount of glass available for the sealant to adhere to.

3. Once the side to side spacing is set, run a piece of tape vertically across the glass channel and cut the tape at the channel.  Use this as a guide after the sealant is on the channel, and you're placing the glass.

Now ....the height of the glass away from the pinchweld.  I wrestled with this for quite a while.

1. You want the glass at just the right height, so the trim fits nice and it's as close to the designer's intent as possible.  I checked the service manual, and the factory used a rubber dam, in "V" shape, with the sealant laid in a 3/8" bead against the open part of the "V".

2. I debated on how much the bead of sealant was intended to compress.  I figured about half, so the 3/8 bead becomes 3/16.  I rounded up some rubber material and cut some 3/16 spacers.

6mm dam is just a tiny bit taller than the spacer, so it should work to hold back the wall of urethane from entering the cabin.

Why use the 3/16 spacers, you ask?   Why not just use the 6mm dam or a thicker one that will compress to 3/16?

Because of the uneven glass to pinchweld gap mentioned earlier.  I want to control the finished height of my glass, and need to use spacers to accomplish this, and when they are placed in the right positions, the dam can compress more in one place and less in another.

My conclusion is that the glass height should be pretty close to the level of the catch on the clip that holds the trim.  A little bit one way or another is not a huge deal, but the glass needs to be level in the hole, and the clips need to be consistent in height around the glass (they adjust up and down about 1/16).  I found the clips along one sail panel had to be "up", and all the others were "seated" all the way down.

Now remove the glass from the opening, lay down a nice bead of urethane, taller that the dam.  I used the Dow 418 HV, which doesn't require a pinchweld primer.

Use a good caulking gun, with a force multiplier, unless you have a grip like Dwayne Johnson.  I didn't have either, and it sucked dispensing this crud.

1. Position the glass, bottom first on the block spacers, and then tilt it forward.  Make sure your tape alignment mark is right on.  Press the glass down tight against the pinchweld spacers.

2. In this shot it's tough to see, but I "paddled" (service manual term) the sealant tightly into the area with a wood shim, then ran a nice smooth edge where I could.  Don't glob up any by the clips or where the trim needs to run.

Let the urethane dry for a few days and you can put on the trim.  Be sure to mark the location of the trim clips, so you know where to start whaling away with the hammer.  Not.  I used a small wood block with a rag covering one end, and gentle taps with a hammer.

1. Polish and test fit all of the trim pieces.  My pieces fit together really nice and I was able to snap all 5 together and lay in position as one.

2-3. I started attaching at the top center, and soon found out that a small gap helps the clips go down together as they slide against the vinyl top.  Use a deburred putty knife for this, on the left side of the joint.

I also put a tiny amount of white grease on the contact surface of each clip, just to aid in the installation.  I didn't know how easy or hard it would be to get the trim seated.

4. I had one troublesome area where one of the top pieces joined with the lower corner piece, but for the most part, it went down pretty well and turned out decent.  The lower straight piece pushed down by hand....no hammer needed...and was nice and snug.

1. The distance between the trim and the edge of the roof is nice and even, thanks to the prior planning on the glass and clip height.

2. The trim along the roof lays as it should on the same plane as the glass .

3. In this bizarre pic you can see how the lower trim transitions between the glass and the body panel.  I like the way it turned out.

Good job man!

Thanks.

Obviously, the headliner went in before the front and rear glass.  Not too proud about how it turned out.......learned a few things, being it was my first one.  Hopefully it'll straighten out a little bit next summer when the car sits in the sun.

My dog liked the old roof insulation....

Quote from: HeavyFuel on November 01, 2012, 11:28:36 PM
Thanks.

Obviously, the headliner is in as well.  Not too proud about how that turned out.......learned a few things, being it was my first one.  Hopefully it'll straighten out a little bit next summer when the car sits in the sun.

My dog liked the old roof insulation....

I guess so  :lol:

Grab yourself a hair dryer and slowly heat up the entire headliner.  It'll get the creases out much quicker.  Steam works as well but for the life of me I don't understand people who use a fan year round to keep their car dry but then use steam inside the car itself.   :shruggy:

Did you have issues with it at the c-pillar?  If so, carpet tape is your friend.   :yesnod:

I didn't have any major issues with any one thing.....the end result just isn't that good.

Here are a few pics. Headliner rod (bow) color and order.

Headliner bow clips.

Headliner bar.

Did you lay it out in the sun so it would warm up and get all the wrinkles out? That's what they recommend when installing this type of headliner.

Quote from: Silver R/T on November 02, 2012, 06:31:15 PM
Did you lay it out in the sun so it would warm up and get all the wrinkles out? That's what they recommend when installing this type of headliner.

Yeah...I warmed it up.....and took a hair-dryer after a couple areas after it was up.  Didn't effect it much.

A couple things to take into consideration.  (a) the headliners from the factory weren't all that great either, and (b) the flash on the camera makes every single little ripple in the fabric stand out.....it doesn't look quite this bad in person.

A few things I learned from the headliner install:

1.  The foil-back insulation provides a "starry night" effect when light reflects off the foil back through the fabric holes.  :2thumbs:  Not.

2.  Make sure to attach this silver bracket (circle below) before you put the fabric up.   The rest of the stuff that mount to the roof through the fabric is easy enough to locate, but this bastard has to go on first.  :flame:  

3.  Use the glue sparingly, I don't think it plays a overly big role.  And brush it on if you can, there is more control over where it goes.  And only put it where it's supposed to go (arrows below), or run the risk of having your fabric stuck to parts of the roof that it shouldn't be.  

4. Paint the pillars and above the door the color of your fabric, or run the risk of seeing the body color through the holes in the fabric.

I knew about these things and forgot/neglected to do them......make a checklist.

Put the windshield in a couple weeks ago.  I followed pretty much the same procedures that are discussed elsewhere on the site.
I have a couple things to add.

1)  This is the caulking that was in the original gasket groove that slips over the pinchweld.  My glass was original, so this stuff might have been factory......but it looks alot like the white caulking that was used in a couple other areas of the car.  :shruggy: I thought liquid butyl was used here.  I used the 3M Bedding and Glazing on the top and both sides of the gasket groove.

2)  The gasket does not have a groove for a pinchweld on the bottom, along the cowl, because there is no pinchweld there.  Sealant needs to be applied to the cowl channel where the gasket will lay. The original gasket had a gap in the application of the butyl near the corner on each side.  Weird.  

3)  I of course put down a continuous bead of sealant along a cowl and a little bit up the sides (shown in green).

4) Hopefully there will be no leaking in the corners.

After  the gasket was in place, I slid the top of the glass in first and then the sides and worked the bottom edge last.  That is how the service manual says to do it and it worked out OK.

Before zipping the gasket, I laid a small bead of 3M Glazing under the lip, all the way around.  Earlier, I had tested the adhesion of urethane on the rubber, and it didn't stick.

1) A thing to watch during a vinyl  install.......check how all your trim fits.  I thought I did, and I lucked out in this area as it's not too noticeable.  The vinyl is borderline too short and doesn't quite go under the trim.  Oops.

2)  Awesome name for shocks......or anything, for that matter.

3) About ready to go on the engine install.  I might put the wiring harness on it first...it's under the hood right now.

4) Look at the ridiculously shiny brake calipers.  I saved a couple hundred $ by going with reman'ed ones instead of sending in my originals for re-sleaving.   These look like crap, and I should've just spent the $$.  They completely ruin the original look I'm after.....  :'(

Sterling efforts Dude, keep it up  :2thumbs:
The colour of the calipers dont stand out too much I reckon, they will be getting road grime on em too  :scratchchin:

Looks great!

I would be in a panic if I were there though. Cant stand it when there are tools and other things sitting on cars.

you are doing an awesome job &  the screws that hold the dash on top of mine were black not silver i dont know if they should be black or silver? please dont take this post as a put down,i know you want your car as correct as possible from the things you have posted  :shruggy:----your thread is helping me alot thank you
charlie

Fan-tastic!!  :drool5:
Doing a stellar job, there.  :cheers:

FWIW, the bolts on top of my dash were clear cad (silver) as well.

Excellent work. :2thumbs: It all looks too familiar. I also get the "starry night" effect with that silver insulation but the headliner sure as heck is not coming back down to fix it. Were I to do it over again I probably would have figured out a way to black it out. I saw where someone on the site did that but of course I saw it after my headliner was in. :brickwall: My healiner is wrinkled too but it sat folded up for at least 10 years in a box. The previous owner bought it and stored it before I even saw the car for the first time. I'm not going to worry about it. I figure it'll work itself out eventually.

I wish I would have done the subrame connectors but that was another thing I thought of too late. Oh well. There's probably not enough room here for me to list all the things I'd do differently.

Quote from: 1HotDaytona on November 18, 2012, 07:15:05 AM
Looks great!

I would be in a panic if I were there though. Cant stand it when there are tools and other things sitting on cars.

You must be talking about one of the rear glass install pics.

That was one of the rare times foreign objects found there way on the car....so far.  Hey....I used a towel! :icon_smile_big:

Nice job!
Thanks for the thread.

Thought I'd list a few of the little things I learned on this site and applied to my build.

What do you think of that air cleaner and where'd you get it? Been thinking about getting one myself.

Mopar Performance has them.  I'm surprised there's no pie plate on there.  Yet :2thumbs:

Mancini Racing also sells their version, it's a little cheaper than the MP piece.
:Twocents:

Amazing work and I love all the detailed pics.I saw a video on YouTube where a guy did a headliner on a charger and showed the whole thing.At the end of the process he used a heat gun to take the wrinkles out.heres the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJU6m1ZkwQg

Quote from: bill440rt on November 20, 2012, 08:35:47 PM
Mancini Racing also sells their version, it's a little cheaper than the MP piece.
:Twocents:

That's the one I've been eyeballing. I've heard some things about the stud being too long and the wrong wingnut, etc. Not sure if Mancini has the same issue...

Quote from: bull on November 20, 2012, 08:28:20 PM
What do you think of that air cleaner and where'd you get it? Been thinking about getting one myself.

It's the original piece...soda blasted and then I repainted it with VHT wrinkle paint.  It turned out pretty good, althought the wrinkle is a little rougher than factory.  The 20 min. in our kitchen oven (wife was shopping) while the paint was curing helped tighten up the wrinkles.  I'm not confident the filter sticker is going to stick for long.

I'm not sure what I think about it..   :scratchchin:  .....I've never thought about getting anything else!  

The engine is in!  And not the  way it came out (pic 1).
The whole process went really well...which surprised me, since almost everything else so far was been a struggle.   I did it by myself, in about 3.5 hours last Wednesday evening before going to a B-day party....not bad.

(2)  Here is the hoist set up.  I know...it looks kinda sketchy, but it was structurally sound.  The small chain loop at the ceiling goes through the drywall and around a roof truss lower member.

(3)  I used 2 x 8's attached to the bumper mount points on the frame.  The plates re-enforced the lumber at the attachment locations, and the wood is resting against the UCA bump stop mount.

(4)  The rig worked great, up went the body, and under went the motor.

Lowering the body was exciting and nerve wracking.  I didn't remember it being that tight, but of course I took it out through the top.  The added length of chain gained by using a chain hoist instead of a cherry picker made it very easy to guide the body back and forth a tiny bit each way as the body lowered.

(2) Fore and aft position of the engine can be determined by lining up the tranny support with it's mounting location on the body.

(3) The height of the K-frame was approx  10" from the floor when on the dolly.  That worked out really nice, because the body lowered level to the K-frame and trans support, and I was able to bolt things right up.  This pic shows the  body on stands and the lumber gone.  At this time I attached the bumper supports that normally live where I used the lumber, and used a floor jack to lower the body the last few inches.

I think the only casualty in the whole process was when I banged the handle of the floor jack into the fender, near the side blinker.  A small chip.......first battle scar of the whole re-assembly process so far....no biggy.

 engine bay looks good  :drool5:   ,

 :2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Original driveshaft (new yokes) and torsion bars went in yesterday.

Factory markings on the torsion bars.

Nothing major in the last couple weeks....tranny cool lines, misc buttoning up under the hood.

I ordered some belts from Rockauto that were on "wholesale closeout"  or something like that....watch out for those.  I'm going for the factory fresh look, but I don't want belts from 20 years ago!  These things were faded, and stiff as a wedding pecker.

Looks great.  Looking forward to the final results :2thumbs:

Thanks.....me, too!   :yesnod:

 :o  Holy Crap, that is some engineering right there...  :yesnod:

(http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=95015.0;attach=187079;image)

Made a bit more progress over the weekend, with the installation of the grill, bumper and valance.

The grill has been rebuilt for a while and has been waiting on the shelf for the right time to put it in. 

(1) It's interesting that the doors had different shades of base plastic before they were originally painted.  Maybe the brown one was a replacement door at some time?

(2) It's obvious on inspection that the black went on first, then the silver.

(3)  I found a silver that was spot on match for the original color, with the right size flake.

(1) I was able to re-use original bumper bolts for the rear bumper, but couldn't salvage enough for the front, so I went with re-popped SS capped new ones.  They looked pretty good after a polish, and had the right head shape to match the originals.

(2) Some JB Weld and aluminum patched up some areas of plastic that had cracked.

(3)  I re-enforced this area because a stress crack was appearing on the front side.  Hopefully with will keep things from getting worse.

(1-2)  The plastic spacers under the grill had a rubber-like gasket, so I constructed a replacement that should  provide some buffer.

(3) I re-used all of the original support pieces, and you can see that after a clean-up and paint, they look great.

(1)  The panel above the grill actually looked pretty good, all things considered, and I thought about leaving it alone and putting it back in the car, chips and all....

(2)  .....but I thought better of that, and gave it a quick sand job and a shot of black.  The original runs remain, covered with a fresh coat of paint.  (not sure if I'm gonna regret that later...we'll see)

(3-4) All original parts except the harness.....that black paint is factory after a good clean up.

(1)  Before disassembly.....I was lucky, and my grill was in good condition.

(2)  The factory "Charger" emblem was able to be re-used.

(3)  The door is misaligned......you can see it is in the 'before' shot as well.  I'm not sure if there is anything I can do about that.

For those of you that have done this install before....you know that is it both nerve wracking and satisfying.  The reward is worth it....instant gratification in a few hours by transforming  the cars looks from nothing to legendary.

Summary:
1. Put grill support (black metal skeleton) in position on car.....just a few bolts, this is temporary.
2. Place grill assembly (plastic structure with doors) in grill support.  Install screws, just snug, and adjust grill side to side.
3. Remove grill support/assembly from car, and place it upside down on work table.  Install wiring harness and headlight door operator assemblies.
4. Put J-nuts for valance and bumper attach points in position on car.
5. Put grill support/grill/harness/ assembly in position on car.  A couple helpers come in handy now, to help guide everything,  especially the 4 bolts that go through the wheel well.  Install bolts.
6. Perform another adjustment side to side on grill.  Tighten grill screws....but not too tight.
7. Install bumper supports on frame, finger tight the bolts.
8. Lift bumper into place, and see if you can slip on the top bumper bolt on each side.  If not, the bumper supports need to be adjusted.   This is a trial and error process, and took me quite a while to get it done.  In fact, I had to press pretty hard on one side to get the bumper bolts to go in.  (Apparently my bumper is a little twisted, even after it was re-pressed on a jig before it was re-chromed.)  Install all other bumper bolts, do final adjusting for alignment, and tighten down everything.
9. Lift valance (with running lights installed) into position, and attach 2 center support bolts that hold up the middle of the valance.  This will hold it in place while you go around and place the rest of the bolts.  Check for fitment, and tighten up.
10. Position bumper guards and bolt into place.  

Looks great and thanks for the tips.  They will definitely come in handy. :cheers:

 :2thumbs:  awesome job  :yesnod: :popcrn:

Looks great

Awesome!

Looks like a starship ready to take off.

(http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=95015.0;attach=188403;image)

Really great work!

Thanks, guys.   ;D

My wife's been on the warpath lately 'cause I've been thinking about the car all the time.   :icon_smile_blackeye:  

Might have to take a break for a while.  :icon_smile_angry:


I seriously think she'd be less pissed off if I had another woman on the side.

Very nice!!! Its all about the details.  :2thumbs:

Awesome work! Looks Great!   :drool5:  What paint did you use on the grill support? I like the gloss look, I used a semi flat on mine and am thinking about redoing it.   :cheers:

Looks great Back N Black!!!  :2thumbs:

Maybe I missed it,but what made you decide not to paint the grilled slats silver?

Nice work!  :cheers:

Great Job  :2thumbs: i feel your pain as i went thru the whole process as well....just about broke me but i'm happy i spent the time restoring cause it would of eaten me up if i had left it.....really compliments the rest of the car when its looking all new again. :cheers:

Awesome job !!!!!!! :cheers:

Quote from: 1HotDaytona on December 18, 2012, 09:11:46 PM
Maybe I missed it,but what made you decide not to paint the grilled slats silver?

Good question. :yesnod:

I saw a few cars that had a solid black grill area, and I liked the look.  The rest of my car is very stock looking, but this is one thing that I deviated.  From an aesthetic viewpoint, there's a lot going on in the grill/bumper area....many lines working.  I think the blacked area allows the eye to enjoy the design a little easier.  All those vertical silver ribs can get a little busy.

The silver can always be added to the grill ribs later if I change my mind.  Probably in a couple years the grill will need a re-do anyway.....I don't expect the paint to hold up over the long haul.

Quote from: WHITE AND RED 69 on December 18, 2012, 04:01:45 PM
Awesome work! Looks Great!   :drool5:  What paint did you use on the grill support? I like the gloss look, I used a semi flat on mine and am thinking about redoing it.   :cheers:

I only repainted the top flat panel....everything underneath, the "skeleton",  is original black from factory.

The paint on the flat panel, believe it or not, is a spray from a local farm and home store.  I wish I'd discovered it earlier in the resto, it's good stuff.  Takes a long time to dry, but when it does, it's tough with a nice finish.

http://www.majicpaints.com/products/farm/tti/

The sail panel trim got installed this last weekend, among other things.  No big deal, but I learned a couple things to pass along.

Test fit the trim, then mark and cut the vinyl so the edge hides underneath (if you haven't already done this).  Be sure to lay the razor's edge against the vinyl, then pull up on the vinyl against the blade to cut.  Don't drag the blade along to cut, it'll probably go through the vinyl and cut into the paint, creating a place for rust to start.

1)  Get the trim all pretty.  I use 0000 steel wool, Mothers Mag Polish, and a Dremel tool buffer.  It takes a while, but turns out nice.

2)  I installed the inside trim first.....speed nuts are used to hold it on.  Don't snug it up yet, just push it through the vinyl and leave it up about 1/2 inch.

3)  Moving on to the outside trim, you'll need two of these threaded clips per side.  The tiny gaskets were stiff, so I made new ones with the leftover gasket material from the body gasket kit from Detroit Muscle Tech.

1) Make sure that they are installed like this.  You'll have to use a needle nose to grab the wire and set it in place.  I think they are designed this way because they only slide one direction.....this is important to know.

2) Position two threaded clips as shown.

3)  The push clips that come in one of the repo kits are the wrong size (black ones).  Don't use them.  I tried 'em, and found out the hard way that there isn't enough room behind the hole for them to push in all the way.  My nice trim piece now has a couple dimples.  I ended up using the originals, which are nice anyway, and have the rubber seal built in.

4) Position three push type clips as shown.

1)  Now it's time to get this baby on.  This is where you'll see why it's important to have the threaded clips on the right way.  If you start with the clip all the way to the end, as shown, you'll be able to slip the end of the side trim over the end of the inside trim piece already installed, while you push the threaded clip into it's hole. (insert both threaded clips into their holes at the same time)  With the threaded clips pushed into their holes, you should be able to slide the side trim backwards onto the end of the other piece.  And since the clips only slide one direction, the side trim will stay on tight to the other piece.  Now you can press on the other three push fasteners.

2-3) Finished product......turned out decent.

You're doing good buddy, real good.   :2thumbs:

Quote from: Dino on January 25, 2013, 07:34:55 AM
You're doing good buddy, real good.   :2thumbs:

:iamwithstupid: :faint:      :2thumbs:

Wow! I'm inspired . This inspires me to dig deeper into my car. Not to hesitate and to do more of my own work when ever possible. Nice restoration.

Thanks guys. :cheers:

Marvelous job man cheers  :2thumbs:

Registered the car today.  It's not ready to drive yet, but I didn't want to miss this date. :icon_smile_cool:

My car had a scheduled production date for late Jan '68 and actually had final inspection on Feb 2, 1968. (see firewall pic....it's a little faded, but when I got the car 21 years ago, the writing was distinct)

It was a sold car, and the new owner took possesion on 5 Feb '68 in Tulsa, OK.  I have the original owners manual with the little card that the dealer filled out when the owner picked it up.  Now if it was me back then, I would have gone straight to the DMV after leaving the dealership, soooooo.....

So I registered it today......45 years to the day after the cars first registration.  (funny...my wife is 45, too.) :scratchchin:

Also, I used 1966 plates (with 1968 tags) from my state, and registered the car as an antique........one time fee of $10.  :2thumbs:

Thought I'd post something to keep you guys from thinking I'm totally screwing off this winter......which can't end soon enough, by the way.

My console tops needed a little attention, so they got a good scrubbing and some detailing.  I used a paint pen obtained from the local hobby store.

You can see the obvious lines of new paint.

Original plating and silver paint.  The silver has a few wear marks and scratches....good enough...I'm loosing ambition on this thing.  :-\    Someone  please send some nice weather so I can open the garage doors to my cave.

'spose now that I discovered the paint pen works, the gas cap black detail should get done........another part to take off and put back on....I've built this car twice. :rotz:

Panana sounds good right now......I hear there's a Mopar community down there.  :icon_smile_wink:

(edit out pic)

(Sorry.......It's snowing again......and I need to get to a beach or something....)

Try building an airplane.  You build the darn thing 100 times before you even put any rivets in :P

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on March 23, 2013, 12:35:19 AM
Try building an airplane.  You build the darn thing 100 times before you even put any rivets in :P

Don't think I'll try that.  :lol:

I'm gonna be afraid to drive this car that I built and it's on the ground.

Here's some detailed action concerning the center console rework.  I got pretty lucky, and mine was in darn nice shape, just needing a few things here and there.
1)  Before.  Kinda dirty......the black plastic needed intense scrubbing with toothpaste and brush.  That really did a nice job and was minty fresh!

2)  The back plate, again, dirty, but the black paint was good, so I was careful not to over scrub it.

3)  Clean plastic, back plate, new carpet...pretty nice.

1)  Typical  'fat chick crack'.   (I don't know why they call it that, a jug of milk could probably do that kind of damage....doesn't take a fat chick....although they do HAVE big jugs...but I digress.)

2) Repaired the underneath with fiberglass.  Should keep the crack from getting any worse, and I left the top as it is, because it's not that noticeable, unless you look straight from the top.

3) The rubber foam pads on the door were hard as a rock, so those got replaced with rubber left over from the DMT kits.

1-2)The tabs that hold the rear carpet plate were busted, so I fabbed some aluminum reinforcements and JB welded them on.

3)  45 year old sealant on the edges of the shift window was shot, so after I cleaned everything up, I re-sealed it with bathroom caulking.

1)  The plastic sides still showed a few light scuffs after the clean-up, but I don't want to coat it with anything.  I like the look of the natural plastic.

2)  Light rings didn't need anything, just a cleanup, and the SS trim got a nice polishing.

3)  The shift window turned out good, no scratches.  The plastic slider had a few and a small crack...no biggee.  The black line detail shows up nice, and it really makes the big difference on the overall appearance.  I considered not redoing the black lines......but it's must.  It's all in the details.

4) Should look pretty nice in the car.

It feels like the home stretch!  Been working on the re-assembly since July  of last year.  Gettin' close now.

1-2)  (before and after) Pads are all original, and the plastic vapor barrier is a copy of the original, with the caulking strip going on right where the factory put it.  Don't forget to tuck the plastic into the slot along the bottom, so the rain drops stay in the body cavity and hopefully find their way to the drain holes.  I sprayed 3M Rust Inhibiter into the doors and quarter pinch welds to hopefully slow down the corrosion process in the cavities.

3-4) Door bottoms turned out nice.....like anyone will ever see 'em.  You can see in the before pic where one of the previous owners butchered the inner door skin to fit in speakers.  That was all repaired......hope the door panels pop in like they're supposed to, I'll find out in a few days.

1) The clips for the outside top door trim were interesting.  Nicely color coded, different sizes and tilted prongs to accommodate the tapered design of the trim.

2) Decided to detail the black back into the groves of the original gas cap.  Glad I did, makes a big difference.  Hopefully the paint I used will hold up to the incidental fuel splashing that's bound to happen.

3-4)  The wifey said the other day, "Would you hurry up and get that hunk of metal done."  Isn't that special?    Almost there, Honey.

1)  Still gotta decide on the wheel/tire combo.  The original Magnums are so nice, I'd hate not to use them, but it sucks getting tires that fit.  I 'm not paying $1000 for a set of bias white lines.  (original spare/tire shown)

2-4) Interior is getting close to the end.  The dash is all original (went in a long time ago), and the carpet is currently going in.  The ACC stuff has plenty on either side to trim back, and is molded to fit pretty well (so far I've only got the back in).

Looking good!!!  :2thumbs:

 :drool5:  nice work !! looks awesome  :drool5: :cheers: :popcrn:

Thanks guys.   :icon_smile_big:

Yeah, it's great feeling being able to count the things you have left.

Target date for the first fire up is 1 May.....not sure if I'm gonna make it...gotta take the Mrs. to Vegas sometime between now and then.  :2thumbs:

Plus, it might still be snowing in May; we got another couple inches today. :icon_smile_angry:

Quote from: HeavyFuel on April 08, 2013, 08:59:07 PM
Thanks guys.   :icon_smile_big:

Yeah, it's great feeling being able to count the things you have left.

Target date for the first fire up is 1 May.....not sure if I'm gonna make it...gotta take the Mrs. to Vegas sometime between now and then.  :2thumbs:

Plus, it might still be snowing in May; we got another couple inches today. :icon_smile_angry:

Can I give you one small piece of advice?  Scratch the date, doon't have an agenda.  This close to the finish is when a lot of people start cutting corners to get it done for the season and it will come back and bite you in the butt.  If it fires up on the 1st great!  If not, then there's nothing wrong with firing it up a week or two later.  You've been doing an awesome job and I'd hate to see you rush towards the finish.

Besides, as fun as it is to drive these beasts, the journey is one that will be with you forever and you will ook back on it with pride and pleasure.

Quote from: Dino on April 09, 2013, 06:35:10 AM

Quote from: HeavyFuel on April 08, 2013, 08:59:07 PM
Thanks guys.   :icon_smile_big:

Yeah, it's great feeling being able to count the things you have left.

Target date for the first fire up is 1 May.....not sure if I'm gonna make it...gotta take the Mrs. to Vegas sometime between now and then.  :2thumbs:

Plus, it might still be snowing in May; we got another couple inches today. :icon_smile_angry:

Can I give you one small piece of advice?  Scratch the date, doon't have an agenda.  This close to the finish is when a lot of people start cutting corners to get it done for the season and it will come back and bite you in the butt.  If it fires up on the 1st great!  If not, then there's nothing wrong with firing it up a week or two later.  You've been doing an awesome job and I'd hate to see you rush towards the finish.

Besides, as fun as it is to drive these beasts, the journey is one that will be with you forever and you will ook back on it with pride and pleasure.

That is true...but for me deadlines, even if I don't make them, keep things moving along.

Got a little more done over the last couple weeks.  The carpet took a longer to get in than I figured it would, but turned out decent.   This is ACC and the pre-molding is accurate, for the most part.  The passenger floor turned out absolutely perfect....the molding is right on.  The driver's floor is off a little, and that is because I think the heel pad is maybe not molded onto  exactly the right spot.  But I wanted the heel pad in the correct spot under the pedal, so I gave up some fit.  The puckers in the carpet on the tunnel get covered by the console carpet flap anyway....so it's all good.

The glued on jute padding was off center just a little, and I filled in the voids with jute/foil of my own.

The ACC also had lots of extra carpet on the sides and front to be trimmed off.....so no worries there either.  The overlap from front to rear is only about 1-2".

Extra padding was added to take up a little slack.

The jute padding with foil under the back seat bottom was cut to fit where the runners sit on the floor.  If this is not done, the seat bottom is pushed up and forward and you'll have a bitch of a time getting it hooked.

My seat belts turned out nice after cleaning with hot soapy water.  I reproduced the rubber anti-rattle with left over foam from a DMT kit used earlier.

The repo door panel compared to the original.  Legendary.  Pretty nice, and close to the orginal as far as size , but not perfect.  I had to narrow off the long point a little bit. Also, snip off a little vinyl that is pulled back and stapled in the corners to allow the top edge of the panel to slip under the SS trim piece.  Otherwise, it's too tight, and you won't get it under all the way.

The pre-perforated spots on the new panel for the armrest screws are off just a little as well.  I cut the holes about ½ - ¾ of an inch higher.

I could not get the small piece of SS trim behind the sill plate to fit correctly.  I know how it is supposed to work/look, and I couldn't get there.  So they aren't going on.......it looks fine without them, and my carpet is tight, not going anywhere.

The original rear seats are perfect, which is maybe very common.  So I cleaned 'em up and they're good to go.

My car contained two broadcasts, so one went back home under the springs of the seat back.  I cheated a little and left it in the plastic protector it was stored in.

Overall, the carpet and back seat area turned out pretty decent.  Only the panels and carpet aren't original.

The car is sooooo close to being assembled.........and I'm soooooo close to getting suffocated in my sleep by my wife cause I spend alot of time thinking/working on the car.    :eek2:

This weekend our laundry room is getting re-done......enough said.

Car is looking awesome. Can't wait until I'm on the home stretch like you are.

Quote from: HeavyFuel on November 02, 2012, 07:05:23 PM
A few things I learned from the headliner install:

1.  The foil-back insulation provides a "starry night" effect when light reflects off the foil back through the fabric holes.  :2thumbs:  Not.

2.  Make sure to attach this silver bracket (circle below) before you put the fabric up.   The rest of the stuff that mount to the roof through the fabric is easy enough to locate, but this bastard has to go on first.  :flame:  

3.  Use the glue sparingly, I don't think it plays a overly big role.  And brush it on if you can, there is more control over where it goes.  And only put it where it's supposed to go (arrows below), or run the risk of having your fabric stuck to parts of the roof that it shouldn't be.  

4. Paint the pillars and above the door the color of your fabric, or run the risk of seeing the body color through the holes is the fabric.

I knew about these things and forgot/neglected to do them......make a checklist.

just doing my head liner ? What are those small screwed on clips for , not the coat hooks , that's the area next to it hopefully ? So what are there for , what do they hold  purpose

The aft hole is for the coat hook.  The screw-on bracket is for the shoulder belt retaining strap push snap.  The bigger threaded hole is for the shoulder strap bolt.

Quote from: HeavyFuel on May 22, 2013, 12:28:16 AM
The aft hole is for the coat hook.  The screw-on bracket is for the shoulder belt retaining strap push snap.  The bigger threaded hole is for the shoulder strap bolt.

thanks , damn just new there would be a good reason for those , headlining in now ,

Just about there.  (The laundry room turned out nice, by the way)

Not really in the mood for alot of commentary right now....so I'll post up pics, maybe add dialogue in the future.

EDIT-  I'm ready for to expand a little..

1) The console is all original except for the carpet and lid latch.  The latch needed a bit of filing to get it to close....the shape of the catch was not quite right and it wouldn't close without modification.

2) Doors are all original except the panels and armrest bases. 

I tried to duplicate that factory fresh look and feel as much as possible.  Changed up the anti-sway bar bracket.....my originals were toast, and I couldn't find any replacements.  The LCA is boxed, hopefully that will help the handling a little.

1) The original (I think?  Plywood disks?  Really, Ma Mopar?) seat spacers were trash, so I made new ones.  A little thicker, but I'm tall, so it's all good.

2) The repo muffler hangers were not very good in the rubber strap dept., so I constructed new straps (right).

The first try with new straps put the mufflers too tight against the floor, so I added 1 inch to the length (left).  The mufflers hang just low enough for me to fit my fingers between now.....that should be good.

3) I wanted to use my original Magnums, which severely limited my tire choices.  Ended up going with the Coopers.  225 70r14.  They are really close to the diameter of the Goodyear Speedways (my spare is in the pic, and will go in the trunk).  The Coopers are a little wider at the tread, and I think the car looks pretty good, considering the narrow stock tire size.  I'll probably go wider in the future.

Bored yet?

EDIT-  Sorry for that comment....it doesn't give the tone I really mean.  It's just that I post a bunch of pics at a time.

1)  I'm more than satisfied with the way the trim on the car turned out, I was able to re-use all of the original stuff.  The only piece that is not quite right is one of the wheel well mouldings.  Somewhere along the line it got a little bent up, and those things are a total pain to re-shape.  I'm sure there is a tool to help out, but I don't have it.... so the trim doesn't follow the body lines like it should.

2) Stock looking for the most part.  I don't like the looks of the tan dist cap, so I went with black.  The electronic ignition box is located on the firewall just above the tranny tunnel.  Hopefully it doesn't get too hot there, and it's nice and concealed.  It's an A/C car, and I left it off (I hate A/C) so the hose configuration might look a little strange.

4)  The original magnums still look nice.  The black paint is still factory...I just cleaned 'em up with a Magic Eraser.  Not really diggin' the snake on the side of the Coopers, but like mentioned before, the options are limited for 14" x 5.5" rims

Nope, not bored yet, keep em coming  :2thumbs: looks awesome, very pleased for you. I kinda rushed my reassembly after I had the interior out and wiring changes, I would like to do it over again with new stuff instead of some half worn old interior fitments, your carpet really lifts the interior and the guages looks fantastic
I was just amping to get it driving and deal with the rest of detailing in the future.

Soo close to rubber meeting the road, that'll be a golden day

Thanks, Bob.

Yeah, getting close now.  Put repo stickers in the trunk and door jambs last night, also picked up the vital fluids.


The 'war dept' is going to Salt Lake on Wednesday, so I think the fire up could happen the end of next week.   :drive:


I've been saving a cask of Sam Adams 2009 Utopius....a $150 bottle of exclusive 'beer'.   :cheers:

Looks great! Nice work. :2thumbs:

The edge of the trunk lid took one for the team (me) last weekend.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,101864.0.html


Could have been worse....something to take care of later this summer after the car gets up and running.

Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Quote from: HeavyFuel on June 02, 2013, 03:03:32 PM
The edge of the trunk lid took one for the team (me) last weekend.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,101864.0.html


Could have been worse....something to take care of later this summer after the car gets up and running.

I saw that last week. Better the car than you man. You can buy paint. You can't buy your life back.

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on June 02, 2013, 03:11:12 PM
Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to a few dings here and there.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

Quote from: HeavyFuel on June 02, 2013, 11:24:39 PM

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on June 02, 2013, 03:11:12 PM
Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

You will be kicking yourself for a long time to come if you don't fix the damage properly.  Your car is mint, it's worth the extra time to do it right.

Quote from: Dino on June 03, 2013, 07:06:42 AM

Quote from: HeavyFuel on June 02, 2013, 11:24:39 PM

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on June 02, 2013, 03:11:12 PM
Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

You will be kicking yourself for a long time to come if you don't fix the damage properly.  Your car is mint, it's worth the extra time to do it right.

I hear ya on the trunk lid damage...that's gonna get nicely repaired and the whole lid resprayed.  But the little ding in the blackout area I think I can live with.  Who knows what the future brings for the car....it will be accumulating imperfections here and there all over, from over-use, I hope! 

Quote from: HeavyFuel on June 02, 2013, 11:24:39 PM

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on June 02, 2013, 03:11:12 PM
Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

Sh*t, some folks round these parts would call yours a '100 point' resto. Our "Driver" cars never get THAT detailed. Everything under the bottom thta's wornout gets replaced and very few with all that detail painting, we just shoot it with undercoating and let it go. But, your Charger does look the part of trailer queen right now though.

Quote from: HeavyFuel on June 03, 2013, 08:45:05 AM

Quote from: Dino on June 03, 2013, 07:06:42 AM

Quote from: HeavyFuel on June 02, 2013, 11:24:39 PM

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on June 02, 2013, 03:11:12 PM
Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

You will be kicking yourself for a long time to come if you don't fix the damage properly.  Your car is mint, it's worth the extra time to do it right.

I hear ya on the trunk lid damage...that's gonna get nicely repaired and the whole lid resprayed.  But the little ding in the blackout area I think I can live with.  Who knows what the future brings for the car....it will be accumulating imperfections here and there all over, from over-use, I hope! 

Yes!  Let the chips and nicks be from use, mine's pretty much covered in little nicks, especially the front, but then again I do drive the pants off of that thing!

Quote from: Cooter on June 03, 2013, 11:39:11 AM

Quote from: HeavyFuel on June 02, 2013, 11:24:39 PM

Quote from: stroker400 wedge on June 02, 2013, 03:11:12 PM
Did the taillight panel take a hit as well, or is that a different type of spot?

Yeah, the panel took a nick as well....that's just gonna get a dab of SEM trim black and call it good.  After I start driving it, this car is never gonna look as good as it does right now, and I'd better get used to that.  I want it to be a driver and what happened is a common story, the resto took on a life of it's own, and the car ended up getting way more detailed than I had originally planned.

Sh*t, some folks round these parts would call yours a '100 point' resto. Our "Driver" cars never get THAT detailed. Everything under the bottom thta's wornout gets replaced and very few with all that detail painting, we just shoot it with undercoating and let it go. But, your Charger does look the part of trailer queen right now though.

A simple case of having the car completely apart for body and paint, and the old "I can't put this crappy thing back on" syndrome kicked in.  I've always been a craftsman, and cleaning and restoring the individual parts that make the whole was enjoyable for me.  Frustrating, many times, but satisfying.

It'll most likely never see a trailer as long as it can move under it's own power.  I feel the car isn't over restored....just brought back close to where it was back in '68.

There is nothing wrong with building a trailer queen......... As long as never haul it around and drive the heck out of it. Just because someone plans to drive and enjoy a car is no reason to do a "half fast" job on a resto . It only takes a small amount more effort to do the job above and beyond.

Look at it this way, it's the first of many dents and scratches it will get over the course of its second life  :2thumbs: , well in all seriousness, if it was my car, i would keep the damage, but then again im a deranged psychopath, however i've never met anyone with a 100 point restored car that doesnt have a scratch or dent on it, or something cracked or missing, its expected with a piece of machinery  :shruggy: and you really will need to get used to it if you are going to use it as a driver, if i had a nickel for every scratch, dent, crack, tear and peel my driver has gotten since i "finished" it  :rotz:

They will all eventually get nicked and scratched one way or another. Some are easy to fix some not so much. What really ticks me off are the ones I do to it myself.  :brickwall: And there have been many over the years.

I went through all of the boxes, bins and shelves in the garage and there's 3 things left to put on the car.      3

Radio antennae, windshield wiper arms, plastic shield by starter area.

All fluids (minus coolant) are in.

Brakes: DOT 5.   Brakes bled  (be sure to do the bench bleed first.....learned that the hard way)
Trans: Lucas Semi-Synthetic Dexron/Merc compatable.  Put 2 qts in the converter before assy, added 5 more for now...will top it off later.  No leaks on the floor yet

The oil has been in the engine since the rebuild and never been fired......5 years ago.  Probably gonna change that out to Shell Rotella with Lucas break-in additive (zinc) for the cam break-in.

Hooked up the Group 27 battery last nite......performed an electronic function check (minus the starter).  The only thing that didn't work was the map light under the dash.....most likely just a bad bulb.  No gas in the tank yet, so just assuming the repo sensor will work.

Just need to pick up some fuel for the tank and carb, go through the whole engine oil bath process, add coolant, cross my fingers and light that baby.   :o

Like my bro said...."Up to this point, it's been just a big art project."  

Now all you have to do is expect every little thing to go wrong.  Some things will, but most won't, so you'll remember this as a positive experience.    :2thumbs:

Quote from: Dino on June 10, 2013, 08:50:40 PM
Now all you have to do is expect every little thing to go wrong.  Some things will, but most won't, so you'll remember this as a positive experience.    :2thumbs:

I'm used to things going wrong.....seems to be the M.O. on this baby.

As long as the motor doesn't grenade or melt, everything after that is bonus.

Quote from: 1HotDaytona on June 03, 2013, 05:56:45 PM
There is nothing wrong with building a trailer queen......... As long as never haul it around and drive the heck out of it. Just because someone plans to drive and enjoy a car is no reason to do a "half fast" job on a resto . It only takes a small amount more effort to do the job above and beyond.

+1

Quote from: Back N Black on June 11, 2013, 05:18:44 PM

Quote from: 1HotDaytona on June 03, 2013, 05:56:45 PM
There is nothing wrong with building a trailer queen......... As long as never haul it around and drive the heck out of it. Just because someone plans to drive and enjoy a car is no reason to do a "half fast" job on a resto . It only takes a small amount more effort to do the job above and beyond.

+1

I defiantly agree with the concept, however just about every 100 point car i see gets driven gently and has very few miles put on it  :rotz:

Everythings ready.......   :whistling: ......just waiting on my brother to get time in his schedule......  :whistling:


Hmmmm.  Never thought I'd get the point of looking for something to do to the car to kill time.   :-\


:whistling:   Anyone close by?  :icon_smile_big:

Nice thread!! Just read through it all. Lov'in all the pics!! :drool5:

Cant wait for some video and/or more pics!! :cheers:

 nice job    :yesnod: :cheers:

A few buddies and I performed the cam break in on Saturday morning.  By all accounts, things went very well.   :yesnod:

This is on a rebuilt motor, stock specs, never been run.  MP electronic ignition (I swapped out the "race" mechanical advance springs from the kit with the stock distrib. springs, but used everything else that came with kit).  Electronic voltage regulator.    

Cam break- in sequence of events:

1. A few weeks ago I pulled the intake and valley pan, re-applied thick green assy lube to the cam.  Inspection the next day revealed that the assy lube had all run off.  Probably a wasted effort, I re-installed the valley and intake.  At this time I also removed all of the spark plugs and used a plastic syringe to squirt a small amount of tranny fluid into each cylinder, let it creep for a few days, then hand turned the crank 2 rotations.

Saturday:

2. Put fuel into the gas tank, added coolant and double checked all fluid levels.

3. Pulled distributor and primed the engine with oil using drill, while cranking over the engine via the crank bolt = 2 rotations. The spark plugs were loose to make the turning easier, and were then tightened, plug wires re-attached.

4. Re-inserted the oil pump intermediate, lined up its slot parallel with the cam.  I slobbered some green assy lube on the threads.

5. The distributor was re-installed, noting where the rotor was pointing,  the cap replaced and wire sequence double checked.

6. One carb bowl was filled with fuel through the vent, and we disconnected the fuel line at the pump, then pressurized the tank (blew into it).  This filled the gas line with fuel.  Re-connected fuel line at the pump.

7. Hooked up timing light. Placed 2' x 2' fan in front of car, since we're inside a garage (open doors) with not much air movement.

8.  LIGHT THAT BABY!  She wanted to pop off from the first touch of the key....but not quite start.  We held the choke closed, adjusted the mixture screw a little, after a couple tries she started up.  Feathered the throttle a little, set the timing quick, then up to 2K rpm for 20 minutes.

It smoked like crazy....   :o  ..this had me a little worried, but it was all clear by the end of the 20 minutes.   A little bit of lifter noise for about the first 30 seconds, then all quiet (relatively!)

Small gas leak where the little hard line attaches to the pump.  Tightened up with wrench...done.

OKAY... this thing is starting to throw off some HEAT!  I knew it was going to get hot.....but damn.  Was the timing advanced enough?   :scratchchin:  I didn't want to drop it down to idle to check, so it would just have to run as is.   :-\

What's that smell....something burning?   I quick look under the car and sure enough, a flat piece of cardboard had curled up from the heat and was against the exhaust....and was smoldering.  We pulled that out, and it was actually on fire at that point.   We had a good laugh.    :lol:

AT THIS POINT we talked about getting out the marshmallows and hot dogs to hold over the engine.  The 20 mins couldn't elapse soon enough for me.  

9.  I revved it up to about 3K every couple minutes to promote lifter rotation, and we added coolant as needed.  Installed cap.

10.  20 MINUTES OVER.  Reduce rpm to idle, drop tranny into neutral to fill converter the rest of the way (I had added a couple quarts before installation).  Pump brakes a few times and roll this 'oven on wheels' out into the driveway.

11.  Power steering didn't seem to be working....checked the fluid level; it was low (some had moved from reservoir to gear during engine run).  Added fluid, worked fine.   :icon_smile_big:

12.  Pulled back into garage to check tranny fluid on the level.  Added a couple quarts.....good to go.

13. Running a little rough, but not bad, hesitates on quick throttle.  Rechecked timing...it needed more advance, that smoothed things out, good throttle response.    :2thumbs:

14.  Backed her into the driveway again, and shut it off.  Total run time....probably about 30 minutes.   Time off my life from the stress....?

15. We went into the garage and celebrated a little bit...    :cheers:  ..had a beer and let the stress subside a little bit. Then we decided to take it around the neighborhood.  I was curious how it would restart.  Didn't have to touch the throttle; she popped off at the touch of the key.   Nice.   :yesnod:

16. The test drive around my neighborhood was uneventful...if you don't count the sha-wing!.  The brakes held pretty well, although I need to adjust the pedal travel via the booster pushrod at the MC.  The steering felt decent considering that I did a camber adjust with a bubble level and toe in with a string.

17. Back in the driveway we did a recheck under the hood, no major leaks anywhere, and only a couple minor ones (shaft of power steering reservoir, forward line of brake MC).

Just about everything on the car works well right out of the shoot, enough so that I felt confident to drive it across town to my brothers place yesterday and put it up on his car hoist to check torque on a few things.  I took the interstate on the way home and the car drove decently.  The car drives nice and runs well.....pretty friggin' hot though.  I'm guessing that will calm down as the engine loosens up.

All gauges work, radio, lights.  One brake light harness contact needed a little tweaking, and now it works.  I started it probably 10 times over the weekend, every time it popped right off by touching the key.  The engine and exhaust sound good....some pretty noticable drone at about 2.5K rpm.

It seems like all the prep and careful work was paid off....or maybe I just got lucky.

Sorry for the long post....if you hung in there and read down this far.   I'll post some pics and video soon.

Awesome work and a great "light-off" for your Charger!  You are going to be cruising around in it in no time!

very glad for you,great story.

Nice work HF....sounds like everything went very well.  :2thumbs:

I told ya that fan was a good idea....and yes they do throw off some heat during the break-in  ;)

That exhaust smoke was just the lube you dumped into the sparkplug holes burning off  :yesnod:

I wouldn't say you were lucky...well prepared is more like it  :cheers:



Ron

 :coolgleamA:  great stuff  :cheers: :popcrn:

Good result, great news!
Guess you'll be filling it up to put a tank through  :2thumbs:
And good write up on the sequence, somebody'll use if for their startup.

Thanks, guys.

Took her out again tonight.....everything working fine....still running hot.   It'll take a while to build up some confidence, I think.....pretty nervous behind the wheel.

Should the rpm be around 3300 at 70 mph?  That seems high to me.  I'm running tires that are close to stock, right around 26.5 " dia.  

I've taken her out every night this week, varying between highway and city, trying to get a good engine break in.  So far, so good......motor still has a little stumble off a stoplight if I give it too much.  Gonna try to find a good carb guy to help me with that.

Dash lights are quite dim at night.....gonna try the thumb wheel bypass that some have done.  

My vinyl is coming unstuck and wrinkles in one spot.  That's kind frustrating, and not too sure what to do about that. Probably wait and see if it spreads tot he rest of the roof and go from there.  :-\


A few pics as promised.


1)  The pipes get hot.

2-3)  My brothers Prowler.

4)  First fuel tank fill.   (The gas gauge seems to be off a little.   :shruggy:)    91 octane is the best I can get around here...seems to work fine.  I wonder how these babys ran on 98   :o

Like the street sign?

 :popcrn:been watching this thread from the beginning, great work , loved all your preparation to all parts of the build , like Ron said well prepared , not luck, by the way beautiful car , great work , congratulations on you hard work,  :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Put a few more miles on her over the weekend, trying to do a good break in on the engine.  Re-checked the timing....I think it might be a little low on advance.   Took it out on the interstate for a while....varied the speed from 50 to 80 mph.   Seemed to run nice.

Stopped at my uncles place and we took some of his cars on a cruise Saturday night.  He's a Chevy guy....we took anniversary 'Vetts....a 25th, 40th, 50th, and 60th.  Pretty fun.

The ignition timing had me concerned a little bit, so I checked it again last night.

MP electronic ignition
Electronic voltage regulator
Original equipment mech advance springs in the dizzy.  
Accel 8140HV - Super Stock High Vibration Coil
XR5 - NGK V-Power Spark Plugs

The first check:

RPM      DEG
1000 = + 7
1500 = 10
2000 = 15
2500 = 20
3000 = 22

I halted this run at this point, obviously the timing was too retarded at 3000.  I advanced it a bit and checked again:

1000 = + 15
1500 = 20
2000 = 26
2500 = 30
3000 = 33

Again, halted here, because my curve was too steep.  Third try:

1000 = 10
1500 = 15
2000 = 20
2500 = 25
3000 = 30
3500 = 35
4000 = 35

Weird that the advance matched the rpms like that...I had to look at it closer just too make sure.   :scratchchin:  The timing stopped advancing at 3500 rpm...I think that should work, right?  +35 deg made me just a little nervous, so I backed the advance just a 1/16 of an inch or so and tightened her down.

That do you think?

I think your engine should be just fine with 35* advance total but it should be all-in by 3000 rpms.  It is not far off set to 35 * total by 3500 rpm but can you set it to be all-in by 3000 rpms?

Are you checking this with the vacuum advance plugged or do you run the engine with no vacuum advance?  If you are using the vacuum advance, please be sure to unplug it and plug the line so you will not have a vacuum leak. Then, I would set it to be all-in at 35* by 3000 rpms. Hook things back up and readjust idle accordingly and give it a try!

I did the check/adjustments with vaccum disconnected and hose plugged (golf tee works great). 

Will the vaccum advance (which I will use) speed up the curve a little?  I didn't check the advance curve with the vaccum re-attached.  Maybe that's never something that's done   :shruggy: .....I'm stilll learning about ignition timing. 

You know, I am sure the vacuum advance would advance the timing at idle but I am not sure about the total advance. My Charger has a billet MSD distributor without vacuum advance.

Quote from: charge69 on July 17, 2013, 04:20:45 PM
You know, I am sure the vacuum advance would advance the timing at idle but I am not sure about the total advance. My Charger has a billet MSD distributor without vacuum advance.

If the vacuum advance is connected properly it will not pull any additional timing into the engine. The advance mechanism is supposed to be connected to ported vacuum...not manifold vacuum.  :yesnod:

The 10* at idle is a bit low...i'd shoot for 15-16* of base timing and have the total at 35-36 coming in at 2600-2800 rpm. With the MP distributors this is best achieved using one light weight and one medium weight advance spring. Yours probaly has 2 medium springs based on the late peak timing number.




Ron

Thanks for the tips.    :yesnod:

A small town (smaller than mine) nearby (30 miles) had a car show downtown Friday evening, so my bro and I decided to take our cars on a little road trip.

Good time to test the speedo and tach for accuracy and continue the engine break in.  I need a gauge shakedown because I show 4K rpm at 80 mph.  That can't be right.

Turns out, the speedometer is WAAAAY off.  90 mph on my gauge is really about 75 mph.

My tach is also showing much more that it should....4200 on the tach is about 3200. (we hooked up a remote tach and strung it into the cab  for monitoring during the trip)  That is good news, I think 3200 RPM at 75 rpm is about right. (3.23 gears)

Getting the gauges squared away is not a big priority, since I have an auto trans and shift points aren't as important as they would be with a stick.  I can use a GPS for MPH if need be.

Need to re-map the advance curve again with the remote tach...looks like it's currently set at all in between 25-3000.  Hopefully it wasn't advanced too much for the road trip, although I'd didn't work the engine too hard.  I'll set the total advance for around 2800 and call it good.

Quote from: HeavyFuel on March 23, 2013, 04:59:43 PM
1)  The plastic sides still showed a few light scuffs after the clean-up, but I don't want to coat it with anything.  I like the look of the natural plastic.

2)  Light rings didn't need anything, just a cleanup, and the SS trim got a nice polishing.

3)  The shift window turned out good, no scratches.  The plastic slider had a few and a small crack...no biggee.  The black line detail shows up nice, and it really makes the big difference on the overall appearance.  I considered not redoing the black lines......but it's must.  It's all in the details.

4) Should look pretty nice in the car.

sorry to jump you back in time.. your restoration looks great!
I am working on my console and floor right now as well did your carpet kit come with the extra carpet to cover the console?

:cheers:

The console carpet is a separate kit from the floor carpet.

Good luck!

Thanks!  More stuff to add to my list!

Last weekend I modified the distributor plates to give about 20* mech advance, and recurved the springs.   I set my initial at 16* and it timed all in around 36* at around 2600 rpm.  (which now that I think about it, I should have done it the other way around, set my total at 36* and let the initial fall wherever...)

I also took the carb apart (again) and checked the operation and flow of the accel pump.   The check valve between the accel pump well and the bowl might have been a little gunked up...seemed like there was some back flow into the bowl when testing the check valve.   It's cleaned up now, and I'm getting good squirt.   The discharge check looked pretty good, but I cleaned it up a little to make sure air wasn't drawing back into the circuit.

Took the car for a drive last night....45* out.

Feels like the car is running better than it ever has.   The stumble backfire is pretty much gone......it still needs some tuning in the carb.

The engine SOUNDS different with the advanced timing....seems smoother when driving, less lumpy on idle.

The choke it still staying on a little bit in this cooler weather because of the blocked crossover.   I'll have to work on that.  :scratchchin:

Got this nasty thing fixed.  Feels good to get rid of a bad experience that occurred during the final stages of the resto.

Your car is looking good.

Decided it was time to put a stripe on.  Got it from Performance Car Graphics.....nice product.

Pretty straight forward installation and I'm very happy with the way they turned out.

There's a couple points of view as far as how to position the stripe in regards to the side marker.  I went with the factory position, which locates the marker as centered on the 'grouping' of the fat and skinny stripes.

Something in the steering went haywire late last year.  The gear, pump and reservoir were about the only things that did not get a rebuild before going back on the car, but they got it over the winter by Firm Feel.  

I like the way the car handles now, at speed, although it is kinda a bitch to turn during tight maneuvers like parking lots.  Worth the trade off.  

New Moog offset bushings are a plus as well.

1)  Gear before the original installation and subsequent shipping to Firm Feel.   I bet they loved removing the POR15.   :lol:

2)  The nice finished product, ready for install.  I must say the bare metal finish looks much nicer.

This will most likely be the last post from me on this 'resto' thread, unless someone asks a question or something like that.

The 'last part' has been installed on the car, and I can honestly say that I can't think of anything else that should be on the car, that isn't.  It was still missing one chrome and one black seat lever knobs.  I picked up a couple of nice originals from my local source.

The dissassembly started in summer of 2004, and the knobs went on a couple weeks ago........10 years from start to finish.   :eek2:

.

.

You done a good job :2thumbs:  Enjoy the ride

10 years from start to finish. You have done a great job. How does it run?

yep have loved reading your thread , beautiful car,
your thread is probably the one most refered to by myself, its because of the detail and photo's.
check the thread on here regarding speedo gear number, could be as simple as replacing for the correct numbered colour gear to get that speedo correct,
look forward to your new thread,
the one where you do someserious upgrades , you dabbled with it , alloy heads intake serious camshaft , mild hi stall LOL 

This has been a very inspiring thread and a great read all this time. Thanks for sharing  :2thumbs:
Al

Wow!!! :2thumbs:

Quote from: HeavyFuel on August 26, 2014, 01:52:16 PM
.

:drool5:  awesome looking 68 !! nice work  :2thumbs: :cheers:

Your 68 is my favorite one on this site :2thumbs: You did an incredible job and took no shortcuts. I think the only thing on the car that I would do is a OEM style battery or one of those "battery toppers" covers that looks like a original battery. I have one in my 68.