Going for a morning Cruise

[440 Fanatic]

It's 7:40 AM Sunday ,  and I'm going for a morning cruise in my 68 Charger.  I have about 30 bucks extra in my wallet that just became fuel money.  I'll take a few pics,  maybe even some of the Charger    ,  But,  foremost I will enjoy that 'exhaust note'  from a 440 through 40 series flowmasters that some of you complain of.  I don't understand that,,  but to each their own.  I love it !!!!,

[1BAD68]

Awesome, have fun!
I'm a few weeks away from paint so I won't be taking mine out 

[Charger-Bodie]

Looking forward to the pics. Amd as far as the Flowmasters,I like the sound around town, just always had a drone on anything I tried them on at highway speed.

[Chargen69]

I'm planning on Super 44 flows for my car, got them on a high compression v8 in my truck and they sound awesome when you are into it, almost like no mufflers at all...  as far as the drone, we are putting in a lot of sound deadner to compete with that.

[rick.d]

I just did the same thing...took it out for the first time in almost 2 years. I went from Flowmaster 40's to a basic $27 Thrush, and it still has some drone. My wife had to go in the other room with our newborn when i started it up because it scared  the heck out of her and she started crying.

[PA Dodger]

Go ahead, rub it in. I just spent 2 weekends washing and detailing the Cuda and the Dart vert in anticipation of my first nice cruise of the year. What do I get-possibly 2-4" of snow coming!  Late April in SW PA, Really? 
As for the Flowmasters goes- If they put a smile on your face, who cares what everyone else thinks? To each, his own.

[440 Fanatic]

It was awesome,  the Charger ran perfectly with no stutters or hesitation,  almost as if it wanted to
cruise as much as I did.   I passed by an old service type gas station. About 4 young guys working there flagged me down,   so i came back to the station.  You all know the first question.   and my answer, "Nope,  not a hemi,  but I built it to be a bit stronger than a stock 426 hemi".  2 of them asked to see the engine,  so I raised the hood. Sadly, the engine bay was more dusty than i would prefer (that happens when you drive them daily).  But,  the bay was filled completely with large Mopar muscle

They drooled...  I offered them a 'ride' in it.  Neither of them had ever been in a real muscle car,  much less, a big block mopar.  They were honda/nissan turbo guys.

I got off of the main highway to a fairly desolate road.
I was running about 1500 rpm,  cruising in high,,, I told them both "Hold on ,  I'm about to scare you".   I pulled my ratchet shifter back twice and laid into the go pedal,,, i don't know if my Charger ever responded like it did today,   it even scared me a lil bit !!!

I let off after a few secs and we were cooking !!!  Damn , I need disc brakes !!!

After all was settled,  I don't think I've ever seen bigger eyes on anyone like these kids had.

It was  an experience they will never forget.   Simon, (My Charger).  behaved wonderfully all morning !,  What a great time we had !   There is something about a Charger that gets inside you and becomes a part of you. 
  Hope you folks don't mind the  pics 

[440 Fanatic]

more

[440 Fanatic]

few more

[Indygenerallee]

Nice pics!!  I think your Charger has a Identity crisis though? 

[440 Fanatic]

Nice pics!!  I think your Charger has a Identity crisis though? 

,

Yes,  you are very correct,  but none of it was my doing at all, was like this when i bought it.(except for the wheels)  70 R/T hood '440',  70 R/T door 'scoops'. daytona wing,  (bought the car about 9 years ago and turned out that the wing is worth more than what i paid for the car)  Since then I built the engine,  got a TCI 727 tranny and built the rear end and all new brakes from the back plate out and master cylinder.

[Indygenerallee]

Does it have the wing washers and braces on the car? I think the hood is the stock 68 hood just painted with the 70 style stripes cause the front edge of the hood is different on the 70's, Looks cool!!!

[440 Fanatic]

Does it have the wing washers and braces on the car? I think the hood is the stock 68 hood just painted with the 70 style stripes cause the front edge of the hood is different on the 70's, Looks cool!!!

Yes,  stock 68 hood, just painted and decals like '70 440 R/T.   There were no washers or wing supports when I got the car,  but, I do a good bit of fabrication,  so,  I built wing supports that not only incorporate the washers, but are much stronger than the factory braces. I made them out of 3/16" plate that span the length of the wing base.   

[Indygenerallee]

got pics of the wing braces you made??

[hemigeno]

The few times in my life I've been going that fast, I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to snap a photo...







Glad to hear you had a great time crusing.  I'm getting my R/T back in a few weeks, and can't wait to do the same myself.

[UFO]

The few times in my life I've been going that fast, I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to snap a photo...

It's not that hard.All you need is a reverseable drill to drive the cable.I think mine went 132 mph.

[charge69]

Great pics of your Charger and an awesome day here also. Those kids will remember that ride forever !!

[440 Fanatic]

The few times in my life I've been going that fast, I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to snap a photo...







Glad to hear you had a great time crusing.  I'm getting my R/T back in a few weeks, and can't wait to do the same myself.

My speed-o is broken.
In that pic, I was actually just about to pull out of my driveway and was checking the camera battery. I accidently snapped that shot. I have gotten so used to it showing 139 mph, I didn't even notice it in the pic.
 

[440 Fanatic]

got pics of the wing braces you made??

I don't have at the moment, but I can make some for you.

[440 Fanatic]

This is still my Buddy , Simon, even though he went through a flood and was completely submerged (water was about 6 inches above his wing)  about a year and a half ago, he is currently my daily driver
We've been through a lot together...several girl friends, a few pets and a few jobs over the last 20 years or so. He still starts in less than 1 revolution whether he's cold or not.

[darbgnik]

I remember that thread! Glad you got it all sorted!

[Polygon]

That is one cool car story. Glad you got it out and drove it around.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

[Challenger340]

That's great to hear you still have the Charger 

[wingcar]

Your'68 looks like it had a brother in Mesa, Arizona many years back.  There was a yellow '68 Charger with a Daytona wing that a fellow worker drove almost daily until he sold it.   It needed work, but had a factory sunroof off a 1980's Chrysler, which after the rear wing was the best part of the car.
 
Nice pictures......   

[JR]

Congrats on recovering your ride.

What did you have to do to repair it from the flood? How far did you have to tear it down?

[tcs69rt]

139 MPH in a 35 zone...impressive! Lol 

[440 Fanatic]

Congrats on recovering your ride.

What did you have to do to repair it from the flood? How far did you have to tear it down?

Immediately as I could,,which was about a month,,,   I drained the engine and trans, pulled the sparkplugs and pumped the water out of the cylinders.
Cleaned the fuel tank out and pulled the carb and cleaned it. Disconnected the headers from the exhaust system and let it drain. Power steering cap seemed to be more sealed than I thought,  no water evident. Also, checked the rear end and somehow, no water got in there either, which still baffles me.
Pulled the distributor cap, blew all the water out of the distributor. I'm running electronic Mopar ignition and electronic voltage regulator.

I refilled the engine and trans , ran it a few mins,  repeat and repeat until both fluids looked water free.

The only parts I've had to replace is the ignition switch as although run position worked, start position didn't. And the wiper motor did not survive.
The starter bendix/ratchet/one-way clutch,,,,what ever you want to call it is giving some trouble as it disengages after about 2 turns, but Simon fires up usually in about 1 crank rotation,  not so much a problem right now.
The only gauge that worked before the flood was the fuel gauge,,,now it works most of the time. No real loss there.

I did a shit load of mechanical work on this car before the flood, engine/trans/rear end/brakes/ ignition/ all steering and all suspension/...but no interior or body work, so that turned out to be a plus.

Can you post a vid here? and if so, is it as limited in size as the pics are?

[orange383]

This is such a cool car. Did you take any pics of it as the water receded?

[nvrbdn]

You can post your video to YouTube, then post the link here!!!!

[440 Fanatic]

This is such a cool car. Did you take any pics of it as the water receded?

Yes,  a few pics.   The flood started about 2:00 A.M. to about 4:00 A.M. on a Monday morning. These pics were taken on the following Thursday afternoon.
Also, there was a young lady that had moved into the cabin right across the drive from me the previous Thursday that had a brand new Charger she had owned for 3 months,, It was submerged as well. Still sickens me to look at these pics. Ironically ,  I had just installed new wipers the Sunday afternoon before the flood.

[nvrbdn]

Wow, you can see the water level dropping by the marks on the hood and sides. Glad she was saved!!!