anyone have experience restoring cars?

[Mactruck]

Have an opportunity to recieve a 1968 charger with the original 383. It is a total basket case and needs total restoration. Anybody have any experiences they would like to share. Any rules of thumb I should follow in terms of stripping it down and rebuilding it. Any places to get parts that you know of.

One thing I have no experience with is the unibody frame & suspension. (I'm used to trucks I guess)

Please help me bring it to back to it's former glory?

 

[JMarkos]

The only thing I can is what my dad told me when I was 16 and bought me my 69 roadrunner. "By the time you finish it you will know every nut and bolt on the car. " I can say that is a very true statement. They are great cars and you will enjoy working on it.







Jeff

 

[Rick Comenzo]

Kevin, I have been involved with restoring cars for 20+ years, I would suggest you decide what are you going to make this car-a driver or a show car, as finances allow. I would suggest getting the driveline in good order first followed by the body work and then the interior and outside chrome. Year one in GA. has many parts for your car, it is a good place to start, also check Hemmings Motor News. Good Luck. Rick.

 

[Todd G]

I've been down the restoration road before. Here's my results:



1. It will cost you 3 times your initial projected cost.

2. It will take 2 times as long as you thought.

3. It will be worth 60% of what you put in it.



My advice, unless the car is rare or has sentimental value, is to find a car that is 90% complete and just needs the little stuff and some TLC.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Make it a driver!

Mac,



Make it a driver! That's what it's for! Just make sure it's not too far gone to be feasible. Rick gives very good advice.



The '68 is my favorite Charger and one of my favorite Mopars. Remember the movie Bullitt? Have fun with it. I envy you. I'd love to have another '68-'70 Mopar B-body. I've been feeling sorry for myself for the 17 years it's been since I sold my '70 GTX (see avatar). Someday I'll get another one.



Dave

 

[JConley]

I am restoring a 66 mustang from the ground up. I have about 3 years in it, and I have no completion date. If I did have one, I wouldnt make it anyway. . I dont have a budjet either. Dont take the car to the ground unless you have at least 5 years of free time. The only reason I am doing this much work to this car is because my dad bought this car new in 1965. It was my parents first new car. I have spent about as much in tools for this car, as I have in sheet metal.

 

[Fireman Dave]

J:



I checked out your Mustang pics. It figures a CTD owner would be restoring a Mustang with a straight 6!



Have fun with it. To me it's just a joy to work on a classic like that. It's great that you can keep it in the family.



Dave

 

[Mactruck]

This car is supposedly rare. This is supposed to be one of the prototype dealer R/T's that came out in 68' previewing the 69 model year. I'm researching the VIN right now.

This will be a driver and not a show car. I just love old iron and even though some showcars are beautiful. I think they should be driven! Plus I'd add a few of my touches. Not enought to blemish the car's historical value though. Heck, If I had to put the original AM radio that probably came with it I'd kill myself

This is a car that needs to be stripped down to the bare frame though. A friend of mine wants me to put a 440 in it and I slammed him right away. "This has a matching number block! Are you crazy!!" The engine has about 68k miles but should be rebuilt along with the transmission. Rust everywhere along the body. but it's free for me all I have to do is give it a little love. (and a ton of money )

Like I said before, any help would be appreciated.

thanx you guys,

Kevin

PS Rick - is the name of the company your referring to (Year one) specialize in Charger parts or historical parts in general?

 

[Fireman Dave]

Mac,



Charger RTs came with either a 440 or a Hemi. It shouldn't be an RT with a 383. Having said that, there were variations at times to the so-called rules. I'm not familiar with the dealer prototypes, so maybe it was some kind of a special order thing.



To authenticate the car, I'd recommend contacting Galen Govier - the recognized Mopar documentation guru. He ran the numbers on my GTX 20 years ago. Back then he did it for free. Now it's a full blown business for him. Here's a link to his website.



http://www.gvgovier.com/



Of course, it may not matter much whether it's really what the guy says it is - since it's free (You dog, you!).



Good luck!



Dave

 

[Rattler]

Mac, probably the best place for info or parts is the Mopar Nationals. They will be in Columbus Ohio, on august 10-12. 50,000 Mopar Maniacs can't be wrong! I have been able to find needed parts over the years that were unavailable anywhere else.

 

[COBRAJET]

It took about 3 years to restore the CJ from the ground up. Take your time. If it is not going like you want it to, stop and come back another day. It is always more expensive than what you think. Try to stay original as much as possible or keep the parts that you udgrade. Don't throw away original parts that are now available as reproductions. Keep them or sell them to "numbers" guys.



As stated previously the R/T's had a 440 for a base engine and a Hemi option. I checked three "MUSCLE CAR" publications I have that all state this. An R/T will have an XS stamped for the model number on teh ID tag. A XP denotes a regular Charger... CJ



Mustang Pics

 

[Rick Comenzo]

Restoring a 68 Charger

Kevin, Year One sells parts for most muscle cars of the 60's-70's era,GM's, Mopars etc. . Attending the Mopar Nationals would probably be the best way to get information and ideas for your car, you will probably see and find items that are rarely advertised. Good Luck. Post some pictures as you go along with that great car! Rick.

 

[446]

If the car is a pre production car it will have a real low serial number something like XP29G9B000050. Would probably have a lot of otions on it also.



As far as restoring, I'm with Todd G. Plan on a lot of time and a lot of money. If there is rust in the quarters, you need new quarters if there is rust in the floors, you need new floor pans. This alone will cost you $5000 to do it right. New motor and trans $5000,

new chrome,brakes shocks ect..... you get the point. It never ends.

Cheap? Cheap is a lot of bondo, a MAACO paint job and some JC whitney seat covers. you'll be throwing away money with anything in between.

My advice. find a rust free car, you can always use the parts from this one.

Here are some pics of a car after 10 years of restoration. (hasnt been touched for 4 years but I got the bug to finish it now) I was just going to freshen it up when I started. It wasn't real rusty to begin with but enough to repace quarters and trunk and some of the floor. New motor, trans, brakes, lines shocks, ect...

Please dont take this as preaching. Just a lot of experience.



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[fmj]

Kevin, if you want to build it to have fun, do it. If your trying to make it an investment, forget it. Build it how you want and that way you'll be satisfied. I spent 8 years building a '41 Willys Pro Street Coupe. My father-in-law gave me the best advice, look at the receipts and use them for information to record part numbers and after the car is done never ever add them up or look at them again. I took his advice. Look for local car guys that can give you some in's on your model. Filter out all the BS, and you'll get a lot of it along with the good. Like one of the other guys said, Hemmings is a good place to start. If you have matching part numbers, its worth venturing into. Have fun.

 

[moparguy]

Kevin, lot's of good advice here. A few more recommendations;



1. Clean the entire car, including the frame and underside, and take lots of pictures of everthing.



2. Buy lots of high quality plastic ziplock bags and put all small items in these along with lables as to what they are and where they go.



You'll be temped to say, I'll remember where these short screws go, NOT.



Last, arrange for a dedicated work area somewhere for what could be a long term project.



Have fun.



Ronnie

 

[Bad340fish]

Got $

Body work is what killed me!! My car has been wrecked twice since I have had it, both times requiring a total repaint. If its a driver I recomend getting it a production color of somekind. My first paintjob was a custom blend, it was light blue by day, Dark blue by night and green with shadows. But it was not reproducable since my Body man died in the middle of the second paint job. Your lucky, E and B body chryslers are the easiest to find parts for. I think the reproduction guys forgot the 67-69 Cuda lol. Take your time. Don't settle for anything less than what you think is cool. Its hard to change colors after its done. And a true hot rod is never finished lol.



This is a pic of my first color. The paitjob was AWSOME looked like it was 8" deep. The color wore on me, I never really did like the way it looked in the sun. But it was killer at night. Mike was an Artist, the people that finished the car the second time(hard to find a shop to restore a half worked car) were good but not as good as him.

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And here is one in different light. . it changed alot!!

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Let us know what you do with the car... sounds fun! and Free! Hard to beat

 

[Fireman]

Mactruck, jump in there with both feet Do what you love, love what you do



If this is a rare and valuable car you may need help to do a stock "no better and no worse" restoration. On valuable cars over doing it is as bad as under doing it. New cars off the line had many flaws and imperfections, a "true" restoration should include these too



Lotsa luck Fireman

 

[Mactruck]

Thanks you guys. I new I could get what I needed here. (especially for a MOPAR)



I'll post pics when I can.

 

[Straight6Jeff]

Hey MacTruck, Congrats on the car. Old iron sure will look good next to the new CTD. You'll be amazed at how many tools you'll be "justified" to buy with a project like that. Not to start a domestic war, but is your lady's (sorrry, forgot her name) CTD now on hold with the new project in the wings



Hey, i think this is an occasion to get the members together and have a "small" toast.

 

[TMc]

Sweet car, ever see the movie Christine there's a mint blue 68 in the beginning of the movie. Anyway, check the frame before you do anything specifically where the rear bumper attaches along under the trunk and also behind the front wheels where it attaches to the body under the floor pans, if the frame's rotted you might want to reconsider unless you have a parts car. As for the body " Auto body Specialities " in CT. has alot of expeirence with body parts for mopars, and if it were me I would have the body done by someone who has done many full restorations on b-bodies, trust me you will not save any money by doing the bodywork yourself if you have never done panel replacement before ( at least if you want it totally mint) I speak from expeirence owning a 69 roadrunner since I was 17 finally selling it at age 30 (4 years ago to help buy a house) driveline and interior you can do yourself. If you want to find the hisory on the car (options etc) you should be able to find another copy of order sheet under the back seat if someone hasn't already removed it. It will be coded but can be deciphered easily with info on the internet.

I had my roadrunner all those years but was always in love with the 68-69 chargers !!



Oh yea one more thing the 383 can kick some butt, its the best world between a 340 small block and 440 big block, You can rev it like a small block if built right because of the shorter stroke over the 440.

And if you want a good 440 to put in it I have one for you. Pre 1973 with the forged crank and thick block and good heads. After 73/74 they went to a thinner wall on the block and cast crank.





Good luck !!!