73 Charger SE Project

[SirHayes]

View attachment 291819

So, I found this beauty a few weeks back at a yardsale for a couple hundred bucks, and the guy had no knowledge of cars. I saw it and immediately saved it from certain destruction- or worse yet, parting out. This beast is a 73 Charger SE, triple white with a 318 motor with 56,000 miles and all original parts. It sat in a barn for 30 years and when I tested it out nearly all the electrics work, even the radio. Shes got an accordioned front fender and a bashed rear quarter panel as well as a few missing things. The interior is a bit shabby, but I plan on starting the restoration process with tearing her down bit by bit.I am new to restoration and would greatly appreciate feedback from anyone!



Here you can see the 318 in a dilapidated state, as a complete rebuild is in the planning.



With all original dash and gauges, the lights and indicators still work. I may get a dash cover to fix the crack, but overall, I'm not too worried about this much.



Here we can see that the carpet needs to be ripped up, and thankfully the floor pans are rust free. I found a guy that will reupholster the bucket seats as well as the buddy seat for $500. The door panels are in okay shape, but the backseat is tear free, and not yet brittle. The headliner was torn out prior, but I can do that later.



The paint is in decent shape, but the vinyl top is rotted away, and the chrome edging needs replacing.




And, lastly we see the massive dent and the crumpled fender that desperately needs reshaping and/or replacement. the lense covers and cowlings are there, but they're in the trunk. I couldn't wait to dig into this project, and I almost forgot to take pictures... The grille has been slightly removed to access other parts and is off centered here. Thanks guys for viewing!

 

[Brandy]

Welcome! You can find parts nearer to you but if not we have a salvage yard here with 5 73-74 Chargers some of them SE's. One has a near perfect front chrome nose on it, several have good fenders and doors, lots of trim and interior stuff. Let me know if you ever need any of it and we can work out a pay and ship deal.

 

[Wesley F]

Welcome! You can find parts nearer to you but if not we have a salvage yard here with 5 73-74 Chargers some of them SE's. One has a near perfect front chrome nose on it, several have good fenders and doors, lots of trim and interior stuff. Let me know if you ever need any of it and we can work out a pay and ship deal.

Hey there how many do you still have and is there a website or any pics of them?

 

[Brandy]

The yard still has them. My computer is broken, I'm using my phone. The pictures and stuff are on it. There's a thread on here somewhere with those pics. Try searching for Gates Salvage.

 

[YY1]

Fenders are kind of tough to find not either rusted in the nose or dog leg or creased in the nose.

For the record, 1972 fenders look the same, but are not. The bottom body line is different, and the wheel opening is different. 1974 fenders should be close enough, if not identical. I have a pir in decent shape, but I'm all the way across the country.

Quarter patches are available but kind of hard to track down and pricing varies from a couple hundred to close to a grand. There are at least two different manufacturers. One is total junk and not even close. The others are Sherman/Tabco and are pretty nice. I have one, but it's the wrong side. It also doesn't go all the way up, so you'll likely need a parts car patch fro that trunk gutter area.

 

[Charger1973]

Welcome! You can find parts nearer to you but if not we have a salvage yard here with 5 73-74 Chargers some of them SE's. One has a near perfect front chrome nose on it, several have good fenders and doors, lots of trim and interior stuff. Let me know if you ever need any of it and we can work out a pay and ship deal.

Do you have the rag joint screws for a 1973 Dodge Charger se? There are 4 and 2 are longer than the other 2.

 

[Brandy]

I will call the yard, which is two hours away from me, and ask if they do. Or, you could call them. It's Gates Salvage Yard in Hardwick Vermont 802-472-5794

 

[YY1]

Those rag joint screws are a B I T C H !

Today, I'm going to try replacing them with regular bolts.

Already found issue #1- the longer ones need to be 1 3/4 inch long.
No such animal at Lowe's. Somehow, I already have one. Wonder where that came from.

I can't for the life of me see any reason they need to be countersunk or phillips head.

 

[Charger1973]

thank you for your help I'll call them.

 

[Charger1973]

your right YY1 they are a pain. I understand they only used them on this car and for 1 year only. I noticed you posted this on April 2nd and ghostrider April 1st. I don't seem to be getting alerts for some reason.

 

[Bruzilla]

Those rag joint screws are a B I T C H !

Today, I'm going to try replacing them with regular bolts.

Already found issue #1- the longer ones need to be 1 3/4 inch long.
No such animal at Lowe's. Somehow, I already have one. Wonder where that came from.

I can't for the life of me see any reason they need to be countersunk or phillips head.

I've found that Ace Hardware stores, especially the older ones, have a vastly better selection of bolts and other fasteners than home stores. If you can't find one around you, let me know what size you need and I'll see if our Ace has some.

 

[Bb70charger500]

So got any updated pictures of this ol gal?

 

[drobertson]

I have rebuilt a 318. It isn't worth it. I was dissapointed. I can only recommend that you drop in a 360 or a big block. The price difference to rebuild a 440 compared to a 318 isn't very much.

 

[YY1]

Agree about ACE.

They have the oddball 5/8 fine thread LBJ nuts, even in self locking.