My 68 Super Bee restoration

[Lukas_z]

Hey guys new to the forum and I'm a little into the restoration of my 68 numbers matching Super Bee (383 4 speed). I'm sure that I'll have plenty of questions as I plug along but here goes nothing. I'm also more than willing to share any info that I have from my restoration and any problems that I come across

Here is what the car looked like when I got it. Battery tray was rusted as were the lower rockers and passenger floor pan. There was some slight pitting on the roof from the vinyl top, but nothing too bad. Everything else was nice and cancer free(got to love those Texas cars). Original engine and trans are with the car but the engine was disassembled by the previous owner.

I decided that i did not like the yellow paint so I went with Header Orange. This is where I'm at right now. Since I'm putting a vinyl top on and I was running a bit low on the orange, since it took 5 coats to get nice coverage I did not paint the roof yet, but I will paint it before the top goes back on.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Welcome aboard and thanks for joining the forum!

Gorgeous car!

 

[Mocajava]

Welcome from Alaska. Nice find and my dream car! Had a 68 in HS with the 4 speed and 383 combo, wonder I am still alive. Love to see the pictures so PLEASE keep em coming. I have a '69 Coronet that I am building and will be following your posts.

 

[Lukas_z]

Thanks. I'll keep the posts coming, and I plan on finishing sometime this spring/summer. I'll see how that goes.

 

[68sprtsat383]

Welcome love the bee

 

[khryslerkid]

Welcome Lukas! Orange you glad you joined!

Do you do body and paint for a living?

 

[Lukas_z]

Welcome Lukas! Orange you glad you joined!

Do you do body and paint for a living?

Just on the side. It's more of a hobby.

 

[Lukas_z]

With the engine bay prepped in went the engine. It's slowly starting to look like a car again.

 

[Lukas_z]

It was time to do some work on the rear end, gas tank, and the brakes.

I can now check that off the never ending list of things to do.
I also managed to mock the exhaust up, but I don't like how the one side it straight back while the other curves in. I think I'm going to redo one of these sides so they actually match.

On to the fun parts. I've been looking for a while and trying to decide on the wheels. This is what i came up with. 17X7 in the front with 17X8 in the rear. I know the stance is too high, but I'll adjust that later, for now I can roll the car around with out having to put air in the tires every day. The rear bumper is also on.

I love restoring the cosmetics parts; you see the results right away. Here is the restoration of the taillights. They're not perfect but they are original to this car, and this is now a show car.

I also painted a spare and put it in the trunk: That's just for looks as the tire is still a bias ply from the 70s. It holds air but I'll never use it on the car.
The grille was next. Since there were no dents or pitting in it; the grille came out awesome. The bumper and turn signals look great too(both were new from classic industries since I bought the car without bumpers).

We now have something that is starting to look like a super bee.
The Bee is now back in my garage, since my buddy moved shops and doesn't have room for me to hang out and work on my project.

 

[Mocajava]

Looking spectacular! I'm impressed with your talents and wish mine was that far along. I assume that is the original engine and wondering how it was rebuilt, can you give us some specs? Keep the pictures coming, they really get me motivated.

 

[Lukas_z]

Looking spectacular! I'm impressed with your talents and wish mine was that far along. I assume that is the original engine and wondering how it was rebuilt, can you give us some specs? Keep the pictures coming, they really get me motivated.

It's a true 1968 super bee 383 4 speed car. I'll have to take pictures of the data tag and post it here too. The engine, trans, and rear end are all original to the car. This week I plan on tackling the engine and dash. I'll see how far along I'll be able to get it.

 

[Mocajava]

I had a B5 68 Super Bee in High School in Shreveport La. with 4 speed and bench seat. Why did I ever sell that,.... must have been ANOTHER of my stupid decisions. Working on a 69 Coronet right now, the closest to a Bee as I could find in AK. Has a bench and 383/727 combo, that will be a 468 with the 727 when she gets done. I will be watching....

 

[Lukas_z]

Here are a couple of photos of the cluster being rebuilt.

I was even able to get the original clock working again.

I'd say the cluster cleaned up pretty well. The best part is that all of the original gauges and switches still work. All I did was take it all apart, clean it up, and re-finish it.
I also cleaned up the trim pieces on the hood. they're also original and they turned out pretty good. Just a bit of polishing and paint. Check out the before and after. The paint looks crappy cause I haven't buffed it yet after the clear sanding.


The shifter, and Z bar will be next. That white shift knob will look great in there.

 

[Outlaw525]

Nice work, keep it up. 68's are my favorite Dodge B-bodies. I have fond high school memories of an older guy (in his 20's then LOL) that street raced a silver '68 Bee with a 426 max wedge in it. Car was PDQ.

 

[Mocajava]

Nice work Lucas, that will be gorgeous when you get her done! Keep the posts and pictures coming.

 

[Lukas_z]

Nice work Lucas, that will be gorgeous when you get her done! Keep the posts and pictures coming.

I would post more, but the I want to spend more time building it.

 

[Lukas_z]

I was able to get some interior work done on the Bee. The floor was cleaned up a bit and painted to cover up some of the old yellow paint. My bucket seats arrived and are now installed.

Then it was time for the gauges(everything works except for the wipers and the radio right now), shifter, carpet, seats, and door panels.

I love the way that ball looks on the shifter.

I'm looking for a lower dash pad set for this thing if any of you have any leads please send them my way. Let's see if I can get the interior finished this week and get the linkages for the throttle and the clutch installed and working. Once that's done I can see if she'll move on her own.

 

[showard]

Wow! you are moving right along. You are doing a great job on a great car. 68 is the best year for all b body mopars.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Looks good, but don't forget to paint your battery tray & brackets orange.

 

[Lukas_z]

Looks good, but don't forget to paint your battery tray & brackets orange.

Yeah you're right Richard I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

- - - Updated - - -

Here is the fender tag that I've been meaning to post for a while now.

Minus the radio, lower dash pad, glove box, shifter boot, and gas pedal the interior is almost complete.

Here is the factory stamping on the trunk lip.

The trunk is complete, including the car jacking instructions.