SGTPauls 68 Charger RT project

[canuk]

Thanks for the comments all! It was truly rewarding to find out that the car was so straight and square based on what I started with. Still busy at the day job so crawling along with progress. This weekend I was able to get the suspension back off the car (getting pretty good at this) and back on the dolly. I cheated on the dolly leveling process this time and rented a laser level. Done in 15 minutes. Will start work on the trunk floor this week day job permitting.

If it wasnt for our day jobs , we wouldnt be able to do these things . Im gonna drive my 68 all summer long and in october , tear down for paint . cant wait but havent decided on a color yet .

 

[SGTPaul]

Trunk floor in

Hi all & thanks for the comments. Was able to block out a good chunk of the weekend and get my trunk floor installed. Still a little follow up welding and grinding to do but 90% complete on this panel. Progress pics below.

 

[Superfreak]

Great job. Feels good when you make big progress.

 

[Photon440]

Wow, talk about building something from nothing. Some of those early pictures are so stripped that I wondered why you bought the rolling shell in the first place. You could have saved time by starting with the empy dolly and building from there.

Well done.

 

[SGTPaul]

Thanks for the comments all. I think Photon400 might be right :icon_eyes:. No work on the R/T this week or the next two probably due to an end of the month big project deadline for the day job. I did place my order for the rear quarter of the car at Roseville Mopar this week and should have it in the next week or so. Great guys over there, really taking care of me. It will be hard not to work on the car with all the new metal calling my name to come out to the garage and install it. After the 1st of June I hope to take a little time off to work on the R/T.

Happy Memorial Day to all and many thanks to those who have served our country.

 

[SGTPaul]

Christmas came early…

Referring to the pic below - some assembly required, batteries not included, no instructions, empty bank account….. Sound familiar? Wrapped up my project at the day job so now I get to work normal hours and get a little time with my R/T. With all the new parts I had to do a little organizing so things would fit in my basement which is looking more like a car part warehouse every day. Wrapped up the welding and grinding touch-up on the whole car so now I’m ready to start on prepping for the new parts.

 

[Propwash]

Hell yeah that sounds familiar! Wow.....that's lot of fresh tin. Should keep you busy for a while. AMD send you a "customer of the month" can opener or something for all that metal...lol

Good stuff!

 

[detmatt1]

Yeah Man! Get busy SRG!

 

[Donny]

You Suck! (hahaha)
Looks good man, gives ME inspiration to get back at my GTX!

 

[canuk]

Hey sgt , How many hours you got in that thing now ? I won"t ask you the dollar amount cause I don"t want to scare away future restorers . haha .
Truly a labour of love . Must be a great feeling now that its starting to look like a 68 Charger now . Always lookin forward to new pics ,

 

[SGTPaul]

Hey sgt , How many hours you got in that thing now ?

Thanks Canuk. I have no idea on the hours and I don't think I want to know. :icon_eyes: Hours go by fast when you are having fun.

 

[Donny]

Hours...endless! I love that stand/table, looks sturdy!

 

[SGTPaul]

Moving forward from the rear….

Thanks for the comments. This week I was able to get the rear valance, tail panel, and associated bumper reinforcements fitted into place and ready for welding AFTER all the pieces are in place. Learned that lesson already. Had to move the rear support from the dolly forward since it interfered with the rear valance. A loose angle across the dolly rails makes a nice platform to measure from. Started fitting the wheelhouses but the inner replacement ones are not that great of a fit compared to sliding the old ones in (glad I saved those). Debating on fixing the old or cutting up the new. Donny gave me some good suggestions on how to proceed (fitting it to the quarter and cutting the wheelhouse as required). Also found a thread on the charger forum which has similar info. Progress pic below.

PS If you have replaced the rear valance and valance corners on a 68-70 charger, please take a look at my questions in the bodywork forum.

 

[SGTPaul]

This week brought more trial and error with the rear wheelhouses. I gave up on trying fitting the new AMD inner parts in and when ahead and repaired the left inner. The new ones were not fitting well at the roof and deck lib filler panel supports. The old ones fit like a glove and give me a great benchmark as to where they should be located by aligning the holes from the spot weld cut outs. I was able to fab up the pieces for the left side repairs, but will be cutting pieces out of the new right wheelhouse for my repairs due to the more extensive work needed on the shaped portion of the part. Got the left side set into place and started on repairing the right inner. Awaiting a new right outer wheelhouse. Factory marked a left a right and then replacement sent out was for a Plymouth. Hoping to have a right hand dodge one this week. Progress pics below.

 

[ef8340]

wow!! i just read the entire journey very nice work there you almost have yourself a rust free R/T ...... that rear bumper has some rust on it " ducks and covers head" lol

 

[robinsonwr]

SGTPaul,
I commend you on your efforts from one sheetmetal guy to another. You would not happen to do aircraft sheetmetal would you? I was a 68G and loved every minute of it. I am currently working on a 1966 Satellite Commando Option 361/727 car. I have currently changed all the floor pans and working on the trunk pan and extensions. I am going to have to remove the rear light panel to get the one piece panel in place. AMD metal has definately made the job alot easier. Hooah! SGT.

 

[SGTPaul]

Hey robinsonwr. Thanks for the comments! I was not a 68G but I did help them out time to time. I could really use some of the metal working / forming tools they have right about now. Over my career I was a 67N, 67T, & 67U. Great times wrenching on those birds! Everyone I’ve talked to has said to stick with AMD. The other’s don’t compare. Where is your restoration thread? Let’s take a look. Good luck on your car!

 

[robinsonwr]

SGTPaul,
Absolutely AMD is the way to go. I wish they more metal for my 66. I am going to get my restoation thread up in the next week or so. Gathering up pictures and stuff for the thread.

 

[SGTPaul]

Pretty sure this is the last metal to remove – I hope.

Thanks again for the comments. This week I patched my right inner wheelhouse and my correct right outer wheelhouse arrived and I installed them. I spent most of the weekend removing what was left of the old quarter panels and deck lid filler panel. Discovering more questions with these last panels removed. The right panel was replaced at some point and doesn’t have all the small brackets the original one on the left did. In communication with AMD to identify if what is on the new panels I bought will supersede what is on the car. Ofcourse the people who did the previous body work mucked up more things for me to address…. I’m putting notes on the car so I don’t forget to patch things…. A few progress pics below.

 

[roadrunnerman]

that last pic i had to look twice at it, i thought it said kix me.but you're moving right along with everything.