1968 Dodge Charger

[v12v8]

I took the plunge in December and imported a big block 383ci '68 Charger. She arrived in late January and since then she's been undergoing a complete restoration. Mechanically she's sound but far more bodywork was needed than originally anticipated.

List of work so far:

New door skins
New trunk floor
New rear deck
Upgrade brakes from drum to Wilwood discs
New wheel bearings
New interior trim
Bare metal respray

She's nearing completion and we hope to have her registered and on the road by end May. Decked out in her original colours of white on red, she'll look and sound fantastic.

[v12v8]

Cheers guys. I am pretty pleased 😎

A couple more pics:

[v12v8]

Thanks very much! It already has a different cam in it. I decided to restore to original spec (or as close as) and run it for a while. The wheels are not original, nor is the steering wheel but everything else is including the engine block. If I do mod the engine I'm tempted by a 440 stroker. But I'll save that for next year. I hope to get her out to a few meets over the summer. Any recommendations?

[v12v8]

Motown Junk said:

http://www.mopareuronats.co.uk/

Nice one. I'll be there

[v12v8]

Thanks chaps. Very kind. I'm a lucky man.

Decided early on to keep the car as original as possible.

Here are some photos of the restoration so far:


Floor back to bare metal. Nice and solid.


New trunk floor.


Door skins half done.


Door skins finished ready for primer.


Rear quarter back to bare metal.

Hoping to have car in paint middle of May and on the road end May. More updates to follow.

Cheers.

[v12v8]

Fleckers said:

WOW

who has done the body work ?

A good friend of mine, James Corney. He's based near Chichester and the quality of his work (and his genuine passion) is sublime. I can't recommend him highly enough. He is also a top notch mechanic! Happy to share details.

[v12v8]

Dave81 said:

Beautiful OP!

As you UK based you may find this place very useful.
http://www.moparuk.com

Great bunch with loads of technical knowledge!

Hope to see it at the EuroNATS!

Thanks for the heads up. Hoping to have bodywork finished and car in paint next week. The target is to give the car its first run up to Brooklands at the end of May. All being well! Hopefully some more updates and pictures to follow later this week.

[v12v8]

aeropilot said:

Change the wheels......!!!!!!

No way. The wheels are just fine and look better than stock imo.

[v12v8]

Bodywork is almost done. Final prep before paint next week.



Door skin left hand side



Door skin right hand side



Rear deck panel done

Getting a bit excited!

[v12v8]

I paid extra for the mug.

Going to stay with original colours of white on red. The original code is no longer avaialble. So we'll get as close as possible.

[v12v8]

Front off for priming and painting

[v12v8]

It's been a while but we are near the end game. Current eta is end August.

Bodywork close to being ready for paint. Engine painted and checked - all in good order (phew!). New mechanical parts, brakes etc being fitted shortly.

Some current photos:

[v12v8]

Cheers. Bodywork taking far longer than anticipated. But upside is that after a full restoration she'll be good for another 50 years!

[v12v8]

After what seems like an age we ARE on the home straight. Should be in paint just before the New Year. Some pics showing the brake assembly:

[v12v8]

Best under ass I've ever seen



And back on her rims

[v12v8]

Hope this works. Link to a slideshow for those that are interested. Apologies for the music

https://youtu.be/ci6lsUMOBns