# Kid's 68 Charger Build



## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

well i can't believe i haven't hit this board with this build... This is for my wife's son Christopher. some pics of the progress. i'll catch ya'll up. Ever since i met Cat, her son Christopher he has mentioned a 68 charger. well 17 years later we get to start it. Jason, a friend is helping us with this. 

start





















we do have some floor pans and a few other things to replace the rusted areas. Actually this car isn't that bad.





bolt remover.





of course wrinkles has to help.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

day2 progress... sub frame out... most of the inside & wiring harness etc...

this doesn't look right...





oh, that's better...

























something we found under the dash that looked like it fell out of the glove box.





what's left of the wire harness.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

welp day 3 of the tear down.



















































doner car. Christopher has pulling this car around for about 5 years. he got it ff of e-bay. luckily this isn't the one we are working on. yep it's a burned up car. we are going to pull parts off before it hits the crusher. complete 8 3/4 rear, and good radiator memeber that is toast on the other.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

Day 4 of the tear down...































last night i actually had off. had to move the car into the shop to finish the rest. 

built some dollies for the front. also pics of the move.





















couple movies


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

day6...
tank out










what the inside looks like.





axle, springs and shocks...










almost ready for the sander.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

Day 8

getting glass out of the doors was not a fun job.




















getting the parts we need from the donor


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

Day 10











then we almost had an OOPS removing the other charger





the scout "Tonto"  got to work a little.





front is done.










rear is done.















had to do a little work to put the car on the trailer.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

car is at the blasters...
























pics of the guys shop. very clean and organized. "blast technologies in Pendagrass"


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## rjcruiser (Aug 1, 2008)

Wow...keep up the great work!!!!

Keep it going...I know that putting everything back together is the difficult part.  Looks great.  Makes my little 3 wheeler rebuild look like a simple simple task


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## flattop (Aug 1, 2008)

This is a great thread! I will be interested in the progress! Keep up the pics and hard work.


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## CraigM (Aug 1, 2008)

wow a plum crazy purple charger... very nice

almost as interesting, love the scout I have an 800B myself


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## Meriwether Mike (Aug 1, 2008)

Looks like a great project for young knees.  Hope you took lots of pictures and bagged and tagged everything. Tell us about the motor and trans.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 1, 2008)

bagged and tagged everything... the original motor and trans are in the shop. 440/727 auto. 

he wants to build them himself when he gets back from Iraq.

mean while we are trying to get it to paint for as reasonable price as we can.


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## Perry Hayes (Aug 2, 2008)

Looks like your doing it right. That car will be worth alot of money when you get it finished.


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## firebiker (Aug 2, 2008)

*great project looks like it will be very nice when finished.
Hey in one of those pic's i noticed a nice craftsman Don garlits model (rear engine) riding mower sweet !  what happen to the mower deck on it ?*


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## GoldDot40 (Aug 2, 2008)

PM me if you need any extra parts. I have a good friend in Hartwell that has about 30 Dodge Chargers. Ranging from '66 to '72 models. 2 of them are straight from the Dukes of Hazzard producers....REAL General Lees. He's got 3 'complete' 426 Hemi engines in his barn and K-members to match.


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## irishleprechaun (Aug 2, 2008)

Great thread...keep it up.  All the little things along the way are great too.  Not sure which one made me laugh more...the Jovan cologne you found in the car or the bud light sitting on the leaf spring of the donor rear end!  lol


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 2, 2008)

firebiker said:


> *great project looks like it will be very nice when finished.
> Hey in one of those pic's i noticed a nice craftsman Don garlits model (rear engine) riding mower sweet !  what happen to the mower deck on it ?*



how's it going? the mower deck is off to the side, the pulley system gave out. as you can see, i have WAY to many other little things going on to fix it right now. actually does a fine job of pulling my little trailer around.  i use it every weekend. 

hey Bass... can you set up a tour? maybe when the kid comes back in January?

thanks for the compliments folks.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 15, 2008)

not much lately, the car is at the blaster still.
little work on the rear.














little front end damage and she's gotta go on the stretcher.

look at the other frame rail, you'll see the dimples.









it's amazing how much the cancer sticks out when it gets cleaned up.
trunk




floor pan

























the Beautiful wife


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 15, 2008)

other pics















some panels


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## mikee (Aug 15, 2008)

*charger*

Heck we've built those cars in 7 days on "Overhaulin"   Mikee


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## walters (Aug 15, 2008)

*looks good*

i hope you can put that thing back together


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 16, 2008)

mikee said:


> Heck we've built those cars in 7 er days on "Overhaulin"   Mikee



Send the team over please. 



walters said:


> i hope you can put that thing back together



me to. everytime i walk into the shop i get skeered.


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## Nitro (Aug 16, 2008)

Awesome. I hope whoever bought my  '70 Cuda appreciated the bottle of Jovan I left in the glove box....

One of the greatest regrets of my life was selling that car. I hope to have another one to build someday.


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## Redbow (Aug 17, 2008)

Glad to see you folks are bringing the old Charger back to life. My Uncle had one, a 67 model, that thing was tough and fast with the 440 engine! 

Good luck with the project!!


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 20, 2008)

yesterday's i started to sand parts at the house.












getting ready for metal work, i mounted the 40" break and throat less shears on my welding table.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 20, 2008)

Well everyone, Cat went to settle the bill so far and to get a few more pics for us.

car on the stretcher fixing the front.















Since blast technologies is straightening the frame they needed a few pieces of new metal to do the jo right. so the kid had to buy both inner fenders and radiator support. we got them from AMD "Auto Metal Direct" which is a new to the scene Mopar metal company. may i add a few bucks cheaper than "year one" and "goodmark"

radiator support





inner fender





Blast technologies and AMD have been talking about the Kids Car and him being in Iraq while all of this has been going on. *They might work with heavy metal, but thier hearts are Solid Gold !!! *

Jim Davis @ Blast Technologies got up with a tech writer that is going to write a couple of articles of this build. It should run six to seven articles from start to finish. Don't know what mag yet, but will keep ya'll posted.

As if that wasn't cool enough, they are GIVING us, that's right as in FREEBEE a few parts.

they're going to give him a FULL FLOOR PAN...





They're going to give him BOTH FRONT FENDARS...





They're going to give him a FREE HOOOD.





When Cat asked him what made him think to do all of this? Jim said " It's the right thing to do." He wants the Kid to have a GREAT car.


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## rjcruiser (Aug 21, 2008)

Wow...That is awesome.  Love to see how this car is evolving.  Looking good.


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## dragracer (Aug 26, 2008)

Nice Project. I Owned A 68 R/t When I Was A Teenager. What I'd Give To Have It Back. Funnist Car I've Had.


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## Perry Hayes (Aug 26, 2008)

Going to be a great investment.


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 26, 2008)

well a couple of pics of little things. Cat went to go deliver a part for the car, they are still working on the front end. it's bad fo sho. but it's coming together.


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## MSG_AL (Sep 4, 2008)

that is awesome!  I have a Camaro I need to get put together myself... I am very glad to see he has something to look forward to come home too... I am looking forward to seeing future progress..

AL


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## LureheadEd (Sep 4, 2008)

I had a '69 RT with a 440 Magnum....That car and the Jovan worked great on the girls !!!!  Got me into more trouble than I'll admit to...But it was soooo fast I really could get out of most of it, the troupers on 365 wouldn't even bother to chase me, they knew they would'nt catch me...

 KEEP 'EM COMIN'... THIS IS GREAT !!!!


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## cj5 buggy (Sep 6, 2008)

we went to a mopar show today... some pics.















you know their is one at every show.





diesel folks 





paint on this was immaculate





me and the AMD guy 





little ones were fun to watch.


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## cj5 buggy (Sep 6, 2008)

well got some updates.

picking it up from the shop.




















in the shop resting @ home and the metal that has to be put in.


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## Confederate_Jay (Sep 8, 2008)

Cool thread-  waiting on the next round of pics and progress


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## cj5 buggy (Sep 8, 2008)

you ask and you shall receive...

sunday's tech

our helpers for the day. Wrinkles and Baily





floor pan and part of the trunk pan out.









drilling out welds brings the no fun









jason likes the flip flop technique. 





floor pans...


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## cj5 buggy (Sep 10, 2008)

making the welding holes.





front passenger.





little work underneath









fitting like a glove.













we had to stop, cause i need to get some .23 or .25 welding wire., so we just used some self tappers to hold her on.


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## Workin2Hunt (Sep 11, 2008)

cj5 buggy said:


> we had to stop, cause i need to get some .23 or .25 welding wire., so we just used some self tappers to hold her on.



Did you really have to stop for wire or did you run out of beer?

Great thread keep the pics coming.


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## Perry Hayes (Sep 11, 2008)

Workin2Hunt said:


> Did you really have to stop for wire or did you run out of beer?
> 
> Great thread keep the pics coming.



Works over time for a beer  The car is looking great.


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## cj5 buggy (Sep 18, 2008)

few Updates... not to much to show when all we are doing is welding and grinding.
































Cool thing that went down, is the tech writer Brad came by to snap some photos and get a feel for the project he has been handed. 

so while they did that i put a chip in the truck... powerhungry Gryphon Dash Mount.
















all for now. we'll be back with more pics after this weekend...


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## cj5 buggy (Sep 22, 2008)




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## Ol' 30-30 (Sep 22, 2008)

lookin' good, keep up the good work


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## cj5 buggy (Oct 13, 2008)

Getting back to the car finally. We had to take a couple wheeling trips to break up the ruts you know.




































so does anyone have a 68 sitting around? i need a a couple of pics of a rear inner fender well, where it goes from the wheel well to the outside. 











WindShield frame work


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## MSG_AL (Oct 13, 2008)

wow... this is awesome... when should I drop off my Camaro?

AL


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## k2grigri (Oct 13, 2008)

Great thread.  Keep up the good work.


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## cj5 buggy (Oct 13, 2008)

MSG_AL said:


> wow... this is awesome... when should I drop off my Camaro?
> 
> AL



your about 5th in line...  

i think though after we are finished with this one i'm going back to just beating up on the jeeps for a while.


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## cj5 buggy (Oct 25, 2008)

did a little more today...

test fitting the trunk lid.










burnning lead is cool.














off with the rear quarter panel















then we found another spot. this car was WACKED at one point in its life.










test fitting the rear quarter.





they see me rollin'


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## fitterdawg (Oct 26, 2008)

keep up the good work. That is a worthy cause. Love the MOPARS.


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## O'Dave (Oct 26, 2008)

i seen  some   old  jeep  trucks   are  they  for  sale


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## cj5 buggy (Oct 26, 2008)

no sir, the jeeps aren't for sale.


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## Holton (Oct 27, 2008)

Lot's of good work going on there!


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## cj5 buggy (Jan 15, 2009)

Dang it has been a while... we have been busy doing some trail riding, working around the house and vaca... so now it's back on track... the BEST of all news is the "kid" made it back home safe and sound from his 2nd tour in Iraq. so since Momma is Happy, everyone is happy. here a few shots to get back into the swing of things.

we had put the car back together, so he could see it in one piece.





of course i didn't get his first reaction, we were all happy going over the car with him. but at least him and mom are together...









the blaster guy "Jim" from Blater Technologies in Pendegrass came out to meet "kid" Chris and also to take a gander at the car. he proposed to bring the car back to his shop and get the car blasted and sealed one more time. so before we weld in all the metal, we are going to bring it back and have him seal it up. so we got to dismantel the car (one more time) and he was amazed what a difference it was back to the shell.


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## cj5 buggy (Jan 15, 2009)

kid got to play with the motor a little also. took the freeze plugs out, just getting her prepped for the tank...










also for some reason, once in its life someone put a 4 speed in it and well we don't need no stinking clutch...

before




after





also got some parts back from the powder coater...










a little more metal work on the windshield.


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## rjcruiser (Jan 15, 2009)

I have been wondering over the last couple of months how things were coming.  Always love looking at build threads.  The progress is fun to watch...especially when you're not the one doing the work or paying for the parts 

Looks good and keep up the great work!


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## J Ferguson (Jan 15, 2009)

This is an awesome thread keep it coming..

This will give me something to do since we have no more IN THE TREE FROM ILLINOIS thread's from J.T.


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## Redbow (Jan 15, 2009)

Man you folks are sure restoring that Charger right,,I would love to hear that 440 come to life!

Thanks for the pics !!


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## TWright (Jan 16, 2009)

Looks good!


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## 56willysnut (Jan 16, 2009)

Dang Frank, what an awesome build!!!! 
  I'm sure Cat's son is going to be real happy when he gets that car!!!  Keep up the good work.


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## greasemnky20 (Feb 25, 2009)

*Wow*

That sure will be one fine ride when yall finish.  Great job going slow an doing it right, no point doing it if you just paint over the problems.


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## cj5 buggy (Jun 9, 2009)

wow, been a while... lets get ya'll up to date, oh yeah and thanks for all the compliments.

some pics of a patch...






cleaning up the frame rails...





tired of drilling out the welds...

















just started to change the bearings in the third member...











the tape that they used for the power coating was a sum a biatch to remove...





1 year after we purchased the press, we finally get to use it.





we didn't have any brass punches and instead of using a steel punch, we placed the old bearings in the new race 

then placed a pipe "no poop pipe must be used" and smacked her down... worked great.





same with the pinion side.





can't forget about the shop dog... Mr. Wrinkles...





checking... 





not done, but we tested it anyways...









It looks like the metal is just rotting from the inside out.we are going to replace this later on, for now it'll work as a roller...






back to axle stuff... little painting...









of course it wasn't drying fast enough, so...





new seal...










of course since this is just going to be a roller... we took the breaks off and in order to fit the axles we had to 

make some "shop shims"









good for a roller... 





i'm going to seal it up before it goes into the car and place gear oil in it... so don't worry i'm not keeping it 

dry... :beer:

also forgot to add some old pics of the car from the blasting work about 2 months ago...


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## cj5 buggy (Jun 9, 2009)

We are working on the front now... of course this means cleaning all the grit and grime off of it. Now anybody with 

a blasting cabinet would use it... but noooo, mama bird decided that the right side glove was a good spot to raise 

a family.











so we had to clean it another way.
pressure washer...





wire wheel...





then paint...





then re-assemble...





not to bad of a day... now i have to order a few more parts and the front and rear can go back under the car.


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## secondseason (Jun 9, 2009)

Thank you so much for sharing this build with us.  It really is a labor of love to take on a project like this.


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## Swede (Jun 9, 2009)

Yessir, thanks.

Keep it up.


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## Rays123 (Jun 9, 2009)

this is one sweet build.who ever put the mount for the four speed needs to go back to welding school bc those were some nasty boogers


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## jspence2 (Jun 18, 2009)

Awesome build, can't wait to see the finished project!


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## copenhagen cowboy (Jun 18, 2009)

man you are doing a great job, love the pics keep em coming.


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## Todd_GA_CO_09 (Jun 19, 2009)

Enjoying this!!  Keep um coming.


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## cook (Jun 20, 2009)

whats this guy do for a living..looks like he does this quite well..who's shop is this, ya'll got all kinds of goodys


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## cj5 buggy (Jun 20, 2009)

most of these are in my shop at the house... we are back yard mechanics. that normaly working on jeeps and such. of course this car thing is all new.


the blasting was done over at Blast Technologies in Jefferson, GA.

thanks...


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## cj5 buggy (Jul 5, 2009)

updates pics of the last couple...

the Kid and the Blast tech "Jim"













car pics.






























i think he's praying to the mopar Gods here.






comming home.




















another NICE project he's working on.


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## Redbow (Jul 5, 2009)

Great work, keep the updates on the project coming ! 

What color y'all gonna paint it ??

Hey I got a '86 Chevy Silverado I wanna restore, if I ever find that gold mine I been looking for !

Thanks for the pics !


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## leadoff (Jul 5, 2009)

Awesome pics!  Glad to see a nice restoration in progress...can't wait to see the final product.  I had a '66 Charger a few years back, myself.  I still regret selling that car!


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## cj5 buggy (Jul 5, 2009)

Redbow, we are going to paint it Charger Red....


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## Redbow (Jul 7, 2009)

Good choice in the paint color , I like it ! I want to paint my old pick-up Burgandy I suppose,,if I ever get around to it !


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## Mark Brooks (Jul 28, 2009)

Man, this is some great work!!  Please Keep It Coming!!  

We Need More!!!!

MB


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## mriver72 (Jul 28, 2009)

Cant wait to see more . Great job guys.


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## Jim P (Jul 28, 2009)

Great job, you got to give Mr. Wrinkles some credit for keeping you straight.


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## ArmyTaco (Aug 5, 2009)

Good luck. Good to see it getting it done right. I have had my 66 Mustang Fastback since I was 11 I am now 22 and my parents had it stripped down to metal and restored while I was in Iraq. I have pics from it being red to bare metal, to where it is complete today.


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## cook (Nov 27, 2009)

give us an update please
i cant wait to see it


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## david w. (Nov 27, 2009)

what dose the car look like now?im ready to see it


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## dturnersr (Dec 10, 2009)

I have good information more will be coming in Jan 2010...


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## lab (Dec 17, 2009)

cool


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## cj5 buggy (Dec 19, 2009)

Well we got a little board. dusted of the dust and kicked it a little today.  

k-member is on.





then it was onto the upper ball joint which takes a 1 59/64" socket. 




which we ran into a problem the upper ball joint takes a special tool. of course we don't have one so we made it.








i'll have a couple more tomorrow. Camera ran out of battaries. 



now it is time to try and find all the nuts, washers and bolts... should be a rolling chasis sooooon...


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## cj5 buggy (Dec 21, 2009)

some more pics from Sunday... 






steering box.















after searching and searching. We are in the need of some metal sleeves, couple nuts and a few washers and the front end should be good to go. the rear should be able to be soon also. The best thing is that the kid is home on Leave! going to be a great Christmas for us.


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## ben300win (Dec 26, 2009)

Great Job. Keep up the great work. My first car was a 69 Road Runner 383 4spd. Talk about a car for a 16 year old! I bought it for 40.00 when I was 14. Most of the motor was in the trunck, but it still has matching numbers. If you need any mopar parts, my step-dad is a big mopar man and has several things laying around his shop. LIKE my Road Runner. One day I will get it back, I hope. Good Luck to your step-son in Iraq. My Brother did 2 tours in Al Asad and is now in Afgan. He has always ranted over a 68 charger.


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## cj5 buggy (Dec 26, 2009)

ben300win said:


> Great Job. Keep up the great work. My first car was a 69 Road Runner 383 4spd. Talk about a car for a 16 year old! I bought it for 40.00 when I was 14. Most of the motor was in the trunck, but it still has matching numbers. If you need any mopar parts, my step-dad is a big mopar man and has several things laying around his shop. LIKE my Road Runner. One day I will get it back, I hope. Good Luck to your step-son in Iraq. My Brother did 2 tours in Al Asad and is now in Afgan. He has always ranted over a 68 charger.



Kid is on his way to Afgan this March i believe. it's been a good Christmas having him home.  Tell your Brother we said thank you. 

In regards of parts. If he has any of the metal collars for the bushings, as our our rusted out. If anything he has a place that we can get them...

i like the road runners also. a budy growing up had one.


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## SheldonMOAC (Dec 26, 2009)

Keep up the great work!!!!


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