My '72 Charger Project

A few months back I bought a '72 charger base edition, I'v done quite a bit since then, so I figured I'm long overdue for a post on my poject so far. So when I got her she had lost the original engine and someone had dropped a 360 in her, not to bad since the 360 was built mildly, bored .030 over, street/strip cam, hydraulic roller/rockers, edelbrock heads intake and carb. Transmission was badly in need of a rebuild, and there was some decent rust where the 3/4 top used to be. It did however come with a '71 r/t bulge hood (missing the insert of course!) I started by pulling both the engine and transmission and completely rebuilding both from top to bottom. I added a msd ignition to the engine and dropped them both back in, once I got her fired up and made sure everything was working properly it was on to the breaks, I had noticed some minor squeaking when I braked so I took one of the front tires off to check the disc, good thing I did! There was no brake pad left a d the caliper had gouged a good 1/4 inch into the rotor, I went online, and after looking around a bit settled on a complete 4 wheel disc brake kit with drilled and slotted rotors, as well as stainless steel lines and the hemi brake booster. I figured that would give my car the stopping power it would need, I didn't want to mess with the brakes so I took it to a race shop near my house to have the work done, while it was there I had them throw on the edelbrock IAS shocks, superstock Leif springs, tubular upper control arms, and PST front suspension kit I had all boxed up and waiting. After about 2 weeks at the shop I got the call I was waiting for, she was done. Man driving her out of the shop was amazing, it was like driving a totally different car, the handling was much better, with minimal roll when going into and out of corners, and the steering was no longer sloppy. I took a break for a bit afterthat and wad content to just cruise around, I was saving up for paint and body work, but wanted to get everything I wanted to do to the body done before paint so I wouldn't have to go back and pay to have parts painted, so I ordered all the fiberglass parts I needed from a shop down in southern California, I got a six-PAC hood, fenders, and front and rear bumpers. I got the hood and fenders put on, but am waiting on getting the bumpers back from the fabricators so I don't have to put bolts through the outerparts which I can't stand. I put a rear spoiler on her and then started work on the body, I took down the hooks for the top and deleted the quarter emblems as well as the side marker lights to clean things up a bit, I threw a grey primer on to keep things from rusting (after taking it all down to bare metal) and then decided what the hell, I may as well throw a basecoat on there, I chose Chrysler's B-5 "super blue" because it stands out from the crowd and looks great to me. I also scored a set of 2010 challenger rims and tires and put them on, raised the car up quite a bit as they are 18" rims, so I'm looking at throwing some 2" drop spindles on there to improve the rake and make it look better. I also just got a pair of '71 r/t doors because I love the way the louvers look. I haven't as of yet put them on because they need a bit of tlc on the inner door frame due to rust, but I hope to have them on this month. I also replaced the gas tank and fuel lines. I coated it with some of Eastwood's extreme chassis black in high gloss and it came out amazing, I posted this from my phone so I can't upload photos yet, but I will later on tonight when I get home. Any thoughts or opinions are definitely welcome as this is my first Mopar!

wow...just wow....that is a lot of work, I bet it looks and feels outstanding!

do you still have the hood you took off?? and would like to see some picsof the car when you get a chance

Ok so here come the pictures!

Here's what I started with:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/18b6f545.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/9d7224f4.jpg

And here's the work I'v done:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/4daf8d52.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/5384508b.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/96e17bfa.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/c415bb61.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/0b5a4d0d.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/303fab5f.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/8ae0f802.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/29a00c96.jpg

And that's how she sits right now, kind of stalled on the paint.

Not every day you see folks painting cars out in the road....I would have been giving the drive by's some petty blue pin stripes!

Yah I can't imagine you do anymore, I was getting quite the looks by people driving by, I even had some cars stop and watch, it wad pretty funny, I had to keep expaining that it was just until I can afford to take it to a shop and have it done right.

if you are interested i have an extra set of the flip up light covers and the center grille pieces and the outer shell? when i picked up the car the guy i bought it from had them in the trunk. lol

How much do yah want for them? Cash is kinda tight right now, but I may be able to work something out.

do you have the hood you took off to put the fiberglass one on ?? also i have an extra motor for the covers was in the box do not know if it works though. i know what you mean on cash being tight between the charger and my truck dont know which will make me broke 1st

Unfortunately I don't, I had to sell it to finance the brakes

what shop did you get the hood from and how much was it?

I bought the hood, fenders, and bumpers from up22.com and I think the hood was $450 plus freight, but their located in socal, so if you're in that area they either discount or do free shipping

cool thanks i am outside of barstow on the I-15 for a few more months so if i get the $ before i move i might have to pick one up. how much finishing work did you have to do when you got it ?

wow just checked out there web site and will actually stop by there shop today because i was heading to town anyways and its only one more exit down.

The hood was pretty rough when I got it, I had to do quite a bit to ge it to look good, it's still not show quality, but fiberglass rarely is.

wow!! that's quite a change

So I decided to stray away from the blue and go with a black for the body color with a red 70 style R/T stripe around the back, I am debating on matching the door scoops with the stripe as you can hardly see them in black, dropped off the seats to be recovered and just got them back, stripped the interior completely down and shall be talking the glass out shortly and shipping her off to paint.
Front seat:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/c7d8de52.jpg
Backseat:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/31d91851.jpg
Close up of backseat logo:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/e617b164.jpg

seats look great were the covers custom and where did you get them done ?

Those seats are nice looking Like the color combo.

I had them done at Enrique's Auto Upholstery in Milpitas, CA. Very nice guys and very professional, they're doing my entire interior (door panels, carpet, headliner, seats) prices are very reasonable, and the turn around time is pretty darn quick.

Where did you get the front fenders from?

Haven't updated in forever so I figure I'll post some more updates. I finally dropped her off to paint and shes in the process of being put back together and painted, I hope to have her up and drivable before christmas.

Fixing the quarters:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_1148.jpg
Bumper gone:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_1147.jpg
Removing those pesky 3/4 top studs:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_1146.jpg
Other quarter:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_1145.jpg
Doors back on:
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_1208.jpg

Hopefully she gets finshed at the shope soon and I can put the glass back in and get her on the road. She's being painted 2010 Viper White, brightest white on the market, sure to turn heads.

Well she's finally painted, now comes re-assembly. Here are some pictures of the final job, well minus the vinyls.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_0114.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_0110.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_0109.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_0099.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_0096.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m172/jarran_2006/1971%20Charger%20RT%20Clone/IMG_0116.jpg

It has been quite the adventure getting her to this point, and I don't think I did too terrible a job, this being my first restoration ever. There is still a long, long way to go until she is finished though.

The white deffentaly stands out. Can't wait to see it assembled. How did you like the fit of those fenders? I'm very interested as my fenders are shot.

Yes that white does stand out, black hood looks good with it. I don't know if keeping it on the street a good idea.. Just my 2 cents, You may find yourself in a fender bender before its back together and ready to drive! Good luck finishing it..

Wheels go good with the car in that combo...Nice set up with the blackout on the hood. Definitely has some attitude! Looking good!