kliv555
Member
So I had a chance at an un restored gen 2 charger this fall, so I jumped on it. The car had sat in farmer’s barn for the past 20 years, where it was then purchased by a man who knew the retired farmer and who had intentions of restoring the car. He put it for sale after having it for a couple years and realizing he was never going to get to it.
It is a 383, 727 car but the farmer who owned it put his own 4 speed in it so it is currently a 4 speed. It’s pretty much a complete car with a rougher body. The frame rails from what I can tell are good, I have even been scraping off every inch of them with a wire brush to make sure there are no “surprises” before I get too deep into everything else. From what I can tell, the two rear quarters around the tires, front driver fender, and rear valances need to be replaced, as well as the typical charger area behind the rear window. The corner of the trunk floor where the gas tank comes through has rust in a 8x8 section, which I am hoping I can just patch and not have to replace the floor. The interior floor seems like it might be okay but I need to sand down all the surface rust before deciding on that. The car came with a disassembled 383 which would need to be bored as cylinder walls all scratched, but I plan to just put in a 440 in it.
Anyways, I am looking for some opinions on where you guys would start with this project. I would prefer not to go full out rotisserie on this car but would still like to do a good job with it. I have read Project Charger which gave some good direction. I have worked on a few older mopar cars but it has always been minor fixes or just get an old/seized car to running state, never any body work. However, I will be practicing welds and cuts on some of the old cars we have laying around the farm before I attempt any quarter panels on the charger. Currently I am just wire brushing and sanding anywhere I see rust on the frame, as well as scraping off the old undercoating.
I appreciate any input, and can add more photos if requested to do so.
Thank you.
It is a 383, 727 car but the farmer who owned it put his own 4 speed in it so it is currently a 4 speed. It’s pretty much a complete car with a rougher body. The frame rails from what I can tell are good, I have even been scraping off every inch of them with a wire brush to make sure there are no “surprises” before I get too deep into everything else. From what I can tell, the two rear quarters around the tires, front driver fender, and rear valances need to be replaced, as well as the typical charger area behind the rear window. The corner of the trunk floor where the gas tank comes through has rust in a 8x8 section, which I am hoping I can just patch and not have to replace the floor. The interior floor seems like it might be okay but I need to sand down all the surface rust before deciding on that. The car came with a disassembled 383 which would need to be bored as cylinder walls all scratched, but I plan to just put in a 440 in it.
Anyways, I am looking for some opinions on where you guys would start with this project. I would prefer not to go full out rotisserie on this car but would still like to do a good job with it. I have read Project Charger which gave some good direction. I have worked on a few older mopar cars but it has always been minor fixes or just get an old/seized car to running state, never any body work. However, I will be practicing welds and cuts on some of the old cars we have laying around the farm before I attempt any quarter panels on the charger. Currently I am just wire brushing and sanding anywhere I see rust on the frame, as well as scraping off the old undercoating.
I appreciate any input, and can add more photos if requested to do so.
Thank you.