68 Charger R/T Clone refurb
- Thread starter funknut
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showard
Well-Known Member
Great looking car! I love these 68's.
I replaced my fuel tube trunk gasket with one like you have pictured. The metal bracket is embedded in the rubber.
I replaced my fuel tube trunk gasket with one like you have pictured. The metal bracket is embedded in the rubber.
funknut
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the kind words, I definitely consider myself very lucky. No doubt someone out there is looking out for me!
I've been rummaging through a lot of threads looking for ideas an inspiration. Tons of great info on this site. For me, I had to get organized and decide on my plan up front or I'd try and do every cool thing I saw from all these great build threads.
Thanks for your post, I will make sure I've gone through Moparnation74s thread as well.
Your GTX is beautiful, I hope I can get mine half as clean someday.
tmaleck
Well-Known Member
one word: Edelbrock Proflow 4 XT....
funknut
Well-Known Member
Back on the dash bezels while I wait for some parts to come in. Spent some time cleaning up the driver's side and smoothing out some of the dings in prep for filler. Trying to figure out a plan to repair the 2 broken passenger side standoffs. I had been looking for 1/4" ABS plastic rod to epoxy in, but it's kind of a pain to find in small quantities. I've been thinking of just epoxying on a bolt and either using a small piece of rubber tube cut to length or some rubber washers to make up the distance. The plastic standoffs space the bezel 5/16" from the dash frame.
My rear defrost delete bezel lost all its clips. Previous owner had tried to glue it in place but it didn't hold. I won't ever add rear defrost and the easy solution is to just epoxy it in place. I have some small magnets that I may experiment with to see if I can rig up a solution to keep it removable, but being honest once I have the epoxy out for the posts I'll probably get impatient and just glue it on.
My rear defrost delete bezel lost all its clips. Previous owner had tried to glue it in place but it didn't hold. I won't ever add rear defrost and the easy solution is to just epoxy it in place. I have some small magnets that I may experiment with to see if I can rig up a solution to keep it removable, but being honest once I have the epoxy out for the posts I'll probably get impatient and just glue it on.
funknut
Well-Known Member
It's been hot here lately so I've been focusing more on projects I bring into the house without taking up too much space (read: upsetting the wife). I figured since I was doing some plastic repair on the dash I'd have a look at the grille too. The driver's side headlight door had a wobble to it, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to fix that while I was at it.
Well, one thing led to another and now I have the bumper off (what an incredible ordeal that was), bumper support brackets off and the grille removed and disassembled. Whew! There's some beauty in never having done some of this stuff before because if I knew what a pain it is to do some of these jobs I might think twice!
Along with the plastic repairs I now have a pile of rusty fasteners and bumper brackets to address and some aluminum trim to assess.
The aluminum trim is not in terrible shape but does have a number of dings and gouges. One of the side pieces is missing a chunk either from an accident or poor installation allowing it to rub and wear away at the softer aluminum. I've started to sand out the scratches and polish it up to see if I can get a consistent finish. I'm not going for perfect by any means, just to get rid of fine pitting, scratches and overspray from the repaint.
Here's a pic of progress so far. Left is after wet sanding with 220 grit, the right one is after an initial pass hand polishing with a terry cloth towel. More polishing needed, but you can see in the pic the gouge I mentioned. Can't do much more with that part unfortunately as it's already super thin and broken through in one small area.
Regardless, results so far are good and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get the results I'm after.
Here's the polish I've been using. May need to go to a finer grit compound for final polish, but it's made quick work of getting rid of the 220 grit scratches.
https://www.chemicalguys.com/heavy-metal-polish/heavy-metal-polish.html
Well, one thing led to another and now I have the bumper off (what an incredible ordeal that was), bumper support brackets off and the grille removed and disassembled. Whew! There's some beauty in never having done some of this stuff before because if I knew what a pain it is to do some of these jobs I might think twice!
Along with the plastic repairs I now have a pile of rusty fasteners and bumper brackets to address and some aluminum trim to assess.
The aluminum trim is not in terrible shape but does have a number of dings and gouges. One of the side pieces is missing a chunk either from an accident or poor installation allowing it to rub and wear away at the softer aluminum. I've started to sand out the scratches and polish it up to see if I can get a consistent finish. I'm not going for perfect by any means, just to get rid of fine pitting, scratches and overspray from the repaint.
Here's a pic of progress so far. Left is after wet sanding with 220 grit, the right one is after an initial pass hand polishing with a terry cloth towel. More polishing needed, but you can see in the pic the gouge I mentioned. Can't do much more with that part unfortunately as it's already super thin and broken through in one small area.
Regardless, results so far are good and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get the results I'm after.
Here's the polish I've been using. May need to go to a finer grit compound for final polish, but it's made quick work of getting rid of the 220 grit scratches.
https://www.chemicalguys.com/heavy-metal-polish/heavy-metal-polish.html
funknut
Well-Known Member
Looking over the plastic grille pieces, not surprisingly I have quite a number of things to repair. Many broken bolt holes and a decent number of cracks. I think most of them will be repairable without too much drama, just a lot of small things to address. One of the headlight bucket surrounds is missing a significant chunk out of the corner, and short of replacing the whole bucket I'm not sure I'll be able to fix that. I don't have a good pic of it right now but will add one later.
I ordered some 1/8" and 3/16" ABS sheet off of Amazon to replace the broken mounting tabs and add reinforcement to some of the weaker areas. Keepat has some fantastic details in his Bullitt build thread that I'm studying and will attempt to try.
Here's one of the less straightforward problems. The driver's headlight door was flopping around and had come off the mounting pins. Over time the vibration had hogged out the pivot mount holes and now they are oversized and off center. Here's a pic of the worst one.
Not yet sure how I will address these. One option is to close the hole with ABS and redrill them in the right spot. Or maybe drill an oversize hole and epoxy in a brass bushing. Not a lot of clearance as the pivot pin is pretty short.
I ordered some 1/8" and 3/16" ABS sheet off of Amazon to replace the broken mounting tabs and add reinforcement to some of the weaker areas. Keepat has some fantastic details in his Bullitt build thread that I'm studying and will attempt to try.
Here's one of the less straightforward problems. The driver's headlight door was flopping around and had come off the mounting pins. Over time the vibration had hogged out the pivot mount holes and now they are oversized and off center. Here's a pic of the worst one.
Not yet sure how I will address these. One option is to close the hole with ABS and redrill them in the right spot. Or maybe drill an oversize hole and epoxy in a brass bushing. Not a lot of clearance as the pivot pin is pretty short.
showard
Well-Known Member
I had similar problems with my grill. I did one of the options that you suggested, I filled in the hole with JB weld, sanded it flat, and re-drilled it in the right spots. I first ground grooves around the hole (similar to this other piece of grill that I repaired) to help the glue to hold firm.
Of coarse there are probably many different and better ways to fix these. Keepat defiantly did a great job.
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/my-charger-restoration-dream-car.78137/page-7
Of coarse there are probably many different and better ways to fix these. Keepat defiantly did a great job.
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/my-charger-restoration-dream-car.78137/page-7
funknut
Well-Known Member
This is awesome info and I'm not sure how I missed this part of your thread! It looks like you've tackled many of the same issues I'm facing, including that busted-off bottom outside corner of the grill plastic. I hadn't thought of making a mold and creating my own, but that is awesome, I will have to see if I can find one to copy, or maybe I can get close enough hand-forming a mold as a mirror of the other side... Hmm.
Now you've got me thinking. Maybe I can bribe, ahem, reward one of my kids for 3D modeling it, I know some 3D printers will print ABS.
Great tips and info, thanks again!
showard
Well-Known Member
I like the 3D printing idea. The kids always seem to know how to figure what to do with that type of technology. Once a shape is designed a mirror image would be easy to make.
funknut
Well-Known Member
I've been chipping away at the plastic repairs. Lots of simple cracks and missing mounting tabs pieces. I didn't get pics of most of that stuff as they've been covered many times on these forums. I grabbed a few pics of fixing the headlight door limiting tab, though.
I went the ABS/acetone route as that seemed the simplest and most straightfoward way. I ordered 1/8" and 3/16" ABS sheet and chopped and shaped parts from them for the mounting tabs. For $20 I have enough to fix 25-50 grilles. I melted ABS chips in a glass jar of acetone to get a slightly pasty consistency. All the simple cracks where there was no missing plastic I gently opened the crack and dropped in some acetone. The nice thing is that it wicks into the whole crack, all the way to the tip, and doesn't require removing a lot of material to get the adhesive where it needs to go. Most times I went over the crack with the slurry to add a bit of material. I also smoothed some slurry into some of the thin interior corners where many of the cracks form. Hopefully eliminating some of those sharp corners will prevent some future problems.
Three things I learned:
1) It does take a long time to fully harden compared to epoxy. I made the mistake of trying to sand/file when it was still soft. Overnight should be enough in most cases, but 24h is safer. 2-3 days if you have a really deep crack and globbed the ABS slurry into it.
2) If your slurry is chunky and not smooth it's possible to get air pockets in the plastic repair. If you're sanding and see bubbles it's easy enough to fix, just apply acetone to soften the top layer and the plastic will fill any cavities. Fill any divots with more slurry.
3) A trick way to find small hairline cracks is to drop a small amount of acetone on areas where you suspect a crack, like casting seams or bolt holes. If there is a crack the acetone will wick into it and show you where it goes, otherwise it will just run down in a droplet. I found 6-8 small cracks using this method that I couldn't see otherwise.
I feel pretty good about the strength of the repairs, for sure it's better than new, though definitely not as strong as using epoxy and fiberglass cloth.
Here are pics of the limiting tab repair. The blank I cut is from 3/16" sheet. I cut it oversize to make it easier to bend and will trim it up later. 30s with a heat gun was all I needed. I drilled a 1/16" hole and used 2 small trim nails. The marks you see on the surface are pencil lines, not the nails poking through.
I went the ABS/acetone route as that seemed the simplest and most straightfoward way. I ordered 1/8" and 3/16" ABS sheet and chopped and shaped parts from them for the mounting tabs. For $20 I have enough to fix 25-50 grilles. I melted ABS chips in a glass jar of acetone to get a slightly pasty consistency. All the simple cracks where there was no missing plastic I gently opened the crack and dropped in some acetone. The nice thing is that it wicks into the whole crack, all the way to the tip, and doesn't require removing a lot of material to get the adhesive where it needs to go. Most times I went over the crack with the slurry to add a bit of material. I also smoothed some slurry into some of the thin interior corners where many of the cracks form. Hopefully eliminating some of those sharp corners will prevent some future problems.
Three things I learned:
1) It does take a long time to fully harden compared to epoxy. I made the mistake of trying to sand/file when it was still soft. Overnight should be enough in most cases, but 24h is safer. 2-3 days if you have a really deep crack and globbed the ABS slurry into it.
2) If your slurry is chunky and not smooth it's possible to get air pockets in the plastic repair. If you're sanding and see bubbles it's easy enough to fix, just apply acetone to soften the top layer and the plastic will fill any cavities. Fill any divots with more slurry.
3) A trick way to find small hairline cracks is to drop a small amount of acetone on areas where you suspect a crack, like casting seams or bolt holes. If there is a crack the acetone will wick into it and show you where it goes, otherwise it will just run down in a droplet. I found 6-8 small cracks using this method that I couldn't see otherwise.
I feel pretty good about the strength of the repairs, for sure it's better than new, though definitely not as strong as using epoxy and fiberglass cloth.
Here are pics of the limiting tab repair. The blank I cut is from 3/16" sheet. I cut it oversize to make it easier to bend and will trim it up later. 30s with a heat gun was all I needed. I drilled a 1/16" hole and used 2 small trim nails. The marks you see on the surface are pencil lines, not the nails poking through.
funknut
Well-Known Member
Parts are in!
The AMD 1-piece floor pan is in, along with the Borgeson steering u-joint, a trans cooler, new fuel lines, fuel sender and vapor separator, chassis paint, more spot weld cutters and a bunch of hose fittings for trans/steering/fuel lines.
I have been avoiding removing engine and trans. I've never done it before and it just feels intimidating. Something about taking those out make me worry I'll never get it back together. I've read dozens of threads, I have a solid plan, removed all the wiring, hoses, radiator, alternator, etc. With the floor pan here I've run out of excuses, so sometime in the next couple weeks I'll have to get down to it.
Oh and if anyone wants a chunk of 3/16" black ABS plastic, shoot me a PM. First come, first served until it's gone.
The AMD 1-piece floor pan is in, along with the Borgeson steering u-joint, a trans cooler, new fuel lines, fuel sender and vapor separator, chassis paint, more spot weld cutters and a bunch of hose fittings for trans/steering/fuel lines.
I have been avoiding removing engine and trans. I've never done it before and it just feels intimidating. Something about taking those out make me worry I'll never get it back together. I've read dozens of threads, I have a solid plan, removed all the wiring, hoses, radiator, alternator, etc. With the floor pan here I've run out of excuses, so sometime in the next couple weeks I'll have to get down to it.
Oh and if anyone wants a chunk of 3/16" black ABS plastic, shoot me a PM. First come, first served until it's gone.
showard
Well-Known Member
I never tried the acetone way but I heard it works well. Your doing a great job.
Very nice 68! I love those as well.
I might have missed it but if you’re going to keep the old wiring around, bypass that ammeter and straighten up that bulkhead connector. It would be a big time bummer to have an electrical issue after doing all the great stuff you’re doing! There are all kinds of posts here on bypassing.
http://madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml
Really good thread with good info all the way around:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/why-bypassing-the-ammeter-is-a-good-idea.137951/
And btw your “co-pilot” will soon be hounding you for the keys to drive it before you know it! I surprised my 17 yo couple days ago when I let her drive the 69 for a short distance. Very short! Grinning ear to ear! You’ll have fun with that! Great family hobby! Good luck
I might have missed it but if you’re going to keep the old wiring around, bypass that ammeter and straighten up that bulkhead connector. It would be a big time bummer to have an electrical issue after doing all the great stuff you’re doing! There are all kinds of posts here on bypassing.
http://madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml
Really good thread with good info all the way around:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/why-bypassing-the-ammeter-is-a-good-idea.137951/
And btw your “co-pilot” will soon be hounding you for the keys to drive it before you know it! I surprised my 17 yo couple days ago when I let her drive the 69 for a short distance. Very short! Grinning ear to ear! You’ll have fun with that! Great family hobby! Good luck
funknut
Well-Known Member
Thanks all for the encouragement, it's been a fun process so far, I feel like I'm at the point where once the engine and trans are out I won't be taking too many more parts off the car. Then I can focus on getting some jobs done and ready to go back on once the floor is in and painted. My wife is definitely ready for the grille pieces to disappear from the dining table. ;)
Great reminder on the ammeter replacement. For wiring 98% of the stock stuff will go. The bulkhead connector has been my nemesis since I bought the car and can't wait to replace it! I bought the American Autowire Classic Update harness, and will also be looking to replace the ammeter with a voltmeter. I've seen a few threads that tackle that conversion. Propwash did a really nice job documenting his work with pictures that I'm going to attempt to follow:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...o-volt-meter-conversion.40423/#post-909774548
Whitegauges.net has a decal with the correct font for the Rallye gauge cluster that looks really nice:
http://www.whitegauges.net/products/1968%2d1970-Dodge-Charger-Volts-Overlay.html
I'll take some pictures of the process as I go through it and will add them here.
Great reminder on the ammeter replacement. For wiring 98% of the stock stuff will go. The bulkhead connector has been my nemesis since I bought the car and can't wait to replace it! I bought the American Autowire Classic Update harness, and will also be looking to replace the ammeter with a voltmeter. I've seen a few threads that tackle that conversion. Propwash did a really nice job documenting his work with pictures that I'm going to attempt to follow:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...o-volt-meter-conversion.40423/#post-909774548
Whitegauges.net has a decal with the correct font for the Rallye gauge cluster that looks really nice:
http://www.whitegauges.net/products/1968%2d1970-Dodge-Charger-Volts-Overlay.html
I'll take some pictures of the process as I go through it and will add them here.
funknut
Well-Known Member
Things have been busy lately and I'm trying to find jobs I can tackle when I have 15-20 mins available.
When I removed the front valence and bumper to access the grille I could tell something was tweaked. The valence was under some tension and a couple of the mounting holes on the valence were getting bent out of shape. Looking at the lower core/radiator support bar there is a curve in the horizontal plane. The driver's side of the core support also had some damage. One of the spot welds looks like it was drilled out, but it doesn't appear than anything was replaced. I'll be attempting to massage some of this are back into shape a little at a time when I can sneak out to the garage.
Here are some pics of the driver's side lower core support before.
When I removed the front valence and bumper to access the grille I could tell something was tweaked. The valence was under some tension and a couple of the mounting holes on the valence were getting bent out of shape. Looking at the lower core/radiator support bar there is a curve in the horizontal plane. The driver's side of the core support also had some damage. One of the spot welds looks like it was drilled out, but it doesn't appear than anything was replaced. I'll be attempting to massage some of this are back into shape a little at a time when I can sneak out to the garage.
Here are some pics of the driver's side lower core support before.
funknut
Well-Known Member
Rallye cluster voltmeter swap
I'm nearly done with the dash cluster, so I tackled the voltmeter conversion. Following Propwash's great instructions I ordered the Sunpro CP8205 and disassembled it. It's a great piece because it's possible to get the needle pivot point in the same place as the original gauge, so all the gauges should sweep the same once I swap the original needle in. I have the gauge face sticker from whitegauges.net and used the sunpro gauge faceplate as a template to do a bit of trimming to clearance for the sunpro internals.
The fit isn't quite perfect yet, but I'm close. The gauges are just set in place and not bolted in from the back. The Sunpro gauge studs fit the original opening perfectly, and the Sunpro gauge included rubber grommets for the posts, so keeping them insulated from the case should be easy. Once I get everything bolted in I'll know for sure if I need to move the gauge face another 2-3mm lower.
The swap was pretty easy, in fact the 2 hardest parts were disassembling the Sunpro gauge and removing the stock aluminum gauge faceplate from the ammeter internals. The aluminum is very thin and soft. Separating it from the original gauge was delicate work.
I'm nearly done with the dash cluster, so I tackled the voltmeter conversion. Following Propwash's great instructions I ordered the Sunpro CP8205 and disassembled it. It's a great piece because it's possible to get the needle pivot point in the same place as the original gauge, so all the gauges should sweep the same once I swap the original needle in. I have the gauge face sticker from whitegauges.net and used the sunpro gauge faceplate as a template to do a bit of trimming to clearance for the sunpro internals.
The fit isn't quite perfect yet, but I'm close. The gauges are just set in place and not bolted in from the back. The Sunpro gauge studs fit the original opening perfectly, and the Sunpro gauge included rubber grommets for the posts, so keeping them insulated from the case should be easy. Once I get everything bolted in I'll know for sure if I need to move the gauge face another 2-3mm lower.
The swap was pretty easy, in fact the 2 hardest parts were disassembling the Sunpro gauge and removing the stock aluminum gauge faceplate from the ammeter internals. The aluminum is very thin and soft. Separating it from the original gauge was delicate work.
funknut
Well-Known Member
So on the upside, I did a lot of work yesterday. Unfortunately, progress was limited. ;)
Yesterday was to be the day I dropped the engine and trans from the car. First, I needed to get the car off jack stands and back on its wheels, push it out of the garage so that I could get my compressor into the right spot. I had removed the shifter long ago, so I figured why not remove the driveshaft since I'll have to remove it anyway to pull the trans. Disconnected the driveshaft from the rear end and as I started to remove it from the trans I could tell the forward flange of the driveshaft was not going to clear the driveshaft loop installed by the previous owner. Seems silly to install a driveshaft loop where you can't remove the driveshaft without removing the loop, but no big deal, I was planning to remove it anyway to replace the floors.
Well, seems that the previous owner couldn't decide if he wanted a bolt in or weld in loop, so he got the best (?) of both worlds by bolting it in and then welding the nuts onto the bolts. Thanks, guy!
It took snapping two bolts before I figured that out, and after much swearing and head-scratching, I ended up just cutting the floor where the loop mounted to it.
Also, on the driveshaft, is that flange on the yoke side strange? I can't imagine why such a wide and heavy flange would be needed.
Yesterday was to be the day I dropped the engine and trans from the car. First, I needed to get the car off jack stands and back on its wheels, push it out of the garage so that I could get my compressor into the right spot. I had removed the shifter long ago, so I figured why not remove the driveshaft since I'll have to remove it anyway to pull the trans. Disconnected the driveshaft from the rear end and as I started to remove it from the trans I could tell the forward flange of the driveshaft was not going to clear the driveshaft loop installed by the previous owner. Seems silly to install a driveshaft loop where you can't remove the driveshaft without removing the loop, but no big deal, I was planning to remove it anyway to replace the floors.
Well, seems that the previous owner couldn't decide if he wanted a bolt in or weld in loop, so he got the best (?) of both worlds by bolting it in and then welding the nuts onto the bolts. Thanks, guy!
It took snapping two bolts before I figured that out, and after much swearing and head-scratching, I ended up just cutting the floor where the loop mounted to it.
Also, on the driveshaft, is that flange on the yoke side strange? I can't imagine why such a wide and heavy flange would be needed.
showard
Well-Known Member
Any progress is good progress. Keep up the good work.
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