I am doing what I can on reading for the restoration of my 1970 Charger RT. I am missing a LOT of the car to include the fender tag, so I have TONS of questions. What books or manuals are there out there to help me read up on the restoration tips for this project? I was looking for a Haynes manual (or something similar) and cant find something that explains the details of the car. Any help would be appreciated!
A factory service manual, AKA an FSM, is a good start. Other than that, the internet has pretty much all the info you’ll need. This site is a great place for info, for example. Ask away!
A 70 specific site like 70chargerregistry.com or dodgecharger.com are some good sites to join as well. Welcome to the site, and don't be afraid to post up some pix.
As mentioned above, the factory service manual and the publications from Dave Wise and Bryon Fettig will pretty much take care of 90% of the questions you will come across. The factory parts manuals are nice as well, but not quite as important unless your looking to find NOS parts which are quickly becoming impossible to find without a gold mint. Some of the other general publications are more about posting pretty pictures of incorrect restorations or modifications that are not correct if that is the direction of your restoration. Seek out information from sources who have a track history of providing documented information. After all of these years, information has become muddied and may not hold true due to build date or manufacturing plant. But the information for the most part is out there for the digging. The best source of all is the untouched true survivors. Some of these cars have been massaged to enhance the appearance of some pieces, but they are still out there. Forums can be a good source, but keep an open mind as the information can be skewed by personal feelings or other agendas. All of the points mentioned above are good sources. As they always say, the worst thing that you can do is to not ask the question. It probably has been asked before, but this hobby is constantly evolving. Even though it is for a 69 GTX, @moparnation74, has a very thorough review of his restoration in the member's restoration projects. Many of the processes will overlap and his attention to the details is outstanding. Good luck with the work and keep everyone posted on the efforts.
The Factory Service Manual (FSM) will be your bible to put it all together. Go here as well... https://shop.mmcdetroit.com/products
Of course, I forget the main rule. Always include pictures. This is the car I am going to be tackling. True RT coded car, but its been stripped pretty hard. I need a LOT of parts to get it back to where it belongs, so I plan on doing more of a resto-mod to it. No sense of spending tons of money on it to get it back to stock, since it wont be a numbers matching car. There is tons of work needed on it, luckily, I have in at a local body shop where I pay nothing but parts. Labor will be done by myself and one worker there as we get time. The engine will be built by a guy that lives next to me, who is willing to walk me through the process and school me up on that. I'm used to more modern DOHC engines, so its all new to me. One thing is going to be identifying the parts needed. I dont really know what I am missing if its not there, hence, looking for an in depth manual to show me the layout and proper placement of mounting brackets, body issues, and other smaller things. The first thing is tackling the body work. It will be going to media blasting to get me down to metal and assess damages. Off the pictures, what can you guys see that I'll need to order from AMD in advance? I'm currently coming back from a deployment and had bought the car sight unseen online. Its currently being shipped back to me in Texas where the rebuild is going to occur. So, these are the only pictures I'm working with until I hit ground! Alice Alice Meynell
