I need help

[Demetrius_223]

Hello everyone,

Well to start, I like old school mopars. So I bought a 68 charger base model with the only work done is the "new radio" and wiring harness from front to back that is daily drive worthy. Now me being young and naive; my plan is to engine swap my 318 engine to a 572 long block hemi, upgrade the suspension to the level 3 QA1 front and rear suspension, I'm not too sure on the axles, I've had a few people tell me the dana 60 would be enough, switch the column shift to a tkx 5 speed and put 18 in wheels all around with 275 tire in the rear and 245 in the front. I got zero Experience when it comes to car upgrades so I've been trying to figure all what I need on my own and it is quite difficult. I found this site and figured I'd ask for help. I have no idea what I'm doing and most of the hard things will be outsourced to a shop. I wanted to know what other things should I consider in getting or what hiccups I would run into? I know to get subframe connectors. Did I cover everything? My goal is to be able to daily drive the car if I want with no issues. Thank you all in advance for any and all help.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

"Young and naive" with "zero experience", and "no idea of what you are doing"? But want to do these extreme modifications? You must really trust this shop you are planning to use for doing the work. I hope your Charger does not end up as an unfinished project. You might want to read more on here about cars being dismantled in shops and held in captivity for years while money is being poured into them... Good luck, and welcome from a fellow Virginian.

 

[moparedtn]

First off...


Secondly, understand that there are no shortcuts - no instant gratifications - to working on cars,
ANY cars, but especially old ones like ours. It is something that must be learned - unless you're
independently wealthy and just want to farm out all the work, anyways.

I'd strongly suggest getting a factory service manual for your car (FSM) - they're readily available
out there. If no knowledgeable people are available nearby, teach yourself how to work on your
car as it sits now, making it as functional and reliable as possible with what it's packing now.

Once you get comfortable with how the car is constructed - as well as developing your own skills
with tools and such - perhaps then you can start to consider some tasteful modifications.
Thing is though - whether you realized it or not, obtaining one of these cars brought on responsibilities
upon yourself to become a steward of the car, too.
By becoming an ambassador of sorts, you become part of the hobby, which enables all our old cars
to survive in the future, too!

You've chosen well. Good luck with it, don't get frustrated, take your time and learn all you can.

 

[PlymCrazy]

You've certainly come to the right place for advice on making your dreams come true with your '68. As implied by others, don't rush it. Educate yourself from folks around here that have been there themselves. Believe me, there are plenty around here that have made their muscle car dreams come true and have a ton to offer. Looks like a great car from the pic you posted. Any more to share?

Greetings and welcome to FBBO from western NY!

 

[Hey-O]

Welcome from Missouri!!

 

[69Bee]

Welcome from Az...

 

[RedBeard]

Welcome from ND. If you are going to "upgrade" your engine, I would replace it with a nice 440 with matching transmission and rear end.

 

[oldbee]

Welcome aboard from Ohio and good luck.

 

[Don Frelier]

Welcome from NY.
You're talking about putting a small fortune into a base model.
Yes a very cool body style but hopefully this doesn't overshadow everything else you need to do financially in your life as a young man.
A 408 CI small block stroker with a good transmission and rear axle with a simple front end rebuild might be a lot easier to actually accomplish and save you a mountain of money.

 

[RemCharger]

Welcome. Try to get most of the parts first, maybe target about 80k for the bigger stuff, don't forget about brakes. Finding the right shop is key, for quality, timeliness and knowledge. 20-40k for them and the smaller parts. Get on it quick and you might be Rollin by next summer. Good luck!

 

[#41]

The shop that can/will do this job is the best source to plan it with, but frankly, a daily driver 572 is not a great idea: The crazier your engine, the more tweaking and maintenance required. Considering you are self-described as not knowing anything about upgrades, you are likely to spend a ton of dough for a car that is frequently non-op in need of a mechanic. If this really is destined for being a daily driver, a stock(ish) modern hemi/trans set up would be a much better choice. The car will spend a lot more time on the road and you'll enjoy it more.

 

[CudaChick1968]

At one time we all walked your path ... it's how we got here. Your enthusiasm is commendable and will take you a long way. Temper it with research, learn everything you can, and remember that decent tools are never a bad investment.

 

[polywideblock]

G, day from Australia

 

[4speed68rt]

Nice '68. Clean it up, tune it up, change all the fluids, and get it running with all the original stuff, then you will know what you really want to change and what your goal is. Please dont take it apart and let it die. That car deserves to have many more years and more owners in its lifetime.

 

[ckessel]

Welcome from the left coast. Treat your project like part of the Burger King jingle. "Have It Your Way". It's your car and your vision. For sure start researching about the upgrades. AndyF has a very informative book out on b-bodies.
mopar-b-body-performance-upgrades-1962-1979. He also has one out for big blocks. Get those. Any power increases should be matched with structural upgrades, suspension upgrades and ESPECIALLY brake upgrades. Also no matter which direction you go, plan on re-doing the electrical system and plan on upgrades there too if you are going to start adding accessories on it that it doesn't have. Boom box, a/c, efi, power windows, electric fans etc. If you can find a stash of old magazine publications like High Performance Mopar, Mopar Action[ still in publication too], Mopar Muscle[ before TEN bought them out and made them Mopar muscle atrophy] and Chrysler Power[ before Rolands wife passed away]. You can also get a subscription to Mopar Collectors Guide which has a wealth of vendors advertising in it for parts/pieces. Many members here have some way cool rides and projects to glean info off of and get ideas from. Pick an avenue you want to pursue with the project and focus it on that. You don't want to build a drag focused car and expect it to handle like a Porsche. You'll be very disappointed. Stay focused. You don't want it to look like you have ADHD or got snowed in for 8 months with nothing but Red Bull to drink

 

[70 sublime]

Good luck with the upgrades but pick your battles first
Have a plan of where you want to end up but do all the smaller stuff one at a time then drive the car again to see and feel the improvements
Do not take the car all apart and have it sit for years at a time trying to do too much at once
Life will happen along the way and it is no fun looking at a pile of car sitting in the garage that you could have been driving while you save up some more money to buy more parts

 

[Fran Blacker]

Welcome from CT. Your 27? Patience is your friend! Buy parts as your can afford and store them, do you have a place for that and your car. Park that car where picture was taken you'll know what taken means. My suggestion is drive the car and learn how to work on it. Link to service manual. Service Manuals – MyMopar
Laptop or a PC and a priner you can print pages as needed.
Guys have build threads a great learning experience. @Kern Dog has several on his Charger much like what you what to do. A link Re-Rebuilding the 440-493 in a 1970 Charger You should go back to page 1.

 

[Kern Dog]

Thank you.
One of the reasons I have started thread topics is to inspire others to work on their cars. FBBO member @watermelon started one when he did a 5 speed swap in his car and it inspired me to do the same.
I readily admit they mine are long winded and one will surely have to “fast forward “ through some parts since some content isn’t pertinent. Sometimes the dialog goes off topic too. I never had kids so I haven’t had the chance to mentor any young kid. My brother in law seemed to be leaning toward being a car guy but that fizzled out.
There are some helpful guys here. In the last two weeks, I have received 3 packages in the mail from members that helped me out. I have sent stuff out to help others as well.
The bank of knowledge here is vast.
Be sure to thank those that take time to help you out. It sucks to put yourself out for someone that appears ungrateful.

 

[Demetrius_223]

Thank you everyone,

TL;DR
Thank you very much everyone for giving me some insight on where/how to start. The car had old parts that needed to be replaced and still would stall out, but turned out it was a wiring issue so I bought a new wiring kit and it runs fine. My next install will be the borgeson steering box and some wilwood brakes.

I appreciate all this advice and GREAT starting points. I've been able to drive the car for about 3 months and had the car for roughly a year and a half. For the longest time the car would turn over and run for about 30 seconds and stall out completely. I searched for days what could be the problem and I came across a forum that had a list of possibilities but the one that came up the most was a grounding issue somewhere. I pulled up the wiring schematic page and it was a foreign language haha. With the knowledge that I do know, I took the dash off and tried following majority of the wires and everything seemed ok just old wiring. At first I thought it was the distributor because 1: it was old and 2: the connector was worn and broken. So I replaced the distributor with the same off brand the previous owner put in and nothing. So I bought the American classic wiring kit and had it installed. I've been driving it ever since with no issue other than the steering feels loose. I like that you all are very helpful usually I just post questions on Facebook pages and you get all types of responses. I didn't want to get to over my head and my next step would be to do something about the steering, then brakes. I've read a lot about the borgesons steering box that a lot of other mopar enthusiasts use and had good reviews. For the brakes I definitely wanted wilwood brakes.

 

[HD539]

Welcome from Washington State.