My 1968 Charger R/T resto thread.

[Envymylights]

Well, it is almost 5 am, and I just got done tearing into the "Queen", as I so endearingly named her. So, after day 2, the motor, tranny, and majority of the interior and exterior items have been removed.

A little back story on the car. It is a true 68 R/T, 440 auto on the console. Car shows 48,000 miles, and I am the third owner. Car was originally bought at San Leandro Dodge, in California. The car has some nice options like disc front brakes, tic tach gauge cluster, bumble bee stripe, and delete things like power steering (more ;) HP!!!)The original owner, from what I can see while tearing the car apart, may have been a bit of a weekend warrior at the strip. I came to this conclusion when I found what appears to have been roll cage mounting holes, in 6 places inside the car. The second owner bought the car in 1988. At that time, he was going to restore the car. He parked it in his garage, and began buying parts, and restoring the interior. Apparently that is about as far as it went. The interior was partially restored, but not completed. Parts sat in the trunk for years. The "Direct Connection" stickers in some of the boxes show just how long. The car shows 97 more miles on it, then when he bought it 20+ years ago. (According to the title.) The car has sat in a temperature controlled garage for all this time.

I flew out from Pittsburgh PA, to Pinole CA, to look at the car. After getting into about 10 arguments with the owner's, "broker" (douche bag on wheels) we settled on a price, and I signed the title to my dream car.

I am planning a full resto on the car, and the tear down began an hour after I took delivery, and did several smokey burnouts in front of the house.


so, here are some photos to get this started. Car will be in for a soda blast on the 17th. Being in Carlisle for the next four days, really is cutting it close. Lol. Thoughts and opinions are welcomed and appreciated. Please note, I am not giving anyone but my brother the finger in the pic below. ;)

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More pics...

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More pics again...

 

[kiwigtx]

That's a great car to start a resto on...lovin' those '68 Chargers. :icon_cool:

 

[tallhair]

That is an excellent foundation. Good luck with the build

 

[charger360]

really nice! looks a lot like my first car.

 

[MoparMitch]

Great project car. I see it's JJ1 Gold. If you want to see what that looks like in BC/CC come by building T at Carlisle and see the 68 Road Runner.

 

[BigBlock61]

Great car to start a restoration on. It doesn't look like it's going to need too much to bring it back.

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Wow you've definitely got an awesome solid project to start with, I wish my Charger was kept in a climate controlled garage for that long lol looking forward to seeing your progress. What're your plans for the end result of the car?

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And is that your black '70 I see in the background?

 

[Propwash]

Nice Solid looking Charger. Paint looks like it should be a breeze to get off that fender..lol Best of luck with your resto.

 

[Envymylights]

Wow you've definitely got an awesome solid project to start with, I wish my Charger was kept in a climate controlled garage for that long lol looking forward to seeing your progress. What're your plans for the end result of the car?

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And is that your black '70 I see in the background?

It will be kept as close to original as possible... Except for color. I have caught quite a bit of slack for it, but I have always dreamed of having a Omaha orange 68 Charger R/T. Well, my money paid for it, and so I will make my dream a reality.

That is a 73 Charger.

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Great color choice, that's gonna look awesome. And I'm with you 100%, mine is a matching numbers R/T-SE but I'm changing the color to black on black. Like you said it's your money and your dream so let the purists complain all they want, it's not their car

Ah yeah, didn't take a good enough look. Cool!

 

[hunt2elk]

Great looking project - wish mine would have started 1/2 as solid as that one.

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Definitely a good solid project your starting out with. That alone will save you a lot of time and money. Love the Chargers!!!

Its your car....... Build it the way YOU want it.

I will be checking this thread out for sure. Keep us posted!!!

 

[Budnicks]

Nice car, great starting point...

 

[747mopar]

Wow, that's a pretty solid car to start with "love orange Chargers".

 

[Duda]

Another great looking car on its way to a new birth. Nice car and good luck.

 

[Nick2317]

nice car man hope to see you at some cruises and stuff around pitt when its done

 

[roadrunnerman]

That is a nice T/R. it will look great in Omaha Orange. I agree, paint it the way that makes you happy. There are SO many different colors now then when these cars were made. Don't get me wrong, I still love looking at these cars in their original color. But there are a lot more choices now.

 

[Envymylights]

In Carlisle now. Found damn near everything I needed. Including a AM/FM thumb wheel radio, for a price that shows the owner had no idea what he had.

I also got to see that gorgeous 68 Road Runner from a member on here (68chicken I believe). Unfortunately, no one was around the car. So, I'll try to meet him tomorrow. :toothy10:

 

[Mr.SpeedFreak]

Nice score! Wish I could be at that show, events like that are somewhat few and far in between here on the west coast

 

[RyanSchoen]

Nice score, that car was about 30 minutes from me.