New B from Illinois

[kowalskiOA5599]

Hello to you all from Nowhere Illinois. I have been a Mopar man since the day I was born. When I was a kid, my dad had a 78 Lil' Red Express, a 72 340 'Cuda, an all original B5 blue 69 Charger with a 383, 4spd and a/c, and a 74 New Yorker. He still has the last three cars, but the Express was hit by a drunken idiot in 92, was fixed, but never drove the same, so he sold it. I am the proud owner of a 68 Charger. My Dad purchased it in 1988 from a gentleman who brought it to Illinois from Arizona. He drove it off and on until 1990. Then it was parked in the back yard. There it sat until 97, when, on my 12th birthday, my Dad gave it to me. I moved it into one of the sheds sitting on his property with the hopes of slowly getting it road worthy. Well, life and lack of funds got in the way. So 16 years later, I finally drug it home, and am currently in the process of bringing new life to this old girl. It currently sports a 330hp 383, 727 TF, and 4 wheel drum brakes. The old man wants the 383, but is trading me a 440 with a forged crank. As of now, I am in the process of removing 16 years of mouse sh*t, and getting the interior ready to go back together. So if any one knows of any good deals on bucket seat covers and foam, a center console, headliner, complete set of seatbelts, and a decent rear bench seat top section, I would be grateful for the info.

 

[Photon440]

Hi, thanks for the storied introduction! Welcome, and good luck with your Charger, Kowalski.

 

[Car Nut]

Nice 12th Birthday gift and great story.

aboard!!!

 

[ma mopar nutz]

welcome ! Let me guess your a vanishing point guy ??? lol great movie !!:headbang:

 

[eric383]

Welcome to FBBO from across the state line. Thanks for the pics and back story. Cool project.

 

[mr. b]

welcome to FBBO cool charger keep us posted on your progress

 

[Moparsr2fast]

Welcome Kowalski! If you pick up 39 and 80, you are a stones throw away. Love that color!

 

[5wndwcpe]

Greetings

 

[snakeyes]

hi and welcome to he site nice story and looks like a nice charger build in the works :headbang:

 

[Budnicks]

welcome to FBBO, love the 68 Chargers, my 1st car, love that LL1 turquoise color too...

 

[kowalskiOA5599]

Thanks all for the warm welcome. Yes, I love Vanishing Point. The original with Barry Newman. You guys can call me by my real name, Nate. As of today, I removed a good majority of the interior and the large opossum nest that was under the hood. I love that this car came from Az. Not much rust to contend with.

 

[MarPar]

welcome from a fellow Illinoisan, Nate!

I like the cut of your jib...it seems like you don't back away from a challenge :headbang:

 

[Snowtrooper1966]

Welcome!
That was a serious nest under the hood....

 

[kowalskiOA5599]

Thanks MarPar. Yes, as if raising a 3 yr old daughter, working for a farmer, and restoring a 72 Cheyenne weren't enough lol. For me, its a labor of love. Nothing like taking a vehicle that's been parked for 16 years (my truck) and getting it back on the road. And this will be even more exciting to me. And SnowTrooper, it was stuffed full. I couldn't believe the amount of crap that was stuffed between the k-member and the oil pan.

 

[kowalskiOA5599]

Update: Painted my a-pillar moldings black. A lot more cost effective than spending $160+ for repops. Replaced my green lower dash pads with black pads. Didn't have a black glove box door, but found one on ebay (for non-rally dash but still looks good) for $30 shipped, installed it today. My floor pans are cleaning up nicely. Only one small rust hole next to the gas pedal. My lower rear panels cleaned up nicely as well. If you look at the pics, I cleaned the p/s panel, and left the d/s alone so you can see the difference. Now I just have to check my under dash wiring, make sure my gauges work, make sure my heater box is free of debris, and I'll be ready to button up the interior and move on to pulling the engine, working on the brake system etc...