Patina'd RR1 Burgundy 1968 Charger ("Ribeye")

[nchrome]

Something else that l found out to soften and clean the pads is to use GOOP hand cleaner l used it on mine and it helped not real good but did help

 

[70B5Cuda]

A big push was started so I can hopefully drive it in the spring/summer of 2021. a week ago I tossed some wheels on it, rolled it outside, blew off a bunch of dirt/dust/rust, and took some pics before I transported it to a friend's shop, where he will do some rust repair, weld in new floors, and paint the roof. It hadn't been out in the sun since it was polished up!

 

[70B5Cuda]

This first issue was a weird one: it looks as though the the factory let this Charger leave with voids/gaps in the joint between the top of the right forward pillar and the roof skin. The vinyl top didn't help things any and the top forward corner of the windshield channel rusted through in several places. It was the only spot around the front window. Before and after pics showing the patches...

The right rear pillar was puffing out at the bottom of the quarter to roof joint/seam. The bottom of the lead joint was melted out to see what was needed. The rusty area was cut out and replaced with a fabricated patch. Before and after picture...

 

[70B5Cuda]

This Charger had quite a few hail dents...nearly all the roof dings/dents have been removed.

 

[qkcuda]

I love this build, will keep watching.

 

[chargervert]

Be sure to prime and paint the roof. When I did my 70 Charger,I had the vynal roof put on over primer like the factory did,and got rust bubbles under the top a few years later. Now I paint them,then scuff the roof with a scotchbrite before installing the vynal top.

 

[70B5Cuda]

Thanks Chargervert...I am planning to paint the top in satin black.



The Charger came with white seats from the factory so when I removed the white seats from the car and found the broadcast sheet for a much earlier 1968 Charger, I was very disappointed. But i contacted the guy who I bought it from and he gave me the name a previous owner. After several weeks of trying to set up a date to meet, it finally happened. His parents bought the car in 1969 when it was only one year old. He told me he had the original seats in his barn. The charger had a harness fire and he had removed them due to the smoke/soot on them (I think they will clean up). The barn had a dirt/gravel floor but fortunately the seats had been sitting on the trunk of a Satellite. I flipped the seat over and the broadcast sheet was there! It was bunched and brittle but mostly there. Together we extracted the sheet and I took it home where I flattened and laminated it. I also struck a deal on the original front and rear seats. More pics of those later...Here are pics of the broadcast sheet.

 

[chargervert]

Very cool find! I bet the guy was surprised to hear the car was still around!

 

[70B5Cuda]

Very cool find! I bet the guy was surprised to hear the car was still around!

Yes he was interested/excited. He had sold the car about 12-13 years ago.

 

[HawkRod]

That's some cool treasure hunting that yielded results - very cool story! Proof that hunting for this stuff sometimes pays off big!

 

[ct71rr]

Wow! Amazing luck!

 

[70B5Cuda]

The guy who had the broadcast sheet came across some cool family pictures that the Charger was in so he texted me some pictures. The snowy picture was from the "Blizzard of 1971" (in Wichita, Ks) and the camping picture was from 1972. Notice the trailer that's hooked up in the camping picture. I love this kind of history!

 

[70B5Cuda]

The Dutchman's panel was removed.....the plenum underneath also needs replaced...

So it got removed also.

The roof gutters were media blasted and cleaned up nicely.

And roof was sealed in epoxy

 

[ruffcut]

Looking good!

 

[hunt2elk]

Nice progress. Love this car.....

 

[70B5Cuda]

Nice progress. Love this car.....

Thanks!!


This car had lots of door dings down the side and hail dings on the roof, deckled, and hood. My PDR guy I've used for the last 7 years retired so I found a new guy and sent the passenger side door and deckled out for a test run. He did a nice job!

Before..

After...

The door after...

 

[70B5Cuda]

I just got the hood back from being PDR'd and it looks great!

 

[qkcuda]

I had heard that the painless dent removal was harder on our old cars due to thicker metal. Your guy didn't mention any issues?

 

[70B5Cuda]

I had heard that the painless dent removal was harder on our old cars due to thicker metal. Your guy didn't mention any issues?

PDR is definitely harder on the thicker old metal. The undercoating in the quarters and in the front fenders also make it more difficult.

 

[70B5Cuda]

The two piece trunk floor is in place!