Tazet's 69 Dodge Charger.

[tazet]

The books I have are:

Charger, Road Runner & Super Bee Restoration guide.
                Documenting and Decoding numbers,
                Frame, Suspension, Brakes,
                Power plants, Transmissions, Drivelines,
                Interior & options,
                Electrical components & systems
     By Paul A Herd, (motorbooks workshop).

Project Charger
               A stsp-by-step restoration of a popular vintage car
     By Larry Lyles, (from Auto Restorer magazine).

How to rebuild Big-Block Mopar engines,
               Covers all years & models of B/RB series Chrysler, Dodge & Plymouth engines.
               Inspection,
               Engine removal,
               Parts ID & Interchange,
               Disassembly,
               Engine block & cylinder head reconditioning,
               Assembly,
               Installation,
               Tune-up.
       By Don Taylor, (HP Books).

[shabby]

tazet did you ring that guy at essex speed shop as when me and madron went he was building big block chevy motors for fun maybe he could be the engine man you are looking for ? 

[tazet]

Morning Shabby. No not phoned him yet. Found and saved him in ebay though. It's a shame he's so far away as this engine is not the easiest to lug about. I will give him a ring once we know what's going on with the body work as he sounds like the guy to possibly order parts through especially if he knows how to build the things he will at least be able to understand my ramblings.
It's very easy to find people to do the work for you if you have the money and it's the same with all builds but if I can I want to do as much of it myself, (with some guidence). When it is eventually done I can then say I did it and if things break down then hopefully I will have learnt enough to either fix it myself or at least correctly diagnose the problem.

[shabby]

tidy cant fault you there , if we cant fix its nice to watch and learn , well i know he goes to the states alot and may have friend there to help on parts. will keep eyes and ears open as always 

[tazet]

Well John came this morning. We knew that the front was not right but as he knows what he is looking at almost straight away said "it's twisted at the front" eek says I but the more he showed me the more sense it made as to why some of the stuff on there doesn't seem to fit as it should. Someone has tried to repair the inner fender but they have done such a bad job because the 2 front chassis legs are out of line. We hoisted the car up to full height on the ramps and when you crouch on the floor and look along the length of the car from back to front you can clearly see it twisted. Well I can now that it has been pointed out. He went through the list of parts I will need and I'd already found most of the bits. He said he might be able to save the chassis legs but we don't know so might need to replace them too. 
Before he has it, if he has it, he has insisted that the car gets shot blasted before it goes to him. All the un-wanted pannels are to be cut off with a plasma cutter then the car stripped of absolutely everything including the floor and all the welds cleaned up. Take off the suspension, axle, wheels etc so he means strip it. Then man handle it onto a flat bed and get it blasted. After it is blasted they coat it with a Phosphate, (sorry if I've spelt it wrong), primer to stop it going rusty. That, including the plasma cutting, will be arround the £2,000 mark.  EEK thinks I. Even when the BMW is sold that would leave me nothing or at least very little to finish it. I asked him roughly how much to do all the metal work and fitting the replacement bulk head and putting it on the jig to straighten it. Well I'm not even going to say how much he quoted and please don't ask. Let's put it this way, the second approximate quote for just straightening it, fitting the floor pan, fitting the bulk head and the inner wings and radiator surround, (just the front end), was £8,000, so to do the rest was a hell of a lot more. At his prices it would be cheaper to buy Dave's Charger and have some change. John also said it's one of the worst he's seen but all fixable, (at a price), and he looked about and said that I had most of the bits although most need replacing. The petrol tank is good though and the head lights and grille are easily sorted. His visit was a mixture of plusses and minuses but everything made sense and I could see and understand everything he showed and told me.
We are having Jimmy from Valley Gas come and look at it, (booked him last week before John), so will see what he thinks and see if they can do the very basic work and hopefully it would be a bit less costly. So for now not much is going to happen to the car as the sale of the BMW needs to happen first to see what is left after I've paid Andy back. I will concentrate a bit on the engine. John had a quick look and said the bits looked O.K but need a clean up. Anyway, will be at least the end of July before anything else can happen as we have to order bits and Jimmy can't look at the car till after he's been on holiday and I've got lots of shows on between now and then too. 

[Manky Monkey]

Just been out to take his Lordship's dogs for a walk so took another look at the Charger in it's barn while we were there.
Not quite sure what's gone on. The chassis definitely looks like it's had impact damage of some sort on the front driver's side, but the front wings are O.K -rusty, but O.K. The two front chassis horns, (the section inside the engine bay), are welded to the main chassis level with the front bulkhead. So assuming the impact -if that's what it was- hasn't travelled further back into the chassis, we could cut it off there & replace the front sections.
Alternatively, we could see how much Valley Gas would charge to take the body off & build a whole new chassis. They built the one for my Pop project for 500 quid. We're not going for a totally original restoration, just a useable car, so we don't care if it's fitted with non standard parts. 
The restoration guy obviously lives in a different World to us, if not a completely different planet. His customers are no doubt quite happy to open their cheque books & pay 20, 30 or 40 grand to rebuild their classic cars, but we ain't. He wanted Taz to pay 1,400 quid to the company he recommended to have the body shotblasted. We have our trike frames blasted & powder-coated for less than 100. Different Worlds. He walked around the car saying replace that, replace this, replace that, when all we want to do is get it safe & drivable. Hopefully Jimmy from Valley Gas will be a bit more realistic.
In the mean time, Taz can organise the engine re-build.

[Manky Monkey]

The axle turns out to be a small block one -no doubt the car's original as it had a small block engine. That's since been changed for a big block motor, but we're told the smaller axle should be fine for normal use. If Taz eventually decides to try her hand at drag racing we can uprate it later.

[VALLEYSBOY]

well Manky is right some peeps just think its take out and replace with new from the dearest place to buy parts, im up for doing some of yer donkey work"if allowed" if only to help out whilst yer working at shows on wkends? i used to work in a body shop yrs ago, so you leave some instructions and as the saying goes whilst the monkey is away the chimps will play it aint the end of the world it can be done cheaper im sure, im here to help i dont have any work committments so give us a ring and we'll sort summut out take care you two ...VB...

[tazet]

That's very kind VB but you have your own project to deal with and that's more important 
It's not a case of give him the car and he does all the work and buying the bits. I'm buying the bits first. The quotes were just for the actually putting it together not the buying of anything. If I had loads of money and wanted a show room finnish then it would be perfect. All I want is a car that's structually sound and works. I'm not bothered if it has dented pannels so long as they fit.

[flc]

I was gutted for you when i read through your post but as manky says there in a different world , im sure there will be a cheaper way to get it done, its always the same at this stage of a project, just concentrate on one bit at a time, it will be more than worth the effort when its on the road, its a dream car for me too, keep at it you too, i want a go when its done

[davesatan]

dont know if it needs it but got a radiator repair place old school near me

[tazet]

Thank guys. I'm trying to stay positive and all I can picture is it finished in my mind how I want it. That keeps me going and determination to prove the negative people out there wrong. You guys build trikes, chops and hot rods from nothing so surely this can be done.

Flc of course you can have a go when it's done so long as your insurance covers you. 

Dave thanks will keep that in mind. I think the radiator I have for it is ok but that's only a guess as it doesn't look to bad and there doesn't seem to be any obvious major damage.

[Manky Monkey]

There used to be a radiator repair shop in Bagshot. It's slogan was "the best place in Bagshot to take a leak".

[BikerGran]

I guess some of these restoration people are talking about producing a 'concours' job, and they really can't imagine the kind of work you have in mind, ie get it put together, working, safe and driveable and sort the rest as you go along!

[lunatic]

i expect the bloke wont compromise on his quality of work as reputation is everything in this game. One crappy looking car and his reputation could be ruined! Plus there has to be a couple of grands worth of panels to go on it too.
Taz, you did hpi the car before you bought it? Just to check it wasnt a write off. Just occurred to me!