Manky Monkey Motors

Well you've more than likely been following the thread from flc - "one for taz", (in General discussion) and know about this ebay item. After winning the item, we went today to look at it and check documents etc before handing over any money. Danny was the lad who had the Charger. Apparently his dad bought it for him to restore and it was in a lot of bits when he got it. He stripped it some more and did the back brakes on it and a few other bits and not much else. He lives literally in the middle of nowhere and he doesn't have people around to help him and give him the advice needed, so a year on he hasn't managed much and decided to sell it.
In all honesty there's far more work needed to get it running than the ebay advert let on and almost every panel needs work except the roof. The driver's door hinge pillar thingy has more rust and holes than a rusty swiss cheese. So a lesser price was discussed and agreed. The engine number and the vin all matched the log book. Now he's just got to try and dig out all the parts. Should be a couple of weeks before we can collect and pay the remaining money. The engine is literally in a million bits so will be fun figuring that out and although I would love Brock to come down and help me sort it out I fear things might go missing as it's the same engine as he has, (I think). Anyway, Andy took over 100 photos today so will only post a few at a time. We couldn't get to see all the parts as some are still in storage. Danny has said he will email me photos of anything I need and photos before he pulled the car apart so I can see what is there. Anyway here are some shots.

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My god I hope it was a MUCH lesser price!  That looks like a heap of scrap to me!  Gonna be a long time before you can drive it!

oherrr lots of work to be done
good luck with it guys
if theres owt i can do let me know

Well as Taz has already said, there's a lot more work here than we'd hoped, (a triumph of optimism over experience -should've known better), but it's still do-able. Lots of nooks & crannies bunged up with filler -badly -which will no doubt grow into huge holes once we start poking at them. A lot of the parts are squirrelled away in various sheds but we're pretty confident 99% of the car's there. Only seen one door so far, which has rust damage along the bottom edge. The lip around the edge of the bootlid's gone & the corners of the body where the bootlid shuts, next to the hinges, are full of filler. The vent panel along the bottom of the windscreen's a bit holey & the driver's floor area's been cut out but not repaired. The rear wing on the passenger side is a bit ripply -looks like someone's misjudged the width of the vehicle & sideswiped something, rather than a full on shunt) & the outer skin's come away around the wheel arch. Worst of all though is the A post on the driver's side, (the panel the door hinges bolt to). It's in pretty bad shape. If that panel's available as a repair section then the rest is all cosmetic -fiddly & time consuming but we should be able to piece it back together.
According to the numbers, it left the factory with a 318ci, (230 bhp), 2 barrel carb V8 motor, in a "premium" class 2 door sports hardtop, which has been upgraded at some point with the fitting of a 383ci unit, (330 bhp). The VIN number shows it's definitely a '69 Charger, assembled at the Dodge Main factory, Hamtramck, MI. USA.
The present engine has 906 big valve heads & a 4 barrel carb, stamped Carter AVS.
Any opinions chaps?

Yes as I said, much much more work than I thought, but it will be worth it in the end and we have some great friends at the end of a phone if help is needed. It will be kept in a garage at work so I can work on it in my breaks and after work and there is power and lighting. Just got to take tools with me as they are all in the shed at home. I think the first thing I'll be doing is attacking the car with a flap wheel to see exactly what is going on under the red oxide. Then I do one bit at a time. Like Manky said, the worst bit is the A pillar, the rest is bits and bobs here and there.

wonderful looking project ;D way i see it is ....you have friends close at hand like you mentioned they are all capable in many fields of automotive regeneration projects so i think you will be fine in the long run ;D and im glad you got a realistic deal on the price going of its current condition. finally i'll be up for some donkey work if needs be? i now how hard it can be trying to work and then work again on a project :)

Taz why not through a welding party at your lock up get all the welders of this site and there labourers put on a BBQ and some drinks have a Manky good party and let the fabricators loose on it I am sure there would be a lot of work done in that day and people could show their gratitude for this site plus get to meet and discuse their projects in person  ;D

Thanks guys. Texon although that is a great Idea I'm not sure my boss would agree. If we did do something like that I would have to make sure he was away for that week end.
I know what some are thinking and some have said about the work that is needed to get it back on the road and trust me if it had been an escort then I would have never even looked at it. But this is different. It's a 1969 dodge Charger and when it is done I'll be driving around in one of the best Mopar models that is out there. Chargers sell at prices that we could never afford. This was in our price bracket and It will at least be done and finnished how I want it. They don't come about very often so you have to grab the oportunity while you can.
I just want to get it home. Really itching to get it started.

best of luck taz.............manky monkey motors renamed as dukes of tazzard  ;D

taz like ya said you could afford this CLASSIC  so by the time you have rebuilt it with your own sweat and tears it will be a top car worth the same as one you couldnt afford i am chuffed for you that you took the plunge and bought it coz now you are the proud owner of a genuine muscle car  good luck and if i can help in any way just holla

Thanks guys. You are so right Ron.  ;D
Manky and I spent the day at Brooklands with Dave2lanes and the Mopar Muscle Association, (MMA). I'm now a lot more hopeful and optimistic than I was last night and am excited about getting the thing home so I/we can get started on it. We spoke to several people today and all were fantastic with plenty of advice and tips. Not one said we've done the wrong thing by buying it. In fact some said it was better as a couple of people weren't happy with some areas of their cars as they did not do it themselves and at least by doing it the way we are we will end up with a proper muscle car done exactly how we want it done.
Dave gave me a disc today with all the info we will need to get this thing on the road so that and the laptop will be going to work with me, (no internet unfortunatley).
Also I got to drive Dave's 440 Hemi Charger on the Brooklands historic banked track with Manky as my co-pilot. Ok we didn't get to floor it but had to line up for a photo shoot and Dave had paid for a Concord experience ticket so he couldn't drive it so I was forced to do it. What a shame  ;D

Anyway I'm very hopeful and really really looking forward to joining in with future Mopar events. As Derek said "It'll be yours next year"
Also Dave thinks I'm the first female member of the MMA to actually own and drive a Charger. How cool is that.  ;D

;D Kewl as.... ;D

"HEMI CHARGER". i wish

Bugger oh well it's still a 440 though so only half wrong.  :-[

PS sent you a text Dave.

 :o :o Thats a HUGE amount of work you have to do there, maybe to much.

Thanks for you lovely words of support Darren  :( . Oh how's the landrover rebuild going?

If its a labour of love,then it can never be too much work.
I'd rather build it up myself,then you know it's been done right,rather than trusting what somebody you dont know has said has been done.

Crazy init, all these bods sayin its 2 much work,its scrap and bein quite pesamistic yet theres a ford pop thats bein built from the ground up that has got less metal than this car, new chassis etc, trikes bein built from nowt aswell as other mad projects on this site!
some peeps jus aint got the bottle 2 take the risk 2 get what they want!!
you have so fair play!!
GO ON GIRL!!!
you CAN do it!!!

Thanks you 2  ;D You are both so right. I wanted a Charger and now I have one. Yes it will be blood, sweat and tears but when I go to car meets when it's done I can say I did that and It's MINE.  ;D ;D ;D

The plan of action when we get it home is firstly to sort through all the bits and see what's there. Dave said he will help with this and we will make several piles. One for the engine, one for the runnig gear, one for interior, one for exterior, one for body panels etc then bit by bit we/I will sort through each pile. The first stage will be to remove all the paint currently on the car and see just how much filler there is. I've emailed a company in Cranley to see how much they would charge to do the A pillar and the rest we should be able to do ourselves. I will be learning very quickly how to weld properly as I want to be able to do some of it myself. Once the main body of the car is done then we will do things like the doors etc. The engine will be one of the last things we will do as it's pointless getting that built up with no car to put it in.
It's all in my head and I can't wait to get started.
I've decided on the colour I want it to be finnished in the same gray as the trike will be and the MMM logo on the doors but in black like what's on the T-shirts. Somewhere possibly in the back I will have Dukes of Tazzard as was sugested by Doc as I think that's brilliant.

im glad i didnt knock it then ;D

 ;D

I've got a Dodge Charger me. So I eat Hershey Bars. ;D ;D

I like that so I've addded it to my signature  ;D

As the person who made the 'heap of scrap' comment I should clarify - I have a bike in my shed that's also a heap of scrap - the one I'm going to rebuild - so it wasn't meant unkindly!

It was just that I knew Tazet was hoping to get it driveable fairly quickly!!!!!!!   :o

That's ok Bobbi and I've been in contact with several people about the really hard bits but all the basic panels and bolting things back on I'm going to do while I'm at work on my coffee breaks. It will be hard but once the BMW is sold I will be car less so the need to get it on the road will be huge, as it will be my only car for the time being untill I can afford a run about.

told you getting rid of BOO was a mistake  ::) 3 wheels are better than 2 legs  :'(

It's the Suzuki that I wish I'd kept. At least Moo will still live on but in trike form.

get a c90 :) for run around summut cheap like? only idea

I only said it was a huge amount of work  ???   Didn't say Taz couldn't do it or it couldn't be done.

Creep! :P

Don't know where you're going to find the time to do this as well as your trike but good luck with it and can't wait to see more picys of it.  ;D ;D ;D

My trike will wait. I've said to Manky all along that his projects come first and mine last. I will be doing most of the work on this and if we have the odd spare bit of time then we might do bits on the trike. I have to get this car running as it will be all I have to use.

Anyway. Spoke to the boss and he said that it was ok for me to use the garage at work to build it in. He then said that he was glad to hear that we were not going to use filler and were doing it properly. I then got a full blown lecture on how my engine works and what part does what etc, etc, etc. At this rate I'm sure he'll probably lend a hand. Not bad for a Boss and a Lord at that. He also said that if I want to collect it on Tuesday that was fine so long as everything is ready for the show that we are going to. I didn't even ask him he just came out with it. So at least I know I have my boss on my side with this project.  ;D Still not been brave enough to tell the parents though.

just turn up in it when its finished ;D

Charger v Torino   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BcHCcCNiFM

Very cool  8) See the Charger is best  ;D

Love them both takes me back to my youth,especially the dukes

 ;D


Here are a couple of shots of the garage that the Charger will be living in when it comes home. Hopefully on Tuesday.

i did one of those quotes on line for insurance with Adrian Flux and it came back at under £500 but an estimated price. Said to call tham to go over everything properly.
Still waiting to get on the MMA site as they do insurance things but so far that's good as that is what I pay for the BMW.

You be laughing with a 4 post as well, dead handy for working on the car :)

I know. It belongs to the machanic that used to be in there. He left them up to sell as he can show them working. I've measured it and the Charger should just fit inside the arms on the ground so hopefully they will still be up when I need them. I'm sure he'll let me use them but It would be just my luck that they would brake on me.

grey with mmm logo

Almost Doc. Plain black outline, (the opposite of the white outline on our black T shirts), on the doors, no "Bumble Bee" stripes on the boot & no blingy wheels! Taz's is fitted with an old set of Wolfrace slot mags. The grey will be a bit darker -more like battleship grey. If it were my Charger it'd be bare metal floor, roof & door panels, 2 '60s bucket seats, roll cage & racing harnesses -proper stripped down street racer -but it's not, it's Taz's baby.

cor 4 bloody pages and it aint even home yet ;D

Lol nice paint job.  ;D

 ;D

is it finished yet

not yet But if it gets done as fast as these 4 pages I reckon it will be done for next week  ;D

Great getting the boss onside Tazet - sounds as if he might be quite helpful!

I bet he thinks it's better than the BMW!

He's a very gadgety type of bloke and always wants to know how things work. It's amaizing the stuff he comes out with sometimes. His son is a car nut and think he put a chevy block in his landy last year. Will have to ask him again. So I know his son will be interested in this. My boss like anything that goes he doesn't have a specific taste in vehicles, well not that I've noticed.
I said to one of the girls that I had a new toy and automaticly she said, "what car have you got now". They know me too well at work  ;D

A Charger with his Lordship's crest on the doors? His family colour is maroon -the cottage doors & estate buildings are painted in it.

black outline ?

Almost there  ;D

nice arse taz

lol not my best side butt thanks anyway  ;D

lol

Great find, very do-able resto. A different plan: A pillar fixed, then tack a piece of metal in the floor on driver's, hang the rest of the sheetmetal on it. Quicky rebuild the engine: hone cylinders, new rings, bearings, gaskets, but that crank needs polishing and get new lifters.

Shove the drivetrain back in, hang lites on it, throw in a front seat, do your MOT thing. Then drive it!

Over time fix a corner here, a dent there, weld up a hole. Amaze folks as they watch a transformation before their very eyes and you have the continuous pleasure of driving it during the process!

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Sounds like a good plan but if its being driven when being restored there won't be such a big deal when the job's finished cos it'll be all shiney and new and being driven for the first time.  ???

Works for me XL. But then I'd run it permanently in dented primer anyway.  ;D

Typical.  ::)

Yes I agree that the A pillar and the floor are a first to be done. We will have to see how bad everything actually is under that primer and the bolt on bits all need work. British MoT's are a nightmare and must pass that before I can drive it on the road. Also got to get it re-registered with an age related plate to make it Tax free.

Aha, the hidden 'Official Complication' clause. No matter where you go, government is government. Markedly similar to those flat, round sorta greenish-brown things in the cow pasture....

 ;D

Have you visited Britain then?

 ;D ;D ;D ;D

If you haven't visited Briton you have definitely met some of our politicians to describe them so well  ;)

Shabby emailed me a link to an Ebay item. Set of 4 Torque Thrust Ds with tyres.
I love these. Always look good on any vehicle but I think they'd really suit the Charger, especially with the grey spokes.
A bit pricey for an impulse buy at 500 quid starting price though.

Ebay wheels (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140236703574&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:GB:1123)

they are nice though if I was you Manky dint show Taz them she`s very impulsive  ;D ;D and if she bought them that would mean the charger would be the same colour as the trike that would be the same colour as the tracktor that is the same colour as the ponys I have seen that are the same colour as the garage floor NEED I GO ON  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

He did show them to me but to be honest i prefer what is already on the Charger at the moment and that £500 would go to better use like buying metal to weld up the rust.

Can't remember which models were which right now, but it just occurred to me: the A pillar off of a similar 4 door Dodge/Plymouth should be identical to the 2 door piece. Seems to me the Charger was a 'B' body [Charger, Roadrunner, Satellite etc.] , so any 4 door B body A pillar might be the same, and less valuable and expensive. Also could be the same for several years of B bodies until a major body change, maybe '65-'69 or later. Wagons should be the same too. That gives lots more options for locating parts.

If by some chance you found a much less desirable model of the same general vintage that could be a base for a bunch of donor parts.

That's a thought. Yes it is a B body. Think I will have to do some digging around on that one.

Right getting excited now as we go and collect the Charger tomorrow, (Tuesday 3rd), yey.
When we were at Gary's picnic at Avon Park on Saturday we bought our first item for the engine.

wow a dipstick almost there allready.lol

 ;D  ;D ;D

My very thought !!!!!!!!

Hi folks, glad to see you bought it  :),
i will be watching this with intrest, nice one. :)

shiney bits oooo  ;D

 :) We bought the dipstick from one of the race teams at the drag races. They were advertising a list of second hand parts for sale but it looks brand new. 5 quid. They were for sale at the Billing rod show on Sunday for 10. See, we're saving money already. :)

Well, D Day's arrived -Dodge Day.
We're off to Colchester in Essex to pick up Taz's Charger. First we've got to collect a rental long wheelbase Transit van to carry all the loose parts, (doors, wings, glass, interior, engine parts etc).
Scottie, driver/owner of the Tiki Munki drag car, is picking up the main rolling chassis on his recovery truck, so we're meeting him there.
Tune in again later, dear reader, to find out how we got on.  :P

Dear reader!!! sounds like readers digest ;D Good Luck Taz ;D

Fingers crossed for you both.

We are finally home and totally shattered. Got the car home without damaging it any more than it already is. Will post photos when we can summon up the energy to do so. Scottie is the top of our recomendation list that's for sure. The car didn't budge a single mm the whole journey. ;D ;D ;D ;D

On another note I HATE THE F******* M25. It took 3 hours to go to Essex and over 5 hours to get home. A lorry cab had burst into flames and ground the whole West side of the motorway to a halt which included us  >:(

I felt sorry for Scottie. He had another job booked for this evening but had to cancel it as we were sat in a 20 mile queue on the M25. As Taz said, we were sat there for over 2 hours. Very weary bunnies now, but the Charger's safely tucked up in one of the barns. It's gonna take a week just to sort through all the cardboard boxes of bits to see what we have & haven't got. Seem to have 4 windscreen visors for example. Should keep Taz busy for a while.

good news, your both home with the car.

Yup, everything's safely stowed for now. We loaded the car onto Scottie's transporter, (he says Hi by the way Dave), in warm sunshine, but by the time we'd trundled halfway home the heavens had opened & it was pouring down. A very long & tedious journey, inching our way along the M25.

Taz has been in touch with one of the previous owners & got a bit more history on it. Seems this car was destined for film use, playing the baddie in a remake of the "Bullitt" chase scene. The production company had a Mustang restored as the Steve McQueen car but then ran out of funding before the Charger could receive it's face lift. It then moved from one front garden to another for a while before having some major repair work done on the roof, (most Chargers had vinyl roof covers which trapped water underneath the vinyl, leading to premature rust damage). A young lad then bought the car & totally stripped the engine before giving up & passing it on to Danny, who we bought it from.

Yellow paint & blue upholstery -no, no, no, no, no.  :P

We plan battleship grey paint with satin black powdercoated bumpers & black interior.

The body panels aren't pretty but hopefully can be pulled back into shape.
Lunatic, we may need your services!

glad yer home ok..Taz looks like she's putting a baby to bed ;D now the dreams can go into overflow heh :)

Taz is sparked out on the sofa here -time for bed for both of us I think.
If you need a vehicle moving, we can't recommend Scottie highly enough -top chap. His details are in the Links for Commercial Purposes section of the forum.

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The journey home was very wet & very long.

All those jokes you hear about the M25 being the World's biggest carpark- they're true.

Safely home, unloaded & tucked up for the night in the barn.
Thanks yet again Scottie for your assistance.
Now all we have to do is put it back together!

reminds me of when i was coming back from garden clearing party only i was on the m4 that got shut for 5hrs or so :(

No fun is it. We ran out of Pringles & chocolate.  :(
Time for bed. G'night all.

get the fag ash of the bumper !! ;D good night :)

 ;D Yeah, I spotted that just as I posted that one. Taz is the smoker, not me.

shame on you Taz :) still it only took 8 pages to get it home, prolly another few hundred pages ;D to finish :D

 :P

Rear view looks like something you might have on the road fairly soon - front view looks like a survivor from a demolition derby!

I bet you can't believe it's really yours Taz - even if it takes you years to get it up to scratch, it's a wonderful thing to have a dream and actually make it come true!

 BAD BAD word YEARS not in Taz`s vocabulary MONTH MONTH maybe but not YEARS hooo noooo

In some ways Bobbi's right and in some you are right Texon. I want/need to get it through an MOT as soon as possible cose I will be selling the BMW to fund it so I'll be carless. I/we'll be concentrating on that sort of stuff first. A friend of mine is a qualified MOT bloke he just doesn't do them any more so he knows the areas they will test. The other stuff can wait. Once it is on the road then we will work through the other stuff that needs doing.

sounds like a good plan to me :) hmm i smell a Tazzie-manky car weekend coming ;D

we wouldn t get it on the barby  ;D

 ;D
Months -many, many months.  :P
If it were mine, I wouldn't bother prettying it up, just build it good & solid & mechanically sound & drive the hell out of it, bumps, dents, scrapes & all. I think beat up ol' Yank motors are much classier than pristine concourse condition ones. But it ain't my car.
Pretty cool to be able to say "A '69 Charger? Yeah, I've got one of those".  8)

I agree a yank car with battle scars is much better to look at and more interesting than a well painted one where everyone is looking to find the mistake so they can pull it down and the battle scars scare lesser mortals  ;D ;D

i agree there texon and manky  ;D ;D ;D

there is a charger in a film called blade it looks awesome look here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gm7oKFe6EE

Nice. I'm not allowed to play with sharp blades though.  :(

mmmmm black out the wheels and bumpers, that wouldnt look bad  ;)

 ;D
Taz is competing in a horse carriage event just outside Basingstoke, Hants this weekend. She's ordered a pile of Charger restoration books from Amazon & the first one's arrived so I dropped it off to her on my way home today. That'll give her plenty of reading matter for the weekend. Called "Project Charger". A pretty comprehensive resto guide by the look of it.

somehow I don't think her mind will be on the ponies this weekend  ;D

Only the ones under the bonnet.

I've made a start on the Charger today sanding down all the primer. It's going to be a long process but I'll get there in the end.

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Does this mean that your trike project is going to take as long as Manky's?

Lol, nice job tazet. Can't wait till its finished! ;D

hi taz
tack a look at this site     autotrader.ca
and look for 68 dodge charger there are a lot of pics  ;D ;D ;D ;D

p.s tack a look at the price of the rt,s
bags

Bobbi my trike will take as long as it takes. Even if it means a few years. When they are done I/we can at least say that I/we did it and everything will be done exactly how we want it. The Charger is priority for me at the moment as once the BMW is sold I will be carless so I need to get it on the road asap.

Zippy I can't wait either.  ;D

Thanks Baggie will check it out  ;D

 :D Good onya Tanya Kick some Ass  :o

id say shake some ass ;D

Well you would VB  :P

get the trike done first then you have wheels you can use and if you get short for somthing for the charger you can sell the trike  ;D ;D

The trike would probably take just as long and I've got to go through all the registration and testing process with it. I'm really looking forward to getting the trike on the road but cars have always been my biggest passion. 

Ok advice needed. Possibly Brock could answer.

Found a seller on US Ebay that sells a complete kit for putting 383/440 engines back together. Is it worth me getting it or not?

Link HERE (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AMK-1968-69-CHARGER-CORONET-DART-ENGINE-KIT-A-B-BODY_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742Q2em153Q2el1262QQcategoryZ34202QQihZ023QQitemZ360060651773)

id ring um just to check that the bags are labeled up saying where there to be used but sure looks like it may take alot of guessing out of the rebuld

I bought a fastener kit when I rebuilt my Superdream and it was a real help.

With a 96.2 Feedback Rating I wouldn't buy a bag of rubber bands from them, especially trusting them to ship to U.K. My suggestion is to take some time to mike out the engine: rods, mains, cylinder bores, heads surface, valve guides etc. and see where you're at and exactly what you'll need.

Finger-tight mock up all the parts you can, seeing which bolts you have and which fit where, and of course clean bolts first. Special markings on bolt heads give a hint but all Mopar bolts are at least Grade 5. If you're short some bolts contact former owner, doubt he'd toss them. Always good to run a tap down the bolt holes when prepping.

Also check the transmission to insure it's a big block 727, not a small block 727 or a 904.

May be cheaper and easier overall to locate a used running engine for now. You need different motor mounts for a big block than for car's original small block. Shuemacher has fine quality changeover mounts, excellent reputation here.

http://www.engine-swaps.com/

For gaskets the finest are Fel-Pro, quality/fit far above the others, about the same price.

These 2 things of transmission type and existing motor mounts may be part of why the vehicle never got re-assembled, "Oh, right, guess I forgot to mention that...".

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Milodon is a very well respected Mopar aftermarket mfgr. They've been pro-Mopar for over 50 years, excellent reputation & quality. Complete engine fastener kits available:

http://www.milodon.com/

"if you get short for something for the charger you can sell the trike"

-What?!! Don't even think about it! 

Thanks XL will look em up  ;D. So how do you tell if the gear box is a big block one  ???

Manky I agree.

meet this guy through fleabay give him a try he is in Essex  speed shop john hall 07855 216940  ;D ;D ;D

Thanks. What's his fleabay name and does he have a shop on there?

if someone offered you a truck load of jaffas you would sell your trike  ;D I know you would offer them Taz first  :o but you would sell the trike ::) ;D ;D ;D

In the links I sent/posted for Allpar and MYMopar there's information on trans length, width, bellhousing outline that makes it a snap to ID them. I think I sent or posted a link for Car Craft magazine article that has it too?

OK will have a look. I saved all your links so will have a go at finding it.

our ron bought a t bucket body of him on fleabay and i think his user name was stamfordspeedsdshop
and i got his mobile number  he does drag engines and big block engines hope this helps taz  ;D :D ;D

ye its stamfordspeedshop in dagenham essex

Here's a link to Torqueflite transmission identification, sorry couldn't get it here sooner:

http://www.carcraft.com/newlook/crc_act/116_0302_trans/index.html

Thanks XL for that. Must remember to take this laptop with me to work one day when it's quiet.

Been doing a bit more digging today in the filler on the left side of the car. By the looks of things it was as bad as the right side, all rippled and dented and instead of just skimming the side they built it up with filler. Over a centimetre in some places. We've found somewhere that sells complete rear quarters at a reasonable price. Think that's the route we are going to have to take as whoever did some of the work on this car just filled instead of repairing and the areas that have been fixed have been done badly. The firewall in the engine bay is twisted so we are on the lookout for a B bodied car that's a write-off from the rear so we can have the complete front end, (not wings). I have been told to contact a guy called Duncan Watts and he is on the MMA site so a while back I sent him a PM which he never replied to. I've now emailed him so waiting to see if he replies to that one. I hope he does as he has been recommended by several people, even if it says sorry I can't help. Anyway here are photos of the filler.
 

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did they have part shares in P38  ;D

my god they loved there filler lol  :D ;D :D

The right hand wing, which we thought was the rough one, is actually more or less all steel. The left hand side is up to an inch thick in filler in places. Taz used a power file & put it nose first against the wing & it just disappeared into the filler. Must be several hundred quid's worth on the car. It's cost us 6 grand for the rolling shell & boxes full of bits to rebuild it with. Hopefully Taz's Beemer will sell for 10. Assuming 90 percent of the parts are in the boxes & useable, that means she's got 4 grand to play with to sort out the body. So we're thinking we might as well just buy new wings, & trade the doors in against re-conditioned ones. We can buy every panel except the door pillar, (maybe that's why the Dooks of Hazzards' doors were welded up!), so will need to pay someone to jig the car up & rebuild that so that the panels all fit afterwards.
Tomorrow, (our day off), we're going to visit a few restoration & American car workshops & try & get a few rough quotes. Best so far is around 1,200 quid, which probably equates to about 4 days work. Sounds a lot but it's a major structural part of the car & worth doing properly.

1200 aint that bad a price for jig work, most garages rent there jigs and they aint cheap plus the space the car/jig take up in the workshop plus id say the charger will prolly be on it for a week as the adjustments made to the jig are taken in sml bits at a time, and obviously use someone who knows what there talking about/qualified, just my tupence from when i worked with them yrs ago :)

There's actually a reputable restoration company right here in our village. I can't remember the name though -the resto company, not the village. They had a Charger in recently. Valley Gas Speed Shop, who built the chassis for my Pop project, have also got a Charger in for rust repairs at the moment.

Well we've had a stroke of luck. Yesterday I stumbled accross a Dodge site in Belgium and the guy has the bulk head we need. The whole section, that's the bit between driver and engine. The inner fenders we can buy but that bit is only available from dead cars. I've had various email conversations with him and he will bring the part to the Mopar Nats at Santa Pod at the end of July. He also sent me a link and told me to email the part numbers of the bits I need and he will price everything up for me and hopefully bring that with him too. I contacted John from JPC restorations in Cranleigh, (local to us), and he is coming over tomorrow morning to see the car. They have a jig at their place and are much more equipped to do the work properly. He will let me know what other bits I need to get to do the work and hopefully give me a rough quote for doing it. I know it's not going to be cheap but this bit I have to get done properly as it's part of the main structure of the car.
The rear quarters are available as a complete skin to fix them so that will be easier than beating out the dents and trying to fix the very bad mending that was done previously. Hopefully Marcus can give me a few tips and be my mentor for that work.
The engine is still in bits but I don't know where to start and I don't even know if all the bits are there. I've looked in books and on the internet but what I really need is someone who knows what they are looking at to help me sort it all out and give me a shopping list so I can get started on that.
Most bits can be bought to get this car on the road. It's the sorting out of what needs replacing and what we can get away with for now that's the hard bit. A lot of the stuff doesn't need to be done yet as it's not in the MoT test so those things will wait till after it's on the road. We keep saying this isn't going to be a concourse quality job, so as long as it's tidy & mechanically sound we'll be happy.

You seem to be going great guns with this Tazet - making a lot of progress already cos it's all the planning and organising that takes the most time!

I agree, I was unaware that you had so much to do, replacing the whole front sounds like a mojor task. Good luck and keep up the good work. ;)

Thanks Bobbi and Zippy ;D
I've spent so many hours going through magazines writing down all the web sites I may need then trawling through the list to see who sells what. Not to mention the sites and links that XL-erate sends me and the ebay links from various members on this site. I'm grateful to them all for their help and going through links on other sites. The hardest bit is finding the parts once we've figured out what is needed. If we give the work to John then while the car is away that will be the time to start on the engine and try and get it ready for when the car returns. I've just been speaking to Dave2lanes and hopefully he will come over sometime in his Charger so we can use that as a live template as it's the best 3D book we'll get and he will help with the engine. Or at least say what's good and what's not. Although his car is a 68 and the engine's a 440 they are very very similar.

Maybe you could do with something like this:


Found on Books4Cars.com (http://www.books4cars.com/result2.asp?findyear=1969&imageField2.x=27&imageField2.y=8)

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).

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 ????  ;D ;D ;D

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.

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  ;D ;D ;D :D :D :D

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.  :o 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.  :'(

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.

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.

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 ;D 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 ;D take care you two :) ...VB...

That's very kind VB but you have your own project to deal with and that's more important  ;D
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.

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 ;D ;D

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

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.  ;D

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.

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

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!

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!

Don't want to smoke your bandwidth, but thinking here: take advantage of some of the rust & damage. I notice one pic looking at firewall from front, at upper right corner near hood hinge, it's dimpled in, which would cause the frame leg on front driver's side to lift at bumper end.

Let's look at a 'Y', and name the upper left angled line 'A', the upper right angled line 'B', and the vertical line 'C'.

If you picture the Y on its side and with tip of A & B connected to a vertical line [firewall], then line C is horizontal. Line A is connected top, line B is connected bottom.

Look at that dimple in firewall as connecting point of line A of this imaginary Y, which being puled backward lifted the far end of line C, the front left frame horn. Pushing A forward lowers end of line C!

In another pic I see the floor pan just above torsion bar crossmember is but a fond memory. There torsional rigidity of the other line B of imaginary Y has been weakend, such that it could move slightly forward, again imparting lift to line C as front left frame horn. First restoring floor section allows a strong pivot point B for work used to move connection of line A [the dimple] forward, to lower end of line C, the frame horn.

Lower hoist, place heavy wood padding on all but left front frame lifting pads. Chain down left front of frame, causing downward pressure on farthest end of unsupported front frame member. If hoist has precise control, a slight lift of hoist will give a slight downward bend to unsupported left front of frame. If lifted just enough to cause slight tension downward [not visible movement] then heating area of firewall dimple cherry red with a rosebud allows metal to relax [like lengthening line A of the Y] removing an incorrect stress in frame structure.

You may also use the padding as described, and whip a chain around front left with turnbuckle, when tightened stressing downward.

It's a monocoque frame as you know, so it's assembled much like a cardboard box with horizontal walls fixed together above a flat vertical floor. Creasing/bending one wall moves all other walls. All you want to do is tweak the walls of the box, remove incorrect stresses and restore correct stresses to make the box 'square' and rigid again.

So the heat with rosebud at upper firewall starts to relax that stress which is pulling frame horn up. The door mounting pillar contributes as well, so that may need heat applied, wherever there is a wrinkle, crease or dent that isn't found on opposite door pillar. May be necessary to do some light hammer work to coax the metal.

Replacing metal in the floor at torsion bar mount, while frame is under artificial stress, restores strength of mounting point of line 'B' of imaginary 'Y'. Lok at it first to see if you want to replace that first, before putting any twisting stresses to frame.

A very small amount of artificial stresses can cause very large movements, so EASY does it, slowly sneaking up on the overall mis-alignment.

Picture door opening as a square, draw diagonal line from upper right [rear] corner to lower left [front] corner. By exerting pressure along that line the lower left is forced forward, pulling upper left rearward. Drawing out door opening and diagonals, and seeing a Porta-Power hydraulic ram cylinder as the diagonal you see you can manipulate the shape as needed. Moving one section down can cause another section to lift up. May be necessary to weld on a temporary mounting point for ram to suit the force you want to exert, cut/grind off when done. Suitable lengths of heavy wall pipe added to hydraulic ram as extension, and sometimes a chain arrangement to prevent things flying in the wrong direction or causing injury, allows you to manipulate almost any section of body.

Also want to use pads that spread force of ram over a large area, to prevent punching a new dimple of damage into body parts.

Many of us fabricators use 'Picture Puzzle' repairs. You may have a 3 foot long box section with major rust damage. Far too much to handle as a unit, so, don't! Instead cut out a small section 1" X 3" with a die grinder cutoff wheel, cut and weld in a new metal coupon in that one spot, move on to the next. I reconstructed the entire rear section of the lower door opening of my wagon in this manner, dozens of small bits to restore one large section! Your entire door mount pillar could be restored this way, one piece or section at a time.

Applying oxy/acetylene heat with a rosebud tip, quenching with wet rags, causes a huge amount of movement in a metal panel as it shrinks after heating. A friend straightened my driveshaft, mounted stationary in lathe bed with a dial indicator setup to show lateral runout along the length. He heated a tiny section of shaft at one end, about a 1" round spot to cherry red and said, "Watch!" I was amazed to watch dial indicator dial spin madly as metal cooled, straightening entire length of driveshaft! 3 little spots done like that, by a pro, and my 5' long heavy gauge truck driveshaft was straight as an arrow!!

Take advantage of your existing structural weaknesses, as well as taking advantage of sound metal, and work off of them to tweak parts back into shape. Simplest tools are about all that's required, and a warm brain to know what you want the end result to be. Nice to practice on a hopeless wrecked car to hone technique, then set to on the Charger. Matter of fact, a cardboard box and a few minutes of fiddling can teach you a lot about monocogue chassis construction and inherent stresses.

VB can probably explain much of this more sanely and in terms that make more sense. The major point is, YOU CAN DO IT! After 95% of the straightening and metal repair/replacement is done take the chassis to a collision shop, have them throw it on a frame rack and tweak it into perfect frame alignment, MUCH cheaper than Mr. Cu$tom wants to charge, probably a couple or few hundred quid?

Lastly, the rear section of my Wagon was rear ended by a 2006 Ford F350 4X4 doing 25 mph at time of impact. He didn't skid, instead didn't hit the brakes until after impact, talking on his cell of course. Hit so hard it rolled the bottom floor under, accordioned the entire left rear quarter into a vee shape, split left rear inner fender separate from quarter, bent all of rear doors support frames, crushed my 3/8" steel plate rear bumper, blew out 3/4 of the body welds on left side, wracked driver's door opening so door wouldn't open, cracked through all welds at driver door lower step section, threw left front fender and radiator support out of alignment, cracked windshield [!], broke cab mounts connected to frame, cracked welds along rear top of truck body.

By 3 weeks later, using a telephone pole as anchor point and chaining up truck, then dumping the clutch on my 375hp 360 I  yanked [no wisecracks] rear end somewhat straight, and using hydraulic jacks as Porta-Power, also a come-along chain hoist [hand winch], heat manipulations, lots of hammer work, picture puzzle re-construction of some areas, you can hardly tell it was hit. Total cost about $25 worth of oxy/acetylene. Po' folks find a way.  :)
.

One other thing: you can make up templates out of cardboard/ cardstock. Take the contours of passenger side door pillar, frame, firewall, whatever and compare to driver side. Make whatever adjustments or weldments are necessary to match the bad to the good. Use cardboard templates to match sections of metal you cut out to new metal sections you'll weld in.

Check out the tool offerings from the company at link:

http://www.eastwoodco.com/

This can give some ideas how to fab up your own tools at home to do the same jobs, and it gives a hint at some bodywork techniques.

Thank XL for all this info. Think I need to sit down with some photos alongside as I read to fully understand and ready very slowly. It must have taken you ages to write all that and I'm very grateful. Will have a proper read after work once the photo galleries are sorted from the weekend.   ;D

Marcus you are right about the reputation thing and John does come highly recommended, but it's at a price and a price that I just can't afford at the moment and no I didn't hpi it when I bought it.

Sorry for the much words, Taz, but wanted to try to give a picture of what can be done. I had no choice on mine, the money was all gone  ??? [As usual....]

I know the feeling with no money.  :( Don't appologise. It's very good of you to take the time to write all that. Now I've just got to take the time to understand it  ;D

The point of the exercise was to explain that all components in a vehicle are working with or against compression, tensions, or shear forces.

If shear as in cut, then it's a big old honkin casting, a graded bolt, or a heavy fabrication. In compression it's like the top tube on a bike frame, where the forks are creating a rearward pressure against the walls of the tubing, like stomping on top of a beer can. In tension it's more like pulling force, with tubing or stamping walls used to distribute the pulling force which could cause tearing, like pulling a wad of gum apart.

You can manipulate various pieces, stampings etc. to correct the wrong forces that are caused by the accident. What you're doing is unloading incorrect tensions/forces by reversing the action that causes them. If something got pushed up, which caused something to get squished in, all you have to do is push down and either heat the squished area or pound it out to normal to remove squish.

One huge advantage on Mopars is that magnificent torsion bar suspension! By tweaking the torsion bars on either side you can lift, tilt, or lower either side! Once things are close enough to set camber with either adjustments or shims, and caster is corrected by bending frame components then the torsion bars can solve any remaining ride height problems. The torsion bar boxed frames are extremely important, that they and the surrounding metal be as good as you can get it for strength.

Just a crude pencil drawing to explain to yourself what's wrong is all it takes to realize how simple it is to make it right. Referring to the 'Y' discussion, everything is either up, down, right or left, or a combination. Seeing which direction you want to cause force or release force solves the entire problem, if you have sound metal to work with. It's surprisingly simple, if you let it be....  :)

.

taz hun get on fleabay and have a look at this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/440-ci-big-block-V8-engine-comes-with-gearbox-and-prop_W0QQitemZ330246632713QQihZ014QQcategoryZ100952QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Taz Hun's away for the weekend so you're stuck with me I'm afraid. She's at Sandringham in Norfolk, with her boss's carriage driving team.
Engine sounds like it might be worth it -would probably cost more than the current 270 quid asking price to rebuild her old one. Anyone know if the camper van big blocks are the same as other big blocks fitted to Chargers & the like?

hope it is and hope it helps  ;D :D :D

Watching it on Ebay.  ;)

TIDY  MATE  ;D

never took mine out was a 6.9 diesel auto

Some 413 motorhome big blocks used a different water pump setup and cylinder heads, pumping water into heads in front. Not sure on the 440's if that was still done later.

So is it worth buying this one then XL? Would it give her the performance boost of a "normal" Mopar 440? Or should we stick to rebuilding the 383 she's got?

I take it that a 440 is 440 cubic inch ?,so therefore 440 is BIGGER than 383,bigger is allways better,where engines are concerned imo ;D

No substitute for cubic inches they say, but were camper vans fitted with the same 440 motor prized by the Mopar mob, or some lumbering de-tuned version of it, or even a different 440 motor altogether?

at a guess id say it was a GMC ....maybe email the guy sellin it see what he knows ?

that ad says its a 7.9. a 440cu is a 7.2 litre!   there is a place in Sussex(i think)that restores and breaks Jensons..he sells 383 n 440 jensen engines that are the same as dodge...i'll try n get his number for you this week andy

I was just saying to Manky that I thought it was 7.2 as I was sure that is what Dave2lanes said his was. The 383 that I have in bits is supposed to be a 6.3

I've been speeking to Dave2lanes this morning about the engine and we know it's probably going to cost £500 + to re-build my 383 engine so if I can get this for around that mark it will be worth it. I'm going to put a bid on bit if I loose it's not the end of the world as it's going to be months befor the Charger is anyway near ready to put an engine in it and another may come along. If not then it's re-build time.

Sorry I didn't get back sooner! Many of the 440 motorhome engines were basically the same as a 440 truck engine. Fine for a road car, tuned more towards torque than smokin' hot horsepower but plenty strong! Seller should be able to say if there's any difference in water pump plumbing, which may have only been done on some 413's.

As I don't intend on taking it up the drag strip in a hurry what ever way I look at it it's still ba bigger engine than the one I have and this one works which mine doesn't so will give it a go.

sounds good Taz :) that way you can rebuild the engine you have atm at leisure if so inclined :) and the other up side is you can tow what the hell you like with it ;D

Put a max of 600 and there is another bidder who has more money than me. Not going any higher as I can't afford too.

it went for 601 but for me to put a next bid in I would have had to put in 621. There has to be a limit and I stuck to mine otherwise where does it end?

:(

Yeah shame I didn't get it but never mind. Next.

I thought you wouldnt want to put another motor in it as its a matching numbers car? Unless its a temporary thing. I would spend the money on the machining on the original motor, but thats me talking sense, and faced with a 7 plus litre lump in front of me I would find it hard to resist! ;D
Ill have to pop over soon and poke the car with a screwdriver and suck air through my teeth! :D

Marcus It's not a matching numbers car. Not sure why you thought it was. So doesn't really matter what I do with it. My Charger came out the factory with a 318 and someone allong the way put a 383 in it.
Please feel free to pop over and when you do bring your pinstriping stuff with you and you can do our new post box  ;D

Dunno where I thought I read that then? Must be the drugs I tell ya! :o
Well then, lets get the biggest damn engine we can get in there!! ;D
Ill bring the brushes with me when I come, just make sure you paint the box before I get there!

Must be the drugs as I've never said it  ;D

Will have the box all ready for you.  ;D So when you coming over?

Dunno! I think Ill pop round sometime after the weekend as the bus and the MGB I have in are going by then. Ill get sketching some ideas then!  8)

Oky doky  ;D

Bugger, I'd better get painting then.

Some rebuild kit prices from Summit Racing, usually one of the lower prices over here:

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+4294925232+4294870280+400298+4294908110+115+4294840053

The re-ring kit is less than $175. If your engine just needs a honing, rings and a home valve job that would almost do it. I'd add main bearings though. Maybe mic the cylinders and also see what kind of ridge cylinders have, make an estimate from there?

Have you guys figured out if it's a smallblock or bigblock transmission? If it's smallblock a strong 318 would surprise you with the right gears! Or give fun performance and decent mileage. No, a 318 won't roast the tires going sideways at 50 mph, but they can be real quick. 318-340-360 interchangeable in a car set up for smallblock. 360's can pull 350-375 hp with the right build, 400+ if it's a 360 Magnum!

Chears for that and no we've not found out if the transmission is small or big block yet.

I'll try to attach pic of transmission bellhousings, difference between small block and big block. Big block is on left, smallblock on right. Note difference in where starter boss is, big block at center, smallblock below center.

Will try another pic showing tranny pan outline. 904/A500 smallblock is square with a corner cut off. Big block is irregular outline.

Here's a pic of tranny pan outline. A-904 and A-500 are smallblock. A-518 is the heavy duty 727 transmission with overdrive added, 4 speeds, but it fits a smallblock. Unlikely you'd have an A-518 so if pan is irregular then it's probably a big block 727 3 speed auto. Bellhousing outline and starter location will nail down which it is.

There are American military bases in several countries. The Dodge trucks used on those bases are full of great parts for your project and often the trucks are sold off pretty cheap. Can be a real goldmine for you if there's any bases around. Also those bases may have servicemen's cars around that they didn't want to ship back stateside.

Chears again for that and will have a word with my step dad's brother as he will know where the American bases are around here.

Used to be a huge airbase at RAF, (?) Greenham Common, Newbury, Berks when I lived there as a teenager. They flew F111 fighters & Hercules fuel transporters over the town all day long & kept Cruise missiles on the base. The peace protesters had a permanent camp outside the main gate -they even had their benefit cheques delivered there by the Post Office. It's all gone now & the base is a commercial busines park. The protesters stayed on for years afterwards & only left when the council agreed to build a memorial garden where the camp had been.
Loads of huge square pick up trucks around the town in those days. No idea what manufacturer they were from. You could spot the servicemen a mile off in the main street cos they stood literally head & shoulders above the locals & had that typically all American clean cut look about them, even off duty. 

Well you never know Taz, plenty of time to come up with another engine! 

I was bidding on a PAS rack on Ebay for the Maestro, already lost 2 cos they went too high.  Posted on the Maestro club forum to make sure I wasn't bidding against another member and someone on there will shortly have one for sale cheaper than the Ebay one, result!

Always wise to stick to your limit.

Hope it opens more options for you kids. Majority of American Military trucks around the world were Dodge. With Charger originally being smallblock and unknown if big block transmision, engine mounts, exhaust and all the rest has been installed, might be far cheaper to nick a used truck and pirate the whole drivetrain.

Almost everything, engine/carb/ignition, transmission, rear axle & springs, power steering & brakes and so many other parts swap right over from a 60's to 90's Dodge truck to the '69 car!

saw this on ebay:
engine (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/big-block-chevey-engine-and-th400-box_W0QQitemZ150264882957QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150264882957&_trkparms=72%3A636%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14)

another
engine 2 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mustang-302-engine-with-gearbox_W0QQitemZ140245439769QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item140245439769&_trkparms=72%3A636%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14)

dont think this one is what yer after but ;D
engine3 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/429-ford-v8-hotrod-engine_W0QQitemZ230266613671QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230266613671&_trkparms=72%3A636%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14)

Thanks for those VB the first too are a bit high for what I can afford at the moment and the last one in not quite what I'm after but thanks anyway.

what a waist, it a dame shame  :(

tazet check this out on fleabay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DODGE-CHARGER-JENSEN-PLYMOUTH-V8-HOTROD-MOPAR-440_W0QQitemZ120281504764QQihZ002QQcategoryZ116514QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 ;D Thanks Shabby. Watching that now  ;D

Still watching the ebay engine that Shabby sent the link for above. It's at £270 at the moment with just over a day to go. it it worth putting a bid in for it?

i would say so , but ah who am i lol  ;D :D ;D

It's at £490 with just under 3 hours to go.

Oh well out bid again. This one went for a huge £921.25. It went from £671.50 up to that price in the last 40 seconds. Never mind someone obviously wanted it more than us. Next.

  to be honest that's only a shade over my guess, a running motor alone will weigh five to seven hundred. Still, one man's credit crunch is another girls window of opportunity, they are like buses ( and not just the size) there'll be another along in a minute.   

 ;D Yes one will. I'm in no hurry as I haven't even got a car to put it in yet anyway. I'll just wait for the next one to show up. I have to be sensible and if I can get a running one for cheeper than what it would cost to get mine running then that's a bonus. We've agreed on going no heigher than £650 for a working engine.

try asking here taz
http://www.ukdrn.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=9

Lots of good stuff on there Dave, thank you.  ;D

318 mopar lump and box for sale on retro rides for 300 quid.

We've got a 383 already!
Personally, I reckon we'd be better off spending the cash rebuilding the one we've got & knowing it's a good engine, than buying an unknown one from Ebay even if it's bigger. The 383's 6 1/4 litre -just how big do you need?!

I have to agree andy, its hard/expensive work but so rewarding. And you know that you have good one. :)

Well thats what ive been saying from the start! ::)

 ;D I can build a vehicle around an engine & know what goes on inside them, but I've never really built a motor from the ground up. We could do with someone more clued up than us to check the Dodge engine over & tell us what needs doing.

Er might now have a 440. Dave2lanes put me in touch with a guy who has one kicking about. It's complete except for intake manifold, sump and I think carb. It's not in a car and turns over by hand with no problems. It comes with a 727 gear box and torque converter. Andy and I are going to see it Tuesday evening. Dave said the sump that I have will just bolt on to it but not the other parts.


As big as possible  8) ;D 8) ;D ;D

girl after my own heart  ;D

*Sigh* So now we're up to -what? 7 1/2 litres?

 ;D

Manky and I had a visit from Paul, aka Goforest this evening. He came to have a look at the Charger to see what he thought as he works for a restoration company. A very, very nice chap indeed and very realistic as to what we can and can't do or afford. He understands we want a useable daily driver, not a concourse restoration. Admittedly if it went to the company he works for then yes, they would charge a small fortune, but he said most of the body panels we can fit or repair ourselves. We're more than happy to put in the hours & provide the labour, but need someone more clued up to provide expert guidance. He helped us make a more sensible shopping list of panels. We also measured the car and it's an inch shorter on the front near side. Looks like it's had a shunt into the wheel on the driver's side. The whole front suspension unit, (the front "clip"), may have been replaced. He's suggested that we see what Valley Gas Speed Shop say when they come and look at it next week. We are sooooo much more positive about the car now and it's much more within our budget.
A huge thank you Paul for coming over and giving us so much of your time. It's hugely appreciated and we hope to see you again soon.  ;D :-*

 ;)Very nice chap! haven't been called that in a while.Your more than welcome,love to see people having a go anyone can have a cheque book car  but appreciate some people have the money and not the time and without them I wouldn't have a job .See ya soon :)
Paul

You know where we are. Just pop in for a coffee if you are passing and we are home.

We went and had a look at the 440 engine but we didn't buy it. It needed to be fully stripped inside and out and it was just too much work for us. We already have a stripped engine and we don't need a second. It would probably work out more expensive. I'm sure it would sell but to someone who knows what they are doing. Also a previous owner had decided to re-paint the car by literally pouring a can of yellow paint over everything. That would probably take months to remove. Shame as it was a nice blue underneath. Oh well never mind.

Right, Taz & I have spent the day at the Mopar Nationals at Santa Pod. SO hot there. I'm not built for hot weather & I really suffered -typical Englishman. First sign of sunlight & I just go various shades of beetroot red. Couldn't think straight. I was a very grumpy Monkey apparently. A hot, cross bunny.
Anyway, it was a successful mission as we got to talk to loads of very helpful people & checked out lots of other Chargers.
We found Pascal -not difficult. He had a dirty great trade stall in the pits selling all manner of Mopar goodies. A very nice guy. Taz treated herself to a scale model of a Charger for the mantlepiece, which has more working parts on it than her real one. Then Pascal opened up his van & produced the bulkhead panel we'd gone to collect. Cost us 500 Euros, but for that we got literally the whole width of the car, from the bottom of the windscreen to the floor. Good, solid metal, including the door posts with hinge mounting points on either side of the car, which is the bit we really needed. Not sure whether we'll cut out & replace the entire bulkhead from Taz's car, or just remove the bits we need from this second hunk of Charger & graft it into hers.
Taz's original nearside A panel.

The new donor bulkhead -strangely, it's the same shade of blue underneath as her old one.

The top face of the bulkhead -the apron at the bottom of the windscreen, is badly corroded on Taz's. Perfect on the new one.

We couldn't believe the prices for some of the second hand parts today -the centre console, which houses the gearshift for example. A very tatty one was up for sale in the autojumble for 300 quid. Thank God Taz's one is fine. New repro steering wheels, 50 - 150 quid. Filler caps, 100 quid each etc. We've got 99% of the parts for her car, so hopefully won't have to spend too much on detail bits.

nice bit of steel there manky I would replace the lot easyer than making a jigsaw m8 weres the pic of the model  :)

That looks like a nice find.
Glad its starting to come together for you.

Yes a very lucky find indeed. Hopefully things can start to happen now.

Literally chopping the whole front off a car you've only just bought is a daunting prospect, but it ain't gonna get fixed if we don't get in there & start cutting out the rot. As PD pointed out, it's no worse than cutting up my Pop.

Hiya Texon.  ;)
The model's here

Taz's new Charger. 18th scale (http://www.mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4198.0)

Does anyone on here know where we can hire a jig from?

think i`d bite the bullet n replace it complete. excuse my ignorence but whats the bit i circled? is it part of the inner sill?

No, that's part of the bulkhead -which is the main reason for replacing it. The whole weight of the door hangs on that corner of the body -& they're bloomin' long, heavy doors, so lots of leverage on that pillar.
GoForest came to take a look at it last week & reckons the car's had a shunt from the side, somewhere near the front wheel & that maybe the entire front suspension's been replaced. He says once the body's been damaged it'll corrode much quicker, hence the damage to that corner. It's the only panel on the car that's not available as a repair section, so the only other option would be to rebuild it bit by bit from sheet steel. The bulkhead piece was a lucky find by Taz on a Flemish , (Belgium), Mopar site & will hopefully solve that particular problem & put some much needed rigidity back into the front of the car.
Taz belongs to the Mopar Muscle Association forum & they're recommending we put the car on a jig to cut the bulkhead away & replace it. We're kinda hoping we can just brace everything up as we did with my Pop but obviously with stronger tubing.

Its hopefully just the angle of the pic otherwise i`m being a complete prat, but, i cant see that bit on your `new` panel

Yup, you're being a prat.  ;D Just the angle the photo's taken at. The rusty bit on the car at the moment's sort of fallen out of it's original position -it should follow the curve you can see on the "new" panel. I'll get Taz to take some better pics.

ah yeah now i got it. Who was it said "a picture speaks a thousand words"  :D

Me, trying to avoid having to add a write up to our photo galleries.

i was my understanding that jig`s are used in the chassis construction, you wont be messing with the chassis to cut the bulkhead away will you? I can still see the need to brace, presumably some kind of temp roll cage around the front compartment?

Chargers have a monocoque construction -the main bodyshell has an integral chassis, rather than just sitting on top of it like my Pop does. So the body helps to give it it's rigidity. In the engine bay are 2 chassis legs which are welded to a cross member under the bulkhead. As far as we can see, the damage is limited to these front legs -so at the very worst, we could cut them off & replace them -they're available as repair pieces.

id say its gorra be done on a jig as its one hell of a structural piece of the car body

True VB. Taz is phoning round the local crash repair garages this week, trying to find someone who could take it on. Found one locally, but they're only really interested in modern commercial vehicles -stuff they can get in & out of the shop quickly for maximum profit. The Charger will be a one-off, requiring a bit more time & effort, so not an attractive proposition for them. An inch difference in the wheelbase measurements from one side of the car to the other sounds a lot, but it can be lost with a bit of tweaking here & a bit there, so maybe won't require a major rebuild. The entire front steering/suspension assembly hangs on 4 bolts, with half an inch of movement in each, so some adjustment there too if needed. If we end up doing the job ourselves, we'll be following the advice of Mr GoForest, who works in the trade, so hopefully won't be going into it completely blind.

Latest update. I spoke to the mechanic who owns the ramps that the Charger is on and he is selling them so we have agreed on a price, (discounted to me as I've known him for 10 years), and agreed a payment plan for them as we just can't afford the full price at the mo. It's a huge relief as we were worried he would sell them just when we needed them. Well he has sold them. TO US  ;D

Thats a heck of an investment!

We got it for a fair bit less than the £700 asking price and yes, it's well worth it. I'm sure when we've finished with them we can sell them on and get back what we paid for them, (O.K, paying).

are they staying in the (barn) workshop, or do you have to move them?

Staying put.
Eventually the area of the estate where the barn is will be torn down for development as rental office space, so for the forseeable future we've got free use of a barn with power & a vehicle lift. Imagine what that'd cost if we had to pay rent for it. A much appreciated perk of Taz's job. Hopefully the Charger will be up & running long before the building comes down.

 thats brilliant a dam good result but I`m still shedless, so i`m EXTREMELY jelous and am going to sit in the corner n sulk

We can probably find you a corner of the barn to sulk in.  ;)
Not bragging -honest. We know just how lucky we are -I've spent the last 30 years struggling to build stuff in various lock-ups & borrowed garages. The barn's not exactly palatial, but it's a huge step up & we'll make the most of it.
-oh & Taz says sulking has to include a pathetically quivering bottom lip to be truly effective.  :'(

you have to grab every oppertunity that comes along, and i know some back street garages that looked worse than a barn after it had burnt down  :D.


-oh & Taz says sulking has to include a pathetically quivering bottom lip to be truly effective. 
would that be from watching your various efforts Mr M?  ;D

 ;D

I'm hurt.  :'(

 :-*

We've been in touch with a company in the States that sells repro body panels for Mopars. Not many U.S companies will ship outside their country -they seem to think the World ends at their shore. Gave 'em a shopping list of the bits we need -a pair of front wings -O.K, "fenders" if you must. Pair of inner wi..."fenders". Pair of wheel arches..."fender wells". Pair of rear win..."quarters". Driver & passenger floor pans. Boot..."trunk" floor. Pair of sills..."rocker panels" & front valance...err, "valance".
They came back with a total price today -six THOUSAND dollars. ARGH! That's almost as much as we paid for the damn car. 2000 of it was the shipping costs. Even they admitted they were shocked when they added it all up.
So now we're taking another look at what can be patched up & re-used from the original panels. I've been chatting to forum member XL-erate, our man in California, & he's found us the address of a Stateside company who make fibreglass panels. We can buy a one piece front -wings, bonnet & grille, for 1000 dollars. That'd save us buying half the steel panels on our list. We could build a tubular frame work off the Charger chassis/bulkhead to support it & bond a lightweight frame to the underside of the fibreglass to make it rigid. 
I've never seen a Charger with a one piece flip front, so might be cool. It'd have to be hinged for easy access -no good having it as a lift off section like a race car, held with Dzeutz fasteners. You wouldn't be able to access the engine bay without someone to help you lift it off -a bugger if you want to top up the radiator or something in the filling station. Chargers have a lot of overhang at the front -the wings & grille extend about a foot beyond the chassis, so it'd hit the tarmac before it opened very far unless we can find hinges that lift it up as well as forward. Or we could mount it on the original Charger hinges & have it opening like a normal bonnet. I need to contact the company & see if they ship to Britain, then work out if it'd be any cheaper. I think shipping costs are worked out on size, not weight.
We expected to pay a couple of grand for body panels & hope to cover the bulk of that by selliing Taz's BMW. Most of the rest of the car we've already got -it's just in kit form that needs cleaning up & bolting back together.
And so the long journey to bankruptcy & insanity begins.

volvo 343 bonnet hinges u want then :)

Aha! That's useful info. Cheers Gareth.  ;)

Been told by 3 or 4 different people now that if we import parts we'll get hit by VAT & customs charges when they reach Britain, on top of the purchase price. The UPS delivery guy will ask for payment at our door & if we haven't got the money he'll take it back to the depot & we'll get charged storage.
Suddenly just patching all the original panels is starting to look a lot more viable.

I was contacted by someone on the MMA site last night who has wings and doors for sale, (he says they are mint). As he is in the UK it would make life a lot easier but would probably work out a similar cost to importing in the long run. Also as these parts are genuine then there should be no problem with the fit as sometimes the aftermarket stuff needs a little tweeking.
I haven't said yes to him yet as in theory I have sold my BMW  :'( and if all goes to plan then the guy is collecting it today with the cash. If all goes well then on Saturday we will go and get these parts and try and reduce our list of things needed in one hit. Anything left to buy will be ordered from America by the end of next week. So after today my main mode of transport will be a push bike while Manky is at work. Good job I live where I work.

Good news then really ;D parts wise and try to think positive ;D there's lots of beemers about ive had 3, not that this helps but you will have such a better car later on ;D

dont be disheartened by the cost of rebuilding that engine i can get what they call refresh kits everythings in there mains b/ends rings gaskets oil pump etc there not that expensive and if ya get a pack o jaffa cakes and keep me fed with coffee i,ll come over and build it for ya! ;)

Yes VB I love my beemer but you are right I WILL have a better car in the end. Shame the end is a long way off but at least I will be fitter as I will have to walk or cycle to work now.

Toad when can you come over. The jaffas are on order  ;D Of course we will water and feed you. Any help would be greatly appreciated  ;D

how cool looks like a good project to take on cant wait ta see it finished good liuck :) :) :)

Nor can I and thank you.

Well that's that. The BMW has just driven out of here for the last time by it's new owner.  :'(

i,ll price up the kit what it costs me is the same to you. i,ll dig my mics etc out and pop over one day to see if it will get away with said kit :D

Great thank you so much Toad.

One of the guys on the MMA site, (Julian), is coming over tonight in his Charger to have a look at mine. When he got his it was just as bad as mine, (he may change that when he sees it) and he was told to scrap it and not to bother with it. Well he didn't listen and is now buzzing about quite happily sticking two fingers up to those that said it couldn't be done. He will be bringing along the guy that did all the welding on his car so I'm hopeful that between him, Julian, goforest, Toad, Manky and myself, (and some others I'm sure), we WILL get this shed on the road.

Let's get this show shed on the road!

Well I'm so much more positive now. Julian did come over last night with 2 of his mates and it was quite funny seeing how a charger will fit in the parking with our cottage. I would have to park where there is a gap in the trees as it's sooo long it took up quite a bit of space lol. It also just fitted through the arch that you have to go under to get to the cottage but at least it all fitted. We went down to see my Charger and compared to what his was like mine is no worse, just in different areas. One of the wings is saveable which goforest also said but the other is not worth it as there is too much damage so I'll get one wing. We also came up with a plan for the bulkhead. Julian has a bonnet that he bought off Dave, (twolanes), which I can use to get the chassis jigged as mine is possibly mendable but will have to see on that. The drivers door we are getting off of Dave and the passenger one will be fixed. They were quite impressed by how solid the rest of the flooring was and except the front of the floor as there is none. They also know a guy who can shotblast on site and is not that expensive, (under £1000). So will get his number and go from there.
So plan of action.
Get door from Dave,
Get wing from Duncan,
Order some parts from Pascal in Belgium, (we got the bulkhead from him)
Order some parts from Jacks auto parts in America
Find someone with a jig willing to do the work.
Get it shot blasted
Get chopping and welding.

The guys have said they will come back and help when it's time to start chopping it up. I'm so lucky I'm surrounded by great people on here and at home  ;) and apreciate every little help everyone gives even if it's just words on here it's all help. Thanks everyone  ;D

The shed will live  ;D

good news Tazet ;D ;D ;D

Even better news. We have a guy called Paul Bateman who comes and does various welding thigs at work and I have heard that he can weld anything and I mean anything. Anyway I gave him a ring this morning to see if he has a plasma cutter, which he has. he said he would bring it down and whoever is doing the rear quarters he will guide them to use it. Great, fantastic. Then after more talking on the phone it turns out he was very well known on the Mopar circuit 30 years ago but got rid of everything when he got married etc but now he has bought something, (can't remember what), but it has a 440 in it and he may change it to a Hemmi. "So what you doing with the 440?", says I and he said he would sell it and I said "oh! I might just be interested". He gave me a rough price over the phone which sounded good to me but didn't agree as he hasn't decided yet. Note, it's a running engine and I can go and hear it if I want. Paul knows loads of people and all very local including someone who can help with importing stuff. He was also to blame for Chris with the Viper drag car as it was Paul who got him going and apparently Chris still has his first car locked up and refuses to sell it. Anyway Paul has said he will come and have a look at the car, (not sure when). It's amazing everything just seems so much more hopeful now and not as bad as I thought things were going to be.
All I have to do is find someone with a jig.

Paul did come and look at the car and was not too impressed with the work needed so guess he's out. He had a look at the engine bits and said they looked ok at a glance so that's a bonus. Down side to the 440 he has is that is not actually in a car it's one that he may use. He said it turns over by hand but he has never heard it running. Think I'll stick with the one I have for now then.
I phoned a Coachworks company in Odiham, Hants and the guy was much more on my level of thinking and sounded great, plus he has a jig on site. He'll give me a call next week to arrange a time to come and have a look and give me some quotes, so fingers crossed on that one.
Super bonus is Dave, (Twolanes). Manky and I went over to his place in Mitcham last night as he had some parts to sell me. Well Manky's poor little Fiesta has never been so full. We got 2 doors for the Charger in fantastic condition, a front valance, exhaust manifolds for a 383/440 engine and some shiny bits for Manky's pop.
Dave, we love you  :-* thanks a million  ;D

Yellow rusty bit is my old front valance, (the panel under the front bumper). Red one's Dave's replacement.

Dave previously lent the doors out to be used for fibreglass moulds and they put filler in the silliest of places. They filled all the holes that the interior trim locates in and others. So who ever has the fiberglass ones won't know where everything bolts on to. Anyway they are filler free apart from that and I'm so chuffed with them 

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Some other random photos.

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Very nice! Know two people that have had chargers

My sister used to have chargers and they were a blast to drive! (believe she had 3 at one time, two running and one for parts)

And a friend of my moms (don't know him well) Has one he only takes to shows thats done up like the "General Lee" from Duke of Hazard..lol

I say go for it! Your going to love it!

 ;D ;D  Thanks  ;D

Check the Miscellaneous bit of the main site. In the "Silly" column there's a short clip of the filming of the General drifting past a line of moving cars for the Hollywood remake of Dooks.

Miscellaneous, silly stuff (http://mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/misc.htm)

Had a visit from another restoration guy last night. There's been a couple so far. General consensus seems to be "Jeez, that's a lot of work". Not really what we want to hear! This time it was Finton from F.H.Ellis, a local company but said to be one of the best in the country. He circled round the Charger, poked it & prodded it, took some measurements & did that tutting & sucking in of breath thing that only mechanics know how to do. He's going to give us a ring in a few days, but judging by the amount of tutting, it's not going to be cheap. Think I'll let Taz take that call.
Some people have suggested taking the spare bulkhead we have apart & using sections of it to repair our car, but Finton would rather use the whole thing intact, which seems a better idea to us as it must be stronger. He also wants us to buy 2 new front chassis legs. They're available as repair pieces but we may have to shop around a bit to find some. Basically, he'd chop the entire front of the car off & start again. makes sense & should end up much straighter, but it's a scarey prospect. The work involved doesn't bother us, just the cost.
Today I went to the bank & transferred the money to the States to buy new front wings, splash guards, (the panels that close off the back of the front wings where they meet the doors), & repair sections for the 2 rear corners of the body under the bumper. That lot, including shipping costs, came to just over a thousand quid. Half of that was the shipping & we've been warned to expect a bill for VAT on top of that when the parts arrive in Britain. We're buying them from Jack's Auto Parts in Howell, New Jersey. They're one of the few Mopar specialists who export to Europe & are really nice, helpful people. With all the emails going back & forth across the pond, I'm fast reaching penpal status with Gail, their sales lady.
The 2 rear quarters, (rear wings), are on back order & will be another month or so & probably cost the same again. That means the body panels for the rebuild will cost around 2 grand. That's out of Taz's 8 grand budget, obtained by selling her beloved BMW. Although we've got 99% of the rest of the car, even just bolting it back together as it is will cost money in bushes & bearings, fasteners, paint etc, plus the cost of engine rebuild parts. The only obviously missing part is the windscreen, which will cost about 300 quid. So realistically, we can't spend much more than 3 or 4 thousand on straightening out the chassis. 

no wonder your still up at that time  i wouldnt be able to sleep with them prices goin round im my head

Scarey ain't it!
We're certainly not rich -we both work stupid hours but don't actually earn that much. Taz took a loan out to buy her Beemer, which she's still paying back, so we can't spend much more than she got for that on the Charger build. The BMW depreciated by half it's cost in the year she owned it. Hopefully the Dodge will hold it's value a bit better. A reasonable condition Charger goes for maybe 12 to 16 grand at the moment. Grade A, concourse condition restored ones can fetch 30 to 40 grand. We paid 6 for our boxes of bits & hope to spend no more than 8 rebuilding it. So we won't make much profit from it, but then we don't intend selling it & although we could buy one up & running for that money, we'll know exactly what's gone into ours & that it's straight & strong & safe, (there's some nasty ones out there hiding under pretty paint jobs). We'll also have the satisfaction of having saved another Mopar from the scrapheap, which is where this one would've ended up as no-one else would touch it.
It'll be fine!   :P

I wonder how much it costs to ship a whole car from over here in the states..

I'm trying to keep up.. but i think i'm getting lost... How much is a quid in U.S money again? and when you say "grand" how much is that in U.S? (A grand to me is $1,000 U.S)

Just did some checking around.. Cheapest way to ship a car to the UK from the US is "non-container" roll on roll off... more of a chance of scratches and stuff, but only costs about $1,500 U.S +2% value of car for insurance. alot cheaper then i thought.

So she's all coming together nicely, Really can't wait to see her in running condition. Keep up the good work  :)

Sorry Shriva -keep forgetting we're a Global site now!
A "quid" is one English pound, which at current rates is worth 1.7921 U.S. dollars.
Yup, a grand is 1,000 pounds, same as over there.
"Quid" is possibly derived from the Quidhampton paper mill, which printed banknotes.
Now if we really wanted to confuse you, we could tell you that 25 quid is known as a "Pony" & 500 quid is a "Monkey"!

Hi Shriva, yep your bang on with the price of shipping a motor across the pond, a pal of mine has just shipped a year old Shelby Mustang over roll on roll off 750 pounds to Southampton docks, no damage apart from the key fob with Shelby was nicked, this guy brings quite a few motors over. If we buy dollars months in advance exchange rate can be over 2 u.s $ to our pound.

ok, some stuff over there is expensive compared to over here.. but, then others are cheaper..

American cars i can see being more expensive over there.. older muscle cars even more so..

You could get a charger over here alot cheaper (still have to look around to get a good deal even over here though)

And i know a lady over there that is waiting till she visits the U.S in a few months to buy a higher end camera lens, its like half the price here then she can get it over there.

I got some new shiny bits for my Charger yesterday all the way from America from a company called Jacks Auto Parts. They have been great to deal with throughout and the items were very well wrapped up. It was like Christmas opening the boxes that were as tall as me when stood on end.  ;D Just got to get the thing straight so the bits can go on it. NB the box was empty when I sat on it.
 

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Also got a tiny little problem. Yesterday was my first day back at work after two weeks holiday. Within an hour of getting in I saw one of the estate's overhead power cables on the ground. I asked what had happened -apparently last Wednesday a cattle lorry pulled it down. In a panic I grabbed the electrician that's currently working on my boss's house and got him to test it. Yup it was live. I was furious to say the least. It had been like that since Wednesday and no-one had got it checked out. God knows how no-one got killed as it was a main line. He very quickly isolated the cable and made it safe. The only casualty are the ramps that the Charger is currently sat on. It powers them, so unless we can find something else it affects then I doubt my boss will fix it. Anyone know where the manual override is on the 2 post lifts so I can get the car off it?

I had another delivery today. Jules who owns the Yellow Charger that visited a while ago sold a hood/bonnet to me. It used to belong to Dave2lanes and I paid Jules what he paid Dave and he very kindly brought it over to me today. The scoop and hole were put there by Dave cos when he fitted his 440 engine in his Black Charger the bonnet didn't close very well as the the carb and air filter were too tall. So he made the bonnet fit. Later on he got a fibre glass bonnet to replace it then the change of owners began. The bonnet that came with my Charger is not in the best condition and Dave/Julian's one is much more solid apart from a big hole in the middle. We might just take the scoop off of it and just have everything popping out the top or we might repair it with a section cut from my old bonnet, which is O.K in the middle but rusty around the edges. We'll decide on that at a later date. For now it's something solid to work with.

Taz just seen you on the tell BBC1 Prescott,the class system and me  you was in the carrage with the horses YOUR FAMOUS

Hello stranger  ;)
Have they repeated it again or was it on IPlayer? It was on t'telly a month or so ago, then repeated the next night. Yup, there'll be no stopping her now. I reckon Taz would make a great "Top Gear" presenter. If Vickie Butler Henderson can do it, I'm sure she could.
As well as managing the ponies all day while they filmed the carriage driving bit, Taz also scrubbed up & changed clothes to serve tea. Apparently Prescott didn't realise it was the same girl!  :)

 ;D Yup twas me  ;D

Right, not posted on this for a while as nothing has happened. Today I had a delivery from America and in the enormous 7ft x 3ft boxes were new rear quarter panels. We now have most of the parts needed to completely re-build the body on this thing.

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i've done a quick catch-up on this thread.

I love the 69 Charger, so i'm extremely jealous!! ... slightly less jealous of all the work that's going in to it though :D

Did you get much done over the festive season?

Absolutely nuffink.
We've had the Dodge for 8 months now. The actual car hasn't changed at all in that time. We've ordered & received all the new body panels we need from the States & sourced a few mint condition second hand ones over here. We're all set to rebuild the thing, but still can't find anyone willing to take on the job of straightening the twisted chassis leg. I don't think it's actually that bad a job, it's just time consuming & complicated, which seems to be putting off most garages from getting involved. They can make more money from straightening half a dozen bent delivery vans in the time it'd take to sort the Charger out.
So we're still on the quest for someone who can do the deed without charging us 6 times what we paid for the car. Still got a couple of names to try. Occasional forum visitor "Goforest" works for a restoration company. He reckons they'd charge a fortune but that if he had the time to spare he could probably do it without the aid of a jig. Loony's due to pay us a visit at the end of the week as he still hasn't seen the Charger or Taz's trike. He seems convinced it's not the huge job some others think it is. Who knows, maybe we'll end up doing it ourselves.   

It maybe the way to go andy, if you can build a frame, you should be able to sort some body pannels out, ive watched people do this kind of work and its not that hard with the correct tools,pull it back in line with the old pannels then cut out and fit new, has it really been 8 months? times is flying by. :o

Ain't it just!  :o
We could actually buy new chassis legs from the States, but they're expensive. It's a monocoque shell -the body is actually a part of the chassis, rather than being a seperate unit that bolts to seperate chassis rails, & provides some of it's structural strength.
There's a box section cross member running across the front of the car under the bulkhead, & a pair of chassis legs literally butt welded to the face of that & extending into the engine bay to hold the motor & the front body panels. Looks like the car's had a thump on the left front corner that's pushed those chassis legs over & twisted the cross member. That means the front panels won't fit properly & the left door only shuts with a good hard slam. The entire front steering/suspension assembly is held with just 4 bolts in slotted holes, so is adjustable to help with alignment & may have already been replaced cos it doesn't look damaged. We're pretty sure the car's actually been driven in it's current state at some point.
STOP PRESS
While I've been writing this, forum member Big John's been on the phone & may have come up trumps for us, with a word in the ear of one of the guys we've already spoken to. Speaking as one restorer to another, he may possibly have got us a more realistic price.
Watch this space! 

oooh how exciting! ...
i'll be keeping my eye on this thread  :D

and.......................all that BUBBLE WRAP too  8) ;D

D'oh. Another dead end.
A minimum of 4 thousand pounds for the absolute minimum work required. That's assuming there's no problems at all, so you can guarantee that's gonna rise to 6 by the time they're done, which is what we originally paid for the shed car, (Taz sold her beloved BMW to finance it). We just can't afford that kind of price, bearing in mind we've still got to rebuild the rest of the car afterwards.
Looking more & more likely we'll be tackling this ourselves.

let me know if you need a hand mate ;D ;D ;D ;D I'm good a brewing tea :-*

 ;D Might just take you up on that Shaun!
Marcus, ("Lunatic"), seems quite confident he could handle it, but then I don't think he's ever taken on a project quite that big. Saying it's easy isn't quite the same as doing it.  :) Don't mean to put him down, just worried we'd wade in & pull it all apart, then find we're out of our depth & end up with 6 grand's worth of scrap metal.
Having said that, he's currently prepping a VW camper van for painting. He's completely removed & replaced the entire front of the cab. If he can do that, the Charger's just the same kinda thing, on a bigger scale. His plan would be to start at the back, plasma-cutting off the crappy rear quarter panels & replacing them with fresh steel, replacing the boot trunk floor with something a little stronger than the fibreglass that's currently holding it together, then working our way forward, straightening & repairing as we go. At 17 feet long & 7 feet wide, it's bigger than loony's spraybooth & would mean our two vehicles, (Taz's Dodge & my Pop), would have to be Loony's sole customers for a while. He's looking to move away from mundane repair & respray jobs & take on more custom stuff, so a big Yank would be a nice addition to his CV.
Would make sense to build it in the barn it lives in at the moment, with the aid of our 2 post lift & no need to move it to make room for other stuff, but that would mean the same 30 mile each way commute for Loony that I do to go to work every day. Probably more sensible to cart it over to Loony Central where he can work on it at his own pace & we can provide a second & third pair of hands as often as possible.   

7 feet wide! i could lay accross the bonnet, sorry, hood and be used as a hood ornimant  ;D
Not meaning to sound toooo basic cos bodywork aint my thing but, isn`t bodywork bodywork? admittidly this would be on a larger scale but it sounds like Lunatic has a plan and even fearing the worst and you cant quite do it all, you might be able to achive enough between you that wotever is left to do by a custom restorer is affordable.

The biggest problem is getting it straight and as Manky has said there are not a lot of people willing to take on a job like this and there are even less who have a jig big enough. Big John has said he will do the rear end and some body stuff for us already but I still need to make a few more calls yet so nothing set in stone.

Well, 8 months on from buying this beastie & we're still no further with the straightening. A chink of light in the seemingly endless tunnel tonight though. Taz & I visited Tino of Tino's rod & custom in Mitcham, Surrey. We went to see him about a stainless exhaust system for my trike, but it turned out he's a bit of an expert at building roll cages & space frame chassis too. He had several projects on the go in his workshop, including a Pop that Taz & I saw on our rounds of the shows last year. When we described the curly wurly Charger to him he seemed quite unfazed & confident he could slice the entire front off "just in front of the tax disc" & replace the frame work with a tubular frame. He can also upgrade the entire suspension/brake set-up to just about anything we fancy. We looked through his photo album of past projects & recognised several of the cars we regularly see on our travels around the rod shows, so we'd be happy for him to take on the Charger.
With luck, he'll come out & take a look at it next weekend.

It'll make it a beter car too...result




better start getting some overtime in  ;)

some hope then :) maybe you orter knock up some of yer trike frames"frame only" and sell them here and on ebay @ £500 a pop, theres a guy on ebay doing the same sorta thing but i dont think there a patch on yers, only a thought :) take care :)

The problem's not so much the money -Taz sold her car to fund this project & there's just enough left to get the front sorted out -it's trying to find someone who'll actually take the job on.
We're not bothered about keeping it 100% original, we just want a good solid, safe, straight, drivable car. So slicing the whole front off & starting again's probably the easiest & quickest solution & looking at the projects in his workshop, Tino seems quite capable of doing it.
He can also build us any front suspension/brake set-up we like, which is handy cos we want to convert the front to disc brakes. He showed us a wishbone front end he's made, with fully adjustable stainless wishbones & adjustable coil-over shocks. Or we could have McPherson struts etc. Chargers aren't known for being the best handling cars in the World, so worth looking into.

Aren't those custom front ends nice :o :o :o almost too good to stick under a car me thinks ::) ::)

Too good for the likes of us!  :P

Been doing lots of thinking and will probably stick with original front end and get it straightend now. With the cost of steel at the moment and the time etc I'm probably looking at not much in price to do this but I have to think for the future and although I have no intention of selling the car, if I had to then it would sell for more the more I can keep body and chassis original. It's a 40 year old car & they only made them for 8 years, so it'd be sacrilege to cut it up just for the sake of it.

well im rooting for yer Gal eithwer way ;D

Thanks VB  ;D

Dang those crazy Duke boys  ;D

Original bodywork is best in my opinion,less hassle making things fit too.

Very true  :)

   Here's a similar sort of problem being solved. Paul has had this car for years, possibly fifteen, and it had been left to slowly decay, like they do. Last year he decided to do something with it, built himself a jig to hold all the critical points in the correct relationships and has started to rebuild the entire car panel by panel. New lower firewall, new chassis legs, inner wings, front valance, grille, slam panel, wings, the lot. Bit by bit, slowly with lots of measuring it can be done, he's going to fit the bonnet next to align all the front external panels and then fully weld all that has been done so far.   

It's a 64 1/2 Mustang convertible,There were only 28,833 built , apparently, and that makes it worth doing ? I think the windscreen surround and dash and maybe the bit behind the rear seat will remain when it is done.

Just a thought Taz, it may be better to keep the car original but if it is going to be cheaper to get the front tubed which means you can get the car on the road quicker/cheaper which also means you get to enjoy it quicker which in turn means you have freed up time to build something else forget that bit.
Its one thing keeping it all original but if its causing problems and delay's I'd vote go for the tube front and worry about selling it later, but that's me ::) I have no scruples  ;) :-*

I've decided on original. I've made the call to John at JPC Restoration, now known as JC Restoration, and agreed to him doing the front end. He'll  just be straightening it and doing the bulkhead. With this he'll be fitting the hood, (bonnet), that I got from a friend, (originally owned by Dave2lanes), fitting the doors I got from Dave and the new wings. He needs to do those bits to make sure the car is straight when he fits the bulkhead. While it's there we'll have a clear up of the garage and try and get the engine put back together.

I was planning on spreading my trike parts all over the workshop while the car's out the way!  :P

whats happened to the forest clearing and the ramp to the second shed at home then Andy ;D

Don't blame you Tazet, I'm always in a rush  ::) ::) ::) ::) and at the end of it you will have a far more marketable machine ;D

VB, the ground we all cleared at the end of our garden last Summer is still water-logged from the Winter. We need a couple of tons of hardcore rubble spread over it before we can think about doing anything else with it. I'm handing back my rented garage in Basingstoke, so the shed's rapidly filling up with all the tools & spares. We need a bigger shed!   

Got another new panel for the Charger now. Yesterday Taz & I spent a fruitful couple of hours at the annual National Street Rod Association swapmeet in Essex. Taz belongs to the Mopar Muscle Association forum & had arranged to meet up with some of the other members in the swapmeet carpark. One of them has very kindly donated -as in given for free a very nice condition bootlid, to replace our tatty one. It was couriered down to the Essex meet by another MMA member & we then lugged it home in the back of my little Fiesta. Good job it wasn't a bonnet or it'd never have fitted in my hatchback!
-not a moody workshop shot. Just taken by the light of my car headlights when we got home yesterday evening. 

While we were at the swapmeet we bought another Charger for a fiver.
A 1/25th scale "General Lee". I suggested we heat it up & twist the chassis to match the real one, but Taz is going to put it together & paint it in grey as we plan to do with hers. 

"Over 100 parts. For the moderately skilled builder. 10 years & older".
-yeah right.  :D

Kool kit was trying to find one of them for Taz but you've beat me to it.

 ;D If you find another going cheap Doc, we'll buy it off you. Maybe we could build a replica of hers as it is now & one when it's rebuilt!

Well it's crunch, or should that be un-crunch day. The shed Charger is being picked up this afternoon to go over to JC's place to be straightened. I've hired a van to take the hood and panels over there so will be leaving in a bit to go and collect it to load it ready for when the truck arrives for the main part of the car.
The start has finally arrived yey.

hey good news Tazzy glad this project has turned a corner for you :)

Good luck Taz  ;)

Fingies crossed, hope it goes alright.

Well the shed is now at JC Restorations to be straightened and the bulkhead sorted.

All the bits that went with the car. We had to hire a van to take them all in.
The big chunk of metal on the right is a bulkhead from another Charger, which we bought from a guy in Belgium for 300 quid. That's the firewall -the section of bodywork between the engine bay & interior. It's the only part you can't buy new & includes the A pillars, which the door hinges attach to -completely rotted away on our car. At some point someone's had a go at cutting & rewelding our bulkhead to make the rest of the front bodywork fit the twisted chassis. Not sure if John will cut out the whole of the old one & replace it or just use the parts he needs to from the spare.

At it's new home for a while.

John's place is huge & stuffed full of wonderful cars in various stages of resto.
These 2 Chargers are almost finished. The yellow one apparently cost the owner 24 thousand quid before it arrived at the workshop for a full rebuild. We're not looking for anything like that level of perfectionism, just a straight, safe, drivable car. We've tried to impress that on him & that we're on a tiny fraction of the budget of some of these cars.
The black chassis on the floor in this shot is from a 50s Cadillac & is over 20 feet long!

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Looks like the charger is in good company and safe hands.

It is TB. John seems a very nice & genuine guy. He's obviously used to working on open cheque-book projects, but has taken our pocket money car in. We were starting to think no-one would help us with it. We've had it for 10 months now & in that time haven't found anyone who could sort the front end out.
Taz sold her beloved BMW coupe to fund this. The Charger cost us £6,000, though we didn't know it was accident damaged when we bought it -ain't Ebay a wonderful thing. We're trying to trace it's history back & discover just when the front end damage occurred. Doesn't really matter now, but we're just curious. We suspect it may actually have been driven in this state for a while.
We've spent a couple of grand on new body panels, shipped in from New Jersey, plus parts bought & bartered from various mates over here. Just this morning we've found a replacement pair of exterior door handles as we were missing one. Taz has joined the Mopar Muscle Association & the guys there have been very supportive & helpful, partly I suspect because she's the only female owner/driver in their ranks. Also because it'll be one more Mopar back on the roads where it belongs rather than on the scrapheap where it would've eventually ended up.
John at JC Restorations has quoted us something like 3 1/2 grand to sort the front end out, which is over 80 hours work for his team. Sounds a lot of money, but we can't do anything else until it's done. That should be the last major expense, (ha, ha, ha, ha, harrr!!!). Then it's down to us, with help volunteered by some of the MMA guys, to piece back together the cardboard boxes full of parts we have.
With John's straightening work, we've reached the end of Taz's BMW money, so it truly becomes a budget build, working with just our weekly wages.  
Since taking it on, we've done the rounds of all the custom & restoration companies, almost all of whom told us we were mad to even think of doing it, & advising us to scrap it & buy another running car. Which just makes us more determined to prove them wrong & get it road worthy again. Yes, we could buy another Mopar for what we paid for this one & be out cruising in it this Summer, but we've seen so many now that look great on the surface but are actually not much better than ours underneath, that we'd rather get ours fixed & know we've got a good solid car that will hopefully last another 40 years. When it's done we'll know every single nut & bolt of this beastie & will enjoy it more knowing it was our perserverance & skinned knuckles that ressurected it.  :)

The 17 feet long, 7 feet wide, 2 1/2 ton Dodge, alongside Taz's HGV horsebox.

The bodywork looks as rough as old boots at the moment, as rough as old cars anyway, but the chassis's reasonably solid, as is the floor & roof. We've got good replacements for all the other panels, so the grot will be thrown away & replaced with good stuff.

A few more of the toys at JC Restorations.

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Ok its early days, but with an outlay of just over 12 grand, including the new panels, a bit of sweat blood and tears, and she`ll be on the road. You`d never recoup your initial 6 grand outlay anyway, so it has to proceed, if the money wasn`t spent on this then it would be spent on something else. The smile on your faces when its done has gotta be worth a bit of cash.

Precisely Mr T. We know just how much work we've got ahead of us, but for now we're aiming to get it structurally sound & safe, MOT'd & out there putting some miles under it's wheels. We can pretty it up later. We're not planning a concourse spec restoration anyway -if we did we'd probably be too scared of scratching it to enjoy it. We bought it to have fun with it.
Chargers are like Harleys -you're paying for the name. There are other big V Twins that'll do the job just as well, if not better, but they'll never be a Harley & if that's what you've set your heart on, nothing else will do. Dodge Chargers are one of the biggest names in the Mopar clan & the 1969 model is the most desirable -that's what we've got. Just to be able to say you own one is pretty cool.
A good condition, running example will set you back anything from 15 to 40 grand, depending on it's history, ("matching numbers" cars are the most sought after -those that still have the same chassis & engines they left the factory with. Ours has been upgraded from a 318 cubic inch to 383ci motor at some point. A 6 1/4 litre V8.). So once it's road worthy, it'll at least hold it's price, if not increase in value. It's Taz's dream car & we don't ever plan on selling it. The only way we could ever afford one was to buy it, like the old Johhny Cash song, one piece at a time.  :)

Hi folks, got a tear in my eye for you's, am glad you finnally got someone to sort it for you, was feeling a bit guilty, it was me that pointed it out to taz (boo hiss), i will be a top buzz to finaly drive it knowing its solid as a rock underneath. go on yers :)
 

same with most jawdroping motors theres always a tale to tell ::) ;D

It's all your fault!!  ;D

Yep, document it all, a car with a history is worth twice as much  ;)

Another reason for going to a reputable restoration company. We've been completely honest on several forums, (ours, the Mopar Muscle Association & the National Street Rod Association), about the twisty nature of our chassis, so this car's problems are publicly known. We'll be equally upfront about getting them sorted, so if anyone ever pops up & says I know that car & the frame's bent, we can prove it ain't any more. I'd also like to think we might show that just about anything's fixable if you're prepared to put in the effort, time & pennies.

thats why i like being a member here, no vehicle is unfixable and more cool stuff is buillt this way ie propper like, its good to be a part of it  ;D ;D


ps that guys place is a propper toy shop.....

It's you lot who make the site what it is -good or bad!
It's a very expensive toy shop, but if you happen to have a big Yank that needs some work, (Sly Stallone?), then you won't find a better build for your buck. They're not exactly open to the public to browse, but were quite happy for us Muppets to wander about with a camera -also the sign of a reputable company I think.

John Castleman. Cranleigh, Surrey.
www.jc-refinishing.com

"JC's" is that for Jesus Christ coz he works miracles?  :D

You are not wrong there Fred.

 :D
Just picked up the latest issue of Classic American magazine, (number 216).
There's a feature on a gorgeous bottle green '69 Plymouth Roadrunner, (the plastic wrapped one in our snapshots). Looks stunning now, but the vinyl roof it had when the owner bought it hid the fact that it'd been rolled. When the headlining was ripped out it revealed chunks of wood wedged between the roof spars & the outside skin. The chassis was found to be twisted, (sound familiar?), to such an extent that one entire leg of the chassis, from front to back of the car, had to be replaced.
The write-up's followed by a half page piece on JC Restorations. There's talk of a Mustang in such a state that the only original steel left when they'd done was the roof.
Sounds like we're not the only ones taking on "impossible" projects & JC seem to be the restorers of choice.
There's also a write-up on a '68 Charger, brought in from San Diego, full of cobwebs & with the original green metallic bodywork covered in brown paint. It had bullet holes in the bootlid -shot from the inside. The new owner used it just as it was as his wedding car. He calls it his Bullitt baddie car. Cool.  8)

Sounds like the charger has gone to the right place.

I really admire you guys for sticking to the job and carrying it through - however long it takes!

No going back now Bobbi!
Taz found a '69 Charger for sale on Ebay this evening. Absolute top of the range model, with every available extra & all paperwork from delivery invoice to present day. A snip at just under 60,000 quid.  :o

Here's an original General Lee for sale, with paperwork from Warner Brothers, confirming it was built for the Dukes of Hazzard TV series, EBAY (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1969-Dodge-Charger-GENERAL-LEE-LHD-Classic-American-Car_W0QQitemZ200324404077QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item200324404077&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318) Sale price £79,811.00

According to that ad, 249 Chargers were destroyed during the filming of the series!

Taz, if memory serves I think I still have my old dixie horns. If you're interested let me know and i'll go a'huntin. ;)

Er thanks Simon but I'm stearing well clear of anything General Leeish. I'm sure Flap wouldn't say no to them and he'd probably fit them to his trike knowing him  ;D

Well we've just come back from JC's and talk about timing. They had it on the jig and were hooking it up to straighten it just as we walked in the door. The whole process was explained and demonstrated and right before our eyes we watched it happen. It was truly amazing watching the chassis legs moving across like butter. We walked in to a bent car and left a straight one. Yippee, it's all starting to get exciting!  :D I have loads of photos but have only just quickly popped home to tell you lot. Off to see a man about an exhaust for Manky's trike now.
Photos when we get back later. Thanks John and Andy, (the guy working on my car).

Congrat's Taz, at last a straight chassis that really Kool ;D.

Bet you're looking forward to the rebuild now then. Nice work guys.

Yipeeee  ;D ;D ;D

Yes yippee. Don't really know how to explain the following photos. I'm sure Manky will do a better job. Here are some photos for you to have a look at.

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glad to see its being sorted an not scrapped!!!

thats some serious kit!

Looking good, has the new bulk head been fitted yet or is that still the origional one? If not, who will be doing the change?

Hiya.
Way past our bedtime here, so will go into more detail tomorrow, but that's the old bulkhead in the pics. We bought the replacement one for 300 quid from a guy in Belgium. It was the only salvagable part from a scrap Charger. Just as well we grabbed it when we did cos we haven't seen another since & you can't buy that section as a repair panel.
Taz has just received some truly amazing photos taken by John the restoration company boss. They show the old bulkhead completely cut away & the front of the car held together by fresh air & a few prayers. She'll post them for you in the morning.
Wa-hey! Things are finally starting to happen on this project! So nyer, nyer, nyer to all those who solemnly advised us it couldn't possibly be done!  :P

Good on yers, what a buzz to finally be on your way with it ;D
a child hood dream to own one of them. well done ;D

Well done to both of you,the process looks awfully technical to this numpty  ???

Thanks guys. Yes all very exciting now untill we get the bill through. At the moment the photos are ending up on the MMA site, (Mopar Muscle Association), as the guy who's doing the work is a member on there and I have a thread like this one where he adds photos and so do some of the other members who visit his workshop. I'll be back soon.

Here you go.

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 :'( Its looking abit worst for ware at the moment, but hopefully after the major work has been done it'll be onwards and upwards from then on! Can't wait to you start re building it and really looking forward to seeing it running. Good luck folks.

Somebody's nicked a big chunk of our car!
As you can see, the JC Restorations team have pulled the scrunched chassis leg straight, using their 20 ton, "Car Bench" gear. We arrived completely unannounced on Wednesday & were just in time to watch the magic. Andy, the guy wielding the machinery, was quite happy to let us watch & explained the whole process as he went.
The car was bolted down to a table & measurements taken at various datum points along the chassis. From those, Andy could see the front end had been pushed across & up to the right by over 2 inches, from an impact of some sort to the nearside front corner. Not necessarily a whack from another car -with 2 1/2 tons of momentum behind it, it could just as easily be a simple driver error. None of the owners we've traced are admitting to it, so we'll probably never know.  
Amazing to see all that twisted metal move so effortlessly. Now the chassis' straight, Andy will open up the box sections & cut out & replace the lumpy, bumpy bits -they won't let the car leave their workshop with chassis rails that look buckled, even if they know they're straight.  

The chassis cross member, running across the car under the bulkhead, was twisted by the front end damage. We were warned it might need replacing but fortunately it now sits perfectly straight & true. From there, Andy chopped out the original bulkhead & the inner front wings. Various attempts to cut 'n' shut the panels to make the wings, bonnet etc fit, have made things worse, not better. The bulkhead has been cut & stitched up again, trying to get things to line up. Throwing it away & fitting our spare was the best option. We've agreed with John that it'd make sense to fit a new floor pan while the car's on the jig, so next job for us is to get in touch with Jack's Autos in New Jersey, the guys we bought the rest of the new panels from, & order one up. John has said he'll store the Charger for free until it arrives.
Yeah, the car looks worse now than when we took it in, but believe us, it's way better. Honest.  :)

chip foose would have that finished in 45 mins,i've seen him do it on the brainwasher machine. :)

 ;D You'll probably be able to read this thread in 45 minutes when it's fnished, so we can do as good as him!
What we've got...

...and what we're aiming for. No reason why ours can't look as straight as this.

A couple of the non Mopar cars at JC Restorations at the moment.
The mark 1 Cortina behind the Anglia belongs to the recovery truck driver who ferried our car to the workshop.

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This is the good side of this Plymouth -the bodywork on the other side came back from the shotblasters looking like it'd been blasted with a shotgun -peppered full of rust holes that all need repairing. We don't actually think ours is as bad as we first thought any more!

This is Taz's front "clip", the front suspension/steering unit.
Chargers had power steering & as we've only just discovered, some models also had disc brakes. We'll check this is undamaged then overhaul it with new suspension bushes & a coat of gloss black powder-coat. Aftermarket disc brake conversions are apparently cheaper & better than the original Dodge ones, so we'll be fitting a set up front before it hits the streets & maybe on the rear too at a later date. 
Oh, that's the rear wheel arch of a Camaro by the way.

Back to JC's today to see boss John.
We'd had an email from him saying he needed to talk to us about the Charger, so arrived expecting more horror stories -maybe we'd bought the wrong bulkhead & they'd cut the old one out & found the new one was from another car entirely.
Wasn't as bad as we'd imagined. Not cheap, but not bad. Maybe that's just clever physcology on John's part. The new bulkhead's in & seems to fit. Just tacked in place for now. The straightened chassis legs have been opened up & all the lumpy bumpy bits replaced with fresh straight steel, (the grey primered bits in the photos).

Wonderful to see real metal in the A posts, (the bits the doors hinge on), instead of jagged rust holes.
The round hole in the A post between the hinge mounts isn't standard -maybe a wiring hole or for Waxoyling the inside of the posts, or even for access to try & repair the damage. Who knows. John says he'll weld it up.
The large hole in the bulkhead, (nearest Taz), is for an air conditioning unit, which our car isn't fitted with, so will also get plated over.
Amazing to think this bulkhead was built in America, fitted in a car that ended up in Belgium & now found a new home in another car in Britain!

John called us in because, having started work on the bulkhead, it's become obvious that the left side sill needs replacing, (the bit under the door). It's all squished out of shape by the front end damage & has rotted underneath. While we're ordering a new floorpan from the States we may as well buy a replacement sill too. At this rate we'll be starting at the bulkhead & ending up in the boot.
We've got new rear quarters, (the rear wings), & will replace the boot, sorry, "trunk" floor ourselves, so fingers crossed there's no more mullered metal.
Cash is the deciding factor on just how far we take this. John & his team are happy now that the car's straight & safe, which is a huge leap forward from where we were a few weeks ago.

Oh my God -how much?!

Some real good progress there then! looking good!

Hope Taz ain't crying there Andy  :(

No not yet but I may do when we get the bill. Think I was just rubbing my face and it was just good timing for the photo.

im sure you 2 will get round the money stuff, cars looking ace its looks straight and as u pair now safety is what u need,good luck with it ;D

Amazing what they can do!

 :) There's a piece in the new issue of Custom Car magazine on Mitchville Motors on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. It includes a couple of shots of a Plymouth Barracuda that was "stripped right down to the floor, with new sills, bulkhead, A posts & more" fitted.
So we're certainly not alone in going this far to ressurect old motors.

i could see Taz's getting on the front page of some mags :)

And her car too.  :)

;D

 ::) :P ;D

Just been told by some of the guys on the MMA site that they have seen my car and it now has wings on it, yippee. Hopefully we'll be going on Wed afternoon so will take photos of it then  ;D It's starting to take shape now and getting very exciting  ;D

Well we popped in to see "the shed" as my car's become known, and it's slowly transforming from an ugly duckling to a swan. Got quite emotional today when I saw it as it's been such a roller coaster ride to try and get it sorted out. So one finger up to all those that said it can't be done and to scrap it.

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hey andy,you better hurry up and finnish your trike,because when this baby comes home you wont have time to fart,taz will be at you all the time to get it road worthy,go go go ,

Nope that's where you are wrong. He has his trike and his pop to do. I will be doing all I can on the Charger myself.

If you've only just tuned into this thread, this is a big moment for us.
This is Taz's dream car, but the only way we could ever afford to buy her one was to do it Johnny Cash style -one piece at a time. The Ebay bargain unfinished project we bought turned out to be a heavily crash-damaged basket case. Everyone we spoke to about it told us to cut our losses, scrap the beast & buy something else. Apart from not being able to afford to lose the purchase price or raise more money for another car, the more we heard that, the more determined we were to prove them wrong
-yeah, we know. Stupid.
So walking into JC's workshops & seeing our car looking like...well, a real car, was pretty momentous. Tears were shed -& not just mine  :)
Look- a bonnet. And real fenders, (American car, see). Doors that open. And shut.   Open, shut.       Open.          Shut.                Openshutopenshutopen. 
Cool!
John & Andy, the guy who's actually doing the work & who will definitely be on our Christmas card list, are quite happy to completely rebuild the car, but we just can't afford JC's prices. So they're doing the front end metalwork then we'll lug it home & do the rest ourselves, hopefully with lots of help from various friends. Taz has joined the Mopar Muscle Association forum & got to know some of the guys there. A few of the more local ones have volunteered to help replace the battered rear wings -"quarters", with our new panels. We're ordering a new floorpan from the States, which JCs will fit before we take the car back. The bonnet scoop's coming off & hopefully going to one of StrokerBlue's mates. The doors have already been replaced with a mint condition pair, courtesy of Dave 2 Lanes & we've got another boot, "trunk", lid from another MMA forum member. John at JCs strongly recommends fitting a front disc brake conversion so we'll start trawling the 'net for an aftermarket kit.
So much still to do, but the first huge step has been taken.  ;D 

Well done guys, you've probably just doubled its value too :),
And im not jelous at all, no not me,  ::)

 ;D Yeah, we're still vaguely on track to building it for less than we could sell it for, but believe me, we ain't selling it!
There's another Charger in the workshop for restoration, at roughly the same stage, except it's already got it's new rear quarters fitted. Now we don't have to be ashamed of The Shed, as everyone at JCs has christened it. We can walk between the other Charger & ours & they look the same. Now when we tell people we're restoring it, they won't laugh. Progress at last!  ;D

Whooo Hooo! ;D  Looking good peeps.

s'gonna be sweet

Looking good, we like smiley Taz. :)

Yes I'm a very happy bunny  ;D but I know the road it still a very long one till it's finished.

Well keep right on to the end of the road  ;D

We will if we don't fit that brake kit!

 :D :D

If the brakes dont work just make the horn louder  ......   ;D

  ..  Hagar  ..   ;D

3 inch bore exhausts & a 6 1/2 litre V8 engine -we won't need a horn!

Yup just one blip of the throttle and watch the parting of the traffic  ;D If not I'll just push my way through  ;D

 :o After all that work to straighten the front end out?!

oo ooo oo that looks really good, just needs a coat of Orange and the rebel flag on the roof and its finished  :D :D :D :D



















Glad I live this far away  :P :P :P :-*

seriously, its looking the biz and I'm glad you found JC's as they seem to have worked wonders. :D :D 8)

the sheds comin on great will soon be a five star hotel

Over my dead body will it be Orange or Pink, (before anyone suggests it)  >:(  Still un-decided about the quarters. Would love JC to do it all but really can't afford it.

Took another trip out to JC Restoration today. No more progress on the Charger cos they're waiting for us to deliver the floorpan -& we're still waiting for the American suppliers to get back to us with a price for it. We took them the front bumper so they can check the fit of the grille, front wings etc. Only just managed to squeeze it into the back of my little Fiesta hatchback.
We've been paying for the job bit by bit & are very nearly paid up to date. John & the team have managed to do the work so far much quicker than they'd expected, so we're almost a thousand quid under budget -how often does that happen? So we had a chat to them today about the rear quarters.
We've got friends in the Mopar Muscle Association who've offered to come to the barn where we keep the car & help us replace the rear wings, ("quarters"). It's not that we doubt their abilities, just that -well, JCs have done such a fabulous job of it so far, it'd be a real shame if the back end wasn't finished to the same standard as the front. It'd also be sensible to do it all while the car's still on the jig. As Taz said, we'd feel we were letting the resto guys down if we messed it up. This absolutely isn't going to be a show winning car -that's not what we're aiming for, but to get this far & settle for less for the sake of a few quid would be criminal.
John, the head honcho at JCs, is a pretty, erm, straight talking guy. Watching him going around the car today, punching holes in the back end with a screw driver was pretty depressing -"this is shot, that's rotten, that needs replacing". He's just a perfectionist though. Chargers are his passion & if he had his way, every one would be restored to better than original condition. We've made it very clear that money is a big issue with us -like, we haven't got any. The guys doing the work have told us we've actually had a lot done for cost price or free & we believe them. They also pointed out that if we were to sell it, even in it's current condition, we've already doubled it's value, which is more than it's cost us.
So we're going to trawl the parts suppliers in various countries & see what we can come up with. Ideally we'd replace the rear quarters, outer rear wheel wells & boot floor, which comes in 3 sections. I said from the start I could imagine us starting to replace stuff at the front end & ending up in the boot & it looks like I wasn't far wrong. The amount we budgeted for but haven't yet used will almost cover the rear end work.
Maybe.  :)

I would stick with that idea Andy, you will regret it if it all goes tits up and you have to live with it when it's done

send Taz down in some Daisy Duke shorts and T shirt and see if she can negotiate a good deal  :P :P :P ;D

what Steve said Andy let the work be done once :) money allowing of course :)

It's not that the other guys can't do the job and I'm sure are very capable as I've seen some of there work but while it's been on the jig and we've had a really good poke about with a screwdriver there is more rot than we'd realised and while it's sitting there doing nothing while waiting on parts then that might as well be done while it's there. I spoke to John about the money and he's happy to do a pay as you go thing so the more money I give him the quicker it's done but if I can only afford a few hours labour then that's all they will do. It will take longer this way but at least I won't be cought out with a big bill in the end that I can't afford to pay off. As andy said the work that has been done is prety much paid up but the floor and sill will be extra but we knew that would be the case with those bits and so far it's under estimate which is great for us.

However good your volunteers are, it's bound to be a better job done in a professional workshop with the car on a jig, and with them being so good about the pay-as-you-go, it's clearly an opportunity not be missed as long as you can make the cash stretch!

Do you have any kind of projection of how long till you get in on the road?  Seems like it could be years rather than months!

No idea on time but yes I can't see it being on the road till the absolute earliest next spring. Would be nice to at least get it running and Mot'd for Basingstoke next year. It's not going to be a showroom car I just want to drive it and have fun  ;D

Have fun (sooner rather than later I hope)  ;D

Same here but in reality I think it's gonna take a long time.

As an aside, noticed they turn around for BIIIIIIG money when done, except this one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DODGE-CHARGER-318ci-V8-AUTO-PROJECT-RARE_W0QQitemZ150343443107QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item150343443107&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Clive

Yes they do. We saw that one as someone else pointed it out to us. Not as nice looking as the 68-69 ones and less sought after so woildn't make the sort of money that mine would if fully restored.

A '74? Pah! Not a real Charger. The 1968 & '69 models are the ones to go for. By the 70s they'd lost it somehow. The body shape's different, so none of the panels would fit ours even if we broke it for spares.
There's a '69 General Lee replica for sale on American Ebay for 80,000 pounds at the moment, but also a '69 440 in Britain with a Buy it Now price of £25,000.   

I like it.Is that cheap ? It's got a Toyota Celica kind of vibe going on in the rear bumper department . 8)

looking great taz ;D keep the piccies coming starting to look like proper dodge now ;) and all them that said it couldn't be done.. ::) well you showed them .didn't ya  :P      keep up the good work

Just had an email from our panel supplier in New Jersey. They've got the floorpan from their supplier, but the driver's side sill, ("rocker panel"), arrived damaged. So they've ordered another. Meanwhile the car's still sat on JC's jig, awaiting the parts. 

bit of t cut and some autoglym, good as new, dont see what all the fuss is about..  :D ;)

Now we've got a Mopar of our own, we've started looking beyond the pretty paintjobs on a few others -you'd be amazed just how rough some are. We walked around a line up of big Yanks last year with someone who knew most of them -that one's got a fender that's almost entirely filler, that one's got a vinyl roof to hide a rust hole the size of your fist, that one's missing half the trunk floor, that one's ...the list went on & on. At least we'll know our car inside out & that there's no nasty suprises waiting for us.

Nearly forgot- Taz recently arranged to buy a carburetor for her Dodge motor from one of her fellow Mopar Muscle Association members. He lives in Calne, Wiltshire, about 2 hours drive from us, so to save posting it she arranged for us to drive over & collect it on Friday evening. She rang the guy when we were about 5 miles from his house & his wife said He's gone out for the evening. Was he expecting you?
Bugger.
His phone was switched off & she had no idea what a carb is or where he might have put it.
Bugger.
We decided to call in anyway & leave the cash with her so he could post it on. The wife took us out to his garage to look for it. No sign of it anywhere. Then just as we were leaving I spotted a box labelled Carter 625 4 barrel on the shelf by the door. Sure enough, there was the carb we were looking for -we hope. Mrs Mopar said we should take it & it served him right if it was the wrong one. So we took it. Haven't had any panicky phone calls yet from him saying that's the one off his own car or it's some ultra rare collectable model, so hopefully it's O.K
We called in on Brock in Marlborough on our way home. He tells us Carter carbs are a copy of a Holley carb, but better & that anything over a 600 is fine for our engine, (we've bought a 625). It also cost us half what Brock paid for his.
Update: Taz has just got a message from the guy. Yup, it was the right carb. Phew! 

nice looking bits of kit here Andy n taz  ;D
love them 4 barrel carbs
had a holly 4 barrel double pumper on my fordson  ;D

what wheels are you going to use on the charger ????

Dunno yet but I want solid steels so that's probably what I'll end up with. It has Wolfrace Slot mags on it at the moment. 

mmmm slot mags!!! how wide are they??? ;D ;) ;D ;)

I haven't got a clue but Manky just said 14"

No -Manky just said 14 inch diameter.  ::)

We called at the restoration shop again this morning. No more progress as we're still waiting for the new floorpan & sill to arrive from the States, but we confirmed with John that we want them to do the back end bodywork. He's written us a shopping list of the panels we'll need so we can shop around for them. Knowing that they'll be tackling the rest of the car, John says he'll have the rear quarter panels chopped off by next week so we can see just how much needs replacing.

Had a call today and the bits I ordered are finally in the country. Yippee. They just have to go through customs then me pay them then they continue their way to John's place. It was late when he called so won't be till the morning now before I get the call. Phoned John to warn him and he told me that the cutting up of the back end has begun. Should make some interesting shots when we get there Friday.

We went to Johns yesterday to see how much he had cut it up. As said previously, I think, we decided to leave the car there and he's going to do the back end for us as it turns out it's as bad if not worse than the front end. Well I think the photos will speak for them selves.

This is what the back end was made of. The lump in Andy's hand is infact glass fiber the other stuff is filler and a lot of it as you can see compared to the size of my thumb.

That last photo was the panel that is between the back window and the boot lid. The whole back end is that thick in filler and even thicker in other places. Now for the rotten photos

Now for some new bits that arrived. John has allocated me my own little corner for all my stuff to go in. I even have my own name tag at the back of my bit.
first photo is the new floor section and the second is the sill.

My corner  ;D

All the front end panels have been unbolted again as they're not needed at the moment. So we're back to a skeleton car. Looks like we're going backwards but actually making huge leaps forwards.
Next job is to get the body blasted so we can see exactly what needs repairing. Meanwhile, we need to contact our Stateside panel people again with the final shopping list -trunk floor, outer wheel tubs, drivers side B post etc.
Still planning on a basic, stripped down Charger with an aggressive stance, but by the the time John & his team have finished, the body will be as good as new. John's already gone from describing it as a complete basket case, only really fit for scrapping, to saying it's now no worse than any other Charger they get in, which is progress ain't it!

You can just see some of the original 40 year old paint here -the metallic blue strips inside the body.
It left the factory as blue with a white vinyl roof & blue interior. Taz is making worrying comments about liking the blue & the vinyl roof idea -no, no, no, please no. Hate vinyl roofs -they just look cheap & tacky & very 70s to me & every Charger owner we've spoken to says they hide all sorts of problems -rainwater seeps under them & rots the roof, or people fit them to hide other damage.
I know it's not my car, but the original plan was something similar to primer grey, (probably a little bit darker), in satin finish, with grey powder-coated plain steel wheels & all the chrome powder coated black, plus a basic black interior. I think it'll look really tough like that -proper muscle car.

It would certainly seem that way guys, Loving it!

Ok guys, here is the latest part donated to me for the shed  ;D It once was the heart of Pinball Wizard and will now be the heart of my car. It will live again  ;D

There are one or two bits missing but at least it was a running engine and is in one piece unlike what came with my car. We will give it a once over and a service and the previous owner said it will just drop in and run. It was running when it came out of Pinball and he only changed it as he wanted a bigger engine.

1st Photo - Pinball in it's former glory
2nd photo - Pinball now

The engine donated to me

engine arrives home. Good job I have tractors at hand as we would never have been able to get the bugger out of the van.

1st -Choice of weapon for unloading
2nd -The unloading commences, (deep concentration)

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Thats awesome!  8) Lucky bugger! Anyone want to give me a big block chevy?

 ;D

Nice power plant! So when you say donated you mean it was free??? Some people have all the luck lol.

erm. Yup  ;D The guy was more interested in it going to a good home where it would be used and he can be sure of that with us.

I can understand that - not on the same level, but I gave my Maestro away cos I knew the bloke would love it and look after it - at the time I could have got about £100 scrap.

I do the same thing when I can Bobbi -karma n all that. Help someone out who genuinely needs it & someday someone will return the favour.
A quick re-cap for those who don't read every single thread on the forum -I know a lot only read the sections that are relevant to them:
I was at the Billing rod show last weekend, wandering round on my own as Taz was working. In the middle of the show field was "Pinball Wizard", a 1954 Ford Pop. Meant absolutely nothing to Taz when I told her later, but if you're of a certain age & into customs, it was one of the top show cars of it's day. That day being the early 70s. I was a school boy just getting into the custom scene & I remember seeing it at the big indoor custom shows at Alexandra Palace, drag racing at Blackbushe airstrip & in Custom Car magazine. With it's sunburst yellow & orange paint & flip up body, it just blew me away. This is the car indellibly etched on my memory as one of my all time favourites.
It's been on the road for over 35 years now, passing through a series of owners, being re-vamped a couple of times with fresh paint & various engines, even drag racing at one point with a nitrous injected 440 big block motor. Through all that time though, it's retained it's original stance & most of the original fittings & is still instantly recognisable as the Wizard.
Got chatting to Pete Le Grice, the current owner, & a chance turn in the conversation led us to chat about Dodge Chargers. The Wizard presently runs a 440 Charger engine with a 30 thou re-bore taking it out to 446 cubic inches. The previous engine was a standard 383, (6 1/4 litre), the same as Taz's. I was stunned when Pete casually said You can have it if you want it. Just come up to Derbyshire & collect it.
After several phone calls -mainly to check he really was serious, we rented a small van & drove up there on Saturday. True to his word, Pete had the motor loaded on a pallet ready to put in the van. It needs a new distributor cap, HT leads & an alternator, but he threw in the carb, starter motor, torque converter, flex plate & even a brand new tin valley gasket, still in it's box. Pete's a retired builder/carpenter & certainly isn't short of a few bob -Pinball now lives in a purpose built centrally heated garage, bigger than my old flat, alongside Pete's nitrous injected turbo CBX1000 Honda. Knowing I'm a big fan of his car & that Taz is passionate about getting her Charger on the road to get out there & enjoy it, Mr Le Grice was happy the 383 had found a deserving home.
We've added him to our long list of people we have to visit with the Charger when it's done.  :)

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One horse power outside the barn, several hundred inside -& 40 in the trike.

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Are you going to leave the Yellow bits Yellow? I think you should.

I lurve that bike!

In photo 070, the one with the tractor in the shed before it gets used, Is that MOO poking her arse out from between the sheds?

Yup, it is G. Looking very sorry for herself. Someone wanted the rear axle from her, (engine & box have already gone), but they haven't gotten back to us. We need to scrap the whole car but, being fibreglass, there's no scrap value to it. If we pull the axle out it becomes immovable. Number plate's probably worth a bit but you need an MOT on the vehicle before you can sell the plates.
So if anyone needs an axle, make us an offer & take it away -but you have to take the rest of the car too. We're in Guildford, Surrey by the way.
Taz is keen to keep the rocker covers yellow, but the paint's quite tatty & chipped in places so would need a respray. I'd personally prefer to strip & polish them as they're nice aftermarket aluminium ones, or maybe do them gloss black. The rest of the engine needs the paint stripping off & re-doing too as it's also quite tatty up close.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Leave them as they are, nice bit of history sitting in the engine bay and its not as if the cars going to be a show-boat is it 8) 8) 8)

Thought you'd say that Shaun! Yeah, you're probably right. Will also confuse people as to why the engine's bright yellow!  :D

Thanks Shaun that's what I say. I want to leave them yellow too. Yes they need re-doing but would be good to keep them as close to original as possible.

 ;D ;D 8)

I think it would also be kinda cool having the bright yellow rocker covers when you open the plain grey bonnet hood!

O.K, you lot win!  :)

my pleasure  :-* :-* :-* only they don't need redoing  ::) ::) ::) that is called patina 8) 8) 8)

 ;D

I second that

O.K, O.K! Sheesh, yellow it is then!  :P

Be thankful - it saves you another job!   ;)

 ;D Think I'm falling into the trap of thinking we've spent so much time, money & effort getting this far, nothing less than perfection will do -that way lies madness & bankruptcy! We originally set out to throw the thing together as cheaply as possible to have fun with. Already gone beyond that. There's a fine line between keeping it low tech & being scruffy just for the sake of it. I don't think the restoration guys would forgive us if we just threw it together after all the work they've put in. Tasteful patina, that's the way to go. 

I painted them about 15 yrs ago the whole engine used to be yellow so it may not be the original sorry

It's not the original 383 that was first in the car. We know that much. Pinball started with a 383 then had a 440 with nitros then at some point a 383 was put back in it then the guy who owns it now bought it then put in a 440.

There's signs of yellow paint all around the motor Paul, but someone's slapped a thick coat of black over everything -looks like it was done with the engine still in the car. We're going to strip that off & re-do it. Taz has got a couple of snapshots of the engine fitted in the Wizard. I'll nag her to scan & post them.

could be the original engine then it was etch primed the painted ppg chrome yellow it was a base colour of the mixing scheme same colour as the car ( so we would always be able to get it)

Yup that's the yellow. Will at some point have a scrape arround the engine and see what's under the black paint.

Here are some photos that I scaned of the 383 I now have when it was in Pinball

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The rocker covers & sump are yellow, but it looks like gold paint under the black on the crankcases.
Strangely, the gearbox that came with our car is exactly the same yellow, as were the original front wings & doors.

Karma ;)

Karma chameleon.

Went to visit John today to give him some pennies and to see if the car was back from the blasters. It wasn't so just a guick visit with nothing to report on the car. In Johns office is a Pinball machine and the theme is Pinball Wizard. Talk about coincidance.

I LOVE Pinball machines!

I'm addicted to all the noises!


 ;D

nice to see its comin along Taz, bloody lucky with the big block donation :) cracker :)

Taz & I nipped over to the restoration company in Cranleigh again yesterday, (about 20 miles from home). The car's still at the shotblasters at the moment -there was no rush to get it back until the next batch of panels arrived from the States & it freed up space in the workshop for other customer's cars.
Our next big box arrived from New Jersey this week though. I'd actually forgotten what we'd ordered so it was like Christmas, unwrapping all the bubble wrapped panels.
We've replaced virtually the entire body now, either with brand new repro panels from Jack's Autos in NJ, or with second hand parts sourced from various Mopar owners over here, plus an entire bulkhead panel taken from a scrapped Charger in Belgium. We started out having never dealt with foreign companies before, but are old hands at it now -this week's batch is our 4th order from the States, with probably one more to go.
Amazingly, none of the panel companies in America are interested in shipping abroad -as far as they're concerned, the World ends at the shores of the Atlantic. Presumably they get enough custom within their own country to make a profit, but they're missing out on a huge foreign market. Jack's Autos are a small, husband & wife company specialising in muscle car parts. They're the only people we've found who were willing to ship stuff to Britain & have been fantastic. Really nice, helpful people. We've almost become pen pals with them now, exchanging holiday photos etc. So they're ordering the panels from the American suppliers, then boxing them up & air-freighting them over to us. The parts are top notch quality, very heavyweight steel with nice crisp detailing -not like some of the paper thin, cr*ppy rubbish you get over here.
So. this week's big box of bits contained:
the entire trunk floor -this is often sold as 2 parts that have to be welded together, but the resto guys were pleasantly suprised to find ours is molded in one huge panel.
The 2 trunk floor extension panels that join it to the rear quarter panels.
The rear valance, (the panel under the rear bumper).
The sail panel, (between the back edge of the trunk lid & the bottom of the rear window).
Both rear wheel tubs.
And a replacement for the front driver's side inner fender. Ours was just about useable but had been badly scrunched then hacked about by a previous owner, trying to bodge up the damage caused by the front end shunt. 

Taz now has enough new panels awaiting fitting to warrant her own corner of the store room above the workshops.

JC Restorations specialise in classic Yank cars, with Chargers being John, the owner's, particular passion. They work on modern sports cars as well though & anything else anyone can afford them to do. We strolled into the workshop this week to find the bodywork guy working on an aeroplane!

Among the classics is this Plymouth. One of only 2 surviving from the Steven King film, Christine, about a car posessed by an evil spirit. Half a million dollars worth of cars were destroyed during the filming. This one belongs to someone in the music business & is a no expense spared, full concourse restoration. When it arrived it was covered in an inch & a half of filler, with the chrome tail fin trims held in place with 3 inch nails! Repro panels aren't available for this model so John's team are rebuilding every piece by hand -& you thought our car was bad!
In the background is a hee-uge '59 Cadillac sedan, one of 3 in the workshops at the moment.

Huggy Bear -now there was a cool dood.
Remember Starsky & Hutch's Ford Torino? When the TV cop show was on the screen back in the 70s, Ford built a limited run of a 100 replicas. The car on the left is one of them. The one on the right is a donor, being stripped for parts.

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Nice old truck with Wild West type canvas top belongs to one of the staff.

Will Taz's Charger ever look this good? Probably not, but it's not what we're aiming for & ours will have cost only a fraction of this owner's budget. The chassis & bodywork will certainly be beyond question though. Good as new.

Another of the '59 Caddys & the chassis from another.

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This belongs to Andy, the guy who's doing the work on Taz's car. He's cruised all over Europe in it. Hidden under the classic bodywork is a 2 litre Porsche motor.

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Last week Taz & I nipped down to MachineMart in Southampton & used a VAT free voucher given to us by Lunatic to buy a Clarkes engine stand. This will make working on the Charger engine far easier & safer.

What a fantastic place that workshop is - they could charge visitors for admission, it's better than a museum!

 ;D And they're quite happy for us to just wander around it all. They're used to customers with open cheque books who don't bat an eyelid at spending thousands & thousands of pounds restoring their cars, (who said there's a recession!), so we're pathetically grateful to them for taking on our scruffy old car & letting us pay bit by bit as the work progresses. JC Restorations are one of the top names in the country for this kind of work & the guys there really know what they're doing. After nearly a year of looking for someone to help us, they were the only company willing to take on our heap car. Everyone else took one look & advised us to cut our losses & scrap it.
So yeah, we like 'em.  :)

I used to have one of thoses when i was into building rods...excellent piece of kit....Voodoo...

Taz & I nipped back over to JC Restorations this morning to pay them some more pennies, (we're paying as we go, rather than getting a huge, frightening bill at the end of the job). The main body shell's due back from the shotblasters next week, but a few of the panels have already come back. Blasted & zinc coated. The doors are fine, except for a tiny patch of pin holes around an inch square on the back edge of one. That can be easily cut out & plated we're told. Bootlid also looks fine except for a similar small patch along one of the crimped edges. No big problem. Front valance, (the panel under the front bumper), is rust free but needs beating back into shape in a couple of places. May be cheaper to buy a new one than pay 40 quid an hour to have it repaired.
We're now waiting for the body shell before drawing up our final shopping list of parts to order from the States. We definitely need the driver's side door jamb, (B pillar), the channels that run down either side of the trunk lid & the rear cross member, (a fairly lightweight panel that runs across under the boot floor).
Depending on the condition of the body when it comes back we may also need a roof skin, (far cheaper than you'd think for such a big panel), & the rear light panel. We picked up a second-hand hood, (bonnet), as our original one was knackered, but it's got a big hole cut in it for an air cleaner. It's also bowed slightly from front to back. The hole's off-set to one side & we weren't keen on running with it open, so had planned to have Madron fabricate a fibreglass cowl induction scoop for it -one of those long, low profile ones that extend from the bonnet front, right up to the screen with the opening at the back edge. Taz would really rather have a standard bonnet though, especially after sitting in Stroker Blue's Road Runner at the weekend & not being able to see over his bonnet scoop. Again, not actually as pricey as you'd think -just over 100 quid, so maybe we'll replace it with fresh steel. We'll see. That'll mean Taz's Charger will leave John's workshops with a straightened & repaired chassis & literally an entire new body.
A hell of a lot more than we'd originally planned, but ain't that always the way. We're so glad we took the plunge & went to JC's for the work though. They've been fantastic & done an amazing job. If we'd tried to tackle it ourselves, we'd have given up & sold it for scrap long ago.

Taz's collection of new panels is slowly spilling out of the corner of the store room.

Huge 50s Caddy sedan.

Roadrunner I think, another Charger, 50s Cadillac, maybe a Ford behind it, modern BMW & 60s Mustang in the forground.

This Cadillac Eldorado is absolutely stunning. It's fresh back from the upholsterers & was due to be handed over to the owner today. It was red when it arrived at the workshops -4 years ago. Restoration work showed it was originally this pale metallic green. The owner hates green cars but as soon as he saw the test panel they painted in it, agreed no other colour would do. John performed the paintjob himself & it's flawless. £9.000 worth of chrome alone. Every single part has been completely rebuilt, with the underside as immaculate as the top. How much for this level of perfection? 86 thousand quid.

It's absolutely enormous. Runs a completely rebuilt 393ci motor -only slightly bigger than Taz's Charger but in a car that weighs 3 tons -a ton more than her Dodge.

Even the steering wheel's been cut up & repaired by the JC guys. Some beautiful details & clever gadgets. The gizzmo in the corner of the dashboard is a sensor that automatically dips the headlights if you're on full beam & another car comes towards you. BMW & Mercedes are only just fitting those to their cars now. This was built over 50 years ago. The huge trunk lid has a soft touch lock -try to slam it shut & it stops short of fully closing, then gently pulls itself shut like the drawers in modern kitchen units. It has electric windows all round, but tiny little winding handles to wind the quarter lights open -all very advanced considering just how old this car is.   

I love the 4 exhausts exiting through the corners of the rear bumper.
The Caddy's heading to Spain now, but next year the owner's taking a year off work to tour America in it.
Jealous? Ever so slightly.  :P

By complete contrast, as we left we spotted this Y reg Reliant in the farmers yard next door.
-yes, we're chasing it up.

how much!!! (http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll242/dinahthurst/jaw-dropping1.gif)

Go back through the last few pages of this thread & you'll see a white Charger with orangey brown interior
-90 thousand quid. Also a lemon yellow Charger in similar immaculate condition. That one was supposed to be at the Mopar Nationals at Santa Pod at the weekend, (Taz was there. Her photos online soon). The owner apparently decided not to take it -if you'd spent that much money on a car, would you wrap it up in cotton wool & never drive it to protect your investment, or drive the hell out of it to get your moneys worth from it? The latter for us.
And no, we're not even in the same city, let alone the same ballpark as those guys.  ;)

I want the Land Rover  :P :P :P :P

We went over to JC's today as the car is back from the blasters having had all the filler and paint removed. Well it was as bad as we thought but we now have a final list to order. The guy who's been working on the car is on holiday this week but will be starting back on it on Monday. Here are some of the photos we took today

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Yup, the shot blasters have removed all the filler & the paint -& most of the metal.

Just when we thought our car couldn't get any more knackered ...
yeah, it's now got more holes than a string vest, but we'd fully expected it to have. Areas such as the rear quarters are not so much full of holes, as completely empty spaces with the occasional bit of metal suspended in them. It doesn't matter though. We've already got a brand new set of panels to replace them -instant shiny new metal. We were expecting the body shell to come back from the blasters in a bucket, so this actually ain't that bad. It's as deconstructed as it can possibly get. Next week they start re-building it.  ;D 

Sir ....  you have my utmost admiration  ......  not one expletive in the write up that accompanies the last lot of photo's   ......   ;D

dont think I could have managed it .......   ;D


  ..  Hagar  ..   ;D

Must be one of those Dodge Colander's ;D

Like that Doc -I can see that name sticking  ;D
Hagar, it was said though firmly gritted teeth I assure you.
We knew from the start this wasn't going to be a cheap project, but we couldn't afford to buy a decent car so buying a cr*p one & spreading the re-build costs a bit was the better option. Selling Taz's beloved BMW covered about half the costs & the rest has come from a mix of our joint wages & my meagre savings. It's cost a lot more than we'd hoped but no more than we'd expected, if you see what I mean. Would've been nice to have put it together & ended up with a car worth more than we'd spent, but I reckon by the time it's done we'd probably break even now. However, unless there's a drastic change in the market, like we finally run out of oil for example, this will actually go up in value, unlike a modern car which depreciates the moment you fit the number plates on. In 5 years time, we wouldn't be able to afford to buy it or buy the parts to rebuild it.
So the teeth remain gritted & we press on. We've drawn up a final shopping list of panels to order from the States & while they're being shipped, the resto guys can start on the front end, fitting all the new metal. Blasting off the heavy coat of red oxide on the roof has revealed a patchwork of ...patches. Lots of little fill-in pieces, plus the two ends, above the front & rear screens, have been rebuilt with lightweight angle iron strips & lots of filler. The bodyshop chaps keep saying it must take a lot more work to re-form rotten areas in tin, lead & filler than to just buy a new panel. An entire new roof skin costs about a week's wages for me. Slice the old 'un off, stitch the new one on -job done. Still undecided about a new bonnet. The one we've got has a dirty great hole in the middle, cut by a previous owner to clear his oversized carb & aircleaner. We can either engage Madron's services to mold us a subtle sweeping cowl induction scoop to hide it, or buy a new bonnet. They're about a week & a half's wages though. We also need the 2 B pillars, (the bits the doors latch against), a rear light panel, a rear cross member, (a pressed steel panel under the boot floor), plus a couple of small braces.
We know what's come back from the blasters looks worse than what we started with, but the skeleton that remains is all good, clean metal -no lurking hidden rust, ready to creep back next year & undo all the work that's been done. By the time the body leaves John's workshops it'll be like new, but we'll only be able to afford to put the rest together from the boxes of parts we have at home, rebuilt & refurbished. Taz is happy to drive around in just an empty bodyshell though. Upholstery & trim can be added later if she wants it. 

All this work to fit a Reliant motor in..........sheesh.Respect. ;D

I saw worse on TV,the guy was rebuilding a VW Camper thingy.Think he was the President of the Split screen club or something like that.It'll be great when it's done,and at least you will know it's been done properly,god knows what's under the skin of some show stoppers.

Or do the above for now and think about a new bonnet way down the line when you've got it on the road?

That would be my plan Bobbi, but I know Taz would really prefer a new bonnet & it's her car after all. She recently sat in Stroker Blue's RoadRunner, which has a big NasCar type scoop on the bonnet, & couldn't see past it -& she ain't small. No point building something she can't drive, plus prices will only go up -if we struggle to afford one now, it'll be worse in a year's time. We'll see.
HillBilly. Getting involved in the British Mopar scene has really opened our eyes -now we look a lot more critically at other Yank cars & there's an awful lot out there being driven round with the bodywork held together with chicken wire & expanding foam -yeah, really. We've heard of vinyl roofs hiding rust holes the size of your fist & wings built almost entirely from filler. We've also driven a Charger & been able to watch the road going past under our feet. Chatted to another owner at the weekend who's opted for sorting the mechanical bits first, then the bodywork later, but we decided to go the opposite route. Once we've got a sound base to work from, we can refurbish the mechanicky bits & fit them without having to worry about removing them all again to rebuild the body/chassis underneath them. It's a long journey to having it up & running again, but well worth doing it properly we think.

Another instalment in the continuing saga today.
Our day off, so it was back to JC's this morning to check on the progress.
Finally, it's starting to look like a car again. Well, the basic shape's recognisable anyway. Andy, the guy who's doing the work, has fitted the new flitch panels, (inner front wings), bolted on the front fenders & hung the doors. He's borrowed the bonnet from fellow Mopar Muscle Association member Mark's Charger, being rebuilt on the other side of the workshop, to check the panel fit. He's having to rebuild lots of the awkward little corners between panels by hand, which is obviously time consuming, (which means expensive). A whole afternoon went into just fabricating the area between the top door hinge & bottom corner of the windscreen on the driver's side. Sections which originally took seconds to press out in the factory now have to be re-made from half a dozen hand cut flat pieces welded together. Overall, John & Andy seem happy with everything so we'll let them get on with it while we order the last body panels from New Jersey. 

Although the doors looked perfect to us when we bought them, shotblasting has revealed a series of small rust holes along the back edge of the driver's one, where its shuts against the door pillar, that'll need repairing. The passenger one's had dents pulled out of it, which has left bolt holes from the puller which need welding up. We knew when we bought them that one door's a 1969 model & the other's a '68 -the hole for the locking button on the inside is in a different place but the outside skins are identical. Just means we need to re-drill one of them. Fitting the doors has also shown that the hinges are worn so that the door sags. Our usual guys, Jack's Auto Parts, NJ, stock a hinge pin kit for $20, so we've added it to the shopping list.

We'd been there for about half an hour before we realised the temporary interior bracing bars had been removed. Andy's begun work on fitting the new driver's side rocker panel, (sill), & the bodyshell's starting to become a lot more rigid now. 

No air-con' in our car, (that's what windows are for), so the air conditioner pump holes in the replacement bulkhead will all be plated over.

The 2 square holes in the bonnet are for indicator warning lights, visible from the driving position. Imagine how strong the bonnet hinges have to be to hold up all that sheet steel. Taz bought a replacement pair from one of her fellow Mopar Muscle Association members.

The big Cadillac, just visible in front of our car, originally belonged to the Mexican President & arrived at the workshops painted in gold metalflake. It's the saloon version of the ambulance used in the Ghost Busters films. The guy who owns it has another four of them at home.

In the second pic you can see some of the many repair patches added at some point in the car's past, either side of the rear window. The new rear quarter panels we have will replace all these.

"our car"   ;D
How long are those wings (spose i should say fenders really)?

 ;D "Our" car as in the one we're both paying for, but it's Taz's name on the logbook so her final say on everything -yes, we're going for the new bonnet she wanted. I've got my own project car to play with.  :)
The front fenders are almost 7 feet long. Total car length is around 17 feet & 7 feet wide.

The new inner wings, ("flitch panels"). One of the first indicators we had that something was defnitely bent on the car was the fact that one flitch panel was an inch longer than the other.

The "Hockey Stick" mouldings at the back of the rear quarters are a common weak spot. They're made of a cheap alloy & often crack, as ours have, when bolted in place. John didn't think they were available but Taz has found reproductions for sale in Belgium, (from the guys who sold us the bulkhead). New panels are becoming available for Mopars all the time. There's another Charger in the workshops that arrived 6 months before ours. Panels that we've bought off the shelf couldn't be bought for that one & had to be fabricated, which bumps the repair costs up considerably. So the more we can buy in, the less we'll have to pay out in workshop time.

The Andy Brothers. Clever Andy, the fabricator, & Stoopid Andy, the Monkey.
The slotted top panel of the bulkhead, in front of the windscreen, has become available as a repair section since we began work on this. It was the 2 ends that hold the door hinges that were most rotten on ours though. No doubt they'll be reproduced soon too.

Tazzicle checks the progress.

More like writing the shopping list and the things we have to dig out of the garage  ;D

from when you first got it BIG BIG :) difference looking goooooood ;)

Thanks Texon. Good to still see you floating about  ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCouIz4opW0&feature=fvw

The cops can't catch those crazy Duke boys  ;D

 ;D Don't think 5th Gear's Vicki Butler Henderson really "got" the whole classic American scene.
Try Richard Hammond's Top Gear version.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnLktvQlg3g

she might've been able to do a quicker lap time, if she'd stopped yakking ;D

 :D We keep saying, Taz could do that job far better.  :)

 :-[ I wish

looking nice now both keep up the hard work.. :'( it will be worth it in the end  ;D

Thank you - but we can't take any of the credit yet. All we've done is pay for it. The guys at JC Refinishing, & in particular, Andy the bloke who's working on our car, deserves it all. We've drawn up what we hope is our final body panel shopping list. Just waiting for confirmation of prices & shipping costs from the States then we'll wire the money over.
We bumped into one of JC's crew at a local classic car show at the weekend, showing his own Mustang. He told us the floor panel's now in position in Taz's car, awaiting trimming & welding. Must've been a bugger to slot an entire one piece floor pan through the windows & drop it into place.
Meanwhile Taz used the company tractor to hoist the ex Pinball Wizard Charger engine onto it's stand today. Once securely bolted to it, she set about checking it over. I freely admit I'm no mechanic -I know what goes on inside a motor but I'm no good at fault finding or measuring wear & tear on components. We could really do with someone who knows what they're looking at to come & take a look.

Turns over fine -a lot easier once she took the spark plugs out  ;D
All the rockers & pushrods move freely.

We span the engine round on the stand & peered inside the sump.

The sump itself is odd. Capacity has been increased by welding in a 2 inch wide strip to the deepest part. There are also home made baffle plates. The actual sump shape is slightly different to our other Charger motor. Can anyone identify just what we have here?

Rather worringly, the filter on the oil pick up tube contained several pieces of ...plastic we think. Not magnetic anyway & didn't feel like aluminium. The valve stem oil seals perhaps? I know the Reliant ones are black rubber & harden with heat, becoming brittle & sometimes breaking up to work their way down into the sump.

We pulled off one of the crankshaft end caps. No signs of wear through the top coating & although a few small scores in the surface, nothing I would consider worth worrying about.
Lousy picture of the crank cos the light was fading, but no signs of major wear there either.
Opinions anyone?

Some good news at last ?

Hopefully. Taz posted these pics on the Mopar Muscle Association forum. General consensus of opinion was that the modified sump is from the larger 440ci motor & has been "banded" for extra oil capacity. A common mod apparently, although deep pan sumps are now available as aftermarket parts. It was also pointed out that although the sump has been deepened, the oil pick-up tube hasn't been lengthened by the same amount. The standard sump is considered fine for normal use, so I reckon we should just tart up the one from the original engine.

Just caught up with this thread after a good long while,keep going people,looking great,and I don't like cars all that much

Thank you for the encouragement Frederick.  :)
Paid our weekly visit to the workshops today, stopping off at the bank on the way to sort out the wire transfer of the money for the next shipment of panels from Jack's Auto Parts in New Jersey. Everything will be on it's way next week, except the door jamb pillars, (B posts), which will be sent a week or two later. The next lot includes an entire roof skin & a bonnet -that's gonna be one hell of a big cardboard box!

Andy, the guy who's handling our car, is very happy with all the AMD, (Auto Metal Direct), panels they've received, with the exception of the sill, (rocker panel), which came from a different supplier, Shermans. It wasn't up to his standards, being just a flimsy over-sill really, so he made the decision to make his own from scratch. Now it's the strongest part of the car. Took a lot of work to produce all the folds & curves. Very nice.

He's also completely rebuilt the A pillar on the drivers side.

The sharp eyed among you will have noticed we now have a floor too!

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We'd been so absorbed in the front end work, we hadn't noticed the back end was missing! We now have a very expensive hatchback!
With the floor & sills in place the car was strong enough to remove the remains of the rear quarters & start work on the trunk floor.

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The man & his work. Andy the miracle worker.

Big John, owner of JC Refinishing & the only guy we found who was willing to take this project on.

Tazet, a very happy Bunny, Monkey.
Hope she realises she's forfeited her Christmas & Birthday pressies for the rest of her life to pay for this motor!

I think it's great that Taz - and you - have had the vision to make her dream come true!
I remember Taz saying how much she would love to own a Charger.

Today's extra car piccie.
Remember the Starsky & Hutch Ford Gran Torino? The body's been lifted off the chassis of the donor car.
A nekkid Torino. Wonder if they want those wheels?
The car behind it's an old Datsun.  

It's wonderful to see parts starting to go back on Bobbi! Very dis-spiriting to see your dream car being slowly taken apart & to hear the never ending list of disasterous faults. What doesn't really show in the photos is the amount of preparation work that's gone on before things can go back together.
John, the shop owner, is a fellow Charger fan & reckons if it'd been any other model of car, he'd have advised us to cut our losses & scrap it like everyone else did.
This car would definitely have been destined for the scrap heap if we hadn't been daft enough to rescue it.

I'm starting to get jealous now  :'(


damn you monkeys...suppose I'm gonna have to add another thing to my wishlist...big yank muscle car to got with the jeep and the dayvan  ::)

 ;D Go on Steve you know you want to  ;D

Yes as Andy has said it's great to now see it starting to take shape and a straight strong shape at that. I don't mind not ever having birthday or xmas prezzies again so long as I can drive this for ever  ;D It'll be worth it in the end.  ;D

hi,
amazing work there, a very talented bunch of guys. they must be extremely proud of there work.
your going to end up with a top doller car.

them panels must be a bugger to ship being full width!!!

cheers chris.

New panels are becoming available all the time for Mopars. We could really do with the section above the windscreen, inside the car. Not yet available, but the corresponding rear window repair section has appeared in the catalogue since we started this.
Until now, the trunk floor has only been sold as two halves, left & right, which had to be welded together down the middle if you wanted a whole new floor. Ours is a one piece jobbie. Andy, the bodywork guy, tells us that may have cost us more to buy, but has saved us a day of his labour to align, weld & refinish. Jack's Auto Parts in New Jersey have been fantastic. All the panels come from AMD & are shipped from there, across the States to Jersey, where Jack's open them up, check them over then repack & ship out to us by air freight, direct to the workshops. They're only a small husband & wife shop, but are the only people we've found, interested in shipping abroad. We're very happy to recommend them. In fact, John the shop owner is so impressed, he's just ordered every new panel for his own Superbird restoration from them.

On a much smaller scale, i`m having similar trouble getting a fuel tank for the KZ, very few want to ship overseas, and the one i found that will, was way to much in shipping charges.

Seems the Yanks are convinced the World ends at their shores & nowhere outside their wonderful country is worth bothering about. I think they have the same approach to their visits to places like Iraq, Vietnam ....  :)

This is a reply to my thread on the MMA, (Mopar Muscle Association), from a guy called GeneralWee, who owned my car 3 owners ago:

This is not all the history of the car, but it stood for a long time on a drive and then in a garden in Bredbury, Stockport, near Manchester. I aquired the car whilst helping a mate at his garage, "Just US".
He was commissioned by a chap called Richard, from Devon/Cornwall way, supposedly a film maker, to build a pair of cars to reproduce the Bullit car chase. We did the Mustang, (which was in American Car World), and the Charger was to be sprayed up black and smashed up. I just couldn't let this happen. The cars were loaded and ready to be delivered, but thankfully this Richard chap, just couldn't come up with the money at the last minute. At this point I jumped in and had to pay double what had been paid for the Charger, to secure it. The Mustang was ebay'd.
The Charger had been standing for years outside, and the white vinyl roof had completely gone, but we got oil pressure up, put fresh fuel in and got the old girl running. We even drove it as the brakes were still up -although they were pants!! The motor wasn't bad, with 60 psi on tickover. It must've been stood about 12 years -there was a ticket inside from drag racing, (think it was from York?).
I started on the worst bit first -the roof was red raw rusty. So I bought a shot blaster and sand blasted it in the drive. Did a bit of welding around the sail panels, (either side of the rear window), and back of the roof, but decided it was too far gone for me when I found the front chassis leg and bulkhead were bent. Around the same time, the one I have now came up, and that was it. I sold it to a young chap who made a video of it, revving it up in a garage, then he stripped it. He then sold it in bits.
Will find out more from the locals up here, because there is more to tell. I know it had an accident and met a bloke once who had repaired it. I believe the guy who laid the car up used to travel to and from London regularly in it, but when fuel got expensive, parked it up at his Mum and Dads' house.
It was jacked up at the rear when I first saw it with some big wheels on -someone used the wheels on a rod before I got to it.
Also have some photos I will dig out and post soon.
But well done on the resto so far!!

I have some photos he emailed me of the car when he had it and will post them later once I've shrunk them.

amazing history.
cheers chris.

He's posted this today too

Found out a little more about the car from the lads in the pub last night, some of whom used to work for the likes of Moggy Mills etc.
Apparently it went through the hands of No.1 American some years ago, which was owned by Barry Moran (whose name was on the bottom of the front number plate) and Ernie Wright - I believe they may have been responsible for the yellow paint job, and maybe can shed some light on the accident damage that it had to the near side. Ernie is still very much in business in Ashton, and advertised in Classic American.
It was also seen running at the Pod I believe.

Here are some photos from when this guy Tim, (GeneralWee) had it.

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We nipped up the road to Bordon in Hampshire this evening & collected Taz's latest Ebay buy. Another small part in the jigsaw. A 35 quid filler cap. These are usually around 100 quid for new reproductions. The chrome outer ring appears to be genuine Charger, but the cap itself is from something else, redrilled to fit the surround. Very similar, but the orignal '69 ones had the word "fuel" in raised lettering on them. Maybe it's from a later, 70s Charger? The catch was knackered on Taz's original. As it's not being built as a 100% perfect, all original Charger, this is fine. We might powder-coat the cap to match the bodyshell & leave the surround in chrome.

wow just read this thread wish i could do this
it would be a choice between the 69 charger or a 69 mustang
doing a great job well done

Thanks. Still go a long way to go but we'll get there in the end.

We can't really take any credit for it yet as JC Refinishing are doing all the work at the moment. Our job starts when the completed bodyshell comes home.

Here are some more photos from the guy who had it before, from around 2003.
Just had an email from America saying that the parts will be ready to ship off to us on Tuesday. This is hopefully our final big order.

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I do have more photos but have to shrink them first so will post them tomorrow.

Bit of a mess isn't it. The guy who emailed the pictures to Taz says the accident damage was already there when he got it. We don't care who did it, we'd just love to know exactly what happened.
After this owner, the car went to a young lad who pulled it all apart, then sold it to the lad we bought it from. You can see the driver's seat in that last shot. The car left the factory 40 years ago painted blue with a white vinyl roof & blue upholstery. The seats still have their dark blue coverings but the patterned infill panels have been replaced with a lighter blue. We'll get them re-upholstered in black.
Jack's Autos in New Jersey ship the new body panels direct to JC Refinishing's workshops, so we don't get the fun of unpacking them. Would love to be there for this last shipment though. It'll contain an entire roof skin, a new bonnet, both B pillars, (the door jambs), the inner rear wheel arches, the rear light panel plus it's reinforcing brackets, a battery tray plus a set of door hinge pins. Think that's all. That's gonna be a hell of a big box. Think of all that bubble wrap to play with!  

all i can think of is £££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££..................... :o

I'm trying not to think about that.  :(

be worth it in the end,
trouble is you'll still be spending all this money but on fuel!!!   lol

 ;D Taz's old 3 litre BMW ClubSport used to do about 20 to the gallon. The Charger will do about half that, but we're planning on fitting an LPG tank in the boot, (Liquid Petroleum Gas). Current price for that's about 60p a litre & it'll do twice as many miles as normal petrol. Which will make the Charger about as efficient as the Beemer -not great, but a little more bearable.

stick a turbo diesel in it  ;D ;D ;D

















































 :P :P :P :-*

Dam good idea, i`ve got a 2.5 transit up for sale, chassis is shot but the engine is ok  ;D

Can you imagine the reception we'd get at the Mopar muscle meets with that?! We'd get lynched!
                         -not a bad idea.  ;)

Er
























NO I don't think so. Wouldn't settle for anything under 3.5  :)

4.5 v8

(http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/x08pt_8c091.jpg)









DIESEL!!!

Interesting. Bet it's got a good price tag too

When the body is finished, will there be any bits at all of the original car?  Cos it sounds from the lists you keep posting, that absolutely EVERYTHING is being replaced!

Er yup most of it will be new yes.

Maybe it ought to be SVA'd as a new vehicle but where do you draw the line between restoration & new build? We're replacing like for like, old panels for identical new panels. It's still a 1969 car as far as we're concerned but 90% of the body panels will be brand new. The rest will be from half a dozen different donor cars, plus a little bit of the original.
Just had an email from Jack's Autos in New Jersey with the shipping costs for the final box of bits. I'll arrange the wire transfer with the bank after work tomorrow, then they'll be on their way.
We called at the workshops this morning to pay a little more of our bill & check on progress. We were greeted with "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"
Oh Gawd, now what? We really can't afford any more problems. There can't be anything left that hasn't been repaired.
Turned out that John & the boys had tried our K member in place & found it's several inches out of line & wouldn't fit the straightened chassis. That's the front "clip" -the suspension/steering cross member. Actually we'd half expected that so it wasn't such a shock. With the amount of crash damage to the rest of the car it was inevitable really. Someone's had a go at slotting all the mounting holes to get it to fit so presumably it's been driven like that at some point. Scary.
A quick post on the Mopar Muscle Association forum & Taz located another from a '68/'69 Road Runner. Lots of the 60s machines shared components, so that's exactly the same as ours. I'll collect it from the seller at the Hotrod Drags in 2 week's time. This is a borrowed one from the workshops that shows how it should fit.

A spare K member sat in place, with our twisted one sat behind it.

John the owner of JC Refinishing, Taz & Andy the bodywork guy.

John's just invested a very large chunk of cash in a new toy -a long reach spot welder. That allows them to reach over the rear chassis legs to spot weld the new trunk floor in place. Ours is the first car they've tried it on. Previously they could only spot weld the outside edges of the panels & had to MIG weld the rest. Works just fine & means they can fit large panels in the same way they were at the factory.

Taz tries her hand at spot-welding. We pointed out that'd be two welds less on our bill. John pointed out he'd have to charge us for teaching Taz how to weld.  :P

Today's "What's in the yard" pic.
This beat up ol' '59 Caddy is one of a fleet of them at the workshops, all owned by the same guy & awaiting restoration.

.

That reminds me of when on Only Fools And Horses, Trigger said "I have had this broom for years!.......It's only had 4 new heads and 3 new handles"

Still, I'd say that it shouldn't be SVA'd because it has the origional chassis and chassis number, just because the rest of it is new or replacement, that's just cosmetic to ensure that it is road worthy and leagal and MOT passable! plus the added fact that if you did SVA it as a new vehicle it would be a 2009/2010 charger and not a 1969.

Thats my 2p's worth any way.

its original not modified so just get it on the road ;D

Don't even think about it  ::)

Trust me, I won't.  ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU_Us09Oa6Q&feature=channel_page


 ;D ;D ;D 8)

Whats a trunk? i`m gettin worried that your going all yank on us  ;D

 :P When we email the guys in the States to order parts they don't understand us unless we talk in Americanese. Id've thought "Bonnet", "Wing" & "Boot" would be obvious enough, but apparently not. In the end Taz had to go find the online catalogue they were ordering their supplies from & give them the order numbers for each part.

maybe next time show them pics of what you need haha  ;D

What next time. This is a once only thing never to be repeated again.

Ever!

are yous really really sure  ;D ;D

Our bank manager's absolutely certain.

Had an email from Gail at Jack's Auto Parts in New Joisey, (we're on first name terms now, swapped holiday pics etc!). Taz's latest shipment of panels has been in their shop, waiting on the shipping costs to be worked out, for a week or so. Sorted now, money wired over to them & cleared by their bank. So the big box o' bits will be on it's way in the morning. That should, (hopefully), be all the bits the guys at JC's need to get on & finish the body rebuild. 

thats good news hope they havnt forgot to put all the parts in  ;D

Among the bits are a new bonnet, (about 6 feet square), & an entire new roof skin. So it'll be a big box!

surely that wont get lost in the post ;D ;D

No, but they might have trouble getting it in the letterbox
-& don't call me Shirley.  :P

haha nice one mate ;D ;D

Picked up the replacement front cross member from one of Taz's Mopar Muscle Association forum members at the Hotrod Drags this weekend. It carries the front engine mounts, steering assembly & suspension. It's a chunky ol' lump of steel. Must have been a hell of an impact to twist the old one out of shape.

Well, the last, (I hope), shipment of body panels finally arrived at John's workshop today. I'm running a livery yard all by myself at the moment, so working over 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I've been busting a gut all day today, trying to create enough spare time to nip over to the workshop & see my parts arrive, but everything conspired against me & I just couldn't get there.
This has to be the last parts we order for the forseeable future as we just can't afford any more. The rest of the car's going to have to be built on a shoestring budget to compensate. Really disappointed we couldn't be there today to see the big boxes arrive & help unpack all that lovely new steel.   :'(
My heart sank when John told me something must've been dropped on the roof panel in transit, but he reckons it's just a couple of minor dings, (God, I hope so!).
The guys at Jacks Autos in New Jersey are equally anxious to know the parts arrived safely, (they've been fantastic & we thoroughly recommend them for shipping Mopar parts from the States), so Andy & I hope to get to John's on Monday afternoon.
A whole weekend of waiting   :(

it will be like a early christmas for you s except you dont get to unrap the pressies hope the rest of the parts are dent free  :)

Because Taz is working such daft hours at the moment, we haven't been to see the Charger for a couple of weeks now. The guys at the workshop certainly don't need any directions from us, just more money, so we're quite happy to let 'em get on with it. Can't wait to see how it's progressed though & to take a look at those new panels. One of Taz's fellow Mopar Muscle Association forum members is visiting the workshop tomorrow, (Saturday mornings are a sort of open house for past & present customers), & has promised to send us some pics. 

One of the guys on the MMA took some photos for us of the car now and the last shipment order.

.

.

my god it looks like a car!!! ;)

sure does cant wait to see the finished result ;D

Well, as usual, there's good news & bad news-
At first glance everything looked fine, but it's just been pointed out to us that there's a dirty great dent in the roof panel. Almost inevitable that a panel that big would sustain some damage somewhere along the line I suppose & now it's here, delivered & unpacked, we've got no proof it was done in transit. Hopefully it's a "soft" dent that will pop or pull out & not a sharp crease. Either way, I'm sure it can be rectified, just bloody annoying.
Never mind. A small blemish compared to the state the car was in!
We've got the last of our new panels -hurrah!! 

know that is annoying pity they never took pics of the panels before shipping them to you then you might have had proof looks quite a large dent as well hope it will be a easy repair  :)

We're heading over there tomorrow afternoon so will know then. Fingers crossed.

hope it will be easy repair mind let us know good luck mate :)

Not long got home from our horsey duties -Taz runs a livery yard & now the temperature's starting to drop overnight, we have to nip down there in the evenings & put rugs on the 'orses to keep 'em warm.
So- the workshops have been visited & the new panels inspected. Everything's perfect except for that roof panel -& to be honest, it doesn't look that bad. No sharp creases, thank God. A bit of a knock on the front left corner, (driver's side), & a couple of "soft" dents that should pop out with a bit of luck. John & the team reckon we should claim on the courier's insurance, but now everything's here & unpacked, I'm not sure we could prove it didn't happen after delivery. Certainly not worth the hassle & expense of sending it back to the States for a replacement. Think we'll probably end up just accepting it as an unfortunate accident & rectifying it. We've had 4 or 5 shipments of panels & this is the only damage in the whole lot. 
Hard to show in photographs, but look at the top right corner of the windscreen that John's holding in this photo & you can see how the roof lifts where it's been bashed.
Look at that lurvverly smooth new bonnet -sorry, "hood".

.

The other dents are in the centre & towards the rear right side, (passenger side), but are more like the panel's just been popped inwards, rather than proper dents. With the new roof skin laid over the old, you can see where the new rear quarter panels will meet it along the rear pillar. We also have new guttering panels to go along the edges, so will be a whole new, continous skin.

To be honest, not a lot's happened since we last visited a couple of weeks ago. Andy the body guy's been waiting for all the panels to arrive so he knew what needed cutting/repairing etc. Suits us cos we don't get charged by John for storage. He's taken the drivers door off & removed the outside skin to repair a few rust holes. 

looking better by the week. keep the piccies coming very nice

hi andy and tanya about the couriers and insurance i would take pics of the roof panel and send them to insurance and tell them you are having it repaired and they should meet the costs just a idea but it is looking very good dont see why yous should have to pay for couriers neglience :)

I was on a hotrod run yesterday & chatted to a guy who'd imported a pick-up truck from the States. When it arrived there were boot prints up the bonnet & across the roof. The shippers don't care if it's your pride & joy, it's just cargo to them. John said if an insurance claim were made, they'd estimate 25 hours work to repair the damage. Probably a couple of hours work in reality. I think we'll just chalk it up to experience. We actually said in our last email to Jacks Autos in the States that we were worried about the roof panel getting damaged. They said don't worry, we've packed it really well. It arrived in a cardboard box. Not laziness on their part, I don't think they really apreciated just how far it had to travel & how bashed about it would get in transit.

the main thing is its going to look fantastic when finished and as long as you s are happy with the results thats all that matters :)

We are Steve. The car's in the best possible hands & although paying the bill's a struggle, in the long run it'll be worth every penny.
John's a very straight talking guy. He doesn't mince his words & tells you exactly what he thinks, good or bad. No bad thing.
From the start he's been telling us just how cr*p our car was, how much needed cutting off & throwing away, how it'd never be a show winner, but would at least be solid & driveable when they were through with it.
Today he offered to buy the car off us for the 6 grand we paid for it!  :)
He said, no offence, but it's a shame this car's in your hands now, cos you can't afford to give it the level of finish it deserves to do the bodywork justice -! We know what he means though. It's gone from the ugly duckling that everyone told us to just scrap because it wasn't worth repairing, to the swan that everyone's admiring & can't wait to see on the road.
The guys at the workshop are very impressed with the quality of the pattern panels. They were certainly worth investing in & should last another 40 years.  :) Here Taz compares the new drivers side door jamb, (B pillar), panel with the old.

john sounds like a decent guy and no offence to him but no matter on finish if his workmanship is good it could be a show winner no matter what and i personally take my hat of to both of you for doing it   :) 

I keep saying "our" car, but it's Taz's baby. She's the one who's stuck with it, & been determined to see it through, despite all the doom n gloom merchants saying how awful it was. Those very same guys are now saying how great it looks! I can't wait for the day she comes back from the MOT station in it, clutching a fresh MOT.  :)

so taz not going to give you a shot of driving it then  :o

I reckon I'd have to fight her for the keys -& she'd probably win.  :P

i know what you mean mate ;D ;D

We had a package from the States in the post today.
We've been joking with the guys at Jack's Autos in New Jersey that it would be like Christmas Day when Taz opened up all the boxes from the last big panel order. Unfortunately she was working so missed their arrival at the workshops, & the roof panel was slightly damaged, so it was more like Boxing Day, when you get to play with all the busted toys you got the day before.
So Gail, the very nice parts orders lady we deal with, sent Taz their new catalogue, plus a couple of American muscle car magazine back issues, featuring her husband Jim's cars, (Jack's Autos is run by Gail, Jim & his brother ...Jack). She'd wrapped them in Christmas gift wrapping.  :)
John needs to fit the windscreen to check the roof alignment, so we may need to make another rush order from Jack's for the windscreen rubber & retaining clips.

good to know some people still have a sense of humour!!! ;D

Latest in a string of emails from the Yanky dudes:

Hi Andy and Tanya, 
I'm so glad Taz enjoyed her Christmas present. No, I don't need those magazines back. When Jim had his car in the magazines, he got a case of each one, so I have plenty still at home. I just thought you'd appreciate seeing how Jim, a person who owns a car restoration parts shop, does restore his own cars and knows the cars well.
A lot of people have jobs, but don't "bring it home with them". He does and applies it to the hobby and his own cars. We have 2 other cars now, but they haven't been in magazines, a 1970 Lime Green Road Runner, with a convertible white top and white interior and a car Jim restored for our son -a 1970 Duster 340, red with a black vinyl roof and a matt black out hood. Also, had a 1970 Superbird, Lemon Twist color that we sold about 6 years ago, a stupid move on our part, as we miss that car very much. 
Regards, Gail

Isn't it great to make friends like that!

It is. Mind you, the large wads of cash we keep sending 'em probably help.  :P
Taz finally had a day off work today -her first for 5 or 6 weeks, so we spent it on a romantic visit to the car restoration shop.
Andy the bodywork guy's started hanging the rear panels on. Everything's just pinned together with self tapping screws for the time being, while he trims away the old steel & checks the fit of the new.

New inner arches, ("tubs"). Andy's really pleased with the fit of the new "Auto Metal Direct" panels. Far superior to the "Year One" & "Sherman" panels they normally have to work with apparently.

The swage lines along the body line up really nicely. As there's 3 of them, running in different directions, they usually have to modify the new panels when they arrive to make things flow better. Less work for Andy means less pennies for us to pay out.

Safest place for the new roof skin for the time being is sat on top of the old one. With a layer of filler dust disguising the dents it doesn't look so bad!

The boot floor's fully spot-welded now -strong enough for Andy to stand in while he works on the rear quarters.
John reckons there's maybe 100 Chargers in Britain. 101 now?

John took us down to the finishing shop to show us another customer's car. Very, very nice "JT40" GT40 replica, with big block Ford engine & Renault gearbox.

They're waiting for a new crate motor to arrive for this Chevy. A 383 small block. I love that colour!

The guy who's working on these, built this.

Awaiting work. Nice old Oldsmobile.

And another of the fleet of '59 Caddys, all owned by the same guy. That's just plain greedy.  :P

The Chargers starting to come together nicely eh.

Love that GT40..

Without it's wheels it reminded me of James Bond's Lotus submarine.
Taz & I had a ride in our friend Bill's GT replica

http://mankymonkeymotors.co.uk/Hotrodpageimages/billsgt40/words.html

Stunning looking car, but possibly the most uncomfortable, claustrophobic vehicle I've ever travelled in.

that charger of yers Taz is really looking the bis ;D bet yer right chuffed with it so far :)

Chuffed is one word for it  ;D. Yes I'm really pleased with it and looking forward to the day I can drive it but that's still a long way off.

It looks quite exciting now - like a real car!

keep plugging away Gal.... yer really getting there :)

is that image from the album " a story tellers night "  by magnum ?

Couldn't figure out where you'd got that photo for a minute -it's on the tank of the bike owned by the guy who now owns "Pinball Wizard", the famous Charger engined custom Ford Pop, who gave us his old Charger engine for free.
Yeah, you could well be right Sir.

My day off today, but Taz had to work, so I made a quick solo visit to JC Restorations to check on progress & pay John another couple of hundred quid off our bill.
No further progress on Taz's car though as several of the workforce are on holiday so Andy, the guy who's working on ours, was seconded to other vehicles. No matter, gives us a chance to catch up on the payments a bit. I dropped off the front K member we bought from one of Taz's fellow MMA members, to replace the original twisted one. Next job for us is to order a complete set of suspension bushes. They'll either come from Steve at "Beaver Bushes", (!), or from Jack's Autos in New Jersey. Cheaper to buy from the States but we have to weigh that against the shipping & import charges. We also need a front windscreen rubber so JC's can put the glass in to check the fit.

Wrap it up. I'll take it with me.
Various motors awaiting work. An Oldsmobile, a Daimler & a Volvo Amazon.

Another Dodge Charger. This one's a '72 model. Different shaped back end & nowhere near as desirable as the 60s models, (if it's yours, sorry but they're not!).

Bungee strap steering column support must've been an optional extra, as was the floor by the look of it.
This one's a column shift. Note the collapsible section in the column. Every car has one now, but this is 40 years old.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1968-DODGE-CHARGER-528-HEMI_W0QQitemZ230392948619QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item35a47d678b

30k  :o :o :o

bloody hell 

"Reserve not met". Highest prices go to "numbers matching" cars -the original engine & chassis as they left the factory, but that jumbo hemi motor bumps up the price I guess. He's erm, very vocal about how wonderful his car is isn't he.

a left hand drive anglia ,never seen one of them before ,i used to own two anglias at the same time and ended up givin them to me dad,he scrapped em both,ive had a few old cars in my time including various capris ,all marks,umteen minis,mk 2 escorts,vivas,old cotinas,moggy minors and hill man imps,and avengers,also marinas.wish i still had em all,probs worth a small fortune now.

I've had 3 Moggy Minors -a van, a pick up & an ex Police Panda car saloon.
Hadn't even noticed the Angle Box was left hand drive! My Mum had one when I were a kid. Still remember the registration & always look out for it at classic shows.

still got the moggy i bought for the ex,s lad   may have to sell soon  :(  need the space for storage over the winter

I noticed the reg on the Anglia is French ;D ;D

Seen a couple of Anglias here But I haven't seen one of these anywhere for years.
http://cgi.ebay.fr/rare-ford-zodiac_W0QQitemZ220498902279QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFR_JG_Auto_Pi%C3%A8ces_Automobiles_Test?hash=item3356c23d07

An old mark 4 Zodiac. My mate's Dad used to drive us to our cub scout meetings in one when I was a kid. I remember the 2 of us sliding up & down the polished bench seat every time he went round a corner. We never got tired of it.
Taz & I both had the day off today, so we nipped over to the workshops to check on the Charger. No more progress yet. We've been side-lined in favour of a couple of quick, easy money jobs on modern cars. Can't blame John for that -we pay him a little when we can afford it & he's not chasing us for it at all, but it's frustrating when all the panels are there & just waiting to be fitted.
This twin wheel Chevy Silverado truck was in for a new front wing & paint touch up. It's absolutely enormous. Diesel powered, with an extra tank in the pick-up bed. Taz loved it.

The grey Volvo Amazon's been there for a while now. It was in a nice metallic gunmetal grey when it arrived. Looks to be being prepped for a respray. A mild custom with something bigger than stock under the bonnet. I've always liked Amazons. Nice shape.

Another new arrival. This Dodge Demon's had a light rear end shunt & is awaiting a visit from the insurance assessor.

Ooooh I like the Dodge  :)

Taz & I both had the afternoon off today, so back to the workshops to check on progress.
Andy the bodywork guy's back on our car again now & things are starting to take shape. He's concentrating on the back end, hanging panels on self tapping screws & moving them around until the fit's right. The AMD panels we've imported are a much better fit than other makes they've used before & come with all the relevant flanges & channels, which saves him having to fabricate them. They also retain all the subtle double curves of the original body, whereas some other makes of panel are more basic & don't flow as nicely.
Both rear wheel tubs are now in & permanently welded to the shell. The two rear quarter panels are on but will have to come off again at some point so he can access the areas underneath them. 

The rear sail panel, (the flat section between the rear window & bootlid -sorry, "trunk"), is in, but there's still a strengthening box to go in underneath it, which is laying in the trunk in this pic.
Andy's had to rebuild the interior panels at either end of the parcel shelf. Of the various slots in the parcel shelf, 2 are optional speaker mounts, 2 are optional rear seat belt mounts & one is the rear window demister mount. Posh eh.

The rear light panel's also fitted, but still has to have it's strengthening braces added.
Taz's 1969 Charger has long oblong rear lights. The earlier '68 version had seperate round lights. Personally I prefer the round ones & we could've bought & fitted the '68 panel, but then it wouldn't be a '69 Charger!

The trunk's now strong enough for Andy to stand in while he works -when we first bought the car you could see the road through the trunk floor! The weight of the huge fuel tank full of unleaded will hang from the underside of the trunk, so it'd be nice if it didn't fall out the first time we fill it up.
He's made a plywood template of the rear window -plywood's easier to replace if it gets damaged than 40 year old glass. With this dropped in place, he can see that all the rear panels need tweaking to the left a little -the reason everything's just pinned together with screws & mole grips for the time being.

The replacement K member we picked up from "CannonBall" of the MMA forum fitted perfectly, so the twisted one that came with the car can be binned. It holds all the front suspension & steering components, so now the car should point in vaguely the right direction, which is good.
Andy's also added the driver's side door jamb panel, (the "B post").

He's done an awful lot of work that doesn't even show until it's pointed out.
We bought the replacement doors from Dave Two Lanes & thought they were near perfect, but shot blasting them revealed several rust areas. Andy's removed the skin from this door, (driver's side), cut out the bottom front & rear corners & fabricated new sections, then welded them back in. You can't see the join at all until you run your hand over the inside of the door skin. He's also rebuilt the rear of the door where it shuts against the frame. Then he's re-fitted the skin. Good as new. This guy's a real craftsman.

So nothing for us to do at the moment, but get out of his way & let him get on with it.  :)

This is one of John the shop owner's own cars. A very pretty Mustang. Just waiting for new wheels & tyres now after a complete rebuild.
Latest workshop tools to arrive are the shrinker & English wheel -the orange & white tools in the foreground.

And the Oldsmobile's almost ready to leave. Sounding very smooth. More next week.

Looking the biz mate  :D

yep, I bet Taz is chuffed, I had to catch up a bit as I have been away with health issues...getting better now

It's amazing to look at it now compaired to what it was when you guys got your hands on it, It's also amazing that what has been done to it can be done. I remember you saying that the price tags on most of the restorations Andy and his crew do are very high, but when you look at what they actually do and how they do it you can see where the cash gets spent. I know you guys are on a budget with this one, but you must be thankfull that this chap can do what he does and as the old saying goes "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!" (No pun intended) So its good to know that your money is being spent by him in a good way and not just charging you for a resetoration on a BODGE Charger.

Nice one guys! Loving the updates. Keep them coming. :)

Thanks guys and yes very pleased with the work so far. Money had ground almost to a halt now so progress will be a lot slower from now on but will keep you all posted when new things happen. Mr G you are so very right.

From a Bodge Collander to a Dodge Charger.  :)
Next week they hope to cut the roof off! Gotta get piccies of that!
This is gonna be a long haul project -much more than we ever originally intended it to be, but it'll all be worth it the first time it rumbles into life & rolls out of the garage.  8)

well you best start planning the coming out party   
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, because it will have to be a big one ;D ;D

Kin Right!

Geez you guys, im away from here for a short while and everything changes. Thats going to be 1 sweet charger real soon.

I think once this is on the road it'll be the most travelled Charger around as we have a massive list of people to visit in it but the first must be my mum at her work place or I'll get shot if I don't. Then the rest of the country  ;D

Gonna be a sweet ride for sure ;D

You'll need a lot of cash to get this far north  :D

Next project will be a matching fuel tanker to follow Taz everywhere she goes.

Only 1!!!!, lol.

 ;D

Went to see the Charger the other day. Not much progress but everything is now nearly lined up on the rear end and the trunk lid now sits in the hole where it should. Photos not great as I could not get far back enough to fit the whole thing in

what a big rear you've got!!!! ;D :P

All the better to carry the LPG fuel tank.  :)
The trunk lid's a second hand one, courtesy of a forum member of the Mopar Muscle Association website, but it looks pretty straight doesn't it. I was working, so Taz did the workshop visit on her own this time. Can't wait to get the beastie home now -the Charger, not Taz.  ;D

there's nowt wrong with Taz's rear...I seen the pics  ;D ;D

 ;D

Whens it coming home then?

As soon as it's put back together mate!
We're not being charged storage while it's there & being worked on, but might well be when it's done. We're trying to keep our payments up to date so we don't owe a big wad of cash when it's finished.
Taz recently picked up a brand new windscreen rubber from one of her Mopar mates for 30 quid. Next on our shopping list is a full set of steering/suspension bushes. Got to choose between rubber, which gives a soft, comfortable ride but wears quite quickly, or polyurethane, which lasts forever, but gives a harsher ride & is prone to squeeking till it beds in.
It's got to be on it's wheels when it leaves the shop or we won't be able to do anything with it back at our barn. Lots & lots of work still to do once we get it back.

Another trip to the workshops today. Santa's little Mopar elves have been busy since we last visited.
Taz's rear? Does her bum look big in this?  ;D

Since we last called, the old buckled roof panel has gone & the new, dented one has taken it's place.
If you've been paying attention you'll know we ordered the roof from the States & were assured it'd be very carefully packaged for the journey. The guys at Jack's Autos have been faultless up till now but it arrived in just a cardboard box, looking like it'd been sat on in transit by a particularly overweight heffalump. You can see some of the dents along the front edge on the driver's side -that's the left by the way. Not worth the hassle of sending it back. I was hoping the dents would just pop out, but will take a little more time than that. The front lip, above the screen, has a couple of creases in it that'll take a bit of work to rectify. Other than that, it fits pretty well.  

Some very careful measuring by Andy & workshop owner John. Everything seems to line up nicely. Although you can't see it here, Andy the bodywork guy has completely rebuilt the lip under the front of the roof, (the bit the sun visors would attach to). As is normal practice, he built it a little oversize then trimmed it back till it fitted just right.

To be sure the roof pillars & the roof itself are correct, the guys need to fit a screen. We've got a new rubber & the promise of a good condition second hand screen from Mr Dave Two Lanes. Fortunately John had one in his spares stash. The rubber's a bugger to fit.

-the first one to point out the car's sunk lower on Taz's side will get a slap. Ouch!

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Amazing how much difference the screen makes. Makes the whole front end look ..curvier, somehow.

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John took some photos of the car minus it's roof & has promised to email them to us, so we'll show you our Charger Cabriolet when we get them.
On the opposite side of the workshop is another Charger, belonging to a chap called Mark. This is what we aspired to when our car first arrived at the shop, though we never really thought it'd get that far.
 -snap!

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This week's "What's in the yard" photos have moved indoors cos it's bloomin' cold out there.
A Lotus in front of the paint booth.

Daimler -did they have rear discs as standard? -& my favourite of the day, a luvverly old Landie, in for a new paint job.
Personally, I think it's perfect as it is.

It's so-o-o cool! Like a big Tonka Toy.

Opening the door & peeking out into the yard, a very nice '64 275 GTS Ferrari.
One identical to this was recently driven by Jeremy Clarkson on "Top Gear". Can't be many of these about so probably the same one as Top Gear's filmed just down the road at Duxford aerodrome.

Would you be brave enough to take a sheet of sandpaper to a Ferrari?

Belongs to a certain Mr Sainsbury.
Yes, that Mr Sainsbury.

that charger coming on in leaps and bounds :) i know there's loads to do but from where it was, sure looks the part now ;D

 ;D Yup it sure does. At least it's now starting to look like a car rather than a pile of scrap  ;D

Looks pretty exciting to me - remember the days when you said you'd love to own a charger but it was never going to happen?

Yes Andy having owned the 2.4 and 3.8 i can say yes they were way ahead of the time for disc brakes all round.

I used to earn some extra cash by working a couple of hours a week as a workshop monkey & tea boy for a local guy who restored Jags. I got to drive a couple of mark 2s & very nearly wrote off the front of an XK120 when I couldn't find the brake pedal in time when being towed across the yard in it. Always fancied a mark 2.

"Remember the days when you said you'd love to own a Charger but it was never going to happen?"

Seems a long time ago now Bobbi. We were very naive when we bought the car & against everyone's advice, thought we could throw it back together quite cheaply. It's rapidly emptying our bank account & has reached the point where selling it would just about recoup what it's cost us. We know it's shaping up alright though cos John the workshop owner's gone from jokingly offering us 50 quid for the scrap metal to offering us the 6 grand we paid for it!
There's around a hundred Chargers in the country, (we followed a white one through Guildford the other evening!), & John's known nearly all of them at one time or another. They're all over 40 years old. He says Taz's may well be the most solid in the country. Not suprising as it's virtually a brand new car now!  

Here's some photos of a '69 Charger, taken from the Mopar Muscle Association website.
Just how I intend to drive mine!

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If you have 3D glasses stick em on for this photo

what you mean your gona drive it like daisy duke  ;D

Oooh this man likes to live dangerously!

its ok i live far away

Not far enough  :P I can still get you  :P

Depends if we can afford the petrol to get to him!

Thats a nice series 1, would like one of those to add to my collection of vehicles  ::) ::) ;D

Taz's Christmas pressie-
A set of painted Smoothies. 8" x 15" for the back & 7 x 15 for the front. They'll take 275 & 235 tyres respectively. I also threw in a set of polished stainless trim rings. Once Taz has finally decided on the colour, we can get them painted & she can have the tyres for her birthday in January.
-Who said romance was dead?!   ;D

did'nt know wheel companys were sending them out wrapped in christmas paper!!! :P ;D

very nice.

Yeah, we insist on all our car parts being gift wrapped.  :P

andy,,   cuold you pm me where you found them luvverly rims ,,,just what i,m looking for,,  but i need 5stud on 5inch pcd
                                           ta
                                            mike

North Hants Tyres in Aldershot. Their details are in the Links for Commercial Services part of the forum. Scroll to the bottom of the post there though, cos they moved. New address is at the bottom of the page.
They're plain steel Smoothies, which come in grey primered finish.They also do a chrome version & reversed chrome, (deeper dished). Very helpful & knowledgable chaps. I'll be going back to have the tyres fitted once Taz has decided on a colour. I think they're shut until the New Year now.

Those pics are so cool....looks like a scene out of the film vanishing point .....cant remember if the car was a charger in the film? ??? ???

T'was a Challenger, though I've just read somewhere that the engine noise was dubbed from a Charger
-so half right then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sn1w1yJKKE

Not exactly progress, but another thing crossed off the shopping list.
It's Taz's birthday this week. I bought her the wheels for the Charger for Christmas & promised she'd get the tyres to go with 'em for her birthday. She managed to get the day off work today so we nipped over to North Hants Tyres in Aldershot & picked her up a set of Hercules rubber. 235/60/15s for the front & 275/60/15s for the back.
I'd hoped to get the tyres fitted on the rims today, but Taz still hasn't decided on the colour. So Loony's going to spray some bits of scrap tin in whatever greys he's got in stock to help her decide. Then the wheels can be painted & tyres fitted. White lettering facing inwards -I hate white lettered tyres. Yeah, I know -it's not my car.  :P
(the blue's a protective film over the white).

*Sigh* One step forward, one back, as usual.
Well, not really a step back, more a sideways shuffle.
Taz & I called at the workshops again today to pay John some more pennies & check on the Charger's progress.
I bought Taz's birthday tyres on the recommendation of the guys at North Hants Tyres. When I bought the wheels, they told me what tyres would definitely fit under the Charger bodywork, but by the time we went back for the tyres, they were hedging their bets a little more -they should fit, but if they don't we'll change them, no problem.
Chargers came with 14 inch diameter rims as standard, (I think either the RT models or later Chargers had 15s but I'm not sure). So I wouldn't expect the tyre guys to know what non standard wheel/tyre combos would fit. 14s definitely look wrong though. They just look lost in the Dodge's huge arches.
Checking with John, he told us our new tyres would be too wide & would foul the wheel tubs on full suspension travel. Fair enough. Best to know now, rather than when we take it for it's maiden voyage.
I'll take 'em back & swap them for 210/60/15s on the front & 255/60/15s for the back.   

So- what's happened since we last visited then?
Actually, quite a bit, though it won't really show in photographs.
Andy the bodywork guy's spent 2 whole days de-denting the new roof panel -that poorly packed package from our Stateside suppliers is gonna cost us very dear in Andy's man hours to put it right. The huge panel wasn't just popped inwards, it had to be shrunk back into shape -lots of work with a hammer & dolly. He's still got a couple of dips at the back end of the roof to beat into shape, but it's looking pretty good.

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The right hand gutter rail's been spot welded to the roof edge, with the left hand one still to do. Chargers were all spot welded together so the panels are being replaced just as they would've been in the factory.
Although the roof skin's supported on cross braces, the gutter rails add much more rigidity to the structure. 

Coming on nicely peeps! :)

Tis in't it G.  :)
The stepped joint between the rear corners of the roof & the rear quarter panels is pulled into line with some temporary self tapping screws, then held with single sided spot welds. The resulting trough, (if you've been paying attention elsewhere on the forum you'll know that's a "joddled" joint -we'll be asking questions later), is then filled with lead, rather than modern resin-based body filler, just as it was on the assembly line. Lead filling's an art form. Not easy to do & takes a lot of practice to get right. Too much heat & the panels will distort out of shape. It'll take almost 2 sticks of lead per side to fill these, at 12 quid a stick.  

Andy's really pleased with the fit of these panels -apparently they flow much smoother than most they've dealt with in the past.

The joint between the door sills & rear quarters has already been leaded.

You can see here how the rear wheel tubs have been spot welded together.

Boot -sorry, "trunk" lid's on & all the panel gaps around it are perfect, except for a small area along the back edge, which Andy will dress until it matches the rest. American cars have quite big gaps around opening panels like doors, bonnets ..."hoods", & trunks, compared to British cars, but they still need to be parallel to the next panel to look right.

I was just looking back at the beginning of this thread - May 2008!

And I had to chuckle when I read Tazet's optimistic summing up (before getting rid of the filler and finding it was only held together by holes!)

"Optimistic" -that's a bit of an understatement Bobbi! We were warned by ...well, everyone actually, that this project would bankrupt us & steal several years of our lives. Of course, we knew better.   :P

Back to the plot...
Not only is the trunk lid on, but it locks 'n' everything. Taz picked up a complete set of new door locks from one of her fellow Mopar Muscle Association members, but for now Andy's using his "Universal Key" to open the trunk -a large screwdriver inserted in the lock hole. The brace is just temporary. That very heavy trunk lid is normally held open with a huge pair of coil springs & complicated parallelogram hinges.
The trunk floor & all it's associated panels, as well as the channels down either side of the trunk opening & the strengthening box section under the rear window, are fully welded now.
Room for several bodies in there, if you bound them tight enough.

And the rear light panel's in too. 1969 Chargers like Taz's had long oblong lights, whereas the earlier '68 model had seperate round lights -an easy way to tell 'em apart.
There's a small cast, right angled section on each top corner, to finish off the rear quarters, known as "hockey Sticks". Unfortunately these were made of "Monkey Metal" as John put it, & tend to crack if over tightened -just as ours have. Taz is trying to track down a new pair from a supplier in Belgium. Anyone happen to have some they don't want?

well it was full of filler...
but when tazet or andy drives it at least you can say its got the best body in town. ;) . ;D
thats if she lets !!YOU!! have a go. andy

I'll be scared to drive it after what it's cost us so far! Taz is still determined to use it as her daily driver though -no point going this far then hiding it away & never using or enjoying it.
I know he's bound to say so cos we're paying him, but John the shop owner's a very straight talking guy & hasn't shied away from telling us just how cr*p our car was -but he said today, he honestly thinks it's gotta be the strongest, straightest Charger in the country now. Andy said it's not often he can tell a bloke's girlfriend she's got a perfect body without getting thumped.
So "bleurgh" to all those who said it could never be done.

WELL DONE.  to both of you. it will be worth it in the end. keep up the great work.

Not our work. Tis the miracle boys at JC Restorations that deserve all the praise. We just turn up once a fortnight & walk round it going "ahh" & "uhuh", trying to look like we understand what's going on.
The bottom corners of the rear panel are seperate & came from "Year One" in the States, while almost everything else was supplied by AMD. In Andy's professional opinion the Year One bits were "Sh*te". They look fine now they're on, but he had to cut them up & completely re-fabricate them to make them fit.

The old, original arse end.

You can see here how complicated the monocoque body is, (that's one where the body & chassis are a single unit, like modern cars, rather than a body sat on a seperate chassis like my '53 Ford Pop). There's all sorts of strengthening braces & panels. Reminds me of old World War 2 bombers!

So that's us up to date again -except of course Taz couldn't leave without having a go with that single sided spot welder. Unlike the dual armed one she tried last time on the trunk floor, this one fires a weld into the outside of body panels to weld them together. Cool.
The car's now almost ready to come off the jig & is as rigid & strong as a very rigid, strong thing, rather than having all the integral strength of a soggy paper bag as it did when it arrived at the workshops. It really is a new car.

Today's guest cars are this big ol' Caddy...
(that's John the shop owner's own Mustang under the cover).

This ever so cute, rebuilt & primered Fiat 500 -an original, not the recently launched "new" version.
-looks like a big Airfix model to me.

And this pristine, concours condition Daimler, which we showed a few weeks ago when it came in for a retrim & respray.

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Some friends of mine had a Fiat 500 like that - I used to call it their 'Matchbox Car'  ;D

It sure has come a long way from when you guys picked it up.As John said, it will be 1 of the nicest chargers this side of the pond.

We must try and sort out when to pop over for the glass from you. Probably won't be for a week or 2 though  ;)

No prob, whenever you can.

Back to the workshop again today to pay a few more pennies off our bill, (they're clocking up faster than we can pay them off at the moment).
Lots of progress, but most of it's small stuff that could be easily missed if we weren't there so often.
Most obvious change is under the bonnet, where Andy's cut out a section of the bulkhead & replaced it, (top left in this photo). We replaced the original bulkhead with one from a Mopar parts guy in Belgium, which came from a car with air conditioning. Taz's hasn't got A/C so the mounting holes needed removing. Easier to cut the section out than plate over each hole individually.

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The joddled joints between the new roof skin & rear quarters have been expertly lead filled & smoothed off. Perfect.
Just noticed Andy's also added the gutter rail on this side. See -told you it's easily missed.
The top of the windscreen pillars have also been leaded, but no pics of that.

There's been stuff going on in the trunk too.
Andy's rebuilt the spare wheel mount, (the odd little stepped bracket with 2 holes in it, at the back of the trunk). We may never use it as we have different sized wheels front & back, but as John pointed out, for the sake of a couple of hour's work, the body's complete & original, rather than missing a few brackets. Might as well be done before the body's painted. The jack mounts will be rebuilt too for the same reason. 

He's also made up the rear light panel strengthening brackets, (the 2 wedge shaped plates on the trunk floor).

These "hockey sticks" were in a very sorry state; badly cracked & twisted. Thankfully Andy's managed to repair them -Taz got a quote from the Belgium Mopar parts supplier -just under 250 quid a pair!  :o

Various nooks & crannies have been welded, brazed & lead filled. The roof's received a bit more de-denting & the passenger door skin's been smoothed out.

There's a bit of confusion over the gearchange & cente console mounts. The ones on the old floor panel don't seem to be in the right places, so we'll have to dig our console out of the heap of parts in the barn & take it over next time.

Mark's Charger, which has been sat on the opposite side of the workshop since ours arrived, has just had a quick coat of sealant/undercoat to protect it from rust. Looks completely different with some colour on it. More Mopar repair panels are becoming available all the time. When Mark's bodywork was done, the rear quarters were only available as a repair section for example. Taz's car has entire new quarters. Mark's join along the fold where the flat top of the quarter meets the vertical sides.
The line of small holes between the back corner of the side windows & the boot is for a strip of chrome trim. This car will be fitted with a vinyl roof.
We took along a pair of Taz's new tyres to check they'd clear the wheel tubs. No problem.

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Alongside Taz's Charger, this Plymouth is slowly coming together. It's one of only 2 surviving original cars from the "Christine" film & worth a fortune. Repair panels just aren't available for it, so every piece is being fabricated by hand.
The bonnet leant against it's from the blue £100,000 Ferrari we photographed the other day.

A Road Runner, (I love these. More boxy & un aerodynamic than a Charger, which makes them look more aggressive in my book).

A 50s 4 door Cadillac.

And that little Fiat again.

Behind the Fiat's a Trans Am.

Even parts like this axle casing are painstakingly filled, primed & sprayed for a perfect mirror finish.

This is John the shop owner's own Super Bee. Similar to the Road Runner but more desirable.
He bought it from a prospective customer who began work on it but then couldn't afford to continue, (we know that feeling). It's been in storage for several years but John now has all the new panels, (ordered through the same guys ours came from after he was impressed with the quality of ours).
Here, the old floor panels are being plasma cut out.

The Super Bee's a "B body" car. The basic skeleton is the same as the Chargers & several others, with different body panels for the various models. The earlier "A body" cars were smaller. The front end here is the same as Taz's Charger behind it.