Tazet's 69 Dodge Charger.

[twolanes]

BikerGran heres 1 that i have.

[BikerGran]

That's great, it shows the contrast between then and now!

[Manky Monkey]

I took Taz's new wheels to the powder coaters today. In case the photos of them were among the ones we lost when the site crashed, she's got a set of steel "Smoothies". Just basic plain steel wheels. They'll be coated in satin black, then fitted with polished stainless steel trim rings & chrome wheel nuts. More aggressive looking than blingy chrome wheels.
The coaters are pretty busy at the moment & we aren't in any great rush for them, so I'll collect them in a week or 2. The slot mags on the car at the moment are already promised to Dave Two lanes.

[blair]

Blimey,thats a large pair of dampers Taz has there 

lmao i love inuendo , looks good but the photo of taz sitting in it deos make it look frikin huge or taz really small

[Manky Monkey]

  She was sitting on the new wheels stacked inside the car, at roughly the proper seat height.
Yeah, it is ginormous. 17 feet long by 7 feet wide & will weigh 2 1/2 tons when it's finished. She'll have to squeeze it through this archway to reach the parking area behind our cottage. A friend brought his Charger over last year, so we know it can be done, but it's tight. Real tight!

[triker_Chewie]

hot

[Manky Monkey]

    

[TwistedPatience]

KOOL!!!

[Manky Monkey]

Finally collected the new wheels from the powder-coaters today. They've taken nearly a month, but that's my own fault really for telling them we weren't in a hurry for them. 25 quid per wheel, shot-blasted & powder-coated in satin black, by A & C Shotblasting in Newbury, Berks, who do most of my project parts.
When I bought them, (Taz's Christmas presssie last year), I also got a set of polished stainless trim rings. Personally I think they need them to break up the blackness a bit. Tyre & wheel together looks a bit like a black plastic dustbin lid on the side of the car. Taz is unconvinced, but hasn't seen them fitted yet. The rings are held with "teeth" on the back which grip the rim, so once fitted they can't be removed without damaging the coating.

[Manky Monkey]

Plain satin black powder-coated rim, with new tyre fitted, (Taz's birthday pressie this year -who said romance is dead!).

[Manky Monkey]

And with trim ring propped in place. I reckon they actually make the wheels look deeper.
What d'ya think?

[Manky Monkey]

The Dodge is still wearing the slot mag wheels it came with when we bought it. Very 1970s & only 14 inch diameter I think. Standard size on most of the Charger range, but they look a bit lost in the wheel arches of such a big car. They're back in fashion now but I'm not sure they suit the Tazter. They're already promised to Dave Two Lanes for his black Charger.

[Manky Monkey]

The new steelies are 15 inch diameter with bigger tyres that fill the arches much more & have a more 60s look about them. The body's sat on the hoist at the moment, so the axle's hanging lower than it would normally -the wheels will sit up into the arches more eventually. There was a lot of discussion over whether the rims should be black or colour matched to the body colour. With the trim rings on I don't think there's enough colour showing to really worry about & at least if they're black, Taz can paint the body any colour she wants without having to re-do the wheels too.
Can't really bolt them on yet cos half the wheel studs are missing & the remaining ones have got the wrong type of wheel nuts on, but here's one loosely fitted on the 2 wheel studs left in this particular hub, (there should be 5).

[Manky Monkey]

And with the trim rim held in place with a bit of masking tape.

[Manky Monkey]

This was never intended as a polished show car & although wed've loved John & the guys at the restoration shop to carry on with it, the budget's run out. So the plan is to refurbish as many of the original parts as we can & get the thing drivable so taz can get out & enjoy it -which was the whole point of buying it.
We've got most of the mechanical bits, plus all new suspension & steering bushes to fit.
Got the original seats, although they're in 2 different shades of tacky blue vinyl. We plan to have them re-upholstered in black leather.
Got a full set of glass -most came with the car, plus a second hand windscreen courtesy of Mr Two Lanes.
Got the dashboard & all it's fittings, plus the centre console.
Got a choice of 2 engines, one in bits & one complete but condition unknown, (donated for free & previously powering "Pinball Wizard", the famous 70s Ford Pop). Also one gearbox. Got the propshaft I think, but if not we can have a new one made.
Got all the lights, door locks etc, plus a pile of window trim, winding mechanisms & stuff.
Got the original bumpers. In fair condition but could do with re-chroming or powder-coating.
We need a radiator, an exhaust system, new steering wheel, (got the original with it's column but the wheel's pretty tatty), new shocks, awkward to find stuff like the vacuum motors to operate the flip up headlights, brake parts, wiring loom, hoses -& a million other things we haven't even thought about yet.
Personally I'd run it with the interior stripped completely bare except for a roll cage & 2 60s bucket seats, but I think Taz is planning on a little more comfort than that.
It's getting there -slowly.