Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

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Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Dave999 wrote: Wed Mar 30, 22 9:16 am yeah but pointless bulding a motor and trans if at the time you don't know if you will have a car or just a pile of rust to put it in....

i can see sense in the order taken here.... :)


Dave
This is exactly why it went the way it did. I had no V5 and rotten remains of a charger! really wanted to have something work with first. :thumbright:
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MattH
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by MattH »

Chargingatchya wrote: Wed Mar 30, 22 7:16 pm
Dave999 wrote: Wed Mar 30, 22 9:16 am yeah but pointless bulding a motor and trans if at the time you don't know if you will have a car or just a pile of rust to put it in....

i can see sense in the order taken here.... :)


Dave
This is exactly why it went the way it did. I had no V5 and rotten remains of a charger! really wanted to have something work with first. :thumbright:
I agree too, you could have had a seized v8 garden ornament in there, but now you have a registered rust free car, you can sort an engine easily, even a crate modern Hemi if you want to.
Matt Hollingsworth - Vehicle Registrar
Panther Pink 73 Aussie Charger 265 Hemi 4 spd
Challenger Sam Posey Tribute car
Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

MattH wrote: Thu Mar 31, 22 8:25 am
Chargingatchya wrote: Wed Mar 30, 22 7:16 pm
Dave999 wrote: Wed Mar 30, 22 9:16 am yeah but pointless bulding a motor and trans if at the time you don't know if you will have a car or just a pile of rust to put it in....

i can see sense in the order taken here.... :)


Dave
This is exactly why it went the way it did. I had no V5 and rotten remains of a charger! really wanted to have something work with first. :thumbright:
I agree too, you could have had a seized v8 garden ornament in there, but now you have a registered rust free car, you can sort an engine easily, even a crate modern Hemi if you want to.

Thanks to you mate :thumbright: :thumbright:
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morgan
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by morgan »

“MattH” wrote:even a crate modern Hemi if you want to.
Ooh. I am increasingly thinking this…
"Cum homine de cane debeo congredi." Woof.

Current Charger status - "Working !"
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Dave999
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Dave999 »

modern hemi crazy rear end but a nice 6 or 7 speed trans, bit of floor hacking ......nnnnnnnnnnnn
holley injecton.

Dave
The Greater Knapweed near the Mugwort by the Buckthorn tree is dying
Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

So I have been off the radar here, but incredibly busy nevertheless.

I have been learning skills I may never have to use again, and doing what I can to save pounds and pennies where possible. I know that is not what fellow Mopar enthusiasts like to hear when restoring a car such as a charger but I am on a budget to some degree and need to do what I can in order to keep the project moving in the right direction.

At this point I must mention and thank David Gray. Enduring my endless stupid questions and endless inquisitions. He has lent me his tools to work out my cylinder bore wear and gone as far as posting me tools to help. He has not once asked for anything in return and quite honestly, in my opinion he is an absolute asset to this hobby and one of the nicest human beings. I can’t thank you enough for the advice! At this point I must say he is not responsible for my decisions in how I have decided to build my engine! That’s all on me. But honestly I could not have got this far in the build without this very kind person. Till now he has not blocked me, let’s see how far I can push my luck :D

So il just start by saying I am absolutely not building a race car. I have said a few times that the idea with my car is to create friendship, family moments and life memories. I may get it on the strip one day for the experience but right now, all I want is reliability over anything. I plan to drive long distances and be able to fix most things on the side of the road. I want a responsive street cruiser at best.

I decided to rebuild the engine myself. This decision is mainly financially influenced. I feel confident enough to do most things, I have the tools and the space. My neighbour is an old school Mopar guy and he has been great with my inexperience in this area.

At this point, I have my block back from the machine shop and I have had the cylinders bored just .20 over. I am currently learning about camshafts and need to order a cam that will be a little more lively than what came originally with the 2BB 383. Crank shaft has been polished and checked and is in a good way.

I have most over components to complete the engine rebuild. Caps, plugs, seals, bearings, rockers, rings, gaskets. I have gone with Keith black hypereutectic pistons.

I will be handing over my transmission to Blue at the Nats for a rebuild.

So while all this has been going on in the back round I have been dealing with some bodywork issues, rectifying imperfect AMD panel stamps, stripping and refinishing the engine bay, restoring parts that will be re used amongst other jobs. Honestly it feels like it never ends but looking back over pictures surely helps to appreciate how far it’s come…..

I should mention at this point, my car won’t be for the purist. I have chosen not to do everything as the factory had in 1969. This is partly because it’s being rebuilt in my barn with limited tooling and space, and partly because of how I prefer to do things.

Some pictures now for your viewing pleasure….

I have sealed and finalised the underneath. It was important to be that underneath was well protected and looked good. I looked at a lot of underbody protection positions and I didn’t want anything that stayed ‘soft’. I also didn’t want anything too clumpy and thick. So in the end, although worked out a bit pricier that it needed too, I went with Upol 2k raptor. I also used this on the inside of my rear quarters and other chassis areas. This stuff is awesome and also looks nice when it’s cured. It is very durable and I am happy with my decision here. I absolutely love how the underneath of the car has come out.
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Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

I spent a week on stripping and priming the engine bay. The monotonous and ball breaking work here was not fun. I needed to remove all of the old paint and primer. I went through orange, green black and primer. This car has been many colours in its life, and even at this point we don’t know what her colour will be (I can’t seem to finalise a decision here, it’s like chasing a mice in my brain) and as I need to move on I have painted the engine bay black. I used black base coat and 2k lacquer. This is how I painted most things in the past and have never had a problem. Leaves me with a good durable finish. Wet and dry 1000, 1500, 2000. Flatten, Polish, wax paint done. It came up great. I didn’t filler over the stamping ripples from factory, they are original and do not bother me. If I go with the original F6 green, the engine bay will stay black. That’s just something il have to live with. Sorry about the order and rotation of pics, Iv done my best to give some idea of the work involved/before and after…

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Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

No on to a few panel issues…

So on an factory “original” charger, the valance corners are (mostly) ice and tight to the rear valance, however I often see on cars that have had panels replaced, this gap seems to be bigger. I wanted to get these valances as tight as originals so a little cutting and welding was required… sorry about the crappy pictures here I didn’t think to take a before pic agh!

However the coroners now sit nice and tight amd I am very happy with them!
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Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Next up, I felt the need to do some upgrading on the deck filler panel. The AMD version seems to be more “rounded” along the edge when compared to the original. This always bugged me. When many of you guys see me at car shows staring for hours at your cars and wondering what the crazy lunatic has been staring at for 20 mins, these are the kind of things I’m looking at!

I addressed this by painstakingly adding weld to the edge, weld a pellet, blow gun to cool, and repeating the process over and over until I completed and then bring back to replicate the original. At this point I can hear your thoughts and I know you think I am crazy, but now that I have brought it to your attention you’ll understand what I mean. Little things like this bother be much more than the fact the underneath is not painted body colour. I really don’t know why but I think it’s because paint can always be re addressed but panels need are there to stay.

Pic below is not mine and not the best for comparison, but I hope you can see the AMD deck filler is a Lot more “rounded” at the edges, where as the original is a much sharper stamp.


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Also addressed some window channel rust issues:

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Pete
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Pete »

Superb and well thought-out work as ever.

Don't lose heart - you have done an amazing job!
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

Mopar by the grace of God
Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Here is a bunch of pics (a collage, if you will 😂) that depict things that have been done but not mentioned here, moments in time and just a quick browse through my iPad pics that I thought would be fun to show. There is so much work that goes into this that honestly it’s not possible to mention everything. You can see in most of these pics how far she’s come, and a little of what’s gone in to the project so far. Some before, some after and some just for fun. And, anyway, pics are the best, aren’t they?!
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Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

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Chargingatchya
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Pete wrote: Sat Jul 23, 22 10:25 am Superb and well thought-out work as ever.

Don't lose heart - you have done an amazing job!
Thank you, Pete. And I must also thank you for taking the time to talk with me at shows and share your wonderful Mopar stories and experiences.

Can’t lose heart now mate, I’m in way to deep, financially, emotionally and with regards to expectations at this point from others…. 😂
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Dom66
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Dom66 »

Thanks for posting another update, it's looking great! Keep going :thumbright:
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Pete
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Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Pete »

I hope you make it to the Mopar Nats at the end of July, and drop into the Superstocks Pits for a chat!
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

Mopar by the grace of God
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