Tazet's 69 Charger.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Jun 04, 08 8:40 pm

Great pics Tazet, looks like things are moving in the right direction

RobTwin · Post by **RobTwin** » Wed Jun 04, 08 10:43 pm

I recognise that bit of the M25

and the traffic looks familiar too

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 28, 08 4:21 pm

Right. Not much has been done since I got this home. Most of the time has been spent having lots of people looking at the car giving sooooo much advice. Some stuff can be saved with a little work but things like wings and quarters need replacing as there are too many defects. The car has had an accident at some point to the left front and through lots of measuring and re-measuring we have found it to be an inch shorter on the near side. It is only at the front and not the whole car which is lucky. We just have one more bod to come and look at the car then we will decide how and what we are going to do with it. I managed to find a complete bulkhead from Pascal at SixPack speed shop which he brought with him to the Nats, (huge thanks Pascal you're a top bloke), and it's in so much better condition than mine. Anyway like I said not much physical progress but lots of info gathered and web addresses searched through for parts etc. Just got to get the right things ordered then the work can begin.
We have a friend that works for a resto company and he said most of the stuff we can do and he will come over and guide us and teach us how and what to do. Will save a huge amount on costs. We also have a friend who has a body shop/spray business and is used to dealing with split screen campers so my little battered Charger should be easy for him to spray. All I need now is someone who knows about 383s to have a look and see if we have everything to get it back together and tell us what stuff is needed to get it running again, then when we have the bits come and teach me how it all goes together. That way if it breaks then I'll know what to do. Any volunteers?

Current Bulkhead in the car

New Bulkhead to go in

R.RUNNER · Post by **R.RUNNER** » Mon Jul 28, 08 5:10 pm

Will you be putting the shell on a "JIG" (no,not a dance, smartarse) before you cut the bulkhead away???????

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 28, 08 5:13 pm

great pics hun sorry i did not get to talk much on the sunday i was very hungover after going to bed at 7.30am and only getting 3 hours sleep thanks to kiwis daughter who for some reason wakes me up every event [love ya zoe] come find me at the HRD will have a good chat

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 28, 08 5:24 pm

Ideally yes but it all boils down to the bank. A resto friend had said he will help us build one if need be. I would love to be able to give someone a blank cheque and say here you go do what needs to be done but I just can't afford that so we are gradually collecting parts and stuff up.

Si don't worry about it and hopefully I'll be there but think I've got to work that weekend.

Ivor · Post by **Ivor** » Mon Jul 28, 08 5:38 pm

Mr Runner is right on the money there Tazet, that car needs to go on a jig for that sort of repair.

I'm bolting the Barracuda to an old fashioned bench style jig, they are too old and inefficient for modern bodyshops to use, so most of them remain outside or in the corner unused, therefore a shout to your local bodyshop might be a good move, to see if you can hire it for a couple of weeks.

I straightened out my Road Runner using a Blackhawk Korek in floor jigging system and Shark ultrasonic measuring, getting the dimensions to within a mil in all three axes...it was the best thing I ever did, it drove like a new car afterward and handled well for such a big old bus.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 28, 08 5:46 pm

Hiring sounds like a more affordable option. Ok will have an ask around unless anyone on here knows where I can hire one from?

Ivor · Post by **Ivor** » Mon Jul 28, 08 6:07 pm

I'm sure you could find someone with an old Car-o-liner bench or similar that would be happy to hire it to you, but if you have any problems, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can help.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 28, 08 6:31 pm

That's great. Thanks

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Mon Jul 28, 08 7:25 pm

I have never done anything quite as drastic as this before but I think I would just just fit some chassis connectors to start with and then weld some steel bar across the interior along with a couple of diagonals to hold it together from the inside.

Just chucking ideas in here.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon Jul 28, 08 8:14 pm

We did something similar to my partner Andy's Pop that he's re building. He's making it into a pickup and we had to do that to it to keep it straight so there were no twists when the shell got droped onto the new chassis.

Obviously we could not get away with gazebo poles on the charger but is this the kinda thing you mean Dave?

The main chassis under the bulkhead back is straight. The part that is twisted is the chassis legs that go under the engine, (not sure what they are called). I have found a site where you can buy new ones if needed.

steveo · Post by **steveo** » Tue Aug 12, 08 11:15 pm

was tempted to bid on this my self ..when i saw it on ebay ... looks like you have quite a project there Tazet ... keep the pictures coming

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Aug 12, 08 11:30 pm

Thanks. I'll keep pickies posted as things get done. I contacted Jack's autoparts in America as I had noticed a few people had delt with them and had good feed back and they also deliver to your door. I sent him an email with a full list of the parts needed and as I expected it was not cheep. Came to just over $6000. I've today agreed a sale on my BMW Clubsport to fund this project so once the money is in my account I'll be doing some ordering before the money goes on something else. My only problem is that I'm now totally carless untill the Charger is mended enough for an MoT which is a very long time away. Looks like the push bike will finally get used.
A friend in America as told us of a company that does complete fibreglass front ends or just wings and bonnets, ( www.showcars-bodyparts.com/charger.html ), and I wonder what you guys think?
It would certainly be a cheeper temporary option for now and possibly in the future get steel ones. That way it would leave me more money to spend on getting the thing straight.
So what do you lot think of a flip fronted Charger?

steveo · Post by **steveo** » Fri Aug 15, 08 12:04 pm

hmmmm fiber glass flip front ..well to make it work you really to cut the inner wings out /radiator support ...& replace it with some tube frame work to tie the suspension components together . as putting one of these front ends on with a stock inner wing set up , looks a bit daft to me , defeating the object of having a flip front to gain access . but fiberglass wings & hood to bolt on as factory ...is a good idea but watch some on the fiber glass wings don't have provisions fitting the factory headlamp set up , might have to fabricate something , as ...i looked into this my self about 20 years ago , but these fiber glass parts were race only then . i have read somewhere , some places make them with all the stock mounting flanges & are no longer all race weight fiber glass , comes with a much better gell coat finish , but still need some work to get all the gaps fitting . but once refinished with the correct fiberglass painting process , plus a prepper & painter that knows what he is doing ! you would not be able to tell the difference , with out lifting them .