March 01, 2002
view from above, March 2002
Here's a diagonal overhead view in which it is easy to see that the sun has really bleached out a lot of my spray can paint from over the years. Not to worry, gradually over the next year or two, all of this paint, including the original, will be sanded off as I fix each body panel in preparation for paint.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
rear corner view, March 2002
In this view you can easily see the reproduction rear valance in place. The replaced deck lid was an improvement as well. I've started doing a little body work around the trunk key area and it's going fairly well.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
front corner view, March 2002
Here's a passenger-side view that really shows the nice look that the new style of wheels and tires gives the car. The wheels are stock Mopar from a Dodge Diplomat police car with 275/60 R15 tires. The offset of the wheels is such that these big tires don't hit the fenders. I am shooting for more of a Nascar profile than the drag race profile of years past.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
front-end shot (as the Charger was just before the tear-down began for the restoration, March 2002)
A spring 2002 front-end shot of my Charger. I would really like to find a replacement for the gray outer part of the grille someday. I sure like the view from this end of the '70 Chargers.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
Just before beginning the restoration process
As of "phase 4" of the pre-restoration period, much of my Charger's original equipment has been traded out for better/straighter parts. The original dented-up rear valance is gone, and a repro one is in its place. The rear deck lid has been replaced. The 2.96-geared 7 1/4 rear end gave way to a 8 3/4 3.23 geared unit from a '65 Coronet wagon. The factory steering box has been replaced by a firm-feel chuck from a Dodge Diplomat police car. The 10 1/2"x 2 1/2" drum brakes (currently on all four corners) will give way to '76 Aspen front discs and '69 Newport 11" rear drums. I continue to buy parts whenever I can, storing them until the time is right for installation.
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
February 01, 1995
February 1995
This picture shows the new fender and front valance I installed, as well as the much-better-fitting 235/60SR15 front tires.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
March 01, 1994
March 1994 -- bigger wheels
Desperate for nicer wheels for my Charger, I took the 15"x8" chrome spokes off of my '72 D100 and put these huge 255/70SR15's on them. With the offset of these wheels, the fronts rubbed badly and I had to put 235/60SR15's on the front later.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
June 01, 1992
summer 1992
After I got out of the Navy in September 1991, I moved back to Mariposa, CA. Once I was back in the mountains, where some of the roads are rather curvy, I realized the the poor handling I was experiencing (including doing two unintentional 180's) was in part due to my tire/suspension arrangement. I began testing with a "sleeper" set of stock MoPar 15" rims and radials. The handling improvement was worth the trade-off in aesthetics (for a while anyway).
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
July 01, 1991
new paint job -- July 1991
Here I had given my Charger a new "paint job". I bought some rather expensive epoxy satin black paint.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
June 01, 1991
Removal of the vinyl top -- June 1991
Well, the increasingly ragged white vinyl top had begun to blow off during my ocasional blasts well beyond 100mph. A Navy buddy (pictured here) and I removed the remnant and primed and painted the roof flat black to match the rest of the car.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
October 01, 1989
October 1989 -- another view
Another "shiny" view
I have loved the '68-'70 Chargers' body lines for a long time, and the tail-light arrangement of the '69-'70 Chargers is one of my favorite aspects of that design.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
October 1989
I got a pair of huge N-50x15 tires on 15"x10" slotted dish mags from a friend who took them off of his '68 Coronet, and with the help of air shocks, put them on the back of my Charger for a mean "drag-car" look. I used to like looking at my car when it would rain, because then (and only then) my paint was actually shiny.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (1)
August 01, 1989
Fall 1987 - Summer 1989
 |
| In the fall of 1987, I pulled a 1974 vintage 440 out of a Chrysler wagon I'd bought for $225, and put it in my Charger. The new engine had a stock Thermoquad, I added Hedman headers with Walker turbo mufflers and dual exhaust, Lakewood traction bars, and an Accel ignition system. I also converted my car to use the factory electronic ignition that was in the wagon. With all these changes my Charger would really fly! It became the most well-known and revered car in my circle of friends, in fact, to this day the first thing most of my high school era buddies ask is "how's the Charger?", or " do you still have that Charger?" A friend and I had painted the car's body flat black, and I put a Keystone Classic 15x7 wheels on it. When I joined the Navy in Mar 1988, the car was parked; this photo was taken when I was home on leave in August of 1989. |
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
August 1989
 |
| My Charger did not yet have the motor and rod setup for the headlight doors. As in this picture, I usually kept them open with some wire. Later I wired in the motor and could open them and close them from inside the car. |
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
July 01, 1989
Instrument cluster -- July 1989
I did eventually find a working original-type instrument cluster, and to my delight, it had a working "Tic-Toc-Tach" clock and tachometer combo. The steering wheel was from my friend's 1968 Coronet.
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
November 01, 1987
November 1987: 440
 Here is an early photo of my 440. |
--------
Posted in 1987-2004 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
May 10, 1987
May 1987
 My Charger seen from the rear, May 1987 |
| The tail lights and front parking lights were pretty much the only unsmashed lenses on the entire car when I got it. |
--------
Posted in 1986-1987 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
May 01, 1987
May 1987
 |
| Here is the '65 383 2bbl taken from my first car (a '65 Polara 4dr). The gold anodized Moroso valve covers were not bolted on yet, but had to be in the picture. They were in the trunk of the car when I got it and I was so proud to have such a "high-performance" look. My fellow MoPar enthusiasts will no doubt see that the alternator was in the wrong place. This was resolved once I got the correct brackets. |
Posted in 1986-1987 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
April 01, 1987
Still April 1987
 |
| While the whole car was in bad shape, it was the interior that had been vandalized which posed some of my most significant challenges early on. Barely visible here is my attempt to install a Ford speedometer to replace the original, which had been destroyed by vandals prior to my owning it. |
Posted in 1986-1987 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
April 1987
 |
| This is the earliest picture I have of my Charger. A friend
and I had just finished working on the passenger door and fender in
auto shop in my senior year in high school, and I put them back on the
car for this photo. Much work remained before I would drive the car. |
Posted in 1986-1987 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (0)
April 20, 1986
My Charger's History
I bought my 1970 Dodge Charger 500 in April 1986. According to the VIN and broadcast sheet, it was originally a 318 2bbl, console shift automatic and non air-conditioned. The car was white with a white vinyl top and a tan interior with buckets.
The story of how I got the car is rather amazing. A friend at school had gotten the car from his uncle. It had been sitting in a field near Sacramento, CA with the doors and front sheet metal removed for some time. Cats had lived in it, and mice too. Every body panel had at least some damage, and some was severe. The interior had been vandalized by someone with a fondness for orange spray paint. Each instrument gauge had its face painted orange and its needle broken off (the plastic lenses were broken too). The car had a non-running 383 2bbl, a 727 transmission, a 7 1/4" rear end, no drive-line, an extra set of doors, and miscellaneous parts in the trunk.
My friend who owned it brought it into our auto shop at school. It was the worst-looking piece of metal there back then! My friend realized he was in over his head, and besides, he was a GM guy and had little interest in MoPars.
He began pestering me about buying his "Dodge parts". I was driving a '65 Dodge Polara 4dr police car (my first car). He kept telling me that I could use the engine for a spare for my 383 in the Polara. I was usually broke, figured he wanted too much money, and had nowhere to store it, so I ignored him. Then one day he said, "Hey Tolley, I want to take my girlfriend to the dance, I need you to buy my Dodge parts!" I asked him, "John, just how much do you want for that thing anyway?" His reply was, "Just ten bucks or so, man!" The next day I spent the best two five-dollar bills of my life and bought his "parts". He wrote me a bill of sale on a scrap of paper (I think I still have it). At first, my plan was to use it for parts and sell what I didn't need.
Then I started to investigate what this car was. I found pictures of what it looked like all assembled, did some reading, and discovered -- "Hey! This is a muscle car! – a very cool muscle car to boot!" I decided then and there that my Polara could become parts for my Charger. This was near the end of my junior year in high school. Early on in my senior year, following the guidance of my auto shop teacher Mr. Johnson, I established the goal of driving the Charger by the time I graduated in June. He told me I should fix up my Charger because it would be more valuable fixed up, and as an added bonus, I'd know everything about the car by the time I was done. I had no idea back then how right he would be. Back then he was the ONLY "grown-up" who thought fixing my Charger was a good idea. Many times I have wished I could thank my High School auto shop teacher!
So the Polara gave up its engine, radiator, driveline, wheels, etc. My auto-shop buddies and I tag-teamed to cover over the worst of the body damage. Working mostly alone, though, I spent many, many hours working on my car over the next several months (when most of the guys were at our senior prom, I was putting the driveline in and bolting on the exhaust manifolds and cutoff pipes; as a result of this I've always joked that my Charger was my prom date). I did manage to drive the Charger the day before I graduated. It was 5 or more different colors, had a mixture of tire sizes and types (but I was SO proud to have raised-white-letter tires on the back!), a broken windshield, no license plates, and no mufflers. Most people laughed or thought I was wasting my time. Several people offered me cars that would have been easier to fix up. "But it's not a Charger!" I would exclaim.
After graduation we trailered the Charger to my Dad's house. The Monday after I graduated I started work at a tire shop. My boss, who lived across the street, knew just what I needed to fuel my motivation on the Charger – tires and wheels. He hooked me up with a set of clean but used Keystone Klassics, and decent radials, all for $100 to be taken out of my first paycheck. When I was installing the wheels, people in the neighborhood laughed and told me the wheels were worth more than the car and I was wasting my time. I would not listen. Next my buddy and I primered the body flat black to look "cool" and hide dents. A '74 440 later took the place of the 383, and the car quickly became a notorious thrasher of the GM and Blue ovals owned by the guys I ran with back then. The guy who sold it to me has never stopped kicking himself.
It has been many years since anybody laughed at my car, or questioned the value of working on it. I drove my Charger everywhere I went from 1987 until about 1996, when I decided to take it off the road and wait for an opportunity to begin restoring the car. In the spring of 2004 the pieces fell into place and I was able to begin the long-awaited restoration process. In my years of enjoying, driving, and working on my Charger, I have come to really appreciate exactly why Mopar muscle cars, and Chargers in particular, mean so much to so many people. One day soon when it has been fully restored I hope to revisit some of the old neighborhoods and show some of those naysayers what someone with passion and a vision can accomplish through hard work, patience, dedication and a lot of grace and wisdom from God!
You can follow my restoration progress here. There are more pictures and details about my car before I began restoring it here.
Posted in 1986-1987 | BEFORE RESTORATION | link to this page | | Comments (14)