What's Wrong With This Ratty 1969 Dodge Charger? Reviving A 408 Magnum Stroker Powered Legend
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- On today's episode, we assess subscriber Ralph's absolutely fantastic ratty '69 Charger with stroker 408 power. Then we go ahead and dive in, getting the car to run and move again, and learning in the process that stroker engines are really, really awesome. We also learn that not just any mechanic can put something like this together effectively... more on that later.
Had several friends that had this car back in the early 70's and they were SAWEEEEETTTTT !!
Good work, Jamie! And yes, 1968 any day of the week. Thank you for great content and sharing your knowledge in an easy to understand way.
I've always heard keep it greasy and don't let your meatloaf lol awesome car man
Haaahaha. Don’t let your (etc) became a long running and much hated recurring joke in my friend group.
I'm looking forward to this series. She sounds really good. Burnouts will be great.
Do I ask permission, or beg forgiveness? That is the question…
@@DeadDodgeGarage always ask for forgiveness! You have my blessing. That exhaust is going to sound good bouncing off of the rev limiter!
@@DeadDodgeGarageI'm with Brian. "If u break it, you bought it.". Sneaky, eh? 👿
@@brianrussell1110 I just hope it has one 😅
Thank you for your No General Lee comment. It's been Done to Death.
This should be manditory viewing for Bowtie and blue ovel wrenches. They seemed to have touched all the mistakes that even good nonmopar techs make when they lay their hands on one.
Friends don't let non-Mopar wrenchers touch their Mopar.
Hey I am a big gm fan, that being said even I know that the 318 and the 360 are balanced different and it needs to stay that way....I also own a 2000 dodge ram laramie slt quad cab long bed 5.2 litre 318 magnum V8 46 RE AT manual shift transfer case lever on the floor gloss black with most of the white pinstripe 1500 4x4
I've actually wanted to build a 408 for a b body Cordoba but I have not because I don't know enough about them so..
Blue oval wrench here. Mopars are weird, but Chevys piss me off alot more!
In its original form...that would be my dream color combination on my dream car. I just love green...almost all shades. The 69 coronet wagon I've struck a deal on for purchasing when my friend is ready to sell is F8 green I believe.
Interesting! At the car show today, I saw a dark green ‘68. It was very attractive… my dream color was dark red with black. I settled for darkish red and white. Haha.
I too like the red and white look on your charger. Guy in regent used to have a blue 1970 charger 500 with white top and white interior and 383 mag w/4speed. I loved that car too. He passed away and the car disappeared.
Can't wait to see more progress on your brother's 69.
@@joshuajesch7154 same. He’s still somewhere in the weeds finishing Roadrunner metal. I hope this happens soon.
At 14:48 is music to my ears. What a familiar sound but oh so sweet. A idling American v8 ❤
Chargers look great no matter what color. The leaf shackles have to go! Cool car. What rear gears does this one have?
Yes leaf shackles are so shitty.
Gotta say that I love the patina on this baby. I would be quite happy to pull up to a meet in it. Thanks buddy!
And yeah I would prefer glass packs but I like the sound of the exhaust on the 69 ratty charger but I would not worry about the exhaust on the charger because it is not hung right or straight anyway so taking it down isn't a big deal...
😂 love the manual shifting a automatic transmission comment. I heard that same thing too!! Strange !!!
Isn’t that crazy?? It has to be true though. I heard it on the internet!
Another awesome old Charger!👍
I believe dodge gave their cars a salt water bath just before they rolled down the assembly line.
The Chargers, for sure…
Great Caesars ghost that thing kicks ass! Once you get done with it I hope the owner leaves it exactly as it sits now.
Did I mention it’s cold in Tasmania . Yep keep it MA MOPAR way . 👍🏻💯🇦🇺⛽️.
Beautiful just as it is.
I couldn’t agree more!
That is a great old charger! The gas pedal made me laugh I had one on my first car and really wanted to like it, eventually it ended up in the trunk where the battery wasn’t because I could not obtain WOT with that foot on there.
Made to save on fuel 😊
Is that a FORD shirt? Holy Crap
That Charger should be turned into a General Tso!
😅
I couldn't feel the imbalance when the revs come up but I could hear it
Oh yeah. You can definitely hear it. Wasn’t sure it would come through clearly but it sure did.
Ford shirt? I knew you’d come around eventually😂
It’s “The shirt of shame!” I don’t even remember why I had to wear it. But I was also gifted an “I ❤️ FORDS” shirt after whatever incident that was. There would definitely be shame involved if I switched teams at this point. Lol.
I would not mind that charger sitting in my garage for awhile, longer the better, (till winter).
Big same
needs to be turned into a general lee
*g e t o u t*
Needs more air for idle. Big cam problems.
No, this one pretty obviously doesn’t. It idles well in gear, and the idle mixture screws were perfectly responsive and ended up right in the range they should. It’s obviously a moderately large cam, but doesn’t seem to have any of the normal way-too-big-cam symptoms. Tons of power right off idle. Seems like a really great combination.
Let’s see it turned into a general lee
GET OUT
"The Mopar Lord of the NorthWest".....
I might need that framed. Haha.
You should turn it into a general Custer 😂
I had a 68 its my favorite but would settle for a 69
Automotive mass media has covered the 4" stroke sb Mopar builds for over 20 years- the info any of those "mechanics" needed was just a few keystrokes away, had they chose to look.
Glad his sons work some on the Charger, hopefully a long future ahead in the family for this car.
There used to be lots of the '68-70 Chargers in the original mild-altering array of exterior & interior color and material combo's running around.
Then Dukes of Hazzard (D.O.H.- like Homer says it) caught on- overnight it seemed every 68-70 Charger (and some fastback & coke bottle Chargers) were dipped in orange, lettered, and flagged.
Felt different about the surviving Cerified TV Show Production cars.
But the wanna-be's...
Seen images of a Chevette painted up in D.O.H. livery....
Cool charger , turn them tires around, white letters need to be seen lol. 10 more HP at least 😅
If they had asked me when installing them… 😅
@@DeadDodgeGarage I hear you, if you got em flaunt em.
No way in hell I'd park DRIPPY over the top of DOLLY.....
Everything that goes up there is drippy… hence the giant baking sheets
Is that a 500 and it is a very cool car without being a General Lee...
Oh nevermind it's a R/T with the Factory headlight doors stuck... still very cool car,hate that it was stolen and reblasted, but it was a built motor but it is a combination of issues with the Factory V8 318 engine issues with the 360 based 408 stroker.
It’s a base model 318 car, not an R/T. Same body and most everything else of course.
Shirt of Shame. !!!!
Ford T-shirt?
It’s “The Shirt Of Shame…” also, one of very few not-black shirts I own for hot days
Caught the Glock thing! Nothing major, iron out the issues, as noted earlier loose the shackles and your customer will have a great classic to beat on. Pls don’t paint the diff and brake drums red!
It doesn’t have brake drums anymore 😅 I’m surprised by the polarizing effect of the shackles. A couple people said they need to go, and at least one person so far has said they’re awesome and need to stay. It’s not really ideal… but it has that awesome and ridiculous 70s aspect to it.
I hate that these don't make sense anymore. They all cost too much to not restore. My 73 is still a rat by Southern standards but even they're starting to get expensive enough I feel bad throwing up gravel
I don’t feel bad throwing up gravel with my ‘68… it’s not perfect and it probably never will be. It’s just a fairly nice, presentable driver. Some day when the rust bubbles get worse I’ll have to repair that and redo the body and paint. I also hate that these cost as much as they do. But in my opinion, that makes a ratty one even *more* awesome - not less.
I apologize. I liked while you had 225. Guess that means you need 92 more now.
Dang it! I missed it, and it’s 497 now. I guess 500 is kind of a Mopar number…
Big kid playing with small blocks
Fix the rust
Not my job, thankfully…
Turn it into a general lee 😁🤞🏻ban me please
😅
Cool car. I like'em rough. I almost bought one in similar condition back in the mid 1980s for $800 but somebody beat me to it. Hey $800 was hard to scrape up back then. Keep up the good work man.
Fugg no b-body should have a big bock 440
I really want to agree. That’s always been my thing (except for that Magnum swap I did once for science.) But this thing has more cubic inches than my 383, a bunch of extra horse ponies, *and* it’s lighter. So there is a case for it.
You're in the 69 Charger and that 66 Chevy pulled in. Instantly, I thought of Dirty Mary Crazy Larry.
Yeah the '69 is a nice car but the '68 is just a bit more elegant 😄
Maybe the taillights? I'm kinda conflicted on that.
I like the '69 grille better.
'70 is definitely 3rd.
'71 and up I call Anteater Chargers, not a fan.
I like the '68 best also. The taillights and grill on the '68 look better in my opinion.
Totally agree! It’s just gorgeous.
Stealing that car is one thing but that mirror is unforgivable
If every 1969 Charger were turned into a General Lee, as cool as it is & as much as I want one, the world would be a boring place. 1969 happens to be my favorite year for the Charger. You have yourself an awesome car here to work on. I hope you end up getting this car.
Call up the duke boys they have some sanding to do
Enjoy your videos, I'm an old guy and was around when all those Mopars were new.
There is no such thing as a bad looking Charger.... there just ain't!
Unless it's not a second gen
@@adamhoffman3687 okay.... ya got me! 🤣
@@rexkean lol
Just get it running n drive the heck outta it - here hold my corn dog 😂😂😂 wait i did not see a ballast resistor 😂😂😂😂😂
The ignition system is in a really goofy spot. Lol.
Ballast resistors are only used on cold days to preheat the engine bay.😅😅😅
I like the ratty charger, cool project. You know like 20 years ago the focus of the mopar community was more towards better heads and raising the compression ratio of a 360. Today everything is all about stroker kits. I don't get it either. You can build a pretty wild 360 without ever having to stroke it. I remember back in the day there was a couple of 360's I had, I just slammed that mopar performance purple shaft that was so popular into a stock engine and it would make them an entirely different beast. Than you added an intake, carb, headers, and you had a pretty fun driver.
Yep. I’m pretty much prepared to die on that hill. The stroker clearly does cool stuff - but so does a good warmed over 360. Guess what I bought for an upcoming 360 build last week! I’ll give you a hint, it’s in a box that says Mopar, and it’s got some purple on it 😅
@@DeadDodgeGarage LOL Did you find find a NOS or used?
@@Mopardude actually it’s weird. The lifters are absolutely NOS, and the cam was supposed to be, but upon close inspection, it has very light but visible lifter path patterns. So I don’t know if it was assembled and cranked over a few times, ram briefly, or that’s just what they look like sometimes? In any case, it’s beautiful, and it’s more than good enough for Jamie. Haha.
@@DeadDodgeGarage LOL
The 68 Reigns Supreme as the best year Charger. Taillights, Grille, and corner markers win
I want to Hemi swap a 74 Charger this year. Don't be surprised if I show up at your shop after I fall on my face.
I’ll be here! 😅
'68 best year for all the B-bodies, come to think of it A-bodies as well..
And remember, if women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy😂
Something something, duct tape. Haha. I used his sign off for one of my videos way, way back. Heck, it could’ve been the first one I’d those I used. Not sure.
Love the Zappa reference around the 13 minute mark 👍
I am with you, the 68 is my favorite as well. The round tail lights and clean non-split grille are the best.
Nope, not a chance. Round tail lights look dated and have no imagination.
U cant go wrong with any 2nd gen charger but 68 is the best year. Yes im bias because i own a 68. Gen 3 hemi swap and call it a day
THANK YOU! The General Lee makes me want to puke! I get &^%$heads that say I need to paint my beautiful B5 69 Charger orange and put an 01 on the side. I can't stand the Pukes of Hazard.
Good job there Jamie that the ratty charger is uh they are a lot of fun to drive and you can't worry about paint chips with them because it's got lots of them already and I'm sorry to disagree with you 8 to 70 chargers my favorite is the 70 because I have one but I also have a 69 charger which I like to and it is so my ratty I'm doing the interior and I'm leaving the outside at a 20 foot visual so I don't have to worry about rock chips small creases or anything like that and just drive the thing without having to worry
Can’t go wrong with any 1968-70 Charger. But yeah, ‘68 is special.
This is why we have experts. You don't have to like them, but you ignore them at yer peril....
Great vlog , Jamie 🙏
I prefer 68 Chargers too ❤
However , you make a valid point .
Having a raty one , would be fun
408 stroker small block are internally balanced & utilized 318 flex plate & harmonic balancer ,
Good to know .
Yeah Ford I'd love to have a 427 cammer Charger balance problem I call it the dumb leading the blind nothing against dumb or blind people just saying my buddy had a 70 Chevelle SS back in the day Greaser Jim it was the LS6 car he bought it new he blew up the LS6 not long after purchase put in many engines and down the road but a really nice small block aluminum heads forged pistons steel rods goodies and he put it into a tranny new clutch and it shook like a banshee it vibrated so bad I must repair the shifter out of your hand he said this motor is junk help me swap a new big block and you can have the motor okie dokie I did it he didn't realize you had to have the right flywheel yeah I bought the red flywheel put it in my Camaro but that thing scream proper parts are important yep you can learn a lot from a dummy have a great day thanks for another great video I love that charger I own two of them in the past way back in the day and no one wanted them and no one cared but I did
They should have made the General Lee a road runner, you know how many fkin orange ones you see? 😂 gah damn
love that Charger & glad you could get some fixed in place. I have a 64 Galaxie - looking forward to see what is up with that thing.
Kinda looks like the 68 charger on the movie grand theft auto just a lot of patina
Id love the 68 but i wouldn't pass up a 69 still a great looking car.
Why did you say don’t use E3 SPARK PLUGS? I have had them in my aluminum headed 340 for years with NO issues. Also my 2007 5.7 Tundra with 350K in mileage. Soooo, we’ll curious to know your expertise reason why, please!
I’m guessing you heard my thoughts on them during the live. Honestly… they’re probably fine. I’ve just heard of a couple bad experiences with them, and I fear change. Haha.
My problem is I'm very competitive. The local GM guys made so much fun of my first Mopar 69 Charger that I started going to car shows, learned how to. detail my car and started kicking their butts! I bought that car because of the great paint job and that's what gets the wins combined with that incredible body style. That's just me - as my pastor stated (great statement for someone like me): True competitors compete to win. Yep, and it's great! I love all of my cheap, gaudy, glittery plastic trophies, the bigger the better. I like a car that isn't just cool looking, but stuns people in to silence because it is so beautiful. I guess that's what is fun for me.
I like going to cars and coffee and parking my Mopar among a bunch of new Corvettes, BMW's, Porshes, Maseratti's, etc. I also like shouting at the new Chargers: Real Chargers only have two doors! 🙂
Interesting. I like cars that work. I like nice cars too, but I get my enjoyment in car land out of driving them down the road - and helping others do the same. Any old car is rare and cool to see on the street these days. I could give a damn if someone thinks mine isn’t shiny enough…
The 60's models are some sweet ford products though..
I put "Mexican blanket" seat covers on my 64 Valiant today. And a magnetic cup holder that I stuck to the transmission hump. Good for 10HP easy.
Yessss. I’m all about this. Haha.
I'd say get rid of the shackles, but there would probably be a problem with the rear tires and the quarters. This car has plenty of room for wide tires and wheels, but so many guys buy ones with the wrong (too little) back space.
You can move the springs up an inch by using the next pair of holes. Or even the highest one. You still get that "kitsch car" 1979 look some guys want to add but I always wanted to remove. Trust me, a lot of guys had the last two levels of shackle strap hanging below the spring back in 1979, so it is period correct.
That’s why I like them. It just has that street machine look. My ‘68 is a textbook case in “guy got the backspacing wrong.” Hence the also definitely not great air shocks… there was plenty of room to move it in too. Irritating.
Re: clocks. I got my original clock working using a restorer's instructions. Blow it out with a computer duster (carefully at low pressure) then use a dry paintbrush to brush out any debris, hairs,,etc, then naphtha on a tiny paintbrush to clean up remainder and also touch the pivot points, "bearings", etc because it will mostly dry but leave a very fine film that provides lubrication.
Microkroil is also excellent for fine instrument lubrication
Excellent tips! I need to do this to mine as well. I tried to open a Charger clock once and realized pretty quickly that it was a bigger job than I thought. I would like to get into this.
No genaral lee so sick of seeing them i did a dirty marry crazy larry clone
I surprised you didn't make him an offer. She the same color my 71 swinger was great car I think you know me by now it would have a 4 or 5 speed as some as that tranz comes off problem solved , I think probably not tho I would have to find clutch and break pedals.
Oh yeah. A car like this… I’d be adding the extra pedal with a quickness. Love the car, but so does he - and I have one.
Both grills are cool but I love the 69, center divider and the silver detail on the headlight doors. Not fond of the headlight bezels behind the doors on the 68. I've restored them and they are a PITA. I know I've mentioned this before but I also think round tail lights are unimaginative and look dated and don't match the futuristic body style.
I agree that the ‘69 tail lights are a better match to the body. They follow the lines are are super cool. Also a more original idea. But I still live the round lights. Just can’t help it - they’re awesome. Also I thought the grille pieces behind the doors was a cool detail touch - but they’re also in the way of adjusting headlights, so there’s that.
Yup- I like it too...looks like fun-Fun-FUN !
Why is the engine shaking? It sounds super cool! I love the stance but not the shackles!😂 all Chargers are cool but the 68 is my favorite.
Interesting, I like the shackles. Haha. Yes!
Is there a way to tell which pinion yoke and size I have by measuring it? I need a driveshaft built with the 1350 yoke and pinion, just don’t know what pinion is on the rear gears.
The three different muscle era carriers all have different pinion sizes, so while you could measure it, you could also just figure out which chunk you have with the casting number and which size pinion it has. Link with the sizes and more info: www.mopar.nl/tech-archief/aandrijflijn-drivetrain/guide-to-the-chrysler-8-34-rear-axle/
How much Yoke play should you have on 727? I need to have a drive shaft shortened for 68 Coronet with a 440.
Meaning how far out from the fully inserted position? I think an inch is about ideal for a car, but more is pretty common. I have stretched this pretty far without issue. How much room you need to be safe really depends on your suspension travel. A driveshaft company will likely know what you need, and will have specific instructions for how they want length measured. I did this not too long ago for the Coronet convertible we built.
Just a note, all the B Body drivetrtains sit a little to the passenger side. That is common in a lot of cars. I've been told it was to give the driver a little more foot room but I can't verify that. I can verify though that all of them I've had it all sat about 1.5" over. Nice '68
Yes - but the transmission should be centered in the tunnel, which is *also* offset to the passenger side.
Great video 👍 I am son of a Mopar lover, my Dad only bought Mopar. My 1st brand new car was a 1984 Chrysler Lazer I paid 10k. Lasted 10.years. Ya hit a pothole with it and there goes a hubcap. Plastic of course. Spent 2 years in and out of the dealer due to black smoke and horrible milage. Finally they replaced the Oxygen sensor.
That experience and my parents troubles with a 1988 Plymouth Horizon, put me off new Chryslers.
I always wanted a 1968 to 1970 Charger. I did get a 1972 Olds Cutlass S and loved that car. I still want a Charger. That want will never leave me. As a kid I loved hearing the muscle cars starting up and passing us at the school bus stop.
I first saw a ‘68 at 15… that image never left me. It really brought my attention to cars, and basically launched me on this crazy path. I wanted one from then on - and was lucky enough to finally get one.
I used to assemble a ton of custom spark plug wires in my day. I had a speed shop from the late 80's to the mid 90's. Anyways, when doing custom wire sets or fixing them, I always put the spark plug boot onto the wire before I attached the spark plug terminal. After I tightened down the terminal I would just pull the boot over it. I avoided using the grease as it never seemed to dry off and you could pull off the boots when trying to pull the plug wire off the spark plug. I used soap and water to make it easier to slide the boots onto the wire, when it dries the boot does not have a lubricant in there that can make getting the plug wire off more challenging as the boot wants to slide on the wire.
Excellent techniques. I do pre-install the boots for 90 degree ends. The boot sliding off has never been a problem for me - it always seems to be the terminals inside that choose to remove themselves with prejudice.
What kind of lifts are you using? I'm thinking of getting the kind that can be moved but they are $$$$$.
The kind that was really affordable… I don’t remember what brands they are. Both bought used. The drive on is kind of crusty. Two post is fine, but it’s really light duty.
Too bad you are so far away, love to have you work on my 71 Superbee.
How do you feel about the somewhat new challenger rear disc drum brakes ? Or have you tore into any yet ? I love the wheels and tires on the gold charger . Thanks man .
I have experience with that setup on all kinds of other things. Ford Super Duty trucks come to mind... it's a fine setup. The lever caliper is simpler. Also, replacing shoes in those tiny drums is really horrible with an axle flange in the way. But they work well. Those Centerlines are awesome. I love the look.
To each his own man I love Ford's and Mopar
I was wondering if you have any info or how much knowledge you have on the poly 318 , I was wondering if you can put a more modern starter on it Thanks
Starter bolts to the transmission - so this depends on your transmission setup. If you have a three bolt starter, I don’t think you have any options there, but I could be wrong.
@@DeadDodgeGarage damn thanks for the quickness. Lol. I’ll look it’s a 4 speed
Center line auto drag aluminum wheels sweet i wanted a set for the 84 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ I used to own..
I really like them. Would definitely prefer those for my Charger over what I’ve got.
I have a surfer foot gas pedal in my '69 GTX!!! Heck ya!!!
There was a famous TV commercial where a guy pulls in to a gas station and only is buying 25 cents worth of gas, a gallon, because he spent his "last ten dollars on this." And shows the bare foot gas pedal. His girl friend in the passenger seat just looks amused.
How much brake fluid did the 69 leak on your 68 and is the paint jacked?
None, yet. I ragged it, and there is a drip tray. The Demon already leaked some unknown fluid and stained the hood almost immediately after I first put it on the lift this winter. So yeah… ripped that bandaid off with a quickness. *Then* I bought drop trays. I shouldn’t have nice things.
Old mopar guy here. I know whats wrong with it. It's a B body with a small block in it! 😀 Such a wide engine compartment! I know its 2024 so....its cool👍
I mostly agree, and I’m putting a ridiculous 440 in mine. But I will say… that 408 has *plenty* of power.
@@DeadDodgeGarage No doubt it does. In the good ol days big blocks were everywhere and unless you had an A body the big block is a simple bolt in. Now it seems half the people can only score a 440 from a motorhome. The magnum heads are nice too. I have a 73 440 833 8 3/4 dart and oh boy is it “fun” to work on. Not bad for $75 in 1990😆
No more Gen Lees. Yes plz and thank you. That quota was met a number of years ago.
A-men!
You fixed the brake fluid and fuel leak before parking your 68 underneath?
Wrapped in a towel with a drip pan underneath
Wow, an AC car. Great video!
The overall package seems pretty good, even the "wood grain "paint, lol. I seem to call my 61 galaxie that dam thing. Must be a Ford deal. A friend told me Ford stood for "Fuckin Owner Really Dumb". Some days I completely agree lol
Haaaahaha. I’ve never heard that one. Good stuff.
@@DeadDodgeGarage lol
Looking forward to the next video.