Just bought a 69 Charger! after years of looking!

[greenmonsta79]

Hi everyone, I am new here I just thought I would stop by and say hi! as I just bought a complete 1969 Dodge Charger this past Tuesday it has sat in a garage for 17 years and still has its original red paint and very minor rust which I can repair ( I own a Towing & Automotive repair shop) and I am a Mopar freak through and through! Car is a 318 A/T car and I will be putting a 440 RB in it (have 5 of em' lol) Anyway since I have been 5 years old the General Lee has been my dream car and I will be making this General Lee as close to the Lee1 car as possible (although I like the wider pushbar instead of the narrow)

but all said Im pretty excited! It was very reasonable I bought the whole complete car for under $5,000 so don't fret guy's deals are out there!

[Meadowmufn]

Welcome! Wow... $5k is a pretty good deal for a complete Charger in decent shape.

[RogerDuke]

Congratulations greenmonsta!

We had a guy on here named TomBo who posted pictures periodically of his restoration project when he created a General Lee. If you have the computer skills to post pictures we'd love to see a new General Lee born even it takes months or years. Hopefully you'll consider it.

If you don't know how to post pictures, just let us know. I'm sure someone here with more computer skills than me can help. Stuff like that is easy for the moderators, Hoss and others, but I'm a little on the computer illiterate side.

Once again, congratulations and good luck with your project!

[greenmonsta79]

yeah I could post some pics but I don't see a attachment link on the message options.

[RogerDuke]

I'll have someone post instructions on this thread so hang on a bit.

[HossC]

Hi greenmonsta. There are different ways to add pictures here on HNet:

1) The easiest option is to click the 'Manage Attachments' button in the 'Additional Options' box below the text entry box when you are writing a post. The downsides to this method are that your picture size is limited and non-members don't get to see your pics.

2) Click on 'User CP' in the menu bar at the top of the screen and choose 'Pictures & Albums' in the 'Networking' section. These pics are stored separately to you posts.

NB. I may be wrong, but I think the at least the 2nd option is restricted until your moderation period is over (usually 10 posts). You won't be able to add an avatar until then either.

3) My prefered method is to use an image hosting service. There are many free ones around like photobucket, flickr, and imageshack. Personally I use photobucket which allows files up to 1024 x 768 pixels for free users. The moderators widened the posting area of the forum recently so files up to just over 900 pixels wide can be accommodated without stretching the sides, but larger files can be used. I find 800 x 600 works quite well, and most cameras take photos in that ratio (ie. 4:3).

I hope that wasn't too technical. Please feel free to PM me if you need help. I'm looking forward to your pics.

[RogerDuke]

Thanks for helping Hoss.

I like posting on this thread because on the message board it says "Roger Duke....I just bought a '69 Charger"

LOL Ya can't blame a feller fer dreamin'

[HossC]

Thanks for helping Hoss.

I like posting on this thread because on the message board it says "Roger Duke....I just bought a '69 Charger"

LOL Ya can't blame a feller fer dreamin'

Surely "Roger Duke...I just bought a white '73 Ford pickup" would be more your style Roger .

[greenmonsta79]

Here are some pics! It was a original Red 318 car with white interior and black vinyl top!! Gotta get some sheetmetal then start tearing her down, I really like the Georgia Lee's and I will do the early general with this one, I am seriously thinking about painting all the graphics on, I have a vinyl printer so I can cut out all the decals on white just to make stencils. The paint color won't be flame red it will be Dodge Hemi orange! I will paint the engine bay black, I already have bought a WOLO Dixie horn from JC whitney this past weekend, And I already have a set of original 15" Vectors lined up (I know the original had 14x7 but I like 15's!) All the interior will be replaced or dyed with saddle tan interior,

I will put a rollbar in it and the correct narrow pushbar. I have a 440 with a 727 waiting for it! It has the original front windshield and some minor cracks so I will be replacing it with a new one (buddy works for Safelite auto glass) I put it in my new 40x64 shop today those pics were taken in my parents garage, just had the concrete poured last Wed. so I just moved my General into his new "home" today! I cannot wait to start!!

[RogerDuke]

We really enjoyed watching TomBo update us with his latest restoration pictures and now we're going to get to see another old car transformed into the most famous car in the world.

Life is good!

[greenmonsta79]

Here is a update, The Charger is completely gutted and I bought a Rotissere (makes soda and media blasting much easier!) I picked up a set of 14x7 American Racing vectors and a set of new center caps, this will be a Georgia Era General Lee.

[MaryAnne]

And it's underway! This is great to see another General Lee come to life.

Didja change yer mind about the 15 inch Vectors?

[greenmonsta79]

got a killer deal on those 14" Vectors and they are nice! $400.00 I could not pass up! The LEE1 original General had 14's anyway but I know a guy that has various sizes of Vectors and I will probably get 2 15x7's for the rear eventually since they did that on the show as well, Oh yeah the Wolo Dixie horn had a couple neighbors out of their house to see what was going on!!! Just had to give it a try!!!

[RogerDuke]

You're off to a great start!

It looks kinda weird seeing the General on his side!

Thanks for posting the pics.

This going to be fun (especially since I don't have to any of the manual labor)

[greenmonsta79]

Yeah I am pretty excited, you could say I am kind of a Cooter bringing back the General Lee, I own my own Towing & Automotive repair shop and consider Cooter one of my all time favorite characters on the "Dukes" in fact since I have started making my General Lee a lot of my friends have been calling me Cooter!!! LOL!

[RogerDuke]

Well then I guess I'm going to call you that too.

Now that you're into it a little more deeply is the car in better or worse shape than you originally thought?

So, do you think this is going to be a project that will take several months?

Keep up the good work Cooter!

[greenmonsta79]

Roger, Yeah this car was in really good shape for a 69 Charger granted I will have to replace the trunk floor and driver side spring perch, and about 2 foot of frame rail, I am going to put a new rear crossmember,valance,corners,tail light panel and both full quarter panels, I am working on it every day! As far as a finish build date I am not sure depends on funds! (all that sheet metal is around $2500.00!) I plan to get the body finished as quickly as possible and down on all fours, I believe I am going to have over $20,000 into it and that's not counting my Labor! but I will do it all from mechanical to the base/clear paint job

many people would probably say I am crazy but the "General" is my favorite Mopar/Car and this car is being built to last another 42 years with no corners cut and will be fast to boot!!!! Long live the General Lee!!! Kinda funny I was up about 1 the other night and "Happy Birthday General Lee" was on CMT and that was one of my favorite Dukes episodes ever!

[RogerDuke]

Nobody here would say that you're crazy!

I'm not surprised that "Happy Birthday General Lee" is your favorite episode. My guess is that it's the favorite ep of anybody who has ever built a General.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

[CARLOS-ARGENTINO]

Roger, Yeah this car was in really good shape for a 69 Charger granted I will have to replace the trunk floor and driver side spring perch, and about 2 foot of frame rail, I am going to put a new rear crossmember,valance,corners,tail light panel and both full quarter panels, I am working on it every day! As far as a finish build date I am not sure depends on funds! (all that sheet metal is around $2500.00!) I plan to get the body finished as quickly as possible and down on all fours, I believe I am going to have over $20,000 into it and that's not counting my Labor! but I will do it all from mechanical to the base/clear paint job

many people would probably say I am crazy but the "General" is my favorite Mopar/Car and this car is being built to last another 42 years with no corners cut and will be fast to boot!!!! Long live the General Lee!!! Kinda funny I was up about 1 the other night and "Happy Birthday General Lee" was on CMT and that was one of my favorite Dukes episodes ever!

Greenmonsta79 Hi, congratulations on your purchase, here in my

country there are only 3 charger 68, I have only a dodge 1970 to

abody. I would like to know where you live, I have many

language problems, I can only do this with

translator. I am following your post since the beginning

because you're doing a perfect job and also my

Sleep well, just that I put together a 69 on my charger

dodge a-body with new and original parts, so you

I say you're not crazy, maybe I do ajajajajaajaja.

I wish you all the best ....

a hug from Argentina.

carlos.

:crazy:

[ldhenson]

I'd never have the cash or know-how to do this myself so I'm enjoying getting to follow along. Congrats on finding the Charger, looks like you're off to a good start!

[greenmonsta79]

Still waiting on power company to run the line to my shop but I did manage to get some of the sheet metal ordered. I have the full trunk floor, driver frame rail, spring perch for driver rear, valance panel, panel corners, rear cross member. Here are some pics of the new metal.

[HossC]

Nice to see you're making progress, and you even have a little helper .

What's the car in the foreground in the last picture?. It looks like an early '70s Dodge Dart.

[greenmonsta79]

Yeah the green car is a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger 318 car runs and drives great as soon as I get power into the shop (lights are on from a extension cord out of the house!!) I am going to paint it I already have all the primer and paint it will be plum crazy purple with a black stripe and blackout hood with twin hood scoops (look like a 340 Dart) It came from Arizona and is totally rust free and straight!!! I will be selling it as soon as it is finished. I have to buy alot more stuff for the General!! also the big 1999 Dodge 3/4,360,A/T,12" lift on it and it has 38.5 Parnelli Jones tires on it with a long arm suspension rides like a caddy!! I will be selling it as well as soon as I repaint it black. And the little helper is my 3 year old daughter Skylee, She loves the Dukes of Hazzard and we watch it often I had a guy come by the other day and I was telling him about what I was planning on doing to the Charger and she was right there in the mix and told him "we are going to make it jump!" I said no honey we are not going to do that and all I get is a "Awwww come on"

[RogerDuke]

she was right there in the mix and told him "we are going to make it jump!"

LOL That's funny. You'll just have to tell her the best you can do is jump for joy when it's all done.

[greenmonsta79]

Yeah, She is a Dukes fan for sure, she rides her bike around saying she has to get away from stupid Roscoe! She tells me to get it done cause "I wanna drive GENWAL WEE"