1968 Dodge Charger R/T

[Super28]

Good looking car. Looking forward to updates

[Kmb0319]

Great work so far, Mike!!!  I don't want to steal your thread, but other than wheels, we had the same idea... Tamiya TS-54.  Good luck with yours... I'll be watching this one for sure!

 

Edited August 22, 2017 by Kmb0319
Saving space

[mrmike]

Well Kevin, I guess I'll just throw this kit back in the stash since someone already built what I wanted to build!  LOL  Just kidding!  That is a great looking Charger, Kevin!  Now i have an idea of what mine will look like with Cragar SS mags and if I can find one, a Hurst T-Handle for the stock shifter.  I think there's a racing shifter with a T-Handle that I can steal the T-Handle from in the kit! 

[#1 model citizen]

I'm glad to see someone aware & sought out the correct turquoise color! Being a MOPAR fan & owning several '60s era big block MOPARs in my life, nothing irks me more than to see these engines, especially on 1:1 cars, painted blue! Keep up the good work & the attention to detail you are showing on this build.

[mrmike]

I had a friend who was a stickler for Mopar details and I have learned a lot from him.  One of the things he taught me was engine block colors for a given year.  I sought out and found a listing for engine block colors that I keep bookmarked for future reference.  I once did a non-judging build-off with a friend from Canada with my friend being the "nip-picker" (there's a whole story behind that saying)  and we built our Chargers in the same color, but in different building styles.  Both Chargers came out beautifully, although I think my friend from Canada had the better model.  

[#1 model citizen]

Would you mind sharing that website or listing you have? I have a couple of references I found years before internet but they have some discrepancies. Always fun to compare and become more confused 

[mrmike]

John, this is the site I refer to most often when I need to.

http://www.turbinecar.com/misc/enginecolor.htm

Not sure why I kept this one, but here it is.

http://www.mymopar.com/enginecolors.htm

[#1 model citizen]

Thanks, Mike!

[mrmike]

You're welcome John!

[mrmike]

I had this in mind for the stock shifter.  I took the racing shifter and cut off the T-Handle.  Then I took the stock shifter and cut-off the shift ball.  Using a pinvise and a drill bit the size of the shifter shaft, I drilled a hole in the T-Handle and then I glued the handle to the shifter shaft.  I now have a T-Handle for the stock shifter!  Paint the boot black and the handle aluminium and I'm done!

More Mopar to come...

Edited August 16, 2017 by mrmike

[moparfarmer]

I was able to order MOPAR engine turquoise from my Dodge dealer.

 

That engine color is hard to find..About 25 years ago when I restored my 64 Fury convertible I bought 20 cans of Plasticote Chrysler Engine Turquoise..Now you can get Duplicolor Chrysler Engine Green..Very close match but still hard to find..I did engines in Lindbergs 64 Belvedere and 330 2 dr post with the only can I had left..It still shot good and worked..I'll show you my engine on the Belvedere

[mrmike]

Wayne, that's interesting that you would find that color hard to find as it was right there in the Summit Racing catalog online.  I just ordered a can and had it in a few days.  Along with a free hat (it was their 40th Anniversary).  

[Roadrunner]

I really need to try that color; it looks great.

[#1 model citizen]

I was able to order Duplicolor Chrysler green at a local auto parts store for about 1/2 the cost of the MoPar brand turquoise that I could find on line. I'm pretty sure the Chrysler green is the same as the turquoise. 

I have an old, OLD can of TRW brand Chrysler green left over from a 1:1 repaint of a 383 as well. It looked like a new, correct color engine when done.

 As far as I know Chrysler never used a "green" for their engines (at least not post WWII). This color tends to change over time (due to heat?) so the new paint doesn't always look quite the same...

[Arjay 396]

I'm glad to see someone aware & sought out the correct turquoise color! Being a MOPAR fan & owning several '60s era big block MOPARs in my life, nothing irks me more than to see these engines, especially on 1:1 cars, painted blue! Keep up the good work & the attention to detail you are showing on this build.

Good Lord, your honor......I'm guilty as charged.

I mixed up a bottle of blue using various Modelmaster colors to approximate what I thought was a credible match for Chrysler Engine Blue.  I see now that I need to throw some green into the mix.  Thanks for the tip!

[BubbaBrown]

Scale Finishes has this paint also , in smaller amounts. I use and like it . There Hemi orange is muddy colored, I thought it was a bad mix and months/years later ordered it again with the same results. But the Mopar turq and Chevy orange are great and look exact to me .

[Mr mopar]

Scale Finishes has this paint also , in smaller amounts. I use and like it . There Hemi orange is muddy colored, I thought it was a bad mix and months/years later ordered it again with the same results. But the Mopar turq and Chevy orange are great and look exact to me .

I Got a bottle of Scale Finishes Hemi engine orange and mine is fine not muddy at all !

[mrmike]

I was rummaging around the parts box and came across this photoetch set that was left over from another project.  I am using a distributor from MAD and maybe the chrome air cleaner on the 440 CI engine.  The 426 Hemi is complete except the distributor fell off somewhere and disappeared on me.  Good thing there is a second distributor in the kit!

[mrmike]

Progress on the Charger has been very slow.  I got the MAD distributor assembled, painted, and installed in the 440 CID V-8.  Now to run the wires and finish the engine.

More Mopar to come...

[Roadrunner]

Looking real nice. I've yet to use any P.E., but look forward to trying some.

[afx]

Great project Mike.  For what its worth I mixed up my version of MOPAR Turquoise from Tamiya bottle paint:

• X14 Sky Blue - 15 parts
• X28 Park Green - 1 part

The block has a black wash over it as well.  I didn't have a paint chip to compare it to but I'm happy with it.  With more experimentation I think someone could get the mix very close to the factory color.

Edited September 18, 2017 by afx

[mrmike]

Thanks Kevin and JC!  

JC, I was fortunate to be able to get the can of Chrysler Engine Turquiose paint from Summit Racing!  And, I still have plenty left for future projects.  I also have a can of Mopar Street Hemi Orange that I got from Summit and that can has been used quite a bit over the years.  I am noticing a lot more parts stores (Pep Boys, Auto Zone, etc) are selling engine paint and this color is showing up more often.  I'm not sure if it is an exact match for the Mopar color though.

[mrmike]

I dove into my parts box this morning in search for parts to make a buddy seat for my '68 Charger R/T.  I found a bench seat from the AMT '71 Charger R/T and started to wonder if I could use the center section for this.  I pulled out my razor saw and cut away the seats and removed the fold-down armrest and center cushion.  A little sanding and trimming and I have a buddy seat.  The buddy seat looks pretty good in a mockup.  I need some more sanding and filling in the gaps in the seat cushion and the armrest and it should be good to go!

More Mopar to come...

[StevenGuthmiller]

Great project Mike.  For what its worth I mixed up my version of MOPAR Turquoise from Tamiya bottle paint:

• X14 Sky Blue - 15 parts
• X28 Park Green - 1 part

The block has a black wash over it as well.  I didn't have a paint chip to compare it to but I'm happy with it.  With more experimentation I think someone could get the mix very close to the factory color.

 

It's pretty easy to mix your own engine colors if you're not overly picky.

I mixed my own Chrysler, Buick & Pontiac turquoises, (all very close in color) from Testors flat bottle paints as well as Chrysler orange.

I bought a can of Duplicolor Pontiac Turquoise Engine Enamel for my last project & it worked quite well.

 

The Pontiac engine is Duplicolor, The Chrysler engine is a custom mix.

 

Steve

 

 

[Roadrunner]

Looking really excellent so far, and I love the extra seat.