Reader Project: Ryan R’s Plum Crazy 68 Charger

Owner Information

Name – Ryan R

Location – New Britain, PA

Vehicle Information

Vehicle – 1968 Dodge Charger

Engine/Transmission – 512 cid 6-pack, 46RH automatic

History – The car was sold new in Virgina in 1968, where it spent the first half of its life, driven hard and left to rust away. A friend bought it not running back in the late 1990s. And it sat again, waiting for their plans to get it running. Those plans never came to be and they had to sell the car as they no longer had room to store it. I bought it in 2001 and stored it for six years until I bought a house with a garage to start the restoration. The car was completely rotisserie restored in my 11′ x 20′ garage by me. I did all the blasting, stripping, cutting, welding, grinding, paint, suspension, blueprinted 512-stroked 440, and built the 46RH overdrive automatic. I did all the work myself with the exception of boring the block.

How long have you owned this vehicle? Twenty-one years in total. The first six years in storage, and 15 years doing restoration.

What was the condition of the vehicle when you acquired it? Poor. It was a rusted-out basket case.

What was it about this vehicle that made you buy it? I’ve always wanted a 1968 or 1969 Charger, so when the chance came to buy it off a friend who had to sell it, I bought it. Part of the deal was I would give back the 383 engine that was in the car originally so she could have a spare engine for her 1969 Superbee. I agreed to it, as I wanted a 440 anyway.

Project Details

What was your vision for this project? Originally my vision was to just drop in a 440 engine, weld up the rusty floors, paint it black, and drive it. But as it sat in storage, my vision changed to a complete restoration and some upgrades including fuel injection on a bored and stroked big block, plus an overdrive transmission.

How did you achieve that? Over six years of the car sitting in storage, and getting married, and having a daughter. I wanted to build a nice car, to take to shows, make memories, and eventually leave to my daughter someday.

What Eastwood products did you use to complete this project? I used many Eastwood products and tools including Chassis Black; high-temp ceramic engine paints on the engine, transmission, brakes and most suspension components; Internal Frame Coating; Fast Etch rust stripper (worked great and was a real time saver); and numerous polishes, buffers, and coatings.

What was the toughest challenge you encountered and how did you overcome it? Time was the toughest challenge. Having a full time job, a house, and family to take care of and sometimes just no energy to stay out late in the garage at night. But in April of 2023 my dad was diagnosed with cancer. My dad was responsible for my love of muscle cars and hot rods, as well as my career as a master technician. He took me to car shows as a kid and teenager. He always wanted to go for a ride in the Charger, so I felt a responsibility to myself to get the car running as fast as I could. I buckled down, broke out the credit card and put in many late nights. And while the interior isn’t complete yet, I took my dad for his first ride in the Charger after his first round of chemo.

About how long did it take you to get the project to its current condition? Fifteen years. The first 10 years were all bodywork, including building a rotisserie, replacing the floors, trunk, quarter panels, and rear valance. Then the suspension and drivetrain. The interior is still in the works. Legendary Interiors made the seat leathers with purple pleats in their rally style special for this car, and I did the install.

What are you most proud of achieving with this project? All of it. The fact that I did it all myself in an 11′ x 20′ garage that you can’t even open the doors fully in.

What is one thing you would do differently if you could? I would do a manual 6-speed if I could go back. Just for the simplicity of a manual transmission.

What’s left to do? Some interior work, especially the door panels and console.

Anyone you’d like to thank? I’d like to thank my wife for putting up with 15 years of late nights and long weekends in the garage, coming in the house filthy and smelling of paints and chemicals. And my daughter for inspiring me. My goal was to build a car that I could pass down to her some day. I knew I wanted one of the wild ’70s Mopar colors on the car, and when she was three years old, I asked her what her favorite color was. She said purple, so that settled it: Plum Crazy Purple was it!