In the summer of 1981, I was 17 years old. Full of spunk, I was ready to take on the world and to buy my own car. Most of the guys I was running around with had Camaros, Chevelles, and a few Fords sprinkled in the mix. Always wanting to be a little different from the rest of the fellas…enter one 1968 Dodge Charger. Originally finished in MM1- Bronze Metallic (more commonly known as Turbine Bronze), the seller had painted it red at some point, but it still had a black vinyl top, a black interior with bucket seats, and a 383 big block with a 727 automatic and a floor shift.
When I bought the car, for a whopping $2,300, little did I know that both rear axle seals were shot, the kickdown linkage for the transmission was totally non-existent, the motor was just about shot and burned oil bad, the entire wiring harness at the firewall in the engine compartment had been cut and spliced back together with butt connectors…needless to say, the car had some serious problems. However, the body was perfectly straight with absolutely no rust, a big bonus.
Having zero mechanical experience and virtually no money, boy did I have to learn how to fix things quickly. Fortunately, I turned out to be very mechanically inclined. We had an old racer down the street and I spent a lot of time in his garage learning how to build engines, among other things. Funnily enough, that old racer was a diehard Chevrolet guy and most of his inner circle just couldn’t believe he was helping this young guy with a Mopar.
Thanks to him though, I learned a lot about vehicles in a short time. To this day that man, Jim (not to be confused with my brother Jim), has most likely forgotten more than I know. Within a few short years, I had rebuilt the rear end, rebuilt the engine and transmission, rewired the car, and fixed the electrical issues as well as the entire brake system. Clearly, my muscle car craze had started.
How’s the Charger doing today? Currently, it has been torn apart and sits on a rotisserie waiting for a total restoration just as soon as I finish my 1969 Superbee. The Charger will be painted back to its original color with a modern power train.
By Chris Ochs
