Restoring My 1968 Dodge Charger 383 Engine Compartment!
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- Опубліковано 19 сер 2024
- I know, I know - I'm the "no restorations" guy. I also really, really like and appreciate crusty automotive garbage. But I am actually capable of enjoying nice things, and I even want to make them occasionally. This was a project that I thought I could get done quickly (surprise, surprise - it took a week.) I just think this car is more than worthy of having a fairly nice engine compartment to match the fairly nice body and interior, and this has been my plan since I bought it. No regerts! Let's do the quickest, dirtiest, hackiest engine compartment "restoration" that about $300 can buy.
That is a massive improvement in my humble opinion. These engines and the bays in which they reside were already aesthetically appealing right from the factory.
Glad you painted it turquoise. To me the 68 is the nicest Charger. It's the taillights.
Damn right!
Looks so much better!! Less 90s parts store bling was the best choice.
Stainless mesh covered hoses, blegh! Looks phenomenal man.
This is a beautiful refresh! Looks so much better now! That oil filter was hysterical 😭
Awesome improvement! Nothing looks as good as factory!👍
Did a great job....looks like 1968 again with the correct stuff.
Absolutely perfect restoration. Driver equals patina. Good job dude. Don't worry about chrome oil pan,on the ground can't see it. Holds oil is all you need.👍
Oh I’m not worried about anything under there. Haha.
Love your videos, makes me want to work on my 79 Lebaron 360 4bbl
This was so satisfying on the belvedere. The turquoise makes all the difference. Looks great DDG.
Restoring engine compartments is one of my favorite things to do...easy wins!
1968 was the best year for charger,imo. Great car,love it!
Completely agree! I’ve always thought it’s the best. To my eye it’s probably the most beautiful car of all time - or at least up there at the top somewhere.
You got that engine compartment awesome! Beautiful!! That exhaust note is intoxicating!! Love it all!!👍☺️❤️
AWESOME....Im there with you as far as the purest thing goes....MOPAR 4 EVER.
🎼🎶Put a corn dog in the window 🎼🎵🎶 EPIC ENDING!!!
Another great time following your adventures. Someday, I will get caught up on all of them.
Great video. You’ve inspired me to look under the hood and do some cleaning. Thanks 🍻 🇨🇦
Just stumbled across this one. Totally agree with prior comments about better appearance when factory original. I was 16-17 when these were new so really appreciate the look. Back in the day the crankshaft torqueflite or A833and Dana 60 did the talking not the valve covers and air cleaner
Looks good. In 68' or 69' I was a passenger in a 68' Charger when it was completely totaled. My mom was driving. We survived uninjured. An unfortunate ending for such a remarkable car, but not uncommon in the world of yesteryear.
Wow. Also, ouch. I’ve always thought that I would win with the old steel in a crash against the crumple zones of today. I have come to realize that’s not exactly how it would go…
Looking GOOD!! My 68 Plymouth Satellite is a 383 2 barrel well was a 2 barrel. I have been thinking of putting the stock air breather and valve covers back on as well.
I absolutely love the look. I still have my cool Mopar Performance valve covers to hang on the wall, but I have no regrets on going this way.
Jamie it looks so so so much better I’m surprised it took you over a year to do it but I understand you had to gather the parts to do it just wanted to say how much better it looks. What a badass car and I wanted to let ya know I’ve been a ford guy for over 30 years but you are changing me one video at a time btw been subscribed for a year maybe a lil longer and enjoy all you’re videos I don’t say much but I had to on this one it looks so much better bud.
That’s awesome! Thanks, I really appreciate that. It’s just one of those things… have to have the time to commit to a project, otherwise don’t start it. I put it off while the car was still running and driving just fine. It became an issue so I went ahead and got it all knocked out. I’m very pleased with it.
Corn dog car chase is a classic, a cult classic at that, the best kind of classic.
Looks good! "Corn Dog" Charger. A bit corny but nevertheless fun. Nice vid.
I had that Imperial dual carb set up with two 600 Edelbrock carbs on my 70 Cuda with a 383. While it looked cool it was kinda meh. I put it back to single carb. I tear down my Edelbrock carbs and put them in the blast cabinet and hit them with glass beads. They are good simple carbs but I hate the shiney finish. They look much better afterwards. Good job on the charger.😮
I don’t mind the little shiny. At least it’s not almost chrome appearing like my AVS 2… no, those early manifolds are just not good at all. Tiny ports, tiny runners, divider all the way down. They look cool and mount two carbs. In theory they should make OK bottom end torque but I’m sure they run out of poop early. I learned all of this as soon as I saw it in person after having already bought it… Edelbrock still sells a much better dual carb manifold new.
Yeah those AVS 2 carbs are a little much for shiney. My Edelbrocks needed a rebuild so that when I did it.
I say try that intake. hell I will even ship you the progressive linkage set up I used as it worked pretty slick.
Nice job! Love those old 383's. My first car in the early 80's was a base pillared 4 door '68 Newport with the 2 barrel 383. Not a charger by any means, and a base pillared 4 door, but love the body style of those 67-68 Chryslers, especially the 2 door hardtops.
I spent quite a bit of time riding around in a Newport just like that. It had plenty of poop and it fit the whole band and gear with no problem. I liked the look of it too.
THURSDAY VIDEO!!! WHAT A TREAT MY FRIEND!!!
fantastic now I have that song in my head! engine bay looks great
Heat soak of carburetor boiling off the gas in the carburetor, that's why Chrysler put a blanket of fiberglass wrapped in aluminum foil above the intake manifold gasket pan and the bottom of the intake manifold. Many people forget to put that back in place or put a new one if the old one was damaged. Having it should make the hot start problem go away although sometimes the use of modern gasoline gets into the act too. Also make sure the exhaust cross-over valve shuts off the exhaust after the engine is warmed up.
Engine compartment looks very nice after removing all the clutter which had been added!
That’s not why Chrysler put insulation under the intake. That part in original Chrysler service literature is called a valley noise insulator, or some such thing. If they wanted the bottom of the carb to be colder, they wouldn’t have intentionally plumbed 300+ degree exhaust directly under it… my flapper actually works perfectly, which is still a shock. The real problem is modern gas sucks. I have some other ideas to solve this problem. For now, I can live with it. I know! It looks *so* much better. I can’t even believe it. It probably won’t for long… but that’s ok.
This is my new favorite channel!!!! I just picked up a 71 charge and you have shown me so much so far.. thank you!!!!
Happy to help! And thank you!
Cleanup and restore the plastic container for the washer fluid using two tablespoons of cascade dishwashing cleaner and a cup of water. Put the top on and shake! My mother taught me that one! Believe it or not.
There top is broken and held together with goop, so I’ll find a replacement - but that’s good to know.
Yup totally cool. Totally jealous of what you know. Thanks for the great video
You can know it too! All you have to do is commit your entire life to it and lay awake at night thinking about what wire is what color in various classic Mopars, and similar hardly useful information 😅 thanks Stan.
@@DeadDodgeGarage sadly I miss my notch in the barn. When you started your car it was like holy shit mine sounded the same way. Over time I just forgot. I got to make time to be less incompetent lol. Really I will! Lol
I love stock (or close to) classics you can actually use. Great job.
Me too! That’s like my favorite thing in all of this.
This was so satisfying to watch
Outstanding job, it looks so much better than the '80s-riffic underhood Pep Boys aisle 5 explosion going on there before. I think I know why you left the return spring orange... actually, I don't have any idea.
Because it’s factree! There should also be a paint stripe on it. I’m guessing the flaking dark green is right but not totally sure.
Those valve covers were Chrysler Mopar Performance valve Covers not pep boys special..but stock looks better albeit I love the Factory chrome valve covers,you know the exact as the painted versions but painted.
Great transformation! 50% of the improvement came from getting rid of that cheezy upper rad hose, the other 50% from everything else.
You’re exactly right 😅
Great channel! Nice work with getting the bay closer to oem. Just an opinion, but I would highly suggest getting an inexpensive reproduction pre-bent hard fuel line from pump to carb. The less rubber hoses the better, especially with fuel under pressure.
When I get a minute, I am planning to hand make a suitable metal line. I’ve done that before.
The aVe influence is readily apparent - and appreciated!
I really enjoy when people recognize that. People are usually too busy accusing me of ripping off Vice Grip Garage 😅 AvE’s style is a *huge* influence on mine.
I am so glad to see you back on the Charger
Great video, always "realistic" approach and informative. Later built 383 engines did get a VIN stamp on the top diverside back of the block near where the trans mounted. My '68 Charger 383 with a SPD of 513 has the numbers matching stamping. You might want to check there.
Is yours a 4 barrel engine?
@@DeadDodgeGarage yes - H code
So much better!! Well done without pulling the motor. Perfect for a driver!
The 68 is my favorite, dad had a 68 hemi 4 speed silver one. It was one of 7
Very nice looking changes!
Have to agree with the more "factory-correct" look. But please for the love of my OCD PAINT THE SPRING OR REPLACE IT. Seeing all that awesome blue and the orange spring just makes me want to jump out of my skin.
Seriously though - that is a super nice Charger. I'm glad your enjoying it instead of hiding it in a garage.
That is a reproduction of the factory spring that is supposed to be dark green with an orange stripe. It had a bunch of silver overspray, which I removed by hand. The dark green is painted over the orange to get the stripe effect, and unfortunately it’s heavily flaking off on the top, so it looks all orange. I got a lot of comments about it when I first released the video. I didn’t realize it was going to cause such a kerfuffle 😅
Looks much better.
Please take my advice...If you haven't already decided to do so, replace that old looking throttle return spring with brand new outer AND inner return springs. Sadly I wrecked one of my three 68 Chargers when mine broke under accelleration on a wet foggy road. Always exciting...never fun!
Looks great Jamie, I love your Charger.
Old looking? It’s painted factory orange. That’s a nice factory original, or possibly reproduction throttle return spring. It stays. There is almost enough spring in the edelbrock to return without it anyway. I’m not going to worry about that. Thank you!
@@DeadDodgeGarage I trust your judgement...keep it classic!
Gr8 video. Love the 68. Love the rebuild paint. It looks so much better
"Restoration " vs maintenance. Big difference. Vast improvement.
This is a little past maintenance, but a good bit shy of restoration. Is there a name for somewhere in the middle? Restenance? Maintoration?
@@DeadDodgeGarage lol . I'll go with rehab . Looked like Mr. Gasket puked all over the engine before
The universe works in mysterious ways...my buddies and I have been doing the team "corndog and JoJo's" thing for years whenever we go 4 wheeling. It started out just getting what food we could at gas stations. Team Cheap Burrito of Team Cheap Breakfast Sammy just didn't have the same ring to it. Need some of those corndog pendants now. Good job on the car. Looks killer. Way better. Cheers.
I dunno man, I really like the ring of Team Cheap Burrito 🤣
Damn dude you made it look way mo gooder
I knoooow! It’s almost too gooder now.
Nice example of a decent cleanup-type resto task/plateau. My long ago plans for the Challenger would have had it festooned with braided lines, aluminum AN hose ends, aftermarket air cleaner and radiator... but I definitely now prefer the route you are taking.
Your efforts really paid off, it looks fantastic, very satisfying. I think your power steering pressure hose isn't oriented properly. If it's the correct hose, loosen off the elbow at the pump and swing it around so it faces the front of the car, then you don't have all the excess hose up by your shock absorber stud., the hose will hang down along side the frame rail.
I noticed it was a little goofy. I’ll mess with that when I get back to cleaning up the other inner fender.
It looks really good Derek. Stunning vehicle dude.
I see what you did there 😅
@@DeadDodgeGarage 😇
The engine and engine compartment looks nice now Jamie- but I can't believe I said that, cuz I'm an old dude(65), and I come from the era that Would Have put all that crap on the motor and compartment in the first place- lol. But in my old age- I think it looks cool now 🙂
Haha. Well, it was definitely a different time. On many cars, I’m really into aftermarket covers and air cleaners. Day 2 type dress up parts. I love fins, and M/T or Mopar Performance stuff. But I just don’t have the taste for the other stuff generally. I like simple and stock-ish - unless it’s there with a purpose. It seems kinda silly for me, a guy in his 30s, to want these things to look a way I’ve almost never seen them, but here we are.
@@DeadDodgeGarage yeah, it's kinda funny, especially the part of a guy Your age- even being Interested in the old cars and loving them, most guys *your age that I know are into Tuners or Ricers as we used to call them 25 years ago. But that's why I like you, and you sure know a lot about Mopars, it seems more than I do- lol ! BTW- day 2 mods were my thing back in the day, now I was only 10 when a '68 Charger came out, but by the time I could lay my hands on them and drive, they were already covered with tons of Day 2 stuff, and that was cool back then. PS- not much rust back then either🙂
Awesome work!!!
Thank You for another fine video.
This video has been popping up in my recommended for a bit now... glad I took some time to watch it today. Pretty sure the performance valve covers are causing the oil leak on 318... I need to get around to finding replacements. Eventually I guess...
I absolutely love those valve covers… but they leak like crazy. My fix involves a silicone bead on the cover itself and a cork gasket. Have to retorque them several times as well. And it still isn’t 100%.
Sweet!
"Put a corn dog in the window." 🤣 🤣 🤣
It's like walking into SuperShops in 1994.
I don’t know what that is but I believe you 😅
Ahhh supershops. I always had a love/hate relationship with supershops, but dead dodge garage I have always liked.
You and I have pretty much the same thought process on everything 👍. Not sure if anyone has mentioned it but I think pie plate should be red for ‘68. I think it would look a little better. Cool cat btw
Had a hard enough time even finding pictures of 383 cars that still have a pie tin. Haha. You may well be right there, but I only saw a couple cars with red ones. The vast majority seem to be orange. It’s what I’ve had hanging on the wall for years anyway, so I’m gonna run it either way!
@@DeadDodgeGarage Also cool that it’s an original Chrysler part. I went the repop route because my 440 plate had 0 color on it. That engine bay looks 1000x better and honestly I think you added a couple grand in value just with that.
Looks so much better . Please paint that throttle return spring
That is not engine paint. On a four barrel ‘68, it’s supposed to be largely green with an orange accent. Most of the green is gone from mine, but it’s still very orange - so I’m guessing they did the orange first. I should repaint it.
Stock works 100% fine. Most of the "mechanics" back in the day didn't set things in an accurate way. The attitude way, "it runs good; get it out of here". I grabbed a lot of tune-up work back then , because many of the 'pros' didn't bother to do the job 100% right. Stock, the Mopars work great. Btw, my '69 Roadrunner 383 was orange-red from the factory. That's what it was. Many other 383 's in other types of Mopars were the Chrysler blue.
Yes - ‘69. Apparently the difference came down to A/C. A ‘69 Roadrunner with AC (which I guess is a thing that existed) would’ve had a blue engine. In ‘68, they were turquoise. I just have this sense of how to make them run well for street duty. That has been my focus in Mopar world almost since the beginning and it’s where I find the most joy. Any unnecessary surgical operations I can prevent are a win, and a car that goes from sitting around because it runs like crap to a driver that the owner loves? That’s what I do this for.
I love the arcing next to the fuel filter
It really gives me the warm and fuzzies
1968 big block b body’s do have vin # stamped on them.
It’s stamped on the drivers side rear top of the motor. It’s wear the transmission bolts to the engine on the curve part of the block. You will have a vin stamped on the block and a vin stamped on the transmission. Right across from one another.
Not on a low power 383 2 barrel car. On a 440 HP, yes. I’m not sure on the 383 4 barrel. I should have mentioned that.
My 68 RoadRunner had them.
I believe stamping the VIN on the engine and transmission was federally mandated in 1968, so I'd be surprised if it isn't there. It isn't stamped on a machined surface, so they can be difficult to see.
Such a good video!! I loved how you described the engine bay as if a 90's performance catalogue puked all over it, That was a PERFECT description! You made me think of PAW (performance Automotive Warehouse...maybe before your time). I hate nothing worse than 1980's GM plastic corrugated wire loom protection on a Mopar. I used to work on Chevys (don't ban me!) and I hated that stuff.
Seriously. Alright, alright… you can stay. Haha. I don’t mind GM so much - just don’t be saying the F word around these parts.
Agree, while it looks OK, they degrade over time and disintegrate.
@@DeadDodgeGarage Oh, you mean, Ferd? 😋
Thank you for getting rid of those absolutely awful braided hoses
That orange carburetor spring is triggering me, but overall I give you a 90/100. Looks amazing now!
It’s triggering a lot of people who don’t know that the factory 4 barrel return spring is orange and green 🙂 it is supposed to be more green though - it’s all flaked off.
@@DeadDodgeGarage you need to restore that spring! Before you take it to the Concorde De’elegance show!
I'll tell you why I really cringe about rust. I'm from NE New Jersey originally. There were plenty of fine muscle cars that were only 5 years old way back then that had plenty of rust holes in them. Maybe it's not so bad where you are. I remember seeing a Hemi 'Cuda that was Red, White and Blue from the factory (base color white). It had loads of rust and was only about 5 years old. That one sticks in my mind. I remember this stuff because I'm 68. EVERYONE was into cars back then.
I totally understand. That’s a really, really different kind of rust though… that damn salt. Stuff like those roofs you were looking at on the other cars just never really advances. We get real rust out by the ocean, but usually here it’s lower quarters, trunk floors - places rain water seeps into and just stays. That’s what I like to call ignorable rust. Haha. It’s almost never frame rails or anything structurally important.
That looks so much better!
Really changed the bay and going back to oem parts is the best👏👍🏻. Do you have a plan for other style of wheels? It would look really good on steelies and hub caps to match vinyl roof in my opinion.
I do have plans, but I haven’t chosen the way just yet. I don’t think I want the stock ordered 14” steelies and full wheel covers. I like the “road wheels” quite a bit. If it was a dog dish car it would get dog dishes. I also like classic Cragars a lot. I love slot mags but they’re not right for this car. I really don’t like the modern wheels that are on it, and they’re way too wide anyway. I’ll figure it out soon I hope.
Good job💎
Manufacturers still use VONs (Vehicle Order Number) on new cars but I had no idea Chrysler stamped it on the core support.
Much MUCH better. Back end needs more gear!
Cheerz!!
Noooo, I took the 4.30s out and they’re staying out… it’s not that kind of car. Haha.
@@DeadDodgeGarage Well 4:30 is pretty extreme, I ran 323 in mine, was fine, but always wanted to bump it to 355 or 373, anything more than that is RACE in my book :)
Thanks for the reply,
Cheerz!!
I usually run the key hot for the choke off the key hot off the back of alternator
That works, and a lot of people do it that way. I just like the ballast resistor as a connection point - easier to see what’s going on.
Now the Charger has a theme song. I thought the corn dog video was Hilarious and the little CornDog on the mirror Check Mate Your the Mark Normand of Mopar. COMEDY.!!
Love this car ❤ personally would have left the MSD &air cleaner & valve covers on it, but hey it’s your wheels, do what you want
So when you fitting that Hemi ? ;)
I do really like the Mopar Performance stuff… but that pie tin was calling and I found all of the right stuff to go with it, so I thought I’d better just do that. I will save those things for future batches - some kind of racy big block powered build, perhaps… that MSD just stuck out like a sore thumb, and I need one to go with the Atomic EFI for my turbo slant project, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. The Charger will probably get a Pertronix at some point. Almost did that this go around but cut it from the video.
Corn dog Charger? How bout Pronto Pup Charger? Here in Minnesota at the state fair they’re pronto pups.
Love your Charger best with the Demon second. Super job on the ‘resto’!
Oh that’s a good one. The Pronto Pup.
Good job
hi man right on ya i did see the gas gauge lol fun,, good job. thanks lot of fun. in life if you owen a Charger ,,sweet. take care ,great video, toronto canada ya
The gas gauge actually does work, but a full tank shows as just over 1/2 on the gauge, half a tank is empty, and below a half it ends up absolutely buried to the left like that. Haha.
I will bet that a lot of "so-called-friends" have already asked you if they can borrow your mighty Charger when you finish caressing it. Please put me on that long list of hopefuls my good friend ;-)
Maybe I just don’t have many friends, but no one had asked… until now. Haha. Well I guess the movie people, but it never left my sight, and I was the only one to drive it.
@@DeadDodgeGarage Dang! I lost that bet! Lucky for you, because I borrowed my cousin's Harley one time, and I jumped it so far and so high that it broke in half! I walked away unhurt, and since I just told you that amazing story, I'll bet that you never let me borrow anything!
Hey at 16.24 when you were talking about my uncle you forgot he was also on PCP you know SMACK!😅
Good job it's almost like you have experience at this :)
The funny thing is… I kinda don’t! Not with making things look factory, anyway - until this past year.
Good old 383 👌 I likes 👍
Woow craigs list rebuilt
I chose not to say that, lest people start saying “yerrr just tryn to be vice grip” again, but I was sure thinking it the whole time… “Fresh rebuild… just lost the receipts…”
Back to original hub caps and 70 series tires would be crowning touch
I’d like to have a set of those, but it’s really not my preferred look. Maybe if it was a dog dish car…
The crankcase breather nipple should be pointing back toward the firewall... Then you should be able to figure out how to clock your OEM air breather... This REALLY surprised me!
This used Poly 318 breather hose I had wouldn’t work that way. I have seen many, many reference pictures, and while most are as you describe, a good few look like this with the sticker on the air cleaner pointing forward. There are more than enough other departures here for me to not worry about it too much anyway. Haha.
The braided stainless hose cover just screams Chevy to me.
LOL. I've had that argument about thermostats with so many people. "But I want my engine to run cooler". Ok, if you want your fuel economy to be in the single digits and you want incomplete combustion washing down cylinder walls, contaminating oil or just unspent fuel flying out the tail pipe.... Go Nuts!! I've had the same argument with people who think eliminating things like the PCV and EGR are also good things.
But then I also get the question: "Hey AMC Guy! How come all your stuff runs so nicely?"
I think I'm just lucky.
Now granted, there are some things that can be eliminated. Smog Pumps for instance. Do nothing but rob power and pump air into the exhaust. Parts are also non-existent so eliminating something that probably doesn't work any more.... not a bad idea!
PCV - good thing. But what does EGR do that’s worthwhile?
@@DeadDodgeGarage Increases fuel economy at steady cruise and helps stabilize combustion temperatures. Better for stock applications; not so much in a "performance" engine.
Jamie, for as good of shape your car is in going to mostly stock is a good idea.
That’s my thinking. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty dang nice, and mostly original and correct.
I can't believe you removed all the "JOE DIRT" performance parts!
I know, I know… I ruined it!
I don't know if you fixed the arching at the coil, but if not, try putting some silicone grease around the inside of the wire boot.
Good to know. I just removed it from the car. It was only arcing because of high resistance elsewhere. If there is a way to make it continue to work on another car, I’d hate to throw away an otherwise good - and expensive - coil.
Much better
Seeing the 2x4s makes me Getty. But it looks fine. For now😂. The no more summit catalog shiny stuff is very pleasing. It's stock so that stuff just don't cut it. Still think the 2x4s would be a hoot. But more wow factor is not more performance without the cam to let it breathe. A stock 2bbl cam has its limits.
Roight. One of these years I’ll give that a try…
@DeadDodgeGarage looks like it runs and drives and that's enough
Much better, but please go back an paint the throttle return spring.. I kept thinking the whole time that you would not be able to overlook the orange spring!
I didn’t overlook it - I removed the crappy silver overspray to reveal a correct original orange and green return spring 🙂 ok, most of the green has flaked off. I should repaint it. The color of the original throttle return springs had nothing to do with the color of the engine. They were installed with the carburetor after the engine was painted on the line.
A mini-starter works great.
They do, but the stock units are perfectly acceptable too - except in cases where headers interfere - and I have a pile of them that were free.
Charger's engine bay looks proper now.
It's not 'restored'- it's just a automotive OCD thing.
And that hood latch- just when you are thinking about something else- it gets ya.
A mix of misc chrome, aluminum, fake AN stuff & off the shelf donkey umm, thingy upper hose- former owner(s) seem torn in a few contrary directions.
I owned a few mopars over the years and apparently that will kept coming off a common occurrence have no idea why unless it's a little ears getting bent on the cap. I've lost more than one.
👍Nice!
If it ain't broke don't fix it is how I still don't feel too bad still going too fast on too many dirt roads in my old charger
Think I'm gonna add a stick to the hood or a tennis ball to the latch. We must be about the same height. Every time I hit my head I think "again"?
Tennis ball with a hole in it is a classic. I thought I’d just get smart enough to not hit it eventually… not so much.
Great Projekt! Would have done exactly the same 👍 …did they not have shrouds in 68?
Oh, they did… it’s on my list, along with a radiator that isn’t total garbage. Haha.