Saw This Last Night

N

Not A Duster

Well-known member
Went to a car guy event to see this project at a local body shop. They are grafting a 70 Charger shell onto the chassis of a brand new 2015 SRT8 Fiat/Daimler "Charger." Despite what you might think about the mixed breed aspect of the project, it's a charity build that will be auctioned this summer and the proceeds given to a support group that helps the families of fallen RCMP officers. There is a website where we can follow the progress. http://cypressproject.ca/

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Cool!

There's a family here in Ontario that did a 68 a few years ago and tried to start up a business doing that conversion.
I don't know if the business took off or not but they had the car on display at MOPARFest. It seemed to be all sorted out except for the interior.

It will be interesting to see how this project progresses in that regard. I hope it goes well for them.
...and I don't care if the interior is modern or old school. It just needs to be well-executed. However, if it's modern, I'd want to be careful about going too far with any custom touches (a la Boyd Coddington roadster interior), but that's just my preference.
 
I applaud the devotion, time and workmanship that goes into a project like this. And granted, the end delivers a car with new car amenities with old car look. But to me a major part of the hobby is dealing with all of the old cars' quirks. Replacing the skin of a new car does not make it old. It's Hollywood plastic surgery in reverse. When you remove the vintage mechanicals from an old car you have removed its' soul. :(
 
68R/T said:
I applaud the devotion, time and workmanship that goes into a project like this. And granted, the end delivers a car with new car amenities with old car look. But to me a major part of the hobby is dealing with all of the old cars' quirks. Replacing the skin of a new car does not make it old. It's Hollywood plastic surgery in reverse. When you remove the vintage mechanicals from an old car you have removed its' soul. :(
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Well said.
I'm all for custom work, but projects like this are not something that turns my crank.
Tremendous amount of work, considering the bastardization that is the end result.
 
Wow.

Tough crowd.

I expect similar stuff was said when people first started shoving overhead valve V8s into Model As....
 
Not A Duster said:
I expect similar stuff was said when people first started shoving overhead valve V8s into Model As....
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I wouldn't think so much, the start of the whole hot rod movement was to improve the performance without changing the original aesthetics of the car. What they're doing is putting old skin on a new car. A similar thing was done over 20 years ago with these;

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you guys know im a gluton for punishment and take on this kind of stuff for FUN..so im all for it....tho...i wouldnt never go that new..i like to retain as much "quirk" as possible

i have to agree the interior will be the real kicker..they either do it right or fail miserably..there seems to be no inbetween..and its by far the hardest part of the job
 
Not A Duster said:
...Um...... ?:hmmm: View attachment 18693
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The only modifications done to that car is the removal of weight. It's still running the 221 ci flatty. (note the water outlets in the center of the heads, 239's are at the front, and no, the heads don't interchange)
The 221 was super-ceded by the time the 46 next to it came out.

Would you put that 30's body on the 46 chassis next to it? :hmmm:
 
hard to say if i would or not..probbably not a big enuf jump in performance...id be more likely to grab its rear axle and potentialy make the front suspension fit...which is EXACTLY what was done in the day...and still done today an not looked badly on....yet you take the whole chassis and all and someones bound to flip their lid about it

ive got one ive been working with for MANY years..behind the scenes..and fate has delt some wild cards..coming soon will be a alfa spider, with a race engine major body mods and mark4 supra suspension..cause it NEEDS to handle
 
I like that they're doing it for charity. That makes it an easier sell, so to speak, because it will drive and run like a modern car but look like no modern car can, except the FWD-offset wheels required on that chassis. Those can never look "right" no matter what you do, and there's no way around 'em. It's one car, so no big deal to me as far as what they're doing to it. I'm sure it'll be someone's dream machine when it's done.

I'd really love to see this thing left in white when it's completed. A friend of mine used to have a white '68 and it really pops on those cars more than you'd think.
 
I'd daily drive it. But much like his women, Jester likes a classic look on a young, tight chassis.
 
I'm wondering how they're going to overcome the chopped-off windshield header and roof structurally. There's a lot more roof structure in the newer cars than what's under the skin of the Charger... even the front and rear glass on that SRT-8 is structural. Plus, the rockers of the '70 are much closer together than those of the Fiat, which doesn't have near the vertical taper to it of an old car (part of the reason they're so ugly). The floorpans in the Fiat are at least 6" wider than they were in the Dodge. Probably closer to a foot, really.

It could get very interesting with such obstacles still to be overcome; the modifications thus far need a lot more work to keep this thing from having more squeaks, creaks, rattles and groans than a convalescent-home orgy.
 
Well, we can answer those questions by checking in on the progress website from time to time. Plus I'm considering volunteering some time on the build... I don't have the skills that the other guys working on it have, but it is an opprtunity to contribute to a good cause & learn some stuff at the same time.
 
the trick..in my head is to bring the body forward till the front wheels are where you want/need em..then you shorten the chassis to match...width however is a bitch..and your only option in this case is narrow the tub to fit and hope you have enuf room for seats

the slab side problem will more than likely result in a semi highboy stance...the bumpers will be a nigghtmare and the frame wont be in remotely the right spot
 
Not A Duster said:
Well, we can answer those questions by checking in on the progress website from time to time. Plus I'm considering volunteering some time on the build... I don't have the skills that the other guys working on it have, but it is an opprtunity to contribute to a good cause & learn some stuff at the same time.
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Oh hell yes... if this were happening locally, I'd be all over helping them! :dance:
 
Wheelbase on the fiatdaimlercharger is one inch longer than the '70, forcing the wheels 1/2" outside front & back. Front cowl apparently lines up "perfectly."

Supposedly the rockers will clear the new chassis width. Overrall height may be a different story....
 
I found out this afternoon that someone local is attempting this with a '71 Barracuda Gran Coupe that's been floating around the area for 40 years. It sounds like the rocker dilemma is causing some real head-scratching, and the idiot to whom I spoke has no fucking idea what they're up against. Luckily, the Barracuda's been a bastardized bag of shit since the '70s and hasn't been driven since the early '80s, so no real loss there.
 
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