YouTube detailing channel AMMO NYC cleans off the dust, waxes the Dodge’s paint and fixes the 440 cu-in V8
3 hours ago
- A classic 1968 Dodge Charger has been rescued from a 30+ year layup.
- AMMO NYC documented the entire recovery, detailing and overhaul process.
- The 96-year-old owner upgraded the 383 cu.in. V8 to a 440 with six-pack carbs.
We’re a sucker for a good barn find video and this one is a doozy for couple of reasons. One is that it involves one of the most iconic muscle cars ever built, and another is that it comes up looking almost as good as new. But the best bit is that the owner is 96 years old, which gives us hope that we’ll still have some gas running through our veins when we get close to the century mark.
The car is a 1968 Dodge Charger, the classic Coke bottle-shaped second-generation, mid-size coupe immortalized in that year’s Steve McQueen movie, Bullitt. And its rescuer is YouTuber Larry Kosilla, the detailer behind Ammo NYC, who pulls the Charger out of storage after a 30-year slumber.
Related: Is This Charger Daytona Scat Pack Worth Saving From The Scrapyard?
When the door on the storage unit is lifted up the Dodge looks filthy, but complete, and the body isn’t full of holes. But it doesn’t run and the brakes are seized on, meaning it has to be dragged onto the back of flatbed to get it back to the Ammo NYC detailing shop where the resuscitation can begin.
The Charger was available with a wild array of engines for 1968 ranging from a puny 225 cu-in (3.7-liter) slant six making just 145 hp (147 PS) right up to the legendary 426 cu-in (7-liter) Hemi that cranked out three times as many ponies. This one started life with the mid-ranking 383 cu-in (6.3-liter) V8 that was rated at 335 hp (340 PS), but as with many Chargers of the era, inherited a later model 440 cu-in (7.2 liter) triple-carb Six Pack engine making close to Hemi power.
Other mods as found include a set of exhaust headers and 200s “Daisy” American Racing mag wheels, which were popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s giving a slightly different look to the same company’s more famous Torqthrust Ds seen on McQueen’s Mustang.
All those years in storage have saved the Charger’s body and paint from the ravages of Connecticut winters and after many hours of elbow grease and ton of detailing chemicals it comes up looking fantastic. As does the black vinyl interior which has no console so features a column shifter for its three-speed Torqueflite automatic.
With the car now looking sharp inside and out, Kosilla brings in a mechanical team to get the Charger started, which involves replacing the fuel pump and filter, rebuilding the three two-barrel carbs and unsticking some stubborn valves. After a brake overhaul and now wearing a fresh set of modern American Racing wheels, the ’68 is ready to be reunited with its incredibly spritely owner. What car will you be stashing away to keep until you’re 96?
