We’ve already seen Dan Frazzini’s vision of a modern Mopar swap in his 1970 Hemi ‘Cuda, but how about something that takes us back to basics with an old-school Charger build? Dan lives in Denver, Colorado, and when a ’68 Charger popped up for sale not too far away in Colorado Springs, he had to go take a look at it. “I recently sold my ’71 Challenger, so I was not looking for another project,” He told us. “But I decided to take a look anyways.”
“The ’68 is my favorite year of the Charger,” Dan told us. “The round taillights are a one-year only and the solid front grill is very intimidating. I always wanted mine to be more of an old-school, straight line, intimating street bruiser.” Originally the Charger came in light green metallic, white interior, and a green vinyl top. The drivetrain consisted of a 318 cubic-inch engine, 2-barrel carburetor, single exhaust, a 727 automatic transmission with a column shifter, and air conditioning. Dan describes the original setup as a grocery-getter car.
The previous owner had restored it in 2008 and repainted it GG1 racing green, put in a brand new white interior, changed the green vinyl top to black, and dropped in a stock 440 cubic-inch engine. “I added the R/T badges and white bumblebee stripe,” Dan detailed. Dan also installed drilled and slotted rotors with power disc brakes and replaced the engine with a 505 cubic-inch stroker motor that is set to output 550 horsepower and 580 ft-lb of torque. Along with that came TTI headers with 3-inch exhaust, FirmFeel Stage II steering box, an electric fuel pump, and sound deadener.
“I converted it to an 18-spline Hemi 833 4-speed transmission with a pistol grip shifter that is a blast to drive and it totally changed the car,” Dan told us. “It is hard to beat a B-body with a pistol grip shifter.” Dan also upgraded to a 489-case rearend with 3.23:1 gearing, a mini-starter, and a Firecore RTR distributor. Without doing a complete overhaul of the car, Dan has really succeeded in making it his own and building it to drive how he wants.
The next step for Dan was to upgrade a little bit of the suspension and improve the meat on the tires. Dan selected some 15×7 and 15×10 Weld Prostar wheels for the front and rear respectively, and wrapped them in Mickey Thompson Sportsman SR 28×10 and 30×12 tires. He also upgraded the suspension all the way around with new springs, coilovers, a front sway bar, torsion bars, and sub-frame connectors, “To make the Charger more solid,” Dan explained.
All-in-all, Dan has build himself an old school inspired, mean, and intimidating 1968 Dodge Charger. He’s achieved the look he wants and a drive style to match. If you can think of a better way to build a Charger, let us know, because we think he’s pretty much nailed it.
If you want your car or truck to be a part of our Street Feature series, all you have to do is shoot us an email and tell us about your ride and we will make it happen.