Neighborhood Yard Find for me!

[njsteve]

We drove up to Dover Dodge this morning and amazingly enough, they were able to order the a reprint of the Monroney for our car. They said it takes around 4 weeks to arrive from HQ.

After that we paid a visit to the part department to get the part number for the instrument cluster. It has the standard defect that curses all of the early generation Challengers, Chargers, 300's and Magnums. The Electroluminescent Light Display (ELD) stops working in places. It looks like a creepy assortment of fingers behind your gauges at night that move or spread according to how bright or dim you set the lighting. It is a fatal defect and eventually the entire lighting dies out.

I reached out to one company that repairs them. They said I needed the part number and that a dealer can get it based on your VIN.

When I sent the info back to the repair place they said "OUCH". That is one we don't repair and have to replace entirely and of course they are not available and any used one you get will have the same fatal defect.

Of course the manual trans cars have their own part number: 68066768-AF Cluster I 08037162 in case any of you have one sitting on the shelf.

UPDATE: I reached out to UpFix, an instrument cluster repair specialist and they said no problem. It's $250 to fix with a 3 day turnaround. https://www.upfix.com/product/dodge-...el-icp-repair/ Anyone have any experience with them?

[njsteve]

i love the badges!. Great look. Actually that hill assist has been great for the training sessions with the boy. It times out after one second so it teaches him to quickly move from the brake pedal to the gas on a hill but gives him that second of stationary-ness without freaking that the car is going to roll into the guy behind you.

Reminds me of when I was 14 years old and teaching my older brother how to drive his 1969 Daytona Yellow SS396 Camaro that my dad bought him when he turned 16. He also had no idea how to drive a stick. We were at a light on a really steep hill on the Boston Post Road in Milford Connecticut. He stalled it three times when the light turned green and the old man in the pickup behind us was blasting his horn. My brother just shut the car off, jammed on the parking brake, got out and yelled at the guy "I'M JUST LEARNING HOW TO DRIVE A STICKSHIFT. CAN YOU YOU GIVE ME A BREAK HERE?

He eventually got back in and managed to launch the car successfully forward at the next green light.

And if you are wondering how a 14 year old knew how to drive a stick shift? Well, my dad was always confused which of the 5 kids was which. So when he offered to help me buy my first car at age 14 (a 1969 Z11 pace Car) I was happy to let him. It was only after we got home with my new prize that my mom walks over and says to him: "You know, he is the 14 year old. His 16 year old brother is the one that needs a car. Now go find him a car"

Here's my car at age 14 and my brother's at 16 on the day my dad brought it home...in the snow. (This is what $3,500 bought you in 1977!)

[njsteve]

This is what the ELD issue looks like in the car. Kind of looks like the gauges have been infested with giant slugs. They lengthen or shorten depending on what position the dimmer switch is in.

So if I pour a can of table salt in the defroster ducts, that should get rid of them, right?

[Andy]

I’m glad he’s learning and getting acclimated to driving the car. What I liked about mine the most was how comfortable it was. I could go on long road trips and not be exhausted when I got there. That and the great retro styling they have! The only major thing I had to do to mine was replace the fuel pump but that was because it sat was more than it was drove the last 6 years I owned it. I put 19k miles on it the first year and only about a 1000 a year after that.

That’s very impressive for a first car! I’ve wanted a 69 Camaro since I was a kid but the opportunity has never been there for one. When one pops up I’ve just bought something else or it was sold a day before I get there. I’ve had my 67 Camaro since I was 13 and will never part with it but I want a 69 more than any other car. Maybe one day!

[Too Many Projects]

Originally Posted by Andy

I’ve had my 67 Camaro since I was 13 and will never part with it but I want a 69 more than any other car. Maybe one day!

Quit lusting over those overrated '69's. You already have the best year. Only year that can claim vent windows and no side markers..

[njsteve]

The boy and I took our cars and went to a local cruise for about an hour til the rains came. This was his first solo flight with the manual transmission. One week of lessons and he's a frikken pro already. There is something to be said about initiative I guess. He REALLY wanted to learn to drive a stick, did lots of online research and followed (some of) my directions and picked it up faster than I ever did. Simply amazing. He says this car is so much more fun to drive with a stick than his 2104 Camaro with an automatic. He said he feels so much more involved in the driving experience.

There is hope for the next generation of manual transmission enthusiasts!

One of his friends stopped by in his black 2015 Challenger R/T (5.7 with an automatic) and was asking my son how the heck he figured out how to drive a stick. He just shrugged his shoulders and said it was easy. LOL

[Crush]

Originally Posted by njsteve

The boy and I took our cars and went to a local cruise for about an hour til the rains came. This was his first solo flight with the manual transmission. One week of lessons and he's a frikken pro already. There is something to be said about initiative I guess. He REALLY wanted to learn to drive a stick, did lots of online research and followed (some of) my directions and picked it up faster than I ever did. Simply amazing. He says this car is so much more fun to drive with a stick than his 2104 Camaro with an automatic. He said he feels so much more involved in the driving experience.

There is hope for the next generation of manual transmission enthusiasts!

One of his friends stopped by in his black 2015 Challenger R/T (5.7 with an automatic) and was asking my son how the heck he figured out how to drive a stick. He just shrugged his shoulders and said it was easy. LOL

So cool you are creating these memories! He will be telling his son how cool grandpa is!!

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

Quit lusting over those overrated '69's. You already have the best year. Only year that can claim vent windows and no side markers..

Haha, yeah I know, but that’s the one car I’ve wanted since I was probably 8 or 10 years old. I’d love to do a Yenko or Motion tribute and go out and enjoy the car for what the real ones were originally built for!

[Andy]

My wife works at the local Ford dealer and she called me yesterday saying they got this go mango beauty on trade! 18k miles, 2020 scat pack wide body, six speed, alcantera seats, 6 piston brembos and active damping suspension. Just like I would’ve ordered one! I can dream I guess. It’s way more car than my 5.7 R/T was.

[njsteve]

Back in the mid 1970's a 69 Camaro was just an 8 year old used car when we bought it. It had a 1964 327 in it and 4-speed. I didn't know anything about cars when we got it and figured it said 350 on the fender so it has to be a 350? Right? Learned everything about cars by taking it all apart and not really knowing how to put it back together, but trying anyway. Read a lot of J.C. Whitney catalogs and dreamed of ordering lots of junk from it. :-)