I Broke My 1968 Dodge Charger 383 Big Block Doing Dumb Stuff (Or Did I?) 

Remember, it's a lot easier to win a race when your opponent doesn't know he's in one.

68 Charger and the 70 Roadrunner, the two best looking B bodies ever made.

While in the air force, I befriended a fellow airman who had a gorgeous 69 road runner, 383 727. He loved to race any sucker. Couple local guys dropped a boss 302 in a falcon and thought they were kings until the Plymouth beat up on them a few times. After a few days a couple guys found us riding around and wanted to race. Hell yeah so we went to his house where sat a 76 dodge truck with a 340 from a duster. Untouched they said. That truck smoked the road runner and threw away the butt. Still love the 383, such a sweet engine. Damn this comment is almost as long as your video

The (modern) Dart guy probably just wanted to see your Charger do exactly what your Charger did. Was lucky enough to pull up to a Viper at a red light in the ‘90s. Knew my little (awd turbo) Plymouth Laser was going to get spanked, but made it known I wanted that smoke. He toyed with me for a second and then just disappeared effortlessly. It was amazing. Got the show I wanted.

So much torque, the chassis twisted coming off the line.

B- bodies are very cool, the 4 door sedans are even fun and practical to drive. All these cars should be on the road more often.

ah, the ol' big-block hot start.

Very happy you've got your dream car running again. I'm years away from that here but I'll enjoy your achievement vicariously ;)

Jamie that is a super nice 68 Charger. I had a B-3 blue 68, it was a 440 automatic with a (4.10 geared) Dana 60. My car started out as a 383 2 barrel ,with a 2.76 geared ,8 3/4.

I rebuilt my 440-6 completely about 8 months ago. It goes in my 70 GTX that is being restored. I had a few relatives over and decided to take it to the long driveway and do a nice smokey burn out. Man I laid some real nice rubber. And when I drove it around to put it up. You guessed it. Valve cover leaking oil on the exhaust manifold. So I instantly ordered the really good ones. Like you. I need to install them. So glad I’m not the only procrastinator around. With six cars and my wife’s 2 Cadillacs I stay busy. Well I have been sitting around and making a list of to do things. My hand got tired and I ran out of paper. But I do have a list. Good luck Jamie on your future endeavors of the car kind. Thanks for the video.

You're a blessed man! Watching you drive those roads brings back memories. I used to live in University Place, and was a service tech that made frequent trips to Olympia, Shelton, pretty much all over that area. All that time, and I didn't know ya'll had all those cool old cars there. *sigh* Oh well

I love that car. My stepdad has one just like that only his didnt have the stripe and had black interior. I remember scrubbing that white top all the time. It was that car that got me into mopars. A week before home coming i blew up my nova and he handed me the keys to the charger. Told me not to wreck it or get a ticket. Almost got caught for drag racing

Really enjoyed the video, as usual. I've got a 383 with an Edelbrock carb too. Had the warm starting issues that you have. I put a carb spacer on and now the car starts very well when warm, don't even have to touch the accelerator.

Just keep pushing forward my man...even when the door says pull. Another AWESOME video with my 2nd favorite car in the fleet (I really like old rusty sitting above it) lol.

Great, great video as always!! I’m in Venice Italy right now watching it.

Thanks for sharing your time and very cool car with us, and remember keep making these great videos we need them.

I'm fairly new to your channel. Uncle Tony and your broken axle shaft got me here. I'm sooo glad there was no gas in the carb after sitting 6 weeks! Why? To listen to the lilt of a Mopar starter. Very nice Charger! You remind me of me, which may or may not be a good thing. I certainly enjoyed the video.

Great looking Charger Jamie ! Very nice/comfortable classics ('69 X9 R/T SE here)

Thanks for posting another entertaining video with your Charger. At 9:40 you mentioned the points gap was open too far. This will result in not enough dwell (duration of points being closed) and not giving the coil sufficient time to charge, especially at higher rpms. I try to shoot for about 30°

I just picked up a Chrysler 440 points distributor and a bunch of NOS Mopar points at a garage sale. Amazing what you sometimes come across only a few miles from your home.

That car sounds so nice. Anyway Glad she's back to the land of the living. Pulled the old Cordoba out of the barn after a 4 month hiatus. She has to serve daily driver duty for a month or so while the Fusion gets a new generator/electric motor drive unit. Thank the Lord Ford is stepping up and warranting it. Anyway hooked the battery up and dusted her off. Fixed the air shox valve and away I go. But no gauges. I think the instrument vr is loose again. Anyway fun with old cars.

Yup can't beat summer cruising in a Charger... great content and thanks....🔧🔧🐐👍

Such a lovely car, really is one of the most beautiful vehicles ever to grace the roads

Good pop quiz , professor Jamie You had me stumped

Thanks for your great show! Cheers from…2hours straight north of Buffalo in the lower central grey area of your cananada map.

*Jamie* My wife, always without filter when it comes to opinions, just uttered this when I started watching this video: "Of all those crappy videos on YT that you (me) watch, I like this guy the most. He's funny." Keep in mind, she next to never actually looks over to see what I'm watching - but she doesn't get much choice on having to *hear* what I'm watching. So....ringing endorsement, I guess? 🙂 (Doesn't matter - I enjoy the episodes regardless). (As an aside, when I first heard the Charger trying to idle, I said to her "distributor"). Not kidding. One of very few benefits of surviving this long on the planet AND multiple old raggy Mopars over the decades is a shadetree reference library inside my graying temples - well, that and my dad taught me centuries ago that the problem is electrical 90% chance - which is true 11% of the time. I'll take that cracked up woodgrain wheel iffin you don't want it BTW. Also BTW - what brand of brake shoes do you guys use on the 4-wheel drum critters? - Ed on the Ridge

Sure glad it was a simple fix! Beautiful car! It gives C4 a run for her money in the beauty department. lol! You’d smoke me in a race so we won’t even go there… 😅

Beautiful color combo. Install the Charger exhaust tips for that factory cool look. I enjoy your channel. 😊

Beautiful car! Glad it was an easy fix!

That charger of yours makes my face get all smiley. My car has been cruel to me today. It's probably going to get a 6 week time out too. That'll teach it.

68 Charger is my FAVORITE year Charger.... Amazing car you've got there 👍🎸

I love that car. Well, and the 70 challenger! And well, the 65 belvedere. Ugh! So many.

All those little tuning things can add up to make it all interesting. Nice ride for sure.

I had one in the Maroon color with Black hard top..got it in a trade..it had a small block in it.. love your car here.

What a drop dead gorgeous car!

Drive the wheels off of it, that's what it is for! Awesome looking car!

How could anyone not love this car?

Dang, I really really love your 68! Given todays available (ahem) gasoline, ignition timing is a fun topic on our factory higher compression Mopars.

Looks so so much better with the correct era cragers on it! 👍

I always loved my 383's . Have you ever considered getting a couple of cargo containers. It would help you organize your parts and free up space in your shop . Then you could bring in even stuff! Lol. Thanks for the video I enjoyed it . Stay safe.

That reminds me, I`ve got some corn dogs in the freezer. I`m hungry now.

Such a beautiful car , love it

Awesome. Thanks for the video.

Ive got one of those bad boys in a '71 Road Runner. Gotta love it. Can you believe they delivered this car with no power steering. Its so bad its actually unsafe to drive. Ive got all the parts to convert --- just gotta have my mechanic button it up. Car has 35K original miles. It was parked in a barn in NC after somebody ran it off the edge of the road. broke all the mounts and tore up the radiator and its carriage. Its no wonder . .. you have to be AAArnold to steer the thing.

My first Mopar was a 68 charger. Great video.

Sounds good on video, i like that its not heavily modified in any way like many of them have been ! Big block and an Edelbrock , you could make a song out of that ! lol

Man i love that cat. And you're channel.

Hi Jamie. I really enjoy your videos and I learn lots of stuff. Just a quick question for you. What type of blasting medium do you use in your blasting cabinette? I use medium grit crushed glass and it seems to be a little bit aggressive on steel parts as there is some minor pitting and roughness. Any suggestions would be a great help. Thanks.

The exhaust sounds great. What kind of mufflers are those?

Glad it only took a few tweaks to get it running right again, Jamie. What a sweet car, but if you're gonna keep parking it under that experiment in slow oxidation could you please throw a car cover or at least a couple of old blankets over it? Cheers & Gears! 😁

What a sweet ride!

Yeah, I used to have trouble hot starting my ol 383 every once in a while too. I had the "larger" big block starter, but every once in a while I'd come out of the grocery store and it just would not crank over. I finally put on one of those light weight mini starters and never had the problem again.

Nothing better then the red 68 Charger Videos.

ah yes, bringing back 70s memories... the points with the felt lube pad, the mark of quality

I still own my 1968 Charger and first car I purchased in 1980, Lynnwood WA. car when new from Walsh Platt dealer in Everett WA , when it stared its life and it also was a 2bbl 383 with 727 and 2.74 or so one leg 8-3/4 . I see your experiencing many of the common issues , iIve been there too and always worked through it on a limited budget in the past and kept it running . now with a modified and 440 and old school 284 484 purple shaft cam 24 years ago , it still retains some interchangeable original parts from the original 383 , to keep as much originality as possible, however however improved with upgrades like the Mopar Performance Electronic ignition orange box , and required solid state regulator , the distributor required a recurve I did my self that improved performance .. It had Points then a Mallory dual points distrubutor , however the constant tuning and changing points , and becoming skilled with the dwell meter , vacume guage and timing light , I decided to upgrade to the mopar electronic ignition , maybe not the best ignition, but faily strait forward upgrade. I did have an older Barrowed unit that exploded internally , with a high rpm Blast ... I enjoy your show keep up the great work , amazing how much you already know, Hope you keep your 68 for many years of fun and enjoyment ...

Beautiful car!

Soemtimes we look for the more complicated solution when the simplest is what is needed....

I can't recall the exact model of valve cover gasket from Felpro, but they don't seal for squat on the B/RB blocks.

OK , i see my radiator boo boo. Ali rads look wrong under such circumstances

Edelbrock wood spacer fixed my hot start issue... 400 engine 750 Edelbrock carb and Edelbrock RPM intake...Although, carb needed tweaking after installing it..

it's the sticky pollen time of year. Most dust has the good sense of just blowing off the car, pollen is different

Ahhh the joys of owning an old mopar. I know them very well.

Phenolic carb spacer might help your hot start a little if you have room for it.

With points distributors on these, the cam lobes wear and the points never stay consistent, meaning the timing is erratic and the engine erratic. The points not being within the screwdriver slot adjustment range is a bit of a giveaway to me. Also just use feeler gauges to adjust the points. There is a range so they don't have to be perfect. I had one on a 383 where when you were cruising it would intermittently cut out or misfire. It was getting frustrating trying to diagnose it. It's just a simple engine right - why can't I solve this?? As soon as I floored it, it was fine, drive around town, yep fine. It would only do it on a drive down the freeway or a country trip. Anyway what happened was the cam lobes were worn down - not enough that you couldn't adjust the points correctly, but as the vac advance kicked in the breaker plate naturally swings in an arc pulling the points away from the cam lobes, closing them causing a misfire or the engine to shut down. If the lobes are in good condition this doesn't matter but if they're worn down erratic dwell is the result. How I found it was sucking on the vac advance and I saw the points close. It didn't help that there was a bit of slop in the distributor shaft either. Not much but enough when the lobes are worn for it to all be effectively a life expired distributor.

Yeah these things are very sensitive when it comes to setting point gap. The cam on the dizzy has 8 lobes so not a whole lot of time for the coil to charge, set the gap too big and there is even less time to charge, resulting in weak spark. Had the same thing happen with my old 318 on propane yesterday which is even more sensitive to this stuff. I also use the standard brand points, they are good quality but there was a bad batch which had moisture in the package, causing corrosion between the spring and the points, left me stranded once. Good to see it running strong again, first thing that crosses your mind when stuff like this happens is I've hurt the engine. On a sidenote, if your engine is using oil, it could have been fouling the plugs when you floored it and together with the points gap being too large, resulting in weak or no spark at the plug, I've had that happen.

Do you have the thick base gasket on the carb? I don't have any hot start problem with a big block and Carter/Edelbrock carb?

FYI your little choke trick worked awesome on my vintage weed wacker cleared it right out runs perfectly thanks

Glad your Charger was just in a bad mood & not really broken. Random question of the day: Is having a pcv valve + a valve cover breather redundant?

Resist the stoplight temptation, street requires hook up. Once rolling the big block torque should match most situations,

Can you explain the big block/edelbrock hot start theory? My buddy had the same issue with his 383 and eddy and is ready to chuck it in the bushes but it cold start and drives decent. But the hot start is horrible.

How I would love to own that car , looks great , but, have you considered how awesome it would be in " Bullitt" black ? , or would that hurt the value?👍

Jamie what do you think about the Petronix module?

You got lucky. When I did that exact same thing with my '69 Charger R/T with the 440 only tried beating out a Honda Civic. The nylon cam gear decided to come apart and jump a couple teeth, bending a couple valves, and ruined some valve guides as well. Yeah, I always had the Hot restart issue too except when I would run a spacer between the Carbrurator and intake manifold. But then the engine ran like crap after awhile.

1968 best Charger ever. The 383 magnum was awesome.

Coming in new to your channel do you ever have any gas in your cars 😊😏 every time I’m watching the fuel gauge is very much reading E 👍

Hey man the way you described it it could have been fuel boil in that moment. Had a 70 f100 fuel boil with an edelbrock wouldn't idle ran like crap on a hot day after a pull. All we changed was putting a piece of rubber to space the fuel line off the valve cover it was just barely touching. Never happened again.

I really miss my 68 Charger, Wish I knew then what it would be worth nowadays, I could have retired earlier...

Win! Have you learned anything about being a miscreant at stop lights? No? Good!

"Don't do what Donny Don't does." Words of wisdom.

Stock the 383 2-Barrell was rated 280hp. Do you have a 4-Barrell on yours?

Acid core solder, propane torch, drain radiator a tad, fixed. Done many of them.

Jamie, When I was in my 20s in the early 90s I had to make sure I ran 94 octane in my Corvair or it would ping when hot. That was unleaded gas by then, obviously. Gas is even worse, now. You were enjoying life and running errands on the fateful day when your car acted up. I am wondering if you did not get a little bit of vapor lock? I know that you have forgotten more than I will ever know, but is it possible that was what happened? In this video it looks like a mild cloudy day and you wouldn't get the right conditions for vapor lock so whatever you do to the Charger will feel like it helped. I just automatically assume vapor lock on carb engines in the summer nowadays.

Sounds munch nicer than my 'Cripple Whip'. Doncha have a V nice al-you-mini-um Radiator somewhere?

Yeah Jamie it seems like there's always something to do on them,, there's no such thing as done!!! and yes that 68 the 70 chargers are the best and the second best are 70 --71 challengers all by my standards of which I own !!!why own something you don't enjoy to look at, drive, abuse slightly, and take the car shows. and Roll ins. and local city celebrations car displays and for you rural people like me tractors also we are in a farming community flatland Minnesota good farming land no trees in nice rolling streams like you got up there you have some beautiful scenery 25 miles from here we have a lot of River Valley which gets really kinda nice and then north of here about 25-30 miles it starts to roll the hills roll a little bit keep the videos coming there Jamie

Thats a sweet car!!

If only everything else got better so easy!

Don’t try to race kids that aren’t trying to race you 🤣

Jamie, I'm pretty sure you have the same Innova timing light I do... if so it does dwell.

Dwell meter? Never heard of it, never saw someone use one. Maybe You sometime try and fix one, do a little show&tell?

Very cool charger, I can't say I like the white interior or top though I would definitely of ordered it black top and interior, I'd get that white dirty every time I look at it lol

Back when I was a teenager, my brother in-law had a factory 383 in a Roadrunner, I didn't have a license yet, but he would let me drive it, I think it was a 73,it was the coke bottle body style, anyway, on a short straight away going to town one day, I had a friend with me, and he about sh#t his pants, because I pegged out the speedometer on that short straight away, it was the fastest either one of us had ever gone, and damn was it fast. Oh yeah, it pegged out past the top speed on the speedometer, which was 160 mph.

A cheap indoor cover might be a good investment.

I’m not mad, just disappointed.

Time to make improvements just be glad the car wasn’t involved in a crash that would have been a damn shame

Damn I just thru out a SEARS RPM and dwell meter, figured I'd never use it again. could have sent it to you. Always do that dump something and need it a few weeks later LOL

On my way home from a road trip last week. I ran into a mid 2010's V6 Mustang on the highway. He hit the gas I hit the gas, and as I passed him I saw him turn on his hazards and pull to the shoulder. Poor guy.

that was a good saturday afternoon in the 70s tune your car for saturday night fun times

What is it with Mopar guys with the plastic fuel filters? They are a fire waiting to happen.

Your three speed wiper motor looks pretty short? Is that a early 68?

I know you say this Charger isn't perfect, but it is as far as a semi daily driver goes, it's pretty sweet. Plus, you don't see this color combination very much. Most I have seen always have a black vinyl top, at least in my neck of the woods.