1968 Dodge Charger Restoration - Episode 27 - Rear Seat Pan & Footwell Panel Install

Hello and welcome to my channel! I want to introduce my 1968 Dodge Charger project car. This car requires a complete restoration and I will do my best to document the process in what will be a long series of videos.
In this episode I do a complete start to finish DIY on how to install the rear seat pan and footwell panels. In order to fit between our mini tubs I had to section 5" out of the rear seat pan. Overall it turned out fantastic! & definitely added a TON of strength back into the car!
Next up is the rear window channel and deck filler! Followed by the trunk pan, rear quarters, and tail panel install. Progress is happening quick! Please subscribe to stay up to date!
As always, the quality of the new AMD sheet metal for this video was outstanding! The fitment is great! Check it out!
If you'd like to support the channel, please check out our merch below! Also follow me on Instagram for more pictures of the build. @Rust_Bucket_Restos

[@kopanomofokeng6562]

As a South African, what amazes me about the American auto scene is the people behind it, the people building their cars. I mean this wizard could literally be an Accountant yet he has the artisanal skill to do this in his spare time. I am amazed by the amount of skill the average American has across many fields. If there is one thing I envy about Americans, it is their "can do" approach to things.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

I spend too much money to be a good accountant! 😂

[@doug.patterson4732]

i love to see your son being involved in the build

[@alukianow]

Nicely done! I vote Octane Red.

[@DirtyD23]

I think it’s cool that they sell pretty much every replacement panels for these old cars to bring them back to life again.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Just about everything is available from amd to rebuild these cars!

[@ACCRevivals]

HOLY CRAP! I literally had the same mustang conversation with my oldest son when he was about your sons age. Now he is 14 and we are buying a 88 Foxbody for us to build cause it’s his “dream” car!!!

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Dammit!!!

[@JoseAguirre-ri8tg]

Octane Red gets my vote. It wouldn't look bad in green, but red would definitely bring it to the 21st century. You did an amazing job on the floors! I can't wait to see it all in one color.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks Jose!

[@christianzapata6586]

I myself am 22 now, ive been watching my dad wrench on bikes/cars in the garage since i can remember. Watching your little guy sit in the car with a welding helmet on to spend time with his old man reminds me of me and mine. That is what this hobby is all about, gotta pass down this love for this hobby to the little ones. Been watching since day 1 on this project cant wait to see it wrap up man, god bless enjoy new year's festivities with your family!

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks a lot man. I sure enjoy spending time with him in the garage. If I can only just break him of that nasty mustang habit…

[@SSGarage]

Plum crazy purple NEXT LEVEL

[@gunjiweber42]

Excited to find out what happened to that crusty big block !!

[@shaneroberts4723]

Octane Red would look amazing

[@jamesl4341]

Haha kids got got taste in cars! Nothing wrong with 60s Mustangs, don't matter what it was back then they all rocked!..

[@wordenentertainment1997]

I'd paint it green as I feel it is the most classic color choice and it would be a wonderful way to pay tribute to the original green paint and the original owner. A modern take on an old school American muscle car.

[@gunjiweber42]

Although the Octane red is amazing in it's entirety, the green seems to be a more period correct & natural color ! Just my opinion. Loved the video, planning on welding a floor pan in my moms 68 XR7 Cougar soon, & you have boosted my confidence to take it on !

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Right on! Thanks for watching!

[@pasqualetripodina5995]

🤩Super beautyful dodge charger🥰👌

[@howardhall67]

F8 green Great color for the big panels on this car Keep the vids coming

[@charlesdirienzo6422]

Love the mustang conversation. Don’t worry he’s young. No matter what he says the influence and bonding you’ll have over the charger will make him a mopar guy because he’ll remember those times with dad.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

I can only hope! 🙏

[@warchildcustomcreations]

I laughed harder than I should at the T bone mustang convo 😂 👌

[@ColinBarrett001]

Great progress! Definitely go with the F8 Green!

[@steveosteen1815]

Definitely green !

[@lukaswhitten891]

I'm still going thru your list of videos right now, but I'm about to start restoring my 68 charger so please don't stop these videos. I'm getting so many tips and enjoy watching this.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Not stopping any time soon! Thanks for watching!

[@carlkwasnjuk9518]

My vote is for the GREEN. The car is coming along nicely! Excellent job!

[@Phoenix_Adventures]

I think that purple with the silver RT strip would really look good

[@davidb0126a]

48:04 Smart boy!! Working with him now will pay off BIG time later. Good man! 👍

[@shawnhatt3023]

The green with the red as accent!!!!!

[@jemtec1]

Great video! Pearl White for me!

[@thevinylcollector3472]

awesome job man the car looks great my vote is green

[@patrikpolda]

Green fits the best out of these 4 options I think

[@briantomasso6479]

Teaching that boy right!

[@davidbrown-55]

B5 blue, nuff said

[@martygraham5238]

Amazing as always

[@patrickgarrett2924]

The green would look good

[@NoNameGaragejg]

Nice work, F8

[@Dontdoxmebro69420]

I keep up with these as I’m saving for a ‘68 project I’ve had my eyes on for ages. I learn so much watching these (we do cars in this family) and every new upload here gets me excited to tune in and see the progress. Good stuff, brother

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Right on! Thanks for watching Ethan!

[@Dontdoxmebro69420]

@@rustbucketrestos6511 of course man! Can’t wait to see how your project turns out

[@itsnotadodgerog2050]

F8 Green: all other colors scream modern; it is a resto mod! The F8 Green on a black on black interior/burnt orange french seam stitching, or burnt orange interior with black french seam stitching, or combination of black panels and burnt orange seats with black french seam stitching... just beautiful.

[@donsmith6045]

You're doing it completely right. My dad included me on working on our old cars and later on our aircraft. By him doing that with me, I become a very successful mechanic myself. That little boy will likely become a great mechanic too.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

That’s awesome. I think T Bone is hooked already! If I could only break him from liking mustangs!

[@ibiscar06]

I sincerely admire you. Your work ethic, your drive, it amazes me. I've been following you since like the second or third video of this series and seeing how its gone from what the car was in the beginning to now is just amazing. I honestly would've seen it like a lost car destined for scraps. Because of you and a couple other ppl I've been following, I'm making life changing decisions this year.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Right on! Thanks for the kind words brother!

[@CrankAddict]

Glad to see you kept that lip for attaching the floor to the widened tubs. I cut that piece off my trans am but my rear floors were fine and I didn't want to mess with the necessary welding since the floor pan remained in the car.

[@yawningcow8942]

Hi from utah, I love the build. I love the dodge charger from 1968 and have always wanted one

[@jpalberthoward9]

It sure is a pleasure to see somebody take the time and giving the attention to detail that you have done so far. What you are building is really no longer an assembly line factory product. Thanks to all the extra care you have taken with this build, it's now a hand crafted car, something along the lines of a Rolls Royce or a Dusenberg. The ride, the handling, and the longevity of this car will be light years beyond anything that a factory could produce. Again, taking the time and giving attention to the details will set this one apart from most of what's on the road. Your skills and your work ethic are to be commended, sir.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for the kind words! & for following my builds!

[@blucheer8743]

Awesome boy!! A Good independent thinker! Mustangs rule!! Awesome channel man! Thx for the content!

[@dillonsmith155]

F8 Green classy but modern

[@jamesfitzgerald6005]

Great work!

[@SMGBodyworkrestoration]

100% Green , with white pearl tail stripes. Or second choice would be, White pearl, with green tail stripes. Awesome work. You are a brave man to tackle that lot. Basically a complete new shell, bar rear quarter inner frames & roof panel. I take my hat off to ya. Respect 😎✊

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks brother! 😎💪

[@jameskustelski]

I like the Red of those colors but if it was my project it would be blue definitely. My first car was a '69 Dodge Charger in blue with a white vinyl top. I've also had a '70 Plymouth Duster 340 in Vitamin C Orange and a '72 Roadrunner in Black. I'm looking forward to watching this build progress and can't wait to see how it turns out!

[@paullombardo8809]

Love the Red color but I feel the green is more appropriate for the charger. Love the videos

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Agree!

[@dirtracingfan8742]

Octane red would look insane on a 68 charger

[@michaelbottomley2520]

You’re making a good job of that well done Nice to see somebody do it properly

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks Michael! 😎🤙

[@drayhildreth692]

F8 green most definitely

[@СергейСемакин-л5с]

Happy New year !!! ☃️

[@265chevy]

Just finished watching all your videos and now I am up to date. I vote for Octane red. I love your attention to detail.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for watching!

[@oldaves_projects3775]

Looks freaking awesome so far

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks man!

[@mattt4666]

Octane Red gets my vote. Excellent job on the rear floor panel and footwell. I have been watching since day one, looking forward to the finished product.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for watching Matt!

[@iv1831]

Definitely F8 Green !

[@DachsAutos]

It's really starting to come together well! I just replaced the rear filler panel and package tray on my '72 Chally project. Still have the roof and a few other panels to replace. Long process but fun. Your comment about photo documentation is indeed key! Unless, of course, what you're taking out was so rusted (or 'fixed' with Bondo) there's no good reference point! HAH

[@danielkuchenberg7046]

Mustangs LOL. My brother used to drive a Mustang, but he's all better now. As far as paint I would go with the F8 Green. I really like the high impact colors of the early 70's. I had a Go Mango 69 1/2 Super Bee 440 6 PACK. I loved hat car. I am now doing a 70 Road Runner 440 6 Barrel and I think I am going to paint it Lime Light, or Sublime to the Dodge guys. I have enjoyed watching you series of videos as you have resurrected this true classic. I have been working on cars since the 60's and doing bodywork since the 70's. Although there was some things I would have gone about differently, you are doing a great job!

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks brother. Glad to hear your brother is cured!

[@michaelreaves4229]

Love this channel can't wait to see the charger done and the GTO and the Cuda great job I watch all ur reruns 👍

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks brother! 😎🤘

[@mightymikethebear]

I lol'd when your little human was teasing you about Mustangs. Back in the 1980s to early 90s everyone and their brother had a fox body Mustang, or so it seemed. He may grow out of the Mustang phase but there are worse things he could want. I vote for the dark green color for this car. Happy New Year and cheers to AMD!!

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Happy New Year!

[@seanposey9708]

Hello from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Nice to see the Charger coming together. You're doing a great job, so keep up the good work. Can't wait to see this thing all solid again, the transformation from what you started with is amazing.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for the kind words Sean!

[@malcolmhamilton5200]

That narrowing of the floor pan was very clever my friend. I'm learning a lot. If we were able to get L50s on 10" cragars on my buddy's 69', back in 75', I wonder what you'll be able to squeeze into your widened wheelwells? I see you've discovered one of Mopar's drivetrain tricks that allowed us to squeeze the biggest engines into smaller engine compartments and still fit our steering gear around the largest exhaust systems in the industry(back then). When you measure your 8 3/4" rear end you'll notice the built in offset. The fools that desecrate their Mopar's with a Ford 9", quickly discover getting it centered to Mopar spec, drives the cost well over what finding a Mopar axle for it costs. Besides, a 9 3/4" Mopar Dana 60 is magnitudes stronger than Henry's best anyway(and a damnsight stronger than those 10 and 12 bolt grenades the General used to scatter all over streets and tracks). Your son is growing like a weed and will hopefully outgrow his penchant for Mustangs too. Some of my friends had me wrenching on their FE 390s and 428s in the early to mid 70s too. That all changed as they got tired of watching A, B and E body tail lights. By the time I left the Lakes in 77' all my Ford buddies(and a lot of my GM buddies) were subscribing to Mopar or no car. Your son(and we're hoping the Canadian voter) will soon enough outgrow style over substance and leave his Ford affliction behind him(much like I pray we dump our economic imbecile of a Prime Minister). Really enjoying the pans going in. Great work! Malcolm Ottawa Valley

[@crbrepairmotorcycles6608]

Seen those small clamps used and described on Half Ass Customs videos must work good, at least you have the best helper a dad could ask for keep on welding.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Harbor freight specials!

[@ddhandyman7086]

Purple is the suit for her I have seen all episodes on the 68 and yes the red would be great but the purple is the best way to go

[@Hangryjohndoe]

Wearing my Rust Bucket shirt as I watch this . It’s looking phenomenal.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Hell yea brother!

[@michaburress4791]

Omg dude I love it!!!! You share the same philosophy as I do with mustangs 😂😂😂

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

😎🤘

[@stevehartz4615]

I really like you're videos

[@awences1]

I don’t normally comment on videos but love what your doing with this car. Also love seeing your little guy in the background working on his toy cars. I absolutely dislike all doge products specially now that fiat owns them but I love the classics like this one. Even though you dislike mustangs they did play an important part in muscle car history. If it wasn’t for the mustang we would have the camero or the charges. Who knows what we would have. Anyway keep it up and can’t wait to see your other project come to life and see this one completed. 👏

[@rocard903]

Octane red for sure learned lots from your channel thanks

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for watching! 🤘😎🤘

[@prorebuilder]

T-Bone went from "Barracuna" to Mustang ... The fresh Utah air must be getting to him... lol. Thanks for the video, my Charger rear frame rails are in and this is the next job. Thank-you for sharing. A Vote for F8 Green

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Rock & roll!

[@jamesmize9178]

F8 green!!!!!!

[@elijahhall8637]

I like watching you work, very well done. It's very good that you teaching your son

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks man. He’s a natural!

[@armyjeep4]

White 100%!! Single Stage Enamel of course

[@roywaite5793]

Doing a great job!! I like the red best but the green looks great as well. My favorite tho is the turquoise color that was available on the 69

[@peterkurtz8096]

Damn bro, your charger is coming allong so Fing good.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks Peter! 🤘🤘

[@joebacarella2829]

What you accomplished in two and a half days is amazing my friend, Songbird did the exact same thing to General Mayhem with the mini tubs, he cut the panel to fit the frame rails exact, welded it in so it was fully boxed. He then welded those little filler pieces over the top, to connect the wheel well to the floor pan, nice but didn`t look stock. You took the time to graft those little pieces to the floor pan so you would have just one panel, so it looked factory, he had three pieces. The extra time in fitting those pieces in sure paid off, it looks like factory, I agree, fully weld that V support. Nice job for three days work let me tell you, your fabricating skills are spot on, that floor looks stout. It would have taken me three days just to drill the holes. That is a nice little shop you have going on there, everything you need right at your finger tips, can`t wait to see the window channel go in, I have never seen that before. I hope you get a million subscribers for your effort sir. Nothing is center, even the motor is not centered on the b bodies, Songbird found that out when he built the scoop for the tunnel ram, he had to offset it. Very nice job looks great. Didn`t mean to bore ya, hehe.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for the kind words Joe! Happy New Year!

[@joebacarella2829]

@@rustbucketrestos6511 Same to you, your`e the man.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks Joe! 🙏

[@mana-ma-non3072]

Another great episode, glad to be along for the journey

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for watching! 🤘🤘

[@toms1348]

Nothing says old school Dodge muscle like Plumb Crazy Purple. Second choice is F8 green. PS...T-bone made the vid!! Good work brother!

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks Tom! 🤘😎🤘

[@daviddrobnicki9870]

Mustang are common for a reason. They're cool! I like all cars though. Great videos!

[@Tommyp65]

Green with saddle tan interior.

[@KENNEY1023]

"Roof with a title" 🤣 I've had that same thought every time I start watching a new video. 😅

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Pretty much!

[@KENNEY1023]

@@rustbucketrestos6511 I can't wait to see you driving it.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Me neither!

[@benallen9178]

I like the green the best!

[@swetpatel5742]

you improved a lot bro nice to see that improvement keep it up can not wait to see this bad boy on roads

[@cw2lido]

F8 Green!

[@homer714]

f8 green

[@marcosfuenmayor5804]

Bro nice job, I just receive my new year eve washing you cutting and welding the rear seat and food panel. I am between the white and the green. Green will keep it original color, but white will look newer, bigger and different. Just waiting for your next show.

[@B.rad88]

Amazing work as always. Spit out my water at "What was her name?" Classic.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

😂 sick burn!

[@jamesfitzgerald6005]

Pearl white! I’ve seen a 69 that color and it’s awesome!

[@danielwarner1736]

I’ve watched every video on this charger and the transformation is unreal ! You’ve put in some serious hours and it will pay off , your gonna have a stunning charger . Well done.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks for following the build Daniel! 🤘🤘

[@joebacarella2829]

I love the green on the tailight panel, but if I have to pick modern, it`s Hellraisin for me.

[@philliphill4901]

The Octane Red is a play on the FE5, Rallye Red. I'm considering painting my 70 Roadrunner which was a FE5 Octane Red. Personally if it were mine, I would go with B5 Blue with a black vinyl top but as another said you really cannot go wrong with the F8 Green.

[@daleprice8161]

There is a couple of colors that come to mind .. one of the colors is looks like a mixture between color of butterscotch with a gold tint . I've always liked candy red .. Pearl silver would look good .. another is metallic black or dark metallic silver over a black base coat ... That red car you showed would look good too but anyway that's just some ideas I had in mind

[@deanrayne7302]

My vote is octane red. The car has to have a paint color worthy of all your hard work

[@hugomartineau3196]

octane red here too!

[@bettyspradling1501]

Go OLD SCHOOL !

[@brandonbutler6767]

The White is my go to, for sure, it'll look clean dirty and you won't get swirl marks and imperfections like you will with darker colors

[@easyjerryl69]

You are doing a great job on that car, And you little mustang helper !

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

Thanks Coot!

[@darrylsalazar6522]

Octane red gets my vote. Would give a nice sleek look and would definitely be an eye catcher. Plus it should complement the body lines very well.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

I like your style! 🤘🤘

[@greggonzalez7396]

Great video and I see you had some help . He knew exactly when to slap that helmet down. Great progress and attention to detail on all the work that has been accomplished. I'm old school when it comes to color and I thought the green reflected what I would expect to see on this Charger.

[@rustbucketrestos6511]

He loves helping out there! Thanks for watching Greg!

[@keithbray5131]

F8 green

[@chrissullivan1756]

I would do Octane red . Not a red guy but that color is amazing

[@karltondoorman8288]

B5 blue !

[@johnrossi2824]

Charger is looking awesome!! My color choice is f8 green, looks appropriate color for that year. Can't wait to see it all done" great job

[@miken8368]

B5 Blue!