Chrysler Charger: pre-restoration pictures

Looking back at the photos it's hard to believe just how bad the rust was.  Of course it was obvious that my Charger had rust, but it was only when the car was taken back to bare metal that the full extent of the problem was revealed.  And the problem was extensive!  I did not do the work myself - lacking both the skills and the equipment - but I managed to find a body shop that was happy to undertake the project for a price.  It is inevitable that a car built in 1976 will eventually start to rust, and given that I had already had the engine rebuilt, I felt an obligation to also rescue the bodywork from the sorry state it was in.  Was it worth it?  Yes and no.  Financially, no.  The sheer amount of time required to restore the bodywork to original condition (which included the fabrication of new metal panels) meant that the labour cost was very high.  On the other hand, the end result was stunning, with the Charger looking the best it had for many, many years.  There is no doubt that restoring the Charger's bodywork was the most expensive part of the project, and given the choice it may have been wiser (and certainly cheaper) to buy a different Charger without the rust issues.  But this was my Charger, my dream car that had served me well for many years.  I even displayed it at Chrysler car shows in the early days, when it was still in pristine condition.  Actually I have some photos of the early days, but I'll save them for a future post...