Most car projects don’t happen overnight.
There are two big reasons—time and money.
That’s the story behind this ’68 Charger.
Jerry Sutherland
Avery Ryhorchuk found this car over 30 years ago, but at the time all he could do was jump in, drive it home and park it. Two years later, he decided to take it apart—then the long process started.
Avery discovered he had an original Scat Pack Charger that originally came with a factory 440 big block—but now it had a tired 383. The first thing Avery did was locate a 440 big block. His buddy found one that had been put together by a well-respected builder, so his Charger was destined to get another 440 under the hood.
This wasn’t a factory 440. Avery’s new engine pumps out an incredible 900 horsepower—that’s like comparing an F-18 jet fighter to the Starship Enterprise. He solved the engine problem, but that was only a small piece of the puzzle with his Charger.
This Charger was a basket case, so Avery had to plan for the time and money to put it back together again. Avery is a long-haul trucker, so time was not something he had in abundance, but he did get a game plan together to make his Charger a viable project.
Avery had some luck on his side because there’s a vast inventory of parts for a ’68 Charger. That’s a big advantage when your project car needs almost 100% new metal. There’s lot of that on this car because it was stored badly and sat out in the real world.
The Charger also needed a new interior. It was originally a blue car with a white interior and white vinyl roof, but Avery took it in a different direction because a flashy car like a beastly ’68 Charger should stand out.
The theme throughout this project was always time and money. Avery admitted he had 25K in the engine alone and he said he has, “more money in this car than my house”. The costs can add up over thirty years even though Avery’s Charger is very much a hands-on build. The upside was how he spread the costs over thirty years, so the bills were less painful.
Avery said he had some technical problems during the build because of the heat generated by the 440. There were fuel delivery issues because the lines run through the frame right next to the exhaust, so Avery said, “The heat was burning up fuel pumps”. He solved that problem by getting a fuel pump that fit in the gas tank.
There were also radiator problems because the stock radiator didn’t circulate the heat properly for a high-performance engine. Both heat issues took a year to solve but Avery wanted to build a reliable car for his retirement years.
Avery wants to drive this car in the real world on real roads. He has no respect for guys who load their cars in a trailer and never drive them, so even though his Charger is mint underneath it’s going to be a road warrior.
If it wasn’t a road warrior Avery wouldn’t own it—that was the biggest part of his 30-year plan.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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