I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the days of people giving away old Mopars have long since come and gone. 1969 Chargers are a fan favorite, and have been climbing in value for quite some time. The 1969 Charger’s prominent role in productions such as The Dukes of Hazzard and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry has lead to something of a cult following. In many cases, sellers can list basket cases for whatever price they want and will likely see most of their asking price simply based on demand. Though $7,000 may seem steep for a project 1969 Charger, after looking the pictures of this car over I hope you’ll agree that much worse has sold for much more. Find it here on eBay in Utah!
Under the hood is, well, nothing. Never fear, the sale includes a 383 cubic inch Chrysler big-block V8 and an automatic transmission. Not only is drivetrain included, but per the seller it is the correct numbers matching drivetrain that this Charger left the factory with. The more you look at it and read about it, the more reasonable the price seems! The engine is not seized, though it sounds like it will probably need a rebuild. Besides, its already out of the car so you might as well!
The interior is mostly complete and so is the associated sheet metal. There is no carpet and the seller has included a picture of the floorpan, which appears to be intact. Though some surface rust is present, there are no gaping holes in the floor as is common amongst Chrysler B-bodies. Though in rough shape currently, it looks like all the makings of an excellent restoration candidate are present. The only thing that worries me is the lack of rear window and a vent window, and the fact that it looks like it has been sitting with the windows down. Though it isn’t rusty now, depending how much longer it remains outdoors that may not be the case.
The pictures taken of this car aren’t the greatest, though to be fair it looks like the seller has limited space to work with. If anyone is wondering why the seller is getting rid of such a good restoration candidate, the answer is above the garage! I’m only kidding of course, the Charger is the only Mopar that I know several die-hard GM enthusiasts to lust after. As noted in the ad, the grille is in excellent condition. Although it ar least needs lower quarters, the underside looks salvageable and at the right hands, this Charger could be turned into one beautiful machine. Would you take it on?
…already up to $10,200.00…this is one car you can’t go wrong with…
Last year I sold a 1969 Charger with tons of rust, back widow rusted out and dropped into the trunk and no rear trunk floor, factory 383 car but nothing special for $8,500 and had people fighting over it to take it for that. It was an RT clone. Found it sitting in a yard for 14 years at a garage sale for $1,500! These cars are hot right now.
For how much longer? When us Boomers start to grow even more feeble, then where will the prices go? Okay, maybe some of the Gen Xers will still want these as they recall Them Duke Boys on the tele as they sucked on a bottle, but after them?
I’ve had friends say that for 25+ years. If you are worried about it don’t buy one, or sell it while the market is still strong. I think the popularity of the 60’s era cars, like this Charger will outlive most everyone that comes to this site, so why does it matter.
Steve R
Steve R… I agreed with you until this morning… I’ve been thinking ‘oh, electric cars will come, but it’s decades away’. I’m not so sure. Watching CBS this morning… heard that China recently (a couple weeks ago) announced a plan to ban fossil-fuel burning cars entirely, prompting Ford and GM to announce huge ramp ups of their electric offerings. This means we will likely see rapid changes to charging technology soon. I think that also means gas burning cars will become increasingly socially unacceptable, sort of like smoking has. I’m beginning to think the collector market is at a peak and will begin a rapid decline over the next 20 years.
Don’t confuse China with technology. China
is pushing both for all self driving cars and electric cars, to a) control their peoples independemce to travel where and when they want to, and b) to address their disgustingly bad air quality, now that the US thankfully won’t be subsidizing them until 2022 with the Paris Accord since we dropped out.
While I agree china’s not an innovator, their adoption will drive the cost of all related things down. It will also push innovation, whether it comes from within China or not.
I think that’s a valid concern. The Boomers have been pretty much able to keep these cars to themselves because their incomes outpaced the generations behind them and they have always maintained an interest in these cars. So few Gen-Xers were in a position to afford them when they were younger, much less Miillennials, who most definitely cannot afford them at their current prices. Plus, most of them would rather bike or Uber to work anyway, LOL!
In some ways that’s a compliment to the Baby Boomers – their continued financial success and not losing sight of their roots. But the downside is that other generations really haven’t had a chance to bond with these cars, and that is going to really hurt values 10 years from now.
If you have the means, I say go for it. I just wouldn’t put my whole nest egg into one.
And when gas burning cars become socially unacceptable, you will see me in a 71 Hemi Cuda or Big Block Camaro roasting the tires in a cloud of smoke from every intersection. By that time I should be old enough to get away with “gee officer, I don;t know what happened, my foot must have slipped” lol
You’re assuming there will be gas stations and that cars with drivers will still be allowed on public roads…
If there are no gas stations, you could convert it to run on natural gas, propane, or even homemade methane gas (made with a biodigester). And you can drive after dark.
Pressurizing homemade combustible gasses in your garage during your spare time sounds like a blast!
I’d die 4 an affordable 69 Charger RT…I firmly believe that they are mostly WAYYYY over priced as much as 1000% too much.is this one for sale for $1,500?
Is the car still for sale if not do you know anyone that has one for sale ?
The 68-69 Chargers as most of us already know, bring just crazy money as illustrated by James. This car is mostly complete, orginial drive train included. It is not a rust bucket either, which is a big bonus. It also is a big block, with a great color combo from the factory. It may hit 15k with 2 days remaining at auction. It will require a lot of work to bring it back, but it has good bones to get started with.
As I remember those rear windows were always a leak problem. I had a friend in high school who had a 69 Charger that we used to smoke weed in back in the 70s. The leak and sun created a greenhouse for the seeds we dropped. There were some plants growing in the carpet.
I had a 1967 Dart GT 2 door hardtop. Buckets. No console. Dafffodil yellow with black top. Black vinyl. That rear window leaked slightly but enough to ruin the rear deck and the inside weather striping.
273 V-8, 2 bbl, 727 Torqueflight tranny.
I believe it! No personal experience here, but a coworker of mine at a previous job had a similar story for his ’73 Duster!
Similar story with a 97 camaro rs, i sold it to my best friend (ironically a cop in another county) and he called me one day and said im lucky i wasnt pulled over recently 8th en he sent me pics. Lol about a dozen sprouted seeds
Was his name Darrel Brown?
I ended up with a 69 Charger that had mary jo wanna growing in the carpet. F3 light metallic green from Lancaster.
I’m starting to think it’s better to buy an older restoration than to commence on one yourself, these days.
It’s always (for at least 30 years) been better to buy a restored car than have one done, even when doing it yourself. People often see a huge price then overestimate their abilities. Most individuals can at best restore a car to #2 condition (generally an amateurely restored car comes in at a 3). The huge prices are for #1 cars. It almost always costs more than #3 value to restore any car, even to amateur standards.
True. The money and time you sink in will never come back to you. I just restored a Chevelle in much better shape and let’s just say I will never sell it lol.
Very nice year for the charger!
Unless you’re looking to make money buy one done already and enjoy driving it.
Interior may be mostly there, but it is completely shot, including dash gauges. Will need to be completely replaced. What is a corder panel? ha ha.
It’s right next to the “Vinal Top”
Everything I’m reading here is true regarding buying a restored car vs. building one yourself but, I offer this. I have two friends that I routinely attend cruise ins and car shows with. They bought their cars and I built mine myself. At the shows when the question comes up “Who built it.” One friend has to answer “I don’t really know as it changed hands several times before I got it”. The other simply tells them of a local shop that did the work. I answer “I did”. There’s no way to attach a value to that feeling.
Doing most of the work myself, or trading labor, has allowed me to be in it at just about what it would sell for.
The “build it vs. buy it” argument is actually quite simple. If you enjoy working on your cars, at least as much as you like driving, do it yourself. If you don’t, just write the checks. In spite of the evidence seen on this site of barking mad asking prices, you will never, ever, get back what it costs to do a proper build or restoration, with the obvious exception of Boss 429s, wing cars, and certain sports exotics.
You never get your money out of a new car, so why would you expect to get you money out of an old one. Cars don’t make good investments
Yeah I’m a millennial and the current bid is enough to empty my personal savings! I am one of the few my age who even know what 69 charger looks like, and I think it is sad that teens don’t know this golden era of automobiles. Whether or not markets come down(that would be great for me), I still think this era of cars will always be worth noting no matter what electric, self driving cars are in the future
Unfortunately, my generation has doomed yours into a low wage era. When we all die, then maybe the cost will drop enough for you guys to maybe have one, but by then, the price of increasingly rare petrol will be unattainable anyway. Cheer up, modern cars are by far better anyway. Plus, new electrics are so much faster then these ever were. Even with a Hemi, these will never out run a simple 4 door Tesla. (Watch the Jay Leno video about that) These will eventually all be in museums. Plus, when virtual; reality becomes so good it is almost real (very soon), then you all can experience what it was to drive one of these at little cost. THEN, you will see that it was all hype, and image building, not a true driving experience. I speak from experience. I had a 1970 Plymouth that had far too much power, but crappy handling and even worse power steering. I thought it was cool because I was in high school, but none of us knew any better because it was all we had. Don’t pine over the past (esp. someone elses past). Just my two cents worth.
So true.
As the electrics become more mainstream I can see our old classics being converted so that we can continue to use them. This will happen in two ways. 1) the electrical systems will be robbed out of modern cars or pickup trucks. 2) there will be conversion kits made available to up grade your classic. Hopefully this will create a new interest in classics from our tech savvy kids. I can see myself going that route when the time comes. As for the sounds of that big block that can be faked with an good set of speakers and a good didgital recording. JMHO.
Some perhaps, as some are now. However, the current trend we’re seeing is that the electric stuff, in particular the batteries, are being increasingly incorporated into the design of the vehicles. It’s quite different than the ability to ‘plug and play’ you see today in engine or chassis swaps. They aren’t piling a bunch of Group 27 Marine batteries into the trunk anymore. The frame is the battery of the Tesla, for example.
Don’t be surprised when the government puts restrictions on the old classics. That will motivate someone to develop a reliable kit that will fit in the engine bay. Remember that the tesla battery that you speak of is in fact about 100 small lithium battaries placed in a container so that they can be liquid cooled. So in my opinion the thought of a tech savvy guy coming up with a way to fit that into a kit will not be outside the realm of possibilities. The other thing that needs to be pointed out is there is not an infinite supply of lithium raw materials in the world. So I think that we’re not done with the internal combustion engine just yet. I would also like to point that these battery powered cars work ok in warm climates but not so much in more Arctic climates where half the battery power will be needed to heat the interior. I personally believe that small gen sets much like the tech in a modern locomotive could greatly improve the amount of fuel that we use to get around. Imaging if you will a small two or three cylinder engine driving a DC generator powering a DC electric motor attached directly to the transmission. Possibly achieving 100 MPG. to pull a say 1/2 ton pickup around. The young guys are more inclined to think outside the box, where as us old guys just seam to be good at gripping. JMHO.
Just wondering what’s hiding under the rag by back window. Common rust area. Check ebay ad.
Gunner nailed it. Winning bid:US $15,000.00
[ 53 bids ]
Car is with me in South Africa
Car is with me in South Africa