The Dodge Charger – along with the rest of Chrysler’s B-bodied intermediates – was all new in 1968 and those changes would equate to an uptick in traffic in dealer showroom. This ’68 Charger apparently was owned by the same family until just a few years ago and it was purchased by a collector who has had it under wraps ever since. It’s a completely original car right down to perhaps the spare tire and has seen less than 20,000 miles since rolling off the assembly line. Far from perfect, they’re only original once, which is why the seller has largely left it alone. Located now in El Paso, Texas, this Mopar is available here on eBay where bidders have volleyed the ante to $35,300 so far without kicking in the reserve.
This car was the subject of a story in Hot Rod magazine in 2019. It recalls a chance conversation on an airplane between a collector and the grandson of the owner of this ’68 Charger. She had recently passed away and he was unsure what he was going to do with the car They exchanged contact information and after the estate had settled, the car moved from Oregon to the new owner (now the seller) and his collection near El Paso.
The grandmother kept track of everything on this Dodge, right down to each oil change. So, when the car moves again, a bunch of paperwork will come along, including the owner’s manual, Certicard and even its collection of Oregon license plates. The car has never been restored, just kept in good running condition despite its minimal use in recent years. The interior is probably the best part, looking mostly untouched and in great shape.
On the other hand, the car still wears it original paint and vinyl roof. That means it has scratches, scrapes, and dings from being 53 years old. The vinyl on the roof is cracking and coming apart in some areas, but if rust doesn’t start to creep in, that’s another thing to leave alone a bit longer. The trunk floor has more than its fair surface of surface rust, suggesting something wet may have been in there at one time. That should be attended to before it turns into anything worse.
Under the hood resides a 383 V8 engine, but there is some confusion as to whether it has 2 or 4-barrel carburetion. The seller says it’s the former, but the magazine article states the latter. It probably doesn’t matter for our purposes except the production numbers were higher for the smaller carb. Since this Charger wasn’t necessarily built to be a performance car, it comes with the TorqueFlite automatic transmission which we assume is also original to the car.
This Dodge is special because of its mileage and originality. Sure, it’s not perfect, but they don’t all have to be that way. It’s said to be a driver just the way it is, so you could use the car the way it is but run the risk of piling on more mileage. Or you could restore it and the extra few miles might not matter. Either way, let’s hope this car’s use is limited to weekend jaunts to events like Cars & Coffee to help preserve it.
Oh my goodness this is going to get expensive.
Very nice car. This seller has a knack for finding rare and interesting cars. His listings have been featured on this site at least a dozen times, he’s also been covered in the “Rare Finds” section of the magazines on many occasions. He’s hauled at least one original Ed Roth creations out of Mexico, as well as many rare and valuable muscle cars from Juarez and the surrounding area.
Steve R
I like how everything is just there and untouched. The roof could be an issue but, proper storage and not driving it in the rain buys time. That surface rust doesn’t look too bad. I would do a deep cleaning inside and out. A nice paint correction to max out what’s there and clean out that trunk rust. I love the interior as is. The smell of that original carpet and seats would bring me back. Green on Green for the win!
If you decode the certicard it shows 2-bbl. That fits well with this car. I would take it, refresh it, drive it, enjoy it.
Almost $41,000 and the reserve is not even met yet.