I know that we’ve always got Barn Finds readers who are scouting around for a “blank canvas” project car, and this 1969 Dodge Charger SE might be just the car to fill that need. It is an essentially solid car where the next owner has the opportunity to turn it into the Mopar of their dreams. Located in Covington, Georgia, the Charger is listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding is currently sitting at $6,500, but the reserve hasn’t been met. There is also a BIN option available, and this has been set at $12,000. It is a car that seems to have generated a bit of interest since being offered for sale because there are also 130 people who are watching the listing.
I guess that you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the next owner is going to have some rust problems that will need tackling. The good news is that the frame looks to be as clean as a whistle, with no signs of any structural problems with the Charger. There is rust in the floors, and the trunk pan looks like it will need replacing. The quarter panels have also seen better days, but the owner is including a shiny new pair of reproduction panels with the car. There are a few other minor spots in various areas of the car, but these all seem to be quite insignificant.
The original bucket seats have been removed from the Charger, and have been replaced with a different set of high-back seats. The rest of the interior is going to require restoration, but the dash essentially looks pretty good, and the Rally gauges are still present. Once again, the new owner could either choose to undertake a faithful restoration or transform the Charger into the car of their dreams. This concept extends to the drive-train because the original 383ci V8 and 727 transmission are both long gone. The 8¾” rear end is still present, and the owner believes that this is in good condition. This is what makes this a pretty decent blank canvas project vehicle. You could slot a date correct 383 back under the hood, or maybe a Hemi could go on your shopping list. This would be a chance to let your imagination truly run wild.
I always like project cars like this one, because it really does allow the next owner to realize their own dream. It’s almost inevitable that the car that is the result of this type of thinking will be both interesting, and quite special. I’d also love to see one of our readers buy this Charger, and then to keep us updated on the progress that they are making with their project. Journeys like that are always interesting to watch and share. So, do we have a reader who is willing to take this one on?
Wow! Another over priced clapped out rusty Mopar AND IT’S A ROLLER!? When does the madness end?
NEVER NEVER NEVER!
When will you accept that?
LOL!
We’d like to know the answer Kieth!? Is there ever going to be an end to your douchebaggery?
Again, another car that will need everything (1/4’s, rockers, doors, floors… Why not just start with a new bodyshell and save the cost of expensive replacement body panels, labor intensive work, only to get to a decent body, then spend another $10k (at least) in body prep and paint. This may be a $3k parts car really. Then you still need a drivetrain and interior…$12k…PASS!
It looks like one I looked at in the late 1980s for $500. and I laughed at the seller.
I would rather have a blank canvas than have to start with this car.
Its in Covington GA? that’s where DOH was filmed, my friend has one of the 17 cars that the studio sold and got the title from the studio. Funny, there is a story that the body shop that built the first 15 or so +/- had them stolen (I think 7) and they were never recovered. When my friend found his, also in GA, they contacted the guy and he ran the vin to see if it was one of the stolen ones.
its a big project but he has all the parts.
ya never know!
Yeah, could it be one of the cars the producers missed? I read they also used 1970’s with ’69 grills, because they “ran out” of ’69’s. Apparently, the 1st 5 shows were shot in Covington, the rest in Hollywood. Since they ruined at least 1 or 2 for every show, who knows, it does seem a bit uncanny a ’69 Charger in Covington Ga. of all places.
Car Rule #3…Always buy Southern tin to start the rebuilding process and avoid the Eastern & Northern Tin Worm that thrives on moisture & road salt to make the byproduct iron oxide which is what everyone should avoid purchasing, man.
Nice straight rusted out car though.
Bob
Thanks to the humidity southern cars rust from the inside out. Southwestern cars is what you want to start with.
Arizona cars are what I was told to grab.
Bob
blank canvas my arse. this has 440 6 pack clone written all over it. ha!
Watching and bidding are 2 totally different things. I watch e-bay listing just to see if the car/truck sells and for how much. This way I get a more accurate figure on how much a car’s value is to the general public, not a auction house version.
Keith, get off here and get something done.
Cool that rusty Mopars are worth more than other makes restored.
Just finished 3 cross country trips. Two to the Monterey auctions.
Serviced my enclosed trailer for another cross country trip.
This time, Calif to Colorado, then North Carolina. Then Atlanta, Talladega. Then Maine. Next, Florida. Then home. A month at least.
I am 74, and show no sign of letting up.
Go look for yourself if you want a vehicle, instead of wasting time here complaining about rusty, expensive Mopars.
People that haul trailer queens to auctions aren’t real car guys anyways, Keith. I agree with your assessment of the clapped out rusty Mopar with nothing left of the interior and no matching numbers engine let alone floor pans or a truck pan. Never mind this clapped out quarter panels because Joe Machado has so much money he can afford to buy that kind of clapped out crap himself.
Frankly, it would look good in his enclosed trailer, and it would look good crossing state lines to find some other sucker greater fool than some that occupy this website aside from Joe that is.
Type “A” personalities usually end up with Coronary Heart Disease because they never know when to let up, man. Promise me that you won’t end up like Joe!
Bob
No coronary here.
Those that sit here and complain a rusty “clapped out”, overpriced Mopar will get that coronary you ordered.
Spend less time here complaining and go get what you want. Dont wait for someone else find it for you.
Its one thing to be handicapped, its really bad to be lazy and complain someone else is paying too much for whatever.
By the way, no trailer queens here quennie.
Real men drive Mopars, no matter the value.
Amen, Joe!
Yea right, real men drive mopars, I’m 66 years old never owned a Dodge or Plymouth car always had Chevys, some Fords, mopars always seemed poorly built, a second class product to me and the guys I hung out with, sure Chrysler built great drive trains but never seemed to have the funding to build the rest of the car correct always had the worst quality control just like AMC. Go open and close the door on a gm product from the 60s early 70s then try it on your” mopar or no car” that sound tells you all you need to know.
I’m a General Motors man myself given that most Dodge products & Ford products could not hold a candle to a GM product as most in car culture realize after studying car history for the big three.
Resale value for GM is far superior to that of Ford or Dodge.
Mopar is good stuff drivetrain wise but their low carbon steel bodies of the 60s must have been made with really substandard low carbon steel because the GM cars of the same era never rusted out anywhere near as bad as the high perf Mopars did.
Mopars get high value for still being around due to how rare they are because of their rust issues in comparison with the better quality made cars of GM.
Real men with brains drive GM for life whilst the Mopar crowd searches for years on end to no avail when it comes to parts for these collectors items.
I would never allow a Dodge product into any collection that I would own unless it was an all steel 68 Charger in absolute mint condition.
I would test drive a Viper if someone asked me to though I would not purchase one.
Dodge is so yesteryear, man.
GM is for people that don’t like breakdowns or excessive maintenance.
Mopar is for people that have extra money they want to throw around IMHO.
Bob
Funny thing, I have owned many G M vehicles, along with many FOMOCO’s. One of the reasons I was turned off to them was the 2, 1955 Chevies with the 265, did not come with an oil filter. That told me they did not give a crap if it lasted. I had after that, a 58 Pontiac and a 59 Impala. One of the 55’s I traded for a 57 Dodge while in the Army. From that, all new Mopars till my last new one in 1980. Several muscle cars along the way.
Of special note, a friend of mine, another car collector, said his Chevy pickup lost the third member. It was low of oil, but never leaked. He found out that GM would short the trucks a pint of oil to save money.
My relatives worked and ran the St Louis assembly plant and that is part of why I became a strict Mopar guy.
As for rust, I never had the chance to purchase rusty cars. They, all, did not rust here in Southern Calif. But, other items self destruct. Plastic, rubber, paint. Chrome looks new after 50 years.
Rust is from the rain, cold, lots of trees, humidity, salt roads. Here in the desert, none of that exists.
Sunny Cal explains why you are a Mopar guy. If I lived in Sunny Cal I would probably look at them without the rust of the North & East plastered all over the body panels to add no interest with regard to the manufacturer. I cannot emphasize enough how bad these cars faired in the region I am in in Eastern Ontario CANADA.
Cheers, Bob
$12,000 for another mopar shell!!! They must give you free vaseline with every purchase!!! BTW what color was the car originally????
I agree with Desert rat and Robert White that the GM cars of the 1960-1970s were of somewhat higher quality than the Mopars. The 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ 428 I owned in the late 1970 was much better built than my parent’s 1969 Plymouth Satellite SW or the 1969 Charger 440 I test drove previously. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, I also remember midsize Mopars with huge potions of their quarter panels missing due to rust after just a few years. Finally, even in a race, the Charger and the Grand Prix would be close with the Charger only having a decisive advantage with a built Hemi and even then only in a straight line. Remember, the Chargers didn’t dominate NASCAR until the Daytona appeared.