There are very few cars that are instantly recognizable. The orange 1969 Dodge Charger “General Lee” from The Dukes of Hazard may be one of the most reproduced and replicated television cars of all time. This one can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $29,600 but the reserve hasn’t been met yet. The buy-it-now price is $33,000 so I’m guessing a deal will be made even if the winning bidder doesn’t meet the reserve. Located in Los Angeles, I bet there are some anti-mod California car people who would have a panic attack if they saw this car come screaming down the road. Take a look at what lies under the hood!
They say “chrome won’t get you home” but based on the outside of this car it is nice to see something shiny somewhere. The engine is a Chrysler 400 backed by a 727 automatic transmission. It has new electronic ignition along with a new wiring harness, ECU, distributor, spark plugs, and wires. It also has an aluminum radiator and fan which should keep it running cool even in the SoCal heat.
There’s not much information in the ad regarding the interior but as you can see it is a little rough. The leather-wrapped steering wheel is a throw-back but the rest of the interior needs refurbished or replaced.
I don’t usually like a car this rough. Patina is okay, but Swiss-cheese quarter panels and deep rot are troublesome for a restorer. However, this car has an attitude that is capped off with NASCAR-style wheels and tires. The seller says that the car has a clean California title and is currently registered. I’m not sure if the Hoosier slicks would be acceptable to a law enforcer though. What do you think of this car? Is it too rough for you?
That’s a lot of rust, but with the prices for Chargers these days, they’ll probably still sell it for a pretty penny. It’s good to see the seller isn’t claiming it’s an original car used in the show. This car was all over TikTok and Instagram getting tagged as an original and folks were having a field day with the 01 placement and apparent roof replacement. In the end I guess it was some keyboard warrior making the claim and not the actual owner. In general (pun intended) this is an interesting build and I like the direction. I would have fixed up that interior though to at least have made it livable. If I was really interested in the purchase though, I’d want a lot more info on how far that rust goes and what the frame looks like.
I would add some turbine wheels and daily it regardless of the weather, in a few years when it’s even rustier sell it for a profit.
I looked at this thinking it was one of the original ones used in the TV show. If one was to buy this, most folks would assume that it ‘was’.
I. Love. This. Car.
Ditto. My ipad just splashed testosterone on my face.
RR tracks here I come! This car belongs on a dirt road in the deep south. It looks cool the way it is. I’d leave it alone.
It’s hard to believe that this thing is worth more than a mint 16,700 mile Corvette ZR1. Can you imagine if you rumbled up to your local Chevy store in this back in 1991 and asked to trade it even up for a new ZR1? That’d been a bad deal. For you!
Adding a pedal is the only thing that could possibly make this car more bada$$ than it is now.
The car is trash, not even a 383 or 440, nothing special about a 400. There’s nothing here that even resembles $33,000
400’s were station wagon engines. But I absolutely love seeing the Mopar folks showering money on rusted out hulks that have “01” painted on the side.
Missing the flag on the roof, if it had that I could double the money in my county
But that would be politically incorrect😱
No worries I’ve never been known to be politically correct on anything
Dang Troy, my son inlaw bought an Orange BBC boat with the flags out of Texas but had to trailer it through the southern and northern states so had to paint it flat black to cover it over to bring it back to Canada. We don’t have a Hazard county up here in the great white north. We all get along up here.
From the TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram posts I’ve seen, it was up there in the last batch that was making the rounds. It’s just super, super faded, which I’m sure was done on purpose to get around that whole issue.
FxCK that flag !
Where are the moderators? This virtue signaling, low iq nitwit is trash.
FxCK YOU TOO
Hack and Pack about 50 pounds of bondo get a few spray cans and bingo. A mile away at night it will look great! Love the wheels, they stay.
In addition to all the copies and clones of The General, I read once that they averaged one wrecked car per episode, so there should be quite a number of actual TV cars out there. Seems to me that if a fella wanted, it’d be cheaper to get a decent Charger and paint it orange.
Since they wrecked them, and they weren’t really worth much in the late 70 and early 80s , nobody was saving them. I’ve read where the wrecked ones were stripped of anything still useable and the rest junked. The salvageable parts would be used on another Charger that was going to get the same treatment . A lot of 68 Chargers were used too ; they just cut out the taillight panels from the wrecked Generals ,swapped the grilles and off into the atmosphere they ‘d go. One original was car # 1 ; its the one jumping the dirt pile shown in the opening credits. it got beat up, and later was repainted as another Charger stock car and whe nit was wrecked, it went to a junkyard, but it wasn’t crushed – I think it was because the whole back was full of concrete to keep the nose up when jumping . It was a real mess, but someone did restore it.
Saw a Gremlin at a car show years ago. Painted orange with number on door and flag on top. Called it “General Wee”.
I saw a similarly painted Gremlin on Facebook called the “dollar general”
Does it come with daisy duke?? Cause for that money it better have a happy ending. This is ridiculous the prices people paying for this kind of crap! To much bloody money!
Well at one time it had a vinyl top. I really don’t have much to say other than it will sell for the price.
Thirty thousand dollars for that? JHGDMFC someone needs to hit me upside the head with a hammer, cause now I have seen it all.
Ended at $29,700, Reserve Not Met.
Leather wrapped steering wheel? That’s a vinyl Kmart string-on steering wheel cover circa 1982! What a roach.
Not so fast.. I had a tan leather with sturdy shoe lace leather around and protecting my wood steering wheel on my 69 AMX and it didn’t come from K-Mart.
I can’t imagine driving a fake General Lee around LA with a huge conference flag on the roof. True story, Pro Golfer Bubba Watson paid a million for a real General Lee and was invited to waive the green flag at Daytona. He drove up in the General Lee and was told he was not allowed to show the car anywhere near the track. Daytona had just started a new policy of no Confederate Flags allowed. FOX anmouncer and race car driver Darryl Waltrip quote Why don’t just paint over the damn thing. jv smash palace
John,
What’s up with the “Smash Palace” at the end
of each post?
Sounds like you made up a quote.
Hmm, missed this one, ( too busy blabbing about my trucking shenanigans), I read, they destroyed between 256 and 329 Chargers. Originally supposed to be gray with the flag, but was deemed too confederate, and went with orange. It’s highly unlikely this was an original, as this article shows. They were built in a shop in L.A. and shipped east to the shows filming. ( THAT would have been a cool trucking job) Here’s a great article, it was a very popular show.
https://www.legendlines.com/blogs/news/hundreds-of-dodge-chargers-were-destroyed-making-the-dukes-of-hazzard
LOVE the stance on this one. Wheels and tires are perfect. Would never drive a “General Lee” replica though. Do the bodywork and primer grey.
Sad that so many decent cars were destroyed for this.
Boss Hogg even says “Anus you dipstick! Don’t pay that much for that rusty replica. “Doh”
Enos. It’s Enos Strate.
Okay Rosco Pee Coltrain.Wordplay??
Well done. Bathroom humor FTW.
Pass, this ones been rode hard and put up wet.