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Is This The One? 1968 Dodge Charger

It’s tough being a classic Mopar fan. So many 60s and 70s Dodges and Plymouths suffer from horrible rust! This 1968 Dodge Charger listed for sale here on craigslist appears to only need trunk floor patching or replacement — a rare gem in the Mopar world! The owner is well aware of this scarcity and is asking $34,000 for the Charger. It’s located in Hemet, California, and we have Barn Finds reader Rex M. to thank for alerting us to this find! Keep those cool finds coming!

The seller tells us that they recently purchased the car from a “28-year hibernation” and that it’s the most solid vintage Charger they have seen. If you’ve already spotted that the bumpers are off the car, good news, they’ve already been straightened and rechromed! While the orange repaint is not saveable, it does appear to have done a good job of protecting the shell. Personally, I’d want to see it in person and check out the lower rear quarters, but it’s obvious from the pictures the car has far less rust than most of the Chargers we see at Barn Finds.

Here’s a picture of the trunk floor to see what you’d be getting into. I’m torn here between patching the original metal or taking the opportunity to make the body perfect by replacing the whole panel. Have any readers done that with a Charger? Is it particularly difficult?

The interior even looks surprisingly intact, and you can see from the vents that this car had air conditioning from the factory — which as you’ll see later is confirmed by the fender tag.

The seller states that they believe this is the original 383 cubic-inch V8 but that it’s been rebuilt. It’s unusual to see the air conditioning compressor still in place. The car does run, but the seller hasn’t driven it yet due to a lack of brakes. I’m not sure I could have resisted bleeding them and going for a spin! It’s apparent that the seller bought the car to pass it on to someone else; I personally have no issue with that, but it’s been a hot topic before on the site. What’s your opinion?

One of the neat things about researching an older Mopar car is that a lot of build information is available from the fender tag (if it is still there and legible). Thankfully, this one has no damage to speak of, and we can tell that this Charger was built on May 13, 1968, was originally equipped with a 383 cubic-inch V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor, had a three-speed automatic, a black vinyl top, and even obscure things like it originally had red-wall F70 x 14 tires! Information like this is available here at mymopar.com. So — is this the one? The almost rust-free Mopar you’ve been looking for? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Comments

  1. Avatar Steve Bush Member

    Looks to have the potential to be a nice car, but for his “firm” $34k asking, the seller should bleed the brakes and get the Charger running. To me the asking is still somewhat high for a 383-2 barrel, column shift auto car that needs body work and a paint job to be really nice. His joke about “the $500 Hemi car your friend’s uncle’s cousin bought back in 1982,” is annoying and makes him look somewhat snarky. To me, there are lots of better cars out there at the same price or less, including the 1972 Charger available here for $35k that’s in much better shape.

    Like 18
    • Avatar Robert

      I agree. He will never get that price. How can you say rust free looking at the truck who knows where else there’s rust!

      Like 2
  2. Avatar Mr.BZ

    I agree with Steve Bush for sure, and after living there for waaaaaay too long the “firm ask” seems to include a CA premium to me. As far as flippers go, I know that at least part of my dislike for them is based on personal jealousy(wish I was doing something I truly love for a living) but some are certainly more worthy of my respect than others, not that they give a flying *.

    Like 3
  3. Avatar Rich

    Jamie,
    Glad this is a RUST FREE deal! Now all I need is a blind man to complete the unneeded body work before I can get it painted….NOT!

    Like 7
  4. Avatar Robert White

    I’d snap this up if I had the coin.

    My favorite muscle car of all time.

    SMITTEN AGAIN!

    Bob

    Like 1
  5. Avatar Phil D

    Was the engine rebuilt and painted the wrong color (there were no Corporate Blue engines in ’68 Chrysler products — B and RB engines were painted turquoise then)? Or has the original engine been replaced with a ’70 or newer engine?

    Like 6
    • Avatar Steve R

      It’s more likley they used whatever paint they had on hand or the local parts store had on the shelf. When California mandated non-VOC based spray paints many engine colors disappear from store shelves for years. All VHT engine enamels needed to be reformulated and were no longer available, the same thing happened with other colors and brands. One of my friends would resort to having relatives from out of state send him cans of paint for his Pontiac since that color hadn’t been reformulated.

      Not every change from stock or oversight by a seller has a nefarious explanation.

      Steve R

      Like 5
      • Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

        Steve R,

        It comes to many people as a total surprise to hear my restoration shop was using regular “brush-on” latex house paint on engine blocks & heads for most of our restorations. It goes on nice & thick, and if primed first, it lasts for decades.

        The factory paints used on many engines were not high temperature paints. And remember, paint doesn’t begin to change color until about 350 degrees F. So except for areas close to the exhaust ports or the exhaust cross over area of a V8 intake manifold*, if it’s changing color because of high temperatures, you have much worse engine problems!

        *That’s how they looked when they were new cars, a light color change at the hot spots was normal.

        I still have a couple of Packard straight eight engines [in cars] that I painted with a correct green paint I had matched up at Lowes over 25 years ago, and they still look good today.

        Yep, simple latex house paint! Try it, you’ll like it, and save $ at the same time!

        Like 2
  6. Avatar EPO3

    No mention of the original panther pink paint how rare would it be now.

    Like 3
    • Avatar PRA4SNW

      PP1 is a red color.
      Panther Pink came out in 1970.

      Like 1
  7. Avatar Michael

    I don’t know I’d be willing to bet there is a nightmare under that vinyl top.

    Like 2
  8. Avatar rod

    all craigslist is showing is a 68 valiant. Electric windows on the Charger tho. Slightly rare for 68’s.

    Like 0

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