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Movie Car: 1975 Dodge Charger SE

In 1975, the Dodge Charger was moved upstream to compete as a personal luxury car with the new B-body Chrysler Cordoba (you know, the one with rich Corinthian leathers). Only one model would be offered, the SE (Special Edition), and sales perked up to more than 38,000 units. The seller’s ’75 Charger looks to be a nice survivor and is said to have been a prop in several movies. Located in Lacey Township, New Jersey, this Dodge is available here on craigslist for $6,800. Thanks for the heads-up, Pat L.!

Buyers of the 1975 Charger could choose from a 318, 360, or 400 cubic-inch V8 engine. In the case of the seller’s Dodge, it’s the 360 with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission. The car has 70,000 miles on it, which we assume also applies to the drivetrain. The burgundy paint and landau vinyl roof on this Charger look particularly good and that appearance transcends to the interior.

We’re told this was a movie car and appeared in films like The Americans, Blood Ties, and The Get Down, but that really doesn’t add any value to the machine. That’s unless it’s a famous movie and the car played a prominent role, like the Mustang fastback that Steve McQueen drove in Bullitt. So, you should value the car for what it is – a mid-1970s Mopar that looks to be in excellent condition (except for a cracked dash pad), and we assume runs just as well.

As a side note, the restyled Charger did no favors for Dodge in NASCAR competition. The squareness of 1975’s restyle wasn’t particularly aerodynamic, so Dodge teams got permission to use 1974 sheet metal in stock car racing until 1978 when the Magnum was introduced. It didn’t do so well either.

Comments

  1. Avatar Rex Kahrs Member

    These cars look look pretty good, and I thought I wanted one (a Cordoba).
    This summer I drove down to Cincinnati from Columbus and drove one.

    It was too front-heavy and wallowy, and too plastic-y. One ten-minute test drive and I got that out of my system.

    Like 16
  2. Avatar Ike Onick

    “Movie car” Thanks for starting my week off with a chuckle! Was it shown up on concrete blocks with the hood, trunk and doors off ? “Movie car” LOL!!!!

    Like 3
  3. Avatar Ed

    Cordoba with louvers on the side windows.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Bick Banter

      Yup. It was what Chrysler used to distinguish this from the virtually identical Cordoba. It was the “sporty” one of the pair, particularly in Daytona guise.

      The Dodge Coronet and Plymouth Fury 2-doors were virtually identical mechanically and didn’t look too different. It’s amazing the kind of badge engineering they were able to get away with back then. I mean, you still see it, but not to the same level of shamlessness.

      Like 4
  4. Avatar Bob C.

    I had an opportunity to buy one back in the early 80s. It was a trade in at a dealership I worked at the time. That was when I realized the Charger became a rebadged Cordoba.

    Like 4
  5. Avatar Dave, Aust

    Absolutely Stunning vehicle, I’d bolt some extractors on, twin system, add some other bolt ons to 360 engine to get another 50-100 HP.

    Like 1
    • Avatar JCA Member

      Might as well skip the extractors and just go right for a flux capacitor instead

      Like 9
  6. Avatar Gary

    And if he had not done so, you wouldn’t have the Hellcat today or many other things. People tend to forget that President Carter did this because there were tens of thousands of jobs at stake, Chryslers and multiple suppliers as well would have bled jobs. Then, unlike today, we actually had good decent jobs for Average Joes in this country. Our President was doing what he was elected to do, to protect the ordinary citizens of this nation. Let us not also forget that Chrysler paid it back early with interest. America actually made money on the deal. Today, some rich cats with more money then they could spend in many lifetimes, would come in with a private equity firm to buy it on the cheap. Tear it apart, sell off the assets to other rich cats over seas, put a great many people out of work, and make a killing for themselves. The heartbreak and ruined lives would echoed for years. Is that how you wish it had gone down then?

    Like 7
    • Avatar JCA Member

      Rich cats from overseas (Fiat) bought Chrysler out of bankruptcy over a decade ago. So Fiat brought us the Hellcat, technically…

      Like 0
    • Avatar Ike Onick

      Good thing there is a “No politics” rule here.

      Like 1
  7. Avatar Jcjc

    Finally, a real Charger.

    Like 4
  8. Avatar Steve Clinton

    I’d buy it only if it came with Ricardo Montalbán…oh, wait, he’s dead. Never mind.

    Like 2
  9. Avatar DJM

    My first new car when I was sixteen. My Dad gave me the choice of a new motorcycle when I was 14 or a new car of my choice when I was 16. I did the math.
    He nixed several of my choices, like a 75 Corvette, 75 Z28/Camaro and 75 Mustang. We settled on a 75 Charger SE with a 360/2b carb.
    Black with maroon vinyl top and matching louvers.
    Great car, actually… somewhat of a tank.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar RalleyeRimRay Member

    Hello my GearHead friends !!

    Back in May ’21, I was going to purchase a nice 1978 Charger S.E., 360…a nice, late model B-body cruiser from the estate of a dear friend who died one year earlier. Once we finalized the price, I was coming over a couple of days later (because the family had to get the title out of a bank safety deposit box) to hand over the cash. It seems that in those “couple of days” the family got greedy and upped the sale price considerably. More than a little annoyed, I decided to pass on the purchase because of what had happened. Fast forward to a week ago, I get a call from the nephew asking me if I would still like to buy the car. It has been driven to a family farm where it has been sitting underneath a pine tree for 6 months and not started. Here in the Pacific Northwest with rain & trees, you cannot store any vehicle in that manner….not to mention the mice !! Well the mice did not waste anytime to turn it into the Mighty Mouse Motel, it’s once pristine interior, now soaked in mice urine and feces ALL OVER , including the trunk and engine compartment. I had to stop right there the smell was overwhelming…..not even remotely interested in buying now. The attached picture is what it looked like in the beginning, couldn’t bring myself to show you all the now picture…VERY BAD !! What a shame, my friend Frank would be thoroughly pissed they did not sell it to me in the beginning….but I’ve moved on….see, even an old fart like me doesn’t always get to score the deals !!! Enjoy your lives friends, stay safe and keep cruising !!!
    Ray

    Like 11
  11. Avatar Terry Bowman

    My dad bought a 76′ Cordova new, with a 400. Yes, lots of plastic, which also turned me off, but it ran strong, sporty looking for an old man car and comfortable. He traded it in in 86′ for a new Vanden Plas XJ6,Jag, BIG MISSTAKE !!!! What a Pile of Junk that was.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Stevieg

    My Grandfather bought a Cordoba brand new in 1977. I always wanted one since then.
    He kept his for 12 years. It rusted out terribly in that time. Still looked good outside, but underneath was Swiss cheese.
    He sold it to a family friend after my Grandma passed away in 1989. That family friend drove it a couple months and then a leaf spring found its way through the trunk floor. That was that lol.
    I still want one!

    Like 0

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