Racing was in Chrysler’s blood throughout the 1960s. The mantra “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” was more prevalent in those days than today, especially when it came to NASCAR. Dodge pitched a more aerodynamic version of the Charger to NASCAR for 1969 and they bought in, but at least 500 street versions of the car would have to be built. The seller’s car is one of them – and while it looks rough – its refreshed 440 cubic inch V8 is said to be a contender. Located in Knightstown, Indiana, this Mopar is available here on eBay where bids of $36,700 have yet to trigger the reserve.
Though the 500 name would continue past 1969, the Charger Daytona would take its place in Dodge’s effort to have slippery cars for use in NASCAR. The 500 differed in appearance from a “regular” Charger by having exposed headlights mounted in a flush grille, and the tunnel encasing the rear window was dropped for a rounded execution. Sources differ on the number of 500s that were built for public use in 1969, but the number probably didn’t reach 400 units. While a few dozen of those had Chrysler’s 426 Hemi motor, the great majority of the cars were produced with a 440.
This ’69 500 sports a recently rebuilt 440, but it’s not original to the car. The auto was sitting for many years without anything under the hood which the seller – a dealer – sought to correct. Besides giving the Dodge a new “heart,” its 727 automatic transmission was also rebuilt, and a host of parts replaced, such as the gas tank, fuel pump, fuel sending unit (which isn’t working properly), brakes, starter, and the exhaust system. The cowl tag has practically rusted away, so determining exactly how this 500 was built is difficult.
The interior is in surprisingly good condition, though the headliner is gone and will need to be resourced. The windshield has some issues and will need to be jettisoned. The red paint could very well be original, and the rear striping is all but gone. There is some rust in the rear floor pans, both quarter panels, the trunk lid, and in one of the front fenders. But what we see of it looks to be far from fatal. Also, the car looks to have had a vinyl roof at one point. Mechanically, all the heavy lifting has been done, so the body is where the buyer will need to focus his/her attention and budget.
Ooh, I LOVE the Buick floormats!
The Charger 500 is an interesting Mopar footnote for sure. But to me it seems that they don’t bring as much as they maybe should. People want the wow factor of the wing cars. Even though this has the back window of the wing cars and a few other items, most people really like the regular grille and buttress rear window look better. Kind of like the Torino Talladegas. The “face” just comes off looking a little awkward and I think that keeps values down. Great find though.
Agreed, the back window did a lot for aero and looked cooler. Using the coroner grille was a great idea.
They should have a value higher then they do. I imagine a 500 with a Hemi and be in 8-9 range on condition should pull way more money.
Really ? Almost 49K for a rusty undocumented. Incorrect engine Charger ?
We are heading to insane territory here.
20K should buy this unit !
Undocumented ? Its a 500. They didnt make many, and you cant fake one by adding emblems or stripes . Yes the engine isnt original, but that seems to be the norm for most tired Muscle cars. Less then 400 made . Its not your run of the mill Charger .
20k won’t buy you a 318 69 Charger shell, let alone a very rare one like this. This is a $125,000.00 car restored.
Funny…I never heard of these special Chargers before and now 2 of them just this week. Gotta love BarnFinds!
The reason so high on the bids.. it’s a 500 Charger.. they are hard to find and this is a real one. The 440 is a 69 block and its a HP set up. Yes it’s going to need plenty of work. But it will be worth it. If it was a plain Jane Charger yes it should be less. The wheels cover are rare ones and they came with the 500’s…Good luck to the next owner.. 🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
Mr Bear,
ive been looking for these wheel covers for years, what are they ?
My father had them on the family station wagon and ive had the image of them in my head most of my life.
Are they exclusive to the 500 or
No, they were optional. I had them on my Polara , though they were 15 inch caps. I ended up using them on my car trailer ; unfortunately , one flew off somewhere
No . I seem them on a 69 Dodge . Coronet 4dr. I think they came on Dodge’s in 1970 also. They are hard to find. You can try E-bay or Mopar car shows to speak to other guys that may have them. They are cool wheel covers. Good luck and trying to find them and I hope you do give them. 🐻
dear Don,
Ill buy the remaining three ? :)
Looks just like the Bud Lindeman test car, except that was a hemi.
For contrast. You can get a Torino Talladega, totally restored, for around $25,000 more than this car is bid to. And unless you’re doing the work? You’ll have a lot more than that in this thing.
Minimum $125,000.00 car when done.
“you can get a totally restored Torino Talladega for how much ?? where ?
seriously where ?
A Talladega is so rare that only few know of and that causes it to be undervalued, and this 500 is even more rare and well equipped.
The sentiment that more folks choose looks over function is valid, but, i personally think the 500 looks better than the regular Charger and knowing why even more so.
Function over form kinda thing.
I had an opportunity to buy one of these in the mid 80’s.
It was a Hemi 4sp with rusted quarters for $5000 and I needed to sell my pickup 2 days later I watched it get loaded on a trailer
I passed on a nice, engineless 68 Hemi four speed Charger and a nice engineless T/A Challenger in 82 for $1500.00 for the pair. Yeah, I kick my one butt everyday.
If this seller takes this to Carlisle, some fool will give him $50,000 all day long. The insanity this hobby has become is just mind blowing. The people laughing here are the dudes at AMD, who will make a fortune selling their POS body panels to the restorer.
Funny, you were praising how great an 87 Buick GNX was, and didnt mention the bidding was up to 145,000 bucks (and sold for over 200k) , but a 53 year old Muscle car that less than 400 were built, and you say a buyer would be a fool to give him that kind of money ? Its obvious from all your past posts you are a Mopar hater, and Chargers especially get your dander up. Any ratty Ford or GM car you dont post a thing about someone being stupid to buy it and the markets crazy , but a Mopar ? Sure enough, you have a negative comment about it. Probably 90% of the thousands of Buick GN and GNX models were bought and stored away with little mileage as a future “collectable” , how many of the 400 Charger 500s were stored away ? probably less then 1% , so why wouldn’t car like that go for big money in tired condition ? A car like this wont have AMD panels on it during its restoration ,guaranteed .
Hmmm no words from Cool Joe Machado? Seems it’s understood he bought 3 of these new. Hemis of course. Sold 1 to buy the 70 Superbird prototype that was originally intended for Richard Petty’s crew but when Chrysler found out Cool Joe was a buyer….well you the rest.
Another “piece” of Mopar rustmobile!
Rex, shove it up your a$$