With a Letter of Authentication from Galen Govier, this 1969 Dodge Charger can be confirmed as a genuine R/T 440, and this fact means that this is a very desirable vehicle. Someone has made an attempt at transforming it into a General Lee clone, but this is something that the new owner should be able to rectify without any great dramas. If it is a car that ticks a lot of the right boxes for you, then you will find the Charger located in Hicksville, New York, and listed for sale here on eBay. With bidding now having reached $21,550, the reserve hasn’t been met. The desirability of the Charger can best be measured by the fact that there are currently 196 people who are watching the listing.
Beneath the Orange paint that currently graces the flanks of the Charger hides the original Y4 Gold. In addition, the Charger also started life fitted with a Black vinyl top and the transverse Black “bumble-bee” stripe. This is claimed to be a one-owner vehicle, and while the owner makes no mention of any rust issues with the car, there is some evidence that there will be a few spots that will require attention. There are some signs of a few spots appearing around the rear pillars and rear window area of the Dodge, which is a common occurrence on vehicles that have been fitted with a vinyl top. There are also a few minor spots visible in the bottoms of the doors and rockers, but these don’t appear to be too extensive. What can be seen is some rust appearing around the very bottom edges of the rear quarter panels and rear valance. This might indicate that there could be some rust issues with the trunk pan and drop-offs, but given the fact that this is also a pretty common thing, addressing it would be a straightforward proposition. The owner provides no information on the state of the floors or the frame rails, but if the trunk pan has some rust present, then it would be no real surprise to find it in the floors. Once again, rectifying this, if there is actually any rust there, should be a pretty routine task.
It’s when you dig below the surface of the Charger that we find some pretty good news. The owner verifies that this is a numbers-matching car, which is a huge positive in a car as desirable as this. What you find hiding here is the “Magnum” 440ci V8, which, in its prime, pushed out 375hp. This power finds its way to the rear wheels via a heavy-duty A-727 TorqueFlite transmission, while the Charger is also fitted with power steering. This is a potent combination and was capable of firing the Charger through the ¼ mile in a very respectable 14.3 seconds. What we don’t know today is just how healthy all of these components are. The owner doesn’t indicate whether the engine even turns freely, let alone whether the Charger runs and drives. I guess that if the next owner intends to undertake a full restoration on the car, the engine is going to finish up being pulled so that the engine bay can be brought up to a decent standard. This would provide a good opportunity to give everything a thorough check and detail before it all gets slotted back into place.
The interior of the Charger appears to be complete, but there will be plenty of work required to return it to its former glory. The dash pad appears to be in good condition, while the dash itself looks like it could be restored without any great problems. It is good to see that the dash has remained unmolested, with the Rally gauges and the factory radio both intact. The vehicle is also fitted with bucket seats and a console, and while these are all present, I believe that the console has probably deteriorated to the point where restoration is not a viable proposition. The bad news is that although replacements are available, they are by no means cheap. In fact, replacing the console and the cracked wheel is likely to account for more than one-third of the cost of the parts to restore the interior to a pristine state. As I said, not cheap, but the end result should be well worth the expenditure.
For me, the most interesting question that this Charger R/T raises is just how high the owner has set the reserve. This is a car that will require a total restoration, and depending on what rust issues lie hidden away, the cost of addressing these will determine the financial viability of this as a project. The simple reality is that if the next owner undertakes a high-quality and faithful restoration, this is a car that is capable of commanding a value comfortably in excess of $60,000. It certainly has some potential, but I think that contacting the seller and asking the questions about potential rust, along with the mechanical state of the car, would be my starting point on this one.
Well its a mopar and like Porsche’s these bring high dollars as the market definitely 🐻 s it.
The only other item beside the 440 that could of had folks drool more would of been a four Speed 😃
(I am of course ignoring the option of Hemi)
I not a fan of the old General Lee layout and would much rather seen the original gold and vinyl.
I hope it gets put back together original and glad no good old boy like Bo or Luke jumped anything with it in the past 😏
I drove a few big block Chargers back in the day and let me tell ya, not what it is cracked up to be. Crummy handling, loud, hard on gas, break down often, made the insurance man salivate in anticipation of the over the top premiums. My 68 had a 318 auto. It was beautiful to look at and had all the power and reliability I needed. In my geriatric years, I wouldn’t mind another just like mine to relieve my youth, but any like mine are all long crushed or turned into faux muscle cars and not worth the price to me.
Amen Geiger. You were what made these cars great. Original owners who drove them hard and appreciated what they were, flaws and all. Now they’ve been taken over by those with more money than brains.
I might get a Mopar in 2020 because it’s been a long time since I had real V-8 power and want to enjoy it before we can’t anymore. But to save money, I’m going to go with a 2020 Charger Scat Pack Widebody. Yup, I’m going to go with a $50,000 car to save money. You read that correctly. I could probably get a Hellcat at the end of the year when they’re rebating them and still come out ahead of what this would actually cost to restore. That’s what we’ve come to now. Pretty amazing stuff!
Put some turbines, new 01 sticker, and a Confederate flag on the roof.
I’m with you 100% Ryan. This is the perfect car for that. I did not want to make the first “General Lee” comment though, the last time I did that, everyone came after me with pitchforks and buckshot.
LS Swap. 5K car. throw on some patina.
perfect time capsule. investment grade.
let your grand kids figure out what to
do with it! worth its weight in rust. What the market will bear. OK Boomer!
“Investment”, an evil word in the old car world if you ask me. Prices are way out of line for us normal guys to own and appreciate, this should be a pleasurable hobby, not a way to make a killing. I traded my 68 in on a new Dodge Diplomat 4 door. A little rusty in the rear quarters, but otherwise a nice car at the time. Salesman gave me like $250 trade if I recall correctly. Oh, but have times changed.
As often as I see LS swaps mentioned here, I can’t believe it would be done on a numbers matching 440 Charger. LOL! No Duke boys either.
So someone in Hicksville, New York tried to make this into a General Lee clone.
Hicksville. How fitting.
Put it back original my 68 R/T had the same color combo makes a good looking ride with magnum wheels
Ahhh Hicksville long guy land! You would think the guy would have grabbed a few shots of the underbelly for such an ambitious reserve.its a couple hours away from me but I could look at it and grab some pics, Charlie, 845-635-3662. Under the hood looks nasty. Looks like they pulled the vinyl top and rattle canned the roof. Lousy pics and no pics of the important stuff. Be careful with this one- looks good enough up top but I’m betting the underside is crackers. Good inspection needed. Caveat Emptor., Good luck
Cheers
Gaspumpchas
There is a fender tag but I cannot read it.
No build sheet.
No pics of underneath. Engine bay is a disaster.
Not worth present bid and reserve likely ridiculous
People got to stop ruining these cars with the ” general lee” BS! Please stop! Had a 68 r/t same gold/blk top. Beautiful car with 200k mi. for $250 in 1986. The mileage was according to original owners day one till parked notebook in 1979. I found in glovebox. Sold it on after getting it running. To a buddy and his girlfriend. Who then proceeded to wreck the body. Then it got stolen, found. Then stolen again. Now it’s stripped and rotting in a field Martinez. Sad end. Hopefully this one will be returned to its former glory. And NOT a Hazard clown clone.
No cut dash….that’s odd…….
Hey, leave the Long Island guy alone, they got a lotta great beaches out there, this cars ugly now and it’s gonna be ugly restored in gold and black
At the time Dukes of Hazzard was on TV I was twelve maybe thirteen, I think anyways, don’t even remember the exact year! It was funny more than anything else, actually kind a dumb…except for Daisy…and I really liked the Charger too. Seemed odd that a moonshine runner would use such highly visible car but it fit the show. If I had to choose a movie star Dodge Charger to actually drive it would be the black one in Bullitt only with Torque Thrusts and wide ovals. This car here has been through a hard life that’s for certain.
I seen one on Tallmage Ave outside of Akron with a tarp under the hood and over the front fenders. Wonder what they’d want for it.