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Original Paint & Engine: 1969 Dodge Charger

This 1969 Dodge Charger was sent to us by Rex M. We appreciate the tip as this is one of the most beautifully styled cars to grace the Dodge showroom. The Charger is listed for sale here on Craigslist for an asking price of $45,000. The odometer is said to read 86,000 miles and the car has a clean California title. The Charger is located due east of Los Angeles near Riverside, California.

The Dodge Charger represents the second generation (1968-1970) of this model and one of those popular body styles ever built. The car is said to maintain its original paint and interior. There is some rust on the rear quarter panels but the floors are very solid and pictures of the truck indicate there is no rust in that area. The seller states that he has original build sheet along with other documentation but those are not included in the Craigslist ad. The car is said to run well and is equipped with its original 383 cubic inch V8 engine backed by a 727 automatic transmission. The seller recently installed a new water pump, thermostat, alternator, starter, battery, master cylinder, fan belts and spark plugs. There are no pictures of the engine compartment in the ad.

The medium blue interior shows the Charger is equipped with a bench seat that has been repaired with duct tape and the transmission is shifted via a column shifter. There appears to be an aftermarket radio or a track player founded under the dash. The door panels are well worn and the seats has tears and foam exposed. The carpet actually looks pretty good. The back seats are dirty but look like they have not been sat in very often and just have fading from sun exposure.

I’m not sure what the original color of the car was. Either a blue or a silver grey. The current car is currently riding on aftermarket 10 spoke vector wheels that many Charger enthusiasts prefer on their cars. It is one of my favorite wheel designs. While the body is going to need some work and rust repair, this appears to be an excellent candidate for a restoration and it’s a bonus that it is still running after over 50 years.

Comments

  1. Avatar photo 8banger Member

    The seats appear to buckets with a buddy in the middle.

    Like 5
    • Avatar photo chuck dickinson

      My 69 Charger SE was the same. They’re regular buckets, but instead of the console, there’s a fold-down armrest with room for your best girl to sit close!

      Like 4
  2. Avatar photo George

    45k seems about 25k steep to me… Maybe I just haven’t kept up with Mopar pricing but this thing, though a good start, needs a complete restoration.

    Like 18
    • Avatar photo Ray

      Completely agree! Perhaps if this was a newly completely restored frame off rebuild , ‘maybe’ that price would be considered but in the current condition? Keep dreaming. Assuming I had that kind of spare cash, less than half of that price tag would get me a sweet ride!

      Like 5
  3. Avatar photo Moparman Member

    I’m curious as to whether the writers of these articles ever look at the ad pictures or proofread? It states “the carpet looks okay” whereas the driver’s side is obviously badly deteriorated and is shown ripped up to expose the floor! “pictures of the truck” what truck?? Did you mean trunk? On a keyboard, “c” is some distance from “n”. Just a couple of bothersome little nits that I don’t expect to see from professional writers. This is one rough/rusty California car, (IMO) that is very optimistically overpriced.

    Like 11
  4. Avatar photo Bluetec320 Member

    It’s already got the wheels! Paint it orange and put an 01 on the doors and a flag on the roof and you’re good to go!

    Like 13
  5. Avatar photo JoeNYWF64

    Why would the passenger seat be lot more worn out than the driver’s seat?

    Like 3
    • Avatar photo Arby

      Hot girlfriend???

      Like 20
    • Avatar photo stillrunners

      Often that is what is done – you can move the passenger seat over to the drivers side with the correct seat tracks exchanged – and feel a little better when you drive it. This looks like this was done – don’t see the lock at the top you move to get into the back seat.

      Like 2
      • Avatar photo Bill McCoskey Member

        Stillrunners,

        This front seat assembly, while it does look like the bucket seat, in comparing what I can see with photos of the NOS seat frame [bottom], it appears Chrysler made a different seat mechanism. The sliding forward & back release lever is different, and there should be a seatback release down at the hinge point, it’s a black stamped lever topped with a chrome rectangular knob. It’s not there, but the seat sliding lever/knob is present, however on this car that knob is black plastic, when Chargers had chrome knobs [info based on current MoPaR parts supplier catalogs].

        I’ve owned & restored many 1955 to 1967 Chrysler and Plymouth cars, mostly Imperials and letter series cars. Chrysler was notorious for creating special parts for limited demand items, like a 3 section bench seat in a Charger. I am unable to find any company selling parts for the 3 section seat, so I can’t determine if this seat even had latches.

        I do know that other MoPaR seats with the chrome release knob & lever at the hinge point, showed seat material wear where it contacted the lever. I see no material wear on these seats, But that could be due to the owner not having more than 2 people in the car most of the time.

        Like 1
  6. Avatar photo John C.

    Yes sir! a good candidate for a Dukes of Hazzard clone! And after you are done restoring it you could probably pick up a few Daisy Duke types with it!

    Like 4
  7. Avatar photo Mtlieb

    No mention of the top, vinyl removed, ugly brown, rusty?
    Whats up with that…..

    Like 2
    • Avatar photo Bill McCoskey Member

      Mtlieb,

      Over many decades, the big 3 would, at times, tell the paint department to save paint by only priming the roof area of cars slated to get vinyl tops. I’m guessing this car was produced during one of those cost cutting moments.

      In the early 1970s I worked at a Ford dealership preparing new cars for delivery, and also handled the first oil change/service. I remember several cars that had not been properly painted right at the edge of the top molding on the rear quarter, and they had already begun to rust.

      There was also a point [for a couple of months] in 1971 where every ford engine was coming off the line 1/2 quart low on engine oil. Ford expected guys like us to add the 1/2 quart, but the parts department said “hell no”, as they weren’t getting it covered under warranty rules! So we only filled them if the customer checked fluid levels on delivery, and they complained.

      Years later I realized if you ship cars and trucks with a half quart less, the company could save millions of Dollars in good ‘ol 10W30 motor oil.

      Like 5
  8. Avatar photo Mike

    Pricing is always steep in California.

    Like 1
  9. Avatar photo Chuck Foster

    Some Bitcoin millionaire will buy it.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar photo George Louis

    Is it 83,000 miles or 183.000 miles? Interior is really worn for 83.000 miles.. Price for the car was originally $4500.00 (MY GUESS) but due to the extensive use of Duct Tape as the preferred factory approved repair procedure it got the price to $45,000.00. If only the marketing guys at Chrysler knew this policy they could have offered both front seat cushions repaired and increased the price and the profit margin by a like amount!!!!!!!! P. T. Barnum said there is a sucker born every minute by he forgot to mention that there are a lot of dreamers also!!!!!!!

    Like 2
  11. Avatar photo George Louis

    Bill McCoskey: What you do not know is the owner could have picked up a seat from a Four-door sedan and put it in this ride, not caring about access to the rear seat.

    Like 0
    • Avatar photo Bill McCoskey Member

      George Louis,

      Except that this seat was intended for a 2-door car when new, as if it was in a 4-door car, the seat backs would be fixed, and not fold forward.

      Like 1
    • Avatar photo George Louis

      I did not know that this seat back moved. As stated Chrysler would often have a lever at the base of the seat or even have it halfway up the back so that one could activate the back movement easily.

      Like 0

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