One of my first jobs in high school was working at a Connecticut Dodge dealer. It was 1969, and the boss drove a ’69 Dodge Charger just like this one, but in Hemi Orange. I wanted that car, though I also kind of liked the Toyota Corollas we had as a sideline. What we have here on eBay in Waukesha, Wisconsin is an absolutely gorgeous ’69 Charger that needs practically nothing. The car has so far been bid to $31,350, without meeting the reserve.
The bidding has been fast and furious (like the car), which isn’t surprising given the condition and the desirability of the model. Though the movie car was a ’68, this is “the car from Bullitt,” and it’s perennially going up in flames on YouTube, where it’s been viewed 3.5 million times.
The vendor, Wisconsin’s House of Horsepower, says the car was restored in the early 2000s with “all its correct colors, options, and drivetrain components,” then put in long-term storage. Often that means stored poorly, but in this case, it was carefully kept. The car sports the 335-horsepower 383 and has only 64,677 miles on the odometer.
Here’s a dispatch from the seller, minus the exclamation marks. “This is a super solid, complete, reliable driver that will make you proud to be seen in. These cars are hard to find and even harder in condition like this. It’s an older paint job and has some blemishes here and there, but overall it is a beauty and gets attention wherever it goes.”
That seems accurate enough since the fairly good photography reveals very few flaws. The engine bay isn’t detailed, so you’ll have something to do. The car looks bone stock, with matching numbers.
As you probably know, the Charger was introduced in 1966, but the first-generation, rather angular styling of the fastback coupe didn’t meet sales expectations. The second generation did, no doubt helped on by the release of Bullitt in and the 1969 version’s incarnation as General Lee in the hugely popular Dukes of Hazzard. How many ’69 Chargers were wrecked going airborne on that show? How many more met their maker after civilian owners tried to imitate Bo and Luke? The racing success of the iconic Daytona version of the car was also a factor.
Engine choices for 1969 actually began with the 225 Slant Six, but there were five V-8s with the top choice being the 425-horsepower, 426 cubic inch “Street Hemi.” There were both three- and four-speed manuals, and the three-speed TorqueFlite auto. This one has the 383 with the 727 TorqueFlite (shifted via the console).
You’d probably have to get close up to spot them, but the older blue paint on this car has some blemishes “here and there.”
The only challenge for the new owner, besides finding a place to store the trophies, is getting out some kinks that have to do with the long-term storage. Some of those won’t show themselves immediately.
There’s no question that this car has eager bidders, but will they meet the reserve? The vendor says it’s “low compared to the other Chargers out there,” but we’ll see.
Nice find, Jim.
This has all the looks of a lovingly maintained and cared for “classic”.
That being said, inasmuch as I’d really like to have this (even with an auto) e price is gonna get too crazy for those of us on a limited income..
GLWTA
I’m a Mustang guy, but I could easily see myself driving this bad boy. Nice car!
Really sharp looking car in this color ! Someone put electronic ignition in it . The only changes I’d make would be replacing the carpeting with the correct blue and dumping the aftermarket air cleaner .
Good looking car.
I would eventually get around to a full inside out restomod…but not immediately.
B3 is a very hard color to find one in. A47, SE, Air. Blue leather fronts.
To think I had to part out two very nice 69 RT’s in 77 ish. No rust.
9,240 regular Charger SE’s made, all engines except RT’s.
Sure was a good time when new drivin these assorted cars.
Never see an era like this again
Leave it as is and drive the hell out of it. It’s perfect.
It’s nice to see one of these in another color besides orange or black. The vinyl roof really sets off this color nicely. People forget that vinyl roofs were a quite popular option in the 60’s and 70’s. The rear picture showing the dash was a really good photo. I would give the engine compartment a few hours of detailing ( it looks better if you do it yourself ) and drive the piss out of this car. You would get a lot of lookers with this one.
It’s nice to see one of these in another color besides orange and black. The color combination is great, and the vinyl roof really makes it pop. Vinyl roofs were a popular option in the 60’s and 70’s, and I remember car shopping with my Father and all our cars had vinyl roofs. Nice photo from the back of the car to show the dash. Spend a few hours on the engine bay ( do it yourself it always looks better ). Really a nice car to show off.
Hands down, the best looking muscle car ever built. Thank the Lord this one survived being trashed by Bo and Luke. Beautiful colors. These cars are very hard to find in this condition. Why buy a new ugly Charger that when it needs tires they cost $250 each when you can have this?
Sorry for repeating myself, it didn’t show right away.
First of all these are 2 Door Hardtops not 2 Door Coupes. Coupe implies a B Pillar by the Front Seat. i went to College with a guy who’s brother had a 1969 Dark Green R/T with green Vinyl Bucket seat interior, console and white Racing Strip on the rear. The owner of this vehicle should take care of the Paint Blemishes and clean up and detail engine compartment for the price charged!!!! The trunk carpet is not factory as they all came with the famous trunk mat. Fiat Chrysler would make a bundle if they would Reproduce these vehicles same size just add rack and Pinion Steering stiffen body, and upgrade brakes
Well done!! This car is in the kind of condition that you want!!! Drivable!!
Great looking car. I’ve had three Mopars; one Plymouth Voyager, one ’83 regular full size pick-up and my current 2003 4WD Crew cab, 1500. Never owned a “car” by Chrysler Corp. If I had the …. well, you get it.
Very nice. Wouldn’t change a thing. Would drive it almost every day. It will sell too high for me to afford. I like George Louis idea for Chrysler/Fiat to reproduce these. What would that take?
What would it take? Money, a renewed interest in retros and the bean counters proving that they can make more money. It’s sad that the number of 2 door cars (& trucks!) offered by manufacturers is dwindling and more so especially that the number of CARS offered at the dealerships are going away, being replaced by, yes, SUV’s and very expensive 4 door trucks. As an example Daimler recently announced that they will now focus on SUV’s here in the US and no longer import new model sedans, and Fiat has noted the limited appeal of the Challenger to a select group of older enthusiasts (to be fair, that the platform it’s the built on is arcane doesn’t help its image as “sporty”). And short of a “stripper” type work truck when’s the last time you saw a MANUAL shift anything on a car lot? Sad times, these, especially with the paddle-shift DCT’s ability in shiftIng so incredibly much faster than manual linkage gearboxes.
I’m with you guys in wanting an affordable RETRO Charger akin to the one I had “back in the day”! Maybe not practical but it’d be fun..
Except for the steering wheel, and the wood grain, this interior almost matches mine…except that car is a ’70 with interior in “Bright Blue Metallic”! I DO have a matching steering wheel to be restored. Shame that they cut the door panels for speakers, but that was how it was done back in the day! GLWTA!! :-)