Who remembers “The Dodge Rebellion” commercials from the 1960s? That’s when Chrysler stepped up its game to attract more youthful buyers to its products and Dodge led the way as the “performance division” of the company. The new-for-1966 Charger was one of those cool cars, built as a fastback on the B-body platform. This second-year Charger is unique in that it has a right-hand drive, but that was added after the fact and not from the factory. As an unfinished restoration project, this nifty Charger is sitting in a garage in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and waiting for someone with $29,900 to take it home here on craigslist. Another great tip from Mitchell G.!
With its swoopy lines and seating for four, the 1966-67 Charger was like an oversized Ford Mustang Fastback. First-year sales topped 35,000 units, which was encouraging, yet demand dropped by more than half to nearly 16,000 copies in 1967. Dodge stuck with the car and the redesign for 1968 finally helped send sales through the roof – more than 92,000 units in 1969 alone!
This ’67 Charger has a bit of an interesting story. Not long after it was built, it found its way to New Zealand where the then-owner decided it should be converted to right-hand-drive, which is exactly what happened. This isn’t a Dodge that was built for the export market but one that was modified for it later. The seller believes this to be a kind-of-a-kind Charger, but there are no records that would tell you otherwise.
Fast-forward to 2006 and a friend of the seller bought the car at auction at one of the big car shows in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It had been somewhat restored at the time with a 440 cubic inch V8 replacing the original 383. The TorqueFlite automatic transmission may still be original to the Dodge. So, the car went to the new buyer’s garage to await some further work for it to be of show quality. Sadly, that never happened, and the owner passed away, leaving it to a friend to help sell it for his widow.
The body and paint look good (from what we can tell) and there are no signs of rust. For the pieces that have been disassembled, they’ve been labeled to help with the reconstruction process. To sweeten the deal, a 5X10’ enclosed trailer will come with the car although we don’t see the connection unless all the parts are stored inside that transport. The odometer reads 50,000 miles, but it broke some time ago so who knows what the true mileage is? How cool would it be to have the one-half Dodge Charger to tool around in?
A RHD, well, shiver me timbers, this ought to make those English blokes feel right at home, OR, one heck of a letter carrier. I read, many US cars were switched to RHD by outside companies, a Charger seems like an unlikely candidate, but here you go. With millions of miles( over 3 million in a truck alone) in a LHD vehicle, I can say without reservation, I’d have a tough time with RHD. This really is an unusual find.
I sure do remember the “Dodge Rebellion” girl, Pamela Austin. She portrayed the “damsel in distress”, always saved by a Dodge, I think. Pretty corny, but by 1968, Dodge felt she was more popular than the car, and replaced her and it became “Dodge Fever”. My old man HATED those commercials, or any “rebellion” of any kind. It’s one reason why we never got along.
Joan Parker to Cheryl Miller, both very pretty girls. Back in the days when you could show a pretty girl on a commercial and not have it questioned.
Brie Larson is pretty(Nissan).
Ah, the “Nissan” girl. I don’t watch movies, but I think she’s a big star in one of those disemboweling mutant films,,,so popular today.
Wow !
11 on 1-10 cool
too bad about the wrong side of the road thing
” one heck of a letter carrier ” lol =D
nice one H.A.
The inspiration for the 68-9 Torino .. hmmm
When I was in New Zealand, I saw several US cars from the 50s to 60s right hand drive. When the cars got to big for the road they stopped importing. So some car owner changed but other did not . My oldest son bought a 1984 Oldsmobile cutlass that was not converted, did not like riding in that car. Newer cars imported must be converted,, wise idea.
This would be mighty cool at a car show. Posted 26 days ago.
A non running project with little to no history that’s been converted to RHD conversion a as stated “shows rust free, in general” whatever that means, that is being sold by a friend of the owner.
It’s hard to see this car bringing $29,900, turn key driver, maybe, not as it sits. Unfortunately, there’s way too much downside risk at that asking price.
Steve R
I agree. It would be cool if the east Rockaway post office bought it.
Funny, I just looked at a right hand drive MG for sale a few days ago. I’m wondering where the guy who did the conversion got the parts for this car. That dashboard has to be impossible to find.
Chrysler made cars in Australia for quite some time. I don’t know if any of their RHD parts would adapt to this? Also there were companies in Australia that converted many cars to RHD. I’ve seen pictures of the process and it is quite involved. I saw one of a Cadillac where the steering wheel was moved to right but hooked up to original column on the left with a chain behind the dash board. This looks to be well done and you won’t find another. At one time there was a large export market for RHD American cars, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and I’m sure other countries I don’t know about. I think they all pretty much just drive Toyotas now.
Interesting car from the factory: power windows but no a/c or disk brakes. (Mine has disk brakes but crank windows.) I assume that they mounted a steering box from a Aussi Valiant with a section of it’s K-frame grafted to the Charger’s to support the RHD steering box and Pitman arm. I have seen these conversions when visiting Sydney, they are typically well done. I have never had an opportunity to see one up on a lift. If I lived nearer I would try to see the car just to see how the conversion was done.
Imported from the US to Kiwi land, converted to RHD, then exported back to the US???
I’m guessing somebody saw $$$$$ signs.
I don’t think the owner “decided” to convert this to RHD, I believe it was required to drive the car in New Zealand.
1-of-a-kind in that this is the first time I’ve seen a 1st-gen Charger with right hand drive. The odometer should have been fixed at the time of the engine transplant. Looks nice and the RHD is obviously a novelty but there are too many unknowns mechanically for me and turnkey examples are selling for not much more than this car.
I don’t get the appeal of RHD vehicles in this country. This conversion was very popular among the VW crowd a while back. I guess the novelty is why.
Or because they just had have something different. Or had to spend more money on their car. Not good as a driver.
Maybe because there are soooo many cool RHD Aussie cars that were never sold in the US?
I’ve seen a few JDM Jap cars over the years. I’ve never seen any RHD Aussie cars here in the USA. I don’t know why. I know I’d buy one.
I’ve always wanted a right hand drive car. I’d put a second non functioning wheel on the left and strap the 2 year old grandson in a car seat and let everyone think he was driving.
Now THAT would be funny! Not sure the cops would laugh though
They would when they got close enough to see it.
Probably not, but DILLIGAF. :)
Weren’t the engines in B-bodies slightly off-centre towards the passenger side, like 2-3″ or so? Wonder how that all works. Interesting car!
Yes, to clear the steering box. I’d like to see what kind of steering box they used on here. I like the color and would stick with it. But the price is too high by 10K or so.
Not legally required in nz .I have 68 plymouth valiant in nz since 76 ,still left hand drive .You just had to have a left hand drive permit .
Yes if the car is over 25 yes or a specialty car. Still hard to drive left hand drive on the left side. See my comment above with my son’s Oldsmobile, yikes
This particular Charger actually has a known and interesting history. It was first registered in New Zealand on 26 September, 1967. Its original registration number is DF5583. Registration was cancelled on 5 March 2001, when the mileage was approximately 155,000 miles – it apparently still had its 383 at the time.
The first owner was a gent named Lincoln Laidlaw, who, after returning from WWII, founded Lincoln Toys, which produced a range of toys that were marketed under the slogan “Boy Oh Boy! A Lincoln Toy!”.
At the time, new cars in New Zealand generally had to be RHD, so Ford, GM and Chrysler sold a small selection of factory-built RHD US models (usually Canadian built). Highly unusually, this Charger isn’t one of them, and was actually converted to RHD in Los Angeles, California, by a company named Auto Conversions.
Oops, forgot to add, the first owner traded it in during August 1974, when it had 71,000ml on the odometer, meaning he did around 10,000ml a year in it – unusually high for NZ at the time, so he must have driven it frequently. It has another 11 owners listed after him. It featured in the June 1970 issue of New Zealand Hot Rod magazine.
Interesting Scott. Do you know if Zephyrs were ever taken to the States? I used to see them in Sydney back in the day
You as in LINCOLN LOGS ???
I used to play with those as a kid on my uncles farm when visiting.
I remember the box-barely.
How interesting the background on the owner & the new Zealand hotrod mag story.
Oh just imagine the thunder of that big old 440/4 brl tacking up! Rolling through the hinterlands of N. Z. , or a visit to our friends down under.
Beautiful looking car. I’ve always loved the styling of the 1966-67 Dodge Charger. I’ve never seen a RHD version before of the Charger. This one must have been meant for either the UK 🇬🇧 or possibly Australia 🇦🇺 . If only more pictures were posted of the car.
The description mentions that the car was in New Zealand for a while😉
Okay. Or possibly New Zealand.
Scott M, great information. Much appreciated. In 1998, the Charger was purchased by a guy named Steve in NZ and he brought the Charger to the US where he sold it in 2001. The car was repainted in its original silver color paint and had the interior upholstery redone somewhere between 2001 and 2006 time frame. The car was last sold at the spring 2006 Carlisle auction. When last sold at the 2006 auction to John, the Charger was in very nice driving condition. John was a very good friend for several years and I am assisting John’s widow in selling the Charger, with his unexpected passing in late 2023. There are more photos listed on the Craigslist website posting. I am in the process reinstalling the rear axle and leaf springs and wheels/tires so it can be rolled. As far as the conversion to right hand drive, I can tell you it was done extremely well. Scott M says it was done in Los Angeles, California, by a company named Auto Conversions. Again, great information. Scott M made reference to the registration in New Zealand on 26 September, 1967 with the registration number of DF5583. We have a copy of the original New Zealand 26 September, 1967 registration for historical purposes and we have the original DF5583 tag. Thanks.
We were a few charges exported to Canada in my decoding book, two in Netherlands
Wow. That Charger has a fascinating history as well as being a genuine world traveler! The next owner will have quite the story to tell at Cars & Coffee.
Hi, I am the guy helping the widow sell the Charger. I just realized the Craigslist ad expired. I have the same information that was posted on Craigslist posted on Hagerty’s website. Here’s the link: https://www.hagerty.com/marketplace/classified/1967-Dodge-Charger/5dae87fa-2887-4361-ae13-3b505c57d286
Stay tuned for more updates. We are installing the rear axle and springs back on the vehicle with new hangers and shackles and bolts as well as the front rotors, hubs, and wheels etc. so we can roll the Charger. Even bigger news. The 440 motor runs. Started up very well. We intend to post a video soon. I will ad more pics and video to the Hagerty website once we have them ready to post. Thanks.
Unfortunately that’s typical of craigslist, they expire after only a few days. Another thing I’ve never liked is that they rarely ever post enough photos to show much of the car.