You may be thinking the same thing I did upon first glancing at this 1968 Dodge Charger, that it’s just another high-dollar, already pilfered project with oodles of rust for the next owner to contend with. The initial visual appeal here is on the low end of the spectrum, but let’s take a closer look and see what positives we can find that might justify the seller’s asking price of $23,500. Barn Finds reader T.J. found this B-Body here on Facebook Marketplace out west in Fountain Valley, California, and we’d like to say thanks to him for the tip!
The pictures seem to tell the story of a Charger that somebody purchased to restore, but they didn’t get too far as the only major differences I’m spotting in the “before” photos are that the glass is still in place and some of the interiors is intact, which the later photos show the windows, hood, and most of the inside components removed along with numerous other items. While the seats aren’t looking very good, the owner claims that 90% of the parts are included, including the complete dash, although its condition remains a mystery.
However, once the interior was gutted, we got to see the naked floor, which seems to live up to the seller’s claim that it’s super solid. This is a decent indicator of the possibility that the platform might be in equally nice shape as well. The seller mentions this one is a California car, and with that sunbaked finish, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s spent most of its life living in a Mopar-friendly climate.
With almost no background information provided, we have to go by the photos to evaluate what stage the car is in now, and it looks like the driver’s door has been replaced for sure. But there’s a chance the rest of the panels are original, and even though they’re an eyesore to look at I’m not spotting an excessive amount of the typical deep corrosion these cars are often plagued with, so maybe someone skilled in bodywork can get the metal smoothed-out and ready for a fresh coat of paint.
There’s no mention of a build sheet, fender tag, and no VIN listed, but what’s in the engine bay now is a partially dismantled 318 with no info on whether or not it’s original to the car. Plenty of circumstances could be the reason why this one’s a stalled work-in-progress, such as the owner running out of funds to move forward or realizing it’s a bigger endeavor than he anticipated.
While this Dodge is presently lacking in aesthetics, it does seem reasonably solid compared to many and might also be a good candidate to put a more potent powerplant in, especially if there’s no tag, or the small block isn’t still the numbers-matching motor. What directions would you head in if taking over this 1968 Charger?
I know I know…market value…blah blah, but 23K? Maybe I’m getting too sour in my twilight years…
Charger projects seem to be dropping from the sky recently!
For $23k I could buy a new Challenger body and panels. As the rest probably need to be replaced – engine bay and interior – why would I want to get involved in a body that needs to be derusted and prepped for paint? I hope I don’t have to wait too long for the bottom to fall out of this market.
Oh man, I love the gen 2 Chargers but especially the ‘68 with the round taillights. Cars like this one are what makes me wish I was stupid rich so I could invest the many beaucoup bucks it’ll take to get this once beautiful mopar back to where it belongs- with a 440/6 pack and a manual transmission in what looks like B5 blue. I don’t care if it originally was a 318/727 car, this is one of the very few cars that I would happily spend waaaaaayyy too much money to get it to where I’d be proud to drive it every sunny day.
Looks like the stunt Charger from Bullitt
I’m not gonna waste words. $23k for this??? You gotta be kidding!
$23,500.. why? .. 🤦🤦🚶
They are not even covering it up. If i had a turd i would be a blanket over it and say lets make a deal. This is most likely in the 2k realms
The market will fall out on this stuff and then they will all be sorry. I’ve restored several cars in the last 45 years. The time, work, money and aggravation just isn’t worth it. As I just turned 68, I just want to jump in a car and drive. But, with all these totally useless price guides out there today, the bottom line is ANY car is worth only what someone is willing to pay.
Well, 23.5k, I not going to lie. I kind of liked these back when I was stacking them and flattening them but they were everywhere and they were rust buckets and I was still lost in the 50s. I had a Cuda that was a piece of garbage that at the time I paid quite a bit for. That car along with a very unreliable Imperial convertible turned me off Mopars and I retreated back to my Fords and GMs. Not until my super cheap non rusted Challenger convertible did I slowly return. I threw a 440 in it and it worked. I did not have to work on it or walk every time I drove it. Like many cars these are way over hyped between them flying through the air with hillbillies hollering or to be chased through the streets of San Francisco. It is played and played and auction houses and cable TV have rode the wave. The 5,500.00 dollar field turd and now this. To be fair the field turd should be 500.00 and, ” to me” this should be in the 5 to 7k range but insanity and hype along with stupidity have fueled junk like this. Just buy one finished. If you don’t want some one off hemi thing there are many in the 50 to 70k range that are turn key. Unless you hoarded a warehouse full of crap for these and are a half decent mechanic and body guy. You will be broke, divorced, and will never finish a car like this. Buy a decent one and walk away from over hyped junk and parts cars.
Way to much.
A dream car,.for a rich man to have done by a reputable shop.
People with cars like this are often misinformed or want to make some profit off of a bad decision. What would I do first, tackle the rust through. There are so many projects to choose from most of which the seller has overpaid for, chalk it up to greed, poor vision.
Keep these toasted ole Chargers coming, might eventually get enough of’em to make one good one. Half a million $ later lol
As the OLD saying goes you never know what you got.until its gone .As like a lot of us reliving those past days an memories.Ahh !! If only I could go back to those years Sorry you cannot Ok just for a moment !! 1972 just out of the Army I had traded my 60 Chevy Impala 2 Dr HT plus some cash for 68 Charger R/T 440. 4 SD .Driving one day on the Interstate I heard a quick Burr. an the camshaft broke into a hundred pieces. Replaced it with a used. 440 an sold it for cheap price .Never had any luck with Mopar products Went back to go old reliable Chevys. How many times can we kick our selfies,for. letting those cars get away ,even IF. we kept them we probley wouldn’t have enough space to keep them OK.!!! back to reality Your dream is over
Reliable and Chevy, do not go together unless reliably breaking down.
Bwah, ha, ha, ha. I am still driving several I bought 25 and 30 years ago. In fact today was 150.00 87 Caprice day. 86,700 miles in 1999. Today 261,000 miles, 1 carb rebuild and ac overhaul, 1 paint job. Not sure which ones you had but like anything most had Vegas or Camaros that they thought were sportbikes…….
Pretty dumb comment Roger.
Looking at it makes me chuckle
This is a money pit.Way to much money.
Just my experience with them.
Floors to die for…..maybe ?
I guess everyone has their own opinion as to their preference an reliability pertaining to autos. Some work well for some people ,others don,t