One of my favorite nearby neighborhood eateries has a Blue Plate Special, a different daily offering with a particular dish served at a discounted price. Monday is my favorite, as it’s turkey and dressing, and although the meal is only a dollar less than on other days you get an extra side plus the drink is included, so I psychologically feel like I’m beating the system. The Dodge marketing team came up with a similar marketing concept in the spring of ’69 called the White Hat Special, but instead of being culinary-based, it focused on accessory packages offered at a discount. This 1969 Dodge Charger is claimed to be one such equipped vehicle, but I’m just not sure, and I hope some of our Mopar aficionados can help out on this one. The car is located in Alabaster, Alabama, and can be seen here on eBay, where bidding has currently reached $40,700.
So here’s where I’m stumped. The seller calls the car a white hat special in the body of his listing, but according to my findings on both the passion4mopars and Dodge Charger websites, the code in ’69 for a Charger WHS seems to be A41, but I’m not seeing that on the fender tag. We also get a photo of the build sheet, and I’m not spotting anything about the accessory package on that either. Here’s where I’m hoping some of our readers can confirm or deny whether or not this is indeed a White Hat Special, and if I’m just missing something obvious.
The car is still wearing its original Medium Blue Poly color, and while the seller says the paint is old he doesn’t mention whether or not it’s the original finish. He does like the patina, and I kind of do too, but the body does have the typical rust in the quarter panels. Other than that, it actually looks pretty good outside overall, and that vinyl top is in surprisingly good shape, especially for white.
Under the hood, the 383 is said to run, but that’s about all the information we get about the drivetrain, other than out back there’s a Sure Grip rear end, and the car has good brakes. We aren’t provided with any photos from the underside either, although the seller says that there is absolutely no rust in the frame rails, but it does have some corrosion on the trunk pan. The Charger is also equipped with a 4-Speed, so that’s good news.
Things inside could use a good refreshing, especially the driver’s seat, and there’s no word on whether or not the gauges are functioning. But we’ve seen lots of B-Bodies on Barn Finds that look a whole lot worse, both inside and out, and if you’re just looking for a driver maybe this one’s not that far off. What are your thoughts on this 1969 Dodge Charger, and its White Hat Special proclamation?
Oh yeah, Crusty Ramblings worthy,,
I had a car just like this, only a ’70, I think mid ’70’s, I paid $500 bucks for it. It was a POS, but boy howdy, went great in a straight line. If I may help, I don’t think there would be a reference anywhere about being a “White Hat Special” in the code. The ad campaign was the tail end of the “Dodge Rebellion” days( with Pamela Austin, and my old man hated those commercials. Anything with “rebellion” in them) and cartoon ads portrayed the other car makers in black hats, as the bad guys, and the Dodge Boys all had white hats, apparently depicting the “good guys”. As race conscious as we are today in our advertising, that wouldn’t fly today, but this car was called “The White Hat Charger” with vinyl top, special wheel covers and that dash, as this marvelous cartoon ad will confirm. The zenith of animation at the time, btw,,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3fhQw-bSF
The car itself and the price? Even “Crusty” can’t find the right words, and with a general down turn in prices( recent Mecum TV confirms), if someone is actually bidding on this, it’s no wonder shrinks have such a great business these days,,,this is pure malarky folks.
Forgiveness, apparently, the video doesn’t work, but that was the deal.
Also, those old print ads used to have a white hat planted on the “Dodge” at the bottom of the page.Strictly from memory, I think that’s as far as the “white hat” got. There were no “white hat specials” per se, it was just a marketing gimmick.
White Hat Special? They might think that because of the white vinal roof?
Hi Mike, actually, the video showed, the white top was part of the package,,to simulate a “white hat” or so it would seem. GO PACK!! That’s right, once a Packer fan, ALWAYS a Packer fan!
Go Pack is right Howard! And it is Bear week. Take care!
You guys are a riot. True fans, even this season, that says a lot. Good for you. Never did come to understand the lure of American football, oh well. My wife says that is one of the things she likes a about me.
Hi Grant, well, to be honest, it’s more of a tribute to my old man, who was the biggest Packer fan, and that was in the Bart Starr/Jim Taylor days. During the Packer games, my mom packed us up and went to grandmas, as he would get pretty vocal. An “armchair” coach if I ever saw one. Ironically, he never went to a Packer game, and just before he died, my brother took him to a game. The 2 teams he hated, were the Vikings, and Da’ Bearz,,
Here we go again. Hi price for plenty of work! The person who buys this and want to restore it. I hope you have deep pockets. Or just fix all the rust and drive it. I noticed the rust on the dash/windshield area not cool. Unless the frame is clean this is a $22,000 car. It’s getting very hard to get Mopar parts of quality not junk. The only thing I like it’s the 383/4 speed ☺️Good luck to the next owner. 🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
Well, at least he is not claiming it to be a low mileage car. It seems to be the biggest fairy tail today with these cars no matter what shape the car is in.. Also, if the car is worth the restoration in terms of value after its completed, why wouldn’t the owners do it?? Just a thought. I guess it’s like the ‘69 bee I sold a couple years back, it was in great shape with some blisters in the paint- sold for 27k a month later I seen it on eBay with paint touched up for 55k. Oh well I thought I was selling to a gentleman who always wanted a bee in high school when new and only now could afford one. His dream car! Ahhh the stories! Only mother goose had more!
I hate scumbags like that.On the other hand,if they’re
upfront about flipping,then you know who you’re selling to.
This really ticks me off with the flippers when they do that
to a Widow,who thinks the buyer with love & cherish the car.
Agree completely. Buyers in general (not referring to this listing)who pull the “Eddie Haskell” thing on the elderly in particular aren’t on my list of people with integrity.
Eddie Haskell,,that dates you my friend. Did you know, Eddie Haskell( Ken Osmond, no relation) became an L.A. police officer after the show? Can you imagine being stopped by him? In an FYI, Bart Simpson is supposed to be the son of Eddie Haskell. So much so, psychiatrists have an affliction known as “The Eddie Haskell Syndrome”. 2 personalities, one for adults, one regular.
The White Hat Special sale promotion began with the 1967 model year, and included the Gen 1 Charger being treated to an awkward vinyl roof.
I think the top has been replaced, due to the fact that the “Charger” emblems are missing from the sail panels.
https://youtu.be/4JhzwNuo75M
Dodge WHS commercial
Doesn’t look like a WHS Charger
Wonder if the pretty girl came with it? Wonder if she has changed any?
Parts-only donor.
Dodge Boys Have More Fun was the advertisement slogan they used when I was a little kid.
Only could go for a white vinyl roof if the entire car was white, otherwise no.
Friend had a brand new all white Gran Torino with a white vinyl roof with all the bells & whistles.
It was a nice ride, for a Ford ! lol
One of my professors at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan his name was Jame Day, had a 1969 Dodge Charger blue and white, White Hat Special, that he purchased from Garrity Motors in Hamtramck, Mi. His car had a 318 V8 with auto transmission. It was a sharp looking car that i wished I had as a twenty year old going to Wayne State.
No it is not a white hat special. White hat special has vinyl roof, simulated wood steering wheel, hood mount turn signals, light group, remote mirror, white walls, and deep wheel covers. Wrong wheels, wrong tires, wrong steering wheel, doesn’t have remote mirror does have vinyl roof V1W and hood Turn signals L31. It doesn’t have A01 light group and the A41 white hat sales code on fender tag.