The late 1960s was the era of “Dodge Fever”. It was an advertising campaign designed to make Dodge’s cars appear more exciting than what Chevrolet or Ford had to offer. Within that space, there was the “White Hat Special”, an options package that also included a vinyl roof (often white). The selling dealer’s 1969 Charger came with that feature for $238 extra and is a one-family car since its original purchase in Colorado. Located in Englewood, this Charger is somewhat original, though the engine has been rebuilt and the paint color changed. It’s available here on Cars Remember When for $69,900. Thanks for the Mopar tip, Mitchell G.!
Perhaps fueled by Dodge Fever, the 1968-70 Chargers were in big demand. After sales of 92,000 copies in 1968, Dodge still found 85,000 more buyers in 1969 when the seller’s car was built. Besides an optional 383 cubic inch V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor, this vehicle had the White Hap Special feature, a combination of extras at a bargain price. Besides the main goody, a vinyl roof, the option also included a light package, fancy steering wheel, “deep dish” wheel covers, and whitewall tires. Having spent all of its 57 years with the same family, the odometer reading of 84,000 miles could be legit.
The family spent money on two main projects over the years. One, the 383 V8 has been rebuilt (when?). And, two, the exterior paint color has been changed to a lighter shade of blue than the original. No big attempts were made to hide that fact, as you can see the factory darker blue under the hood, in the doors, and in the trunk. The color shift is nice enough, but wouldn’t that detract from the value of the Charger today?
Loads of extras added up to a $4,357 sticker price, including an automatic transmission, power steering and brakes, and factory air conditioning. The owners added headers and a dual exhaust and switched the fuel pump to an electric one. Perhaps the car has never lived outside of Colorado as it was first sold in Denver, just a hop, skip, and a jump from where the car is today. Does a one-owner, Robin’s Egg Blue Charger suit your needs?
If I may add, not correct, but “The Dodge Rebellion” was actually earlier,, ’66, ’67 and featured Pamela Austin, no white hat, but my old man HATED those commercials, or any “rebellion” for that matter. It’s, in part, why we didn’t get along. In ’68 or ’69, a young pixie model named Joan Parker took over with the “Dodge Fever” campaign, and featured the white hat, mini skirt, and go-go boots. It was pretty clear the market they were going for. Aside from the white top, and discounted price, it was nothing special then, but now, well, someone feels they should get a premium for their white hat Charger. I was flabbergasted at the $75K price tag for an unfinished one, so I suppose they feel justified here. I can’t find an exact number of “White Hat” cars were sold, numbers vary, some say 104,000 ’69 Chargers were sold, but no breakdown on White Hat. I don’t think it was very many. The ’69 Charger appealed to a certain blood and guts muscle car group, these were for those that didn’t follow that, mostly Joan Parker wannabes.
Yeah, I get where your old man was coming from in the same way as today’s word “disrupter”. Go out and contribute to society and stuff the disruption.
As for the car I like it a lot. I can handle the color and drivetrain just the way it is. Keep this one for the future.
I remember that well.
Howard I did;t care about the Dodge rebellion in 1969.I ordered a dart swinger 340 4 speed and a 3,90 gear. I ran 13.60;s at bob’s place in Union Grove.
Unfortunately, the muffler shop that did/redid the dual exhaust didn’t do it correctly, as it’s hanging down too low in the back; the tips should be up against the valance. Otherwise, this appears to be a very nice car, I have the same color interior; sadly colorful interiors are a thing of the past. The original dealer badge on the decklid is great, but I wouldn’t have wanted one riveted onto my car!! Good luck to the next owner! :-)
Considering 90,000 of the 108,000 1969 Chargers made came with a vinyl roof..is it really special?..LOL.On the other hand..prefer this very basic looking charger to all the R/T clones running around..very simple very clean.
Nice clean survivor, real value is around $45k – $50k. It’s not an R/T, or an SE, but it does have a big block with A/C. $70 large is a big stretch on this car. The market has tumbled and to be honest, I’m not sure if it will ever go up. People would say, buying something like this was “money in the bank”, not anymore.
Maybe 30ish..
30-ish will buy something rusty-ish. Are you a Charger owner?
I don’t follow Mopar values closely but I’d tend to agree with @KHayes, it seems ambitiously priced to me. The market has definitely declined the past year plus – save for some of the rare and or supercars. There are so many other cars I’d rather own if I were going to drop seventy large on an old school, but I admit, I’m not a Mopar or no car dude. Knowing how many of them feel about their preferred marque though, I’d not be shocked if one ponied up the requisite amount of big face Benjis to take this baby blue Charger home.
True,true muscle car prices are falling. At the same time the 1978 Lincoln I bought 7 or 8 years ago for 6k is a almost a 10k car today. The un cool stuff most of us can afford is what is going up. Ah, the secondary market! LOL my 1993 F150 is now a 7k truck. I paid 3500 for it 8 years ago. I’ve done some study to it but it’s still.
Those colors! That vinyl top! Those wheelcovers! That rub strip! It may not have been rare when new but now that so many of these were turned into R/T “tribute cars” if not Dukes replicas, it’s great to see this one!
But yeah, not 70 grand great.
This one will probably have a limited market. While it is a very nice and original. example of one of the most desirable 1960s muscle cars, it is too “soft” looking.
This is what the missus drove back then. The guys spending big bucks on 1969 Chargers want a macho look in black or red or white with wide tires and a rumbling 383 or 440 Magnum or Hemi. I suppose you could put Magnum 500s and wide tires on it, but it would look like it was trying to be something it wasn’t.
Agree. The rub strip, wheel covers, whitewalls and baby blue color are generally not what the buyers of a ’69 Charger are looking for.
This car will appeal to baby boomers who want original. They had WW tires, and those full wheel covers were a step above the dog dish hub caps.
As for performance, duals and headers are already there. Odd they didn’t add a 4bbl.
The rub strip is just an aftermarket stick on , it can come off. the big issue is the baby blue paint. its not original, and definitely low buck as the true color is seen on the door jams, under the hood, etc. to strip it all down and correctly paint it the right color is going to cost a good amount of money.
You got me thinking about the 1968 Charger R/T in the Bullitt chase scene.
That white horizontal rub strip (an obvious add-on) probably saved a lot of door dings.
Why would a Colorado car have a Georgia plate?
This is a dealer/flipper.Dealers don’t have to register cars they
have for sale,they use dealer plates.
In this color combination, and having a bench seat with automatic on the column, looks like a “secretary’s car”. I always liked the styling of this generation Charger, but the prices for these (especially this example) are too rich for my blood.
In regard to the “secretary’s car” comment, my cousin purchased a new 1968 Super Bee with a 383, auto on the column and a bench seat. He was no secretary, but the bench seat and column auto were, in is mind, perfect if one ever consented to go on a date with him.
My ’69 Super Bee bench seat column shifter.
Comparing this car to a Super Bee is kind of apples to oranges don’t you think?
Also, I agree with some other comments re: the price, seems overly optimistic to me.
Old Rodder…My comment is more directed to the “column shifter bench seat” comment than a RR-SB comparison. They weren’t that un-common.
Sorry if I struck a nerve with the bench seat / column shift comment. Are all Mopar guys this touchy? I was just saying this particular Charger in that baby blue with white top, whitewall tires and full wheelcovers, and bench seat looks kind of feminine. The Super Bee looks great. My mom’s friend back in the early 80s drove a dark green 69 Super Bee 383 auto on the column. But it did not have whitewalls and wheelcovers either…that did not look like a secretary car. I always thought it was funny a middle aged woman drove that until I found out it actually was her husband’s car and he let her drive it for awhile after her car got wrecked.
Yee-haaa! I’ve always loved the 1966-69 Dodge Charger. Unless I’m mistaken, the 1968-1969 Charger was used in the TV series the Dukes of Hazzard.
They used the 1969 and when supplies ran low, they welded 69 rears to 68 bodies.
That’s crazy! How the hell is that possible?
A good friend of mine in the USAF bought a documented Dukes from Warner Bros in April 1991. You could see the welds that covered the “round” side-marker lights, and the dash had the vertical lines/grain vs a “leather look” pattern.
I like the blue/white/blue. In the video the typical sale boy didn’t mention that the tach didn’t work. Wonder how much that would cost to fix?
The decision to color change this car from it’s very attractive original EB3 light blue metallic to this sky/baby non-metallic blue (which appears to be a factory color, but one that Chrysler didn’t offer until ’74 or so) was a very poor one, and ought to be reflected in the asking price, but most certainly is not.
I’ll take a dozen for 30k ,maybe even 40 .
I owned a 70 Charger 318….I disliked the winey sounding starter sound. also I didn’t like the interior finishes. But it was new, bright red and looked fast!! I drove it for a year and then sold it and bought the 1st of 5 T-Birds. This Charger has many fine points, esp the motor and interior. What I don’t like is the cheap paint work. If you are going to change colors, do it right. all of the jams and undersides of the hood and trunk need to match. For 60K, I would also want the underside of the car and the engine bay detailed correctly. A shaker can of white paint on the exhaust with over spray just doesn’t cut it!
That “dive-bomber” starter is a classic Chrysler sound that was used in many movies and TV shows on non-Mopar cars.
That “whiny” sounding starter was certainly unique sounding compared to what the rest of the industry was using back then, but it was also the best starter in the business. Chrysler was using a gear reduction starter decades before the rest of the industry. Today that’s the industry standard, but the modern gear reduction starters don’t sound the same because of the more powerful neodymium magnets that are used in modern starters have allowed them to be “miniaturized”
never ends with the sky high mopar prices
Supply and demand …
I never thought I’d ever use the word ugly and Dodge Charger in the same sentence. But with that white top and light blue color, there it is, one ugly Dodge Charger
This color takes the “muscle” outta muscle car.
Had a beautiful 69′ Dodge Charger R/T back in the 90’s so the 2nd gen. of these cars are my favorite. It has the exact same style wheel covers I had on mine. Actually think the body lines of these year Chargers actually look better with a vinyl roof. It’s the paint I don’t like. I would have kept it the original color, and those hideous tacked on rub strips on the sides have to go, I don’t care how many door dings they might save, they just destroy the beautiful aesthetic body lines of the car. Otherwise a really nice Charger, but to agree with others, I think the asking price is a bit lofty for what it is.
I totally agree on vinyl tops. I had a ’69 and now a ’70 Charger R/T, both R-4 red with white vinyl tops and interiors. The roofline stands out in the rear gunnels with contrasting colors. Best color combo IMO.