how and why you got your first charger

[Sinister68]

Four score and seven years ago...

Ah well, just read this!   

[jaak]

I have always liked dodges, my granddad had a dart when I was a kid, I still have it he died when I was 10, I'm 29 now and still have it (although it needs restoring and its a 4-door) I guess thats why I never fixed it up, well anyways I have always liked dodges and as a teen I loved cars especially muscle cars, well after finishing school, I was working and had a little money and decided I wanted to buy a project, I knew it would probably be a mopar, well I worked with a guy who had a 69 charger as a daily driver and was fixing it up as he drove it. I have seen many charger pics and chargers on tv, but after looking at one up close I thought that was an awesome car, a long sleek car that just looked like it could kick your ass, I knew then I wanted a charger.......well after about a 3 yr search I bought a 69 rt, very complete car wasn't numbers matching but came with a 68, 440. As I started dissassembling It was in bad shape alot of rust and shoddy body work, well a year later I happen across another rt, Pretty much a solid car and it ran but was missing everything, alot of trim , some glass, all the interior, except for a pair of 70 buckets, so I bought it and stripped and kept what I needed off rt 1, ebayed the leftovers and now I"m resto moding the 2nd rt. I came out pretty good I guess with the first car, I give 3000 for it in 1999, I kept all the glass, every piece of trim, seats, dash, console, fenders, doors, hood, decklid, motortrans, and numerous small parts, perfect grill, I ebayed some some extra stuff, left over stuff, traded, bartered, etc etc. and I figured I got to keep all parts off 1st car and probably made 1800-1900 of my money back. If your wondering I paid 2500 for the 2nd car in 2000, but I pretty much bought it to have a rust free rollor to start with. Then I had 2 kids, and in 2005 I bought a house with a 32x40 shop so over the last 5 years, I have dissassembled, bought sold traded, to get stuff I needed, and planned, so now I'm getting to finally working/resto moding it. 

[jaak]

I grew up in Southern California. In '68 I was 20 years old and working as an attendant at a Standard Station in Sunland. One January morning, I was reading the L.A. Times and spotted an ad for the most beautiful car I'd ever seen. It was for the new Dodge Charger and they started at around 2600 or 2700 as I recall. The next day I was at the Pasadena Dodge dealership. By the time I walked out of the dealership I had a new yellow R/T on order. I forget how much cash I put down, but my '66 Suzuki X6 Hustler motorcycle was part of the down payment on the $3,500.00 car. I bought a 1946 Plymouth Deluxe for $50.00 to cover my transportation needs until the Charger arrived. I'll never forget going to pick the car up. Even the guys at the dealership were admiring it and said the the bumblebee stripes were starting to grow on them. I had the car less than two years, but the many great memories associated with it never left me. That led me to find my current '68 back in 1997 and restoring it to look just like my old one. Needless to say, when I take it for a cruise now and turn on and Doors or CCR CD, I'm 20 again and it feels good. Bob

thats a good story, Bob!

[Crazy Larry]

The following is an excerpt from a book I wrote on the making of a movie that features a Dodge Charger.
The Charger is now owned by me after I purchased it from the production upon completion of the movie.
Here is the cover from the book:



THE DODGE CHARGER (Part 1 - had to split that chapter into 2 posts to get around the 9,000 character limit)

       One final actor was needed before the shooting began for And I Lived...the Dodge Charger. Chris and I shared a love for the era of the muscle car, a time when the big three in Detroit competed for the fastest car on the streets. From the late sixties to the mid seventies, the muscle car owned the highways and streets of every town America. Hollywood would catch on and films began to feature car chase sequences with the muscle car. It is my humble opinion that, throughout the years, the Dodge Charger was the star of them all. It took part in the 1968 chase scene that started it all, by battling Steve McQueen on the streets of San Francisco in the film, Bullitt. Peter Fonda used it to evade police in Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry in 1974. It still can be found today in Hollywood—Wesley Snipes drove it to hunt vampires in the 1998 film, Blade. The Dodge Charger even made its way from the big screen to the television set, while it carried The Dukes of Hazzard over the fields and through the mud from 1979 to 1985. From short cameos to the role as the hero's car, the Charger logged too many appearances in motion pictures to list here (I have counted thirty-two so far—but that's for another book). I wanted to add one more appearance to the list with And I Lived, so I wrote the muscle car into the script. Our main characters would drive around in a Dodge Charger.
     In the screenplay, a car chase scene takes place towards the end. It called for the Charger to outrun a tractor trailer, and evade two rent-a-cop cars who try to run it off the road. Why a car chase scene in an independent, low-budget, first-feature film? There were two major reasons behind the decision.
     The first: Why not? When studying films, I had developed the love for the car chase scene. The energy, the danger, the quick last-minute decisions—all of them are fun to watch. I thought the opportunity to direct one would be fantastic, and there was an extra bonus: including a car chase in the film and actually pulling it off would add greatly to the production value. A successful filmmaker makes a movie seem like it cost more to make than it actually did. This helps get a bigger return on your budget investment. My aim was just that. By having a car chase scene full of kinetic energy, not to mention a few car wrecks, I saw And I Lived standing above and beyond the typical art house-two-guys-talking-in-a-coffee shop-independent film. Plus, we would have a great time filming it. So, why not?
     The second reason: H.B. Halicki. In the seventies, independent films were few and far between. This filmmaker rose from his car dealership and scrap metal business to film a movie on his own. His name was Henry Halicki, and the film was Gone in 60 Seconds (1974). I stumbled upon this man's story while in the military, searching for stories of inspiration to move me through the hard times (when dreams seem unattainable). For a person looking to make a movie outside of the film school/Hollywood system, Halicki's story is canned inspiration.
     Here was a man, born into a working class family with twelve siblings in Dunkirk (a small town in western New York State), who just wanted to make some of the most amazing car chase scenes ever filmed. A "Do It Yourself" philosophy was created from his successful years working in self-owned auto salvage businesses, which he started from the ground up, after a move to California. With his work ethic, using his own money, a ten-page script, guerrilla filmmaking tactics, and a 1973 Mustang Mach 1, Halicki filmed a movie including a forty-minute car chase scene in and around the streets of Los Angeles. The relentless filmmaker did his own stunt driving as well as his own directing and producing. Those who worked with Halicki explain how he held on to his vision of the film and wouldn't stop for any hurdle. He would modify the storyline or action scene to work with all the stunt mishaps and filming mistakes. With the wrecking an unprecedented 93 automobiles, Halicki's Gone in 60 Seconds went on to gross forty-million dollars, two sequels (Deadline Auto Theft, The Junkman), and a fan following in America and Europe. Halicki had been labeled "The Car-Crash-king" and had a self-started career in the movies. All of his success was achieved using his own money which he had made from his auto salvage and junk yard businesses and without the assistance of the major Hollywood studios.
     Tragically in 1989, H.B. Halicki was killed during the making of Gone in 60 Seconds 2, when a stunt car crashed into a water tower resulting in its collapse onto the set. Support cables violently snapped and a nearby telephone pole was severed at the base. Halicki was struck by the falling telephone pole—he died instantly. Here was a man who just lived to put cars onto film. His story has inspired many to follow their dreams and move ahead no matter what their background. I saw the filming of the car chase scene in And I Lived as a way to pay respect to this great independent filmmaker. Every time I think of turning back, H.B. Halicki's example rings in my head and gives me the courage to move forward.22
     Now, finding a Dodge Charger to fit within our budget was the question. Nothing is impossible in this world—after all NASA has cameras on Mars—but finding a Dodge Charger would prove to be almost as difficult. Well maybe not that difficult, but it was a challenge and a half. We often made jokes about changing the company's name from "Charger Films" to "Camaro Films" or even "Mustang Films"—those cars are a dime a dozen. There are Camaro and Mustang traders with thousands for sale. In upstate New York, the Charger supply was pretty thin, so...you guessed it, we would have to turn to our old producer friend, eBay.
    Our spending limit was about three thousand dollars. This would rule out the 1968 to 1970 Charger models, which all shared the same body style (the one we wanted). One of those in good condition ran $5,000 and up. Chris and I would keep watch out on eBay, hoping for a good deal. It was July, and we were out of time so a decision would have to be made. We were about to go with a 1974 Dodge Charger, which was in our price range. Dodge changed the body style after 1970 and the Charger was issued a different look, complete with a pointier front end. Some like it (Mel Gibson rides away in one at the end of Payback), we clearly did not. Our hearts and the storyboards were set on the classic 1968 body style, but we were out of time and we couldn't spare any more cash. At least it was a Dodge Charger.
     Enter Zenon Dacko, my father and my hero. A muscle car fan and driver back in his twenties, my father was interested in what kind of car we were going to get for the film. Now my father, like any good father would, disagreed with my exiting the military and pursuing feature films. He tried to talk me into working for the local union of linemen at an upstate New York power company where he had worked for the last thirty years. I told him, I am happier making movies. Nevertheless, my father supports all the efforts of his children and always had his opinion of what "looked good" in movies (even though he claims he doesn't like movies at all). When we told him we were looking to buy a 1974 Dodge Charger his eyes widened with disgust. "Oh, no," he stated, "That car looks terrible. You don't want that in your movie." My father then offered to invest some money into the purchase of a good looking Dodge Charger—a 1968 Charger. He would put his dream of buying a Harley Davidson motorcycle on hold just so we could have the perfect car for the movie. What a guy—my first investor.
     Now with seven-thousand dollars as a cap on our Charger fund, Chris, and I set out to the summer car shows to look for Dodge Chargers. It was mid June of 2002.

[Crazy Larry]

The DODGE CHARGER (Part 2)

    The largest car show in upstate New York, the Syracuse Nationals, would be in town soon. In preparation, the local muscle car traders held a swap meet. We arrived late and by the time we got there most of the cars were sold or en route to their new owners' homes. There were only a few cars remaining. In the center of the field sat a 1970 Dodge Charger. Red in color, it sat with a crowd of folks looking at it. Quickly my Father, Chris and I walked over to the silent car. Posted on the windshield was a printed sheet of paper stating $8,000. We learned that the owner was nowhere to be found, and that the car would have been sold hours ago if he showed up. So we waited a bit longer than everyone else and the owner finally showed up. After a test drive and a brief conversation, we negotiated a $7,000 sale for the car. We would meet up with him in two days to make the exchange. We shook hands and drove away excited. The Charger for the movie was ours. There was no stopping us now.
     There are probably a thousand old clichés I could quote here: If it's too good to be true than it isn't; don't count your chickens before they're hatched, and so on. Any of these could apply here because the guy and his 1970 Dodge Charger simply never showed. He just disappeared. We tried calling and leaving messages. He never answered. We looked his name up in the phone book. He wasn't listed. We had his address and looked in the town where he said he was from. He wasn't there. We were back to square one; still no Charger.
     After months of watching for Chargers on eBay Motors, we thought we'd found one that was simply perfect. It was in the following week, after our first Charger deal had fallen through, that Chris and I found a white 1969 Dodge Charger for sale out of Oklahoma. The Charger had a "buy it now" option for $5,500, which meant we could buy the car for that price with the press of a button. The car looked great from the multiple pictures that the owner had made available. It was in good shape with a solid, working engine. We talked about how much work would be needed and if it was affordable to drive the ten hours to pick up the vehicle and drive it back to Rochester. We decided it could be done, so we hit the buy it now option and purchased the vehicle. The eBay message came through stating Charger Films wins the bidding. There it was. We had done it. Finally, we made a successful purchase of a Dodge Charger, a good looking one too. All we had to do was drive down and pick it up. I just about sat back and breathed a sigh of relief, until...
     The owner's reply email arrived. Apologetically, the guy stated that he had sold the car locally on his front lawn just hours before we made the purchase electronically. He told us how he forgot to remove the listing off of eBay after the sale. Anger and frustration began to set in. Shot down again, two times in a row. Still no Charger and we were already approaching the end of June. Filming was only one month away!
     There are times when subsequent let-downs cause pressure in our lives (careers) and we as humans are faced with decisions. It is how we handle this pressure that directly affects whether those decisions are made correctly. I believed that this film was making itself. If we lost the first two Chargers, maybe it was never meant to be. I knew there was a Dodge Charger out there for this movie—the first two just were not meant to be in the film. Instead of overreacting and buying whatever showed up next, I sat back and kept watch over the Chargers on eBay and in the local auto trade magazines. The right one would present itself.
     And it did—the next week, I came across a 1968 Dodge Charger for sale out of Vermont. The bidding was only at $3,000 with one day left. I immediately placed a bid for the car and went off to work hoping for the best. Chris said the rims on the Charger were thousand dollar rims and there was no way we would get the car for less than seven thousand dollars. I said, "Hey, you never know," and kept my eye on it.
     The next day I won the on-line bidding with $6,500, but the auction was invalid since it didn't meet the owner's reserve price. I called the owner after the sale didn't go through to discuss what they had in mind. She basically said they wanted $8,000 and the Charger to go to a good home. I explained how we were going to film a movie and we were looking for a star performer in the form of a Dodge Charger. Due to budget restraints, I told her we couldn't go above $6,500. The next day, the owner called the office and stated if we showed up that weekend we could have the car for $6,800. "Deal," I said, and we were off to Vermont to look at a Charger.
     It was in northern Vermont where we would meet Kim and Ron, who had one Dodge Charger resting on their front lawn for sale. It was beautiful, in all its classic car glory. Orange in color with a black vinyl top, I knew the car would need a cosmetic makeover. The script called for a black Charger and, even though orange Chargers are fine, the movie really could do without the inevitable Dukes of Hazzard references. The body was rust free and in beautiful condition. Under the hood was a 383 big-block engine with an automatic 727 TorqueFlite transmission.
     Kim explained the story of the Charger which originally began in Canada. Back in the early 80's, the car was purchased used and brought over the border by a man to northern Vermont where he would work on it with his son. The man soon died and the son gave up on the vehicle. The son moved away and left the car in his mother's possession. The Charger then sat in a multiple car garage for over fifteen years, never to be used once. Kim explained how she came across a car sale held by the deceased owner's wife. There, in the line-up of antique cars that the lady owned, the Charger sat. Kim purchased it to have a separate "fun" vehicle to get groceries in. Circumstances fell on the couple where they needed to sell the Charger. That was when Chris and I pulled up in Chris's Ford pickup with a trailer attached to the back.
     After the test drive, we noticed the car needed some work. There was a fuel leak and the engine didn't seem as strong as it should have been. Chris decided the car was mechanically sound and he could fix the minor problems that the car had. We went ahead with the sale and drove away with one 1968 Dodge Charger. It was now official; we did not need to change our name to Camaro Films.
     It was the end of June. The Charger would take a bit more cash to get prepared for filming. An electric ignition and racing fuel cell would be added to make the car more reliable. We stripped the 1970's vinyl covering off the top of the car and had the body painted high gloss black.
    By mid July, the Charger looked really impressive. We had the best year and best color for our movie. If the film looked as good as the Charger did, we would be in pretty good shape when this was all said and done. Thanks to our now-Associate Producer, Zenon Dacko, the Charger in Charger Films was all set and ready to go.

Images from the movie "And I Lived"




Poster from "And I Lived"

[genlee1970]

I was 12 when the Dukes came out and I fell in love with the General Lee (as well as Daisy!!) I knew at that point I'd like to some day to have a Charger (and a hot girlfriend!!). My first car was a 71 Duster that I used to beat on Dukes style, catching air over the local train tracks and tooling around the dirt roads in the cemetary near my girlfriends house. After that, there never seemed to be Chargers around when I was in the market for another vehicle. When Iwas 19 I told my father that I wanted a Charger and that I had wanted one since I was 12. His response was "That goes to show that you're no smarter now that you were when you were 12!!" I ended up with a 74 AMX Javelin (which he hated as well!!!) , which I "restored" (in the late 80's sense of the word)
Paint, interior, mild 360, headers, glass packs. Cool ride. By the early 90's I had been in the auto repair business for 5 years and was becoming disenchanted with all things automotive, so the AMX sat more and more. By 96, the cylinders had rusted over so the motor could hardly be spun by hand. Rather than fix it, I sold it for pennies on the dollar, putting the money toward repair of my first house which I had just bought. So ended my foray into old cars or so I thought.
   Fast forward to 1999. I was sent to Delaware for new product training and the only thing to do on lunch breaks was read magazines. As luck would have it, Car Caft was featuring alot of Chargers that year; that got the wheels turning. I needed an old Mopar. I spent my hours after class driving around Delware in the rental car looking for one. I found a "little old lady" 66 Belvedere, 273, bench seat column shift for $2,500. I called my then wife concerning the prospect of buying this thing and driving it home to Rhode Island. She was fine with it, if that's what I really wanted. "No, what I really want is a Charger!!" "So why not wait and get what you really want?" she replied.
    Upon returning home I picked up an auto trader and within 2 weeks found ...."a 70 R/T, apart, body straight, rebuilt 440,all the hard work done" Well, the body was solid, the 440 looked clean enough, and it was apart, about as apart as you can get a car and still have it roll. To say my wife wasn't pleased at me spending $3,500 for a car that was basically like a Revel Model kit.... Well luckily for me the guy was some what honest. I knew nothing about vin numbers at the time. Thankfully all the numbers checked out and it is a real R/T. The "rebuilt 440" turned out to be a freshly painted '78 440 with a cylinder ful of water and rust!!! Since most of the car was in boxes I didn't realise how many parts were missing, but 20 years after I had first seen the Dukes, I finally had my own Charger.
    I started restoring it in my driveway then when winter hit I got one of those Cover It instant shelters.
I worked on it when weather and funds permitted.
ACTUAL time start to finish was about a year and a half (glad all the hard work had already been done...knot!!!) though marital trouble extended the process out over a five year period. The decision to go General Lee with it was made as I was blocksanding it. This'll be it's third summer finished, and I can honestly say I've never had so much fun "with" (not in!! ...71 Duster...1984...drive in...) any other car I've had. It was well worth the wait. Special thanks to Pam, Gary, Pete and Mike, (G-series, Chargervert, Dayclona) for parts, information,advice and guidance. Charger....a sweet addiction

[Brock Samson]

 time for a bump?..   

                                                             

[charger_fan_4ever]

Guess it started off with watchin the duke's of hazzard back in the 80's as a kid. Then the movie bullit, dirty Mary crazy larry. My brother at the time had a 69 daytona that he ended up selling in the early 90's. Wanted to buy a 2nd generation project for a first car. Couldn't find one i could afford, so at 14 I bought a pair of 70 dusters. One a rust free 6 cyl, the other a 340 4 speed with a shot body. Got the 6 cyl on primer and the 340,4 speed, 8 3/4 ready to go in. Time passed got my license, duster sat there. Wanted something i could get in and go, so i bought a gta trans am 350 tpi. Wasn't fast enough, so i swapped it for the fox body mustang i have now. When the speed bug really bit i sold off the duster to fund some major speed parts for the mustang. I always wanted a charger and the A body didn't really cut it. I sold the duster about 6-7 years ago and the charger prices were even further out of reach then they were for me at 14. I started looking about 6 months ago called about a few r/t's all seemed to be the same story needed everything including frame rails. I found the 70 r/t i have now a couple months ago on the craigslist in NH. Called on a saturday and liked what i heard. Drove down the following tuesday and then went back to pick it up the following saturday. For once a car was actually as described nice solid frame rails and uni body.

Pic of it loaded heading back
other pic of it with some rust free metal from my brothers parts stash

[CharcoalCharger]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,46978.0.html   

[triple_green]

Because in H.S. I had a /6 Dart and what I always wanted was a Charger.

in 1998-99, I worked on the Boeing/McDonnell Douglas merger...so I took some of the OT I earned and bought my 68 for $4K .

I've never regretted it.....................

3X

[TK73]

I'm compensating for a serious lack of emotional stability and trying to be cool...   

[G-man]

I remember when I was 6 years old a "Jumping orange car", I always loved and asked about the "jumping orange car", in my mid teens I asked my brother "what was that jumping car I remember?", he said "you mean knight Rider?" I said, No, it was big and was orange and he said "O you mean Dukes of hazard?" So i looked it up and there it was, a 1969 Dodge Charger. Was my most favourite and still is show thats ever been on TV. I also heard about the HEMI at this time and how the General was a "426 HEMI Charger". As Im searching ofcourse I find out that most cars were 383/440s (just spoken of as Hemis) and as far as the doors being welded shut you could hear in some episodes when the doors open/close (car not in picture). Was just part of the story.

Well when I was 20 I went looking for it, at this time (5 and a half years ago) The best thing I could get was a 318 (hopefully running) rusty Charger. So it was out of my price range by far. So I ended up getting a 1987 308ci Pontiac Trans Am GTA. Had fun with it. I noticed not long after a 1979 white Trans am (the 1 with the 4 square lights in the front) and thought "man that looks so muscly compare to what im sitting in" and a week after that I see a beafed out hotrod drive past, and Im thinking "man, these cars look like serious muscle" and I lost interest in my trans-am. So After selling it I went looking for a muscle car. Again I asked for a Dodge Charger again it was TOO expensive... so I settled for a 1972 VH Valiant Charger, 245ci straight 6 hemi. Drove that and again, was not happy because it just didnt look right. Yes it was a "muscle car" but it looked like an aussie muscle car. We have GTHO fords, Holden Monaros and the Ford XB and the Valiant Charger... all have this "aussie" look to them which I never liked.

Well later I saw 2 fast 2 furious, and I fell inlove with the 1970 Dodge Challenger, it looked good, loved the rear tail light how it went accross the entire rear etc. So i started doing some research. Find out the Challenger is "Shorter" than a Charger and also has a 10" shorter wheelbase providing "Better handling" and supposed to be lighter providing better "power to weight ratio" which means faster in acceleration and down the quarter. Since I liked the B-Body Charger and Challenger equally at this time, the "performance" of the challenger is why I in August 2005 Ended up with a 1970 Dodge Challenger. This car is still not complete, had few problems with Banks and houses (parents side) so I had to sell the challenger, but at the same time I wanted to keep a muscle car, so I could only afford something half the cost (but had to be a driver)

So I realised few things:

A- as far as the street is concerned both will handle as good as eachother as you cant race on the street. I am not going to a race track ever so the handling of the challenger where it would be realised is now void.

B: Power to weight ratio, as ive done more research I am finding out that the charger though Longer by 1 foot, is actually narrower than the challenger by 2.2". The weight of these 2 cars are very similar, so power-weight ratio will be the same (the only thing you can use safetly on the road when no cops around)

C: Im never going to earn 60 000+ per year to be able to go modify these cars all out to reach the levels where there would be differences. So that means either Challenger or Charger both will suck in handling if the $ never allow this to be changed, so all thats left for me is the "look" as the performance on the street is the same.

D: I need to go to college and I cant afford to keep my challenger as alot of $ went at it for a full rotiserie resto.

So I started looking for another Challenger to replace the 1 I got (half the price). Looked to spend 20 000US on a car which imported to this country, tax etc works out to 30k AU. That was my budget.

Then I started thinking about the above A-D and decided "well since im replacing my one anyway... maybe I can now look for a charger, its easier to part with a equally good looking car (Challenger instead of charger) rather than parting with the dream car since 6 years old (the charger though both look good)

The 1968 Charger looked meaner because of that square blacked out front and at the same time was more interesting in design than the challenger (fold in grill - just had a taste of uniqueness - interesting idea)... however, becasue i grew to love the challenger I loved the rear tailight that went right accross... I found out the 1970 CHarger has that... but I never liked the front of it and i liked the marker lights of the 68 and I always wanted a car prior to "1970"

So I thought "hell I can always change the rear on the 68 to a 70 to get that mean straight across tailight and still keep the nice front and marker lights + 60s car if i really HAVE to"

SO I now started looking for a Charger in May 2008. I posted up a message on this forum asking if somebody could help me find a 1968 Charger with a manual and preferably a big block. Reason Why, going by the income again, I may never afford to spend 6000 on a manual. I may sadly just end up with what I end up, if it drives, that may be all it will ever end up being, so at least if its a manual, itl be fun even as is.

Called up Mike (Mr-Happy  ) asked few questions, then when it was settled in my mind, i decided Charger instead of Challenger.

Well DANS68 I believe found me an original 318/auto car that was fitted with a 383 BB and a 4-speed. Pocket Thunder went out to have a look at it and said it was worth the money. Said it didnt have rust issues, everything was nice and straight on it and the gears were smooth up, just not down (needing a minor adjustment).

So I ended up buying towards the end of May 2008 (just few months ago) my 1968 Dodge Charger 383-4speed (originaly 318/auto).

im 25 and now I finally have the car I knew about when i was 6 and im happy. Here she is.

[Kevin68N71]

I always loved Chargers, I always loved Mopars in fact.  After a two year stint in Illinois my dad finally got transferred back to California. On the drive out we kept passing this 1969 orange Road Runner.  I had already had a ride in a 1969 Hemi Super Bee, so the Mopar bug had bit.

It took me about a year to save up some money.  I really wanted a 1969.  However, a friend of mine who worked in a gas station knew I wanted a Charger, and a guy came in with one and he asked him if it was for sale, and  it was.  He was kind enough to get his phone number for me.

I called the guy, and he said yes, he had the car, it had been his wife's car (!) and it was in very good shape.  I went right over.

It was a 1968, but I loved it.  I took it for a drive with him.  It rumbled really nice.  It was $750.  I went home and told my dad I wanted it--my dad had already tried to talk me out of a musclecar by the old trick of having his insurance guy call me and tell me it would be too expensive to insure.  But when he heard the price he was willing to take a look at it.  After he drove it, he agreed to lend me the $250 I was short and I bought the car.  I was working at Bob's Big Boy as a dishwasher at the time saving up for it...now THAT was commitment!

My ex-wife tried to get rid of it...I got rid of HER instead!

[G-man]

My ex-wife tried to get rid of it...I got rid of HER instead!

 

[KMPX2]

I learned to drive in my Dads new 73 Charger SE. So it was a no brainer that I bought a used 72 as soon as I had the cash.

[gordo1968charger]

about 1979 i saw dirty mary crazy larry,(this was before the dukes of hazzard)i thought it was the best looking car ever made.fast forward to 1995 i bought my first american car(i live in uk)a 79 caddy sedan de ville,but it was really a charger i wanted,money was tight etc,i had a young son another on the way(i was 25)caddy had to be sold.
my luck changed in november 2000 when i was coming home from work on my motorcycle when i was hit by an old woman who hospitalised me for 2 months
my wife rushed to the hospital to see me and found i had a smashed left thigh,i needed 6 pints of blood and a 2 month hospital stay in traction,I HAD A HUGE SMILE ON MY FACE TOO!
wife says what are you smiling about?
"I CAN GET A CHARGER NOW WITH THE COMPENSATION"
october 2004 i bought my first and only charger
when someone says are you going to sell it,my reply is"i ve been through too much shit to part with it"

[bear]

When I was about 10 or so I saw a 69 listed in the paper for and at that time I couldn't picture what it looked like so I looked it in one of the car books laying around my house and knew that was the car I wanted to have. I found mine through the guy that we met and he was restoring a 68 at the time (now its finished see the thread about it) and said he would keep an eye out for me if he found a good project one and he did bought it off of EBay and now it sit waiting for me to return to restore it.

[SFRT]

I bought my first 'hotrod' in 1976...a 65 plymouth sport fury III covertible with a roll and tuck interior, a tiny chain steering wheel and no brakes. That car got me kicked out of the house. over the years I always had something, a 69 Nova, a 70 goat, a 66 vette, hell, even a corvair. I finally got my first 'real' B Body in 1991..a super cherry 70 roadrunner. thing was awesome...until I got T-boned by a Bridge Authoritry truck here in SF, which totalled the car. I had done quite a bit to the roadrunner, so I was pretty bummed, used the settlement money to buy a new car...swore of old cars...about 4-5 years ago my wife started agitating for a 'hotrod' and, of course, she wanted a '67 Camaro.

Tell you what, nice' 67 Camaros cost a lot, and you dont get much...so I did what I could to sort of sabotage the project....one day we where 'talking' about the car, and she was going on about 'evil black musclecar'..and I told her ..look..a camaro isnt a MUSCLECAR..its a ponycar and its...well..sorta gay.

IF YOU WANT A REAL MUSCLECAR-it can ONLY be a Charger...and started showing her pictures. and movies..Finally, we went to see Deathproof and...

she was.......oohhhhh..its like a REALLY BIG CAMARO...

So, finally, it was all systems go to get a Charger. I looked around for a while, wanted a 4 Speed basically, and ended up buying an overpriced carpet-bombed Dresden quality '69 R/T from some Hillbillies up in the Holler...and couldnt be happier. The resto is about done, everything looks sweet and life is good.

[69*F5*SE]

Short and sweet, I loved the way the looked and I had the money to by on impulse when I got mine. I should've waited to find a completed car but it didn't work out that way.

[DixieRestoParts]

Here's my story. It was published on www.jalopnik.com by a buddy of mine. Hope you like it.

http://jalopnik.com/cars/retro/a-tale-of-two-chargers-321920.php#c3000136

[Dans 68]

...Well DANS68 I believe found me an original 318/auto car that was fitted with a 383 BB and a 4-speed.

You are welcome!  Looks a lot like my '68....

Pocket Thunder went out to have a look at it and said it was worth the money. Said it didnt have rust issues, everything was nice and straight on it and the gears were smooth up, just not down (needing a minor adjustment).

Paul is a good guy. But his screen name is just too...!    His Wifey needs to weigh in....

So I ended up buying towards the end of May 2008 (just few months ago) my 1968 Dodge Charger 383-4speed (originaly 318/auto).

im 25 and now I finally have the car I knew about when i was 6 and im happy. Here she is.

Good story. Mine is a bit dull...my '73 was given to me by my brother-in-law, as she and Hubby were moving across the country and did not want to ship the car. As I have always been a gear-head it was a simple solution to their problem (I offered to pay for it, so don't hate me). Now, my '68 was a much desired purchased, and I took my time getting it. I guess I need a 1st gen to complete the series. Wonder what my wife would say to that...? 

Dan

[arrow]

I really liked the 68 Charger when they were introduced -, and when I got home from the Army one of the first things I did was get a loaded 69 RT , I still have it today, it has a whole 41000 miles on it

[moparstuart]

  glad to hear those stories where you kept it though thick and thin 

[General_01]

Great Stories.

I fell in love with the Charger because of the General Lee. This was further cemented by a guy in my town who had an awesome maroon '69 with the license plate "SIX PAK". That car was awesome. When I started college, I moved in with my sister. Her boyfriend Mike, now husband, owned and drove a '73 as his daily driver. This was 1987. I wanted to buy a Charger. I found out that one of my Dad's friends had a '74 sitting in the field behind his house. No engine or tranny. My dad's friend and his wife said I could have the car for $50. COOL! Mike found a 318 4 barrel engine and tranny for $400. So for $450 and a little elbow grease in 1987 I had my first Charger. I drove it for a couple years and then loaned him to my sister and Mike for a while because they needed a vehicle. When they were done using it I decided to sell it and Mike found a buyer.

In 1989 I bought the '71 Superbee and from 2001 to 2008 I also owned a GL replica. I still have the Bee. Kinda funny how second gens got me interested, but I ended up with a 3rd gen.

[mikepmcs]

I actually am a huge DOH fan as well(no kidding, right, I know) and that is why I now have a 69 as well, but to tell you the truth my first car was a 1970 Charger and basically I just saw it one day on the side of the road and had to have it.  Always been a huge MOPAR fan and I remember, during that time frame, my across the street neighbor had a brown duster and his buddy had a Cuda' and i've had at least one Chrysler product floating around ever since.  Darts, Scamps, Rams, Ramchargers, even had a 80's Daytona(wing was a little smaller ) 3- 69 road runners(my second favorite b body), Jeeps, you name it I've had a bunch as well as a ton of other big 3 cars and some foreing jobbers as well.  I even owned 2-32 Chevy's at one time(pure junk, no wheels etc....)  but I had em', caddy's, a couple vettes, I could go on and on like quite of few others on here.  My goal is to own every car i've ever wanted and I'm down to about 2 or 3 now.   I still want a 34' ford..ZZTOP rep of course(probably not gonna happen) and a couple others including a Cuda' but time is growing short and unless I hit the lotto, well you know.

I'm down to 3 Chevy Trucks, my 69 and my 55, and an ironhorse(for sale by the way)

Only car I will never get rid of is my 69 Charger!

I rambled sorry

v/r
Mike