1 of how many?

[Dreamcar]

I see threads where people know that there car is 1 of a specific number. Where would someone get that info?

[Ghoste]

Just google it.  For example, just type in 1969 Charger production numbers and you should turn up copies of it.  Galen's White Books are a good source too.

[Dreamcar]

Cool. I'll try it. Thanks

[diego]

I am not sure I'd solely rely on the Internet for this stuff.

Or even an owner of a car.

Yesterday I was at a show and was chatting with a guy who thought he knew the production numbers of his car. He actually only knew the US-spec numbers and not the total numbers - a weird quirk with Chrysler's record-keeping.

Now get a guy who doesn't know the nuances of these things, and then add curiosities as "how many survive" or "how many built with x and y" and you'll get a lot of misinformation.

Everyone thinks (s)he has a "1 of 1" for some reason, but for Mopars, there's not many cars that can claim that with available documentation. Ford has that luxury, but get the Ford version of the above Mopar collector and he thinks his 1 of 1 Mustang is special because it indeed is unique....except all cars are unique when you break them down.

While imperfect to many people, Galen's White Books are the best we have at the moment. Perhaps it is not a true resource for original documentation, but he  is the one who has taught a lot of us how to understand this stuff.

[69CoronetRT]

Perhaps it is not a true resource for original documentation, but he  is the one who has taught a lot of us how to over emphasize this stuff.

One of one is no big deal. Try to find two alike.

[Chad L. Magee]

Just be aware that G.G. books do contain errors in them, as he is only human like the rest of us.  One error that is glaring to me is in the number of 1968 Dodge Chargers with the /6 and three on the tree manual known.  During the time that the books were written, it claimed that there was only one of them known.  (Since then there have been more found, including two that I saw first hand.)  So, when an owner of one of these cars looks up his Charger in the books for rarity, he now has it in his head that his is a "1 of 1" when it really is not.  Can you guess how it gets mentioned on ebay when it goes for sale?...



My take on the issue:

Part of our problem with people wanting a "1 of 1" designation on Mopars is that our cars were simply not produced in the massive numbers that the competing pony/muscle cars were.  If they were cookie-cutter cars (like most Mustangs/Camaros of that era), it would have cut down on this issue tremendously.  Few early Mustangs are "1 of 1"s unless they were specialty cars to begin with (like Shelby prototypes).  Same deal with most Camaros as they were common to find on the streets.  Back then, Mopars had a rebel label attached to them, not a conformist one.  As owners, this leads to our wanting to stand out as different than the rest and rarity is a version of different....

[diego]

I wouldn't call a "1K" in Galen's book an error - you're blaming a seller for exploiting information he got from the White Book. But I'm sure the books have mistakes.

However, I think you would be surprised how unique Mustangs are if you looked at enough Martis. The only difference between the Mustang and Barracuda is there were a lot more Mustangs, but that only means there are a lot more unique Mustangs, not less.

[70 sublime]

I bet you can just call your car one of one (known ) and just see if anyone else can find one with the same option list as you have as you do have a few rare options on that car 

But if you think about it everyone should have one of one because you would really not want to find another one with the same VIN 

[Chad L. Magee]

I wouldn't call a "1K" in Galen's book an error - you're blaming a seller for exploiting information he got from the White Book. But I'm sure the books have mistakes.

However, I think you would be surprised how unique Mustangs are if you looked at enough Martis. The only difference between the Mustang and Barracuda is there were a lot more Mustangs, but that only means there are a lot more unique Mustangs, not less.

I wish G.G. would update it with more current information, but since the one I mentioned involves the /6, I doubt it ever will.

[diego]

I think it has to do with the frequency in which he updates the book, which is probably tied to how many he has printed and when his inventory is running dry. I know over the past 2 years he's redone at least two books.

That being said, the latest 1968 info from him (updated this year) shows 5K with an estimate of "less than 90" in total.

[Chad L. Magee]

I think that there needs to be a distinction on what constitutes "rare" or not.  As 70 Sublime pointed out, you can go down the list to all of the options in a car and soon you will find that only a few were built with those particular set of options.  Same with other cars (Mustangs), as pointed out by Diego.  At that point, the meaning of rare becomes diluted down.  However, there are some makes of Mopar cars that are truly rare by just the engine/transmission combos alone in that particular model.  Case in point: any 1968 non-RT Charger with a 4-speed from the factory would be an example of this.  I like to call them oddballs, because they are not common to find.

Rare does not always mean valuable, but can help sell it...

[Chad L. Magee]

I think it has to do with the frequency in which he updates the book, which is probably tied to how many he has printed and when his inventory is running dry. I know over the past 2 years he's redone at least two books.

That being said, the latest 1968 info from him (updated this year) shows 5K with an estimate of "less than 90" in total.

Good.  I was not aware that he had finally updated it.  It had been that way for a very long time.

[Homerr]

Yeah, G.G.'s "1 of 1 known with these particular options, in this particular color, in my GTS Registry, on this particular day" stuff is 100% BS.

[diego]

I think anything "known" is BS. Putting it in his book is alright, but quoting him as if it's a legit stat is lame.

[Mr.Sixpack]

Hi Chad.

I have a 68 slant 6 with three on the tree.
And I had GG decode it some years ago, and then he told me that it was 1 of 3 or maybe 4 made.
Who knows?
I just bought me a 68 R/T 440 car, so the /6 car will be all original :-)

[Chad L. Magee]

Hi Chad.

I have a 68 slant 6 with three on the tree.
And I had GG decode it some years ago, and then he told me that it was 1 of 3 or maybe 4 made.
Who knows?
I just bought me a 68 R/T 440 car, so the /6 car will be all original :-)

Hello.

My guess is probably 50 to 100 were made by the factory with maybe 10-20 left in any condition for the 1968 Charger /6 with the three on the tree manual (much like the 318 version, factory production data is missing).  But, that is just a guess based upon the Chargers I have seen/heard about over the years.  It is good to hear that you are going to keep the /6 Charger original.  Very few of them have been restored that way.  Most were either hot rodded or parted out over the years.  They do bring attention at car shows, as everyone expects a V8 in them.  You will likely be asked when you are going to put a hemi in it a dozen times or so every time you show it though.  That is one of the pet peeves of owning a /6 Charger.  It would be cool to show the RT and the /6 together (one performance, the other economy)....

[6bblgt]

I have data that supports (but it too is incomplete): 96,108 Chargers built for the 1968 model year at 2 US plants (88,325 Hamtramck, MI & 7,783 St. Louis, MO) for the US, Canada & EXPORT markets.

1968 Chargers with 4-speed manual transmission: 7.2% (~6,920 vehicles total) these would be 383 2bbl, 383 4bbl, 440HP 4bbl, & HEMI (ONLY 3,287 are accounted for by GG's 7th edition "white book" 3/2000)

1968 Chargers with 3-speed manual transmission: 2.4% (~2,307 vehicles total) these would be 225 & 318 cars (ONLY 5 "known" are accounted for by GG's 7th edition "white book" 3/2000)

the remaining 90.4% are automatics (~86,881 vehicles total) * all engines

the 318 3-spd manual & 225 3-spd manual were the base V8 & /6 1968 Chargers, an automatic transmission was a $206.30 OPTION.  Chrysler would've spec'd out many of these as "sales bank" cars just to have the "low buck" sub-$3200 Chargers available to the dealers/public.  These are also the cars that were least valuable as used cars and the first to make it to the scrap yard, long before anyone thought of them as "collectable".

[Mr.Sixpack]

Hi Chad.

I have a 68 slant 6 with three on the tree.
And I had GG decode it some years ago, and then he told me that it was 1 of 3 or maybe 4 made.
Who knows?
I just bought me a 68 R/T 440 car, so the /6 car will be all original :-)

Hello.

I have other cars I have hemi and 440 six-packs in.
And I would rather put a hemi in my 68 R/T that is a none matching number.
Thanks.

My guess is probably 50 to 100 were made by the factory with maybe 10-20 left in any condition for the 1968 Charger /6 with the three on the tree manual (much like the 318 version, factory production data is missing).  But, that is just a guess based upon the Chargers I have seen/heard about over the years.  It is good to hear that you are going to keep the /6 Charger original.  Very few of them have been restored that way.  Most were either hot rodded or parted out over the years.  They do bring attention at car shows, as everyone expects a V8 in them.  You will likely be asked when you are going to put a hemi in it a dozen times or so every time you show it though.  That is one of the pet peeves of owning a /6 Charger.  It would be cool to show the RT and the /6 together (one performance, the other economy)....

[WINGMAN]

  I had a 69 Charger slant six years ago , it had factory air , power steering , hood turn signal lights , automatic , B5 with B5 guts. I also had a 68 Charger slant six body that I parted out.. The 70s are vary hard to find as only a few were built. (Wingman)  Jay.