Don Garlits' 500

[charger500440]

It appears Don is parting with his 500. It is a beautiful machine...

https://www.mecum.com/lot-detail/FL0116-229916/10275/1969-Dodge-Hemi-Charger-500/4-Speed/

[odcics2]

Well, the economy's hot, so why not cash in???   

[Ghoste]

Hmm. 

[tan top]

 

[tan top]

  

[nascarxx29]

That might be the one he got from Bill Weisman in S jersey

[moparchris]

Just throwing it out there..What do you guys think is more important to most buyers.  A very fresh car in a "good" color without its' original motor,or an all original, matching number car that is not in a "good" color with miles on it?

[RallyeMike]

It depends totally on the buyer. I'd prefer non-numbers and the good color because I want to drive it without the burden of maintaining numbers matching authenticity.

And that Don Garlits 500. Wow! It has the rare V88 code 

[hemi68charger]

It depends totally on the buyer. I'd prefer non-numbers and the good color because I want to drive it without the burden of maintaining numbers matching authenticity.

And that Don Garlits 500. Wow! It has the rare V88 code  

100%  

On a side note, and maybe Danny knows this one...... But, how do you tell if a C500 didn't come with a stripe? After all, they are ALL coded V88.......

[Ghoste]

Are there any truly documented without the stripe?  I know there are some said to be but unless you had day one photos I don't know that it could be proven.

[JB400]

Last I heard, the stripe delete meant the R/T stripe was deleted and the 500 stripe added, was the way the tag was made

[Ghoste]

Yes, that part is correct.  What we are  talking about here is that some 500's apparently did not receive a "500" stripe either, so how was that indicated?

[69_500]

I can not confirm a single 500 that never had a stripe.

After a car has been repainted it is near impossible to check too.

[500Jon]

Deffo no stripe lol...

No hemi badge on the door either?

[Ghoste]

I can not confirm a single 500 that never had a stripe.

After a car has been repainted it is near impossible to check too.

How many do you know that claim they are factory deletes?

[charge69]

Here is another question about this car.  I, admittedly, do not know much about Charger 500's but I was under the impression you only got black wheels with Chargers equipped with full wheel covers. The Chargers that got the small "poverty" caps or "Dog dish" caps had body-colored wheels.  I suppose the only way to know for sure would be the Chargers' original build sheet.

It looks great with the small hubcaps but, I question whether or not it came that way. I wonder if a build sheet is available?

[Ghoste]

I believe you are correct.

[69_500]

Three separate people I have talked to over the years claim their cars never had a stripe. None however can be confirmed. At least none of those.

[Ghoste]

I had heard of two and the same thing, nothing but someones word and IIRC neither was an original owner.  Likely both were part of your group of three but sadly it was before I started recording that info.

[hemi68charger]

Carl, to my recollection, you are correct. The black steelies were probably put on the car as a preference. I admittedly like these black steelies against the red exterior and white interior and I really like, on this car, the stripe delete... Guess it is the color combination......

[nascarxx29]

it might be the 240755 car from NJ

[charge69]

Well Troy,  I think it looks great with the black wheels and poverty caps also. It just stood out to me that it probably did not come this way from the factory. For 220 Large, I think I would want the wheels to be correct and, if it had black wheels and full wheel covers, put them back on it.  Otherwise, paint the wheels body-color and be done with it.
The earlier picture of it taken in the mid-'70's, multi-colored, shows it to have magnum 500's on it.  Maybe they talked the dealership into putting those on it and, without an actual build-sheet, we would never know how it came from the factory as it surely did not come with the Magnum 500's.

[hemigeno]

The earlier picture of it taken in the mid-'70's, multi-colored, shows it to have magnum 500's on it.  Maybe they talked the dealership into putting those on it and, without an actual build-sheet, we would never know how it came from the factory as it surely did not come with the Magnum 500's.

These are two separate cars.  The vintage pic is a 440 car, as IIRC there are other shots of it which confirm there's no Hemi badges.

The car up for auction now is a legit 4-speed Hemi 500, that Big Daddy bought many years later.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I remember getting some information on this Hemi500 when it was being sold at auction through an estate sale or some other oddball deal, back in the late '90s or VERY early 2000's (before Barrett-Jackson or Mecum were household names).  I remember the drivetrain & R4 combo, and specifically the low-hanging oil pan.  It was very tempting to throw in a phone bid (the auction ended in the middle of the day during the week), but I seem to remember it going for $60k at the time... which made the decision whether to bid pretty easy since that was a little more than what was in my petty cash drawer      Whether Garlits got it then or in a subsequent sale, I think it is the same car - but it's definitely not the one in the vintage photo with the Red & Black paintjob.

[charge69]

Didn't know they were different cars but I did notice the lack of HEMI badges on the one with the red and black paintjob.  Maybe they have the build sheet for it but probably not. I noticed a couple of other things under the hood that are definitely not OEM but, they never said this had an OEM restoration. All-in-All, a beautiful and desirable Charger but, ...............................220K ?  I guess Richard Petty's name accounts for some of the selling price.

[charger500440]

The earlier picture of it taken in the mid-'70's, multi-colored, shows it to have magnum 500's on it.  Maybe they talked the dealership into putting those on it and, without an actual build-sheet, we would never know how it came from the factory as it surely did not come with the Magnum 500's.

These are two separate cars.  The vintage pic is a 440 car, as IIRC there are other shots of it which confirm there's no Hemi badges.

The car up for auction now is a legit 4-speed Hemi 500, that Big Daddy bought many years later.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I remember getting some information on this Hemi500 when it was being sold at auction through an estate sale or some other oddball deal, back in the late '90s or VERY early 2000's (before Barrett-Jackson or Mecum were household names).  I remember the drivetrain & R4 combo, and specifically the low-hanging oil pan.  It was very tempting to throw in a phone bid (the auction ended in the middle of the day during the week), but I seem to remember it going for $60k at the time... which made the decision whether to bid pretty easy since that was a little more than what was in my petty cash drawer      Whether Garlits got it then or in a subsequent sale, I think it is the same car - but it's definitely not the one in the vintage photo with the Red & Black paintjob.

Funny thing is I am 99% positive that Don's wife was given a Hemi Charger 500 by Chrysler back in the day. I'm positive this was the case. When I went to his museum about 10 years ago this 500 was there and I assumed it was the one his wife received but that may not be the same 500.

Don is incredibly sentimental and as you may know, his wife Pat passed in 2014. So, if he still owns the car she was given I don't see him ever selling it. That said, the Mecum car was the one on display when I was there and I did not see another 500.

Well, there were no others around when I was there...