The first '69 Charger?

[hemi68charger]

Hey gang...
Some of you, especially you Chris, will remember this car when it was on ebay some time ago.. A friend of mine here in Houston bought the car and is looking to start the restoration ASAP.. I went over to look at the car today and look at his documentation from Govier and the fender tag... The car is definitely unique. Some say that this could be possibly the very first '69 Charger built. It's the magazine feature car and has a pre-production date of July,28, 1968........ Here are some interesting things about the car that had me scratching my head alot.

1. The mysterious hole by the wiper motor is there !!!!!!  I saw my first in real life.. lol
2. Has a '68 version dash pad
3. Has '68 version heater controls
4. Was told the woodgrain instrument paneling was original
and
5. Has the black button typical of the '68 model year..

The car was coded as show car, empty tank.. I can't remember the "Y" code, but I saw the fender tag code breakdown from Galen Govier..

Anyways,,,,,,,, Does anyone have more pictures of ads of this R6 Charger R/T?

[dkn1997]

Jesus!  my 68 was built in June of 68!!  looks like maybe mine was darn near the end of the run, huh?

[Charger1973]

Any of these the same car? 

[charger Downunder]

Did it have that big RT badge up front on the light cover.

[hemi68charger]

I have those pics as well.. But, not sure if it's the same car for those have the rocker moulding and this one's not coded for it... So, I'm confused a little there..... But, I did find this photo in Chris's site that, to me, confirms that the car could have been built with the '68 dash pad and other '68 components......  It's all makes sense......

[hemi68charger]

Did it have that big RT badge up front on the light cover.

Yes.....

[Shakey]

There was a thread about this car on this site when it was up for sale.  I looked but had no luck.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Troy, I dont know if that B&W pic is of the R6 car.  It definately does have a 68 pad in it though.  In the 69 Charger brochure, there are a lot of 68 only items pictured on the cars interior especially...it was a tan nterior car.   I think the one in the B & W pic is the same car (T5 copper)

As far as the tag the Y code is Y91 Show Car Finish....also on the top left corner of the tag it has the #'s "247"...I have never seen those #'s or the Y91 designation on any other tag.

Tag also has another "oddity" on it as well.   Hamtramck built cars such as this one only coded the body color once if the car was also coded for a vinyl roof which this one was (V1X black)...this tag has R6 (body)R6 (roof)on it twice.
Only St. Louis built cars coded the body & roof color regardless if it got a vinyl roof or not.
Troy good luck with the resto & look forward to tracking/registering the new owner of the car 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Also one important note.......this car was coded G31 & G33....Left & right remote mirrors......look at all the pics posted...

[UFO]

How about another oddity,The pic of rad cradle.Is that second character a 8 instead of a 9?In person you would be able to read it better.

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

wouldnt the first 69 charger be coded as XS29L90000001 or is 68-70 all the same numbers?(all years production numbers combined)

[UFO]

Looking at the photos from the auction.Maybe this was the first(or very early) application of the S.E. trim.
Being that early maybe the S.E. code was not finalised.

[UFO]

Just be glad it didnt end up looking like this one

[hemi68charger]

Troy, I dont know if that B&W pic is of the R6 car.  It definately does have a 68 pad in it though.  In the 69 Charger brochure, there are a lot of 68 only items pictured on the cars interior especially...it was a tan nterior car.   I think the one in the B & W pic is the same car (T5 copper)

As far as the tag the Y code is Y91 Show Car Finish....also on the top left corner of the tag it has the #'s "247"...I have never seen those #'s or the Y91 designation on any other tag.

Tag also has another "oddity" on it as well.   Hamtramck built cars such as this one only coded the body color once if the car was also coded for a vinyl roof which this one was (V1X black)...this tag has R6 (body)R6 (roof)on it twice.
Only St. Louis built cars coded the body & roof color regardless if it got a vinyl roof or not.
Troy good luck with the resto & look forward to tracking/registering the new owner of the car 

Chris,
According to Galen's documentation, the "247" was an inspection stamping... Yes, as you stated, it was Y91...

Could it be that even if the G31 and G33 was designated, the car didn't get both? I know, far-fetched.. I didn't get a pic of the passenger side and don't recall... I was too busy with checking out the other items on the car.......

[2fast4u]

  I would like to see more pictures of this car.  Inside and out and from different angles!  This is really cool!!


2fast

[terrible one]

wouldnt the first 69 charger be coded as XS29L90000001 or is 68-70 all the same numbers?(all years production numbers combined)

That's what I was wondering as well. Anyone know the scoop here?

[Drache]

wouldnt the first 69 charger be coded as XS29L90000001 or is 68-70 all the same numbers?(all years production numbers combined)

That's what I was wondering as well. Anyone know the scoop here?

Well technically it wouldn't BE the first '69 Charger. Looking at all the '68 parts it seems more of a prototypish car thrown together for the press mainly just to show off the new bumper/grille and tail lights, thus the reason it doesn't have a 0000001. Course that doesn't explain why it still has XP29.... 

[JimShine]

Seeing that many 1969 style items appear to be actually produced and not hand fabricated, I would say that this is technically a pre-production. Pre-production means they are built before final specs and tooling are completed. Prototypes are often hand fabricated and are the templates used to create the tooling.

[hemi68charger]

wouldnt the first 69 charger be coded as XS29L90000001 or is 68-70 all the same numbers?(all years production numbers combined)

That's what I was wondering as well. Anyone know the scoop here?

Well technically it wouldn't BE the first '69 Charger. Looking at all the '68 parts it seems more of a prototypish car thrown together for the press mainly just to show off the new bumper/grille and tail lights, thus the reason it doesn't have a 0000001. Course that doesn't explain why it still has XP29.... 

My friend's car is a XS,  not a XP.....  It is in all intent and purpose, a real R/T, yet it's a pre-production build-date Charger R/T.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

The VIN designation of 100039 means it was the 39th vehicle built at the Hamtramck plant for the '69 model year....they also built Darts at the plant that year......100038 could have been a Dart...
The VIN#'s each year start at 100001 at each plant

Since they built Chargers at both the Hamtramck, MI plant and the St. Louis, MO plant in 1969 it is possible (and I have both cars in the registry) that you can have 2 cars with the same last 6 digits of the VIN#!........One car is a 318 XP model and the other is a 440 R/T model.....built at different plants but coincendently rolled down the line with the same last 6 of the VIN#

The rad support stamping is indeed odd.... along with the "B8" which designates B for the Hamtramck plant and 8 as the model year 1968... notice the extra character of the letter "X" in there....

[hemi68charger]

Maybe the "X" in the stamping is for "experimental"?  who knows.

[bull]

Also one important note.......this car was coded G31 & G33....Left & right remote mirrors......look at all the pics posted...

That's rare in itself.

[69_500]

In refernce to the G31 and G33 codes both being on the same cars, I have information on 4 69 charger 500's that have the G31 and G33 codes. Definately not something that is all too common.

[tan top]

Also one important note.......this car was coded G31 & G33....Left & right remote mirrors......look at all the pics posted...

   
                              i  was thinking  them original ads were of 100039 -  must of looked at them  many times , never noticed the mirror deal before .   they must be different  cars  then .  good spot  (Chris)     
     
         

Maybe the "X" in the stamping is for "experimental"? who knows.

i seam to remember something about  the letter X    being found stamped  next to the order number  under the trunk rail weather strip on a 68 charger could be getting mixed up with some thing else 
Troy there is another ad witch shows a R6 -69 charger R/T  it is a close up of the front end , taken at daytona raceway. thought i had this one saved.  but can't find it . i don't think that car had headrests by memory

[69_500]

Since were on the topic, what about the T5 bronze HEMI that isn't an R/T? Anyone have any answers on that one?

[Charger_Fan]

The rad support stamping is indeed odd.... along with the "B8" which designates B for the Hamtramck plant and 8 as the model year 1968... notice the extra character of the letter "X" in there....

Looks like they may have started off stamping it like the rest of the 68's, with the B8X...then changed to a sequential number for the 2nd half, sorta '69 style?

Here's a couple '68 pics I found in a couple of Dan's (8Wheeler) past posts.

[C500]

check this post on rad support and trunk lip stampings

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,5709.msg69740.html#msg69740

[tan top]

Troy there is another ad witch shows a R6 -69 charger R/T  it is a close up of the front end , taken at daytona raceway. thought i had this one saved.  but can't find it . i don't think that car had headrests by memory

                     can't find the color picture version  at the moment

[UFO]

Here ya go

[tan top]

Here ya go

 

      thats the one  , thanks (UFO) appreciated . 

[UFO]

Upon looking through my road test stash,I found one so far with dual mirrors.No mention in the text about color.The int and engine comp photos are not in line with #39 car.Mag issue date is jan 69.When actual test was done? who knows.

[DC_1]

Anyone have any pics of 100039 in its current state?....I remember it on Ebay but I didn't save any pics.

[hemi68charger]

Anyone have any pics of 100039 in its current state?....I remember it on Ebay but I didn't save any pics.

Pretty much the same.. I was over there on Friday and looked it over quite extensively.. I'm going to lend a helping hand with the restoration....  He hasn't really started anything since he bought it because he's been working on other projects....

UFO:
You are correct, the car in the article you mentioned isn't his car.. The 39 car had a black vinyl top...........

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Also not coded for the M25 wide sill moldings.....
Looking at the 440 gift wrapped ad you'll notice the lack of headrests....again maybe they were taken out to show the "Daytona" wording through the glass

I wouldnt discount this being the actual car in the ads because of the mirror thing....who knows....maybe they decided to leave the mirror off for photogenic properties?.....door holes can be easilly touched up in the photos.

Bottom line this Charger is one of the first and will be a killer ride when completed

[hemi68charger]

The VIN designation of 100039 means it was the 39th vehicle built at the Hamtramck plant for the '69 model year....they also built Darts at the plant that year......100038 could have been a Dart...
The VIN#'s each year start at 100001 at each plant

Since they built Chargers at both the Hamtramck, MI plant and the St. Louis, MO plant in 1969 it is possible (and I have both cars in the registry) that you can have 2 cars with the same last 6 digits of the VIN#!........One car is a 318 XP model and the other is a 440 R/T model.....built at different plants but coincendently rolled down the line with the same last 6 of the VIN#

The rad support stamping is indeed odd.... along with the "B8" which designates B for the Hamtramck plant and 8 as the model year 1968... notice the extra character of the letter "X" in there....

Chris,
I'm almost postive the "X" stands for the Charger model line.. If you reference this page, http://www.andy440.com/other.htm you'll notice the discussion on the core support of the blue Coronet and the "X" is replaced with a "W" which stands for Coronet model line...
Soooo, the B8X is Assembly plant, model year, and model line........  Taadaaaaaa

[tan top]

Since were on the topic, what about the T5 bronze HEMI that isn't an R/T? Anyone have any answers on that one?

   
             i believe there was a divided opinion on that car in the last thread  by memory   . found a clearer photo .   to me you can defiantly see  part of the (HEMI) trans cooler line & the brass block connector .   tried to find the other thread on this but  no go .
 ( hemi68charger )  Troy  not trying to hijack your thread  by posting this photo ,

[hemi68charger]

Since were on the topic, what about the T5 bronze HEMI that isn't an R/T? Anyone have any answers on that one?

i believe there was a divided opinion on that car in the last thread  by memory   . found a clearer photo .   to me you can defiantly see  part of the (HEMI) trans cooler line & the brass block connector .   tried to find the other thread on this but  no go .
( hemi68charger )  Troy  not trying to hijack your thread  by posting this photo ,

Nope, I like the sidenote....... Notice the dash pad? It's a '68 version which gives validation that Tim's 00039 car has the correct pad....

Troy

[pettyfan43]

Most likely these cars are not prototypes so much as Pilot cars, cars built at the very beginning of a production run and used to evaluate parts changes, Some stuff may not have been finalized when the cars are put together. This may be the reason they have the 68 dash and such.

I do know that there was a running production change on some parts, like the shifter knobs on floor shift automatic cars, early cars had the chrome knob, later cars had the 70 style woodgrain ones. There was also a change on the front bumper guards from short to tall.

Either way the cars are VERY VOOL, I have a BUNCH of ads with both cars. That red car has always been a VERY cool car to me, Even built a model of it!

[hemi68charger]

Since were on the topic, what about the T5 bronze HEMI that isn't an R/T? Anyone have any answers on that one?

i believe there was a divided opinion on that car in the last thread  by memory   . found a clearer photo .   to me you can defiantly see  part of the (HEMI) trans cooler line & the brass block connector .   tried to find the other thread on this but  no go .
( hemi68charger )  Troy  not trying to hijack your thread  by posting this photo ,

Also note the 14" wheels on that T5 hemi Charger.. Production version came standard with 15"'s and I fairly confident those full-wheel covers are 14"..

Troy

[tan top]

Since were on the topic, what about the T5 bronze HEMI that isn't an R/T? Anyone have any answers on that one?

   
             i believe there was a divided opinion on that car in the last thread  by memory   . found a clearer photo .   to me you can defiantly see  part of the (HEMI) trans cooler line & the brass block connector .   tried to find the other thread on this but  no go .
( hemi68charger )  Troy  not trying to hijack your thread  by posting this photo ,

Also note the 14" wheels on that T5 hemi Charger.. Production version came standard with 15"'s and I fairly confident those full-wheel covers are 14"..

Troy

                        look like 14" to me too , i think  unless  we can dig up some other pictures / info on this  69 XP29 HEMI car  , it  could stay another one of Chrysler's mysteries lost in time  .

[UFO]

In regards to T5 hemi XP car,Yes those wheelcovers are 14".In addition to the two photos in the charger registry,I have a different one with a brunette leaning against the pass. side fender.The car seems to be only in promo shots.Was it a real hemi car?sure its possible.There is a documented `70 base model charger with a hemi(serial number is 0001).Which ironicily has a lot of `69 items on it.

[tan top]

In regards to T5 hemi XP car,Yes those wheelcovers are 14".In addition to the two photos in the charger registry,I have a different one with a brunette leaning against the pass. side fender.The car seems to be only in promo shots.Was it a real hemi car?sure its possible.There is a documented `70 base model charger with a hemi(serial number is 0001).Which ironicily has a lot of `69 items on it.

    yeah that  if i remember correctly  the vin was XP29ROG100001  & EW1 white  or something . (UFO)  there is another  picture of that  69 XP HEMI car taken at a slightly different angle out there somewhere, pretty sure you can just make out the bottom of the drivers side rear torque box

[Ghoste]

Maybe the T5 XP is actually an RT that didn't get the correct headlight door and wheels?  Have we ever considered that?

[dkn1997]

Upon looking through my road test stash,I found one so far with dual mirrors.No mention in the text about color.The int and engine comp photos are not in line with #39 car.Mag issue date is jan 69.When actual test was done? who knows.

I love that writeup:  not enough trunk or backseat room...if those guys could ride in some of today's cars, they would see how good they had it. and those huge F70's really help the handling.  amazing how perspective changes with the times. 

and "lack of a horn ring" annoying?

[hemi68charger]

Another picture showing the famous '1st C500, '68 body with '69 taillamps/reverse lamps......  I see the '68-style dash pad.

[hemi68charger]

Also not coded for the M25 wide sill moldings.....
Looking at the 440 gift wrapped ad you'll notice the lack of headrests....again maybe they were taken out to show the "Daytona" wording through the glass

I wouldnt discount this being the actual car in the ads because of the mirror thing....who knows....maybe they decided to leave the mirror off for photogenic properties?.....door holes can be easilly touched up in the photos.

Bottom line this Charger is one of the first and will be a killer ride when completed

Still pretty much looks like that except much more bolted back together for transportation......

Troy

[AC/DC charger]

I like this thread 

[DC_1]

I like this thread 

me too

Troy, try to keep us updated with pics.

[ChargerHound69]

I knew I should have bought that car when I had the chance.

Post some pictures when you get a chance.

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

Whatever happend to this car that was mocked up as a daytona?-MATT

[Lord Warlock]

1. The mysterious hole by the wiper motor is there !!!!!!  I saw my first in real life.. lol
2. Has a '68 version dash pad
3. Has '68 version heater controls
4. Was told the woodgrain instrument paneling was original
and
5. Has the black button typical of the '68 model year..

What was different between the 68 and 69 heater controls? 
Same question with the Dash pad
regarding #5; what black button are you speaking of? The door handle? just wondering since mine was built early sept 68 and has a black button too. 

Lord Warlock

[69-DodgeCharger]

i thought that r/t's didnt come with vinyl tops? 

[Brock Samson]

why'd ya' think that?...

[69-DodgeCharger]

well it would just appeal to me more to have a hardtop on a car with that much power

[Lord Warlock]

All R/Ts had the option of vinyl top, in varied colors.  Our tops are just as hard as one without one, ours is just more stylish .  We are also just as powerful.  Then again, i've never had one fly off the car either. 

[JimShine]

1. The mysterious hole by the wiper motor is there !!!!!!  I saw my first in real life.. lol
2. Has a '68 version dash pad
3. Has '68 version heater controls
4. Was told the woodgrain instrument paneling was original
and
5. Has the black button typical of the '68 model year..

What was different between the 68 and 69 heater controls? 
Same question with the Dash pad
regarding #5; what black button are you speaking of? The door handle? just wondering since mine was built early sept 68 and has a black button too. 

Lord Warlock

The black button refers to the door handle button. But almost every original 1969 Mopar I have seen has black.

1968 standard heater controls


1969/1970 standard controls


The 1968 top pad points out in the middle. The 1969-70 is straight across.

[dpm68]

Well raise my rent...I learn something new here everyday!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Nice descriptons Jim

[694spdRT]

Nice descriptons Jim

I'm rather fond of that last interior pic for some reason. 

[Brock Samson]

well it would just appeal to me more to have a hardtop on a car with that much power

    that's a GOOD ONE!!! 

[CHASWINGMAN2]

All R/Ts had the option of vinyl top, in varied colors.  Our tops are just as hard as one without one, ours is just more stylish .  We are also just as powerful.  Then again, i've never had one fly off the car either. 

When I bought my first Charger, back in the day, I had a maiden voyage of 6 miles to get it home.  I hit the interstate like a kid without fear,  the blue lights came on pretty quick, not for speeding, but for littering.  The Kentucky trooper wanted to ticket me for littering, as my vinyl top was coming off in large sheets.  My buddy Frank and I spent the next 45 minutes picking up trash along I-75 to appease the cop.  He was kinda cool though, no ticket and wished me luck with my rusty Charger.  Good thing he didn't notice the rust flying off the car as well.
   The funny thing is, I've never had an easy time of removing a vinyl top since then, they always require a lot of effort to remove, Oh Well.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]