How many still live free?

[SFRT]

Got to wondering on lazy Saturday... of the 69 vintage ...what % still actually survive as cars that get driven on the street...not counting cars restored and locked in bank vaults or ones that just get trailered around.

5%  10% 20% ?

[69charger2002]

i'd say in between 5-10%.. i have 6 69 chargers.. and i will drive any one of them. none are trailer queens. but as far as "living free" they don't get driven near enough to be considered street beaters.. maybe once every couple weeks one gets driven

[JimShine]

I think the number of non-streetable Chargers far outnumber the driveable and restored cars. Many Chargers escaped the crusher, but fell victim to mother nature and Clem's ham fisted repair work.

In terms of restored trailer queens versus drivers, I would guess that most Chargers still roadworthy are in the driver class.

Region dictates alot too. In Maine in my area there were around 16 2nd generation Chargers, only 3 were roadworthy. On my street where I live now there are 4 2nd gen chargers, only one is not roadworthy.

[1969chargerrtse]

Up here in the North East  (CT) , I know of NONE.  Zero, I would have a stroke if I saw one on the road as a daily driver.  But, there is a 69 Coronet and a 72 Chevelle that I know of as daily drivers.

[SFRT]

for some reason here in the bay area theres at least 7 superbee's running around that I see on a regular basis...but the only running charger I have seen in 13 years other than this primered out ghetto heap over by Turk street has been Brock's.

some guy in my nieghborhood has a super clean 69 camaro SS he drives all the time.

and I  used know a guy over in the sunset that had a crazy mint lime green cuda, but since he had no drivers license (suspended dui) it just sat in his rec room. like..he walled it into his house.

[JimShine]

Up here in the North East  (CT) , I know of NONE.  Zero, I would have a stroke if I saw one on the road as a daily driver.  But, there is a 69 Coronet and a 72 Chevelle that I know of as daily drivers.

My '69 Charger lived in Waterbury in the 80's then moved to the Hartford area until I bought it in 2004. It has been a daily driver all along.

I saw a red '69 with black top with CT plates driving around in Middlebury near my fathers house last summer. It was a clean machine.

[Manfred318]

Well there are 2 '69s around here. One is a 3x green 383 that my former 8th grade teacher bought new. She still drives it from time to time, but mostly it just sits there collecting rust . The other one is  Bronze with a white top and white interior. I see it out on the road every now and then. It stays locked in a garage most of the time. I have the only running and driving '68 in town and I drive mine just about everywhere.

[Mike DC]

There's thousands of them still driveable, but how much they get driven is another story entirely. 

It seems like most of the Chargers outside the desert states are members of the "one oil change per year" club.

[bull]

Most of the "classic" Mopars I see still on the road are the one's that weren't meant for abuse such as the Furys, Coronets, wagons, etc. I have seen a pretty ratty '70 Charger a few times in the next town over that gets used as a driver. But most 40-year-old cars just don't hold up well unless they don't get used much and/or get a lot of TLC when sitting.

[rarefish]

I was down in Venice Florida last month and when I walked out of a local sports bar I saw a green on green 69 R/T sitting in the parking
of the place. It was some what tired looking. Dents in the body, seats ripped, vinyl top missing. I kind of figured that it must be someone's
daily driver.

[Ghoste]

And when we use the phrase "daily driver", are we using it by it's strictest definition?  I know some folks think of it as belonging to somebody with one vehicle and that is the only car they drive.  To work, to play, whatever.  Others, myself included, tend to think of it as a car that while it may not be driven everyday, is used frequently for a variety of things outside of travelling to car shows or occasional Sunday afternoon drives.
Our minivan sees less miles in the summer than my Charger because it'll stay parked for weeks at a stretch while I bike to work.  So even though one is a toy, which one could really be called the driver?

[Brock Samson]

i think we had a topic six mos or so ago on the percentages of chargers remaining... I'll see if i can find it..
in the meantime Frank check these out...

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,12332.0.html

[rich4406bbl]

It's not a 69 but I had to press my 71RT into service this season while doing my weekend lanscaping business. It is in "driver" condition. Not restored but clean. You should see the looks I get when cranking down the street with a lawnmower, grass catcher, rake and backpack leaf blower sticking out of the trunk!!!

[68charger383]

I live in So Cal (border of LA/Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) and I do not think I've seen a A, B C or E body driving around freely in a few years. I caught two on film after seeing the above Chargers in the wild thread, but haven't seen any since.

Even at shows, I tend to have the only second Gen. which tells me there are not that many caged ones around me either.

The Van Nuys Fall Fling was a surprise since I did not know there were as many cars out there, but that was the big Mopar show out here pulling cars in from all over.

I've seen some posts where some people where actually able to go to DMV and get info how many 68s, 69s etc. were registered in the state, but never figured out how to get the info.

[dukeboy_318]

dont know how many, but theres a few around this area, i often see a white 70 dart and a 74 duster being driven lot both unrestored orginal cars, daily drivers, i also know of a 73 chally thats driven on weekends and i can promise you mine when finished will be driven atleast three days a week. in my opinion, these cars were meant to be driven, not trailered around. 

[C_stripes]

When I lived in Idaho Falls in 2005, I was driving down Yellowstone in my 73 dart swinger. Coming the other way I saw a 68 dart. As it got closer. I noticed the bulge hood and as it passed what was left of the white bumble bee stripe. The car was pulling a little garden trailer full of leafs.  A few weeks later I saw the car again and followed it. I got talking to the guy once we stopped and he bought the car new. It was an orig numbers matching 383 4spd GTS and he uses it weekly to take his garbage to the dump. He says it is absolutely NOT FOR SALE!!!  There is also a un-restored 70 road runner 383 4spd car and was a 70 coronet deluxe 2dr along with a few other cars. Were I live now in Utah. There is a guy that has 2 69 runners. one hard top and one convert. They each get driven weekly weather it is snowing or nice and sunny. The hard top he bought new in 69 when he was 16 or 17. It is a all orig 383 4spd car. The convert is a 383 auto.  I'll see if I can get pics.  His mom bought a olds 442 off the show room floor. He drives it every once in a wile.  2 years ago my friend had a 73 charger he drove every where. It was a 400 auto.  There is a lady about 12 miles from here that has a daily driven 71 charger 500, Her son drives a 72 charger and her husband drives a 67 SS chevelle. Right after I got my license (1999) I drove A-bodys all over. I had a 71 Scamp a 72 swinger and a 73 swinger that I drove threw out high school and after.   There is also one other 69 runner that runs around here frequently. Plain Jaine but numbers matching supposedly. About five years ago there was a 70 charger 500 factory black with white int and stripes that I saw all the time.  Disappeard now.

[GL0169]

MY 69 CHARGER IS FREE I HAVE BEEN DRIVING IT EVERY DAY FOR 20 YEARS - AND WILL UNTIL  ONE OF US  CANT BE DRIVEN

[HeavyFuel]

There is a purple '70 Road Runner that is a daily here in NoDak.   It's got that cool dust trail decal that runs the entire side of the car.   I see it alot, and it is in pretty bad need of a resto, but the owner has a few other nice mopars, so this one is the driver.

[terrible one]

Up here in the North East  (CT) , I know of NONE.  Zero, I would have a stroke if I saw one on the road as a daily driver.  But, there is a 69 Coronet and a 72 Chevelle that I know of as daily drivers.

I'm right there with you! I know of no 1st or 2nd gen Chargers anywhere near to me. Hell, the only 2nd gen I've ever seen in person is my own!

[onebadmopar]

ive got 2 68 chargers as neighbors see them out once in a while seen 2 3rd genration ones around one belongs to a member here still see alot of a bodys around but the rare e bodies only seen 1 or 2 of them ....mines very close to being done and when it is im gonna drive it like i stole it lol im in my  40,s i didint invest over 15grand for it to sit in my garage

[dpm68]

Besides the non-functional 68 in my garage, I have only seen three or four 68-70s out and about here in the mile-high, and one was a shell on a trailer.

[zerfetzen]

Up here in the North East  (CT) , I know of NONE.  Zero, I would have a stroke if I saw one on the road as a daily driver.  But, there is a 69 Coronet and a 72 Chevelle that I know of as daily drivers.

My '69 Charger lived in Waterbury in the 80's then moved to the Hartford area until I bought it in 2004. It has been a daily driver all along.

I saw a red '69 with black top with CT plates driving around in Middlebury near my fathers house last summer. It was a clean machine.

I 've been in CT for a year and a half now, and haven't seen any up here.  I get on 84 to Southington every morning, hope to see you or any old Chargers for that matter.  Cheers.

[lee]

In my area of about 100 km radius there is about 6 that are not road worthy and will never be again a 68 and 69 sitting beside a dugout stripped to nothing a hillbilly with a 68 that wont do nothing with tried 10 times aready and a another 69 sitting in a pasture wont sell and a 68 and a 69 beside a body shop all good parts gone but wont sell either and the funny thing is they think they got a 10k plus car

[lee]

I forgot about my cars my 68 is all done and my 69 is half done so I guess i cant talk too loud

[Hemidoug]

Up here in the North East  (CT) , I know of NONE.  Zero, I would have a stroke if I saw one on the road as a daily driver.  But, there is a 69 Coronet and a 72 Chevelle that I know of as daily drivers.

A friend of mine drives his surviver (including rust up to the gunwalls) 69 R/T to and from the city (NYC) almost everyday......it's an original Orange car as well!