I WANT EVERYONE'S OPINION

[SFRT]

Build a kickass Hemi  and put it in the non # car. drive the hell out of it.

[Magnumcharger]

I've seen both of your cars up close and personal Mark.
You'd be hard pressed to find two nicer, and rarer examples of collectable Chargers.
If you got the Hemi Charger by sacrificing either one of those cars, I'm certain the decision would come back to haunt you.
Keep what you've got.

[Death1970Proof]

another vote for keep the 2 440 cars. hemi is awesome. period. BUT i wouldn't do a 2 for 1. the sunroof R/T is cooler to me. even though the R/T 's are rare in their own right, at least you could drive them. not gonna get that hemi out on the road too much. you'll be scared after investing so much and probably can't enjoy it like it's meant to be enjoyed
trav

If you dont ever plan on enjoying the car, you might as well call it a paperweight!  You will probably find a hemi car before you find another sunroof car!! I have never seen one up close. Id much rather keep up a 440 than hemi...Keep the two!

[Charger_Fan]

Ignore these guys...sell both of 'em & buy a '70!!

[moparstuart]

 go for the hemi       

[0X01B8]

Whatever you do, make sure you have at least one Charger that you can drive at any time the mood strikes you.  If that's the Hemi, fine, but I imagine there's a lot more anxiety leaving a Hemi car at the grocery store parking lot than the others.   

[69_500]

To me it all depends on the options that the HEMI car has. Now if it was a HEMI 4 speed car in a desireable color combination then I'd say go for the HEMI car. The RT/SE sunroof car you have is defiantely a rariety. As far as I know 29 RT/SE 69 chargers were built. I have yet to see another in the V2 orange as your car is. The one you have is definately a very nice looking ride. If your wanting something just based on how rare it is, stick to the sunroof car. I'm not positive on the total number of HEMI chargers in 1969 but I think it around 480?

I would love to own a HEMI car. I parted with 2 sunroof Chargers to get 1 69 Charger 500. So I guess my own dealing with cars tells you which I'd go after.

[Fitz73Chrgr]

I'd at least keep the sunroof car.

[kylem4711]

its just a sunroof.    stick your head out of the car if you want some sun.


go for the hemi.

what would you want for your cars?
and how much is the hemi?

[bill440rt]

I'm with the majority on this one, stick with BOTH 440 cars! Especially if you have a sunroof car that's FULLY documented & matching#'s.

How much work are we talking with a HEMI car that you have to sell TWO cars in order to get?    That alone doesn't seem worth it.

Other members have given some great advice: keep both 440 cars you are in love with (and sound VERY desireable), & build a HEMI clone you can have fun with & drive!
You'll still have an extremely good investment with your other two 440 cars if that's your concern.

[1969chargerrtse]

HEMI.  I agree with if you want sun stick your head out.  Sorry sunroof guys ( and you are few ) They made what 100,000 ish chargers and like 29 people thought the sunroof was cool?  What's that like .00000001%?  Ain't nothing like a Hemi car period.  Sunroof car?  Wow, sunroof.  That's nice, does it work?    HEMI HEMI HEMI.  Ain't nothing like being the owner of a HEMI car, good or bad market.   This coming from a non HEMI, non motor car ( long story ).

[moparmark]

                      Hey guys,

              The '69 hemi charger is an original black car (not triple black) and is an automatic.It has all original sheetmetal but would probably have to be restored.As far as options it doesn't have too many.Three speed wipers (standard with 426),console,no tach(that seems weird),dana 60 with 4:10 gears,power disc front brakes and that's about it.He is asking $150 000.00 for it (seems high to me)

          As far as my RT/SE sunroof charger everything works on it including the power sunroof.It has every option that I know of except luggage rack and hood pins but that's about it.

             Mark

[1969chargerrtse]

                      Hey guys,

              The '69 hemi charger is an original black car (not triple black) and is an automatic.It has all original sheetmetal but would probably have to be restored.As far as options it doesn't have too many.Three speed wipers (standard with 426),console,no tach(that seems weird),dana 60 with 4:10 gears,power disc front brakes and that's about it.He is asking $150 000.00 for it (seems high to me)

          As far as my RT/SE sunroof charger everything works on it including the power sunroof.It has every option that I know of except luggage rack and hood pins but that's about it.

             Mark

Man that's a hard call?  Auto hemi, no tach, 4:11's yuck, needs to be restored?  O.K here's my final input.  Lets face it, we love our cars but don't tell me they are not wise investments.  I would do the math, what is what I have worth?  What is the Hemi car worth?  Is it worth it for me in the long run?  Do I want to restore another car ( and at what ridiculous cost ), or just turn the key on my 2 other cars?  That's it, they are worth what they are worth, is it worth it financially speaking would be my train of thought, 150,000?  I would research like crazy.  If your buying it at fair value so what?  What you want is a good deal.  150,000 then restoring it further?  I'm no Hemi guy but doesn't sound like a great deal to me for an auto Hemi car.

[Troy]

It needs restored for $150K? Tough choice since it's all numbers matching. A factory black, numbers matching Hemi Charger would be a dream come true (too bad it's a year too new ). However, you already have two R/Ts in some of the coolest colors available and one has a sunroof. I'd be a nightmare to try to take the Hemi car out - although some people will tell you "it's just a car" and to drive it all the time. Driving a Hemi with 4.10s on the highway isn't a fun experience for long or very often. I have always wanted a Hemi car so if you're the same way then try to work out a deal. If you just love Chargers and are happy with what you have then you'll likely be disappointed if you give them up.

Troy

[Dave22443]

I don't think anyone is saying that a HEMI car isn't desireable.  Heck, I think most of us would want a HEMI car.  But the reality check is, as good as a HEMI might be, it isn't worth selling off two pristine highly loved Chargers for one Charger that needs work just because its a HEMI.

If the HEMI car was pristine (it isn't) and I wasn't totally in love with the two cars I already had (he is) then I might consider it a good idea.

A friend of mine has a 1971 HEMI GTX in pristine concourse condition.  I told him that I envy him.  He warned me not to and pointed to my driver '68 Charger.  "At least you enjoy yours."  He said. "All I ever do is worry about mine.  It's not fun anymore."

I drove home that day in my Charger and did something I didn't think was possible.  I fell in love with it all over again.

[1969chargerrtse]

I don't think anyone is saying that a HEMI car isn't desireable.  Heck, I think most of us would want a HEMI car.  But the reality check is, as good as a HEMI might be, it isn't worth selling off two pristine highly loved Chargers for one Charger that needs work just because its a HEMI.

If the HEMI car was pristine (it isn't) and I wasn't totally in love with the two cars I already had (he is) then I might consider it a good idea.

A friend of mine has a 1971 HEMI GTX in pristine concourse condition.  I told him that I envy him.  He warned me not to and pointed to my driver '68 Charger.  "At least you enjoy yours."  He said. "All I ever do is worry about mine.  It's not fun anymore."

I drove home that day in my Charger and did something I didn't think was possible.  I fell in love with it all over again.

Great point.

[bill440rt]

                      Hey guys,

              The '69 hemi charger is an original black car (not triple black) and is an automatic.It has all original sheetmetal but would probably have to be restored.As far as options it doesn't have too many.Three speed wipers (standard with 426),console,no tach(that seems weird),dana 60 with 4:10 gears,power disc front brakes and that's about it.He is asking $150 000.00 for it (seems high to me)

          As far as my RT/SE sunroof charger everything works on it including the power sunroof.It has every option that I know of except luggage rack and hood pins but that's about it.

             Mark

I stand by my opinion.
You have to trade TWO cars, one of which is probably just as desirable as a HEMI car or MORE, to trade for a HEMI car that the person is asking $150,000 that NEEDS a resto?? You're gonna sink another $40,000 or so into it restoring it, will you be able to get back $190,000 for a plane jane '69 HEMI Charger? Probably not.

Build a clone for $50,000 & save yourself $140,000. And, you'll have THREE Chargers that you LOVE, including a HEMI car that you can actually drive without worry!



PS- The whole reason a sunroof car is desirable today is that nobody wanted them back then!!! That's why they are "rare & collectible."  Convertibles, whacky optioned cars, etc. all fall into this category.

[Anders]

Hey Mark, any chance of seeing pics of your RT/SE sunroof?

[moparmark]

         Hey Guys,

              I tried posting a few pics of my 2 chargers but the file was too big.Any suggestions?

          Mark

[280bb0]

KEEP THE TWO YOU HAVE!!!! Find a nice project and stick the HEMI in that !!!

[69_500]

There were more than 29 sunroof Chargers made in 1969, just 29 that were RT/SE's. The reason for the small number isn't necesarily that it wasn't an option people wanted, but due to the HUGE PRICE. The power sunroof was the second most expensive option one could order on a Charger in 1969. The only option that was more expensive was the HEMI engine upgrade. Odds are that the sticker price on the 69 RT/SE that he already has with the sunroof was upwards of $5,800 or so back in 1969. The sticker on the HEMI car he is talking about would have been around what $4,800 back in 69 due to the lack of options other than the HEMI. So its not that the sunroof was undesireable, but it was REALLY expensive. To just upgrade to a sunroof on a Charger in 1969 was $435 I think. Would have to pull some papers to see for sure, but I know it was darn expensive.
Side note here too. Its not that weird for an AT HEMI Charger to not have a tach. Have seen quite a few HEMI 4 speed cars that didn't come factory with a tach either. Depending on exactly how much work in needed on the HEMI car, is to whether or not I think that the $150K asking price is too high. I think its high if the car needs a lot of work, its a little high if the car needs a little work, and its not high at all if the car is turn key and ready to roll, which it sounds like its not.

[Troy]

         Hey Guys,

              I tried posting a few pics of my 2 chargers but the file was too big.Any suggestions?

          Mark

There are a multitude of threads on resizing pictures in the Help section.

Troy

[moparmark]

              Yeah,you're right.

             The HEMI engine option was $648.20 option.The power sunroof option was $461.45.


            Mark

[69_500]

Then you also take into consideration the amount of appeal the seperate cars will have at various shows. The RT/SE with power sunroof will always draw a crowd at the major Mopar shows. My sunroof cars only garnered small amounts of appeal at smaller local shows though. The HEMI car would command a crowd at any show you take it, whether its local or national. Have no idea if that is something that you care about or not though. Personally I like having cars that only select people will pay attention to. Doesn't matter to me that people will walk by my 500 at any local shows, because they don't have a clue what it is. People did the same to my 69 SE Sunroof car and the 70 500 I had with the sunroof. many people at local shows thought it was a later add on to the car, and didn't pay too much attention to it.

[moparmark]

           

Then you also take into consideration the amount of appeal the seperate cars will have at various shows. The RT/SE with power sunroof will always draw a crowd at the major Mopar shows. My sunroof cars only garnered small amounts of appeal at smaller local shows though. The HEMI car would command a crowd at any show you take it, whether its local or national. Have no idea if that is something that you care about or not though. Personally I like having cars that only select people will pay attention to. Doesn't matter to me that people will walk by my 500 at any local shows, because they don't have a clue what it is. People did the same to my 69 SE Sunroof car and the 70 500 I had with the sunroof. many people at local shows thought it was a later add on to the car, and didn't pay too much attention to it.

                                     That realy doesn't bother me at all.My '69 F6 charger won judge's favorite award at the Crosstown Motors Dodge show last May.My '69 RT/SE sunroof car won Best of Show and Sponsor's Choice awards last August at the Edmonton Mopar Club 10th anniversary show.I constantly have people saying that a 69 Charger did not come with a sunroof.I almost got into arguments with people about that.As far as a Hemi charger everyone can relate to that I guess.