Recreating the Ernie Derr 1969 Charger in 1:18 Scale

[B5 Charger]

My Dad and I have been working on recreating IMCA stock car champion Ernie Derr's 1969 Charger.  Things have been moving pretty slow because most items have to be fabricated or modified to fit the Ertl Charger chassis.  One thing we are having trouble with is recreating the decals.  We can recreate them just fine but there are a couple we just can't identify.  If there's any old timers out there who can help out I would appreciate it.  I'll try to post some pics as the project progresses.  I've included a pic of the overall car and a close-up of one of the mystery decals.

[JimShine]

I have nothing better to do at the moment, so i did 3 minutes of research. I would say its an old Northland Oil logo.

[moparstuart]

my buddy milt woods says talk to this guy, I will PM you his email address

   Send that thread of the Ernie Derr car to John Johnson. He has one of his cars in has shop.

Milt

[B5 Charger]

Thanks JimShine that looks like the right one we just couldn't read what it said.  I hate to email a guy I don't know but i'd love to see this car in person.  I've seen the magazine articles but there's nothing like the real thing. 

[Mike DC]

 
Does anybody have an old thread link or a webpage source for some pics of Ernie Derr's car?  I always wanted to see that thing and I missed the magazine issue it was in. 

[B5 Charger]

Here are some preliminary pics of the car.  Dad will be stripping this one down to bare metal again to fix the decals, relocate the gas filler hole, etc.  We're also still working on the Hemi, exhaust, chassis, and numerous other things to make them as accurate as possible.  Been working on it for about two months now.

[rav440]

  nice job 

[Brock Samson]

looks great BTW: nothing says "NASCAR" like a radiused front wheel well.. 

[BigBlackDodge]

The 1998 December issue of Mopar Action had a nice article on Derr.............several pics of the '69 that some how survived (beat up, dented, broke windshield........a time capsule really!). Lots of pics of the interior and such.




BBD

[JimShine]

Hreat job!

[B5 Charger]

There's a MCG article out there too but I can't remember what issue.

[tan top]

The 1998 December issue of Mopar Action had a nice article on Derr.............several pics of the '69 that some how survived (beat up, dented, broke windshield........a time capsule really!). Lots of pics of the interior and such.




BBD

yep remember that ..what a awesome find that would of been ..made for some good reading 
yeah broked windshield ..even still had the chunk of mud in it i think 

[UFO]

There's a MCG article out there too but I can't remember what issue.

October 1998

[Magnumcharger]

Great job!!
I like it when people do unique things....especially with 1/18 scale diecast!!

[The Kid]

Great job. It looks awesome !

[B5 Charger]

Need opinions on this exhaust.  Does it look correct?  I still need to make an aluminum shield for the pipes as they exit out the side.  Ernie' pipes come out the P/S on all the photo's we've seen.

[billssuperbird]

 

[BlaineKaiser450]

thats really sweet

[Chatt69chgr]

I don't think you can buy decals like the ones shown on the car.  What's involved in making your own 1:18 scale decals?

[B5 Charger]

Need some more help with decal identification.  We've got three different years going at the same time now '68, '69 & '70.  Were trying to identify the decals circled.  One looks like a MOOG chassis sticker to me and the other I have no idea.  Dad figured out how to radius the front fenders so that's done.  More progress pic's to follow.

[TruckDriver]

Looks Great!

[Ghoste]

Like a lot of those race cars, Ernie's 69 changed around a little even through the season of use.  I have a few pics of it as it was "discovered" in 1998.  I'll scan them and post them for you but I don't know if they'll be much help.

[Ghoste]

Here's one shot of the side and as you can see the decals are different than the other pics.

[Ghoste]

The trunk and fuel cell.

[Ghoste]

The interior.

[B5 Charger]

Thanks Ghoste those are great.  Where was that at?  If you've got any others we'd love to see them!   

[Ghoste]

Mopar Nationals in 1998.  I have a few others but I don't think they would be much help.

[B5 Charger]

Does that car make the rounds at any other Mopar shows?  Any other pictures would help with detailing if you have the time to post them.  We have done enough research to learn that he had MANY different decal arrangements through the seasons.  We are just trying to recreate the schemes we have pictures of.  We only have two pictures of the '70 and the decals are the same on both.  We figure they'll look cool displayed with a matching picture of the actual car.

[Mike DC]

 

That thing is so cool.  It should be left the way it is.



I've always wanted to build a General Lee like that.  To make a GL replica look like it would have really looked if it had been an real-life existing old '70s stock car.  The GL as we have always known it is really a cleaned-up movie prop version of what a '70s dirt track car was like.  Derr's car is the real thing. 
   
 

[Ghoste]

The story goes that the only way Ernie was willing to sell the car to the current owner was if he promised to restore to day one condition before it ever turned a tire in anger.  There were a lot of folks clamoring that it be left as is but I don't know the current condition.  To my knowledge it hasn't been shown now in nearly a decade.

[Ghoste]

One on the trailer.

[Ghoste]

Another on the trailer.  I hope these help as they're all I could find.  I know I have some more someplace but I will have to dig deeper in the archives.

[B5 Charger]

Thanks for all the pics Ghoste!  Anybody have any ideas on those decals??? 

[BigBlackDodge]

Thanks for all the pics Ghoste!  Anybody have any ideas on those decals??? 

That same decal is on Pete Hamiltons Super Bird.............pic is not that great though. Looks like 3 words over a blue ribbon of some sort......

Still looking.

BBD

[BigBlackDodge]

The
Great
Ones

SK
Tools




BBD

[B5 Charger]

Thanks BBD I would have never located that.  S&K tools? I would have thought it was PBR or something like that.  Here's a p[icture of that moog decal close up.  Anybody have any idea what the tiny writing is?