How did you get your Charger?

[Jake]

Here is the story of my General. This was my first car when I was 16 yrs old, I bought it for $300 out of a field. A '68 Charger. It was brown with Green indoor/outdoor fake grass patio carpeting and full of bondo. ( The car was originally triple green from the factory). After I had owned it for three months and stuck a ton of cash into it I sold it. ( Funny how history repeats itself) Then 12 yrs later I tracked it down through 4 different owners in a 5 hour period ( all in one day.) By the end of the day the car was home with me again. There were still receipts in the glove box from the auto parts store where I bought parts for it as a kid. When you talk about heritage this car has it for me. Everyone that is doing work on it I have known for a long time. For example, The engine was professionally built by a good friend of my family, I remember going to his shop as a kid and watching he and my brother fix up cars and build race engines etc. The guy who did the body work was my Tee-Ball coach. The guy who re-upholstered my seats, I used to work for and have know for about 15 yrs.
This car was built to never be sold.( spared no expense) Converted everything but the doors to a '69.  It was also built to be driven and I have driven it HARD. This car is tough and very strong. It just wants to run wild. This is no trailer queen. I let kids and very hot chics sit on the door with their feet on the seat to have their picture taken. When all polished up it shines like a Georgia sunrise. I have done exhibitions at local dirt tracks, pavement circle tracks and countless parades and promotions. There is nothing like 6000 people standing on their seats screaming their heads off when the General takes the field sliding sidways,smokin the tires and tormenting the local cops who purposefully chase you hoping you run. It is a blast to drive.

Pic of me when I was 16 checking the oil and of course using my t- shirt as a rag. Still live on the same road and so does my buddy in the pic. We still mess w old cars even in our late thirties. http://www.jakesgeneralstore.com/node/312

resto pics http://www.jakesgeneralstore.com/image-galleries/cars/images-jakes-general-lee

[Belgium R/T -68]

We, the family was celebrating my dads 75th birthday in 2005 at my sisters place and late in the evening
my brother in law showed me ebay on his PC. Never heard of that before and I spent the night checking for everything and found a -68 Charger R/T for sale in Texas, a white one with centerline wheels. I hit the "buy it now" button and the rest is history like they say. Spent the 2 first year
beating the crap out of it and started the resto in 2007. My first and only Charger.

Per

[Plum Crazy 68]

1988 I was on a movie date with my girlfriend.  I left my 57 chevy wagon at home and we took her 74 duster.  She drove.  After the movie her mom told her they found her car.  I said,.... what other car do you have? We went to an impound yard and there was a 68 Charger in primer gray.  She was almost in tears as the person who stole it had ripped off the vinyl top and tried to cover the brown paint.  She said she paid $500 for it when she was 15.  It had a dented driverside door and fender but it came with both parts.  She was the official 2nd owner in 1985.  It was reported as stolen for 14 months and was recovered by the CHP when someone tried to register it.

Well, we got married in 1992 and she hung on to the Charger.  In 1992 the same motor was rebuilt.  It was a daily driver until 1996 when we bought her a new car.  In 1998 we finally got the car painted Plum Crazy Purple and had the interior redone plus a new vinyl top.  It went into the garage for 10 years and was undercover.  So after owning the car for 25 years we have finally got it back on the road.  It is a true California rust free car with black plates.  So essentially, I had to give up my freedom, sell the Chevy, buy new cars, house and have kids just so I could have a 68 Charger$$$$$$.

[TK73]

Online ad...

[Foreman72]

I love telling the story of how i got my charger...

its all typed out and illustrated here...
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,60532.0.html

So about 5 years ago my family was at my aunts house for easter.  My aunt lives in a farmhouse that has been in my mom's family for 7 generations; very historical location.  Over the course of the day, I was talking to one of my uncles about cars and i mentioned i loved muscle cars.  Then he went and talked to my mom for a while.  I went on hanging out with family and then he came back and said he had something to show me.  We walked out to the barn on the propertry.  Its in pretty rough shape and filled with all sorts of old things from wagon wheels to oil drums.  But i saw this car.  This green car.  My uncle said this was his car when he was in high school.  Then he gave it to his girlfriend who used it for awhile.  When she got a new one we had nothing to do with it so he put in here.  That was 20yrs ago.  He said, I've been trying to think of something to do with it and your mom said it was ok if I gave it to you so guess what?  He handed me the key and I couldn't even see straight.  For the rest of the day I was in that barn pouring over my new treasure.  Now 5 yrs later I have studied everything possible about this car, picked up every parts mag I could, read all the mopar mags ect ect I could and of course joined here.  
And the resto is slowly but surely moving forward

[Wicked72]

Me too! Me too!
Yeah to much to type all over again..
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,68060.0.html

[68blue]

My 68 was purchased new by my grandmother's older brother. He lived in Florida and would drive up on occasion to visit. Nobody in our farm family played golf so I would go with him to the local 9 hole goat hill golf course and caddy, chase balls, and keep him company while he played golf which was his real passion.

Fast forward 15 years, I'm married, two sons, working full time, and living in a small house. My grandmother calls and tells me that my great uncle passed away and that she is going south to settle the estate. Sad call but I had not seen him in some years. When she returns she tells me that he left me the car.

I was surprised and a little sad when I picked up the car as I realized that I had no place to keep it. Parked it in a barn after keeping it in the weather on the street for a year or so always wanted to fix it up but with family, job and space, things just never worked out.

Fast forward another 25 years, kids grown, I'm retired in a buy out, and moving to a house with a much bigger garage. I go back and pull the car out, evicting the various unhappy long term inhabitants and start in. The rest being slowly documented at this site which has been a great source of info and entertainment.

I found his old golf hat still in the trunk where it will return when the car is done.

[moparstuart]

 story of how i got one of my chargers ,  My 69 500


     http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,49791.0.html

[hemi68charger]

Tell me things like: how long you worked for it, how you found it, and the other important things that people ask about chargers! As of now im just "Counting down" the amount of work I gotta do. In hours and weeks, I got around 150+ hours and 3 weeks. So I thought this would be fun.

Which Charger are you referring to? I've owned a bunch..........

But if we're just discussing the ones currently owned, it's called the "Troy-trade"

1. 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona - knew about the car for over 3 years from ebaymotors. I tried and tried to trade my other Chargers for it. Finally, in '09, I did. I traded my ever-on-going '68 Hemi Charger R/T and running/driving '69 Charger 500 440 4-speed straight up for it.........

2. 1969 Dodge Charger 500 - posted an "possible trade my '70 440 six pack Charger R/T project for a '69 Charger 500 project" ad. It worked. An hour after the posting, the process started with Pete and it finally happened.

[Brock Samson]

'm a Car Nut!
 Absolutely certifiable. If I could, I'd have as many cars as possible, dozens, hundreds even, just like some folks who collect old 45s or L.P.s, magazines, newspapers, spoons or refrigerator magnets, beany babies, Stamps or Coins.
However,.. Living on a tight budget and in the inner-city means  I can really only afford and have space for two, a "Daily Driver" which has to be supremely tractable and my "Hot Rod" which is not limited to mundane considerations like size, the number of cup holders or miles per gallon.
  I remember My late uncle Smiley arguing with my dad who finally relented and allowed  me to accompany him to a southern Ca. airport race track in the early '60s where beautiful finned turquoise Jaguar D-Types mixed it up with  Mercedes 300 SLR s the occasional Corvette and home built specials.  Peering out the back of my moms' '54 Bel-air I learned to judge the speed of cars by their Animalistic anthropomorphic  grilled faces in front  and the number of chromed tail pipes sticking out in back, The aggressive leer of  early '60s Thunderbirds and the sound of  dual glass packs is forever etched into my consciousness. When I was an impressionable youth American muscle cars ruled the roads, the older guys in the garages hung out listening to the latest Motown or the groovy new sounds of the British invasion on small one speaker AM radios while chain-smoking Marlboros which dangled from quiet but occasionally swearing lips and in the case of the really cool guys,  filterless camels came from packs tucked into Tee-shirt sleeves, THE Official uniform of gear heads which incl. blue jeans and black high top Keds .
  At the age of 10 in my area the one car that most caught my imagination was the copper colored 1967 Plymouth GTX, powered by a now as then legendary HEMI engine that you could hear shaking windows from two blocks away, that, plus the tales I was told by the older dads who owned the huge Chrysler 300s and 4-door New Yorkers and who swore their "Chryslers are over engineered.. 'cause you know, Chrysler built the mighty -29 Super-fortress in W.W. II". These Stories seemed to me like those told in caves around the tribal fire of the ferocious Cave bear and Mighty Mastodons clinched me as a MOPARIAN, a  Chrysler Gear-head for life.
   Someyears after I started hanging out in garages I found myself at age 11 working my first long 10 hour day helping to swap an oil pan gasket in a puddle of dirty oil under a '57 Chevy on Geneva Ave. right where it broke. After that it was my mom's '63 Galaxy 500 which needed a head gasket. A few months later a trip with a family friend to Champion raceway off U.S. 101 where in a borrowed and way too big, blue metal flake helmet I sat, knees knocking uncontrollably in the fiberglass passenger seat of a 427 engined '58 Ford Highboy called "The High and Mighty".
Most all the hot drag race cars were named back then in large metallic letters, The Brother up the street had a '67 Goat (G.T.O.) named "Soul Shaker", and  there were many others on Friday and Saturday nights prowling for girls and kicks on El Camino and the Great Highway. and hanging out both before and after at Mels' Drive in on South Vann Ness .
 Finally, after "some college", I started working two jobs to pay for my long dreamed of  Ride. I had my Daily Driver, a  ten year old Dodge Van in which I hauled my Rock band's gear which quickly became other bands gear and then solely through  word of mouth became a weekend gig moving folks stuff around the bay area, the modest extra income meant I could finally afford a project car. I didn't want a new car, or even a perfect old car, because My dream was to build my own car, to soup-up a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T - Special Edition. The R/T option was the 440 or 426 Cubic Inch engine performance package offered from 1968 to 1972 and the S.E. package was the luxury package that could be ordered on various models,  both designations are a nomenclature still in use on Dodges today.
 Finding a '69 Charger R/T S.E. was a long shot especially at a price I could afford but, nonetheless only two weeks after beginning my intensive search, A call from a friend who spotted a stripped example in a wreaking yard was just what I had been waiting for. Oh it was rough, rust had eaten away the rear quarters, roof and the drivers' floorboard, there was no engine, transmission, axles or interior but soon a wreaked parts car provided seats and  working if basic mechanicals which powered the loud, smoking black and white striped automotive Dinosaur, dubbed by my best friend Steve "Skunkenstein".
 My initial rectification estimate of two years and ten thousand dollars  proved wildly optimistic, because I lacked the funds, repair skills, tools and garage space to quickly transform her into a perfect show car, but run she did, trailing oil smoke and gas fumes, occasionally overheating, steering like a clipper ship - rounding the horn and occasionally breaking down, there were a few minor accidents too but no one was hurt, even when I launched off a dead deer in the road at 90 M.P.H. at 2:00 A.M. in the Gold Country and still I managed to make it to many local car shows where I was teased by the well-heeled "experts" for arriving in a cobbled together, under powered and unfinished mongrel.
  I proceeded slowly, collecting parts as funds permitted. One day an ad in the Chronicle classifieds offered a genuine 440 Six-Pack, my engine of choice, the motor I  had been saving and searching for ten long years... I arrived at the home of an ex-drag racer just a couple minutes ahead of  another motor head longing for the same motor. The short lock engine was claimed to be "perfect, needing only to be bolted in", however a closer examination reveled an oil pan filled with granulated pistons.
 Finally in 1999,  I completely rebuilt my Charger using all the special parts I had been collecting since 1984 at the start of my long endeavor. She may not be the fastest or the most beautiful, the most expensive or all original but she's mine.
 By the way, my Daily Driver?.. It's a Chrysler.

[Charger RT]

The Charger I have right now I first saw in 1980 when I drove my 17 year old brother (in my 69 charger) to buy his first car. A 68 R/T 4 speed charger for $1000.00. He drove it until the end of 82 pulled the engine for a rebuild and just let it sit for 3 years until he gave me first shot to buy it. His price was $400.00 plus I had to agree that every car part trash or treasure he left at our moms house when we lived there was part of the deal. That way I had a week end of cleaning his mess. It been mine for 25 years now but it still gets referred to as juniors car or juniors old car. My brother has asked a few times to buy it back but I always turn him down. At least he knows where his first car is.
Tim

[Rolling_Thunder]

Went to a local car thing to sell my brother's car (72 Nova) - I was 15 at the time and looking for a mopar - I had been working summers and saving all my money ---  I ended up not selling the car (was there with my father) and as we were packing up and about to leave I see a white 68 Charger pull through the gate and idle down one of the rows -  I went over with my dad and looked at it and talked to the owner...       it was for sale.

Now keep in mind that my parents had regulated what i could purchase...   I had found a 1970 RT/SE V code charger a couple miles from my house - but with a 4-speed and 4.10's out back my parents said "hell no" -  I had gone and looked at about a dozen chargers by this time...    engine limit was a 383 only because I never found a 318 Charger...     

Back to this white car...    owner had it for sale - he was there with his wife and new daughter - it was the wife's car so it was optioned as follows: WW1 paint, green interior, buckets, console, light package, export code, 3rd owners, 2.76 open rear end, 318 2bbl automatic, and generally very clean.

I ended up buying the car that day and the rest is history...    6 engines, 3 transmissions, 3 rear ends, and two "restorations" --- its still not done...     

[Old Moparz]

Told women to give me money so I could buy a Charger or they'd have to see me naked.











Had enough cash in about 3 minutes.  

[Grim Jhaixus]

Mine is a little sad. Back in 2002, three Days before I turned 15 I met this guy at school named Tony, a 19 year old who was doing a second run on the 12th grade, we talk about cars and we become best friends in minutes. He collected cars, trucks, vans, race cars, classic cars, new cars, beater cars, diesels, even an electric scooter once. Mustangs being his favorites (3rd gen Chargers were already mine). He doesn't restore them, he just gets them limping enough and then blows them up or wrecks them, whichever happens first. Drove me crazy, always having to wrench on something because he refused to put brake fluid in it or ruined the tranny after getting it stuck in some mudhole, or parked it between a couple of trees up on its side (his sister-in-law's 1992 Pontiac Sunbird). We go through 80s Mustang after 80s Mustang after Bronco II, 87 Camaro, 77 AMC Hornet, 80s Rangers, his sister's Blazer, 70s Ford Vans and then one day he shows up in a 1975 Mustang II. I had never seen one before, they were nearly all crushed probably by the time I was 5 (born in 1987 btw) and I still say it's the only good looking Mustang Ford made. I want this car before Tony destroys it, I don't succeed, he blows it up and then sells it to some Lithuainian. After a couple 90s Mustangs, his mother-in-law's Camry, a very cool 73 Cougar XR7, 83 Bronco, my ex-girlfriend's ATV, a 72 Q Code MACH1 and I don't remember what all else later Tony calls me about a 1973 Charger he traded a Mazda B1600 with a built Chevy 305 for. It sounded terrible, it was full of dents, paint runs, missing trim, busted marker lights, bald tires, obviously abused and neglected. Me: "Tony, sell me that car before you ruin it." Tony: "No way." Me: "Why not?" Tony: "It's a Charger, it's badass!" He ends up only wrecking it once, backed it into a short concrete pole on the passenger side. Somehow it lives nearly a year, possibly because I would show up and do the maintainence for him. Oil, power steering fluid, air filter, brake pads, new Carter BBD, more stuff you wouldn't normally do for someone else's car. It ends up being Tony's last car. He finally agrees to sell me the car on Thanksgiving Day 2009, he gets sick shortly after and dies June 25th.

I know it's kind of a downer but that's how it was.

[fireguyfire]

After restoring my 66 Coronet 500, I started a 2 year search for my dream car, a 68 charger; very hard to find  one in the condition I was after (needing full resto but not too far gone) and while searching and putting threads on this site I hooked up with none other than Troy; wound up buying his factory black 68 this winter and hope to have her on the road next spring!

[Axels73Charger]

Man all these stories are amazing. And not one is the same! Great pics by the way!

Online ad...

Well thats looking to be the thing I do too.

[jobbless]

i asked everyone i met that was into cars. looked in the news paper. bought all the magazines. auto trader, roundup, free ads, all that junk, looked online. drove all over on wild goose chases to find cars that either didn't exist, weren't for sale, or junk. i was threatened to get off of peoples property, just for knocking on their door to ask about the charger rotting in the back yard. this went on for 13 years. almost bought some cars i didn't really want just because i drove over 8 hours to look at them. just missed a few good deals. seems like there are some deals when you don't have any money. and i had a few deals taken from me. when you make plans with someone and they brake them. when you are supposed to buy the car and are at the bank getting the money to do so. they sell it to someone else. and you didn't talk the guy down!!! and then he tries to sell you a shittier car for more money just because it was all one color. anyway i am venting.

so i finally found a 68 on craigslist. in missouri. i am in pittsburgh pa.  it is 14 hours away. i write the guy 15 or so times the day i see the ad. in the last message, i tell him i will give him 500 more than his asking price. if he gives me a chance to come look at it.  he calls me and informs me that 75 people wrote him that day and said that they would take it now for the asking price. so he said he called me because i was the only person who offered more. my buddy nino and i jumped in the truck. and off we were to missouri. we get there the car was not as nice as advertised. as they never are. but it was not that bad. nicer than most i have looked at and way cheaper. one owner running and driving. so i bought it. we drove to U-haul. rented a trailer. its awesome. i finally have my 68..... it took a long time.

[Dans 68]

The '73 was originally purchased new by my wife's sister's husbands father.    He traded in his (purchased new) '68 Charger for it without telling his family.
Just came home one day with the '73.    Collectively they wanted to kill him.   

Flashing forward quite a few decades, my sis-in-law and husband were moving to the DC area, and did not want to take the handed-down '73 with them. As I was their mechanic (performing all tune-ups) they offered it first to me. I agreed to take it (that's right, FREE!  ) and we went down to the local AAA and transferred title that same day.

My Mopar appetite whetted, a few years later I starting looking for a 4-speed '68, the ultimate Charger in my mind. I scoured the internet and found one in Texas that looked promising. I talked to the owner quite a few times over a 2-week period, obtained a lot of photos and history, and flew to San Antonio to take a look see. I liked it, we haggled over price, and shook hands to close the deal. A few weeks later the car was delivered. 

Dan

[Grim Jhaixus]

How do we get a thread made "sticky"? I vote we do it for this one.

[oldgold69]

i had a 63 sport fury in high school.   my friend kept bugging to sell it to him.     i always liked the cowl induction 454 ss.  so cruised the dealers on the south side of milwaukee looking for one.   hit all the  major brand dealers  didn't  have any chevelles.       stopped at the rambler dealer they had this gold 69 charger sitting in the back corner of the lot.  salesman and me took her for a spin  they wanted $1695 for it  i ofered him $1060 including tax.  he cried  he couldn't sell it for that.  i started to walk away he said sold.  that was in 1974  i am the second owner  it came with all the orginal owners bills of sale from the dealer.

[myk]

It was summer of '94, I had been working at McDonald's since my high school graduation of '93 trying to save up for either a late 80's Mustang GT, Camaro Z28 or a 68-70 Charger.  Somehow the Charger won and I found an ad in the paper that fit my price range: $3000.  My mom called the owner and he drove it to his local church that just happened to be in my neighborhood.  My mom, mechanic and I checked it out and $2500 later it was mine.  I've had it since then...

[jb666]

Cool story, Brock!

Everyone here knows my story... But to sum it up, ever since being glued to the tube at age 10 (in the late 70's) I knew I'd own a Charger some day. I had to wait through two kids growing up and get to a point that I was financially ABLE to support the purchase and/or resto properly.. But that day came, back in 2008. The rest is history. I wasn't born a "Mopar guy" , but I certainly will die that way!! 

[b5blue]

I just started laughing when I saw you replied to this topic Jeff....... 

[jb666]

I just started laughing when I saw you replied to this topic Jeff....... 

This is hurtful 

[Headrope]

Spent money on it. Done.


Kidding aside, I wish I had a cool story about my '66 but it's just something I saw on the side of the road and fell head-over-heels for. My dream was to own a '68 but seeing the '66 for the first time was - well, about the same as the first time I saw Heather Thomas in a bikini on "The Fall Guy."