Did you buy the Charger you wanted, or settle for what was available @ the time?

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

Did you buy the Charger you wanted, or settle for what was available @ the time?  


Just wondering...

[nvrbdn]

i was lookin for a 68 since it was my first car, but when the 70 came available i jumped. the price was right and it was a 2nd gen.

[vancamp]

i ended up with one i wouldnt have normally chose but its the right year i wanted a non black 4 speed, ended up with black  and auto

[The70RT]

I wasn't looking at the time and my nephew bought it then went to the army. I was 16 and already had a 68 Dart GTS, a 71 Road Runner, and a 71 Fury. I begged my mom to cosign a loan so i could get it. I paid a 1000 for it and had to pay 38.00 a month. At the time I made 50 bucks a week. My nephew almost got a 70 Mach I so I could have been transformed...luckily I wasn't   My nephew is like 2 months older than me. Now he is reliving his dream and bought a new Chally RT and just went to Kuwait.....no my mother passed away so no chance on getting the Chally if something happens   He was gonna leave it with me for a year but thought different later on ....go figure  

[twodko]

I was always a chebby guy and a co-worker we socialise with owns (owned) 2 classic mopars. One is a 69 'Cuda 340 Type S and the other is a 69 Charger R/T. The more I looked into these mopars the more apparent the rarity of the R/T became......one owner, bought locally, full docs, unusual color and almost a perfect platform for an easy resto. I offered to buy it several times and finally acquired it, the rest is history.

[Brass]

I would have considered another 2nd gen if I really liked one, but deep down I really wanted a 68.  I was looking for a non RT driver in as good of shape as I could find.  At the time, it didn't need a big block since that would come later if it didn't have one - but I'm glad I found what I was looking for with a 440.  I actually browsed the add a couple times before I realized this car pretty much filled the bill.  (I think it was the bronze and the 14" wheels it had.)  Since then some attractive deals have popped up here and there - but I'm happy.  Funny thing - I'm all about the MM1 now too.

[Dans 68]

I wanted a '68 4-speed. Period. I did not care if it was an R/T  (well, not too much) or one of the rare 383 XP's. I just got lucky with the XP....

I drove 16 hours in one day to look at a '68 383 4-speed in San Diego (story told elsewhere), so I did know what I wanted. When I saw the one in Texas I did my due diligence (flew out there, knocked on the fenders and took a test drive  ), and closed the deal.

So, I bought the one I wanted.    Now, if there were a thread about being given a Charger then I have another story....

Dan

[Brock Samson]

   I wanted a Triple Blk. '69 R/T Special Edition, they were very rare- even in the early '80s, not like now when every other or third charger is either Black or Orange...  

[1969chargerrtse]

Great question. Unfortunately for me I went looking around 2007. This is when money was loose and Mopars were hard to find and expensive. When this R/T SE came up with buy it now, I grabbed it. For the time it wasn't to bad, but now as the prices have dropped I have way more in it than it's worth today. Here's the thing.  I DON"T CARE IT'S ABOUT THE LOVE FOR THE CAR, NOT THE VALUE!!

I would of preferred a 4 speed car, but at the time I was lucky to find this for the price and have no regrets ( or few anyway  ).

[Old Greg]

I had always wanted a 70 or a 68 . I looked at 2 different 70's within 2 years, 1 was a 500 and te other was a #'s R/T but those slipped through my fingers. I met my friend that used to own my car 10 years ago and then a few months ago he calls me and asks if I wanted to buy it. So naturally I sold my Z06 and bought the Charger.

[BlueSS454]

I started looking for a 69 project car to do shortly after I started the restoration on my 69 Chevelle.  I knew I wanted a project car complete or not.  I was looking for something with a semi decent body which I thought I had found when I came across it.  I bought it and sat on it for 4 years before I began tearing into it.  After I took it all apart and had it media blasted, I took a step back and thought to myself, what in the world did I get myself into on this thing (it was a mess).  I guess I could be put into the "Settle for what was available at the time" category since I already knew exactly what I wanted but couldn't afford to get it turn key at the time.  Sometimes I think to myself, I should have waited another 6 months to start the restoration.  That's when AMD released all the full panels I needed but had to settle for the skins and fabricating pieces to make the repairs to the original panels.  Would have made it a lot easier.  Either way, I now have exactly what I wanted 

[b5blue]

  I was fixing up a big block van when I kinda stumbled on Ol' Blue, my Bro was well off at the time and had a standing order for a 70 Challenger "we" could buy or restore. (As in he pays for everything and I do all the work    ) A friend told me of a 70 Challenger for sale and gave me directions to a shop. I got there and sitting behind the shop was 71-72 (?) triple white Rally Charger and an all b5blue 70 Charger, no Chally in sight. I asked to talk to the owner of the shop, a guy came back and said he's gonna be a while but I could wait. I slobbered all over the 70 for 30 minutes or so thinking "Man this would be for me" (Even my favorite color, inside and out!)
  Well turns out I knew the shop owner from restoring my Bro's 36 foot houseboat at a boatyard where he kept his Grady White. No...no Chally for sale, just these two Chargers.....700.00 for the white one and I gotta have 1500.00 for the blue one, it's my race car. I asked if the blue one runs and he said no...it needs a brake job. What about the motor? Oh it's fine, it's got a set of ported closed chamber heads with bigger valves, 509 cam and a TM7 intake, headers and such, there's about 6 hours on the motor so far. 6 hours? Yea bores and pistons were good so we did rings and bearings, seals and such...ran strong but the brakes are shot so it just sits.
  After cleaning the crap out of my pants I sold the van and struck a deal with Mrs. Satan (my now EX mother-in law) for the rest of the cash and the rest is history! That was 15 years ago. My only regret is not being able to save the Rally 400 next to blue, I had 35 days to take an old drag car and fix it up well enough to drive 1,000 miles to move to Va. as part of my "deal" with Mrs. Satan...but that's another story involving a six pack, cracked LCA's, finding a clutch peddle on an automatic car, a truck axle in the back and 100% of the dash wiring harness in the trunk.    

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Never really "looked" for my R/T.....just bought my house & had an empty garage

Had 5k extra from my closing, got a wild hair & checked the classifieds. Saw this Charger & it was local to me....he was asking $4500...offered him 4k & the rest was history

[Back N Black]

I was looking for 2 years, driving many miles looking at chargers, they were either to much money or to much rust. I finally found one that a car collector had shipped from California to Canada. He lived 5 Km from me. It was stripped down and pretty much rust free when i bought it. So yeah, i got what i wanted. 

[A383Wing]

a friend of mine parents had a 66 Charger when I was in high school...always liked the car...was not really looking to get one, but then this 66 4spd car kinda fell my way...still have it

[mleist89]

i wanted a 69 hemi r/t ( i know, big dreamer) but after my grandfather passed away, we took over the ranch that he owned. Turns out he a 73 charger and my uncle who inherited the cars he had on the place gave it to me.

[bill440rt]

My '68: It was 1986. I grew up as a DoH junkie. I was 16 and knew even when I was 8 that I wanted a Charger for my first car, BAD. It had to be a '68, & I was hoping it would be an R/T. Can't tell you how many cars I looked at. Even branched out to '69's, some '70's, then Cuda's, early A-body Barracuda's, Challengers, almost any Mopar that was available. This was in the mid-80's when they were relatively plentiful. There were issues with all of them. I guess you could say I "settled" on a 318 powered bondo buggy, but it was still owned by the original owner, unmolested, had all paperwork, and the original engine & mechanicals. I still own this '68, first father-son resto, although it's now an R/T clone.

My '70: Absolutely the Charger I've wanted. Color, options, etc. Wouldn't change a thing.

'69: I was just looking for a project car, leaning towards an E-body. A friend tipped me off to this car, sitting in someone's driveway. That was OK, couldn't afford an E-body anyway. I guess you could say I "settled" again, but there wasn't really anything else locally. Matching numbers did not matter this time, I knew it was going to be a modified car anyway. My first hunch was just to drag it home & do a quickie GL on it just to make it a driver, but my wife talked me out of it. No offense to the GL owners here, but I'm glad she did.

[Rolling_Thunder]

didn't settle exactly...    I was 15 and my parents decided that I shouldn't get a big block car...        ended up passing on a 70 RT/SE V-code 4-speed car...       to get a 318 / auto car...     

[Topher]

I actually met my car 2 years before I bought it. Guy asked me to go look at it with him in '88. My first impression was "man that's an ugly car, I wouldn't park that thing in my driveway"......"well, it's a big block car.......and it does have three pedals, it might be worth gettin". It sat in his driveway for 2 years, he only put 40 or so miles on it because his mom thought he'd kill himself in it. I had wrapped my one owner '72 Chevelle around a telephone pole and heard about this big block 4 speed car for sale near me-I'd been wanting a big block car, and a 4 speed was a bonus. When I read the name of the street it was on I knew what car it was. She's been parked in my driveway for nearly 21 years.

[Ghoste]

Settled.

[MRHWS]

Exactly what I wanted and the way it rolled off the assembly line 

[Lifsgrt]

Got lucky 31 years ago...took my checkbook with hay-hauling and lawn mowing money after seeing an ad in the classifieds...R/T, SE, 440, bald tires, dead battery, dented fender, rip in the top,...what's not to like???  It was love at first sight! 

[bull]

When I got my first Charger (a 70) I didn't really care as long as it was a 2nd gen. I got lucky because where I grew up it was literally one of only three 2nd gens in the entire county. Of course the entire county was populated by only 6,000 people. What's funny is that one of the other two Chargers in the county was also a 70 and it was wrecked so I bought parts off it. Charger #3 in the county was a 68 and was also owned by me (see paragraph two). Actually, I lie. There were two other Chargers in the county; a 1st gen and a 3rd gen but at the time I didn't count those.

My second Charger, a 68 R/T with no engine or trans., fell in my lap. And once I got a good look at the 68 body style it instantly became my 2nd gen favorite. I only had that one for a few months though because I was not in a position to keep a project car. So the next time I decided to buy a Charger I decided I really wanted a 68.

My third Charger, a 68 of course, came after a long, hard search. At first I wanted an R/T and after lots of frustration in the search I decided to include a base model 68 as long as it had a big block. After more frustrated searching I even lowered my standards to include the 69 model. But in the end I really got lucky I think. I didn't get an R/T but I found the most rare 68 big block Charger they made. The rarity of it really did it for me to the point I would have taken it over the R/T I originally wanted.

[greenpigs]

I just wanted a 68 or 69 & the price was right so I got it. BTW it was $800 and mostly complete. After we got it home and looked up the VIN I found out it was a RT. I might have done a happy dance.

[KSChrgr68]

for the price and what mine had in it, I jumped at the offer regardless of the work involved.  I know its an uphill road for me, but every charger rusting out there needs a guy like me or any of these guys.. 

[tan top]

back in  late 1988
i was looking for an original factoty  Y2 painted   69 charger , with black interior & top ,  either R/T or R/T SE , had to be power steering  & power discs & floor shift !! auto or stick , did not really matter !!  but had to be complete & rust free as possible , also a daily driver !! 
 
found  a R/TSE  that  had a black top fitted  but manual drums  
don't think i done bad as it was in the price range , & this was long before the internet !!  although there were loads of chargers & just  about any mopar for sale back then in hemmings as well all know  , but hard to find a  original Y2  XS charger , (for me ) ,  there were a couple of C500s also !!!  about a couple of thousand dollars more , but was never really into them back  then !! (damit) kicking my self now  
 

[ChargerST]

Funny how things changed in the last decades. In the 80s and even 90s people passed on cars because they weren't the right color combination etc. Nothing wrong with that but when I bought my Charger (April 08) I jumped on the first good deal. It wasn't my favorite color (FF4) nor my favorite year (which would be a 68) - but it was a second generation Charger, an R/T in good condition for a decent price even today! Most other Chargers I looked at (online, cause I live in Europe) were either too expensive, bondo buggys or both.
Since I bought my Charger it really grew on me - there are so many little things I like better on my 70 than on a 68/69 (had a 68 for a few months in 2001): high back buckets, taillights, option availability, steering column (put a tuff wheel on it), charging system,...

To put it in a nut shell: I settled for what was available. Do I regret it? No, not a minute even though I saw some other good deals on 68s in the meantime.

[Richard Cranium]

This time around, I wasn't looking for one, but it was available, so I bought it.   

[71green go]

I was looking about 4-5 years ago for a 68-69 project car...I am in Ontario and everything I looked at was rusted bad.....I kept searching Ebay but prices got out of hand on junk cars......after a year I seen an Ebay add that simply said Charger dodge R/T,,,,,,opened it and saw a beat up 71 charger R/T....had never seen one before......I had owned a 74 years ago, but never concidered it a muscle car, anything newer then 71 to me was just daily transportaion
so I went to look at it expecting to find a Canadian rust bucket......it was pretty solid, numbers matching R/t with a 440....I fell in love....paid to much and took her home...
The 3rd gens may not be to everyones taste.....but this summer alone I have seen maybe 15 68-70 chargers on the road.....but never did see any 71 R/T's on the road and having something that rare makes me happy...

[451-74Charger]

Saw mine in a local classifieds, I was looking for a 2nd gen but a charger (with 2 doors) is a charger right?
I went to look, and saw it was a 3rd gen. I didnt have much cash and was saving for the house deposit, but I knew I just had to have it.
But i walked.....
about 6 weeks later I was in the area and my wife said "why dont you just drive buy see if it sold"?
It was still sitting in the guys back yard. 2 hours later and $300 lighter, I was loading it on the flatbed.

Settled, yes. Glad I did, yes. the 2nd gen was my goal but my 3rd gen really grew on me and now I prefer it over a 2nd gen (except a Daytona of course).

[jb666]

We all know what my decision ended up as...

But, I wanted what I wanted and no one was talking me out of it 

[67440chrg]

As I grew up a couple of family members had 1st gens. I always thought they were cool and something you dont see all the time. I had a lot of Mopars in the past includeing a big block 72 Se all were just transpertation. This time I found my 67 big block faverate color. So I have to say I got what I wanted.

[1BAD68]

I owned a 70 R/T and just never really liked the way it looked so I found a 69.5 A12 Bee for sale.
They have always been on my most wanted list so I bought it but never really liked it 100% for some reason so I sold it.
I knew another Charger was in my future and the 69 is cool but I don't care for the split grill so 68 was my target.
After owning two big block Mopars already I wasn't to concerned with engine size.
So when I saw this small block 68 from California for sale I jumped on it. I feel really fortunate to have this car being that its super solid and I drove it home over 100 miles without issue.
Since then, I have never regretted buying it, I only have about 10 grand in it with all the mods I've done and I'll keep this one until I can't drive anymore.
I've enjoyed this 68 more than my old 70 Charger and A12 Bee combined.
This is a pic from the for sale ad...

[HeavyFuel]

Both.

Back in '90, my brother owned a '70 Super Bee, red w/white interior, manual, 383, and I had the fever to get something.

We have a local guy who grabs up a lot of mopars and either resells them, or parts them out to supply original parts to other mopar-heads.  My brother had gotten his car from this dude.  I let the local guy know that I was looking for a '68, and to give me a call if he finds one.

He gave me a jingle about a year later, said he had a '68 R/T that his brother in-law had for sale.  Decent car, all original, a some body work needed, ugly color, fair price.

I got the car, which was the model and had the options that I wanted, but it needed enough work to keep me from driving it much until I could get it done. 

It's still not done.  But I have been raising three kids,  I paid off my house, and solidified my career in that time!

[Supercharged Riot]

My primary choice was a 1968

Some aspects I settled, some I did not:

Areas I settled:
383 magnum.  I really wanted a 440
Blue color.  I really wanted a black one, but I can paint my own cars
Window wipers dont work.  Wiper motor taken out to make room for blower
Gas tank replaced by a fuel cell
Not so great trunk floor pan


Areas I did not settle:
Year model.  I wanted a 1968 only.  I only had enough money to buy one Charger


Things I got more than what I bargained for:
6-71 blower
Tubbed rear wheel wells
Dana 60 rear end
4 speed A-833 transmission
Fiberglass hood
Fat Centerline Auto drags with Big Mickey Thompson rear wheels


Oh.  Overall I'm very happy with what I got. I much rather have a street friendly Charger, so you can say I will be "downgrading" my car a tad bit in the future.

[clanton]

I saw my first Charger when I was in 11th grade, it belonged to the dean of my high school. It was a 68 Sunfire Yellow 383 auto with air, slap stick, and black vinyl top. I would buy it 6 years later after seeing him at a 7-11. I had to sell it few years ago, cuz I was short on money. My first car was a 70 Charger 500 Sunburnt Orange on Sunburnt Orange, with a Gator top, and hood pins. Something about Sunfire Yellow on Chargers drives me nutz. Right before comming back from Iraq, I started looking for another Yellow Charger. I saw one on Ebay. First thing I looked for was the AC vents on the dash, and thought damm another charger w/o air. I looked at all the pics, and went back to the interior, and why didnt it have air? I looked and didnt notice the first time......F^$&^n FOUR SPEED, Matching numbers!!!!!!!!!!! Soon as I saw that I knew right then and there that was my car. I won the bidding at $29,000.......my max bid on it was $48K. I would like to find a nice 71 - 74 GTX, or a 70 Burnt Orange on Burnt Orange R/T 4spd, with a Gator top.

[tan top]

. Something about Sunfire Yellow on Chargers drives me nutz.

       

[SFRT]

I just wanted a 4 speed car. I ended up buying a rusty hole and filling it with sweat and money. eventually it turned into a Charger.

[b5blue]

You did a fine job fixing that rust hole buddy!  That thing is SWEET!

[charger490]

back in 1968 i looked at cars  one was a trans am but did not like it so went and ordered a 68 charger 383 4sp power stearing,windows,AC,vinyl top,.1 year later hit head on by a mercury  station wagon.the next one i got wasthe same except for top and it was an auto. and than i had to have a 66 charger 4sp

[chargermike]

i built my dream car. 1970 sublime charger. it took me 5 years to complete but worth every minute. i built it my way.  bought it in vegas with NO RUST every body panel is 1970. this is what i always wanted. had a aar cuda and a 68 rt when i was in school 1979. but just always wanted a 70. just love that year. my wife bought this car for me 2 hrs before DALE EARHART DIED AT DAYTONA. happy morning that day very sad afternoon.  there is no car that ever caught my eye like a charger.LONG LIVE THE MOPAR FAN

[1969chargerrtse]

for the price and what mine had in it, I jumped at the offer regardless of the work involved.  I know its an uphill road for me, but every charger rusting out there needs a guy like me or any of these guys.. 

  So true.

[1970Moparmann]

First time I was looking for a Charger, I grabbed a friend and flew down to TX to looks at a few.  I was around 17 at the time.  Can home empty handed and then found the 69 RT locally - go figure.



Was it my dream Charger no, but sure had a lot of fun with it during highschool and college.  I do miss it now.  

I really wanted a 70 in better condition, so I set out on another hunt around the country and couldn't find one.  Got home from a 12 hour drive to look at one, opened an Autotrader, and found my second Charger, again locally!  It was a 70 RT auto survivor with 40k original miles.  Green on green auto.  Again wasn't my dream Charger.  I couldn't pass up the deal....



I really wanted a high impact color with a 4 speed.   I sold this one after 8 years or so, and now have my dream Charger.  I knew I had to buy it right away.  It's my Plum Crazy RT 4 speed.  



Earlier this year I was soft on the brain and was thinking of selling it!!!  I woke up and it's sitting in my garage nice and cozy.  

[Chad L. Magee]

Back in the early to mid 1990s, I would buy any second gen that I could afford (and store, which was not much) as I knew that they were special cars.  The 1970 RT/SE that I missed at an local auction for $800 made me become more serious in collecting them, so as my spending money grew, so did my number of projects.  I actually started out collecting vintage Mustang projects (still have them), but grew into Mopars soon after.  As time wore on, I became more numbers savvy and starting becoming very picky about what I bought/got rid of.  I do not know why but I have a knack for finding rare, oddball Chargers when I go Charger hunting, must be the nerd in me to find the weirdest ones..... 

[Old Moparz]

I suppose I did settle for my '68 since I had wanted a '69 like my first Mopar 30 years ago. It was a '69 Charger SE, & I wanted another one. I love the tail lights & grille on the '69 the best. The plan when I was looking, which has since changed, was to find a fairly solid '69 shell to make a Charger convertible from my '68 Coronet. I looked on & off for about 6 months & opened up the search to include '68's & 70's.

I finally saw my '68 on ebay in Indiana when the bids were around $1100. I figured if I could get it for $1800 or so I would. I drove to look at it while the auction was going, but since I was the only person that showed up to actually look at it, the seller offered to stop the auction & sell it outright. After looking over the car very closely I knew I couldn't pass up the chance to buy it. It was totally free of rust with all new sheet metal already installed.

The seller bought it from someone with a baby on the way for all it's parts to finish restoring his '68 Hemi Charger, but had no use for the shell. I did find some previous frame repair that was straightened & asked about it. The seller said he didn't see it, but offered the car to me for $1200. Not bad considering the bids were at $1500 with 2 days left. I borrowed my friend's trailer & went back the next weekend to get it.

Once I got it home & spent more time looking it over I decided that I couldn't cut up a rust free car to build a ragtop. So the plan now is to make a Daytona out of it, which is basically bolt on & not dissection depending on whether I do the window plug or not. All the sheet metal is now available to build the convertible Charger I want, & since I've also wanted a Daytona for as long as I can remember, I may as well build that too.

After I finish the roof on my house.  

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

...I have been looking for the right Charger for 20 years!

I "settled" on the 1968 Charger (383 4v car w/ 440 transplant) on Halloween night, 1990. Bought the car because it was only 20 minutes away... Amazing what less than 2 grand would buy then! Anyways, Had the car for almost a year... Sold it and have been looking for the "right" 1969 since 

[Khyron]

settled and built it into the Charger I wanted.

[mauve66]

settled, wanted a RR, 68-74, too expensive or rusty, always thought the 1st gen was interesting looking but didn't know about the dash lights back in the old days, after i saw the dash lights it was all over
but i still want the RR

[MOXY100]

Good Question! Im 53 I had a 68 back in 77, sold it ( you do the math) and have been looking for a 68 RT 4 speed factory for last 12 yrs, I found it 2 yrs ago, in my price range, not the original motor, but the rest of car is!!!  I put almost 2000 miles on it last summer ( NY )  So to answer your ?  I WAS PICKY!!!

[PocketThunder]

   I got everything i wanted except the 4-speed, but i can always convert.   

[fc7_plumcrazy]

Hi,

I always had my wishcombination. A 1968 RT in QQ1 blue with blue interieur or an LL1 car. A 4-speed was wanted, too.
I had two 68s over the years, just to have a 68 Charger, one a 383 car in black, the other an RT painted in blue but being factory JJ1 gold. Sold them both after a while because they weren't the right cars (keepers). Found my wishcar in jan 2004, genuine RT, qq1 blue, blue interieur, 4-speed, original paint, all numbers matching.

Carsten

[The70RT]

Hi,

I always had my wishcombination. A 1968 RT in QQ1 blue with blue interieur or an LL1 car. A 4-speed was wanted, too.
I had two 68s over the years, just to have a 68 Charger, one a 383 car in black, the other an RT painted in blue but being factory JJ1 gold. Sold them both after a while because they weren't the right cars (keepers). Found my wishcar in jan 2004, genuine RT, qq1 blue, blue interieur, 4-speed, original paint, all numbers matching.

Carsten

Any pics?

[fc7_plumcrazy]

Hi,

hope this works









Carsten

[moparjohn]

I had a 69 SE in high school, again a DOH kid, with a dream.  It was too much to tackle on my budget, it sat and after a while I sold it.  Forward to 2001, I had suddenly got the itch for another Charger.  I knew I wanted a big block, SE package, and dic brakes.  I found my Charger in MCG, it was optioned with a power sunroof, never heard of that before, figured the car would be long gone, but called anyway.  I talked to a man in Co. who had the car since the late 80's early 90's.  It was still for sale, he wanted a 4 speed car.  The Charger he was selling was- 3834bbl, 727 auto (on column, thought twice about this before buying, really wanted console) 8 3/4, A/C Cruise, PDB, PS, PW, 6 way seat, am/f/m rear spkr, SE package.  I bought it for $16,500 and had it shipped unseen by me to my work, the car was exactly as talked about, and I was very pleased. I have done alot to the car, more to come (as always) to keep it forever. MPJ

[moparjohn]

here's a pic

[74charger360]

Ever since I was a little boy i've always loved classic mopars.  I remember going to my mom's friends house and seeing her husband's 3rd gen charger under her carport on jack stands and in pieces.  The first thing that amazed me was how big this car was! and how awesome it would be to own one.  But being as I was only 12 years old, I knew it was a far off bid.  Fast forward 8 years to late 2009.  I was (and still am) in college and my mom told me that her friends husband was selling the charger to go talk to him if I wanted it.    BINGO!!  So i went to his house expecting to see the car still in pieces but to my amazement, it was for the most part put back together. It had a set of draglite rims, a b&m ratchet shifter, a new floor pan and a trunk pan.  He had completely rebuilt the suspension, brakes, fixed the major areas of rust, stripped the complete undercarriage and undercoated it, removed the 318 and installed a rebuilt 360 bored and stroked to around 425HP, a rebuilt tranny, a freshly painted engine bay, yada yada yada.  so at this point i was like damn this dudes gonna want a fortune for this car.  I asked him how much? he said for you?........




2 grand. 

Needless to say I walked away dug in my glove box, grabbed my checkbook and wrote him a check that second lol. and bought it Jan 6th of this year.
It still needs some work done to it but is very close to driveable. and it sounds sooo mean. But, unfortunately with college, a girlfriend, a full time job, and 2 other project cars I can't work on it as much as I would like.   But, needless to say, I never thought I would own my dream mopar, but i guess dreams do come true sometimes if your lucky    lol   

[74charger360]

PICS BUT SHES DIRTY   

[Wicked72]

I wanted a 71 or 72. Had to have the tear drop window. I didnt care about the engine or interior plus I wanted a rust free project. So basically a good rolling shell that wasnt smashed up either. Rust free... sounds impossible but I got the project car I wanted! Thank you Arizona climate! So time to sell some parts

[Nacho-RT74]

I didn't even know what it was a Charger ( beside a battery deal LOL ). simply, one thing took to the other, then the other, the other, next step, etc... an Voila!

I knew that I loved allways the GL, but didn't know it was a Charger. When I got my car, everybody was saying THATS THE DUKES CAR! but I was sure it was not... I was right, somehow.

[shart70rt]

In the 70's and early 80's, I had 15 or 16 Mopars, and my favorite ones were the 70 Charger RT's. My first Mopar was the 70, and had four more of them over the next ten years ( all 3 engine combos. but all 4 speeds). Started looking for another 70 in mid 90's. My favorite was Go Mango, 440 -4V, 4 speed, so was pretty set on finding one.

I saw one exactly like what I wanted at the Houston Mopar Show in Beaumont in 1990, but it was not for sale. Talked to the owner for a while, and left him my number. Was not a number matching motor, but that was not a deal buster for me.

Two months later. Jim left a message with my wife, and we made a deal shortly afterwards.

Still working on completing everything I want to do with the car, but should complete it this winter, though it will need a repaint in the next couple of years.

So far have done the following:
Replaced all wiring harnesses with new ones
Be Cool Radiator assembly
Legendary seat covers
Carpet
new wood grain
Upgraded hemi 4 speed with Passon Performance overdrive gear set
Centerforce dual friction clutch and flywheel assembly
scattershield
500 ci stroker w edelbrock heads, with all of the best goodies inside.
TTI 2" headers w 3" exhaust
Billet performance serpentine system
Added A/C (too hot on the Texas Gulf Coast for an old fat man)
Changing to manual brakes instead of power, tired of vacuum problems, and don't want to add a pump.
new fuel tank, sending unit, lines etc.

I know there was a lot more, but you tend to forget the details as you go along.

Have not driven it in about 6 months, so I am anxious to get the drivetrain back in and going. Should be ready for Spring, and may bring it to the Vegas show, just for fun.

[71charger_fan]

I was looking for a '68-'69 Road Runner when I found the Charger. After having the Charger for almost 25 years, I'm glad I didn't find that Road Runner.

[elanmars]

i guess you could say i've settled because of the good prices or distance/convenience and what was available at the time but have not regretted a single one. it hasn't happened to me where right after i saw a much better deal or anything like that.

my current charger is not my choice of color but it's got it's charm being a
'69 white clone r/t with the black stripe and white vinyl top (although that will have to go soon or in the next few years as i drive the car a lot and louisiana isn't kind when it comes to water and rust). maybe when it's time to repaint i'll paint it black or keep it white as is. it having a/c is a plus, being complete and at the time, only needing the most minor of things but i could drive it, put my kid in it and not worry much. it was the right car for the right time.

even though i bought it as a running car with no issues, issues did start to pop up one after the other, after 3-4 months and the signs of shoddy mechanical work reared it's ugly head. parts from other mopars (such as an a-body housing), lots of cheapo or wrong parts (one that comes to mind is a chevy carb linkage), all wires spliced to a ridiculous degree (and with black wire disease, no less), lots of crap in the gas tank and transmission pan, etc etc. so much that i need to go over it with my friend again (who did and continues to do a great job, as i don't have the time, space and knowledge. he and his dad got 3rd place in 2008 for their duster resto and have lots of awesome cars, including a few different generation gtx's) and write down the ridiculous long list of all things that were wrong/bad.

i've spent enough on the car to get it pretty correct, upgrade where it needed it and have it running great. spent enough to probably get a decent condition 3rd gen too hahaha...which one day, i'll get another 3rd gen and do what i want with it. '73/74 body, hidden headlights and rear tail from a '71 or '72, black and mean.

[madmike]

I too have always wanted a 2nd gen Charger, from my teen years due to the DoH show.  When I was a teen, my neighbor's dad always had classic Mopar muscle around, and his dad bought him a '68 Charger for his 15th birthday.  As the years went by, I got older, supposedly matured, and my income level rose.  Over the years, I still looked for a '68-70 Charger for sale, but the prices of the cars always seemed to exceed my ability to actually afford one.  I never cared to own a numbers matching, or R/T, or anything, I just wanted a clean car shell.  I'm a decent wrench, but not a body guy...

This past spring, a buddy of mine spotted one listed in Phoenix, AZ craig's list near his house.  Based on his seeing the car, I bought it, a factory '68 383, console TF, vinyl top car.  It was a generally rust free roller that came with a supposedly fresh 440 and fresh TF.  Most of the parts for re-assembly were there, but definitely not all.  I paid $9000 for it.  If I had personally seen the car (my buddy looked it over), I would have tried to get it for less, but I had to go on his opinion.

So, in some ways I would say I got the car I wanted, but I settled too (I really wanted a four speed).  Even though I think I paid too much, it was affordable, and I can slowly piece it back together.

[Belgium R/T -68]

Wanted a R/T -68 on and off thru the years and found this white one with centerline wheels
back in 2005 on ebay. The car was in Texas and I bought it after just having had the owner on the
phone for a couple of minutes. Played and drove the shit out of it for 2 years and now it's
sublime green. This is a car I will never sell.

Per

[Chargerguy74]

When I was about 14 or 15 I found a picture of a green 72 SE in an Auction Flyer. This was the coolest car I've ever seen. I cut this picture out, laminated it, and carried it around in my wallet. I had to have a 72 Charger SE. I started talking Chargers with my dad and found out he was the second owner of a 74 Rallye 400 4 speed when he was 16 (sold it when he was 18 in 1978). He had one picture of the car. Ok, this was cool, now I didnt know if I wanted a 72 or 74 Charger. At this time I didnt know a thing about Chargers, numbers, rarity, prices, etc. I've spent hours looking at these 2 pictures side by side and decided I was going to save up and buy a 74 Charger. After listening to all my dad's cool Charger/high school stories, I had to have a 400 4 speed, just like my dad's. I put a wanted ad in the local paper for a 74 Charger with 400 engine and standard trans, I was 16 at the time. Oh yeah, and I wanted the laser stripe too, just like dad's. Now to make a very long story short, my wanted ad got the attention of the current owner of my dad's 400 4 speed charger. But, he did not want to let this car go. To make the story even shorter, 9 years later, we struck a deal, and I bought the car, becoming the 6th owner of this Rallye. During this 9 year eternity, I went to an auction to check out a 74 Charger that was listed. I got there early and checked it out. It turned out to be a 72 SE 400HP automatic in B5 blue with a white full vinyl top and blue bucket interior. It wasn't green like the one in my picture....but I think I could settle. It was a tuff wheel car, factory hood pins, slotted exhaust tips, all complete, and had a build sheet under the seat. I was the highest bidder that day. LOL, it just hit me as I typed this that I bought this car at an auction, and the pic I was carying around for years was from an auction flyer. I feel that every Charger I bought, that wasn't my dad's Rallye, I settled for. It didn't matter what the car was.....I settled.

Ryan

[THE STIG]

I initially set out looking for a small block Challenger, I had a 71 with a 318 4 speed when I lived in California many years ago, I've been kicking myself everyday since I sold it. Challengers are pretty rare in Indiana so it didn't take long before I broadend my search critreia to include Chargers, there was a Red 73 SE with a sun roof on a lot near my house. I was a little hesitant about the sunroof (I don't know  ) and it got away. So anyway I kept on looking but centered my attention on the 3rd gens because I didn't think I could touch my favorite year 70, one day I went on ebay and figured "what the hell" and extended my search criteria to all 68-74 any distance from my house and came across what is now my 70 Charger less than 10 miles away. So I got what I wanted but was'nt really looking for it.

[74Rallye]

My buddy, RTDaddy, stops by while I'm starting a resto on a 64 ½ Mustang that has been around since high school. He says "You don't need to be working on that POS, You need a real car". I'm an open minded person, so off we go to Ed's MOPAR junk yard to look at a 74 Rallye 440 car. The Mustang was rolled out and the 74 Rallye took its place.
Soon there were 5- 3rd gen Chargers in the yard.
You know how it is, You buy a parts car for the first one and it's in too nice to strip, then you find another. And another. Then there's the one that you tell your wife "It's part of my retirement plan".

[6pkrtse]

I always wanted a 69' Charger. I bought my first car when I when I was 15 before I even had my license. It was a 70 Charger R/T. When I first saw it I thought man that front bumper looks different for some reason until I realized it was a 70'. At that time I didn't even know the 70' was the same body style. I have been hooked ever since. 40+ mopars later. I have had four 70's, one 69, seven 68's, & one 71' Chargers. A 70' has alway been my favorite since. As of matter of fact I have located the current owner of my first 70' that now lives several hours away. i have been trying to score this one back for sentimental reasons.