1969 Charger RT SE with power windows

[Stressman]

I am new to this so if screw up, please don't yell at me to loud. 
For years I have wanted to get a charger project.  I had a 1968 charger when I got out of high school.  Loved the car, one of my most favorites.   Sold it when I went to college.   Recently I purchased a 69 RT SE project, original automatic car with power windows.  Fairly good body, no major rust or holes.  No engine or transmission in car.  1970 440 block, engine all tore apart, no heads.  No transmission at all.  Most everything else is there except no fender tag.  I contacted previous owners and fender tag appears to have been lost many years ago.
The power windows appear to be original from the factor.  It also has air conditioning.  In old cars I am not a fan of ac or power windows.  The SE (special edition) is not a big thing for me.  It is okay, but not something I am thrilled to restore or would have paid for originally, if I could have bought one new.
I have looked thru some web sites and it appears the 69 RT SE with power windows is fairly rare.  One web site stated something like 1600 of them were built.  My dilemma is it worth the trouble to restore the car to like it was out of the factory?   Or do away with the stuff I don't like, change it to a 4 speed and have the car I have always wanted.   I don't want to devalue it.  And I could just sell it and buy "base" charger and modify it.   I would appreciate input from anyone who may have an opinion on this. 
 

[charger_fan_4ever]

With no fender tag or b/s that will take a big hit on value of a restored to stock car as no paper trail to prove it. Even if you document and take pics of it now.

[E86/A47]

have you looked for a build sheet or do you have one?

[Cncguy]

How about some pics?

[Ghoste]

Power windows are fairly rare in all classic Chargers but I wouldn't put too much stock in any "hard" number as Chrysler didn't really track their options that way.  They tracked what percentage of Chargers had the SE option and what percentage had power windows but when it comes to combining them into a figure like 1600...?  Just a guess on someones part I think.

[BLK 68 R/T]

Build it how you want it and have fun with it 

[69 OUR/TEA]

Don't remember off the top of my head , but wasn't it like 4,800 ish R/T SE's were built for 69 ? If it were 1,600 of them had power windows , that is a strong percentage .
Mine is a 69 R/T SE , and does have PW's , ntm A/C , PDB , rear defrost , six way seat, AM/FM , tinted glass,3spd wipers ,V88,N85,rocker moldings,headrests(early car). But is an auto on column with buddy seat .

Your last comment , sell it and buy a base charger ,  if you're going to change most of it , maybe someone out there DOES want it to restore back to 100% orig . But now try and find that solid base model charger to buy , might be more than what you just bought the R/T SE for .

Also , restoring an SE cost more , the woodgrain dash , leather front seats , you have A/C  , getting all that restored (compressor/lines/evap/heater box) .

A lot to think about , welcome to the forum .

[Ghoste]

Sidetracking a bit but I wouldn't be surprised if SE cars had a higher percentage of power windows than other Chargers since they were already bucking up for the "luxury package.

[tan top]

 hello & welcome        , would love to see some pictures 

can you make out  what the original color combo was / is ?

I would not worry swapping out the AC & power windows , ( just keep the parts safe )

I removed  all the remaining AC stuff from mine & replaced it with a standard heaterbox set up 

[Stressman]

Thanks for the many comments.  I do not have a build sheet.  Pulled the rear seat and was hoping to find it. But not there.   I almost positive  it is an original red charger, black interior and black vinyl top.  I pulled the carpet out to check for rust and there is quite a bit of red over spray.
From what I can tell of cars that have sold on ebay, I do think I got a pretty good deal on it.  I have not seen even a "base" charger go for to much less than I paid.  Is there any way to find out all of the owners of it, including which dealership sold it? I will post pictures.

[Stressman]

Not great pictures.  And yes the hood scoop is stupid and probably ruined the hood.

[E86/A47]

Looks like a great car to restore! Would you by chance want to share what you paid for it?

[Dino]

Some people pay good money for power windows, I'm one of them.  You could sell the whole kit for good money to fund the resto, but you may want to think of selling the car and getting something less desirable to play with.  My car is a base Charger which had its original drivetrain removed and turned into an R/T clone.  Nobody gives a damn what I do to it and that's how I like it.

[Stressman]

 I paid $8500 for the car.   

[E86/A47]

I think you stole that car. Nice work! The guys on here can suggest other places you might find the build sheet.

[RallyeMike]

The combination of RT/SE/PW/AC makes it quite rare, but without the build sheet or fender tag to prove it all, it will never be a top contender. Most of the people who are interested in a high-optioned rare car are also going to want to have at minimum the fender tag to back it up. For this reason, I say making into what you want of it won't generally be seen as some kind of evil deed.

[Stressman]

Thanks for all the comments.   

[XS29LA47V21]

Sidetracking a bit but I wouldn't be surprised if SE cars had a higher percentage of power windows than other Chargers since they were already bucking up for the "luxury package.

Seems reasonable.... would not see them much on a 318 car, unless an SE maybe possible (without RT)
That is cheap buy for sure.  Two of my cars are PWs and I would stab at imo something like 2-5% of RTSEs had PW.... no where published that I have see..... just a feeling, but no where near 1 in 10 cars would have them imo, so off whatever the number of RTSEs around the 4200ish cars... it is not very many for sure.  The motors and gears, as of last year are still available at Orielly's better buy some soon.  Motors are same as dodge truck up to 1985 or so, be sure to match the gears sets.  The brackets best I understand that hold the motors are unique to 69 b-body .... maybe Charger only, not sure.  I love them, but they have been a real pain getting working well... still fighting gremlins at a quarter glass as a matter of fact.  One year switches only, they are neat to see....

Congrats looks like a great car.  Can you tell if it is R4 or R6, both nice colors, but I like the R6 being that they are a little less common red.  Nice combo regardless, nice original car too, photos might go along way for some without the tag or bld sht someday in the future, many would build it as they like, being a fairly nice color combo I would consider staying original color combo if it were mine fwiw.  Enjoy.

[Lord Warlock]

Unfortunately, there is no way to research all the owners and what dealer sold it, dmv doesn't usually keep records back 10 years much less 40.  And even then the dmv also would only be able to go back a few owners in most cases.  When I got mine in 1978 I was only able to trace back 3 owners before we lost track.  

I thought there were only 4600 RT SE's made in 69, was it really 4800? There are several other options that can make it rare enough besides just the electric windows.  I've got an original right side mirror RT SE.  Never considered that to make it any more desirable. The color and vinyl top made it uber rare.

[6pkrtse]

My 70 R/T S.E. is a factory power window car. It is a fairly rare option. Most people  back then wanted to just go fast and the lesser the options (weight) the better. In the 25 years of owning my car I have only seen a handful of power window B bodies.

[Lord Warlock]

it was likely rare because it only takes about 1.5-2.5 turns on the crank to roll a window down on our cars.  I've had others that were 4 or 5 turns and with those I would go to electric.   electric windows weren't new, we had them on our 63 Chrysler 300J, but people just weren't as lazy back then, they didn't buy AC that often either, things have changed a bit since then.

[hemi68charger]

That car has great potential. If I were you ( and you asked ).... I would restore the car, get the a/c working, convert it to a 4speed properly and enjoy it.. I believe that would balance you getting the car you've always wanted ( a 4speed ) and also maintaining future resale value..

[69 OUR/TEA]

That car has great potential. If I were you ( and you asked ).... I would restore the car, get the a/c working, convert it to a 4speed properly and enjoy it.. I believe that would balance you getting the car you've always wanted ( a 4speed ) and also maintaining future resale value..

x2 , good way to go with it .

[Stressman]

Thanks for the input.  I agree 100%, restore it like it is except change it to a 4 speed.   On the red color, I don't know if it is R4 or R6.  Have to try to figure that out.  Car is in my storage shed and lighting is not very good.  Hopefully start work soon on it. 
In response to not being able to track down original owners and dealership that sold the car, I am surprised and disappointed about that.  In this day and age of information, I would have thought that would be available somehow.  The car spent a chunk of its life in Wakeeney Kansas.  I need to talk to the previous owners that I know and try to get more information.   Maybe find some of the old mopar guys from that area and see if they can help.   All of this is fun stuff to do. 
I work in the aviation industry.   Our engineers, that are experts in what they do, are called subject matter experts or SMEs for short.  All of you, are definitely the SMEs of the late 60s dodge chargers. 
Also been enjoying looking at all of your cars.  Fantastic looking cars.