Mystery 1969 Charger - NFL award to Sonny Jurgensen for most yards passing

[Thomaspty45]

Hello to all you Mopar guys...I spoke with Mark Worman today (the Graveyard Carz Guru) and he suggested I create a post here, so I registered and got an ID, and here goes. Some of what I am going to relate here in this story was told to me (that makes it hearsay) and some of it I actually witnessed, although it was more than 40 years ago.  This takes place in Charlotte, NC.  I will start the story with what I was told...

Sonny Jurgensen, from Wilmington, NC, the quarterback for the Washington Redskins for many years, had a superior year in 1969 and holds the record for most yards passing in he NFL in that season. The story says that Chrysler Corp. awarded Sonny the use of a very special '69 Charger for 1 year.  The 440, 4 bbl, automatic, sunroof equipped R/T Charger was Bronze in color, had an Ivory vinyl roof, tan leather interior, luggage rack on the deck lid, Magnum 500's and an in dash AM/FM 8-track. Once the year was up, Chrysler Corp. took possession of the car again and in early 1971, Chrysler put the car in their auction and it was purchased at the auction by my neighbor's father, who operated a couple of truck dealerships in central North Carolina. My neighbor, who had a great 67 GTO that I wanted to buy, received the Charger from her father, and he took the GTO. I was devastated. Once I heard the story, it was like "big deal", because it wasn't like it was a car Richard Petty had been given, and I was really bummed that the GTO had gone away. Recognizing how upset I was, my neighbor advised that I could use the Charger for my high school prom, as long as I cleaned it up and brought it back full of Sunoco 260. The prom was more than a year into the future, so again, it was "big deal."

Well, I DID take the car to prom in late April, 1972. I'm not telling anyone out there anything they don't already know, but to a 17 year old, a 440 Charger was not only a lethal weapon, it was cocked and loaded.  I guess it is a miracle I am here to tell this story. I could not lose a race that night...I remember running against a 375 horse SS396, a 400 GTO convertible, a 390 Mach 1 and a 69 Z/28.  My recollection is that all the runs were essentially over when the Charger shifted to 2nd between 60 and 70 MPH.  I also recall that with the sunroof open, and hitting about 75 MPH, my date's formal prom dress would blow over her head! Good times! I went through 2 tanks of 260 that night, and I recall it was more than $40 of fuel. 

With the desire collectors have to learn the history of their cars, I thought I would post this here and see if this promotes any memories of the Charger I described.  Perhaps someone out there knows the Sonny Jurgensen Charger story, but my repeated searches on Google have not come up with anything. I moved away from Charlotte in June, 1972 and did not see the former owner of the Charger for more than 10 years after that.  By that time the Charger had been sold and something else had taken its place.

Let me hear from anyone that might have some info on this car and I am just interested to find out if this very special Charger is still among the living Mopars.

[RallyeMike]

Don't have any info, but appreciate your neat story. Thanks, and welcome aboard.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Welcome to the site & what a great story!  Sounds like a pretty cool ride back in the day.

Sadly I only have one T5 Copper '69 RT/SE sunroof car in the Registry with a white top & tan interior.  No luggage rack though.  It is owned by the late Red Kilby.
Ginger is the name he gave the car.





As of yet I dont have any T3 or T7 R/T sunroof cars registered.

[Mopar Nut]

That is a great story, thanks for sharing.

[68X426]

That is a great story, thanks for sharing.

x2. Welcome. Great story. A bunch of us old guys remember Sonny, it would be awesome for you if some leads on the car pop up.

Do you remember the girl you took to the prom? 

[Thomaspty45]

Of course I remember her! AND, it would be un-gentlemanly of me to elaborate further...

LOL

Regards to all and I appreciate any info the Charger Nation can provide.

Tom

[Thomaspty45]

In response to 6T9 Chgr's info from the registry, I think the vinyl top was an off white, rather than white. The explanation i remember was that the car was produced in colors as close to Redskins team colors as Dodge's factory color palette would accommodate. 

Tom

[tan top]

 hello & welcome        !! good story thanks for sharing   

arr yeah  thats what one i thought of straight away !! the late Red Kilbys !!  Ginger   !! always thought it was tantop though   D'oH

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

hello & welcome        !! good story thanks for sharing   

arr yeah  thats what one i thought of straight away !! the late Red Kilbys !!  Ginger   !! always thought it was tantop though   D'oH

Well tan top....  LOL.... it was tan at one point and he changed it to white.  There is no designation of vinyl top colors on a sunroof car's tag or Broadcast sheet.  I think it would be on the customer order sheet only.

[Thomaspty45]

Is there info from Chrysler in some enthusiast's hands that would show how many Bronze or Copper R/T SE's were built with sunroofs and through which district office (or if it was a Central Office order) the original order was processed?

I am a vintage Mustang guy (that has crossed over to BowTies) and don't know a lot about what is available in Mopar archives...

Tom
GTYear1

[68X426]

So sorry to say Tom but historic info is lacking on '69 Mopars. When you search this forum you'll find hundred of threads on that exact topic. The answer is always that factory info is sorely lacking or missing altogether.

The Mopar community has done a great deal to advance and share the knowledge thru research, registries, and serious hobbyists. But it will feel like you are re-inventing the wheel with your specific car (because you are). Spend time digging into the search tool here and you'll learn a lot.  Just 6T9 CHGR is always a big help.

 

[Ghoste]

Which is why the registries have become such a useful tool.

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]