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

[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.