Photo: e-body_only/eBay
As much as I love factory-stock muscle cars from the golden era, I'm a sucker for classics that spent years at the drag strip. This 1968 Dodge Charger is one of those cars, and it's in desperate need of a lifeline.
Once a glorious quarter-mile monster, this 1968 Charger is now a worn-out shell that needs quite a few components to run and drive again. I wouldn't call it a barn find, but this Mopar clearly spent a few good years in storage and lost a lot of parts since it was retired from racing.
What's the story behind it? Well, the VIN indicates that it left the factory with a 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB V8 under the hood and sporting a green metallic finish with a black vinyl top. Its early life as a street-legal car is a mystery, but there's documentation that says it was raced in Florida in the early 1980s.
A photo dated 1984 shows the Charger wearing a black livery with Westside Dodge sponsorship and "Hulk" lettering on the doors. The car was then repainted silver and white in 1985, and it was raced by someone named Susan Hardy in Jacksonville.
The dragster acquired its current livery in 1988 when it started racing in the Georgia area as "Pot-O-Gold." The current owner claims the car was then sold to someone in South Carolina and continued to be raced into the 1990s, but that's about it. Perhaps it was retired sometime in the 1990s and stripped off for a different project that never came to fruition.
The seller purchased the car as is with "the thought of building it into a streetable drag car version of a rat rod," but he gave up on the idea when it became an "overwhelming task." And the truth is this Charger will require significant work to become road-worthy again.
The good news is the car is still relatively solid. On the flip side, it lost a great deal of sheet metal and components as it was lightened for racing. It's missing most of the rear frame rails, the trunk pans, and most of the interior. It has some rust issues too.
And while it comes with a few boxes packed with parts, the seller doesn't have a complete inventory. But he does mention a steering column, grille assembly, front and rear bumpers, hood hinges, and taillights.
Did someone say engine and transmission? Well, this Charger is missing a drivetrain too. I know, many of you would probably take this Mopar to the crusher, but I think it has "rat rod" written all over it. One that would still wear that worn-out livery. With so many crate engine options available today, it's definitely doable, but there are two major issues to consider.
First, this project will burn a lot of hard-earned unless you keep things very basic beyond the drivetrain. Second, the seller still thinks this Charger is a "pot-o-gold" because he wants $16,500 for it. I know classic muscle car prices have gone through the roof recently, but this ex-drag racer is not worth $16K.
Anyway, it's being offered by eBay seller "e-body_only" from Hermitage, Tennessee, and we will find out if it finds a new home by the end of the month.
What's the story behind it? Well, the VIN indicates that it left the factory with a 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB V8 under the hood and sporting a green metallic finish with a black vinyl top. Its early life as a street-legal car is a mystery, but there's documentation that says it was raced in Florida in the early 1980s.
A photo dated 1984 shows the Charger wearing a black livery with Westside Dodge sponsorship and "Hulk" lettering on the doors. The car was then repainted silver and white in 1985, and it was raced by someone named Susan Hardy in Jacksonville.
The dragster acquired its current livery in 1988 when it started racing in the Georgia area as "Pot-O-Gold." The current owner claims the car was then sold to someone in South Carolina and continued to be raced into the 1990s, but that's about it. Perhaps it was retired sometime in the 1990s and stripped off for a different project that never came to fruition.
The seller purchased the car as is with "the thought of building it into a streetable drag car version of a rat rod," but he gave up on the idea when it became an "overwhelming task." And the truth is this Charger will require significant work to become road-worthy again.
The good news is the car is still relatively solid. On the flip side, it lost a great deal of sheet metal and components as it was lightened for racing. It's missing most of the rear frame rails, the trunk pans, and most of the interior. It has some rust issues too.
And while it comes with a few boxes packed with parts, the seller doesn't have a complete inventory. But he does mention a steering column, grille assembly, front and rear bumpers, hood hinges, and taillights.
Did someone say engine and transmission? Well, this Charger is missing a drivetrain too. I know, many of you would probably take this Mopar to the crusher, but I think it has "rat rod" written all over it. One that would still wear that worn-out livery. With so many crate engine options available today, it's definitely doable, but there are two major issues to consider.
First, this project will burn a lot of hard-earned unless you keep things very basic beyond the drivetrain. Second, the seller still thinks this Charger is a "pot-o-gold" because he wants $16,500 for it. I know classic muscle car prices have gone through the roof recently, but this ex-drag racer is not worth $16K.
Anyway, it's being offered by eBay seller "e-body_only" from Hermitage, Tennessee, and we will find out if it finds a new home by the end of the month.
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