Saved From a Wrecking Yard After 40 Years, This 1968 Charger Is Looking for a New Home

I have chosen 2078 because it’s 55 years from today (well, almost 54, but still), and that’s precisely the time gap that separates us in 2023 from 1968. What’s so special about 1968? Well, for starters, the First-generation Road Runner from Plymouth, the second-generation Charger from Dodge, and the third-generation Corvette from Chevrolet. Oh, and let’s not forget the American Motors Corporation and their AMX.

Probably the biggest news that year was the release of the new and wholly restyled Charger. After a disappointing two years with the first generation, Dodge sent its designers back to the drawing board. The result was staggering – the new car for 1968 sold over six times better than the fast-back personal-luxury-ish muscle from 1967.

Frank Bullitt hunted down one sinister black ’68 Charger in the most fabulous chase scene ever to hit the silver screen (Fast and Furious fans know this: Steve McQueen did his own stunts, and nothing in that movie was computer-faked). Also, 1968 brought another pack of delicacies for go-fast enthusiasts: the Road/Track pack on the rowdy Charger.

One of the ads was chrushingly cynical about that R/T badge: ‘Charger R/T just arrived. End of the road for the do-it-yourself kit, Charlie.’ The bad boy Dodge had plenty of arguments to steal everyone’s lunch money: 440 CID, 375-hp (4-bbl) V8 - that’s 7.2 liters, 380 PS -dual exhausts, heavy-duty Suspension Package, heavy-duty brakes, and F70x14 wide-treads.

The ad was devastatingly humorous, yet dead serious about the extra cost of equipment – the copywriters word it simply: ‘Optional | The Hemi – 425 hp.’ What more could one ask for? Well, more, nothing at all, but less – yes, there were options for not-so-much Charger.

That year, the muscle Dodge offered five V8s, from the low-key 318 all the way to the 426 HEMI. The middle of the road between the two was the 383 V8, presented in two versions, either with a two-barrel carburetor or the four-barrel entry muscle. The 6.3-liter engine developed 290 hp and 390 lb-ft in its lesser form (294 PS, 529 Nm) due to a low compression ratio of 9.2:1 and the single exhaust system.

Even though it’s not nearly as rare or as desired by collectors as its hard-punching siblings like the 330-hp/335 PS four-barrel 383 – to say nothing of the R/T duo – the entry-level big-block V8 Dodge Charger of 1968 remains a valuable car even today. Now, with sales values skyrocketing over the past years, finding one in good shape and at a reasonable price is not exactly a piece of cake.

On the other hand, the opposite isn’t at all hard: a beater with a high label on it is just around the corner, no matter how round the Earth is. Take a look at the example below - a presumed survivor who sat in a wrecking yard for more than four decades. However, the sales ad doesn’t tell when this Charger ended up in a car purgatory in California, where it sat in oblivion, waiting for the misery-sparing crusher or an interested restorer.

The car comes with its complete drivetrain (the presumption of innocence is granted to this derelict legend, which is believed to be the numbers-matching equipment). Still, the seller doesn’t say anything about the mileage. Currently found in Allen, Texas, this yellow over-black Dodge left the factory with a three-speed automatic – with its shifter mounted on the console – and a 2.76 rear.

Clearly, whoever ordered this car new was going places. Not dragstrips, but far-away places, and the cruise-friendly gears were a sensible solution. The numerically low ratio differential was the least acceleration-friendly option one could have put in a 1968 Dodge Charger. Apart from the remote-operated mirror on the driver’s side, this car was optioned with bucket seats and, according to the fender tag, a center front seat (the photo gallery isn’t revealing enough to let us see it).

The asking price is $19,900, which is a bit too much for some people’s taste, even for a complete car in this condition. The right front fender is wrinkly, and we don’t know if the engine even turns, let alone run. Confusingly, the ad states: 'Very complete and unmolested car' about this four-decade-abandoned, rust-bitten icon from Mother Mopar. Then again, with the high premiums cars like these demand after restorations, it wouldn’t be a total eclipse of the mind to see this particular boneyard rescue go big on a future auction.