Photo: americanmusclehd/instagram
Any classic Dodge Charger is a machine that can make one weak in the knees, but the 1969 Daytona, with its NASCAR heritage, deserves a special place in the garage that is an aficionado's heart. The Mopar people only brought 503 units of the aero-car to life and while you might expect each one to have been rigorously maintained, this isn't always the case. Fortunately, though, we are now here to talk about a neglected example that seems to have entered a new age in its life.
The F8 Dark Green shade of the machine is enough to capture one's attention, especially since this is a hue Dodge brought back for its modern muscle cars.
We are looking at a Charger Daytona that has reportedly found its way out of the proverbial barn last month - the muscle beast surfaced on Americanmusclehd, a private Instagram account (at least at the time of this writing, the label accepted fresh followers). Oh, and yes, that purple hood is quite a mistery.
Under the hood, we find the standard engine (if such an adjective is ever fit for this type of unit), a 440 ci (7.2L) Magnum. And, as if this sort of machine needs to give one special reasons to jump for joy, we're looking at one of the examples fitted with the four-speed manual.
This is the Super Track Pack model with 4.10 Dana rear axle (as opposed to the Track Pack's 3.54 gears). Other goodies that come with this package include a 7-blade torque drive fan, a dual breaker distributor, 26-inch high-performance radiator with fan shroud, power disc brakes and a sure-grip rear diff.
Once this 69 Charger Daytona gets the TLC it deserves, perhaps we can consider the whole thing a tribute to Larry Rathgeb. We're talking about the engineer in charge of Dodge's NASCAR efforts in the late 1960s and early 1970s, who managed to convince his bosses that a nose cone and a massive wing would bring banked oval glory over sheer horsepower.
Alas, the legend recently went to motoring heaven at the age of 90, after a battle with the current health crisis. And it's worth noting that his legacy doesn't just stay with us in the real world, but also thanks to the ever-expanding rendering realm.
We are looking at a Charger Daytona that has reportedly found its way out of the proverbial barn last month - the muscle beast surfaced on Americanmusclehd, a private Instagram account (at least at the time of this writing, the label accepted fresh followers). Oh, and yes, that purple hood is quite a mistery.
Under the hood, we find the standard engine (if such an adjective is ever fit for this type of unit), a 440 ci (7.2L) Magnum. And, as if this sort of machine needs to give one special reasons to jump for joy, we're looking at one of the examples fitted with the four-speed manual.
This is the Super Track Pack model with 4.10 Dana rear axle (as opposed to the Track Pack's 3.54 gears). Other goodies that come with this package include a 7-blade torque drive fan, a dual breaker distributor, 26-inch high-performance radiator with fan shroud, power disc brakes and a sure-grip rear diff.
Once this 69 Charger Daytona gets the TLC it deserves, perhaps we can consider the whole thing a tribute to Larry Rathgeb. We're talking about the engineer in charge of Dodge's NASCAR efforts in the late 1960s and early 1970s, who managed to convince his bosses that a nose cone and a massive wing would bring banked oval glory over sheer horsepower.
Alas, the legend recently went to motoring heaven at the age of 90, after a battle with the current health crisis. And it's worth noting that his legacy doesn't just stay with us in the real world, but also thanks to the ever-expanding rendering realm.
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