This Original Scat Pack '69 Charger R/T Is a Primordial HEMI Brute With a Touching Story

The ’69 Charger is one of a couple of hundred R/Ts imbued with the three spell-casting numbers and four magic letters of Mopar engineering wizardry - 426 HEMI – paired to the four-speed manual transmission. Out of the 206 units built, less than 36 are still around, and not too many of those veterans retain the original engine.

This white-hat blue Dodge is one of these rare survivors, although it wasn’t spared the high-speed fate of its long-gone siblings (whose mighty V8s collapsed from over-racing). The car is now in the possession of a Chicago gentleman who took great care of its prized R/T. The video shows everything to be said about the level of TLC invested in the machine.

The Dodge has a crate 426 HEMI under the hood of this 1969 Charger R/T, but don’t throw the proverbial stone just yet. The original 1969 elephant motor is alive and well, just retired in a garage because it deserves it. Like the one before, the current owner used the R/T precisely as it should have been used: going mercilessly fast. No trailer queen life for the wicked Dodge, but a compromise was made - the initial V8 was saved in storage to avoid blowing up under intense revving.

Other than that, the car is restored to the highest standards but not to be paraded at fashion shows.

As the driver says, “we wanted it to go fast and look great doing it.” There isn’t much to say about the fast-going part, as the 426 HEMI, the Track Pack with 3.54 Dana 60 rear axle, and the four-speed floor-shift manual gearbox need no introduction. However, the white hat special livery is a different story.

This numbers-matching 426 HEMI-powered 1969 Dodge Charger R/T four-speed is the only one with a white vinyl top, white bumble bee stripe, white interior, and B-5 Blue paint. The color combination was a promotional gimmick to boost the ‘69 Charger’s sales. The front leather bucket seats and Hurst shifter knob match the rear bench and trunk stripes.

According to the owner, all instruments work perfectly, including the tick-tock tach. Very fitting for a car in such great shape, even after fifty-three years. As the video details, the owner of this particular Dodge has a unique feature on his Charger: the Magnum 500 wheels sport a set of unusual ornaments.

Nothing fancy about them except they came from the hands of Norm Kraus, the absolute Mopar authority for all after-market go-fast Chryslers during the Golden Era. Also, the glove box bears his signature, courtesy of the man who started the “small-car-big-block” trend in the sixties. Watch the second video to hear the story told by Mr. Norm himself.

As for the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 426 HEMI four-speed Track Pack car, we’ll let the numbers do the talking: 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 4.9 seconds and 13.5 seconds to cover the standing quarter mile (at 103 mph/165 kph). The maximum speed was a respectable 137 mph (220 kph), thanks to the double quad-barrel carburetors atop the 426 CID (seven-liter) V8 engine shelling 425 bhp (431 ps) and 490 lb-ft of torque (664 Nm).

The car is for sale (it has been for several years), and you can contact the YouTuber who made this video to get in touch with the owner (who’s also the seller).