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purchased this Charger on October 31, 1991 from a gentleman named Mr. Pringle
in Austin, TX for $1,875. Mr. Pringle had purchased the car in South Carolina.
According to the tag on the inner fender, it was built in September of 1967.
When it rolled off the showroom floor it was white with a green "gator-grain"
vinyl top and was powered by a 383 two-barrel. As for options, it has power
steering, A/C, and manual 4 wheel drum brakes. I was never able to find the build sheet for this car but
instead found a small booklet behind the rear seat. The booklet was a 'private
eye' log that detailed the actions of a woman during several summer/fall months
in 1968. |
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After I
got the car home, I began surveying the areas that were going to need immediate
attention. The rear fenders were rusted around the wheel wells and the
passenger side floor pan was rotten as well as a small portion of the frame in
that area. The carpet, headliner, and front seats were original and showed
their 23-year old age. The heater core had a hole in it the size of a quarter,
which came as a rude surprise to me when I hooked it up and saw "Niagara Falls"
from under the dash! The car was quite loud due to the fact that it had
headers, which were bolted only to a pair of "Blue Maxx" truck glass packs. The
positive points were that the dash and the rear seat were in excellent
condition. The original engine had been replaced with a 1970 383 four barrel
which was beginning to show its age. Luckily, I found a 1968 HP 440 from a
gentleman named Alan Graham in Weir, TX and a 1968 clutch disc-type 8 3/4 Sure
Grip from a gentleman in Pasadena, TX. My father and I performed a quickie
stock rebuild on the 440 and dropped it into the Charger in December 1991.
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since I saw the movie "Bullitt", I had wanted a 1968 Dodge Charger. At that
time, I was driving a 'restified' 1973 Plymouth 'Cuda. My father purchased the
'Cuda in 1987 from a gentleman known in and around Houston as "Mr. Mopar", Don
Waits. Mr. Waits passed away recently and will be sorely missed. He was a
true gentleman that loved Mopars and the Mopar hobby. The car had a
matching numbers 340 four-barrel, A/C, power steering, power front disc brakes,
and a 3:23 8 3/4" Sure Grip differential. When my father bought the car it had
air shocks on the rear with tires that rubbed on the wheel opening molding
whenever there was a bump in the road! Unfortunately, the engine was missing a
piece from the right rear where the transmission locating dowel was supposed to
be. (We went through several flex plates due to the engine and transmission not
being centered.) After five years of rebuilding and enjoying the 'Cuda, the
time had come to sell the car to make room for the Charger. My parents
eventually sold the 'Cuda to a gentleman from San Antonio. |
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I drove
the Charger as my daily driver for 8 years. During that time the Charger took
me to school in Waco where it went through two hailstorms. Amazingly, the
original windshield, which was badly glazed, managed to survive! During that
time I encountered a few problems such as no oil pressure for 1/2 mile because
of a broken intermediate shaft and severe overheating for 3 miles due to a
broken thermostat. While I was going to school in Waco, I raced the Charger at
Temple Academy
Dragway in Temple, TX. The car ran a best of 14.48 at 95 MPH. After a few
years of mods and tweaks I later raced the car at
Houston Raceway Park
in 1997 and was rewarded with a sub 14-second timeslip (although the
temperature was about 45 degrees). The car usually averages about 14 seconds
flat in the quarter mile in current trim. In 1996, my father and I performed
some quick bodywork and had the car painted black. The paint was mainly to
protect the body from any further rust outbreaks. The Progress Pictures show the rest of the story! |
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