Mopar Barn Find: 1972 Dodge Charger
When words like Charger, 440 Magnum, and barn find are strung together in a Craigslist ad, most automotive enthusiasts are going to take notice. Such is the case with the 1972 Dodge Charger, found here on craigslist. Last titled in 1982, lots of questions are raised about this Nebraska barn find.
440 Magnum likely grabs the attention of about any muscle car enthusiasts. Unfortunately, by 1972 the 440 wasn’t the powerhouse that it had been in previous years. Even so, there are still plenty of car nuts who would proudly display the 440 Magnum badges on this particular Charger. The big question on this one, specifically, is the kind of running condition that it’s in. The listing has all the right words to interest more than enough Mopar fans, but the lack of words is somewhat concerning. The first question that comes to mind is why this car hasn’t been titled since 1982. After only 10 years on the road and about 66,000 miles, could a mechanical failure have sidelined this one for nearly four decades?
While more pictures and detail are desired, the few that are there leave some hope for the overall condition of this B-body. If this Charger has been parked in its current location since it was last titled, a good cleanup may reveal that it’s in pretty good shape. An initial look at that interior would seem consistent with a 66k mile Mopar. This may not be everyone’s favorite style of Charger, but the barn find aspect certainly makes it an intriguing one.
It’d really be great to see this one pulled out of hibernation and cleaned up. There’s no doubt that it would take some level of work to make it roadworthy again. Knowing if that 440 Magnum will move the car and the brakes will stop it would be at the top of that list. Considering the asking price, those are important questions to know. For $30,000 would you be willing to pull this one out of the barn?
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Comments
If you could just slap these people behind the head with that slap stick shifter, clean the dang thing up for crying out loud. I suppose they just want to hang on to that “just found” look. It’s a neat car, one of the last muscle cars and looks in decent shape. There must be some kind of gauge available, denoting how far the wheels are sunk in the dirt as to how long it’s been sitting. Pretty neat find, but like this, not sure about the $30g’s, cleaned up and running, perhaps. I’m sure mechanically, it’s toast.
Pull it out and give it a wash. Don’t show it sinking into the ground. If you’re going for $30k, put in some effort. Oh wait, this is Craig’s List. Nevermind……
for $30 large they better at least drag it out of the dirt, give it a bath and include some engine and undercarriage pics….j.m.h.o.
Howard A, you are right on target with your slap stick suggestion.
Just leave it there..
Suffering from cognitive dissonance much? Old Dodge in the barn? $30,000. That’s what they sell for. I saw it on the internet. There’s people driving all over looking for these. All I have to do is sit right here and wait for them to come to me.
I’ve seen 66 Coronet HEMI’s go for 55k at auction. mint condition
Even if it was in concours condition, these Rallye Chargers top out at $25k. Also, this “barn find” looks staged – tires are black where they should be dirt-colored. Something’s amiss with both the pricing and the photos.
$30,000 for this seems absurd considering the lack of information or decent photos.
That said…this is a pretty rare Mopar, apparently one of 785 Charger Rallyes with the 440 Magnum, according to an article I was reading. It definitely seems worthy of rescue, if the price can be negotiated to something more reasonable.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/unsung-muscle-72-440-dodge-charger-rallye
It would be a total shock to me if this car wasn’t rusted out on the bottom of it!! Oh and where does the price come from!!! Hey honey look are exact car just sold at Barret Jackson for 30K!! We should get that for our rusted out mouse infested hulk in the barn!!!
Howard-here’s my somewhat calculated guess as to how deep the car is in the mud. After some checking online and looking at the pics here my best guess is the tires are about a 215/70/15. They would be about 27 inches tall minus 15 inches for the wheel which would be 12 inches divided by 2 equals 6 inches from the ground to the wheel mounting point. From looking at both the left side tires it looks like another maybe 2 inches of mud above that-making likely 8 inches buried total. If we’re not sure we could bring our old elementary school wooden ruler and check it ourselves. After all this how the tv and radio stations measured the snow depth they reported on air.
Why thanks, professor! I had a feeling someone would have a formula for that.
ahh yes, but lest we not forget to calculate proper offset for flattening? Lets assume a 5% loss in air volume per year, divided by the surface area of the bottom third of the tread area, and also factor in the vehicle weight soil density, and……… uhmmmmmmm…….
on second thought, never mind…….
With reference to the “elementary school wooden ruler”, Steve, many of us now know that those were the ORIGINAL Memory Sticks as wielded by Sister Teresa during her walks past our desks to correct our classroom conduct..😱😆
Nevadahalftrack,,,, you were lucky to have Sister Teresa wielding that memory stick, we had Sister Corporal Punishment dishing out the pay attention whacks to us.
It’s not about whether a car (or anything else) is “rare”, it’s about whether or not it is “desirable”. You can have a “one of one” but if nobody else wants it (like my Hurricane Smith album) then it’s gonna sit. $30K for this is only appealing to the “I gotta have it!” crowd but no anyone else.
Very true! I could go cut an album of “Stevieg’s Greatest Hits” & it would certainly be rare. The reason it would be rare is no one would want to hear it lol.
When I sing it sounds like cats getting freaky in the alley lol.
Sometimes an item is rare today, simply because no one in their right mind bought one when they were new, and no one wants it today.
I’ll take the Hurricane Smith album, is it Oh babe, what would you say
Would I pay $30,000 for this ? Heck no ! I think the owner has been watching Barret-Jackson way to much. We don’t know the health of the engine, or Transmission. $10,000 car in my book, but I remember when cars like this were $1000 bucks all day long.
I just wonder how it sunk into the ground while IN THE BARN?
Earthquakes?
Quicksand?
the drifting sands of time…..
Everyone is watching to much TV you try and pull that out from where it is you will come out with just the bumper
I think people selling a (barn find ) car are looking for the effect. look what I found
Maybe it’s me but when someone says a car hasn’t been titled since 1982 either means there is not a title or it’s in someone else’s name. I think they mean it has not had plates on it since 82.
Maybe that’s when it was stolen…
…or stashed in the barn after a late-night police chase. Check to see if the license plate bulb is working.
Isn’t this a 71? The taillights look like a 71?
The 72 Charger Ralley came with those tail lights.
UGLIEST Charger EVER!!!
6 years and 60k mileage seems unreal, 10k miles a year, especially in 1982.
As for the car agree with most of the comments. 30k this needs 30 days of cleaning and mechanical work to earn that kind if dough.
Things were going okay as I was reading the ad, then I got to the price and lucky for my laptop I had swallowed that gulp of coffee first…..
Absurd!!!
And, what does “last titled in 1982” have to do with anything? Las t inspected or registered might be different.
THis is a beautiful example of why we need to see undercarriage.
Is there a pot of gold under there?
Maybe this turn out to be like one of those shipwrecks run aground buried in beach sand and periodically emerging into view due to wind and wave action shifting the sand around. It happens around the world including San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. There are are several that pop up from time to time creating a bit of hubbub until an ancient historian is summoned from his lair to identify it again. I say leave this one to time and the elements. It’s Nebraska. There is no urgency. In time it will be fully entombed and forgotten.
Perhaps sometime in the future when the ice caps are gone, when the sea levels rise and Nebraska is once again the floor of a vast inland sea, layers of fine sediment will neatly press against it. Perhaps the car will be fully dissolved and replaced with minerals. Maybe some plastic and rubber will remain impervious. Undoubtedly the earth will still turn for some time and geologic events will continue. The forces of Plate Tectonics, and vulcanism may uplift portion of the sea floor draining it and exposing fossil laden rock strata to view by whatever sentient being that might happen upon it. Although highly unlikely, suppose this being is some far future equivalent of a paleontologist, and among the billions of tons of rocks it finds the fossilized remains of this title-less, ran when parked Charger, what will it make of this discovery? What would be future science creature’s impression and understanding of what it has found?
Will it say, “$30,000 for this? Really?”
Maybe.
And then toss it in the bag with the other fossils.
No to much realism or common sense anymore these days is there?Lotta great and cool cars out here but some if the asking prices are getting out of hand In my opinion.Too much TV I guess.I have a small resto shop in SJ and the costs associated to do these cars are getting a bit crazy anymore versus actual value or return.Just need to be more realistic on pricing,conditions completeness and so on.Just my take on it.Peace to all!!!
I go to Barrett Jackson North East every year, the hype for perfect cars is unreal, decent cars die there too