Unbelievable! 1 of 467 1968 Dodge Hemi Charger R/T
Have you ever wanted to own a blue-chip muscle car? This awesome 1968 Dodge Charger R/T is said to be a real-deal Hemi car. It is almost too good to be true and is purportedly a one-owner, barn find car with less than 15,000 miles on the odometer! Found here on Hemmings, the car is up for auction at the Mecum Indy event on Saturday May 19th. With an estimated selling price of $95,000 to $115,000, this car will surely be one of the highlights of the auction. What would you do with this car if you were the winning bidder? Full restoration? Leave it as-is? Get it mechanically sound and drive it? Let us know.
From the Mecum website: “The 1968 Dodge Charger remains a truly significant example in terms of its styling and influence, and this special factory Hemi car will be hard to top…original and intact barn find…Any performance-car barn find becoming available for purchase in as-found condition is a rare opportunity for most people, and being one of 467 Hemi Charger R/Ts built that year, it is a desirable car under any circumstances.”
Check out that elephant engine! The mighty 426 Hemi is a legend in muscle car history. Rated at 425 horsepower, this specific engine looks pretty original down to the chrome air cleaner, valve covers and other components. The ad doesn’t state if the car runs (or even turns over). I would assume if it ran or isn’t frozen that there would be some indication. Hopefully the original engine is able to be rebuilt. Having a matching-numbers engine and transmission will certainly help this car retain its value.
This car is said to have been exported to Venezuela when new. It features a 240 KPH speedometer and the odometer is in kilometers. Other features include power steering, power brakes and power windows. Bucket seats along with a center console, chrome shifter and an in-dash tachometer round out the interior.
The exterior of the car shows great patina and looks the part of a 15,000 mile survivor. Obviously when spending six figures on a project car, any prospective buyers would be wise to do a thorough inspection. The car is said to have the original broadcast sheet attached to the seat. As long as it is legible, that makes a world of difference in authenticating the car and documenting how it left the factory. Will you be bidding on this car? Tell us what you think about it.
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Comments
If, and only if it was the real deal, it would immediately be going to either Restorations by Julius or Graveyard Cars. Either way, it would be done right and as an investment. The 68 is the most desirable of this particular body style.
Short term investment, maybe. Sooner or later the last baby Boomer will be pushing up daisies and the value of these things will fall like a middle aged woman’s chest. The last one will be a museum piece in a back room somewhere that few will bother to look at, no monetary value there. Besides, why spend six figures on something you won’t even be able to drive? People, spend like half of that on a new sports car and give the rest away to some worthy cause. You can’t take it with you, and when you are gone, all you have left is your reputation, and how do you want to be remembered? Besides, ever drive a big block Charger? I have, not impressed, and that comes from a man who owned a 1970 RR. Cars have gotten so much better in the past fifty years, rejoice in that fact.
They may be “better”, but they lack the style and class of the late 50’s to early 70’s. I’d take ANY ‘64 1/2 to ‘73 Mustang over the most highly optioned, high performance 2018 model.
The values of these cars will not die with the baby boomers. There is interest that stretches well beyond 60 and 70 year olds. The true muscle cars, such as this R/T, will always have a dedicated following. It’s the generic 318 Charger that needs full restoration and extensive panel replacement that will take the hit. Just look at the Porsche 356’s, early Jaguars, 32 Ford roadsters and 3 window coupes, Dusenburgs and early brass cars. The have retained their value even though in many cases the original owners have been in the ground for several generations.
Steve R
@ Steve R. Some good points, but how about the fact that modern youth in general have little interest for things automotive? With less people interested, the values must go down. It was our car culture that has created the hype and value, at least IMHO.
You may be right about the prices coming down, in the next 50 years, but there’s nothing like driving a 60’s muscle car with the top hp engine, nothing !
From my 383 Road Runner’s to my 427 Camaro and 427 Chevelle, there’s nothing like sitting at a light as the whole body shakes from pure hp ! I have a 06 Mustang GT (with some bolt ons and a tune) it’s a fun car, but it doesn’t compare to pure unbridled horsepower !
As a matter of fact, I’m thinking of building the 454 I have and finding a Beaumont once I’m up in Canada !
I’m really tired of reading and hearing that young folks have no interest in old cars. I see a constant flow of kids touring the museum that have a real interest in cars of all kinds. They ask very interesting questions. When I ask what kind of car they would like, their responses would suprise you. Yesterday I took a 1951 Crestliner to a non car event and kids of all ages were really interested and asked great questions. True, the value of old cars is going down, but it’s not only nostalgia that drives car sales. Future generations may want cars from before their time.
Not sure where that “give the rest away to some worthy cause” is coming from. No Warren Buffoon here. You spend it on yourself. You enjoy your money. While you can. People blow their money daily if they’re car lovers and think nothing of it. And that how you want to be remembered when you’re not alive to care is so foolish as to be the joke of the day. Don’t mess with others, mind your own business, and that speaks for itself. And cut those deals with ole #1 in mind. And wait for the next opportunity. You might not be able to take it with you but you sure can enjoy it while you’re here. And that’s what counts.
Hey Billy007! Did you ever ride in a big block Charger when they were new or a couple of years old? I will be 64 and i remember lots of kids when i was in school who didn’t care about cars or what they drove. Knock it off about todays kids. Young people now have different interest just like they did when i was younger. Boring world if everybody was the same. I think there are just as many if not more young kids involved in cars and trucks today!
@mag195455 As a matter of fact, yes I did. I am just a tad young then you, my high school lot was full of them, including my 1970 RR. Of course they are fun, but just in one direction, good if you don’t have to turn or brake. My newer cars are far more pleasurable, but of course each to their own, live and let live. I hope you are right about the youth of today having a love of cars, but I wouldn’t hold your breath having them love this, esp…………………. at what they now cost. Our son likes 90s Japanese cars, like I drove when he was young, so do most of his friends, and that is okay. Another good thing is that if something like this (a Baby Boomer fantasy) drops dramatically in price, then the few people in the future who actually like them will maybe be able to buy them. I say, to heck with cars as investments, cars ownership should be about love of the car.
I fully agree with you 007 . Get it running and drive it like you should. Kids today couldn’t care less about these ’68’s.
Everybody is obsessed with driving up the price on these cars and going and giving it the best restoration possible what is wrong with leaving a Survivor a Survivor just good enough mechanically and rub out some of the patina without repaint why do you guys have to have perfect restored cars?
Duplicate post. Check below.
Right. This one is now in Venezuela awaiting shipment hack to US for sale at Mecum. Why ship it out of country just to re-ship it back here. Does anybody besides me smell Carp?
What do you mean ship it twice.
The write up said the car was sent to Venezuela when it was new.
I would be surprised if the car isn’t in the hands of Mecum right now as they are advertising it for sale in 2 weeks.
If something goes wrong with the shipping they are going to be left with egg on their face.
This one was so nice that you had to write it up twice? 😁
I know some young cats dont dig the old stuff but im only 35 the newest thing i have is a 79 2 dr bonneville bucket seat console car from the factory…..every thing else i own is 66 and older clear back to 49 n i own 16 cars ya i have a couple of the same yrs 2 50 silver streak 2 dr fast backs…3 62 pontiacs 2 cats n a g.p. you couldnt give me a new car to save your life…..i lnow most kids dont but dont judge a book by its cover just cause its a young book…..
But I’m sure you do miss your main woman. Ethyl. And it’s a dog when you have to use super premium to motor them down the road. Or do the valve jobs they’re doing to the 1960s corvettes because Ethyl has gone for good. Now they’re proposing to drop all three grades and go with one grade at 95 octane. Will do the trick but will hit the wallet harder but make it much easier for refineries to make only one choice. Which is no choice. But theirs.
Um… your boss already wrote this one up bro. At like, noon. Today…
And like usual, you aren’t giving the tipster any credit for the find.
This car brings back so many memories, I’m almost teary. A restored one, doesn’t have the same effect. This is the condition (and worse… much, much worse) that my brother and I would find them in. Then the work begins… but so does the joy. This is the sort of car we used to find all the time for pennies. Labor of love.
With all of the rusted Trabants, DKW’s and Volkswagen ‘small windows’, not to mention early 60’s Dodge and Ford Vans, etc… that go through here, I almost forget the reason for my love of cars.
This IS the reason.
When you have the opportunity to drive a HEMI – anything, you should look into facial Botox injections first. Otherwise; you may never be able to stop grinning. Dry teeth is a serious problem among REAL muscle car drivers.
Thank you for this.
This is a great find among few sent by order out of the US. IF documentation and numbers show it to BE all numbers matching (per 15,ooo miles claimed), it will sell at investment level price. OWNER can then make it run and stop, and enjoy the rush of a Hemi at HIS will. Restoration time and costs for this level investment are rarely taken on by owner himself…so THAT fun angle is lost…traded for patience waiting for the chance to enjoy the car. When I found GOOD, original, one owner cars in the late 70’s…I never had to think about restoration. I knew what the cars were, and got them far too cheap…so USED them as daily drivers, till someone later HAD to have them. First Hemi ride was a test drive, ending with cash in his hand. 1971 Hemi Road Runner.
Air Grabber hood was too cool…and car was as new. I’d never seen one before, and it was 8 years old. $3500. A Challenger Rallye 73 for $400, drove the white walls on Magnum 500s off it. So many more as I was in California, and gas went high quicker, and people were selling cheap. A ’69 Trans Am for $3500, one California owner, in 1981.A sweet, used, abused, stolen at least once 70 Charger R/T SE. Sublime, black leather, PW, PS, PDB for $1400 off a gravel back lot of a used, bad repaint car lot….
@william boardman – I gave you a ‘thumbs up’ a few minutes ago, and it ‘took’. Closed the window, then came back just now, and the ‘thumbs up’ was back to ‘0’ and it won’t let me give you another to replace it.
I believe you know exactly what I meant, in my comments. The only difference in our car experiences was, that I had no idea they had made 1969 Trans-Ams until our friend Roland bought one. When he got that Ram-Air V from Jerry Titus’ widow, that car just blew my mind.
if it was a 4 speed omg, but a great find and a great car. NOTHING BEATS RIPPING DOWN THE STREETS IN ONE OF THESE BABYS,
I always felt that the 426 hemi was a killer race engine, in full race form no other engine from back then ever dominated so strongly whether it be stock car racing or drag racing, the amount of victories speak for themselves. Ford spent a mint trying to get a handle on those dang hemi powered mopars!
But my comment may sound strange to some folks. That engine was never meant for the street, and I mean daily driving stuff here, not disorganized street racing. Heavy breathing thirsty mf it was, happy in traffic grocery getter drive to work everyday get the kids it wasn’t. Shouldn’t is more like it. No red blooded angry race mill should be subjected to such mundane chores. Haha, had to get that off my chest.
@Troy s – in an odd kind of way, I agree, sort of.
But remember; virtually ALL Ferrari engines are simply detuned (sometimes, just barely) derivatives of their race engines. That was especially true of the 1970’s and earlier. Would you have no road-going Feraris?
Interestingly; I remember reading an article from years ago in something like Car & Driver or Road & Track, comparing the (believe it or not) TOWING capabilities of the 440 Six Pack and the 426 Hemi. Both were in Chargers, if I remember correctly. Spoiler ALERT! The 440 Six Pack proved to be exactly what our friends at Mopar designed it to be: the ultimate street power plant. It pulled without objection, accelerated smoothly, and was a pleasure to drive. The Hemi, on the other hand, had been designed as the ultimate race power plant, and performed like it. Under low RPM loaded conditions, it struggled, objected and ultimately pre-ignited.
Having owned both, I can tell you that this assessment is about right.
As a final colorful bit of anecdotal information: the Arizona Highway Patrol (before DPS days) operated 5 1966 Hemi Belvedere 4-doors for several years.
I honestly think Ford accomplished that with the 427 SOHC, if you could keep timing chains on it. So much so, that it was banned from ever being used in NASCAR. The NHRA guys bought them to pump nitro methane into tire shredding HP. The 426 was a great engine though.
426 hemi’s were, are, and always will be legendary. There’s faster cars being built now, like the hellcat, and they too will have their iconic destinies. About young people, I too was a skeptic about the interest of classic cars in the future, but when I take my 64 Buick Riviera out to shows or to a church crawdad boil, or just out for a drive I’m amazed at how many youngsters know so much about older cars. Alas! I now believe the future of classic cars is very bright as interest is above and beyond anything I ever could imagined. Just an old car lover.
There are a lot of us younger folks out there in our Mid 20’s struggling to get by yet working on our dream one part at a time. It’d be nice to have more reasonable prices for such an expensive hobby, but who in their 20’s had the money to restore a six digit car? The interest is there, but the cost today vs. yesteryear drastically differ & that undoubtedly has an effect on classic ownership IMO.
Agreed, and as much as not all kids will have an interest in old cars….as the years click by there will not be as many of them around to choose from. SO>>>> market demand will be a ratio as it is now.
They aren’t “making any more classic cars” so the shrinking supply of decent restorable cars will probably fall in line with those who, in the years to come, will have interest in them.
All the comments are great, for sure, but lets get back to the car…..one comment I did not see (unless I missed it).
I was never good at the Metric system, so…. does 23,205 Kilometers translate into like 115,000 miles? No way this is a 15,000 mile car. I wish they had (unless I missed them) photos of the trunk and underbody. You only want $100K for a car, who needs pictures?
Kids, not all, today moving forward will have an interest in these cars. Too bad they are graduating from college with 6 figure debt that will choke them and most of their dreams for a long time if not for good.
I graduated with a 4 year State Univ degree in 1988. By the time I was 25 I paid off my school debt, bought a house, got married and had a couple muscle cars in the garage with only a mortgage as debt.
Kids today are screwed, including my own. But my kids 18-25 years old, love old cars, want to one day have one and are getting out of college with only about 40K in debt unlike their friends at 100-150K in debt. Yikes!
23205 Kilometers equals out to14,419 miles, if you were really asking.
Our kids each have less then 10K worth of undergraduate debt as the missus and I paid the lions share of it, so hopefully their futures are yet intact. (grad school is all on them BTW, got to have some skin in the game after all) I see part of the problem here as well as the high cost of collector cars as the same thing, our generations greed. I find it appalling that some of us see no problem laying out 50 or 60K for a pick up or collector car and then leave their own blood suffocate in school debt. Face it, our generations had a far better deal then these kids have. It isn’t our fault the government has its priorities all screwed up, but our kids are our priorities, is it not so? I feel my small collection of cars could be much better if I hadn’t forked over waaaay into six figures for college for our three kids. But, how could I have ever looked at those cars knowing that my kids were suffering, and might never themselves own similar cars because of it?
The market will dictate current value, regardless of our BF opinions. It’ll fetch 100k.
Out of my range lol, I may not agree… The market settles when jackwagons think that their crusty ’73 Sebring 2 bbl 318 on blocks in the alley is valuable…
Especially if it ran when parked !
So, should the new owner replace the speedometer? Or leave it original? Serious question.
Steve H. Leave it original , adds to the whole value .
That’s what I was thinking as a car like this should be kept original… but having said that, if I was the ultimate owner of the car it would surely bother me while driving that the speed was being indicated in kph.
Maybe a Canadian will buy it