back then story

[wahya]

I was talking with a friend while I was working on my Satellite the other day. He told me that when he returned from Vietnam in 1969, he went to the local Dodge dealer to look for a car. He noticed a 1968 Charger rt hemi, red with black stripes that was used, but with only a few hundred miles on it. It seems the owner of the dealership had ordered it and decided it wasn't for him after he almost killed himself in the car.
My friend bought the car and then about a week or so later, the dealership called him and told him he would have to bring the car back. He was told that they had made a mistake and should not have sold the car. They said that state law gave them the right to take it since they made an honest mistake. After talking with a lawyer, my friend told the dealer he was keeping the car. The dealership then told my friend that if he brought the car back, he could have any car on the lot, plus $2500.00. He decided to keep the car. (continued)

 

[wahya]

continued

My friend said the salesman later told him that the car was special ordered and had come from Dodge performance as a type of test car. It was the fastest car in town except for a 302 Camaro that could sometimes run even with him.
Funny thing is, about 2 years later he sold the engine for about what he paid for the car and put in a 440. He then sold the car a couple of years after that. I got to thinking. I wonder if the eventual owner ever found out that car was a hemi.

 

[Cranky]

I can't see anyone selling a Hemi engine in 70 that came out of a 68 for more than the car cost. I bought several cars back then that were only a few hundred bucks after having the crap run out of them and a lot of Hemi engines just didn't have the following. That's the way it was here back then....

 

[1badgtx]

I have heard stories like this...I worked with this old guy...He was in the same war...He bought a 68 b5 4 speed gtx...He said he smoked the tires when he left the plymouth dealership....He wrecked the front of the car one night coming back from a bar...He sold the wrecked car in 70 for 1900 bucks....All it really needed was a front fender..
Petty Blue 67 gtx

 

[Ron 73]

Thats a cool story, The answer could be right here! you never know. That would be something to find out the story continues here with someone..

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I think we all wish we had a way back machine. I know My stable would be full and over flowing! great story Wonder how to find the real history of your car? Hamtramck does it site for it's plant but what about the L.A. plant? need a history site for that plant. How do you look up old owners?

 

[bluefury]

Back in the day values

He wrecked the front of the car one night coming back from a bar...He sold the wrecked car in 70 for 1900 bucks....

In 1970 $1900.00 was big bucks for a wrecked car. A new stripper Road Runner was only around $3200.00 MSRP.

I special ordered a 1969 A12 Runner, Took delivery in May 69, drove it 27000 miles and sold it to a dealer for $1300.00 in Sept 72. It still had all it's original equipment except the HD steel wheels. Thats just how it was "back in the day".

 

[moparsteve636]

Yes!If we only knew back then what we know now!To think of all the stuff I tore up and then sold them for scrap!

 

[Cranky]

Same here! During the first gas crunch, I turned down several 'cheap' cars because the market was so soft for them. A Hemi Runner for one...and a 67 small block Corvette that was nice except it smoked a little. The guy with the corvette wanted 2500. I offered 15 and he said 1800 and it was mine but I stuck to my guns. Oh well.

 

[Plymouth 340]

My friend said the salesman later told him that the car was special ordered and had come from Dodge performance as a type of test car. It was the fastest car in town except for a 302 Camaro that could sometimes run even with him.
Funny thing is, about 2 years later he sold the engine for about what he paid for the car and put in a 440. He then sold the car a couple of years after that. I got to thinking. I wonder if the eventual owner ever found out that car was a hemi.

It was the fastest car in town except for a 302 Camaro that could sometimes run even with him. Sounds like American Graffiti except with a town not valley. I love Chargers and the 440.

 

[Budnicks]

Around 1974-75 when I started buying cars for myself, only 3-4years removed from factory available Hemi cars.... The prices of "any Hemi Car" was already way over the original sale prices, buy double or triple at least most of the time, I don't really know what it was like some were else, but here in NorCal, any Originally Hemi Equipped Cars were in big demand in the used car market & carried a very large price with them even as early as 1974-75 & hasn't gone down since.... I do remember buy non Hemi cars 440's 383's 454's 427's 396's 455's 389's 421's 390's 428's 429's big block cars for $300-$500-$1000-$1500 all day long, but most were drove very hard & needing very much TLC... That's the way I remember it around these parts anyway...

 

[tpodwdog]

i cant see why anyone in their right mind would replace a HEMI with a 440...even back then the hemi was the most sought after engine Chrysler made.....then again,,,maybe he wasnt in his right mind! and i cant see a 302 keeping up with a hemi anyway

 

[Cranky]

A well tuned Hemi does run strong but it didn't take much for one to become poorly tuned and mix that with some rich kid that didn't know squat about tuning anything, then you have a perfectly crappy running Hemi car in short order. The first time I saw a 66 289 Fastback Mustang with some mods and 3.89 gears beat up a 69 Road Runner, I knew the car probably belonged to someone with more money than brains. The Mustang belonged to my room mate and it ran 14.80 in the 1/4. Not a big ball of fire but not bad for someone that was 18 and a limited budget. Another buddy with a 67 GTX blew up the original 440 and stuck in a 383 because the 383 was available and cheap. He needed to get the car running because it was his only ride and needed it for work on Monday. He blew the 440 on Friday night street racing. I had a 70 Hemi Cuda in my shop once for a short term storage and the guy told me to drive it from time to time to keep it running etc and it surprised me at how gutless it was. He said he didn't have a good place to work on it and couldn't afford for someone else to at the time. There were lots of reasons why Hemi engines disappeared back in the day for a lessor engine and many reasons why the cars didn't run very well. Heck, back then, I only had one car that I could drive back and forth to work and raced it on the weekends and if something broke, I had to hustle to get it back on the road again before it was time to leave for work on Monday morning. I worked construction and loaded my trunk back up on Sunday eveningd so I couldn't depend on my thumb to get me there. I had to have my wheels running....