1969 Dodge Charger RT-SE

Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines
October, 2007 - Jeff Koch and George Mattar

Most of our Restoration Profile cars have almost literally been brought back from the dead: At one point in their lives, most were wrecked, abused, discarded, served as a condominium for scores of disease-ridden woodland creatures, and/or full of the sort of poorly advised amateur modifications that alter factory sheetmetal forever.

This 1969 Dodge Charger R/T SE is a little different. "This was a survivor car, all original before the owner went to get it restored, and really not in bad shape," reports current keeper Louis Barrie, of West Hills, California. "It had never been hit, though there was some minor work, with little dings and such, that was primed. It was rust-free, it had the original black California plates, and other than the spot-priming here and there, it had the original paint. It even came with the original paper dealer tags--from Moss Brothers in San Bernardino." So, not only was it not in bad shape, there was no real reason (other than owner vanity) to tear it apart and get it redone in the first place. And then it sat, a victim of someone getting in way over his head and walking away. It wasn't so much resuscitated as it was put to sleep through a cocktail of benign neglect, good intentions and an empty wallet.

Barrie adds that the car had never been wrecked--not even a fender bender. "We found there was never any bodywork done to the car," he said. Tell that to Bo and Luke Duke. Somehow, thankfully, this gorgeous car escaped the fate that befell more than 300 '69 Chargers gathered up (mostly from southern California) by Warner Brothers prop crews and reportedly destroyed by stunt drivers launching them through the air on the Dukes of Hazzard.

"A 1969 Charger R/T was the car I would have had if I could when I started driving while a teenager," Barrie said. "I am quite fortunate to have found this car in such good condition. Most of these cars were rusted beyond oblivion many years ago. It is even better than many southern California cars," he added. Barrie finally got his dream car in March 2006. The car had been sitting for about five years and the odometer--which had gone around once--showed 14,000 miles, for a total of 114,000 miles on the engine. Barrie believes he is the car's third owner.

The 1969 Charger R/T SE was a combination of muscle and luxury. Far better equipped than its cousin, the Plymouth Road Runner, which was not available with a single four-barrel 440, the SE option (Code A47), came with the following items: leather and vinyl bucket seats, sport steering wheel, pedal dress up, light package, deep dish wheel covers, woodgrain instrument panel, hood-mounted turn signals and C-pillar SE emblem. This car also has the V8X tail stripe.

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