Chrysler redesigned its mid-sized, B-bodied cars in 1968 and the Dodge Charger benefitted the most. From sales of fewer than 16,000 units in 1967, buyers scooped up more than 92,000 copies in 1968 and another 85,000 in 1969. The seller’s 1969 Charger was ordered with the White Hat Special option which combined a group of options at a discounted price. The car is driver-quality but would likely welcome a restoration if one is in the cards. Located in Plymouth, Massachusetts (?), this working Mopar is available here on eBay where $40,500 has been bid without cracking the seller’s reserve.
This Charger might be the perfect example of a White Hat Special Dodge since it wears B7 blue paint with a white vinyl top and matching vinyl interior. It has a 383 H-code V8 with a 4-speed manual transmission and a Sure-Grip differential, all of which may or may not be original (will the tattered build sheet help sort that out?). The car runs, drives, and stops, so there is no immediate need to do anything until you decide the cosmetics need a refresh. You’ll need to buy a new set of tires sooner rather than later.
Chrysler’s performance division used “Dodge Fever” as its marketing slogan to draw in buyers in 1969. The face of the campaign was Joan Parker, an actress who wore a white mini dress and disco boots to tie in with the Flower Power movement of the late 1960s. Perhaps that advertisement drew this car’s original owner to go into the Dodge showroom and buy this White Hat Special. Bucket seats with a console and the 4-speed tranny all were items that would appeal to youthful buyers.
The blue paint on this car is old yet workable. But the rust may not be, with it being present in the quarter panels and trunk pan. The seller says this machine is a good candidate for an “easy restoration” but is there really such a thing? At one time, the seller was planning on building a General Lee replica out of this Dodge and accumulated a bunch of spare parts, which are available to the successful buyer for an additional cost (how much?).
Van Tu Nguyen