Four decades on, the '68 Charger has so much going for it that you find yourself asking, 'What's not to like about it?"
It can't be the styling, which drew lookers--and, more importantly, buyers--into Dodge dealers from coast to coast in huge numbers back then. It can't be the continued demand for it, which has seen prices for used ones stop depreciating over a quarter-century ago. It can't be Mother Mopar's legendary B-Body platform, which wore the '68's first-year-second-generation sheetmetal very well.
Dick and Char Fuechslin of Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania were asking themselves what was not to like about this '68 Charger back in '99, when they got word from a friend that it was for sale. A non-R/T car, it was "fixed up" (how some folks described "restoration" on anything pre-'55 back then) in the mid '80s, a project that included a new coat of Medium Green Metallic paint.
Dick drove out to Shelbyville, Indiana where the car was then--owned by the son of a co-worker of Dick's friend, Ed Eckenrode (who'd given the original 383 a good freshening when he rebuilt it). The deal was made, and Dick drove the Charger back east to his Pennsylvania home.
Since then, Dick's added a new Legendary carpet set, APC leather-and-billet steering wheel and Summit gauges to the cabin;, a Classic Auto Air upgrade to the car's OEM Airtemp A/C system; a Mopar Performance M2 intake topped by a 750 cfm Edelbrock four-barrel; Powermaster 85 amp alternator; a Mopar Perfomance electronic ignition system; as well as Flowmaster Series 70 mufflers in an aluminized 2 1/2-inch dual-exhaust system. He's also rebuilt the front end while adding KYB gas shocks and keeping the OEM power drum brake system, and swapped the stock rims and rubber for five-spoke, 16-inch American Racing wheels on 50-series Parnelli Jones-brand tires.
There's still plenty of original stuff on the car. The vinyl top is one that's survived the ages extremely well, as have the original seat covers and headliner. Plus, when he bought the Charger, Dick scored an original '68-vintage shop manual and parts book--and he found the original broadcast sheet behind the back seat, where it was stuffed during final assembly.
Dick says when he shows it, no one can believe the paint's over two decades old, or the seat covers are originals. We believe it, though some folks may believe that this one's all original.
Except that us '60s-vintage kids never heard the sweet sound of 383s through Flowmasters back then!