The Most Famous Car Chase Car of all Time

THE GENTLEST BRUTE

These pics are hot off the press! I stumbled out of my house this morning to grab some coffee beans and look what was waiting for me just a block away:

YEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAWW!!!!

Yes indeed this is a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T in Yellow. This car in this color is this is the most punk rock thing I've seen in a long time. Picture this: It's 1968 and you want a muscle car. Not only that, but you want a car so brutally powerful and dialed in that it can compete in Nascar or on the drag strip the moment you leave the dealership. And then you find yourself taken with that gentle sunny yellow color more commonly seen on Darts and station wagons! Since I have a special place in my heart for odd colors and/or tough guy rides that go against type I LOVE this ride.

At first glance you might think this is the exact car that the General Lee started out as. It's very close; that one was a 1969 with a central vertical bar dividing the grill. This one has its power headlights in the open position but when they're closed it's just one menacing expanse of black.

*Big shout-out to the turn signal repair. The original lenses have been replaced with completely generic hardware store lights that probably cost $5 for the pair. Keep in mind that there are 4 '68 R/Ts on eBay right now and they're all in the $80,000-$95,000 range (this is excluding a $300,000 custom show car).

The R/T stands for Road/Track and was the high performance model of the Charger. A set of Bumble Bee Stripes wrapped around the trunk in either Red, White, or Black on the R/T. It seems the original owner preferred to skip the stripes (they could be deleted at no cost). 

The base engine for the R/T was the 7.2 liter 440 Magnum V8 rated at 375 horsepower! Officially the top speed was 136 mph but many owners reported speeds of 150mph in stock form. The only engine more powerful for this car when new was the 426 Hemi, itself a $605 option. Not many Hemis were built and fewer survive today.

Since it was behind the velvet ropes I didn't want to get too close so I can't tell what transmission this has. The steering wheel is aftermarket but so out of style at this point that I dig it. The small paint loss on the hood and rust creeping around the window trim makes me believe this might be original paint.

That symbol above the word Charger is known as the Fratzog. As far as I know there's no known origin of the name other than the fact that it was the '60s and they had to name it something.

Let's go ahead and get this over with: This is the exact year/make/model as the famous bad guy car in the movie Bullitt. Due to copyright laws they've uploaded it in 2 parts so here's the second half where they climb up into the hills above San Francisco. The cars reached speeds of over 110mph during filming! Supposedly the Charger was so much faster than the Mustang in real life that they had to keep letting off the gas to make it seem close.

In my opinion the car chase from the Seven Ups has the greatest finale and Bullitt is tied with the French Connection. Regardless the legendary stunt driver and actor Bill Hickman is driving in all three (though he's not shown in the French Connection).

That deep set rear window aped the GM versions seen on the Le Mans/GTO and Cutlass/442 the previous year. Those quad round taillights were replaced with a single wide unit on each side for 1969 (the year of the General Lee). Speaking of the General Lee, here's a compilation of every jump they ever did with their '69 Charger across 7 seasons and 2 movies! Terrible in many ways as somewhere between 256 and 321 cars didn't survive filming.

Well there we have it; one of the most famous and famously abused cars of all time. I, like many people my age, have loved this car since I was a kid. They were actually built in large numbers with something like 17,000 R/Ts out of 96,000 total Chargers built. These days they are very sought after in any condition and so there are really no cheap examples out there. A couple of times at car shows I've seen non-R/T Chargers that left the factory with the slant-6 cylinder engine under the hood! Those are unbelievably rare as most that did exist have had their engines replaced with big V8s.

PS - a more gently driven example was used in the movie Christine by Dennis.

Enjoy the lazy 4th weekend everybody!

Red hot Matador from Wisconsin!

AMC AMX

I was walking along blah blah blah LOOK AT THIS THING!

 This is a 1968 American Motors Corporation AMX in Matador Red. This is the first year for this sporty offering from the independent automaker AMC, and it lasted only 3 years. AMX stands for American Motors eXperimental, and it was wholly unique in the domestic auto market while it was offered.

First of all this is a 2 seat car from the factory; the first all steel 2 seat performance car from the U.S. since the '50s Thunderbird. As big as it looks in this pic it was actually shorter than the Corvette!

Under the hood of this ride sits the original 4 barrel 390 V8 - the biggest engine available. The stripes suggest that this car has the high performance "Go Package". This car could leave the dealership and go 125 mph immediately as well as win most races it entered. This engine was rated at 315 horsepower but produced a mighty 425lbs of torque!

The image of AMC was greatly helped by the AMX as younger folks filled their dealerships for the first time. In 1969 a 4 seat, slightly longer version of this car debuted along side named the Javelin. Javelin production continued through 1974 in greater numbers due to being better suited for daily use than the AMX. Since these are so rare (*under 20,000 made of every combination in 3 years) I couldn't believe it when I encountered it a block from my house. Hopefully I'll see it again cruising around the hood!

*To put those sales figures into perspective the Edsel was also produced for 3 years. Even though the Edsel is haled as the biggest flop of all time they managed to make 116,000 of them.

Where are the real New Yorkers these days? Bay Ridge!

BAY RIDGE NEW YORKER

Having moved to my new neighborhood last week I've been pleasantly surprised by the great old iron scattered about the streets. Here is my first installment but there are several waiting in the wings:

This is a 1968 Chrysler New Yorker in a nicely faded coat of original Frost Green Poly. It is totally awesome. I love this car!
This is a big old pointy-grilled Detroit ride looking ready for action even though it's got its battle scars. The sides are so flat that they've surpassed flatness and gone straight to concavity for the length of the car.

They literally gave this car the same simple tape treatment that a boxer gets between rounds. 3 measly rivets and an obviously trimmed to length piece of generic metal is all this prizefighter gets while it's screaming "PUT ME BACK IN THE RING COACH!"
This car is badass. The bumper survived whatever tore the beejezus out of the fender. By the way check out that tiny light on the bumper.

Despite the dented front and rot chewing its way around the fender skirt this ride has great lines. Chrysler already had a history of breaking away from the pack with its unique and daring designs but by this point they were really going for it. The chrome lower body treatment is excellent. Those are the original hubcaps though there's an interloper on the other side.

This beast is pretty dirty but the green is pleasing even in this state.

Dig those taillights hidden into a mock grill. The front and rear have a lot in common. The Chrysler 300 from this year had hidden headlights that made the front grill look like this. I like every single car they made in 1968. 

100% NRA! AMERICA!

The script is very elegant for a fire breathing brute like this. The only engine choice for this car was the massive 7.2 liter 440 V8. Not only is that a colossal power plant but it was free breathing without any emissions equipment choking the horsepower. These things are big but fast!

The rust seems to be from resting under wet leaves more than anything. The fender skirts both have issues but the quarter panel looks mostly solid.

The top is in remarkable condition. Once moisture finds its way underneath it's curtains for the roof.

This fastback body style was only introduced in '67 and after '68 the entire lineup was changed dramatically. The 1966 and earlier New Yorkers had a formal upright squared off roofline.

This thing is outfitted with huge bucket seats. Of course somebody can ride in the middle but for the most part this is a personal luxury hot rod. If you look closely you'll see the massive ashtray is pulled out from under the dash. There's a central lighter and then each side has its own ashtray!
The radios in these rides are amazing. The knobs are dials built sideways into the dash that scroll up and down.

There's an old aftermarket 8 track player mounted under the dash! Awesome to see one still in place. Some were removable to take on picnics but I can't tell from this angle.

That's the mouth of the New York Harbor through the trees. The Verrazano Narrows bridge is just off stage left.

Well that's where I'll leave this sweet rig. Sales were great for Chrysler in 1968 so there are some of these around if you keep your eyes open. Unfortunately many of these have had their engines yanked out of them over the years but if you can find one intact it will be quite the fun beast to drive around in. 

Bringing it back for back to back LTD posts

SWEET OLD FORD WITH A COOL SET OF SHADES

On a beautiful Summer day in Old Forge, PA I drove past this sweet ride:

This is a 1968 Ford LTD in Wimbledon White. In 1965 the LTD debuted as the highest trim level of the Galaxie 500. In 1966 the LTD had become its own line separate from the Galaxie. 

This is a 1 year only car as the main body remains the same as the '66-'67 but the roofline is more formal and the front got this awesome hidden headlight treatment.

This grill is one of my favorite moments in all of Ford history! The headlight doors are operated by a vacuum hose running off of the engine. If the vacuum was lost while the car was running the doors would default in the open position so you could still drive at night. I just think it looks cool with the front all grill like the General Lee Charger. The covered headlights were only available on the high-end LTD and the station wagon. I've seen a green wagon with these covered headlights and faux wood trim and it was fantastic.

The dimensions of the car are very straightforward but the subtle Coke bottle curve to what would otherwise be a perfect brick keeps it lively. The turn signals are tucked under the lower corners of the grill surround and don't take away from the look as a result.

This was a massively popular car in '68. In fact 138,752 total LTDs left the factory that year, most of them 4 door sedans like this one. Those dog dish or "poverty" hubcaps are from an early '70s Ford.

There was a Brougham trim package available that is really only identifiable by the interior. If this car were so equipped that bench seat would be split in the middle.

This has the optional Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. The radio has a small chrome rectangle between the knobs which means it's an am/fm model as opposed to the basic am. There was a Stereo-Sonic 8 track player as an option but it would be mounted under the dash with its own set of knobs.

You've gotta love the era when cars wore gaudy jewelry. 

Clean and crisp is the order of the day on the rear end too. 

These lights are an evolution of Ford design hallmarks going back to 1952. Rounded taillights with a jet engine look reached a crescendo with the early '60s Thunderbirds (they really look like spaceship rocket engines). 1968 provided the final iteration before becoming horizontal rectangles. 

I find the craftsmanship of these taillight housings beautiful. 

This ride is in great overall condition with the exception of that vinyl roof and some surface rust.

This ride sat for sale for at least a month until one day it disappeared. When I drove by at a later date it had been replaced with a slightly newer 4 door LTD for sale from the early '70s. Brand loyalty from a relative that passed away maybe? Regardless I slowed down each time I passed before finally getting out to snap these. Looking at these pics now I wish I'd at least called for a test drive. I did find it on posted on the local Craigslist (some people watch tv, I scroll through classic car ads) for $2,000. If I had driven it I might've felt compelled to drop an offer on it and who knows if the guy would've said "Sure $1,500 is fine" and then I'd have a 48 year old Ford. Maybe next time!

Classic case of Monumentalism

CLASSIC CASE OF MONUMENTALISM

Brash! Bold! Dashing! Tucked alongside a country road in rural PA was this mammoth testament to executive power. Thanks to Sarah from Everywhere for this luxurious submission. Now please rise. . .

What we have here is an ocean liner otherwise known as the 1968 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron dressed in Formal Black with a Polar White vinyl roof. This is the end of an era in American automotive design. The Imperial would continue on as the Chrysler flagship after '68 but the severe formality of this vintage would be tempered by the Fuselage style to come.
Check out that War of the Worlds looking single orange eye at the center of the windshield base. That is the Twilight Sentinel feature which was available from '67-'75. It would notice oncoming headlights and automatically dim your brights. 

Look into the relaxed eyes of a vehicle that knows it's at the top of the food chain. Whoever hung that LOST IN THE 60'S license plate on this beauty ought to be escorted out of their office by a guard ("we'll send your things along to the address on file. Please leave now").
Everything about this car is solid. You know just by looking at it that the grill and hood are made from heavy gauge metal crafted with great care. This is a 48 year old car sitting by the side of the road but every panel fits perfectly and the chrome refuses to dull.
This is how Chrysler itself chose to advertise the '68 Imperial:

Here it is having emerged from the depths of the ocean after feeding on shipwrecks and getting stronger. The grill has the look of baleen. The brochure for this ride is 100% superlatives and declarations of awesomeness.

The scale of this is undeniable but so is the level of quality. Imperials are still legendary for holding up beautifully. No expense was spared at any point in creating this beast. Fun fact: Imperials are the only car universally barred from entering demolition derbies because they would nonchalantly destroy everything else on the track without breaking a sweat. It wasn't even a fair fight!
The LeBaron series was the top-of-the-heap above the Crown and base models. Appointments were bordering on excess. Those tiny vent windows in the front doors are power operated. The air conditioning is actually 2 separate systems; one for the front and one for the rear.

The door panels are currently removed most likely for electronics repair. Power windows, vent windows, and locks are joined by a courtesy light at the bottom (out of view). All of this makes for a mighty complicated door! *Incidentally each door had its own glove compartment as well; the armrest lifts up exposing a generous and hidden storage area.
The dashboard is very sleek with "antiqued bronze" featured heavily for the full width of the car. The radio is kept hidden behind a lift-up panel that you can make out in the open position here. Options were few as the LeBaron Imperial came almost fully equipped as-is. The parking brake automatically disengages when the car is put in gear, the climate control allows you to set a temperature and it will use a/c or heat depending on what's needed, and cruise control is included. Leather seating in this pattern was LeBaron only, this example in Red.

Alright Chrysler isn't even playing it cool in this image! The rear seat is tryst-ready as shown by this comely lass laying languorously on the champagne-colored leather bench. A tiger rug? Cattails in a vase? The message is clear! Buy the Imperial and harvest lunchtime secretaries from the lower floors of your office daily!

I love the severity of the full-width chrome-hidden taillights on this beast. That center circle is the gas filler door which consists of a cast metal eagle! You'll be using this door often as the only engine available was the 440 TNT V8. Despite its size the Imperial was known as the luxury car for drivers because it accelerated, handled, and stopped much like a smaller, sportier car.

Well that's it for this car but I'll close out with a personal anecdote. When I was a kid living in Paradise California my stepfather Cliff had a 1962 Imperial that he loved. One day he got into a heated argument with some guy who claimed his new Toyota pickup was stronger than an old Chrysler. Cliff came home to get the Imperial and grabbed myself and my best friend Dan to sit in the backseat for added traction. We drove to a Safeway parking lot where the guy with the truck was waiting (with a fresh pile of gravel in the truck bed for his own traction).

They hooked the two vehicles up back to back with a chain connecting the rear axles and inched them forward until the chain was tight. At that moment Cliff leaned over the seat and told us to get down because "if that chain snaps it's coming through the window and might take your heads off".

Somebody must've given the signal and both men stomped the gas to the floor. After a brief screaming of tires there was a loud sound and we were moving forward. We stopped and got out to see that the Imperial had torn the rear axle off of the truck completely which was now slumped on it's haunches, gravel spilling out onto the pavement. We drove home victorious with Cliff saying what an idiot the guy was for overloading the truck bed with ballast. True story!

Rare muscle car hiding in plain sight!

GTS

I was walking through the heart of the East Village recently when this awesome beater presented itself:

Damn! Don't be fooled people; this is a legitimate and very rare high performance muscle car built for the drag strip. What we have here is a 1968 Dodge Dart GTS in Black with White "Bumblebee" stripes. Incidentally because I know it's very important to everyone those stripes are tape, not paint.

We know it's a '68 because those clear turn signal lenses are round. In '67 and '69 they were rectangular. Occasionally there is a '68 GTS with a vertical chrome bar in the middle of the grill, but nobody agrees on why some have it and some don't.

The GTS was a high performance option package built for only 3 years.

Those hood bulges were new for '68, complete with faux vents. The side marker lights were only this tiny in '68. That little chrome bullet on top of the fender has a fiber optic cable in it going to the turn signal so you can see if the bulb has gone out.

This thing is a crumpled as a re-used brown paper bag. Still, the stance is correct as it sits evenly. We might have one of those (restored where you can't see it) rides that remain fast but theft proof while parked on the mean streets of NYC.

These are period correct Dodge Rallye wheels. That center piece is a literal hubcap covering only the hub. Tires are suspiciously new for a full on hooptie.

One look at that door lock is all you need to know. The finish is so disastrous on this bucket that they seem to just spray flay black over any rust or dusts that emerge.

Most GTS Darts had this stripe treatment. Occasionally you will see one without which invariably causes people to claim it as fake or incorrect. However, for those who wanted to fly a bit below the radar option code 319 was stripe delete.

The base engine for the GTS was the now-famous 340 V8. Even though it is smaller than the optional 383 it could rev much higher without damage. Its combined weight and super high 6,000 rpm abilities made it perfect for the drag strip.

This is not a big car, in fact considered compact for the year. In 1970 the larger and heavier AAR (All American Racing) 'cuda came with the 340 and it was a racing hit.

It looks like the trunk is open but this is just something red jammed into a piece of trim. Only 8,745 GTS were made that year starting at $3,163.

Along the bottom edge of the roof between the side rear windows is a chrome strip. This means that originally this ride sported a vinyl roof. This could be ordered on its own or as a part of the White Hat Special option package. The advertisements of the era are pretty great with beautiful hippie chicks draped all over the cars, hugging the seats, laying flat across the hood, etc. Everything was worded towards capturing Dodge Fever.

*The print copy on the brochure reassures the buyer that He (presumably) can "keep mum about the price and be known as a big shooter".

In shadow this thing looks great!

Alright there are a bunch of things to address in this shot. The first and most obvious is that the steering wheel has been replaced with a K-Car unit from the '80s (it also happens to be chained to the floor somehow). We can see the optional TorqueFlight automatic trans with console (standard was 3 on the tree). The huge tach and additional gauges let us know this thing is still built to run hard. The tape on the dashboard means it's a beat up pig of a rat rod, ans the ankles reflected on the left let us know this thing is STILL dishing out Dodge Fever.

This is the most anti-theft thing I've ever seen. They look like they're just trying to keep it together at a traffic stop.

Nothing like a mailbox reflector just screwed into the fender. And how exactly did the chrome trim stop at the halfway point in the wheel arch? I only ask because the other side is exactly the same.

This is one of my favorite rides I've encountered on the streets of NYC. Everything about it shows that it's parked on the streets nightly ready for vandalism and parking misadventures. Despite all that though this is a muscle car hiding in plain sight! As crummy as it looks I bet this is a fun car to get in and mash the pedal to the floor. Fixed up these go for around $30,000 but I'm sure this would be much cheaper if you could find one.

Hats off, Road Warrior! Keep on fighting the fight!

*If you happen to find one of the few lightweight Hemi Darts built in '68 you're talking $300,000+!