Posted on 12/11/2015 8:33:27 AM PST by MtnClimber
Someday, all of the classic muscle cars stashed in country barns will have either been found or rusted away. Until then, you can only hope to be as lucky as the Alabama man who found one of the rarest Dodges ever rotting in a shed.
The car in question was a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, a vehicle sold mainly to meet NASCAR rules, with just 503 built. Powered by a 440 Magnum V-8 conservatively rated at 375 hp, and sporting the massive wing that defined the early superspeedway Mopars, the Daytona was a force of reckoning at every stop light.
According to Alabama restorer Charles Lyons, the second owner of this particular car bought it in 1974, and had some flames painted on the fenders for showing off in Florida. Over the years, he drove the car less and less, and itâs been sitting motionless for several years, slowing turning to rust with a topping of moss on the rear wing.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Makes me want to poke around in old barns!
I remember seeing these and the Super Birds quite regularly when I was a kid.
Amazing what they are worth now.
Sounds like a plot from American Pickers. Uncovered by Mike & Frank?
I remember them too. Wish I gad gotten one and put it in a barn!
Engine clamps? Who writes that stuff?
Paging Mark Worman.
Reminds me of the story in which somebody a few years back found the General Lee Dodge Charger car that was used in the “Dukes of Hazzard” opening sequence jump scene in a junkyard in Georgia. The car was identified by Warner Brothers tags indicating the date of use as a stunt car, etc for one of the episodes filmed in 1978 in the Covington location.
I did a lot of that in my younger days.
It had a lot less to do with finding old cars than it did with entertaining the girl next door.
Thats the same millennial-aged hipster that found the ‘rubber bullets’ in Ferguson.
Posted on 12/6/2015, 11:29:44 AM by ETL
LINK: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3368975/posts
In 1974, with the price of gas doubling from $.299 to $.699 a gallon(when you could find it), these cars could be had for 2 grand. Everybody was bailing out on American iron and buying Hondas, Datsuns, Mazdas and VWs.
Powered by a 440 cubic inch magnum? Interesting, I always thought the Daytona had a 426 hemi?
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ETL
It’s still an ugly car.
I was just out of the service thumbing through the classifieds
When an ad that said, “Old Chevy” somehow caught my eye
The lady didn’t know the year or even if it ran
But I had that thousand dollars in my hand
It was way back in the corner of this old ramshackle barn
With thirty years of dust and dirt on that green army tarp
When I pulled the cover off, it took away my breath
What she called a Chevy was a sixty six Corvette
I felt a little guilty as I counted out the bills
What a thrill I got when I sat behind the wheel
I opened up the glove box and that’s when I found the note
The date was nineteen-sixty six and this is what it wrote
He said, “My name is Private Andrew Malone
And if you’re reading this, then I didn’t make it home
But for every dream that shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of mine, now it belongs to you
And though you may take her and make her your own
You’ll always be riding with Private Malone”
Well it didn’t take me long at all, I had her running good
I love to hear those horses thunder underneath her hood
I had her shining like a diamond and I’d put the rag top down
All the pretty girls would stop and stare as I drove her through town
The buttons on the radio didn’t seem to work quite right
But it picked up that oldie show, especially late at night
I’d get the feeling sometimes, if I turned real quick I’d see
A soldier riding shotgun in the seat right next to me
It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone
Who fought for his country and never made it home
But for every dream that’s shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of his, back when it was new
He told me to take her and make her my own
And I was proud to be riding with Private Malone
One night it was raining hard, I took the curve too fast
I still don’t remember much about that fiery crash
Someone said they thought they saw a soldier pull me out
They didn’t get his name, but I know without a doubt
It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone
Who fought for his country and never made it home
But for every dream that’s shattered, another one comes true
This car was once a dream of his, back when it was new
I know I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t tagged along
Yeah that night I was riding with Private Malone
Oh, thank God, I was riding with Private Malone
Odd that it only has 20k miles on it. Hope the mice enjoyed living in it.
Most didn’t have the Hemi. I think something like 20-30 got the Hemi; the others got the Wedge.
I’ll stick with my ‘68 Mercury Cyclone. The Cyclones and Torinos won more races than the Daytonas and Super Birds.
Someone needs to inquire about the condition of the throttle bearings.
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