WINGLESS WARRIOR: 1969 Dodge HEMI Charger 500 sure to electrify the Palm Beach block
March 30, 2015
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
This beautifully restored 1969 Dodge HEMI Charger 500 (Lot #426) will be crossing the Barrett-Jackson block at the 13th Annual Palm Beach Auction, April 17-19, 2015, at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Dodge’s Special Vehicles Group had a big problem as 1967 gave way to 1968. The 1966 and ’67 fastback Chargers had been very successful on the NASCAR Grand National race circuit. But the new “Coke bottle” ’68s just weren’t as clean from an aerodynamic standpoint. The very design details that attracted over 96,000 customers (a 508-percent increase over 1967) were causing trouble. Up front, the menacing sunken grille and hidden headlamps trapped air with no exit path.
Out back, the sleek flying buttress B-pillars and tunneled backlite that Dodge stylist Bill Brownlie’s team conjured was also flawed at race speed. The grille and roofline caused 1,250 pounds of lift at 170 mph. By the end of the 1968 NASCAR season, only two minor races were won by Chargers. Richard Petty’s Plymouth turned out to be the only Mopar capable of consistently running with the Ford Fairlanes.
Since the 426 HEMI’s power advantage over Ford’s Tunnel Port 427 wedge was tapped out (thanks to the NASCAR-mandated single four-barrel carburetor), the Special Vehicles Group turned their attention to improving the Charger’s aerodynamics. Lacking its own wind tunnel, Chrysler rented Wichita State University’s 7’ x 10’ facility where 3/8-scale models were evaluated. Full-size vehicle tests were also conducted inside the 16’ x 23’ wind tunnel at Lockheed-Georgia, which charged Dodge $500 per hour. All test results indicated the Charger’s distinctive tunneled grille and flying buttress B-pillars simply had to go.
The results of Charger’s aerodynamic makeover are seen here in the form of this beautifully restored 1969 Charger 500 (Lot #426). Owned by Steve Ashley of Bee Springs, Kentucky, the matching numbers aero warrior is one of only 64 Street HEMI-powered Charger 500s made. The rest of the 392 car production run packed 440 Magnums. Ashley bought his 500 from prominent Mopar collector Tim Wellborn, who held it for 20-plus years. While in Wellborn’s care, a complete restoration was performed by noted Mopar restoration expert Roger Gibson using nothing but the best parts and techniques.
In addition to the original matching numbers 426/425hp HEMI V8 and TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission, this Charger’s mechanicals include power steering and brakes.
Aside from the massive orange elephant under its hood, this 500 stands apart from others of its ilk in that it was factory assembled with nearly every available option – plus one that wasn’t supposed to be offered on the 500 – a luggage rack. A what? It’s true. Whoever originally ordered this NASCAR-inspired street screamer kicked in an extra $33.30 for the M91 trunk-top luggage rack. So in addition to its HEMI-spec 727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission, power steering, power front disc brakes, power windows, AM 8-track radio, cloth-insert front bucket seats with head rests, rear window defroster and manual six-way adjustable driver-side bucket seat, the fender tag and build sheets both bear the M91 luggage rack option code.
But there’s a rub. The aero modifications to the roof plug (as well as the grille swap, smooth A-pillar finish plate and body graphics) were handled off-campus by Creative Industries, a specialty vehicle conversion facility in East Detroit. To suit the resulting trunk opening, each of the 392 Charger 500s (as well as the 503 Charger Daytona wing cars that followed) got a special abbreviated trunk lid. Guess what? The footprint of the stock Charger luggage rack was too large to fit the special decklid, so it wasn’t installed. Concluding the matter, the dealership likely refunded the buyer the $33.30 charge and life went on. But it makes this a certain one-of-a-kind machine in the process!
Getting back to NASCAR action, hopes ran high as the Charger 500 made its competition debut at the 1969 Daytona 500. Unfortunately for Dodge, Ford simultaneously released its Fairlane Talladega, a similarly-massaged aero machine with a flush-fit grille, drooping front fenders and rolled rocker panels to reduce ride height. The final lap of the February, 1969 Daytona 500 spectacle came down to a sprint to the finish line between “Chargin’ Charlie” Glotzbach’s Charger 500 and LeeRoy Yarbrough’s Talladega, with the Ford taking the win by a small margin. Clearly the Charger 500’s body mods were only part of the aerodynamic solution. Even less drag would be needed.
Before the entire 500 car ’69 Charger 500 production run was completed, Dodge pulled the plug at 392 units, immediately switching all attention to the pointy-nosed, wing-equipped Charger Daytona. Oddly, NASCAR never caught on to the Charger 500’s abbreviated production run. Despite limited race track success, the 1969 Charger 500 will stand forever as Dodge’s first aerodynamically tweaked NASCAR homologation machine. Add in the Street HEMI and one-off luggage rack code and you’ve got a sure-fire winner either standing still or taming whatever sits in the other lane. Though offered with a reserve at the 13th Annual Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction, wise bidders know that opportunities like this only come around once in a lifetime.
This article by Steve Magnante appears in the Spring 2015 issue of The Barrett-Jackson Experience magazine. To order your copy or subscribe, click here or visit www.shopbarrettjackson.com.