Restomod ’69 Charger Goes Big at Mecum Dallas Auction
Built over three years by Detroit Muscle, Charger packs a monster Hellcat crate motor under the hood.
Over the next month, the auction season will begin again with the two biggest houses pulling all of the stops: Barrett-Jackson at home in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee, Florida. There will be tons of Mopar goodness available, from the odd Rampage or Shelby CSX, to rare Challengers, and restomod Chargers.
Speaking of restomod Chargers, back in early September at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, one example left the block in a Texas-sized way, pulling in $220,000. That example, a 1969 Charger, spent three years getting to that moment under the spotlight, all with the help of Detroit Muscle’s Marc Christ and Tommy Boshers. PowerNation has the story of this special car.
“In a very deliberate search, we found it in Walker County, Alabama,” said Christ. “We wanted a car that wasn’t a complete rust bucket, that had some good bones to work with, and was available at a good price.”
For $20,000, the duo came away with a tired and rusty Charger in various shades of blue, and with a 440 big block to match. Boshers took it out for a spin, but couldn’t do a burnout without the motor trying to escape the engine bay. And speaking of falling apart, an unknown trim piece fell off the dash during the test drive. Looks like the duo have a ton of work ahead of them.
“With our Mopar back in the shop, it was time to make a plan,” said Christ. “What were we going to do with this car? Originally, the thought of going to auction had not come to us yet. But, with a car this old, there was a lot to do.”
And a lot there was. After removing the tired 440 and transmission, the Charger went through a ton of sanding upon its body panels. Alas, the sanding revealed a massive amount of filler was used in repairing the left rear quarter-panel alone. Along with the poor quality of the overall body work, it was decided the car needed new body panels to build a new foundation to work upon.
After the necessary bits were fitted and welded, the Charger went through the sandblaster to scour off the remaining paint and filler, then visited the paint booth for lots of filler primer, followed by a few coats of black and clear. A bit of polishing and a black vinyl roof later, it was time for the duo to drop in a new engine.
“We were about to start reassembling the car with stock suspension on it,” said Christ, “a 440 Six Pack ready to get dropped in. Then, our buddy, John Kraman, stopped by and threw a stick in our spoke: the engine choice.”
Kraman’s suggestion: the 707-horsepower Hellcat V8. Turned out Mopar Performance did the unthinkable not too long ago by delivering the Hellcrate V8 unto the aftermarket. Thus, the Charger received a major dose of modern Mopar testosterone, and Detroit Muscle deciding to send it across the Mecum auction block as a restomod.
“When you do a Hellcat swap into anything, they’re a lot more complicated than most people would believe,” said Mike Copeland of Arrington Performance. “You need to try and prepare everything upfront to get it before you start putting it in… When Mopar designed the Hellcat, everybody was shocked that they came out with 700-horsepower.”
Copeland adds that the Hellcat V8 comes with a lot of features which allow it to be both a quarter-mile terror, and a streetable beast. Thus, any Hellcat swaps can either ignore such things at their own peril, or embrace them for the best results.
And embrace Detroit Muscle did, with more than enough creature comforts and modernization of the necessary components (suspension, braking, wheels and tires, et al) to make it all worthwhile. Now, it was time for the Charger’s debut at the 2019 Mopar Nationals in Hebron, Ohio.
“I think the car’s phenomenal,” said collector Mike Ferraro, “because it’s an ideal blend of old and new. If you watch and see that at the auctions, the restomods go for bigger money a lot of times than original cars, it seems to be that is where the market is going.”
The Charger was definitely a hit with the crowd at the Mopar Nats, as well as those gathered for the parade at nearby Buckeye Lake, a few of whom were spraying parts of the road down with water in the hopes a participant would do a big, smokey burnout for the attendees. Boshers could help but oblige.
“My initial reaction on this car was — coming in the early stages of the build — $75,000 to $90,000,” said Kraman. “After seeing the completion of the car, after putting my finger on the pulse of just the way the car looks, the presentation, certainly the Hellcrate engine… I’m gonna stick my neck out and predict we’re gonna see a six-figure-plus bid on this car.”
Kraman’s hunch proved correct, as the Charger left with the prized “Mecum Sold” sticker on the window for $200,000. The winner, Thomas Patterson, loved how well Detroit Muscle put it all together, and vowed he’d drive it like he stole it. The storybook ending for one amazing Mopar, indeed.
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