I’ve seen many a dead car that went on to the crusher and the great beyond that didn’t deserve it’s fate. There was the 1970 Chevy Kingswood that had nothing wrong with it other than it had a big-block someone wanted for another project. There was my first car, the ’76 Camaro, that was plenty rotted but still quite approachable, that never saw life. A 1966 El Camino…1980 Malibu that just needed an engine…the Dodge Coronet “war car” that survived hell on earth and only needed a tie rod end to be drivable again…all eventually made their way to the yard. I was a kid then, nothing I could’ve done would’ve saved any of them, but it still makes me sick thinking about how many cars I saw get loaded on a rollback and hauled off to the nearest yard.

On a different tangent…recently Chad and I had a discussion about my love affair with “weird Mopars”, as he will tell you. He’s convinced that what I need to do is to import one from the Southwest out to myself so I can get away from FJMs once and for all. I’m convinced that any of the “cool” Mopars that I would actually want to own are either priced out of my range and will be for many years to come, or are so far gone that I can’t justify making the call. I’m a bit picky like that. I’m not that into A-bodies, so no Dart, Demon or Duster for me. E-bodies are seriously out, even though I’d happily set the Imperial on fire if it meant that I could get a 1972-74 Plymouth ‘Cuda that didn’t need five thousand dollars in welding supplies to patch back together or was for sale for under five figures, and as for B-bodies…well, that all depends on what year and model it is.

How do these two subjects tie in for today’s Question of the Day? Easy: if there is one Mopar out there that any auto fan will agree deserves to be saved, it’s a 1968-70 Dodge Charger. I’m not going to split up the years, all three look enough alike to justify the reason: Blade. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. The Fast and Furious. Bullitt, The Dukes of Hazzard, Death Proof, Cannonball, and the list goes on. The Charger is THE car to many people…it looks the part even in stock form, let alone painted jet black with slot mags, or orange on American Racing Vectors, or even blue on Cragar S/S wheels. I’ve only found one that was even close to approachable: in 2002, I found a 1969 for sale in Copperas Cove, Texas. It was on Hurricane wheels, stripped to body and dash only, glass intact, and the cost was five grand. It had no engine, no trans, and if memory serves me right, no trim aside from the grille and body lights. I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger then, but I know that someone somewhere probably did.

So the question of the day: what car would it take for you to go all-out in bringing it back to life? I’m still leaning towards my ‘Cuda, even though finding one that isn’t going to cost a fifth of what my house is worth is looking pretty much impossible. I’d also look at doing up a 1970-72 Oldsmobile Cutlass or, if fate were to really smile down upon me, a 1969-70 Shelby Mustang. It’s not that I’d ever recoup the cost, but that the cost to put it back on the road wouldn’t bother me a bit. What about you?