Last weekend i rode up to alien joey's to check out a couple of 68-9 Chargers with him. From his house we rode to a place he'd visited years ago to look at a white R/T Challenger that he remembered as having rust issues in the cowl. I figured we'd verify a couple of situations (the two Chargers and the Challenger) with one trip.
We find the place and the front gate is open so we pull in. There are a couple dozen old cars underneath pine trees; some covered with layers of canvas tarps. A few (58-60) squarebirds, a few 58-60 Mercurys, couple of Torinos, several Mavericks, some Mustangs, but no Chargers. One of the shapes under canvas tarps was definitely a Challenger and where the passenger side rocker was exposed was white paint with at least some surface oxidation. After some "Hello"s to announce our presence, all we saw were a dozen or so stray cats when a fellow ambled our way using a cane. We all introduced ourselves - he is Jonathan and living off disability; we had heard he might have some old Mopars for sale, Joey mentioning the Chargers and Challenger in particular.
Over the course of the next several hours - these things take time you know
- we are told stories to go along with most of the cars in sight. Horse trading here and there, ones that got away, etc. The Chargers had been sold about two years ago, the 69 Coronet with the Super Bee emblem in the grille was to be a clone, but pretty much everything except for maybe a couple of the Mavericks looked like it hasn't moved under it's own power for a very long time.
When we ask Jonathan about the Challenger he mentions it being a 440 car with the small back window and how he'd seen Vanishing Point when it came out and knew he had to have his own "Kowalski Car". This is the only 440 car he was able to obtain and it had a crushed fender and smashed windshield from storm damage which was how he was able to get it for $500 years ago. He says he's heard of a guy in Montgomery who's supposed to have a rusty R/T SE in his backyard and names the Forrest Hills neighborhood which is right next to my own neighborhood of Dalraida so we all realize that i am the one he's heard about. I had become one of those guys we all touch on who's had an old car for x years and plans to restore it someday
Of course, Joey had told me for several years about a white Challenger R/T which i thought might really be the real deal so these things work both ways. Anyhow Jonathan had been doing some spray painting out back when we pulled up and still had his spray can with him during our conversations, so keep that fact in mind.
Jonathan mentions that his car has leather buckets in it and he'd like to find a set of plain vinyl ones like he remembers Barry Newman's car having. At this point i ask if i could have a look at his interior? Sure, and he pulls the coverings away enough to open the driver's door. When the storm damage ocurred this car had in the neighborhood of 50k miles on it and yep the first thing i see are a nice set of plump black leather front buckets. I'm kneeling down to get a good look at things and when i scan towards the back of the door for the vin sticker, it says 11-69...JS29U0B200058...along with FC7 paint and a white R/T side stripe
so the exterior is very similar to mine. The interior seemd to be in very good shape but the main headliner cardboard and overhead console had been removed and the windshield had a basketball sized hole in it where the tree had fallen years ago. In the back seat was a (non-SE) rear window eventually to be put in "because Kowalski's car didn't have the small back window". The sail panel cardboard pieces were completely intact although the fabric was mostly gone. Front disc brakes, am, ac, woodgrain wheel, auto, black vinyl top, and according to Johnathan a plain gas cap "cause that's what Kowalski's car had". The only purple i noticed was inside as the entire outside of the car - paint, chrome side mirrors, and vinyl top; everything but the glass - had been spray painted white a long time ago. That's right, "just like Kowalski's car". Hey, who am i to question someone's dream??
We are planning to return this weekend because Gerry (who's shop my Challenger is at) will be looking at the 67 GTX convertible Jonathan also has under several canvas covers. I have no pics but i'll see what i can do this weekend. Oh, and on the way back Joey mentioned it had been at least 10 years since he'd looked at that Challenger. Same car, same busted windshield
