1969 Charger 500 Final Thoughts

1969 DODGE CHARGER 500 FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, this was a fun kit to build. Probably the largest challenge occurred while connecting the headers to the engine block and to the main rest of the pipes. When I bought this car, I was the second owner and it came pre-painted, which was quite a help. The person that I bought it from had painted it this light green color, which I’m very happy with and I kept, as green is my favorite color.

The interior came through painted a primer, red or rust color. I liked that color, and I did try to color match it. However, I was unable to find that color of paint. I ended up going with a Rust-oleum semi-gloss brown, which worked out fine for the body color.

I bought some chrome, pens and chromed out all of the trim. We added some plug wires and other engine bay details, and an attempt to make this a fine art piece, and a reflection of what the original car was.

I do plan to buy at least another Dodge charger 500 at some show or maybe on eBay. Probably my favorite car manufacturer is Chrysler. I’m definitely a Mopar person. If you follow my channel for too long, you’ll probably see me build the Dodge charger 500, Charger Daytona, and regular Chargers, along with other Mopars.

Why was the 1969 charger 500 produced? In hopes to create a presence for Dodge on the NASCAR circuit. In 1968 the second-generation Dodge charger was released. During the 1968-year Dodge only won four out of the 49 scheduled races. In order to enter the NASCAR field, the minimum production requirement was 500 cars and that’s where the Dodge charger 500 acquired its name as Dodge produced 500 units. While doing some of my research, I found the Dodge sent 500 of their chargers to be modified at Creative Industries in Eastpointe Michigan. Unfortunately, this model of charger struggled on the racetrack as well. Dodge ultimately ended up producing the Dodge charger, Daytona, in order to be competitive in the NASCAR circuit.

The Dodge charger, 500 possessed many different design cues that distinguished it from the standard issue Dodge charger. One of those differences sat in the front grill with 4 exposed headlights mounted flush to the grill with no apparent divide in the grill. Your standard dodge charger hid the headlights and had the center divided. This flush mount grill was used from the design of the 68 Coronet.

Dodge also got rid of the tunnel back in the rear window area for a fastback design and better aerodynamics. It’s been said that at higher speed the tunnel back would create a vacuum, and some of the research that I did indicated that that would reduce the cars top speed by 2 to 3 mph.

Along with the fastback rear window or the flush mount rear window they also shorten up the rear trunk lid.

The 1969 charger 500 claimed a 0 to 60 speed time of 6.9 seconds. Quarter-mile performance claims in the 14 second range.

The engine options for this car were a 440 with a single four barrel. I would assume based on the research I’ve done the preferred engine option was the 426 hemi with 425 hp and 490-pound feet of torque. These numbers were reduced to satisfy insurance company requirements.