ABANDONED 1969 Dodge Charger Drives After 34 Years 

I'm loving all the video about this car! I love seeing it roll again. I got this car as a demonstrator in December 1970. I loved it, got my driver's license in it, raised 2 little boys in it, personally mechaniced it. So it's pretty special to me and I am soooo enjoying watching it come back to life now that I'm 64 years old.

it amazes me that both reverse lights still gracefully light up after all that damn time

I remember the first time I drove my 70 Charger Jezebel, it was sketchy as hell, built 440 with a dual quad tunnel ram, a single seat tack welded in place for a car show, brakes that barely worked, only a windshield for glass, no seat belts, it was a blast hahhahaha. RIght up until I went full throttle and the front end got light and the drag radials hooked and my tack welds broke and I had to hang onto the steering wheel for dear life. Glad to see y'all got her running.

It isn’t a stereotype, the dukes of hazard was the first show I ever watched that got me into cars and forever made the charger cool in my book. The charger was the first muscle car I ever loved in a generation of 80s garbage. The trans Am was the second and that Dixie horn and rebel flag forever put the charger on the map for me personally. You call it a stereo type for me it’s a badge of honor!!!

You gotta start somewhere. They always look worse before they look better. Cool old charger

1:40 - Sounds like a burned Christine idling back into Darnell's.

Can't believe the backup lights still work.

This is where you realize you are over your head and sell it to me. Lol. Good work, and the back up lights work!

We have a 1968 impala that was my great grandmas, and I bugged my dad for us to get it going, so we bought a new fuel pump, coil, distributer, plug wires, changed the oil, drained the tank, and after 24 years of sitting, seeing all the rust come out of the exhaust it made me smile so much. Everything else was original. We drove it around that night on 30 year old tires and it was amazing. It’s such a cool thing for a teen and a father to work on together and drive. Once I get my liscense in a few months it will be so cool to drive to school! There’s nothing like an old muscle car to me, that’s ALL original. There’s still plenty of work, but it’s drivable.

Seeing that car driving made me smile!

Hey Dylan, The way I figure it my friend aint nothin better than a garage full of Mopars except a driveway full of Mopars!!! Great job!!!!

sweet. I just took my 76 warlock around the block for the first time since I bought it. it really gets the blood pumping and smiles going. cant wait to see more.

For a 1969 it's not burning oil and it drives without too much problem. These cars looked just like yours in the early 1980s up here in the land of rust and corrosion. You folks don't know how truly fortunate you are to be able to have these wonderful old cars to work on for not too much money. It will be a labour of love that is well worth it. Thank you, we'll be watching.

It's Alive, It's Alive, It's Aliiiiiiive!!!!

Easy gastank access. ., i was waiting for Pop's to do some Dukes of Hazard stuff in the yard...lol.

Oh come on man, you're telling me you don't want to be showered in rust when you're working underneath it, that's the best part. Lol The trunk reminds me of my '71 Monte, once I cut out the trunk floor, there was so little metal left, the whole floor fit in a plastic grocery bag. And no I'm not exaggerating.

quick tip, dont pour gas into a carb from a container while its running. it could spit fire back and catch the can and other stuff on fire. watched a guy do it to his camaro and it burned his arm and the front of the car bad.

hell yeah 😎

Bless you for rescuing this awesome MOPAR. Its MOPAR OR NO CAR!! I hope this resto is a successful one, hope you dont run into any big problems and that everything goes smoothly for you.

Too bad about the window,I have a few sitting around ..Car looks pretty straight,could just do a cheaper paint job for now and it would look pretty good !! Keep the car looking stock,please !! I keep mine stock and they have more value plus look better....Magnum 500's really make B bodies look better ! Congrats again on the Charger,you have more respect for the Charger than guys your age buying them in the 1980's..They bought pristine like new Charger's and ruined/crashed them in months !!

The rusted out trunk really made it easy to diagnose the problem with the gas tank. Good luck on the build, we had a 69 383 Charger when I was a kid, all time dream car!

If you want an idea for paint I think a bright green metallic like Eastwoods gasser green metallic would look good with the dark green interior

Favorite car hands down to hell with these new gen cars awesome find Dylan keep me updated

Obviously the car has no brakes either.

Its definitely time for a tune up but atleast it moves under its own power wouldn't hurt to let it warm up and check the transmission fluid nice find.

I used to have a 1968 Charger back in 1978 to 1987 ran fine with its 383 v8 and a Quadrajet its the only car and the first car I got a speeding ticket in On interstate 5 in California got it up to 130 mph and was just backing off the gas and was down to 95 when a cop clocked me. Hated to get rid of the car but didn't have the room or i would have kept it. Glad to see you have the old '69 Charger running really good job.

Dylan you have got yourself a keeper. Looking forward to seeing the videos on this one.👍👍👍

Best feeling ever...

Yet another awesome video! When your father started to drive it and pulled into the grass and drove through your field. I kept thinking of the general lee and the dukes of hazard lol, especially with the backdrop of the country and your guys property. To much fun, and I love it awesome score on the charger. Can't wait to see the progress on this and all of your guys cars and trucks. Have you sold your duster yet?

I keep waiting for your dad to press the horn and hear it play Dixie lol

A like from Brazil !!

Thank youuuu YT recommended videos XD subbed man. Look forward to seeing this come back to glory

AWESOME find! I will be following your build as I also had a 1969 Charger I bought in 1971 when I graduated from high school. Mine also had a 383 same green, a white vinyl top and headrests on the seats. I noticed yours didn't unless they were removed. Good Luck and I look forward to following this restoration. One last thing I'm so glad to see a young man as yourself taking an interest in these old classic muscle cars, Y'all have to keep the fire burning! Are you from Western Tennessee? My roots are in Tennessee my father was born and raised in Tullahoma just West of Chattanooga and my wife is from Johnson City in East Tennessee a truly beautiful state...GO VOLS!

I bought 2 1968 Dodge Chargers back in 1974. I got both of them for under $1000. almost in perfect shape. One had a 383 with automatic, the other had a 440 Hemi with Hurst 4 speed pistol grip. I wish I still owned those cars today.

Not to shabby at all. Good find and good work young man! 1969 has always been my favorite year for the Charger.

PLEASE drop every other project and detail the full nut and bolt restoration, or resto mod. Solid metal everywhere properly installed.

Cool vid,, Dylan. Great to hear this run and drive..SWEEET!!!. One thing to look out for is fuel pump push rod. My 383's had worn out enough where the engine would stall out while driven hard (lost a race that way). Friend had a big block in his back yard and swapped this one part out. Problem fixed.

One thing you gotta love about car guys, they'll stay loyal to their cars no matter what the condition is. You sir are that person.

Cool Video! Keep working on this project for a while ! I think this is your coolest car you have !

Gloves would be good here.

Now see, that trunk floor delete reminds me of the "Lightweight Bed" option that my '96 Dakota was ordered with.

Ah the sound of a mopar starter motor

That's awesome! Always a good day, running on its own and yard driving a bit. keep up the good work and videos. I'll be watching from Nova Scotia, Canada

Well, this series will be a bit nostalgic for me. My grandfather had a '66 Charger, originally yellow, but repainted candy apple red. I helped him work on it back in the '70s. I loved the center console design and the body style including the rotating headlights.

Duuuude I love the 65 Chrysler police car in the intro man. I gotta 1965 New yorker 2 door with black leather bucket seat interior and amazingly is from Pennsylvania. She was driven to the junkyard in very early 2000s and was almost scraped but was saved by the guy I got her from .

That 383 seems really tight. I hear no ticks or knocks, and I see no burning oil from the pipes. You might be able to do just the gaskets and timing chain

Love your channel....found you through graveyard digs....awesome charger....i have a 71 charger se ...been a long project but its 90% done...i love it ...thanks for saving these awesome mopars man!!

Question are you going to ever add the Dixie horn on it

Thanks for putting the charger up Dylan! Another great vid ! Thrash on it and get it on the road!

Hey man I’m from Australia and 16 as a little kid growing up dukes of hazard was my top favourite tv show and movie and the 69 charger has always been my dream car but here in Australia they cost a crap lode and it’s great to see you try and rescue one of my all time favourite car it’s just sad to think that I will never get the chance to have my own

My son and I just watched the episode with the exhaust question and I recognized the stamped number on the tailpipe ... it's an Arvin Industries aftermarket replacement part number from possibly either the Franklin or Greenwood IN. exhaust system plants ... how do I know? It's entirely possible I bent the tubing way back when. I worked at the Franklin plant from 1966-1976. God Bless.

I’m a 63 year old not so handyman and that just makes me wanna learn something 🤓 I’ll be watching ..

Awesome! Love those barnfinds. I used to do the same here in Brazil, but american Dodge Chargers is too rare over here. Maybe there was something about 20-30 cars in the hole country (1968 thru 1970 models) that came brandnew. Nowadays, there is alot more (all imported from USA, probably). My first barnfind was a 1975 Oldsmobile 88 Delta Royale, with 350 engine. It was a dream, new gas, new battery and it runs!

Sweet I’m glad it runs and the rust isn’t to bad

Not as bad as expected cant wait to see how turns out

*sees you in recommended * *reads title * me: uh.. okay? *Dylan starts the engine, the first time * *V8 starts and sounds like music to my ears * me: huge shiver down my spine.. and that's why i love the Dodge Charger.... my god, i'd love to own one of these... eugh. dodge went down hill so much in the looks in the early 00's. calling them *saloons* eugh. small edit: i'm in the UK and owning one of these would be quite a hassle and expensive with insurance and tax.

Cool Charger! looks like you have quite the project to do list. Are you keeping the 318 motor? or going with something with more power to it? Good luck with her and thanks for sharing with the rest of us. I was thinking as I was watching this, "thank God the Dukes of Hazzard tv show didn't get to this one!".

How excellent is that? It runs, it drives, and it even stops! Ok, what's next?

Congrats Dylan! Can't wait to see you thrash on it.

Wow, its an SE (Special Edition) Charger as well..good find, Dylan.

you are a great inspiration i got me a 84 power ram that im building but even just working on my new cars and not getting screwed by mechanics one of my soldiers just dropped 400 on an oil change and new brake pads. hes dumb

Where do you keep finding all these good condition Mopars!!? I would love to get a charger in this condition, all of them that I can find around me are rotted so bad that I wouldnt be able to fix them.

5:09 no more need for a fuel tank gauge just take a quick glance in back 😂

Congratulations on getting her moving.

When are you going to try and dig up that build sheet? That was the one thing that worried me when the rear window fell out in the rain, that the back seat might have got soaked and damaged that sheet if it's down there...

Watching this again reminded of getting flagged down in my '69 because 'my fuel tank was leaking'. Thanked them and knew it was water in the 'quarters. Then again, my first car, '67 Falcon did have a rusted trunk/gas tank. That was originally from Wa St. Little pin holes by the rear glass were enough.

Really enjoy your videos, back in my younger days owned some real beauties, my favorite was a 68 dodge coronet, 440 magnum engine, Hurst 4 speed, the gar was set built for the strip which it saw a lot of. But totally street legal, Mopar was always my favorite. Really enjoy the vechicles you breathe life back into, keep em coming.

Subbed during the intro. So jealous of you for having this car. Can't wait to see what you do with it in the future.

I so miss mine. It was blue with the black vinyl top. I bought it when I was 17 in 1984. Other than a ton of dust from sitting in an underground parking lot, the only bad parts were on top of both front fenders. It had a 440 and I paid a whole whopping $200 for it. Sadly, being 17, I also wrecked that car less than a year later.

Ah, the factory option paper trunk floor. I suspect a lot of Charger fans have had to deal with that before. I have to say, though, considering how poor the bodywork at the back of the car must be for the rear screen to have fallen out in transit the trunk/boot floor is a lot better than I was expecting it to be. It looks like a lot of the structure is still pretty solid and where it should be. It's nice to see that at least one of the SE badges is still in place on the rear roof pillar...

I woulda been spinning donuts as soon as the rear tires hit grass. great job. looks like a fun project

It is absolutely awesome that the car is running and driving already. Can't wait to see the future videos of it.

Nice work guys, glad to see it running!

Man it's good to see it running and driving. Even the back up lights work. Lol

That's a pretty decent looking charger moving under its own power 👍 keep up the good work Dylan ☮️

I had a 68 Charger RT 440 that same shade of green back in the 80s.That car would be worth a fortune now restored.It was all matching 440 drivetrain.To say i miss it is a understatement..

finally got to see the first one that when you started the car up I seen you or replace the floor panel another one I want to make sure that you put a trunk seal alone I just kind of curious there's also another deal that you that you can get a little gas cap goes inside of your gas cap that's a locking and it also helps keep a lot of stuff out of your gas tank and you should go get the locking gas cap from your one. They have a large catalog for mopars I mean a lot

Just a little crusty, now you can fule up fast lol.

Could somebody tell me what's that bottle that he put in the carburator? Is WD-40 ??

It's nice to see this car get some love after such a long time. Nice work :)

Thanks for the video! You and your buddy's have woke up the hot rodder in me! After all these years in ready to start looking for something cool to fix up. Thanks guys for reminding me how good it feels to bring something back from the dead.

great stuff,glad there are young people to get interested in old cars.Good luck in future projects

Nice, easy access accessory hatch to inspect the gas tank, can't beat that!

Back up lights work. Now that’s a survivor Will be looking forward to more on this old DOdGe

Congrats! I hope that you can do a full restoration of this classic car!

Cool video man the reversing lights work! Amazing

You should name this car tetanus. The rust in the trunk was hilarious!

you have to find the reason why it rusted, water probally came in the back window

I have a lot of respect for you man . Thank you for restoring that beautiful iTum

next step.... 1. brakes 2. exhaust 3. new metal to replace rust 4. rear window 5. safety inspection 6. get er on the road and have some fun

Is the back passenger wheel bent , looked like it had a wobble ? Always fun to get them started after sitting for years ! Whats showing on the odometer ?

Dylan...You really doing this with love......That's rare..keep up with the good work...

Dylan, you should keep the paint the way it is, it looks awesome, maybe a bit of clear coat, redo the rest of the car and have it look like that, it'll look awesome.

I owned a 69 that looked like that one , In Cali. back in the late 80s if I remembered correct I payed 500 bucks for it. I dont remember what I did with it. How ever you are bring back memories,, Thanks.

Gawd...That trunk pan & gas tank is so hammered...I'm surprised the carb isn't totally hacked, or was it pulled off another car? Is that the original motor?

That is so cool. My buddy Lonny has a charger he rebuilt and is very beautiful today.I sent him this video don't be surprised if you hear from him. You do have some work to do but hang in there. You sound like you have a great attitude going into this project and I would love to see you video the entire project from beginning to end. It's a diamond in the rough but in the end it will shine. By the way, what do you have for an engine? 383 or 440 mag or is it hi- pro series? Thank you kindly for sharing I dig this kind of shit. I hope to hear from you. I can't believe it drove. So very cool.

Man, that is such an iconic car model. It's great to see her running around again :D

Looking good

What are you plans for the build?

You are lucky... My dream car is the 68-70 Charger... Its beautiful...