1968 Bengal Charger R/T Tribute Car

1968 Dodge Charger R/T Description

I bought this 1968 Dodge Charger R/T in October of 2001. It is an original 440 car with numbers matching engine and 727 torqueflite transmission. The original color was TT1- Medium green with a green vinyl top. I was not a fan of that color so when it was time for the restoration I ran across a magazine article about the Bengal Charger and that there was only 3 left in existence. I really liked the color combination of orange and black and I realized that not many people are ever going to see one of these so I decided to build a Bengal Charger tribute car, a decision I do not regret. That color is awesome and it wins at the car shows just about every time (I got the paint code from the magazine article). It has won over 70 awards in the last 8 years. 4 best of shows, 3 first place finishes at the Carlisle Nationals, Celebrity Choice Award by Chrysler Power Magazine at Carlisle last year, Best Mopar, Best Muscle Car, Best “B” Body Stock, Best of the 60’s, 5-1st place finishes at the local AACA shows just to name a few. I met “Mr Norm” at an all Mopar show in September of 2015. We had a great conversation and he loved this car. He said “this car looks better than when they were new” he also said “I couldn’t keep these car’s on the lot when they first came out.” I won best of show that day and I’m pretty sure he had something to do with it. It has had a Rotisserie restoration completed 8 years ago. The paint job looks as good now as it did when it was painted except for 2 minor items. There is a very small chip in the paint on the hood and there is a little crack in the paint near the door jam on the drivers side. The engine has been totally rebuilt. There is a slightly larger cam in it. Has a Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold model 7193 and a Holley 670 Street Avenger carburetor. I have the original intake, carburetor, cam and air cleaner that will go with the car. I also have the build sheet that I found under the back seat. While at the Carlisle Nationals a couple of years ago I ran into a guy who knew a guy that had original Bengal Charger badges in his garage. When I talked to him he told me his brother worked at the garage where the Bengal Chargers were ordered from (Tom Kneer Dodge) in Cincinnati and he rescued them from the dumpster in the late 70’s and they were in terrific shape for being 47 years old and were never installed on a car before so I bought them and put them on the car.

We had to replace the whole trunk and floor pans. They had little holes in them that could have been repaired but I chose to replace them. The hood, deck lid, and surprisingly the quarter panels were in good shape. The quarters might have been replaced before I bought the car but I'm not sure about that. I replaced the front fenders (the ones on the car were from a 69) with OEM ones, The doors had little pin holes in them so I replaced them. The grill is perfect. New vinyl top, seat covers, door panels, headliner, carpet, package tray, check mark chrome, window chrome, in fact most of the chrome is brand new including door handles, side mirrors and marker lights, Charger and R/T badges. New front valance, bumpers, magnum 500 rims, radial tires, front windshield, 21/2 inch exhaust, flomaster mufflers, exhaust tips, gas tank (painted viper silver), sending unit, 4 core radiator, front and rear drum break shoes, in fact all break parts are new. New hood turn signals and fog lights. The tail lights are original and were not in bad shape. All new front suspension parts. I took the leaf springs to a local garage and had new bands put on them. We sprayed the undercarriage of the car with Rhino Liner and painted it gloss black so it would never rust again. I painted the rear end and leaf springs with POR 15. Installed new KYB shocks and painted them orange. I’m sure I missed a few things but as you can see I tried to replace everything with new parts.

The car has the rear window defogger, passenger side mirror and 8 track player options as well as an automatic on the floor.

The clock and tachometer don’t work. The tach did prior to the engine rebuild but I guess it was never hooked back up. The radio and 8 track player don’t play very well and would probably need to be restored. For some reason the gas gauge only shows 1/2 tank when full even though I have a new sending unit. The car has also been in the Chrysler Power Magazine December 2016 and the current issue, March 2017. You can buy it at your local Walmart store. You can email me at: rich@teitelecom.com or call me at 570-840-6046 if you have any questions or if you need more photo's. Vehicle is sold as is with no warranty.