Octane Magazine Feature Cars

When most people think about the 1968-1970 Charger, their first thought is the General Lee from the TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard. Some folks would even have you believe Bo and Luke Duke are the reason you don't see so many '68-'70 B-bodies around these days.

A precise figure is tough to nail down, but most sources place the number of Chargers destroyed by the Duke boys at about 300. In reality, with a grand total of 224,585 1968-1970 model year Chargers having rolled out of Dodge showrooms, it hardly seems fair to lay all the blame on the Dukes.

Oblivious to the mayhem happening in fictional Hazzard County, Monte Dozier's 1968 Charger was locked safely behind closed doors in its original owner's garage when The Dukes of Hazzard was filming. The car had been parked in 1972 and had made very few brief appearances in the daylight prior to Dozier buying it. The car was a 100% original, rust free, 383 powered, 44,000 mile, one-owner Charger.

Dozier, a lifelong gearhead whose garage was already occupied by a big block 1970 Chevelle SS, had always wanted a Hemi car. An engine builder by trade, working at Kernodle's Automotive Service in Norfolk, Dozier had his motor ready before he had a car to put it in. He started with a new 426 Hemi block from Chrysler, stuffed a "mild" Racer Brown hydraulic cam in it, and topped it off with aluminum heads, an original Hemi intake, and a pair of four barrel Holley carbs. The mighty mill is backed by a stout 727 automatic transmission with a Hemi converter.

With all of the attention that had gone into the drivetrain, the shop handling the restoration and assembly of the car couldn't bear to see the stock rear get hung back under the Charger. If this car had left the factory as a Hemi R/T car, they reasoned, it would have rolled out on a Dana 60 - one of the toughest rear ends ever produced, and plenty capable of handling the estimated 500 horses unleashed by the mighty 426. It didn't take much convincing to get Dozier on board with the idea.

While other decisions were being made about how the car would go back together, the crew was busy stripping the Dodge down to its bare frame. Dozier acquired the Charger as a nice rust-free original, but wanted to go the extra mile with a complete frame-off restoration. Every panel was media blasted and prepped for paint before being rolled to the paint booth. Dozier decided to repaint the car a few shades brighter than the original pale yellow, but thought it best to stick with a Mopar color, so the guys shot it in Lemon Twist.

With the body wearing new paint, the chassis completely refurbished, and the drivetrain ready to go, the crew got back to reassembling the Charger as an R/T. The original interior was in such good condition that it was re-installed in the car just as it had come out, with the exception of a new headliner and aftermarket tach.

When the new R/T was completed the builder wanted to list the car on ebay with an unrealistic reserve, just to see how high the bidding would go. This time, however, Dozier wasn't so easily convinced. He says the car is not for sale, but the temptation of a ridiculous bid may have made him a little crazy.
Now, with the Charger R/T parked in Dozier's garage, stored safely away from the muscle car bidders, the only temptation he has to distract him from the Hemi is the dark blue with white stripes 454 Chevelle parked next to it.