September 26th, 2002, I bought a 69 Dodge Charger on eBay. I had been looking for a Charger for about a year, and had been thwarted by the incredibly high prices they have recently reached. This particular car looked to be in excellent condition, and had only seen one owner it its 34 year life. The original owner had tons of historical information to go with it. All of the maintenance records, the original sales paperwork, window sticker, owner's manual...everything. The owner's manual was in its original plastic sleeve!!! The interior was in excellent shape. The typical age cracks in the dash being the only major problem. The body was straight, no bondo, no rust. The only problem was a dent in the driver's sail panel where a tree branch had fallen on the car in a storm in 1998.

Here's a shot of myself and the original owner, Joe Angerman. The car was located down in Solvang (Southern California), and I live in Sacramento, so a trailer and truck were gathered (thanks to my friends Lamar Fairchild and Robert Matthews) for a tow trip. Mr. Angerman was very proud of the car, and was sad to see it go. He recalled how he went to Earle Ike Dodge in December of 1968, picked the options he wanted on his car, and plunked down a $100 downpayment. At the time, Mr. Angerman had a friend who worked on the assembly line at the Hamtramck, Michigan Chrysler assembly line. He mentioned how his friend would call him at regular intervals to explain what was happening at certain places on the assembly line as the car was being built.

Leaving Solvang. It was quite an odd feeling towing the heavy Charger. I had never towed a car on a trailer before, and it was a strange sensation. It felt as if the car would fall off the trailer at any moment. We stopped a few times within the first few miles just to make sure everything was ok. The only rough part of the trip was a stretch of Highway 101 north of Atascadero which has been under construction for the past millennia. The two lanes were incredibly tight, and there was about 3" of space between the wheels of the trailer and the concrete barriers on the side of the road...quite harrowing! Drivers passing me were braver, and some only cleared my wheels by 1". The truck had a very difficult time lumbering up the hill, and only did about 40 MPH. People behind me were not pleased...screw 'em. Please ignore the fact that it's a Chevy towing the car, a Dodge Ram wasn't available for the trip! Besides, people weren't looking at the Chevy, their eyes were glued on the Dodge!

Here we are stopped for fuel in Atascadero, CA. It was difficult to pump the fuel, because people were constantly wanting to come over and chit-chat about the Charger. If I had a dollar for every time I heard "I had one with a 440", I'd be a wealthy dude. We pulled into a gas station across the street, and hid the Charger behind the station, this is where this particular photo was taken. The attention was flattering, yet annoying at the same time. People on the road passing us would honk, wave, do double-takes, and give the "thumbs-up". People sure seem to like the old girl!

Another shot at the rear of the gas station. I couldn't wait to get the car home!!!

Yet another behind the gas station.

Here's the original window sticker for the car. Click on it to make it larger in a new window. Note the odd options Mr. Angerman selected for the car. Towing package, but only the 318 CID V8 engine and no power steering!!! Turns out, the towing package was ordered not for towing, but for life in the hot Santa Ynez valley. The towing package gave the car heavy duty cooling in the form of a 26" radiator, heavy duty transmission cooler, fan shroud, viscous fan clutch, 18" bladed cooling fan and a hood-to-radiator gasket to seal the engine compartment. The towing package also included heavy duty brakes and heavy duty suspension components. It was basically like ordering the R/T package without a big block engine or the fancy R/T logos on the front/back of the car. So, the original owner never towed anything with the car, the option was there just for heavy-dutyness!