Part One of a Car Guy Saga: A knowledgeable and capable MOPAR guy. A loving wife. A Green 1968 Charger. A sale. A drive from San Diego, California back to Dayton Ohio. What could possibly go wrong? Somewhere in eternity, Edsel Murphy’s law was validated.

Chapter One: The Good Wife And New Wheels For The Garage

David Roe is a B-body Mopar guy. Despite his only 41 years in the world, as far back as he can remember, both his mom and dad had second-generation Chargers. It instilled a passion to bleed Plum Crazy for the Dayton, Ohio resident that continues to this day.

“From the time I was born to now, I can remember my mom and dad always had Chargers. As a kid I remember their brown 1970 RT, a Panther Pink 1970, and a red 1970 with a white vinyl top that remains stored in my garage.” Prior to David’s existence, his father had a Plum Crazy ’70,” reflects David.

Roe, a defense industry test manager and Air Force veteran, had drag raced several Fox-body Mustangs from 2000 to 2020. The last Mustang race car he was building, made 1,200 horsepower with a 331 cubic-inch mill and 90mm turbo. However, back surgery brought an end to his racing career. Beyond the racing, Roe enjoyed exercising his mom’s ’70 Charger. Then, out of the blue, his passion was re-ignited for the Moparss he loved so much as a kid.

“My 24-year-old nephew Brandon, had moved back to Ohio and purchased a purple 1970 Dodge Charger with a white interior. It was column-shifted. Brandon started fixing it up and I started to work on it with him.” Davidcontinues, “I had him do all the work, but I helped and pointed him in the right direction. It gave me the itch to have my own project again.”

“It was fun to drive his car. Mom’s car is fun too, but it’s a 318 and it didn’t have the same feel as a 440 or 383. It’s a totally different experience,” David says.

His sympathetic wife, Krissie, had been working in concert with his nephew to surprise him with a 440 specimen. However, she was wise enough not just to pick one but instead did the sleuthing — considering David’s expertise. Instead, she broke the news as a choice. “Hey, we’ve got two or three of these Chargers picked out that we wanted to get you.”

Overwhelmed and surprised, David explained, “I tried to talk her out of it because, to me, it wasn’t the right time. But to her, it was important. She loves me and she wanted me to have something nice. We looked at the cars they found and I picked this Green 1968 in San Diego. It was originally a small block car, but now had a 440 in it. The seller claimed it was turnkey, running and driving.”

Needless to say, like many of us, once engaged, we generally ask ourselves the question: Why do we love old cars?”

On the promise of a running and driving California classic, David and Krissie contacted the seller, who turned out to be offering the car for a friend. Together, both the seller and owner seemed to know little about cars. David was particularly attracted to the green 1968 Charger with black interior, as California cars generally have little or no rust and, in most cases, enjoy a life of meticulous care. The couple requested photos and had numerous video chats. In today’s internet-based marketplace, quite often automobile transactions are done sight-unseen.

The timing was excellent as well. The Memorial Day 2022 weekend was approaching and David and Krissie could fly to San Diego, buy the car, then drive it back to Dayton — where it would be added to the Roe’s growing stable of second generation B-bodies. There was just one hitch, that led to temporary disappointment.

“The seller turned around and said, ‘Well, I got somebody else coming and offered me more money, I’ll keep you posted.’ This is after he already accepted my offer. So we just put it in God’s hands and said that if we’re meant to have the car, the person coming to look at it wouldn’t buy it. Sure enough, the seller called me back the next day saying, the other buyer flaked out and if I wanted to car that I could come down and get it,” David says.

Because it was a holiday weekend, they provided proof of funds ahead of getting on the plane, prepared to write a check as carrying a large amount of cash — or acquiring it on a holiday weekend would be complicated. The bank verified the deal, so David and Krissie boarded a plane for the West Coast. The seller picked them up at the airport in San Diego.

“I instantly fell in love with the thing and we decided to buy it. When we test-drove the car, it had a kind of faint knocking noise in the right wheel well. Something due to suspension I thought. It was either a wheel bearing or possibly a ball joint,” David says.

In the interest of being prepared for the 2,000-plus mile journey home, David made the keen decision to make a trip to the auto parts store.

“I bought an oil change, ball joints, and wheel bearings, just in case they failed on the way home. I bought fuel cleaner, spark plugs, and a ballast resistor because they failed on those cars. I also bought a voltage regulator — again common failure, then bought an extra headlight, an extra tail light, and a turn signal. We then went to Home Depot, and I bought a toolkit, plier set, screwdriver kit, adjustable wrench kit, a cheap floor jack, and some cheap jack stands. We also bought gas cans and a five-gallon water can,” David explains.

Loaded for bear, David felt they would be prepared for, God forbid, roadside repairs that may be needed on the green ’68. “In hindsight, I should have also bought a multimeter,” David laments. The trip was beginning, which would include a stop at the home of Krissie’s sister in Wichita, Kansas. They intended to spend quality time and show off the new ride.

The trip might be worthy of a car guy’s full-length movie, with the soundtrack being Lindsay Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” from National Lampoon’s Vacation. More on that in Part Two.