There’s a pretty obvious reason why we’re featuring this copper-hued ’69 Dodge Charger. Seeing that Street Legal TV is building our own T7 Tuscan Bronze ’69 Charger R/T clone, Killer Kong, which happens to look a whole heck of a lot to this TV star car, it’s only appropriate that we sing the praises of this beautiful B-Body. We touched on this car while it was on display in the Auto Metal Direct booth at last year’s SEMA, but being able to get up close without the velvet ropes made this car all that more sweeter.
Now, there’s a bit of a mystery regarding this particular Charger. See, in 1968, when Dodge was gearing up to reveal the changes made to the ’69 model over the ’68 – namely the split grille, horizontal bar taillights, and rectangular side markers – Dodge merely earmarked a trio of Chargers in the assembly line for a few “select” additions, namely SE-level interior trim, T7-code Bronze paint, white vinyl tops and the venerable 426 HEMI.
These particular machines were equipped with bits and pieces cherry-picked off of the regular equipment menu of packages, most identifiable by the HEMI engine while not being an R/T, although a handful of non-R/Ts sneaked by with the 7-liter elephant between the shock towers. The copper Chargers were then photographed for Dodge’s 1969 model brochures and advertising, making these the most widely seen Chargers at the time.
Factory badging is minimal as this '69 Charger came from the factory as a non-R/T. That's right; no R/T tags or the iconic rear stripe.
It was nearly forty years later when Shafi Keisler of Keisler Engineering discovered a very battered and oxidized ’69 Dodge Charger with the infamous “XP29J” code in the VIN, implying its designation as a Charger (X code) non R/T Premium level (P) HEMI-equipped car (J) near Athens, Tennessee in 2009. It is also a 4-speed car to boot.
Shafi happened to mention the project – which was of interest to John Schneider of Dukes of Hazzard fame – to Chop Cut Rebuild’s host, Dan Woods, who jumped all over it. Teaming up with Auto Metal Direct, Ray Barton, Keisler, Legendary Interiors, Wilwood, and AlterKation, the XP HEMI Charger became one of the most hotly contested Mopars in recent history.
The Charger seen here unfortunately was found without its original 426 hemispherical-headed big block or A-833 4-speed manual gearbox. So, the crew at CCR was forced to look elsewhere. Keisler teamed up with Legend Gear & Transmission to provide a stout 5-speed Keisler RS600 (unit #1 – the very first 5-speed RallyeSport unit built) while Ray Barton built a dual quad HEMI that could pound the original factory ‘plant into the ground. Out back, stout Dana 60 was fitted with street-smart gears and a Sure Grip unit.
In fact, we enjoy this Charger precisely for this very reason. While this machine has all sorts of history, the original brochure cars were never documented, so unfortunately, while it can be presumed that this is one of the few cars used as the photo darlings in 1968, it can’t be solidly confirmed. That being said, the crew at CCR still didn’t let it keep them from building a Charger you could get excited about.
Chocked full of hardcore aftermarket performance products, this Charger looks stock enough to appease the hard-nosed types, but is ultimately a cool custom build. Yeah, it’s got a HEMI, but it’s a 650HP Ray Barton mill. Sure, it’s a manual, but it’s got a far beefier Keisler box in it. Hey, even the stock-looking paint is really a House of Kolors shade. Like we said, it’s close enough to stock…