Classic cars and long-term storage are two things that don’t go very well together. Yes, they make a good pair when it happens in a heated garage, but most barn-found cars we see today usually emerge out of wooden sheds with rust and damage due to a lack of protection against moisture and extreme cold and heat.
They’re usually wrecked beyond repair or way too expensive to restore relative to the car’s market value. And sadly enough, it’s the story of tens of thousands of classics that never make it back on the road. But some soldier on through decades of storage in good condition and see daylight as dusty time capsules. This 1968 Dodge Charger is one of the lucky ones.
Many old cars get retired in garages or barns due to mechanical issues or simply because their owners become too old to drive. This Charger, however, was parked after a minor crash that caused a bit of damage to its rear fascia and bumper. It happened back in 1994, and for some reason, the owner never got around to fixing it and putting it back on the road.
Come 2022, and the owner is no longer around, so his wife decided it’s time to let the Charger go to a loving home. YouTube’s “Dead Dodge Garage” answered the call, took the Charger out of storage, and got the V8 engine running again. Not only that, but he also took the car for its first drive in almost three decades and did a few burnouts to celebrate.
Nearly a couple of months later and he released new footage of the Charger, this time around while getting its first wash in 28 years. And the process unveils that the car is in really good shape apart from the crumpled rear end. The metallic blue paint still shines, the black vinyl top is in excellent condition, and the body panels are pretty much rust-free.
Yup, this old Mopar is an unrestored survivor, something you don’t see every day, especially when talking about barn-kept classics. And the 318-cubic-inch (5.2-liter) V8 that still roars under the hood is of the numbers-matching variety. Yes, it might not be as valuable as a HEMI car, but it’s definitely worth restoring.
1968 was the first year for the second-generation Charger, which got an extensive redesign that turned the previous stylish fastback into a full-blown muscle car. It made its debut with a 225-cubic-inch (3.7-liter) inline-six as the standard unit, but it was replaced by the 318 V8 you see here halfway through the model year. Dodge offered three more V8s, including the mighty 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI.
Granted, the 318 is not impressively powerful at 230 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque, but it’s downright amazing that the mill didn’t get stuck after almost three decades with no sip of gasoline. Hit the play button to see this 1968 Charger gets its first wash after a very long time, and here’s to hoping that it will become road-worthy soon.