Most cars that spend decades in barns or junkyards usually end up in the crusher. And most of those that get rescued are sourced for parts and don’t make it back on the road. It’s not all hopeless, though. A few rigs do get lucky and end up in restoration shops, even when they emerge as rolling shells. This 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T is one of those classics.
Found in Missouri by YouTube’s “A Mostly Mopar Family,” this golden-era Coronet spent decades off the road. It also lost quite a few components while sitting, so our host found an incomplete rig that needed quite a few parts to run and drive again. The two-door was also missing the VIN and fender tag.
Most enthusiasts wouldn’t touch a classic Mopar without a VIN, but that didn’t stop our host from making a purchase. And in an amazing turn of events, he was able to get in touch with the person who bought the dash frame that included the VIN, reuniting it with the car. He then left the Coronet with the seller because he did not have the space to haul the R/T back home.
One month later, our host returned to the yard to pick up the Mopar. And he got the surprise of a lifetime when the seller told him he found the missing fender tag. With both tags now present, the vehicle is much easier to authenticate. And that’s a big deal, given that this car is not a run-of-the-mill Coronet.
This Mopar is a true-blue R/T, which makes it quite rare compared to all the other versions. The Coronet was quite the popular rig in 1968, selling nearly 200,000 units. The R/T, the range-topping performance-oriented version, found only 10,280 customers that year, which is only 5.2% of the total production.
The R/T was available with one of two V8 engines in 1968. It came standard with the 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB, and the options list included the mighty 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI. This Coronet rolled off the assembly line with the four-barrel 440, as did a total of 9,734 examples delivered to US dealerships.
It’s not exactly rare based on this figure, but the fender tag confirms it was equipped with a four-speed manual. This gearbox was far less popular and found its way into only 1,983 units. If we also factor in the F8 Dark Green Metallic paint and the two-tone, green-and-white interior, we’re probably looking at one of fewer than 100 examples built just like this.
It’s unclear if this Coronet will get a complete restoration or if the revival will be more of a survivor-type makeover, but our host says it will return the car to the road. And that’s excellent news for a classic that needs a long list of parts and a five-figure sum to run and drive again. Check it out in the video below.