We got the car in spring of 1997. We bought it from one of
my dads friends on Lockport NY. He bought it from a farmer (supposedly).
The car spent 22 years of it's life in Lockport. It was never
driven in snow, so when we got it, there was no visible rust.
There is still vary little (nothing noticeable, you have to get
down on you're hands and knees and look). When we bought it, it
had roughly 8,500 miles on it. Nobody had ever sat in the back
seat either. We moved it from Lockport to Norman, Oklahoma via
trailer. I did not have my license yet so it sat in the garage
until mid summer of 1997. When I got my license we were going
to trade it in for a truck (well something newer) but we couldn't
get a good trade in price on it. My parents compared insurance
rates between a newer truck and the Charger and the Charger was
cheeper. So by luck I was allowed to use the car. I drove it as
a normal car for 2 years which is why there are not 22,000 miles
on it. Amazingly nothing happened to it while it was at high school
during the day. There are several nicks and scratches from general
use, but nothing noticeable.
One day I had a reason to venture out to the Dodge dealership in town, I forgot why (I think it might have been looking into touch up paint for the car because I was going to go to a show in 2 weeks). But I parked the Charger out in front of the Showroom (just for kicks) and when I came back out. There were about 10 dealers/sales men hovering over the car. :) When I came back out, they started asking questions and they were amazed. One of the guys said that he would give me $10,000 on the spot for the car. I said no (it wasn't for sale at the time), He immediately offered me 15, I again said no, then he offered me 20. I said no, although now that I am having a hell of a time selling the car when I need to, I wish I had sold it to him for $20,000.
The Charger and Snow! Being in Oklahoma, there isn't much snow, and when there is, it doesn't last long. Since the Charger was my everyday car, then that meant snow. I think the charger has been driven in snow for at the most 30 days total for 2 years. That's pretty good for being in New York for 22 years. As soon as it was warm enough for water not to freeze, I washed the car thoroughly, and weekly. The car also had a layer of rust protection applied when it was first bought. The Charger was also out during one ice storm. So the next few days, the car had a nice 1/2" coat of ice on it. Which was actually good because that was the one day that I backed into the garbage cans or anything for that matter. It put a big crack in the ice, but didn't even scratch the paint :).
Part of the way through senior year, my father decided to give me an early graduation gift and transfer the Charger into my name. We did and the car was actually mine :). But unfortunately soon after, he was in a devastating car accident and the next time I talked to him, he told me that I was never to drive the car again, and that I was to sell it and they were going to get me a new truck. Well It ended up that I was allowed to drive the car again, occasionally. And they were talking about what they were going to get me to replace it. When they came back for Graduation they gave me a brochure and told me that this was mine and it was waiting for me in Iowa. I ended up getting 2 cars for graduation. Although I was supposed to spent the summer trying to sell the Charger but it never happened, Parents never did anything about it, and I wasn't about to make any effort to sell this thing, although I did try to make my parents happy. When I went back to school, we found a home for it, (a barn on the east side of town), It sat there except on breaks when I would come back and pull it out and drive it for a few days. It usually didn't go more than a month without being at least started, most of the time driven. Over Christmas I did go out and start it, I backed it out and put it back in (there was snow on the ground but no salt). Eventually It was transferred to our garage, and it has been sitting there ever since. I don't know why I'm trying to sell it now, it's just becoming a pain to deal with now. I don't have time to take care of it now. It just sits there, I never drive it, my parents think it's a death trap, and I like Air conditioning.
I know that the instant I sell it, I will want it back, but I saw several white chargers and I think that white is a gorgeous color on a Charger. I don't know why. To be honest, I don't like the scorch red paint, and I don't like the Vinyl top (the look of it). Not to say that its not in good condition, (the pictures don't do it justice). It's just personal taste.
It needs a Good Home. And I ask that whoever buys it, send me/E-mail me pictures, especially it you restore it.