Sorry, but I could not continue my original post so here is a continuation.
Documentation with this car includes 2 ½ buildsheets: one found under the seat springs, one found taped behind the glove box and the ½ found inside the front seat back. All buildsheets were for this car.
One buildsheet discovered taped behind the glove box
This build sheet found behind the glove box
I am particularly fortunate to have the original window sticker that came with the car and it is still in relatively good condition.
Notes: Had the optional wheel covers shown in the first picture of the car been ordered, they would have been listed on the window sticker as “wheel covers”.
Perfectly preserved original Certicard shows 4/3 build date and 6/5 sell date
I ask the wife of the original owner of my 67 Charger for any information concerning their car. She responded with the following letter. I have eliminated any personal information from to correspondence to protect the innocent.
Pat XXXX, ordered a 1967 Dodge Charger from Ed Bruielly Dodge in Mansfield, Pa.
His daughter and I figured it was a 40th birthday gift to himself. When the car shipped by train to Buffalo, N.Y. waiting to be trucked to Mansfield dodge dealership somebody stole the carb off it and had to be replaced by the factory before delivery.
We did not drive it all the time as he was trying to keep as best we could. If we drove it in the winter we would wash the undercarriage. We kept it in the garage out of the weather. When we moved to Fl we stored it in a freight trailer.
Pat passed away in 1999 and our son went to Pa and brought it down on a trailer. We kept it stored in the garage here.
I had a man do an unlead conversion so we could use unleaded gas. I would give you his information but he passed away about 3 years ago.
I drove it some but it got so with a bad back I had problems getting in and out of it, but I loved driving it. I decided to sell it to somebody that would appreciate and baby it. I have tried to keep it in its orginial state. I hope you enjoy it.
Debbie XXXX
After receiving the letter from Debbie, I responded with this letter to her. Keep in mind as you read the letter that she probably knew very little about the options her husband chose for their new Charger, so I was kinda filling in the blanks for her.
Hi Debbie 1/27/2020
Thank you for responding to my request for information concerning the 67 Dodge Charger. I have owned several 66 and 67 Chargers in the past 30 years, but the 67 I just purchased from you is one of the most special to date.
Here are the reasons I consider it special:
Documentation - I have never owned a car with so much original documentation including original sale information, window sticker, build sheet, certicard and the original owners manual with the selling dealers' name and address. Usually this stuff is long lost or discarded.
The Car - The 1st generation Dodge Charger debuted in 1966 and this design lasted only 2 years before significant design changes were made for the 1968 model year. For 1967, only about 15,000 Chargers were built compared to approximately 36,000 1966 models, making the 67 model fairly rare because of the number made.
The "XXXX Charger" (I identify my cars by name ) turns out to be exceptionally rare even among rare cars because of the options chosen by your husband when he placed his April 1967 order at Ed Brueilly Dodge in Mansfield PA
Beginning in the early 1960's and extending to the mid 70's, all major US car manufacturers created what became known as "muscle cars". These were essentially autos equipped with high performance, large horsepower engines and designed to provide a factory packaged car capable of high speeds and quick acceleration. Now, anyone could go to a dealer, chose among several power options to create his or her personal performance car. Most of these cars became street warriors combating each other at stop lights in town or on a rural back road straight stretch. Most were piloted by the "younger generation".
If Pat XXXX had decided to purchase a no frills 1967 Charger with only the standard factory equipment (no additional options), he had only two choices to make... body paint color and the color of the interior.
The Charger, even in it's base form, was a nicely adorned car with bucket seats, premium interior materials, lots of chrome and a cool 4 place seating arrangement. In 1967, the base (no options) price for a 67 Charger was $3128.00 which is equivalent to $24066.31 in 2020 dollars.
Had Pat ordered a no frills car, his new bright red Charger with white bucket seats would have been a crowd pleaser. Under the hood of that stylish ride rested a 230 hp V-8 coupled to 3 speed manual column shift transmission. Not much excitement so far as power, but a nice handling, driving and riding car.
No, for some reason, Pat went in a different direction when it came time order up the car of his dreams...quite different. He had five engines choices to power his new Charger and the additional cost for each are listed below,
The engine options, in ascending horsepower order, available for a 1967 Dodge Charger were:
318 cubic inch 230 horsepower 8 cylinder standard equipment. (no 6 cylinder engine available) + $0.00
383 ci 270 hp + $69.75
383 ci 325 hp + $119.55
440 ci 375 hp Magnum + $313.60 ($2412.79 in 2020 dollars)
426ci 425 hp hemi (the ultimate racing engine) + $877.55
Pat checked the box for 1 of the 2 highest available horsepower engines, the 375 hp 440 Magnum. Specifying and paying an additional $313.60 for the 440 included, at no extra cost, heavy duty suspension, larger size police brakes and high performance red streak tires.
Next he had to chose the transmission- In 1967, Chrysler Corporation stipulated "mandatory options" when a customer specified any engine option beyond the base 318 engine. Mandatory option meant you were forced to chose and pay for an option.
His "mandatory option" transmission choices for a 440 Magnum engine were limited to either an automatic or 4 speed manual shift. Pat chose the 4-speed option and paid $188.05 equivalent to $1446.83 2020 dollars for the transmission.
Ironically, ordering the 440 Magnum engine with a 4 speed manual transmission defaulted to another mandatory option concerning the rear differential. The required differential was the extra heavy duty Dana 60 with Suregrip and 3:54 ratio. The sticker price for this mandatory option was an additional $138.90 equivalent to $1068.67 in 2020 dollars.
So, Pat's decision to have a 375 horsepower 440 Magnum engine and 4 speed manual transmission in his 67 Charger added a whopping $640.55 to the price of the car.....a 20% increase over the base price of $3128.00. For comparison purposes, this is like adding almost $5000.00 for power train options on a 2020 vehicle.
It would be very interesting to know what prompted Pat order a car "his way" as Frank Sinatra sang the words. Turns out Pat's 67 Charger was 1 of only 139 Chargers built with the same combination of engine and transmission. That is only 139 of 15000 Chargers built that year. So, one wonders why Pat was willing to spend the extra money to equip his new car in such a rare way.
I may never know the answer, but I'm glad he did, and I'm thankful to be able, 53 years later, to obtain, drive and care for this extra special piece of motorcar history. The car is, in words of aficionados, is a "survivor car", a car still mostly original after all those years. Kudos to you and your family for taking extraordinary care of it.
I shall be a good steward.
Thanks, Pat
