Description:
It's no secret that the boys at Best of Show Automotive are big Mopar fans—we love all of the other makes as well, but Mopars hold a special place in our hearts. And, in our minds, the ultimate Mopar and the ultimate car of the muscle car era is the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. With little more than 500 produced, and with the most radical styling ever conceived on a factory produced car, the Charger Daytona is the pinnacle of the era, in our humble opinion.
We do restorations here at Best of Show Automotive (check our website for the current list), and we've seen some spectacular cars, but THIS Charger Daytona is nothing short of amazing. Quite simply, it has ceased being a muscle car and has been transformed into a work of art. Simply put, this is the finest restored 1969 Dodge Daytona we've ever laid my eyes on! Restored painstakingly over a five year period, this Daytona is as good as it gets.
Let's start with the history and documents on this Daytona. To kick things off, present is the ORIGINAL Motor Vehicle Purchase Order and Federal Disclosure Statement between Canoga Dodge, Inc., in Canoga Park, CA, and the original owner, Edward T. Ryan, also of Canoga Park, CA. Purchased on March 19, 1970, the out the door price for this incredible machine was $4,377.23, including tax. Backing this document up is the ORIGINAL Chrysler Corporation warranty booklet made out to Edward T. Ryan, by Canoga Dodge. Further history on this Daytona includes the ORIGINAL California registration papers for the Daytona, beginning March 20, 1970 and running through 1979. Mr. Ryan sold the Daytona in 1979 and even kept the signed Bill of Sale which he must have detached from the title. Oh yeah, we have the original owner’s manual as well. Also present is a four inch stack of documents related to the production specifications of the Daytona, marketing materials, and other historically significant documents. All of these documents will transfer to the new owner of this piece of history.
Ed Ryan was a big fan of the street and show scenes so the car's very well known! He was one of the very first members of Winged Warriors after it grew out of the Los Angeles Road Runner Club and the car was a standout then as well. On our website, you can read escapades with this Daytona back in 1975 on the streets of LA and can see in the pictures it wore all the trappings of the street machine lifestyle, from the slot mags and fat tires to the stance, to the custom blackouts to the decals.
Even cooler, this is one of the only Daytonas to have appeared on the screen! That’s right, if you watched the television show Adam-12 in 1972, you may have seen our Daytona! The episode, titled "Who Won," focused on street racers cleaning up their act and getting on the track for their racing fix. Seeing as this Daytona was a well known terror around Los Angeles and Irwindale Dragstrip (and one that couldn't be missed from space) it was a natural fit! Here's a link to the episode: http://www.hulu.com/watch/46171/adam-12-who-won#x-0,vepisode,1. The Daytona appears at the 10:35 in. It's cool to see any old car in a show, but it's amazing to watch an episode with the same car now sitting in our showroom in fully restored glory! We’re not sure where Ed Ryan is now, but Ed, if you are out there, and you read this, give us a call. We’d like to fly you out here on our dime for some pictures with your old Daytona. In your honor, everyone at Best of Show will dress up in full 1970’s garb and blast some Zeppelin on our 8 track players!
On August 26, 1985, Chip Baldwin paid the princely sum of $19,500.00 for the Daytona from Betty Boop's Car Care in Santa Fe Springs, CA. The Daytona made its way east in 1998 where it landed in Dave Ferro's shop for an every nut & bolt restoration.
To document the restoration process of the Daytona would take volumes. After all, this was a five year project! The Daytona was carefully disassembled and reassembled, piece by piece, with original and new old stock parts, to a standard that one rarely sees.
The body on this Daytona is perfectly straight and a true work of art. The paint work is incredible and easily the best work I've ever seen on a Chrysler B Body. The original steel wheels are present, fully restored to better than new, as are the original dog dish hubcaps, polished and repainted to an extremely high standard. All of the trim and bright-work is concours show quality and perfect. Every piece of glass in the car is date coded correct factory glass, and near perfect. The nose fit on this Daytona is the best I've ever seen ...and I've seen my share.
Present is the ORIGINAL 426 Hemi engine, with the original heads, intake, carburetors, exhaust, starter, radiator and many, many other original or NOS components. The valve covers are original. The air cleaner is original. The engine rebuild was handled by Ray Barton Racing, and was performed to the highest standard. Also present is the ORIGINAL A727 Torqueflite 3 speed automatic transmission, also rebuilt and restored to a high standard. Last, but not least is the ORIGINAL Dana 60 positraction axle, with a 4.10 gear.
The underside of this Daytona is a work of art. Every square inch is detailed and finished perfectly, with upgraded stainless steel lines, clear coated bolt heads, clips and fasteners. A correct Hemi H-pipe exhaust was installed along with correct mufflers, hangers and chrome exhaust tips. The trunk area is also completely restored, with both jacks on hand, and the correct spare (I know, they are not in the photos, but we have them!)
Speaking of the undercarriage, an East Coast restoration shop that “specializes in Mopars” (they wouldn’t tell us who they were) claimed that the HEMI Daytona should have front torque boxes, citing a “survivor” 1969 HEMI Coronet as proof.. To educate them, we verified with Frank Badalson that 1969 Hemi B Body HEMI cars did not have front torque boxes. Only convertibles had them. Further, Frank indicated he’d be very interested in seeing pictures of their “survivor” 1969 HEMI Coronet with front torque boxes, as it would be a 1 of 1. Of course, we never heard back from these guys. They should probably check their “survivor” out a little more closely, as it’s probably a convertible that’s had a top welded onto it! This just goes to show how, in today’s electronic age, with forums populated by guys hiding behind screen names, it’s easy to spread misinformation.
The interior is absolutely perfectly restored, with all restored/NOS hardware and Legendary carpeting, door panels, seat covers, package tray and headliner. The upper door panels are restored, with original emblems. The dash pad is original and restored. The instrument cluster and gauges are original and restored. The kick panels are original and restored. The sill plates are original and restored. The sun-visors are original and restored. The original AM radio is restored and works perfectly. Every instrument and control functions and operates as new. The center console is original and restored. The chrome/painted console top pieces are restored to a very high standard.
Mechanically and cosmetically, this is a brand new 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, finished to a standard that Chrysler could never hope to achieve. Over-restored, for sure! Sorry, we're not going to start artificially aging this work of art to satisfy the "cult of correctness". Would you paint of moustache on the Mona Lisa? NO! And we are not going to spray undercoating on this pristine Daytona!
This Daytona is a special car … after all, it’s a HEMI Daytona. If you want the very best ... a perfect, extremely well documented, numbers matching 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Hemi with one of the coolest histories you will ever find ... this is the one you want!
We do restorations here at Best of Show Automotive (check our website for the current list), and we've seen some spectacular cars, but THIS Charger Daytona is nothing short of amazing. Quite simply, it has ceased being a muscle car and has been transformed into a work of art. Simply put, this is the finest restored 1969 Dodge Daytona we've ever laid my eyes on! Restored painstakingly over a five year period, this Daytona is as good as it gets.
Let's start with the history and documents on this Daytona. To kick things off, present is the ORIGINAL Motor Vehicle Purchase Order and Federal Disclosure Statement between Canoga Dodge, Inc., in Canoga Park, CA, and the original owner, Edward T. Ryan, also of Canoga Park, CA. Purchased on March 19, 1970, the out the door price for this incredible machine was $4,377.23, including tax. Backing this document up is the ORIGINAL Chrysler Corporation warranty booklet made out to Edward T. Ryan, by Canoga Dodge. Further history on this Daytona includes the ORIGINAL California registration papers for the Daytona, beginning March 20, 1970 and running through 1979. Mr. Ryan sold the Daytona in 1979 and even kept the signed Bill of Sale which he must have detached from the title. Oh yeah, we have the original owner’s manual as well. Also present is a four inch stack of documents related to the production specifications of the Daytona, marketing materials, and other historically significant documents. All of these documents will transfer to the new owner of this piece of history.
Ed Ryan was a big fan of the street and show scenes so the car's very well known! He was one of the very first members of Winged Warriors after it grew out of the Los Angeles Road Runner Club and the car was a standout then as well. On our website, you can read escapades with this Daytona back in 1975 on the streets of LA and can see in the pictures it wore all the trappings of the street machine lifestyle, from the slot mags and fat tires to the stance, to the custom blackouts to the decals.
Even cooler, this is one of the only Daytonas to have appeared on the screen! That’s right, if you watched the television show Adam-12 in 1972, you may have seen our Daytona! The episode, titled "Who Won," focused on street racers cleaning up their act and getting on the track for their racing fix. Seeing as this Daytona was a well known terror around Los Angeles and Irwindale Dragstrip (and one that couldn't be missed from space) it was a natural fit! Here's a link to the episode: http://www.hulu.com/watch/46171/adam-12-who-won#x-0,vepisode,1. The Daytona appears at the 10:35 in. It's cool to see any old car in a show, but it's amazing to watch an episode with the same car now sitting in our showroom in fully restored glory! We’re not sure where Ed Ryan is now, but Ed, if you are out there, and you read this, give us a call. We’d like to fly you out here on our dime for some pictures with your old Daytona. In your honor, everyone at Best of Show will dress up in full 1970’s garb and blast some Zeppelin on our 8 track players!
On August 26, 1985, Chip Baldwin paid the princely sum of $19,500.00 for the Daytona from Betty Boop's Car Care in Santa Fe Springs, CA. The Daytona made its way east in 1998 where it landed in Dave Ferro's shop for an every nut & bolt restoration.
To document the restoration process of the Daytona would take volumes. After all, this was a five year project! The Daytona was carefully disassembled and reassembled, piece by piece, with original and new old stock parts, to a standard that one rarely sees.
The body on this Daytona is perfectly straight and a true work of art. The paint work is incredible and easily the best work I've ever seen on a Chrysler B Body. The original steel wheels are present, fully restored to better than new, as are the original dog dish hubcaps, polished and repainted to an extremely high standard. All of the trim and bright-work is concours show quality and perfect. Every piece of glass in the car is date coded correct factory glass, and near perfect. The nose fit on this Daytona is the best I've ever seen ...and I've seen my share.
Present is the ORIGINAL 426 Hemi engine, with the original heads, intake, carburetors, exhaust, starter, radiator and many, many other original or NOS components. The valve covers are original. The air cleaner is original. The engine rebuild was handled by Ray Barton Racing, and was performed to the highest standard. Also present is the ORIGINAL A727 Torqueflite 3 speed automatic transmission, also rebuilt and restored to a high standard. Last, but not least is the ORIGINAL Dana 60 positraction axle, with a 4.10 gear.
The underside of this Daytona is a work of art. Every square inch is detailed and finished perfectly, with upgraded stainless steel lines, clear coated bolt heads, clips and fasteners. A correct Hemi H-pipe exhaust was installed along with correct mufflers, hangers and chrome exhaust tips. The trunk area is also completely restored, with both jacks on hand, and the correct spare (I know, they are not in the photos, but we have them!)
Speaking of the undercarriage, an East Coast restoration shop that “specializes in Mopars” (they wouldn’t tell us who they were) claimed that the HEMI Daytona should have front torque boxes, citing a “survivor” 1969 HEMI Coronet as proof.. To educate them, we verified with Frank Badalson that 1969 Hemi B Body HEMI cars did not have front torque boxes. Only convertibles had them. Further, Frank indicated he’d be very interested in seeing pictures of their “survivor” 1969 HEMI Coronet with front torque boxes, as it would be a 1 of 1. Of course, we never heard back from these guys. They should probably check their “survivor” out a little more closely, as it’s probably a convertible that’s had a top welded onto it! This just goes to show how, in today’s electronic age, with forums populated by guys hiding behind screen names, it’s easy to spread misinformation.
The interior is absolutely perfectly restored, with all restored/NOS hardware and Legendary carpeting, door panels, seat covers, package tray and headliner. The upper door panels are restored, with original emblems. The dash pad is original and restored. The instrument cluster and gauges are original and restored. The kick panels are original and restored. The sill plates are original and restored. The sun-visors are original and restored. The original AM radio is restored and works perfectly. Every instrument and control functions and operates as new. The center console is original and restored. The chrome/painted console top pieces are restored to a very high standard.
Mechanically and cosmetically, this is a brand new 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, finished to a standard that Chrysler could never hope to achieve. Over-restored, for sure! Sorry, we're not going to start artificially aging this work of art to satisfy the "cult of correctness". Would you paint of moustache on the Mona Lisa? NO! And we are not going to spray undercoating on this pristine Daytona!
This Daytona is a special car … after all, it’s a HEMI Daytona. If you want the very best ... a perfect, extremely well documented, numbers matching 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Hemi with one of the coolest histories you will ever find ... this is the one you want!
I love the look of this car. The power of a muscle car meets the sleek lines of a car from the 80's!
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Kind of reminds me of a cross between the Charger and an old Firebird!