1969 Dodge Charger Nuremberg Daytona Project Car – Part 3
This Daytona is a very rare example that disappeared from public view for approximately 30 years. The initial assembly of the Dodge Daytona began as a 1969 Charger RT at the factory on May 29, 1969. It then went to Creative Industries for the completion of its conversion into a Daytona. From there, they shipped it to Bill Breck Dodge in Colorado Springs on August 26, 1969. It was the 140th Daytona shipped from Creative Industries. If anyone has any additional knowledge, photos, or information on this car, I would greatly appreciate being contacted at rfleener@comcast.net or calling Richard at 615-624-3724. I would especially like to talk with or get information about the original owner.
This Daytona left the factory as a T7 paint code dark metallic bronze 440 cubic inch 4-speed with tan interior. Most of these cars were painted in brighter colors and came with automatic transmissions. Sold new in Colorado Springs to a US Army soldier for $4,500, evidence strongly suggests that it enjoyed a serious drag racing life. When the soldier shipped off to the Nuremberg Army Base in Germany in 1972 the Daytona went with him. This big US car with its strange nose and huge rear wing must have been quite a sight in Germany.
By this time, the Daytona had a special transmission, traction bars, and other modifications added to further enhance its speed and acceleration. Around 1973, the original owner sold it for $2,000 to another US Army soldier on the Nuremberg base who did an orange repaint on the car. He also shredded the Dana 60 rear end during a drag race. They replaced it with the smaller 8 ¾” rear that was still in the car when I discovered it in southern California in 2013. The original Dana gear ratio had been changed to 4.56 when it was destroyed. The new replacement gear was a 3.23 ratio.
The second owner was not mechanically inclined. By 1975, he had a wife and a small baby. The Daytona was always breaking down, and he desperately needed a more reliable car to take his family out on cruises. In steps his friend who would become the Daytona’s third owner. His friend loved speed and had a great reliable 1966 Ford Galaxie, for $600 and the Galaxie, the third owner, took possession. The new owner has stated that the car was the first American car in the Nuremberg 250 km/h Club. This was a club for cars and owners who could maintain speeds in excess of 250 km/h (156.43 mph) on the German Autobahn! 250 km/h was terribly fast back then, only in the realm of Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, the new-at-the-time 911 Turbo, BMW CSL, etc. and the Dodge Daytona.
The following is a portion of the story as reported in the April 1977 Winged Warriors Newsletter:
I drove this car during high school in 1983 until my brother blew the transmission. It was a lot of fun and of the 6 kids in our familiy I was the only one allowed to drive it dailey. I can’t wait to see the car fully restored. My dad bought the car sometime in the 70’s and always wanted to have it restored. It was always garaged and still in remarkable condition upon his passing at which time my mother chose to sell the car so it could be restored the way my dad always wanted.