This pristine 1968 Hemi Charger still belongs to its original owner, Dennis Marines. Dennis ordered the Charger at Civic Center Dodge in downtown Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, March 9, 1968. The car was built on Thursday, May 9, 1968. He drove it home on Tuesday, June 11, 1968.

This is a numbers matching car in all respects. The serial numbers, body codes, individual component part numbers and date codes all match. The Charger retains its original (from the air cleaner to the oil pan) Hemi engine, TorqueFlite automatic transmission and the 3:23 8-3/4 Sure Grip differential, as well as all of its original sheet metal, glass and the entire interior.

The only restoration that has been done to this car was in August, 1992 when the exterior was repainted in its original EE1 Dark Blue Metallic. Dennis has purposely limited parts replacement to just a few normal wear items and, whenever possible, he used NOS parts.

How rare is Dennis' Charger? It is one of only 475 1968 Hemi Chargers built. It is one of only three 1968 Hemi Chargers known to exist with EE1 Dark Blue Metallic paint and it is the ONLY one known to exist with an automatic transmission in that color! Note that the Charger's air cleaner has been autographed by Big Daddy Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney.

Included here are a collection of detail photos of the Charger's engine compartment and trunk for use as a reference for a correct 1968 Hemi Charger restoration. Pay special attention to the close-up photo of the battery to the left in the third row. Dennis reports that "This photo shows the correct 1968 application for my Charger. Chrysler changed the negative battery cable design on the 1968 street Hemi cars from the straight head design to the offset head design as shown in this photo. The offset design is found on most, if not all, late 1968 Hemis and all 1969 Hemi cars."

LEFT: The battery and battery box have been removed because it is very difficult to see some of the details with them on. The Hemi power steering pump is an original that has been professionally rebuilt. Note that the vented cap (made by Stant) is correctly painted semi-gloss black, not natural or cad plated. The Hemi high pressure power steering hose is an NOS 1968 hose, with the correct pre-production date code. This hose was a 1968 design only. The vacuum canister ("tomato juice can") for the hideaway headlights is an original piece, used on all 1968-70 Chargers. The lower radiator hose is a correct reproduction hose from Frank Badalson (Roger Gibson Restorations). It has the correct 1968 part and vendor number. The Hemi oil breather cap is the original chrome part. Note the correct style original hose clamps. Note the Hemi oil dipstick. This is the original dipstick, used on all 1966-71 street Hemi cars. The white color rubberized heat insulator on the handle was the only color known to be used on the production line during this period. Other so-called NOS Hemi dipsticks with colored handles (mostly red) are really later, over-the-counter Mopar replacements. Additionally, some Hemi reproduction dipsticks with the white plastic heat shrink type heat insulator are also incorrect.

MIDDLE: The Bendix Hemi-only power disc brake master cylinder is the original 1968 master cylinder that has been professionally rebuilt. Please note that both the master cylinder and cover are painted a semi-gloss black, as was the Hemi-only power brake vacuum booster. Bendix painted the entire power disc brake assembly semi-gloss black, before sending it to Chrysler.

RIGHT: Correct NOS voltage regulator, dated 15 8.

LEFT: This is a close up of the original radio noise suppression capacitor. It is mounted near the ignition coil, and you can also see it in the coil photo at far right.

MIDDLE: This is a close up of my correct date-coded spark plug wires. 168 means they were manufactured in the 1st quarter of 1968.

RIGHT: I recently put a new ignition coil on the Charger from "Almost NOS", located in Wisconsin. It has the correct logo, part numbers and date code, which is 158 for my car. The so-called NOS coils sold on eBay and from other vendors are simply over the (Mopar) counter items that anyone can readily purchase. They are generally 1972-75 vintage and are not even close to correct for 1966-69. Hemi restoration expert Frank Badalson (of Roger Gibson Restorations) informs me that the OEM 1966-69 Hemi coils only used green ink, never white or yellow.

LEFT: Here is the original 1968 Hemi-only automatic transmission oil cooler.

MIDDLE: This is the original 1968-only radiator part number.

RIGHT: This is a Roger Gibson Restorations (available through Frank Badalson) washer bottle (aged, i.e. yellowed) with my original 1968 plain cap.

LEFT and MIDDLE: After 30-plus years, most of the original Hemi dipstick heat insulators are badly cracked, turned brown or are totally missing. I have perfected a very correct looking white rubberized Hemi dipstick heat insulator, using my own original Hemi dipstick insulator as a pattern. This is NOT heat shrink plastic. After several months of testing my heat insulator on my own Charger and a friend's 1968 Hemi GTX (which is driven quite a bit), I have found it to be durable. I guarantee that any street Hemi owner will not have any judging points removed with my quality reproduction Hemi dipstick heat insulator. I expect this insulator to age "gracefully" as the originals did, eventually first turning to a cream color, then to a light to medium brown color. These changes in color over time are due to the very high under-hood temperatures generated by the Hemi engine and greasy fingers. The insulators should last many years under normal "abuse". There were many subtle changes that took place in production, from month-to-month, year-to-year and even from B-body Hemi cars to the later E-body Hemi cars, but the dipstick did stay the same over the full six years of street Hemi production. Since this is a custom installation, you will need to send me your original or reproduction Hemi dipstick and I will install the insulator. The photos here show my original Hemi Charger dipstick that I recently restored. Please contact me for additional information at: (402) 896-0733 or send me an E-mail at: hemiden@tconl.com. I will also be happy to answer any questions about my Hemi Charger shown here.

RIGHT: This is the original Hemi fan clutch. The B 10 I in the center of the fan clutch is a date code. This particular code is February 10, 1968.

LEFT: The Hemi high performance "gold" oil filter is an NOS original production-line Hemi oil filter.

MIDDLE: This shows the correct "Q" clamp used to clamp the chrome exhaust extension. You can also see the NOS Hemi resonator and the reproduction date-coded Hemi "squashed" muffler in this photo.

RIGHT: Here is a photo of the Hemi Charger's original 1968 dog dish hubcaps

LEFT: The original steering wheel, column shifter and left side of the dash. The shifter was located on the column because I opted for the center seat, or "buddy seat", as opposed to the floor shifter.

MIDDLE: The original Tic-Toc-Tach and speedometer unit. Note that it shows the original mileage on my Hemi Charger of 46,362 miles.

RIGHT: This illustrates the original gauges (all work), and a partial shot of the 3-speed wiper switch and windshield washer switch.

LEFT: This is the original AM/8-Track unit.

MIDDLE: Another shot of the AM/8-Track unit, also showing the lower dash pad for non-air conditioned cars.

RIGHT: Again, my original AM/8-Track unit, this time with an original 1968 Dodge demo tape inserted. The 8-Track demo tape was given out at the local dealership, from their stock, for any new car that came with the AM/8-Track stereo radio. The tape is all easy listening music (orchestra and some vocal), and was produced by Columbia House specifically for Chrysler Corporation. It's about one hour long. I have never seen this particular Dodge 8-Track tape, which was made specifically for 1968 Dodge cars only, offered for sale after many years of looking, so it's pretty rare. Another interesting thing about the "thumbwheel" AM/8-Track radios is that you could order two rear speakers with a front/rear fader control from the factory. I never did, and who knows why because it was only a few bucks more?! The sound from the tape was much better than average for 1968, however it's laughable by today's standards.

LEFT: The driver's side door panel, with the original arm rest.

MIDDLE: Front bucket seats with the original seat covers. This also clearly shows the optional "buddy seat".

RIGHT: This is a sample of the original carpet; note the pattern and pile used in 1968. The color of the carpet is actually blacker than shown.

LEFT: This is the original Certicard for my Hemi Charger. The top row shows the complete VIN number. The lower row reads: CCX=All black interior; EE1=Dark blue metallic paint; T5=Automatic transmission; SG=Sure Grip; 0509=Scheduled production date (May 9, 1968). The tape rows are my name and address at the time of order/delivery of the car, and the actual delivery date.

MIDDLE: This photo of my fender tag not only shows the car's data, but more importantly, it shows the original fender tag screw heads. Note that the right screw head is painted body color, and the left screw head is not. This is correct for almost all of our beloved 60's Mopars, at least up to and including 1971. This factory practice may have gone on for many years after that. This little piece of detailing is often overlooked by many of us.

RIGHT: The cover of the original 1968 Hemi Charger owner's manual. It's a lot different from a regular 1968 Charger owner's manual. It also includes the unique 12-month Hemi-only warranty information.