1968 Dodge Charger is a rust bucket but has the biggest surprise waiting for the driver
- Meet ‘Tater’, a 1968 Dodge Charger
- Every single panel is eaten out by rust
- Its motor home engine with a big supercharger might surprise you
Published on Sep 26, 2024 at 2:54 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Oct 04, 2024 at 7:40 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Meet ‘Tater’, a 1968 Dodge Charger whose bark is much louder than his bite can deliver.
Every single panel is eaten out by rust.
However, every time it breaks down, its YouTuber owner repairs it until it’s kaput again.
Plus, he admits its old 500HP motorhome engine with a big supercharger stacked on top is ‘like lipstick on top of a pig’.
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1968 Dodge Charger modifications
While this was Westen Champlin’s dream car since he was a kid, this 1968 Dodge Charger has broken and been fixed so many times that it’s practically morphed into a monster.
While it’s a pile of rust, Champlin modified just about everything under its hood.
“While you guys weren’t looking we fixed the engine so the engine runs really, really good now,” he begins.
“We put brand new steering, a brand new steering box, power steering, and power brakes – so while this car looks like and still has major holes in the floorboard, it runs and drives like a brand new ’69 Charger.”
The surprise under the hood
However, aside from all those changes, it’s the 500HP motor home engine with a big supercharger stacked on top that grabs attention at the gas station after the car breaks down and has to be pushed.
That engine pumps out ‘at least 1,000 horsepower,’ Westen jokes when asked what it’s packing, although he clarifies that it’s probably closer to 500.
“Lipstick on a pig, that is exactly what that motor is,” he jokes.
“I love this car so much!” he shouts nonetheless so that he can be heard above the roar of its questionable engine.
In other car surprises, this restorer found a rare ex-police 1964 Dodge 880 with something unexpected inside.
Meanwhile, this guy bought a rare 100-year-old Packard Six with a cool surprise in the back.
Last but not least, this trio of abandoned 1958 Lincoln Continentals have a cool surprise under the hood.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
