Careful onlookers immediately knew that a chrome rectangular tag on the door meant HEMI, From this angle, the positioning of the Coronet grill into the stock Charger sheetmetal is evident.
 Power windows were a luxury few people opted for in 1969; the panel on the driver’s side door controlled all four, while there were single controls for the others. Kids loved ‘em… |
At the rear, the ‘flying butressed’ rear window area was replaced with a plug that moved the new rear window up flush with the body lines, and Creative would finish them with partial repainting and a special ‘500’ scat stripe around the rear. The name 500 has been stated to be based on either the Daytona 500 or the 500 unit minimum that NASCAR required be built. Regardless, in the 1960s, stating 500 meant performance, period. In the end, most people agree that 392 500s were actually built and the numbers may have been fudged to the sanctioning body.
Obviously, the future Charger Daytona was named for that racing facility, and it was there in the winter of early 1969 that the Charger 500 met its Waterloo. Winning that race in Florida was the biggest deal in the sport, and losing was likewise the most visible defeat during the factory wars. While Dodge had been busy with their new 500, Ford engineers had also been smoothing out some of the rough edges on their models. The two new cars would be the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II and the Torino Talladega, named for a brand-new track then under construction in Alabama. While the performance of the three cars was pretty close to identical, during the money day, LeeRoy Yarborough’s Talledega got past Charlie Glotzbach’s new 500 in the final moments of the race. By less than a car-length, Ford got all the headlines, and the Charger 500 was an also-ran.
Here is the decklid showing the remounted springs.
We all know what happened next; the dejected engineers regrouped and figured out some even more radical changes to the Charger – a pointed nose and a big rear deck wing with upsweep vertical spoilers. Dodge racing boss Bob McCurry always said, ‘the name of the game is win,’ and this new car would become the heavyweight the 500 wanted to be.
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| Small chrome callouts stating 500 were mounted in the grille and on the lower area of the valance beneath the passenger-side taillight. | In an age when showcars rarely show sign of wear, the evidence of black carbon on the AFBs means this car has been Tim’s regular transportation to his office, several miles away. Due to racing politics, NASCAR Hemis could use only one four-barrel, while Ford side-oilers could use two. |
As for the Wellborns, well, they are happy to have what is likely the highest-optioned 500 ever built. And Tim has a Hemi Daytona (a couple of them, in fact) as well. The middleweight era may have ended quickly, but it was an important stop in the development of Chrysler’s racing heritage.