Have you ever wondered what happens to those cars that are built on a reality TV show? You tune in, you follow the build, there’s glory at the end of the episode, tang then you never see or hear anything about the car again. Every now and then, however, they resurface years later and more often than not, it’s not a pretty sight. Such is the case with the ’68 Charger depicted here.
It’s been fifteen years since famed and legendary car builder, Jimmy Shine of Shine’s Speed Shop, built and sent this 1968 Dodge Charger 180 mph for a TV show filmed in the California desert. Jimmy essentially built the car from scratch; from bare metal, to the finished car — this ’68 Charger was built for triple digit speeds.
After filming ended, this Charger sat in a Hollywood basement for over 15 years. Shine recently got word of the car’s location and bought back the Charger, bringing it home to Shine’s Speed Shop. It was rough, and needed some serious love but was far from being “a goner.”
The Charger had an older set of coilovers with progressive springs, that Shine is now updating to Aldan American’s Striker Series — their double adjustable coilovers, with their own U.S.A.-made linear coil springs. According to our friends at Aldan, the coil-overs were specifically-built for Shine’s reacquired Charger.
This car was equipped with a 526 cubic-inch Indy Cylinder Head HEMI making 750 horsepower on pump gas. Meanwhile, Jimmy has plans to update this car with a fresh 572-cube HEMI and get it back into 200 mph+ condition. We can’t wait to learn more as details progress, but when they do, we’ll be sure to keep you updated!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles; GM, Ford, Dodge, imports, trucks — you name it! When he isn’t clacking away on his keyboard, he’s building, tuning, driving or testing his current crop of personal projects!
