BangShift.com Bringing A $400 1982 Dodge Charger Back To Life Is A Cry For Help

Given that I’m the actually proud owner of a late 1970s Dodge Charger, I usually get thrown into conversations of “what is the worst Charger ever made?” It’s a question usually uttered by people who think that the nameplate only existed between 1968 and 1970… or those who are convinced that if it doesn’t have a Hellcat, it’s not a real car. If you ask me, both of those groups can enjoy their hive-mind mutual satisfaction circle. (We’re a family program here at BangShift!) But just for the humor, what is the worst Charger?

Allow me to toss the early 1980s Dodge Charger into the mix. I’m not talking about the turbo 2.2 cars from 1985-’87 that were little pocket rockets, those have respect. So does anything that has “Shelby” on it. No, I’m talking about the car formerly known as the Dodge Omni 024, the L-body with 84 barely-bothered horsepower driving the front wheels. I don’t mind the way they look. I understand that a compact car that was good for fuel economy was a solid vehicle platform after enduring two energy crisis in the 1970s. But “Charger”? Really?!

I’ve enjoyed seeing people bring dead vehicles back to life, but frankly, who in their right mind would take a long-dead, rusted out early 1980s econo-turd and bring it back to life? Well, this guy did. This isn’t somebody who found the typical “dream car” and knew that they had a good chance of making their money back on the video. This is a guy who is using automotive repair to cope with some kind of trauma. How else would you explain doing all of this work? His shop burned, his BMW burned, and now he’s resorted to building a 2.2-powered tin can.

Somebody give this guy a hug. Or a drink.