Richard Petty Charger Pics... Other 3rd Gen NASCAR Chargers Too.

[TruckDriver]

Seems every so often, someone asks for these, so here you are.



The real deal, not models










I had to include these rare pics of Richard and his Magnum




The bottom pic is a old post card

[Ghoste]

The postcard and the Magnum pics are really cool.  It's too bad they did that to him with the Magnum.  Might as well have put a 4X8 sheet of plywood across the front of that car.

[Brock Samson]

 
I always thought the petty cars were the class of the field,.. lotta great iron buried under level cross,.. ya did know they buried most the old race cars right?.. 

[Lowprofile]

All hail the King!

[Ghoste]

Technically, didn't they originally just push them into a small ravine behind the shop and when they built on just filled in the ravine (as opposed to purposely burying them as soon as they were done with them)?

[TruckDriver]

I remember a interveiw with richard on tv once, that he said his dad would just crush them with a bulldozer, then push them into a ditch. Then when the ditch was full, they would cover the remains with dirt. Kind sad now to hear.

[greenpigs]

They could turn some serious change if they had kept the rides, but who would expect an old race car to be worth anything...I guess.

[Brock Samson]

maybe they could grow like some crazy oh, neer mind.. 

[hotrod98]

I don't think that they would be worth all that much. They were just worn out chassis and beat up bodies for the most part. They would strip them and transfer most of the hardware to the new chassis/body. Things were different back then. They didn't have the big budgets to just throw complete cars away. The only valuable parts may have been some of the wing car parts. I don't think it would have been smart to store them for 30 + years taking up warehouse space.

[dkn1997]

they actually dug up his old drag car. there was an article way back about it.  nothing left of it, but you could see the blue paint still. 

[Brock Samson]

truth be told alot of the cars were cobbeled togeather year after yr... they'd just update the bodywork...

[Lowprofile]

they actually dug up his old drag car. there was an article way back about it.   nothing left of it, but you could see the blue paint still.  

Here's a pic of that old drag car..... go figure, I had a pic!  LOL!

[BigBlackDodge]

On the buried cars........

Mopar Muscle '93 interview with Petty.

(On the wrecked superbird) Petty, "There wasn't anything left of it. It's back there in the graveyard somewhere."

Interviewer, "In the graveyard? You have a graveyard of old cars out behind your shop?"

Petty, "Yes. Under about 15 to 20 feet of dirt. There's nothing sticking up."



BBD

[NHCharger]

I read a story somewhere about the cars buried in their yard. One time they were in desperate need of some Superbird parts. Plymouth called the local dealer and had them bring a new bird over to Petty's shop. They picked a few pieces off it and then pushed the entire car into the ravine. They began burying the cars when people began sneaking onto the property to try and scavenge parts.

[TruckDriver]

I managed to find this rare pic of Dale Earnhardts Charger



And this of Marty Robbins car

[cudaken]

 I visted his shop around 1977 and yes they did bury cars behind the shop. Dumped some NOS bird stock in there as well. They where NASCAR parts but still NOS. Bunch of blowen up HEMI parts as well.

Due to the KING I am a Mopar Man, Dad was a big fan of his and bought my Runner new in 68. Good thing Dad did not waite till 69 to buy a new car.


                            Cuda Ken

[Lowprofile]

The "Bird" in action.

[TruckDriver]

Due to the KING I am a Mopar Man
              Cuda Ken

Also the main reason I lean towards the third gen Chargers. Although my favorite is the '69 still.

[hemihead]

His Magnum was actually his 73 Charger chassis rebodied.

[69_500]

There would have been plenty of money in storing those old race cars for the past 30+ years. Lets see here, one of the Kings origional race cars, that was used for more than 1 season has been restored to race specs and is said to be up for sale for $1 Million. I would say that would cover all cost of storage for 30 years. Imagine if that had been the Superbird, or the 67 GTX he went on the incredible winning streak with.

[hotrod98]

Would you be willing to pay for building a warehouse, paying the insurance, taxes and maintenance to keep some old race cars that you thought might have some value say around the year 2035?  At today's prices, you would be out around say 2 grand a month or more for the next thirty years, but the cars will be worth say 5 million dollars by that time. You would be out close to a million dollars trying to take car of those old cars and hope like hell that the economy stays intact long enough to recoup your investment. Even if the Pettys thought that they might be worth something later on, they were more interested in building new winning race cars than worrying about keeping some old worn out equipment as a future investment. That's the difference between collectors and racers.
I owned one of the few rear engined Woody Gilmore dragsters in the 70's and also owned Dickie Harrell's 69 funny car. They're worth a lot more money today than what I sold them for in the 70's, but I don't regret not keeping them. I wouldn't have wanted the hassle of storing them for all those years. I have enough trouble storing the 15 cars that I have now. Between batteries and brakes, I have a hell of a time just keeping these cars drivable. I'm having a new building built to keep some of the cars in just so that I can have my shop back. I probably should just sell some of the cars and not build the new garage.

[TruckDriver]

I found these tonight...


The '74-'75 car.

[TruckDriver]

Here's a rare pic of the '72 Petty Charger. I forget who the driver is.. Dick Brooks?

[hemihead]

I believe that to be Buddy Baker.

[BigBlackDodge]

I believe that to be Buddy Baker.

BBD

[TruckDriver]

I thought so too, but when I found these pics, they had a pic of the K & K #71 Charger model when Buddy drove it. So that threw me.  

[6pkrunner]

A few of the third Gens of the King's I got.

[6pkrunner]

[1970440RT]

Part of their deal with Chrysler was to destroy any old or unused obsolete parts.  I guess it was kind of convenient they happened to have a ravine and a bulldozer.  That is going to be some sweet archaeological site someday!

[69_500]

I know what your saying about building a storage faciltiy and keeping the cars in there for the next 30 years. I wasn't meaning Petty Enterprises to do that. I was meaning maybe some individuals. I know that Petty Enterpirse like many others sold off bodies, and engines after they had used them to local racers, and people who raced in other circuits. After those people raced them, many were sold to individuals who raced, some who just wanted some parts. Same thing goes on today. Look at how you can buy a race engine from Petty Enterprises.

[Ghoste]

I thought Dick Brooks drove #32?  Buddy Baker did drive a #11 car when he drove for Petty Enterprises.  Brooks also rode #22 for a short spell I believe.

[69_500]

I believe t hat there was a lot of car swapping back in the day in NASCAR. Many of the teams owned the Numbers and then they would sign a short contract with a driver. So say one drove for the first 8 races of the season with their team then they were free to run the last 40 races with another team.

[greatwn73]

Not all of the petty cars were crushed, you just have to know where to find them. The 67 plymouth lives in his museum in  North Carolina along with a few other famous cars.

first petty enterprises

[greatwn73]

I'll try to do this oldest to newest.

[greatwn73]

I know its a ford

[greatwn73]

3rd gen charger

[greatwn73]

last of the bunch, the last car is the one he drove in his last race

[hemihead]

I see two of his most favorite and successful cars there - the 66 Satellite and the 2nd Gen Charger ( that is a 72, his best one was the 73-74).
Beyond popular belief the Superbird was not his favorite,that was and is just good PR.

[JohnnyBee]

This one was used to promote the New Charger.

[Ghoste]

I wonder if all of those cars are the actual cars from the track or if some are recreations?

[TruckDriver]

This one was used to promote the New Charger.

Awsome pic Johnny! That will be going on my computer wall paper!