Could this Limelight Charger be more rare than an R/T?

Are they still out there? “Damn right they are!” winks Rick Chapman…

Rick Chapman can only be described as a car hunter with an eclectic collection of machines, made up mostly of classics that tickled his fancy when he was a lad.

“I’ve known the fellow for about 8 years, but hadn’t seen him for ages. I always knew he had a Charger, but I’d never seen it…” Rick begins. “Anyway, I recently came into some money and was thinking of restoring my HQ GTS, but the length of time for the resto didn’t suit me, so I thought, ‘stuff it, I’ll import a turn-key Mustang from the US instead’, but I was advised to wait for better weather over there in order to get a better deal.”

As fate would have it, Rick bumped into the owner of this barn find Charger whilst parking at the local library. “I ran into him and we chatted for a bit, so I asked him if he still had the Charger,” says Rick, “which he did, but hadn’t touched it in years.” The next day Rick went to see it, where it had been parked up in a small garage since the 1990s.

Opening up the roller door, the dusty Limelight Charger greeted him with huge after-market spotlights and that big toothy VJ grin. In fact, if the VJ front grille can be described as teeth, then most were like the Ten Commandments on this one – all broken! “It was a tight squeeze in that garage, so we pulled her out by the front bumper bar,” tells Rick as the Charger was prised out from the grasp of 20 years of cobwebs.

Last registered in 1999, the Charger coupe had been garaged ever since and still wore most of its original Limelight paint work. The dark saddle C1 coded trim has been well preserved almost as new, with the vinyl covering still soft and pliable, even the original carpet is still fitted. In fact, apart from the 770 dash cluster with tacho that a previous owner had put in it, the cabin is as it left the factory.

Completed on Friday the 12th of October 1973, the Charger was ordered as floor stock by Harvey Drew Chrysler of Bankstown, NSW and sold to its first owner two months later on Saturday the 15th of December 1973.

It was 1 of 122 Limelight units built with the C1 trim, and 245cid Hemi six with three-speed floor-shift, however the engine was upgraded to a 265cid Hemi coupled to a four-speed manual in the early 1990s. Only four such VJ Chargers were ever made with exactly the same specifications and options which included power brakes and 185SR 14 black side wall tyres.

After digging through some old paperwork and receipts found in the glovebox, Rick established the Charger was bought from a Pastor from the township of Cootamundra, New South Wales in 1994. The receipts found indicated the Pastor had the 770 dash cluster and mag wheels fitted. “About two years ago, old mate with the Charger felt inspired and fitted a new brake master cylinder and brake pads, but lost interest again,” tells Rick of his bonus with the brakes being recommissioned.

As luck would have it, the Charger was up for sale. After a closer look to establish the Charger indeed had a solid body, Rick was particularly stoked that it was in the same colour combo he had planned with his old Charger before selling it. “We shook hands on the deal right there and then,” says Rick, “and pushed her back inside until I collected her later.” With a new battery and some fresh fuel Rick says, “she fired up first kick!”

Rick’s plans are to give the Charger a decent cut and polish and enjoy it on weekends as a family cruiser.

Source: Survivor Car Australia

What do you think of the VJ Charger? What'd be your plans for it if you had one? Tell us in the comments.