A true “barn find.” This special, one of one, 1971 Australian Charger R/T with a factory optioned automatic transmission and power steering, was spotted in 1989 sitting atop of a stack of cars in a wrecker’s yard in Wales, UK. It was the victim of an oil pump failure, ten previous owners, and the UK’s heavily salted roads. It had 90,000 miles on the clock and rust throughout the body and frame.

Despite the car’s poor condition, it was rescued and purchased by Tony John—a Welsh car enthusiast serving in the British army at the time—with the intent of getting it back on the road. Sadly, the restoration never eventuated, and the car remained in storage and Tony’s ownership for the next thirteen years.

The next owner was Stephen Harrison, a UK Chrysler enthusiast who heard rumours of an Australian Charger R/T in Cardiff Wales. After a two-year search, he tracked down Tony John and purchased the Charger in December 2001. Stephen initially thought the automatic transmission was a modification done by a previous owner, but when members of the UK Charger club checked the VIN numbers with the Australian Chrysler factory build list, the astonishing discovery was made that not only was this car a factory automatic, but also the only Charger R/T automatic ever built.

Like the previous owner, Stephen Harrison planned to restore the Charger R/T, but after seven years of tinkering and sectional rust repairs, he conceded that the skills and costs to restore this special car were beyond his capacity, so he put the R/T up for sale.

Enter the current owner, Stephen Gay, an avid Australian/Canadian MOPAR fan and owner, and a former Treasurer of the Charger Club of Victoria.

In 2008, Stephen was living in London UK when his good friend and fellow Victoria Charger Club member Arnold Patch informed him that the elusive Charger R/T automatic –featured in the “Hey Charger” book by Gavin Farmer and Gary Bridger—was for sale. Stephen found the listing on eBay UK and contacted owner Stephen Harrison, who had the car garaged in nearby Braintree Essex.

Since the time the car had featured in the “Hey Charger” book, it had experienced some rough panel and paintwork, and on first sight it was somewhat unrecognizable relative to the original pictures in the book. All the important body numbers matched, and the “Special Order Accepted” (SOA) number was there, but the engine block number was for a standard 265 auto rather than the “HP 218bhp engine” that Stephen expected to find.

Stephen phoned Gary Bridger in NZ for a second opinion, and Gary explained that the engine number anomaly was due to it being a one-off auto built using a VH 770 model Charger as the basis rather than using an original Charger R/T converted to an automatic. After an extensive and expensive international phone consultation and a double-checking of all the VIN numbers and features, both Gary and Stephen were satisfied that the car was the real thing.

Despite the car’s daunting condition, Stephen Gay purchased the Charger R/T automatic and became its first Australian owner. Within ten weeks, the car was approved for return to Australia and was transported to the port of Southampton UK, where it began its seaward journey back to its country of origin. The car arrived in Melbourne Victoria in June 2009 at a total landed cost of more than AUD $37,000

In December 2009 the car was delivered to Valiant Spares and Repairs (in Bayswater VIC at the time, and now in Croydon VIC) and placed in the care of Valiant specialist Brad McKenzie. The car was completely stripped down to the frame for assessment, existing parts were documented, missing parts were tallied, and quotes were sought from only the bravest of body shops to take on the rust repairs.

The original recommendation after disassembly was that the car was beyond repair and should be crushed. However, during disassembly, the odd “VH8S29” Chrysler export compliance VIN plate was discovered (in very poor condition), again confirming the car’s authenticity and rarity, and reaffirming Stephen’s foolhardy desire to bring this car back to life.

The massive task of restoring the badly rusted body and frame was undertaken by Glenn Maggs, a specialist in restoring rusted/wrecked Alfa Romeos at Black Edge Autobody (in Bayswater VIC). After Glenn provided some breathtaking and uncapped cost “guestimates,” Stephen gave the approval to proceed on a “time and materials” basis, and the restoration began in May 2010.

Glenn initially recommended that a donor Charger be used to completely replace the rear clip of the car, but this was dismissed by Stephen as it would have diminished the car’s authenticity and cost the life of another Charger. Instead, an extra AUD $12,000 was spent for hand-fabricating, welding and repairing the entire rear clip of the car, on top of the extensive and expensive costs incurred for replacement of the firewall and floor, and sectional repairs to the frame. It took some five years for the Black Edge Autobody team to complete all the rust repair work in what Glenn described as the biggest restoration job they had ever undertaken.

In April 2015, the body received its final coat of paint by long-time car painter Allan Gibson, also of Black Edge Autobody at that time. The all-important R/T stripes were then measured and masked up by R/T expert Paul Norris of Elko Performance (in Croydon VIC) using a survivor E38 Charger R/T for the template. Allan finished the painted stripes in factory-correct satin black.

From there, the car was transported back to Valiant Spares and Repairs, where Brad McKenzie, Jared Pich and Paul Norris rebuilt or sourced all the high-quality R/T parts required for final assembly and detailing of the Charger R/T back to original factory specifications and standards.

The car’s restoration was completed late February 2016, and the original VIN tag was cleaned up and fitted to the firewall. Thankfully, the team at Black Edge Autobody had managed to save the original inner guard with the all-important body and SOA numbers clearly stamped on it which further ensured and maintained the car’s provenance and authenticity.

On 17th March 2016, the car was officially inspected and approved by VIC Roads and fully registered with the VIC license plate “RT AUTO.” The restoration had taken seven years, around 1,150 professional man-hours and well beyond AUD $50,000 in parts and panels to complete.

That same month, this unique and special Valiant Charger R/T automatic had its first public display at the annual “Chryslers on the Murray” car show at Albury/Wodonga NSW. It was the stand-out star of the show, with crowds of admirers flocking around the car throughout the weekend. At the final day’s prize giving, the Charger was awarded the “Leo Geoghegan Memorial Trophy,” which was presented by Leo’s sister, Marie-Louise Howard, and trophied as one of the auspicious and coveted ‘Top Five” Australian Chryslers of the event.

According to Gary Bridger, co-author of Hey Charger, the rescue of this one-off Charger in the UK and subsequent return to Australia ranks as one of the most significant Australian car restoration stories ever told.

Since that first unveiling at Chryslers on the Murray, the car has won a number of additional trophies at that annual event including another “Top Five” trophy in 2017, and been awarded numerous 1st , 2nd and best-of-show trophies at other car events within Victoria, including the “Best Concours Condition Chrysler” from the Chrysler Restorers Club of Australia in 2017.