Fascinating Landy Charger tale

[Dog427435]

[b] <font color="red"> Stratocharger </font> posted some links in the Street Scene thread to some old pictures. While I couldn't find the pictures I did take the time to look through the DodgeCharger.com Forum and I came across a thread that I couldn't stop reading. I found it so fascinating I sat and read through all 17 pages.
Here is the story from the poster of this thread - or you can read it all yourself at -


DODGECHARGER.COM FORUM

[Dog427435]

I have a 1970 Dick Landy Hemi Charger. I've had it in storage for about 30 years. I've decided to sell it but I don't know what it's worth. Any advice?

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ADDITIONAL INFO 8:11 PM, MAY 14, 2006

Thanks for the responses. I'd like to give a little history on the car.

About 30 years ago, I bought a machined, but not yet assembled 426 Hemi. I was looking for a Hemi car to put it in. I happened to see this Charger in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Landover, MD. I located the owner who said he would sell. He couldn't race anymore because he was going blind. He told me it was a Dick Landy car. At that point, I didn't know the significance of that. He had pulled the Hemi and installed a 440, he said because it didn't need to be rebuilt as often as a Hemi. I remember he said it has 5.33 gears, an acid-dipped body and a 5,000 RPM stall converter. I had not noticed until I got a response to my original posting that the VIN number on the sheet under the rear seat does not match the number on the original bill of sale I was given. I checked the VIN number inside the windshield, and it matches the Chrysler bill of sale, not the number under the seat. Over the years, I have heard that Dick Landy had some cars that he toured with to educate other racers. These may have been cars other than what he raced. I was told by the seller, 25 or 30 years ago, that it was a Dick Landy car, but I have done nothing to verify or document this. I still have the Hemi I bought before the car, but I never assembled it or did anything with it. Some people have told me that none of the factory race cars, or Landy cars, still have the original engines, because they were always trying new ones. I have the original Chrysler bill of sale. I believe the car has never been titled or driven on the street. The VIN number on the bill of sale, and on the dash at the windshield, is XS29ROG207150. The car had Hemi emblems until they were stolen, so I'm sure it is an original Hemi car. The fender tag is missing. I don't know if it was there when I bought the car. It may have been stolen also. I was originally going to build and install the Hemi, paint the car, and drive it on the street. Now, I think I'm kinda glad I didn't. I'll add more pictures later.

Thanks for all the responses and guidance.

[Dog427435]

I would like to thank everyone who has responded to my 1970 dick landy charger posting.

The comments have been informative, encouraging, interesting and appreciated.

I was asked about the odometer milage; It's 27.8 miles.

The car has a clutch pedal, but now has an automatic.

I checked under the front seats and behind the glove box, but could not find a correct build sheet.

[Dog427435]

MagnumCharger;

Thank you so much for your posting. I really appreciate the time, effort and interest you put into this. For me, you've blown this thing wide open. I was a little dismayed, but now I'm really encouraged. I think that's my car. I spoke with Dick Landy on the phone a few days ago, and he said he didn't remember having any '70 Chargers, "but that was a long time ago." The only thing that piqued his interest was the acid-dipped body. Other than that, the only thing he seemed interested in was getting off the phone. That's understandable. He's a very busy guy and says he gets several calls a week from people claiming to have "Landy Cars." It's got to be very annoying to him. I called him back Thursday and told him about your posting of the article with pictures that prove he had a '70 Charger. He was in a little less of a hurry this time and asked me to send him some pictures of the car. I asked if it would be okay to discuss this with him some more while he's at Carlisle, and he said that would be fine. I don't think I could ever get Landy to come to my house to see the car. He's much too busy and what's in it for him. I still wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to rent a space at Carlisle, tow the car up and try to have him look it over and maybe authenticate it. I have a friend with a towing company. I may be able to get the car up there on a rollback. This should help keep the car up out of harms way until Mr. Landy can check it out. I would, of course, clear all of this with Mr. Landy first. MagnumCharger, again, thanks. Whatever the ultimate conclusion of this whole thing, you've played a big part. I originally bought this car and the Hemi to have my idea of the ultimate street car. I still hope to some day, but this car, I think, should be restored and preserved. I can't afford to do that. I, like most in our hobby, think these classic cars should be driven regularly, but this one was never intended for that. It's a unique collector car and should be kept that way. Thanks again to everyone for your advice and comments. I check the site regularly and enjoy all the postings. I plan to dig the car out some more this weekend to take photos for Dick Landy. I'll post some of them.

[Dog427435]

Okay guys, it's not official, but I think it's definate. We were taking photos of the car, and my wife noticed that Dick Landy's name could be seen very faded on the doors. You can probably see it in the photos. I think the car had been passed on a few times after Landy was finished with it. I guess one of the subsequent owners removed his name from the car, or maybe D.L.I. removed the lettering before they gave up the car. Fortunately, the lettering wasn't thoroughly removed. The door had been relettered lower down. This writing is also faded, but appears to say PoorBoy. Some of the original decals or stickers may have been removed to make room for local sponsors. I hope all of this is enough to convince Landy to take a look at the car. Check out the pics. My son enhanced on eof them on the computer to make "Dick Landy" more legible.
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[Dog427435]

Dick Landy has agreed to look over the Charger and authenticate it, in writing, if he's convinced it was originally his car (it was). We met with Ed Thomas a few weeks ago at a car show. He's the second assignee on the manufacturer's statement of origin. He assured me this is definately a Dick Landy car. He bought the car from Sam Pannuty, who owned the car under the name Pat's Auto Sales, and raced under the name "Poor Boy." That explains the faded "Poor Boy" lettering still visible on the car door. Ed later sold the car to Willie Turner from whom I purchased the car. All of this is verified by the manufacturer's statement of origin (see pic below). We've also posted articles that Ed's wife sent us about this car and a Challenger from back when Ed was racing them.
I pumped up the Charger tires and they held air after all these years. The tires are cruddy and the wheels are very rusty. I considered getting new Cragars and tires and sprucing up the car a little, but I think it may be better to keep it as original as possible. Randy Bolig of Mopar Muscle said he would like the Charger in the magazine. Hope to see some of you at Carlisle.
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